Confident Rider

04/05/2026

As the founder of Confident Rider and perhaps, better known for my self help books,
It's always nice to take a step back. To think about the core principles of why riding matters so much, to so many.

Equestrians sometimes forget we are all on the same Team. We should build each other up, not criticise and belittle. Remember, your flame doesn't burn brighter by knocking someone else! Everyone is on their own journey.

Trust, connection, harmony. The things we all seek as riders because what we do matters so much. Our horses are our lives, the reason we get up in the morning, the reason we soldier on in tough times. Our horses are our whole world.

So, when confidence fails us. Its tough, its hard to stay on track. Our happy world seems under threat. Whether it's hormones, an unfortunate incident or a build up of pressure. The starting point is to go back to basics and work on solutions, learn how to be brave once again.

For general riding anxiety, the international best seller, I HOPE IT RAINS The Confidence Manual for the nervous rider https://a.co/d/6DFFFMr

and

For confidence issues in competition there's my second book. Great for perspective and settling down nerves. AFTER THE RAIN: The confidence manual for the nervous competitor https://amzn.eu/d/itmsK3h

Its time to take back control and build confidence once again.

🏇❤️ books available world wide on Amazon, H. U. Owen x

26/04/2026

If you are having competition wobbles. Try this book. Great for perspective and settling down nerves.

AFTER THE RAIN: The confidence manual for the nervous competitor https://amzn.eu/d/itmsK3h

📸 Amateur Dressage

09/04/2026

Sometimes the hardest part of having a dream isn’t the work… it’s the moment when everything changes. 😩

You set your heart on a goal. You picture the journey, the milestones, the quiet wins and the big ones too. You have the horse you believe in, your partner, your teammate and together, it feels like anything is possible.

Then life happens.

It might be your health. Your finances. Or something changes with your horse. Suddenly, the path you were so certain about doesn’t exist anymore. The dream you held so tightly has to shift… or even disappear.

That kind of heartbreak is quiet, but heavy.

Because it’s not just a plan you’re losing, it’s a future you already started to love.

Maybe you don’t talk about it. Maybe you smile and say “it’s fine.”
But deep down, you’re grieving something no one else can fully see.

💔 The show season that never happened
💔 The goals you had written in your head
💔 The version of you that you thought you’d become

But here’s the truth and it’s a hard one:

This is the moment that defines you.

Not when everything is going right.
But right here… when it isn’t.

Because being a horse person isn’t just about chasing dreams.
It’s about rewriting them when life forces your hand.

It’s about choosing to keep going, differently.
It’s about finding purpose in a path you didn’t choose.
It’s about discovering strength you didn’t know you had.

Sometimes… the new path leads you somewhere you never expected, but needed.

✨ A deeper partnership
✨ A slower, more meaningful journey
✨ A completely different dream that still fills your heart

So if you’re in that place right now, where things didn’t go to plan, you are not alone. ❤️

👉 I want to hear from you:

What dream did you have to let go of… and what did it turn into instead? Help inspire and give hope to others.

Or if you’re still in the middle of it, just drop a 🐴 so others know they’re not the only one.

Because this community isn’t just about success…
It’s about honesty, resilience, and finding our way forward, together.

For confidence building, visit our website www.confident-riding.co.uk

08/04/2026

✨ Join Our Fun & Supportive Confidence Building Community! ✨

Looking to build your confidence with your horse while being part of a positive and encouraging group?

Come and join us!
We run fabulous riding challenges designed to help you grow, push your boundaries, and most importantly, enjoy the journey!

And yes… there are beautiful rosettes up for grabs too! 🏵️

No matter what you're struggling with, you are not alone!

Whether it’s groundwork, getting on, cantering, jumping, or competition nerves, we’ve got you every step of the way.

Backed by the international best selling Author H U Owen and the self help confidence manual HOPE IT RAINS The Confidence Manual for the nervous rider https://a.co/d/6DFFFMr

Together we support, motivate, and celebrate each other’s wins, big or small 💙💙

🌟 Come and get involved you might surprise yourself with what you can achieve! 🌟

Group link; https://www.facebook.com/share/g/18JFGwTe7L/

22/02/2026

“But I’m fine…”

How many of us have said that?

Fine. Managing. Coping. Just tired. Just stressed. Just busy.

Meanwhile the words underneath tell a different story.

Broken.
Exhausted.
Ashamed.
Alone.
Not enough.

Sometimes “I’m fine” is protection.

It’s the mask. The armour. The socially acceptable answer.

Because saying, “I’m struggling.” “I’m not okay.” “I don’t know how to cope.” feels terrifying.

We live in a world that praises resilience but doesn’t always make space for vulnerability.

So we swallow it. We minimise it. We joke about it. We carry it quietly.

