She was previously Head Coach and High Performance Manager
at New England Girls School (NEGS). She regularly took teams away to
competitions all over the country and would manage teams with as few as one or
two riders, to over 60 riders at Coonabarabran Equestrian Expo, as well as many
State and National events.
Her own children have been actively involved in Pony Club
for over 8 years, and she is a passionate ambassador of the Pony Club System,
an EA Level 1 G Coach, Level 2 HM & R (Eventing specialist), and Skill
Specific Trainer and Assessor.
In July 2019, Annyka travelled as Team Manager for Pony Club
Australia riders competing in the Show Jumping and Dressage Inter Pacific
Exchange in Hong Kong.
In 2015, she travelled as the Equestrian Australian Team
Coach and Chef d’Equipe for the young riders competing in the Penang
International Horse Show, Malaysia to which our Australian riders won the
overall event.
In November 2019 she was invited to Guilin, China to judge
the Four Nations Youth International Show Jumping competition running over
several days. Over the last 12 months, she has travelled several times to China
conducting 3 day coach trainings, as well as assessing Pony Club and Instructor
Certificates.
She currently has many successful riders that she coaches on
a weekly basis. Many of her students have won at EA, and PC State and National
Level, FEI Eventing, and at numerous EA events in Eventing, Dressage, and Show
Jumping.
Annyka is also a qualified Practitioner of Coaching and
Neuro Linguistic Programming and runs her own coaching business and has
recently completed her first book “Engaging the Child Rider”, with a second
book “101 pony club exercises” nearly completed. The books are aimed at parents
and instructors within the Pony Club system.
Her clinics offer insights into the mindset of young riders,
and a higher level of understanding in the learning needs, styles and
behaviours of horses and riders. These clinics are aimed at competition riders
and coaches who are looking for that extra edge by having a horse that is
calmer, braver and more athletic whilst gaining a heightened awareness of how
their thinking and mindset directly affects performance.
Lessons with Annyka Overton
My standard Show Jumping and Cross
Country lessons run for 1.5 hours with a mixture of both theory and practical
exercises designed to increase the skill level and confidence of both horse and
rider. We won't be jumping for the entire 1.5hours as we will spend time
discussing the challenges and analysing the responses to specifically designed,
unique and active exercises.
What does each session look like?
During the warm up and initial assessment of horse and rider we will discuss topics such as:
- Horse Behaviour and Learning styles. Understanding the needs of each individual horse and how we as riders need to respond allowing for greater trust and engagement from the horse.
- Creating a strong work ethic in the horses and how we can encourage our horses to become problem solvers.
- Discussing thresholds in both horses and humans. How we need to become aware of them before they become a problem, and use that awareness to instil a desire in our horses to take us to the fence with confidence.
During the jumping sessions we use specific schooling exercises over fences designed to increase our horses honesty, straightness, balance (physical, mental and emotional) and rhythm, giving the horse the best opportunity to jump the fence easily. Each fence is an opportunity to become aware of the little nuances and behavioural patterns in the horses body, allowing us to make subtle changes in the horses way of going.
Each jumping session is designed to find any gaps in the scale of schooling required to jump at whatever level you are currently competing and then fill those gaps with knowledge and understanding. We need to ensure the horse is aware of what is being asked of him and make sure he is up to the task, willing to understand the questions and think his way through any obstacle.
During the session, my job is also to help you design your goals moving forward with your horses and give you tools and strategies to help get you there.
What does each session look like?
During the warm up and initial assessment of horse and rider we will discuss topics such as:
- Horse Behaviour and Learning styles. Understanding the needs of each individual horse and how we as riders need to respond allowing for greater trust and engagement from the horse.
- Creating a strong work ethic in the horses and how we can encourage our horses to become problem solvers.
- Discussing thresholds in both horses and humans. How we need to become aware of them before they become a problem, and use that awareness to instil a desire in our horses to take us to the fence with confidence.
During the jumping sessions we use specific schooling exercises over fences designed to increase our horses honesty, straightness, balance (physical, mental and emotional) and rhythm, giving the horse the best opportunity to jump the fence easily. Each fence is an opportunity to become aware of the little nuances and behavioural patterns in the horses body, allowing us to make subtle changes in the horses way of going.
Each jumping session is designed to find any gaps in the scale of schooling required to jump at whatever level you are currently competing and then fill those gaps with knowledge and understanding. We need to ensure the horse is aware of what is being asked of him and make sure he is up to the task, willing to understand the questions and think his way through any obstacle.
During the session, my job is also to help you design your goals moving forward with your horses and give you tools and strategies to help get you there.
We will also look at any repetitive
thoughts or beliefs that you are holding onto either consciously or
unconsciously and whether they are ultimately serving you and your riding
experience. From there you will learn mental strategies to retrain your brain into
offering you higher quality questions and solutions leading to an increase in
opportunities and results.
Whether you have high level competition goals or are simply jumping for pleasure, working on your mental, emotional and physical skill development will get you there faster, with more success and enjoyment.
Whether you have high level competition goals or are simply jumping for pleasure, working on your mental, emotional and physical skill development will get you there faster, with more success and enjoyment.
I would love to help you achieve
your goals and will look forward to meeting you at Euroa Horse Park in the future.
For more, visit: http://www.chameleoncoaching.com.au
AND
receive your FREE copy of her eBook, 'Engaging the child rider'.
A video by Annyka for our HICCUP (Horse Industry Careers) seminars 2019
to become a Friend of Euroa Horse Park and be sent information on future education and events.
