We are currently accepting new clients for In person and Virtual Therapy with immediate availability.
We are currently welcoming new clients for assessment services, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) assessments. Connect with our team today!
The Mental Game Isn't Separate From the Sport. It's Part Of It.
Support for Riders Who Want to Perform with Confidence
Riding is as much a mental sport as a physical one. Whether you're dealing with nerves before you enter the ring, fear that's lingered since a fall, a dip in confidence over fences, or the pressure of competing, our team offers grounded, evidence-based support to help you get back to riding with clarity and confidence. We combine tools from sport psychology, psychotherapy, and performance coaching, informed by an understanding of what it actually feels like to compete on horseback.
This is the one thing that makes riding unlike any other sport: your performance depends on the nervous system of another living being. Horses register tension before you're even consciously aware you're holding it — in your seat, your hands, your breath. Which means the anxious loop so many riders get stuck in isn't just in your head. It's in the saddle with you, in real time, changing how your horse moves under you. You can't think your way out of that. You have to work with it directly.
THE HORSE-RIDER CONNECTION
Your Horse Is Reading You Before You Even Pick Up the Reins
What can it help with?
Fear after a fall
Falls and scary moments can leave a lasting hesitation in the saddle. We help riders process what happened, rebuild trust in themselves and their horse, and return to riding at a pace that feels manageable.
Grief and loss
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Life transitions and
adjustment challenges
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Show Nerves & Competition Anxiety
Practical strategies for managing pre-show nerves, warm-up ring anxiety, and the pressure of competing — so nerves stop running the show.
Attachment
and trust issues
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Relationship and
communication challenges
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Depression and
low mood
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School-related challenges
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Building healthy boundaries
and assertiveness
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Trauma and PTSD
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Low self-esteem
and confidence
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Low self-esteem
and confidence
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What we Help Riders With
The Real Reasons Riders Reach Out
Fear After a Fall or Injury
Fear, hypervigilance, or hesitation that followed a specific fall, spook, or accident — physically healed but still showing up in the saddle.
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Burnout
Exhaustion, dread, or a loss of joy in something that used to feel like yours
Competition & Show Anxiety
Anxiety tied specifically to competing — nerves before the course walk, dread in the warm-up ring, pressure that builds as your class gets closer.
Identity & Life Transitions
Who you are when riding changes — moving down a level, stepping back from competition, or making space for other parts of your life.
Perfectionism & Self-Criticism
A harsh inner voice that turns every ride into proof of whether you're good enough — not fear of the horse, fear of yourself.
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Rebuilding Trust With Your Horse
When something went wrong between you and a specific horse, and the fear or hesitation hasn't resolved on its own.
Grief After Losing a Horse
Grief after death, retirement, or a sale — a real loss that can be hard to explain to people outside the sport
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Low self-esteem
and confidence
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Meet our Therapists
Lauren knows the specific weight of competition pressure, the particular kind of fear that follows a hard fall, and the expectations that pile on from trainers, parents, or yourself. She built this offering because she watched riders get incredible physical coaching and almost no support for the part of the sport that's arguably the hardest: what's going on between their ears.
Lauren Daurio
In-person sessions run out of Twisted Equine. Virtual sessions run across Ontario. Some riders want to talk this through right where it happens — others want the distance of a screen and their own couch. Either works.
PARTNER LOCATIONS
At the Barn, or Wherever You Are
Our Caledon Partner
Twisted Equine
Twisted Equine is a full-care equestrian facility set in the rolling hills of Caledon East, Ontario. The farm offers both indoor and outdoor riding spaces, alongside training board, leasing, lessons, and rehabilitation programs — all built around one standard: exceptional care for every horse, at every stage. Twisted Equine is also home to a competition team that shows on the Silver and Gold circuits in hunter/jumper, as well as the eventing circuit across Ontario and Florida.
It's a working, high-performance barn — not a retreat — which means the environment reflects exactly what riders face in their sport: real training spaces, real horses in active work, and a culture built around excellence.
