http://www.MaddiBurchellDressage.com/

Maddi Burchell Dressage - Equestrian Performance Coaching, Canterbury (2026)

09/10/2026

7 ways to get more from every training session
Being coachable is not about being compliant. Great training is a partnership.
1. Ask questions
A good coach should be happy to explain the why, not just tell you what to do.
2. Be open-minded
Sometimes progress means trying something different.
3. Trust the process
Progress is rarely linear. Give things time, but stay engaged in what you’re doing.
4. Stretch your comfort zone
Growth often sits just outside what feels easy — but a good coach should know how far to push.
5. Make feedback two-way
Tell your coach what you felt. Your coach should be asking, listening and adapting too.
6. Take responsibility
Reflect, practise and think about what you can influence between sessions.
7. Be honest
If you’re tired, worried, confused or something doesn’t feel right, say so.
For me, the aim of coaching is not to create a rider who only performs well when their coach is there.
It is to help create a rider who can think, feel, reflect and make good decisions for themselves.
That’s where real learning happens.

07/10/2026

Adaptability is part of the skill.
We often go into a session with a plan.
What we want to work on.
What we want to improve.
What we hope to achieve.
But horses and riders are not machines, and sometimes the session in front of you is not the session you planned.
The environment may be different. The horse may be mentally or physically somewhere else. The rider may be tired, distracted or simply not in the right place for what was intended.
That is where adaptability matters.
Sometimes the best decision is to change the exercise.
Sometimes it is to simplify it.
Sometimes it is to take the pressure away.
And sometimes it is to stop, walk away and come back another day.
That is not failure.
Confidence and performance are built by repeating good experiences. If we keep pushing just because something was “on the plan”, we risk rehearsing tension, frustration and poor performance instead.
Knowing when to keep going matters.
But knowing when to change direction matters just as much.
The same applies away from the arena too, and it is something I am learning more and more through my own studying.
Sometimes stepping away is productive. A break can give you space to process, reflect and come back with a clearer head.
Progress does not always come from pushing harder.
Sometimes it comes from recognising what is in front of you, adapting accordingly, and giving yourself permission to try again another day.
Adaptability is not abandoning the plan. It is knowing when the plan needs to change.

05/10/2026

As a coach I honestly believe that your lesson shouldn’t finish when your session finishes.

A good lesson should give you more than being able to achieve that better ride in that moment.
It should leave you with things you can take away, think about and use again when you are training on your own.
That might be a clearer understanding of why something worked, a different way of approaching a problem, a better feel for a response, or simply the confidence to know what to try next.
For me, coaching isn’t about creating riders who need me with them every time they ride. It’s about helping riders become more independent, more confident in their own decision-making and better able to understand what their horse is telling them.

Yes, sometimes you need help in the moment.

But the real value of coaching is what happens afterwards — when you can take that understanding into your next ride and start making good decisions for yourself.
That’s when the learning really starts to stick.
And that’s when coaching becomes more than just an hour with your coach.

03/10/2026

A conversation came up while I was away at university with a few fellow coaches about something we all seem to hear far too often.

Riders describing another coach as “awful” or “bad”.

Now, I’m not pretending bad coaching doesn’t exist. I’ve seen it too.

But I’ve seen an awful lot more good coaching than bad.

The truth is, one size does not fit all.

A coach may not suit the way you learn. Their approach may not work for your horse. Their personality, communication style or methods may simply not be the right fit for you.

And that’s absolutely fine.

But that doesn’t automatically make them a bad coach.

Most of the coaches I know care enormously about their riders and horses. They work long hours, in all weathers, invest thousands in training and CPD, and spend far more time than people realise thinking about their clients outside of the actual lesson.

You should absolutely choose a coach who makes you feel confident, supported and able to learn.

But before calling someone a “bad coach”, ask yourself:

Were they actually bad… or were they just not right for me?

There’s a big difference.

You can move on and choose someone else without tearing another professional down in the process.

Find the coach who suits you and your horse.

Not because your friend trains with them.
Not because everyone else says you should.
But because their way of coaching helps you learn, develop and progress.

And if someone isn’t the right fit?

Move on kindly.

Most coaches really are just trying to do the best job they can.

02/10/2026

This week, one of my riders sent me a message that genuinely meant a lot.

She told me that, having worked with professionals from all sorts of fields, she felt my dedication, commitment and person-centred approach put me “up there with the best of them.”

I’m not sharing that to shout about myself. If anything, sharing praise like this makes me slightly uncomfortable.

But it meant so much because I care deeply about being a good coach.

I read, study, reflect and question what I do constantly. It’s a huge part of why I’m doing my Masters — I want to understand coaching from every angle and keep finding ways to improve what I give my riders.

For me, coaching is so much more than standing in an arena and telling someone what to do. It’s about understanding the individual, helping them learn, building confidence, improving performance and supporting them in a way that actually works for them.

So when someone recognises the work, thought and care that goes on behind the scenes, it really does mean more than they probably realise.

I don’t ever want to reach a point where I think I know enough.

I’ll keep learning, reflecting and trying to be better — because my riders deserve that.

01/10/2026

After a couple of days at uni, I’ve come away doing a lot of reflecting on my own coaching — particularly around the importance of developing the psychological skills of our riders, not just the physical and technical ones.

I don’t think we always place enough emphasis on this as coaches.

And this isn’t only about chasing better performance.

Riders at every level can benefit from developing things like confidence, focus, emotional control, self-awareness and resilience. For some, that might improve competitive performance. For others, it could simply mean enjoying riding more, feeling more confident with their horse, or getting more from the time they spend together.

