Ashleigh Tabor
Rider Confidence Coach & RTT Hypnotherapist
Understanding what holds us back can change where we go next.
I've spent much of my life fascinated by the gap between what we're capable of and what we allow ourselves to believe we're capable of.
My own path to this work began in the equestrian world. I was a competitive showjumper for many years, before life took me in a very different direction. Years later, when I returned seriously to riding, I discovered that experience and ability don't necessarily protect us from fear, self-doubt or a loss of confidence.
This led me to a much deeper interest in the mind: the beliefs we form, the patterns we repeat, the way past experiences can continue to influence the present and, importantly, our capacity to change.
Today, I combine my equestrian experience with my work as a certified hypnotherapist and Rapid Transformational Therapy practitioner to help people understand what's getting in their way and create meaningful change.
Finding my own way back
Riding has been part of my life for as long as I can remember.
In my teens and twenties, I showjumped competitively at 1.40m level. Then my father died, our family circumstances changed dramatically, my horses were sold and the life I had known shifted.
I moved to another country for a time, built a career in marketing and, eventually, found my way back to horses. Years later I was finally able to invest in two horses and began competing again. But this time something was different.
After two falls, confidence that had once seemed instinctive began to feel increasingly fragile. I was juggling a demanding career, responsibilities at home and within the equestrian community and bringing on two competition horses, and as the jumps became bigger, so did the mental battle.
What fascinated me was the contradiction.
I hadn't forgotten how to ride.
I could understand logically what I needed to do. I had experience. I had ability. And yet none of that automatically changed what was happening in my mind and body when fear took over.
That experience changed the direction of my life.
It led me to explore the subconscious mind, train in Rapid Transformational Therapy and hypnotherapy, and begin understanding why conscious knowledge alone doesn't always create change.
And somewhere along the way, the two parts of my life came together.
The rider taught me about performance, feel, courage and connection.
The practitioner taught me why knowing isn't always enough.
Today, both inform the way I work.
My Work
My work brings together two worlds that have shaped my life - understanding how the mind influences the way we feel and respond, and a lifetime spent understanding the extraordinary relationship between horse and rider.
Ride with Heart
A specialised approach for riders combining RTT hypnotherapy, equestrian experience and practical mental skills to build confidence, resilience, connection and self-trust.
RTT Hypnotherapy
Working with anxiety, confidence, limiting beliefs, fears and phobias, and the effects difficult past experiences may still be having on the present.
Subconscious Change
Understanding the beliefs, meanings and patterns influencing how you respond — then helping what happens underneath to align with where you consciously want to go
I don't believe meaningful change is about becoming fearless, endlessly positive or becoming a different version of yourself.
It's about understanding yourself better.
It's learning that an old response doesn't have to become a permanent one. That difficult experiences can shape us without having to define us. That confidence can be shaken without disappearing. And that we can learn to respond differently when life doesn't go according to plan.
In riding, I've come to value the quiet moments as much as the visible achievements - the moment a horse trusts you, tension gives way to softness, or something that once felt difficult suddenly becomes easy.
I think human change can be like that too.
Sometimes the most important shifts aren't dramatic from the outside.
You simply begin to feel more like yourself again.
Whether you're here for yourself or your riding, the first step is simply to talk.