Creating Confidence with Geoffrey Hesslink

Top U.S. hunter rider and trainer Geoffrey Hesslink talks about overcoming competition nerves and how he’s paying that forward to his students and horses.

After years of working on solidifying his own confidence, top U.S. hunter rider and trainer Geoffrey Hesslink set a goal to foster a training environment prioritizing that quality in his horses and students. 

“When I was younger, I resonated with trainers who gave me the feeling that I could do anything,” he said. “Even when my students are nervous or unsure about a new experience, if I maintain 100-percent confidence in their abilities, they can push themselves further than they thought possible.”

Following a stellar Junior career, Hesslink focused on developing a program centered on the health and happiness of his human and equine athletes. In addition to teaching confidence, the horseman also prioritized trainer–student communication—a philosophy he incorporates into his training program at Hesslink Williams, the business he owns and operates with his partner, Brendan Williams.

Hesslink and Spencer, one of the newest mounts in his program, claimed the 3-foot-6 Performance Reserve Championship last May at Old Salem. ©Andrew Ryback

Emphasizing crucial basics with both his horses and students, Hesslink strives to keep all experiences—at home or in the show ring—positive. He wants to prevent mistakes or setbacks from affecting long-term goals.

“There is always another horse show and another class. I wish I learned that earlier in my riding career,” he noted. “We ride, we make mistakes, we either execute the plan or we learn from it. I focus on what we can take from each round and apply it to the future.”

Finding His Stride

After Hesslink broke his arm in a playground accident as a kid, his doctor recommended horseback riding for physical therapy. This misfortune would shape the trajectory of the young horseman’s life. But growing up in a non-equestrian family in a small town in Vermont, not exactly a hub for horse activities, he struggled to feel accepted by his peers early in his career.

“Mentally, it took me a long time to get past that and to feel confident in my own skin,” he noted. “But over the years, I became more self-assured in trusting my program.”

This sentiment didn’t come easily for him as a young rider. An inherently high-strung person, Hesslink put a lot of internal pressure on himself. He did his best to ignore the show-day jitters, with the false belief that top athletes didn’t get nervous. But this tactic proved futile. “Time after time, I would let the nervous energy get the best of me,” he said. “I couldn’t allow myself to be in the moment and execute what I knew I was capable of.”

While it’s easy to get wrapped up in comparing yourself to others, Geoffrey Hesslink, pictured here with Monarchy, said the most successful riders are able to let go of that thinking, especially in such an unpredictable sport. ©Shelby Phillips Photography

So, Hesslink learned a different approach. He recreated the pressure he felt at shows during every practice round at home and every class at schooling shows. Getting used to the feeling when there wasn’t as much pressure helped him manage it for more intense situations. When important competitions arrived, he experienced feeling excited about showing versus nervousness or fear.

“Nerves are a good thing—they’re evidence that we truly care about something. With this mindset, I’ve learned the more I amp myself up ahead of a big event—meaning the more I care about it—the more I can make the butterflies work for me in the moment,” he explained. “My favorite rounds are the handy portion of a derby, either coming in with room for improvement and leaving it all in the ring, or coming in on top knowing the pressure is on and I get to be as handy as possible.” 

Perspective’s Role in an Unpredictable Sport

In an unpredictable sport that’s replete with highs and lows, Hesslink also learned that holding on to perfectionism only hindered his ability to gain confidence and progress. With time, he discovered the benefits of allowing his young horses to learn while showing versus expecting or demanding perfection every time. Horses, he noted, like us, learn best from their mistakes.

“It’s easy to expect perfection every time, but that’s just an obviously impossible, pointless goal. At the end of the day, I’ve learned to simply listen to my horses,” he said. “I let them tell me what’s going on, what they need or what I can do differently or better. Listening is key for communication and confidence.”

Hesslink noted that comparing yourself to others or believing your worth as a rider is only as good as your last round is easy. But in his experience, the most successful riders let go of these unproductive notions. “I try to keep all of this in perspective. This is a very hard sport to predict,” he said. “You always need to strive to reinvent yourself and improve in order to help your horses and set yourself up for success—and listening to what they’re telling us is the best way to accomplish that.”

Hesslink found that once he learned how to manage his nerves, his confidence naturally improved. While some riders tamp their butterflies by watching a few rounds to see how the course rides in real time, he avoids the show ring at all costs. 

“I need to be distracted and not thinking about how others rode a certain line or whether the course looks harder than expected or walked differently than people are riding it,” he said. “I do better by only focusing on my ride. I know my horses. I make a plan and try to stick to it.”

These days, Hesslink doesn’t entertain too many superstitions during his pre-competition routine, but he devoutly adheres to two things: breathing and bananas. 

As a young rider, Hesslink resonated with trainers who gave him the feeling he could do anything. With this in mind, he strives to instill confidence in both his horses and students. ©Shelby Phillips Photography

“If I can feel my heart racing or the adrenaline pumping while my horse and I are walking the course or in the schooling ring, I make myself do a specific breathing exercise,” he explained. “My coach calls it 6-3-6. You breathe in for six seconds. Hold it for three seconds, and then breathe out for six. This really helps my heart rate go down, and I can feel the butterflies settling a little bit.”

