Building Bravery Through Competence - An NF+ Masterclass Exclusive with Boyd Martin

If you've ever felt that tightness in your chest before walking into the arena, if you've questioned whether you really belong at the level you're aiming for, or if nerves have ever made you ride smaller, weaker or more hesitantly than you wanted to, this episode is for you. Today we're sharing a special excerpt from Olympic three day eventer Boyd Martin. One of the most consistent and tenacious riders in the sport, Boyd has competed at the highest levels for decades, representing the US on multiple Olympic teams and just finishing second at the 2025 Kentucky defender, Five Star with his incredible horse Komondo. And after landing three top 10 finishes at Kentucky, he's now claimed the world number one spot in the FEI eventing rankings for the first time in his career. This episode is pulled from his NF masterclass. Build Bravery Through Competence. In it, boy talks about what bravery really means. Not fearlessness, not reckless grit, but a quiet, steady confidence built from preparation, partnership and a deep trust in yourself and your horse. If you're working toward a big goal, struggling with doubt, or just need a reminder that you can do hard things, stick with this one. Boyd's story will give you the tools and perspective you need to get to that next level.

Hi, I'm Boyd Martin. I'm a three day eventer, originally from Australia. I live here in the United States. Been competing at the top level of sport for many, many years. Welcome to today's masterclass. A lot of it has to do with bravery, confidence and the idea of success with your horse. I think anyone that rides horses, competes horses, trains horses, understands there is an element of bravery. Your partner here is a horse that's a living, breathing animal that's got emotions, it's a little bit unpredictable. And you as a rider has got to have this feeling of bravery. When I say bravery, it might be at the competition, it might be in training, it might be stepping up to a new level. Bravery, to me is something that's inside of you. It's something that sort of spurs you on and makes you feel like you can do what you're trying to do. You know, growing up in Australia, all the kids that rode eventing in Australia were brave. You know, they were tough, they were rugged, they would fall off, they'd climb back on. And it was a real sort of camaraderie amongst all the riders. To me, looking back on it now, that kind of isn't really bravery. That's sort of this fearlessness or this sort of pretending to not care. And to me, bravery nowadays is more confidence. It's more this feeling that I'm capable of what I'm about to do because of the preparation, the hard work, the at home training that I've done with my horse and the partnership that I've built with my animal. And to me now, bravery is more confidence and understanding that what we're about to do, we can do it in this masterclass. Guys, I really want to sort of give you a couple ideas that can help you guys sort of get brave and confident. Some of the things that I've learned over the years of training horses, competing horses and being under the pressure of competition, you know, I'm an Olympic three day event rider, but I think some of the skills and tips that we're going to talk about in this master class can be used in any horse sport. I think it's very relatable to dressage riders, jumping people, polo, three day event, even if you go to pony club. I think bravery to me comes on so many different levels, be it bringing a young horse to its first competition or going to the Olympic Games. And I hope that everyone that's watching this masterclass can get something out of it for their own horse. You know, I'd spent my whole life dreaming about going to the Olympic games. And in 2012, after decades of failure, I finally got called up to my first Olympic team. And it was London 2012. It was awesome. It was everything I dreamed of. It was a great team. And my family came over to cheer me on from Australia. And it was just a really special moment, a special moment that I've been working so hard for for so many years. We got there and then they had to announce the team order draw. There was four of us in the team and the coach said, boyd, you're going first. I was like, first? And I thought, okay, at least I get to watch a few people go. Unluckily, for us, the team draw happened and Team USA went first out of all the teams, which meant that I was the very, very first rider out of the whole Olympic Games. And it was bloody terrifying, to be honest. Like, to think of how many thousands of hours I'd worked to get there and, you know, not to even have the ability to watch one horse go before me. And, you know, I really thought to myself, God, there's millions of people watching me. And then I realized that the dressage ring was the exact same size as it was at home. It was the exact same size that it was in Australia when I was a kid practicing for my first show. And I really Sort of thought to myself, you know what, I belong here. And it was a tough moment because you sort of have to block out all these emotions of, God, everyone's watching me, do I really belong here? And you know what if something goes wrong and really focus in at this special moment. And I think anyone taking on an important competition, you've really got a very small window of time to really execute and perform. And for me, in three day eventing, you got a dressage test which is seven minutes long, cross country course, 10 minutes and maybe the show jumping is two minutes. I think for me, fear in that moment wasn't necessarily of me fearing of falling off and getting injured. It was more fear of failing and fear of coming up short of, you know, promising myself and all my supporters and friends and owners that I can do this. And the team that, the selectors that picked me to be on this team, I really wanted to prove that they didn't make a mistake. And that was my biggest fear, is that in that, that window of time that I rode really well and that I executed and it was something that kept me up late at night and it was, you know, a real moment in time where I had to be brave and get the job done. So, guys, I wanted to discuss the elements of bravery. To me, they're sort of two different stratospheres and we've got to somehow come up with a system or of a way of meeting them. In the middle. Obviously, on the far left hand side is something that we all deal with. I deal with it's this sort of emotion of being scared and unsure and fearing of failing. And this is sort of all stuff that it's niggling away at you. It's sort of telling yourself that, hey, I don't really belong here and maybe I shouldn't have competed at this show. And God, this horse doesn't really feel right and it's sort of this feeling of tension and anxiety. And it's something that all athletes go through. And I've been in this sport for many, many years and I'm still battling with these emotions all the time in competition. To me, this is negative energy. This is sort of all these little voices or these emotions telling yourself why you shouldn't be doing this and why you shouldn't be here. And it can really sort of drive you crazy and also get you to a point where it really starts to screw up your performance. And there's no question in my mind if a horse can feel a fly on its skin, it can definitely feel A rider that sort of. That's letting all these emotions sort of tear them apart. And it's really hard to think that your horses going to feel brave and optimistic if the ride is tight and unsure about it all. Now, the other end of the spectrum is sort of what we all dream of, and maybe we even pretend to be this person. It's the person that's got grit and they're fearless and I'm determined and I'm going to be aggressive and I'm going to make this happen no matter what. And they're fired up. And to me, obviously, this sort of can help a little bit in one moment or another, but it's also very, very dangerous having a rider. And I've been this rider too, where I'm just sort of the deer in the headlights sort of riding and the horse is going, holy cow, what the hell is this guy doing? You know, that's dangerous too. You know, like it might get you over one or two jumps, but it's. You can't be thinking that speed and momentum and, and grit and determination is going to be the success or the basis of your success in the competition. And somehow we've got to sort of blend these worlds together. We've got to try and sort of block away this negative thought of being unsure. And then we've also got to really control this side of just, I'm going to make this happen no matter what. And then we've got to find this middle ground of reality and, and that reality is calmness. It's confident, it's competent, it's prepared, and it's optimistic. And to me, the best competitions I've ever had is I've had this feeling of fire and ice, where on the outside I'm very, very calm, I'm very focused. Inside, I'm fired up, but I'm controlling that emotion. And my horse can feel this in the sense that there is this, by God, I'm going to get the job done. But then there's also this sort of calmness and relaxation that I'm thinking clearly and we can get this done through the thousands of hours of practice. The calmness and confidence that I've built up in my training, my system, and that I'm overly prepared for what I'm about to take on. And to me, that's the perfect blend between you and your horse and you're ready to rock to get through this competition. So, guys, let's now take some of these ideas and take it to the training arena. For me, my confidence comes from my practice behavior, my security in my position, my balance, my method in my training. To me, this has all got to be imprinted into your day to day routine with your horse so when you get to the competition, you don't have to think it's already built into you subconsciously and you're ready to go.