Riding Out of Your Mind

April Clay is a Registered Psychologist with an independent practice located in Calgary, Alberta. She started out riding at age ten and was competing in the Open Jumper divisions by age sixteen. It was an early curiosity about the mental aspects of competition that enabled her to enjoy many successful years with her equestrian career. April eventually stopped competing in order to pursue a career in Sport Psychology. She now rides for fun and has been exploring her new sport, marathon running. Although she works with all kinds of athletes in her practice, April especially enjoys assisting equestrian athletes with their mental goals. Her approach has proven popular with various kinds of riders, from hunter/jumper to barrel racers, bareback riders and dressage. She offers both individual consultation and group services, and has been a featured speaker at such events as Equine Affaire, EqWest, and the Alberta Horse Owners and Breeders Conference. She is a qualified member of the Canadian Mental Training Registry (CMTR), the Sport Psychology Association of Alberta (SPA) and the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology (AAASP). April is a regular contributor to numerous publications both locally and abroad. Her articles on sport psychology for riders have appeared in Horses All, The Corinthian Horse Sport, Your Horse, Equus, Dressage Today, Performance Horse, Flying Changes, Horse News, New York Horse, The Eastern Equerry, and the Canadian Horse Journal.