Since childhood my passion was sports. I was fortunate to practice from field hockey, tennis, paddle tennis, wakeboarding, athletics, gymnastics and horse riding, the latter being my greatest passion to this day. I have been a show jumper for over 20 years, having represented Argentina, my native country and today Portugal, my current country of residence, in competitions. 

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My fascination with sports psychology began many years ago when I had spinal surgery. It was at that moment when I understood that in order to continue with my passion for sports I had to find a way to be able to deal with the pain and limitations that this would mean for the practice of horseback riding, and without this leaving me out of the game. Thanks to having worked on the psychological aspects that make high-performance sports, I was able to return more motivated, more focused on what I could control, more resilient and more competitive than ever. After 87 days, and against all medical prognosis, I started riding and, after 99 days I participated in my first post-surgical competition ACHIEVING 1st PLACE!! 

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No one better than me to understand how important it is to manage the different psychological variables, to be able to play the so called “mental game” and to reach peak performance. No one better than me can understand what a mental block is, the pre-competitive or competitive stress or anxiety, train and feel the frustration that things did not go the way I wanted, fall into demotivation due to results despite the efforts I made, loose concentration in the middle of a round and pay the high price of a knocked down fence, or simply forget the course, come to the club to compete and feel sleepy and then think of taking a nap (that was clearly my mind in "FLIGHT mode") or even tachycardia (my mind in "FIGHT mode") we will get into that later, lose focus either because the coach was yelling or even giving me technical instructions, people watching the show, maybe a dog barking or the music from the loudspeakers threw me out of the “zone”. Or even boycott myself by thinking that I was not good enough or that I did not deserve and believe it or not, the Olympic rider for USA McLain Ward has gone through the same thing when he lost 4 World Cup finals having everything in favor and it was then when he started to work with a SportsPsychologist). Any of these sounds familiar? Throughout my long sports career I have experienced all possible emotions. My self demand and curiosity about how to maximize my sports performance led me to the study of High Performance Sports Psychology and Athlete Development.  

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I have a Master's Degree in Executive-Sports Coaching & High Performance Sports Psychology from the Unisport Management School of Barcelona, (Spain), a Certificate in Sports Psychology in Athletes Development from the University of Barcelona Football Club (Barça Hub) in Spain. In addition, I’m a certified "Life Coach". I'm currently finishing a Certification in High Performance Sports Psychology at Barcelona Football Club (Barça Hub).

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I specialize in equestrian sports offering individual training sessions (online or in-person) tailor made to each rider or coach worldwide , group workshops, and outdoor training days in sports institutions. Mental performance techniques build confidence, foster consistency in performance, and help riders achieve their goals. The program provided here is designed to strengthen the mental skills used in practice, lessons and competition.Peak Performance Techniques that riders may already know and use are strengthened, and new skills are taught to assist the rider in achieving their true potential.   

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For more information, do not hesitate to contact me through the form or by e-mail: sabrina.the.coach@gmail.com 

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THINK - FEEL - ACT