But here’s the truth:

You are not weak for struggling. You are not dramatic for feeling. You are not attention-seeking for needing support. You are not broken beyond repair.

And you are not the words that were thrown at you.

“I’m fine” might have kept you safe once.

But you deserve spaces where you don’t have to be fine.

Where you can say, “This is heavy.” “This hurts.” “I need help.”

And someone answers with, “I’m here.”

If this image feels close to home — please don’t carry it alone.

Reach out. To a friend. To a professional. To someone safe.

You are allowed support. You are allowed softness. You are allowed to not be fine.

And still be worthy.

A great read for understanding and solving problems, HOPE IT RAINS The Confidence Manual for the nervous rider https://a.co/d/6DFFFMr

🤍

For like minded people, support, laughs, advice and chat, please join our friendly, non judgemental group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/581906019359938/?ref=share

11/01/2026

Welcome to all our wonderful new members!!

we cannot wait to share your journey with you to your new found confidence!!

Don't forget to join our sister page Horse riders: nervous/anxious/lost confidence to meet thousands of people in the same boat as you and for help, advice and no end of support!! ♥️

06/01/2026

Put a field of young horses in front of you and the maths is brutal.

Some won’t survive long enough to matter, injury, mismanagement, bad luck, bad decisions. Finished before they’ve even begun.

Some will be bought and rushed by people who haven’t a clue. Others by people who absolutely do and cut corners anyway. Some will be sat on by riders with tempers shorter than the horse’s education, riding fear, ego and impatience instead of balance or timing.

A very small number will ever land in the hands of someone with the skill, patience and emotional control to let a young horse develop without being frightened, punished or forced through confusion.

The truth is uncomfortable but simple, there are far more potentially good young horses in the world than there are humans capable of producing them well.

And the worst part? It’s usually the horse that gets blamed for the mistakes humans make.

And the most dangerous people of all?
The ones who don’t know they’re out of their depth and don’t have the self awareness to listen when it’s pointed out. And that? That’s a real problem.

That’s not bad luck.
That’s a system problem.

05/01/2026

In the deep mid-winter,
when the ground is iron hard,
Water buckets freeze solid,
and the dark comes far too fast.

Steam rises from warm nostrils,
rugged backs beneath the stars,
Hands numb through soggy gloves,
mud somehow everywhere — not just the yard.

The arena is a mirror,
the lanes a test of nerve,
You question all your life choices
as you trudge out “just to check” (again).

The horses stand unmoved by it all.
Unbothered.
Fed.
Watching you like this is perfectly normal behaviour.

They do not mark the days.
They only know:

hay arrives

water matters

you came back

In the deep mid-winter,
there are no rosettes,
summer dreams that feel very far away,
no pressure to progress.

Just care.
Consistency.
Showing up when it’s cold and thankless and quiet.

And somehow —
this is where the bond deepens.

In frozen mornings and last checks at night.
In shared breath in the dark.
In choosing them, again and again,
when no one is watching.

This is not the glamorous season.
This is the faithful one.

In the deep mid-winter,
love looks like hay,
and warmth,
and turning the lights off knowing
they are safe.

25/12/2025

Merry Christmas everyone 🎄🎉

A big festive cheer to everyone who has been mucking out as usual, despite it being Christmas day! Make time for a lovely lunch... before evening stables calls!!!🙈🎅🍾

02/12/2025

Such a sad day [for Dressage] and Horse lovers everywhere.Our thoughts go out to all concerned 🙏

Sleep well Blueberry and Uti, two of the greatest horses of our generation.

It is with immense sadness that we have said goodbye to Valegro and Uthopia and without question, this is a loss that just feels hard to comprehend.

Trying to write a tribute to these two horses feels harder than I imagined. The yard just doesn’t feel the same without them, there’s an emptiness in the air.

Valegro and Uthopia did more than win medals and write history, they gave our sport a golden era. They both showed that greatness can be gentle, sensitive and harmonious and they made a nation proud and inspired so many.

Being part of their journey will always remain one of my proudest achievements and the whole team and myself are deeply grateful for the joy they gave to us at home but also to their fans around the world.

Their entire lives ran in parallel; they travelled to the shows side by side, lived in neighbouring stables, grazed in the same fields and retired together. Their bond and companionship were absolute.

As life as old boys advanced, so too did the health challenges, so allowing them to leave this world together was the final act of loyalty and dignity I felt I could give them, honouring a partnership that had never been separated in life.

They leave behind a huge void, and the yard has changed forever and so have we. They were our family and I will love and miss them always. The impact they had will remain but sadly, we don’t get to keep horses forever.
We only get to carry what they leave inside us. And these two left us so much.

Carl x

Photo credit: Rose Lewis