His other mandatory show-day task to help stave off nerves includes snacking on a banana. One of Hesslink’s early coaches as a Junior rider advised him that the fruit’s high-potassium content and other nutrients help eliminate the physical feeling of butterflies in your stomach. “Whether it’s a mental or physical thing, eating a banana before a big competition makes me feel better,” he laughed. “If it works, it works, right?”

Instilling Confidence in His Horses

Hesslink also prioritizes peak conditioning for the horses in his program. Over time, he found that improving their fitness levels goes hand-in-hand with developing confidence. “I like my horses to be a bit more fit than I think most hunter people do,” he noted. “And I don’t drill them because they just don’t need to practice that much. Instead, I focus on keeping them fit, happy and healthy. I think my horses jump very well based on the less-is-more approach.”

Hesslink keeps his horses’ day-to-day exercise routine simple, even down to the jumps in his practice arena. “I keep my jumps plain. I use the more traditional ‘hunter’ jumps at shows to encourage my horses to be more engaged,” he said. “And I typically only jump them once or twice a week if they’re not showing just to keep that jumping muscle sharp.”

Hesslink is also a big believer in keeping his horses’ moving. Barring inclement weather, his horses get turnout time every day and are ridden at least once (sometimes twice) a day. This might include a leisurely trail ride in the morning, turnout through the mid-morning or early afternoon, and then a training ride in the afternoon.

Hesslink and Holsteiner gelding Drumroll received top honors at the 2023 Hunter Spectacular
at Traverse City and placed second at the 2023 USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship. ©Shelby Phillips Photography

“I like my horses out of their stalls as much as possible. Working them out in the fields and on trails keeps them fresh and happy to do their jobs in the ring, so we always try to mix that up,” he explained. “I also utilize lunging quite a bit more than just as a quieting mechanism. I like to work my horses without a saddle or rider to allow them to just move freely. This gives them a chance to express themselves while exercising and work different muscles than they do while being ridden.”

Hesslink also stresses the importance of instilling confidence in his young horses from an early age to prevent them from feeling anxious or afraid they can’t do something. He keeps their training relatively simple and focuses on things he’s confident they can physically do. “I’m a firm believer in the importance of flatwork basics,” he said. “When they have that foundation of being really broke on the flat, it makes everything easier.” 

As his youngsters get fitter, Hesslink starts to slowly ask more of them to bolster their confidence. Specifically, he incorporates a lot of gymnastic work. “Even though they don’t understand everything yet, the gymnastics present a fitness element where I purposely don’t help them that much,” he noted. “It might be a bounce to a one [stride] to a one or a bounce to a bounce to a two [stride]. Sometimes I include a vertical; other times an oxer. I trot into the exercise and just let them figure it out on their own. Learning how to gauge the distances themselves also helps them make a better shape over the jumps. Just drilling singles or courses requires less thinking on their part.”

Akin to the communication established with your horse, Hesslink believes that open, honest communication with your trainer is key to developing genuine confidence. This is whether you aspire to compete at the highest level of the sport, show in a local walk–trot class or simply want to hone your skills in the lesson ring. When students feel comfortable talking to their trainers, Hesslink said it eliminates any gray areas that might result in miscommunication or none at all.

“I want my riders to feel like they can ask me anything. Even if it’s, ‘Hey, I don’t feel great right now. I don’t want to do this. I’m having a bad day. I’m frustrated that I’m not making more progress. I don’t feel comfortable doing that exercise.’ Whatever it might be,” he said. “I think open communication is a big reason that my students have experienced so much success.”

Just like his horses, Hesslink wants all his students to feel confident. “And the best, surest way to gain confidence is mastering all the small things, one at a time,” he said. “Nothing should be overfacing for horse or rider. Repetition and consistency will boost confidence over time.”

Hesslink prioritizes open, honest communication with his students and finds it key in helping them develop confidence. ©Shelby Phillips Photography

He noted that many riders have a basic understanding of stride and track to be able to ride and execute a hunter course, but they often lack genuine confidence in their and their horses’ full potential. At home, Hesslink keeps his students’ training simple, but disciplined—much like his horses’ regimens. He has them stick to simple exercises over rails and small jumps to maintain their fitness, as well as riding out on the trails to keep them physically and mentally fresh. “We could practice a lot of difficult courses at home, but at the end of the day that would only drain our horses,” he said. “And they already give so much when we’re showing.”

Hesslink incorporates exercises like adding or leaving out strides over small jump courses to help his students develop confidence in their eye and finding their distances. Similarly, he challenges them to change tracks in lines to ride them in a different number of strides. He also has students trot jumps to enhance their horses’ fitness and strengthen their hindquarters.

“The idea is we’re practicing everything that we’ll experience in the show ring in a simplified way. That way, when we get to the show and put it all together, it’s like second nature,” he explained. “We like to make sure that the horses and riders are confident and feeling fresh when they get to the show. And keeping everything simple at home helps to ensure that.”

For More:

  • Listen to our Practical Horseman Podcast with Geoffrey Hesslink here.
  • Coming soon: A new video series with Hesslink on how to improve your game in the hunter ring on EQUESTRIAN+.

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2024 issue of Practical Horseman.

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