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The Seven Principles of Success-Centered © Riding ©

Confidence, Competence, Harmony, Integrity, Dancing, Awareness, Breathing - "CCHIDAB"
An interview with Mary-Charlotte (Chardy) Shealy - Founder/Director, SCRT™ Workshops


The Riding/Training Workshops were established in 1986. They are targeted to adult riders, individually or in small groups, who want an accelerated learning opportunity to reach their riding goals. Prior to the advent of the SCRT™ Workshops, little attention was paid to adults wanting to start riding, return to riding after an absence, or to become better educated so that they could improve their riding skills.. Now nationally recognized for their unique approach to teaching adult riders, the SCRT™ Workshops also work with intermediate and upper level riders whose riding has been adversely affected by problems such as stress, trauma or lack of an adequate foundation. The SCRT™ programs also attract riding instructors and aspiring instructors wanting to become skilled at working with adult riders.

Adult riders are typically hungry for knowledge, the "why"; they would like to ride a lot more than they often have time for; they are serious about their riding; they usually need to improve their level of physical conditioning to meet the requirements of the riding level and interest to which they aspire; they often have significant career responsibilities outside riding, and are constantly juggling priorities.


Q: Tell us about the 7 Principles of Success-Centered™ Riding, "CCHIDAB".

CS: When we started the SCRT™ Workshops, I knew from experience that adult riders were different from youth, children and teenagers, especially if they hadn't ridden before, or not for many years. I wanted to offer a relatively brief, organized, intense riding program that would be satisfying and helpful for adults. That was breaking new ground in the riding world.

CCHIDAB is an acronym that puts together those aspects of the SCRT™ program that have been most helpful to adult riders: Confidence-building, Competence, Harmony in the riding partnership; Integrity; Dancing-allowing the human body to move in synch with the horse's body; Awareness; and Breathing.


Q: When did you come up with these principles?

CS: Not at first, I can assure you! In a sense the riders presented them to us over time, as they entered the program and we heard from them in advance about their needs, and afterwards about what had worked for them.


Q: Did you put "Confidence" at the beginning for a reason?

CS: Yes. Confidence is a major issue for adult riders, something they refer to consistently when they first contact us. "I need more confidence...". When I first started these workshops, I thought we would begin the day with 15 minutes of unmounted physical conditioning, and then go out to ride. What I discovered quickly was that lack of adequate physical conditioning was a major contributor to most riders' lack of confidence. They had little or no idea that strength, flexibility and other aspects of physical conditioning were important to confidence, and their riding well.


Q: What about "Competence"?

CS: Competence and Confidence are like twins; they are interrelated. To use a common example, beginning riders should not be teaching themselves to ride on a two year old horse. Or even a three year old. It is fair neither to the horse nor the rider. Yet, we often hear from adults who started out exactly this way, and got into major trouble, understandably. They lost any confidence they had. "They didn't know what they didn't know," I often say.

By educating these riders, building a progressive foundation of knowledge in the arena, on the horse, and in the classroom, step by step, we have been surprised at how steadily their confidence rises right along with their growing competence. They also learn to say, "No", and feel o.k. (confident) about doing so.


Q: How do you relate "Harmony" to riding?

CS: Maybe this is a good place to talk about "Integrity" too. Riding is about a partnership; we wouldn't be riding without a horse. The horse has a personality, feelings, good and bad days; some horses dislike being ridden, or strongly prefer one rider over another. Some hate a bit; for others, the bit may offer security. The riding partnership can be very complex. The horse wasn't designed for riding. We have imposed our will on these animals to carry us around, and do things that often to the horse must seem utterly ridiculous, not to mention uncomfortable, boring or frightening.

Our goal as riders is to create insofar as possible a harmonious partnership with the horse, to respect the horse's abilities, preferences, age, and a variety of other concerns important to our working together. Often, here is where "Integrity" comes in. For example, if your horse is limping, do you follow the veterinarian's advice and let the horse rest for a few days, or do you give it a pain killer and ride it anyway? If you are an inexperienced rider, do you punish the three year old horse that bucks you off because you hurt its back and mouth?

Integrity and Harmony are closely related. A sensible, mature horse is often revealing about a rider's development in these areas.


Q: Tell me about " Dancing"; how do you do that with a horse?!

