I began riding in 2006, as an empty nest horse show mom.  I decided it was my turn to enjoy horses as a rider and competitor.  I compete in Western Pleasure on my half-Arab gelding, and am also learning the basics of English riding.

I started out with a child-like love of horses and a grown-up desire to learn as much as I could in order to be a good rider.  Putting those two together with my early background in theater led me to explore the mental and psychological training tools for riding well and competing well.  I was interested in studies and practices that showed that elite athletes rely on mental preparation along with physical practice, because I had used similar techniques in theater.  From years of employing mindfulness practices like meditation, relaxation response breathing and yoga, I was well aware that building physical skills is only part of the game.

As I did my personal research I learned about EFT, Emotional Freedom Technique, and began to use it for myself.  I found that it helped me with mental and psychological preparation to ride.  Simply, I rode and competed better when I used EFT than when I did not.  Along with EFT, I began to look at other similar techniques commonly known as "energy therapy".  I also looked into the studies about how brain wave patterns changed in productive ways due to the use of EFT. 

In 2010 I began to teach and practice EFT to help other riders in very practical and immediate ways.  I know what it is like to have blocks that keep you from doing your best.  I'm not a therapist or a sports riding instructor, I'm a rider and competitor myself.  I've worked with trainers and instructors helping their clients with EFT.  It complements any sports training technique you might use (and is used by many professional sportsmen and women as well!)  I'm currently an AAMET-certified EFT Level 2 Practitioner, and my experience in teaching the technique to groups and individual riders has been very fulfilling.

My philosophy is:

• We can all be joyfully responsible for our own growth, given the right tools.  Personal Growth is not the special province of experts in therapy, life coaching or spirituality.
• Self-help should be portable and applicable in a variety of real life situations.  I want a technique I can use quickly, in any situation, not only in special conditions.
• We make our best progress when we address our whole selves:  our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual natures.  We live our lives on all of these levels, and they all require nurture.

I love teaching EFT to riders to help you achieve your best ride, whether that's on the trail, around the pasture, in the show ring, or wherever your heart desires.

Ange Dickson Finn