ON Monday week last, in the Park Hotel, Mullingar, William Micklem talked to almost 100 Irish Pony Club and Horse Sport Ireland coaches about what he calls ‘pressing the GO! button’.

William is a huge supporter of the Pony Club family, not just because of his own experience of the organisation when growing up in Cornwall, but because he sees the Pony Club having increasing relevance in the modern world for two reasons.

Firstly, when people are questioning what we do with horses and our social acceptance, he sees the integral Pony Club emphasis on the care and welfare of horses and ponies of huge importance. Secondly, the Pony Club ethos of good sportsmanship and teamwork is increasingly valuable when parents are looking for sports that concentrate on participation, core values and friendship rather than just competition results.

Micklem emphasised that coaches have a wider responsibility in developing people – not just riders – with soft skills that are transferable and will help them throughout their lives; a key point being that it is vital to achieve happily, not achieve in order to be happy.

To back this up, he played his recent TEDx talk, The GO! Rules, which has gone viral with over half a million views. The GO! Rules are designed to give a practical and simple strategy for all performers, helping them to fulfil their potential throughout their lives, and have received huge praise

William explained his rules are about freedom and growth, not restrictions, and showed how to press the GO! button every day. As an example of this strategy in practice he told the story of Alisha Mullen, an ex Bray Pony Club member, who started in Pony Club Tetrathlon on a borrowed horse, before moving on to Modern Pentathlon and winning an Ad Astra scholarship at UCD. She then changed to Fencing and has become Ireland’s best female fencer.

At the heart of The GO! Rules is simplicity. William made it clear that too much of equestrian education is complicated and unhelpful, particularly when simplicity is a key component of working successfully with horses. “Who doesn’t like it when things are easier to learn and more memorable?” he asked. For example he champions a more simple aid system, “using the legs in the normal position, left leg, right leg or both legs, means go forwards, nothing else, and once the horse is ‘in gear’ thinking forwards, the priority is simply getting the right direction and the right speed.”

To make things more memorable, he also advises coaches to link things in three. For example for young riders, William uses the 3 Ups (Head Up, Heart Up and Heat Up); the 3 Musketeers (Calm, Forwards and Straight), and the 3 Ss for Fifth Leg Training (Slow, Still and Soft Hands).

William has a best-selling book, The Complete Horse Riding Manual, and the top-selling Micklem bridle to his name, but it is obvious by his enthusiasm for coaching that this remains his greatest passion.

Without doubt his audience went home more motivated and energised.