CS: Watch children ride, children who love horses. They get on the horse's back, the horse moves off, and the child flows with the horse's movements. That is why children often easily ride bareback at all gaits; they dance with the horse. The horse's body has far more joints, angles, mass, and movement than our own. If we flow with these, letting the horse "lead" so to speak, we are dancing with the horse. This is very different from bracing against the horse's movements, a common problem with adults. As adults become more competent, more experienced, more flexible, they are able increasingly to dance with the horse in more complex ways, yet still retain a feeling of harmony. These partnerships are truly thrilling to watch. Even less skilled riders, however, can dance with their horses in enjoyable harmony if the rider does not demand more complexity in the dance than the rider or horse is able to give, and if the horse is a compatible partner.


Q: The sixth Principle of Success-Centered™ Riding is "Awareness". I can see that that would apply to everything we have talked about so far, wouldn't it?

CS: Yes. "Awareness" can be closely connected with "feeling", often a challenge for adult riders, yet an opportunity for ongoing discovery. They become aware of the feelings of their own bodies: how they move, where they move, how they feel in specific areas, how they are impacted by breathing, by conscious muscle use. The next step is to become aware of how their bodies "talk" with a horse. These are major leaps for many adults. Too often, part of growing up in our culture involves cutting ourselves apart from our bodies; we become "talking heads"! One of the joys of riding is retrieving that body awareness, and then moving beyond to become aware of the horse's body beneath us, to feel the horse's own "feelings", to savor the partnership. As riders progress in this awareness, they often spend increasing amounts of time in the reflective, pleasant brain wave state called "alpha".


Q: The seventh and last Principle is "Breathing" ?

CS: But not least! Where would we be without breathing? Breathing gives us life, strength, endurance, tension/ release, focus and awareness. Conscious breathing allows us to expand our lung capacity, and assist the heart's efficiency, cleanse our body of waste through exhaled air, improve our sleep quality, and talk with our horses through the breath energy.

Adults often hold their breath and breathe shallowly, creating habitual body tension. Not much fun for the horse they are on! As riding athletes, adults can tremendously enhance their riding abilities simply by breathing deeply and consciously everyday.


Q: Why are these principles important to riders?

CS: Because they define for riders, often for the first time, their priorities and needs. The principles are interconnected as well. For example, if a rider is a chronic breath-holder, as many adults are, their riding competence, their ability to move with the horse and their awareness of the horse's movements will be significantly compromised.


Q: Do riders have difficulty remembering these Seven SCRT™ Principles?

CS: Not really, because they can become part of their lifestyle everyday, at the office, at home, at the barn, in the saddle. One rider wrote recently that while she hadn't been able to ride since the workshop, her experiences here had changed her entire life for the better. Think about it: Confidence, Competence, Harmony, Integrity, Dancing, Awareness and Breathing. Life can be a lot more fun, less intimidating and stressful, more adventuresome, energizing and interesting, if riders live daily the 7 SCRT™ Principles.


Q: What about riders who can't ride several times a week?

CS: While riding is a skill that requires time in the saddle to improve, riders who adhere to the 7 SCRT™ Principles, who follow diligently an appropriate unmounted physical conditioning program, who frequently imagine themselves riding (visualization is powerful!), and who pursue their equine-related learning off the horse as well will be pleasantly surprised at the riding skill they retain.


Q: I have two final questions I have to ask. The first is: Can the 7 SCRT™ Principles be helpful in working with young riders, children and teenagers?

CS: Absolutely! They are worth the instructor's keeping them in mind whether you mention them specifically or not. For example, a 10 year old might be totally turned off by a discussion of the 7 SCRT™ Principles, but would be intrigued by some breathing exercises on horseback. On the other hand, an older teenager might be ready for all of them, though not all at once!


Q: Last question: CCHIDAB. I see the word "Chi" in there; is that intentional?

CS: So you noticed! The acronym came first, and then I spotted "Chi". Kind of clever, don't you think? "Chi" as used here is the Chinese term for energy, the intrinsic energy of life with which each of us is imbued uniquely and to varying degrees. Some people are "high energy" types; they may be blessed with abundant "chi". Others feel as though they are struggling merely to get through the day. One great gift of riding and being around horses, however, is that we are often energized maximally in their presence. Maybe they awaken our latent "chi". In any event, suffice it to say that while riding we are energized even if later, we collapse in a heap of fatigue!

CCHIDAB to you; they work!