It has really made me think about how we respond when a rider is struggling with confidence or facing a performance challenge.

Sometimes, a few well-chosen coaching tools and a different approach may be enough to help.

Sometimes, what that rider needs sits beyond our scope as coaches, and our role should be to recognise that and signpost them towards someone with the specialist skills to support them properly.

But simply not noticing, or noticing and doing nothing, isn’t good enough.

I think there is a real opportunity for us as coaches to become better at recognising the psychological side of performance and participation, and to make it a much more normal part of the coaching conversation.

I’m really looking forward to exploring sport psychology in much more depth this semester — and, most importantly, thinking about how I can translate that learning into better coaching for my riders.

30/09/2026

What a brilliant couple of days away at uni.

Now in my second year, it’s been great to spend two days at British Rowing in London, joined by colleagues from British Equestrian and tutors from the University of Stirling School of Sport.

We’ve covered everything from developing research questions and exploring different research methods, to starting to delve deeper into sports psychology — two really valuable days of learning, discussion and growth.

One of the best parts has also been spending time with my fellow students from both rowing and equestrian. Sharing experiences across different sports always gives you another perspective and plenty more to think about.

I’ve come away with lots to reflect on, lots I want to put into practice within my own coaching, and plenty of ideas to research further as I move into my upcoming modules and start thinking more about my applied project.

I’d love to say there’s now a bit of time to rest, digest and process it all… but it’s straight back into three days of coaching!

And, actually, I think that’s one of the best parts — taking what we’re learning academically and immediately starting to think about how it can make a difference in real coaching environments.

28/09/2026

What a weekend. ❤️

I'm coming away from The Dressage Coach Camp slightly exhausted, incredibly proud and feeling very lucky to do what I do.

There were so many special moments.

First canters.
Young horses experiencing their first stay away.
New partnerships developing.
And some pretty major breakthroughs.

I learned a huge amount from every rider and every session too.

But there were moments that really made me stop and reflect.

Watching riders I've coached for a long time confidently working on half-passes and flying changes in canter, I found myself thinking back to when simply maintaining balance, rhythm and control in canter was a huge achievement.

And suddenly you realise just how far you've travelled together.

Not through one dramatic breakthrough, but hundreds of smaller ones.

The difficult lessons. The confidence wobbles. The experiments. The moments something finally clicked. And all those little victories along the way.

As coaches, we're often so focused on where we're going next that we forget to look back at how far someone has already come.

Being trusted to play a part in that journey really is an enormous privilege.

And what made the weekend even better was seeing riders supporting each other, celebrating each other's successes and genuinely wanting everyone else to do well.

That's exactly the kind of coaching environment I want to be part of.

So thank you to everyone who made the weekend what it was. I'm leaving tired, inspired and with plenty to reflect on.

Although there's no time for the tired bit…

I'm now off to London with my fellow equestrian and rowing coaches for university!

From coach back to student — and plenty more learning ahead. 😂

25/09/2026

A very busy few days ahead… and I'm really looking forward to all of it!

First stop is The Dressage Coach Camp, where I'll be spending the weekend coaching riders at the Unicorn Trust.

I absolutely love these weekends — lots of horses, lots of coaching, plenty of conversations and hopefully plenty of those little breakthrough moments that make coaching so rewarding.

Then it's pretty much straight home, unpack (possibly 😂), repack and head into London to British Rowing for university.

So I'll be swapping roles for a day — from coach to student!

I'm really looking forward to getting back together with my fellow coaches and students, sharing ideas, challenging our thinking and continuing the work towards my Master's in Sport Performance Coaching.

One of the things I enjoy most about studying alongside coaching is how much the two feed into each other.

I learn something at university that makes me think differently about my coaching.

Then something happens with a rider that makes me question something I'm learning at university.

Coach. Learn. Reflect. Coach again.

And after London?

Straight back into three full-on days of coaching!

It's going to be a busy week.

But when it's filled with horses, riders, coaching, learning and some brilliant people to share it all with, I can't really complain.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at camp — and then my university crew in London!

24/09/2026

There isn't always one right way to learn something.

As coaches, we bring a lot to a session.

Qualifications. Experience. Research. CPD. And inevitably, ideas shaped by the way we learned.

All of that matters.

But ultimately, we are coaching the individual standing in front of us.

Something that works brilliantly for ten riders might not connect with the eleventh.

That doesn't mean the approach is wrong — or that the rider is.

Perhaps we just haven't found what works for them yet.

That's why I think experimentation is such an important part of coaching.

Try this.

What did you notice?

Did that make more sense?

What happens if we change it?

We can suggest what has worked before and explain why. Research can inform our decisions. Our experience can guide where we start.

Sometimes our first suggestion will be the answer.

But sometimes the rider will experiment and discover something neither of us expected.

And that's where it gets really interesting.

Because the rider isn't the only person learning.

I've learned an enormous amount as a coach by watching riders explore, solve problems and find solutions that weren't necessarily the ones I expected.

It makes me question my own assumptions.

It gives me another idea to try with someone else.

And it makes me a better coach.

That's why I don't think coaching should simply be about transferring knowledge from one person's head into another.

We're there to facilitate learning.

To create an environment where riders can explore, question, experiment and reflect — with our knowledge and experience there to guide them.

Because sometimes I'll help a rider discover something new.

And sometimes they'll teach me something too.

Maddi Burchell Dressage - Equestrian Performance Coaching

09/10/2026

07/10/2026

05/10/2026

03/10/2026

02/10/2026

01/10/2026

30/09/2026

28/09/2026

25/09/2026

24/09/2026

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