ENGLISH TEXTS
JEAN-PASCAL CABRERA
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By Serge Okey
“ A DETAIL IS NOT JUST A DETAIL”
Mental preparation expert with the French Equestrian Federation, mental coach of Vendée Globe winner Charlie Dalin, sophrologist, therapist, and trainer, Jean-Pascal Cabrera is a leading figure in the field of emotional management in the pursuit of performance. And jockeys, he knows them well.
Galorama. You work with many top-level athletes. What does the jockey’ s profession inspire in you?
Jean-Pascal Cabrera. If we start from the fact that a NH jockey falls on average once every twelve races, then it’ s clearly a high-risk profession. And the more trauma you experience, the more exposed you are to a decline in morale. When I see kids coming out so young from riding schools, they’ re immediately thrown into the real world. The cultural legacy of racing means they’ re toughened up early. It’ s a discipline with ancestral codes, still quite patriarchal, where only the strongest endure.
G. Do they have a lot on their minds?
J-P. C. Speaking without being judged does them good. They confide their emotions to me, sometimes their anger toward a trainer or an owner, things they force themselves to keep inside for fear of losing their place. Often, there’ s a lingering fracture. And it only takes a problem with a finger or a collarbone to throw everything off. But instead of getting treated, they grit their teeth. Women face an additional handicap: they’ re expected to behave like men. Admitting you’ re on your period is out of the question. My role is to help jockeys find a path, to express emotions positively. In the case of disagreements, or dysfunction in training for example, to find a solution without pointing fingers.
G. Is finding a remedy to the“ dictatorship of emotions” your main battle?
J-P. C. The great challenge is learning to express oneself. We only repeat what we’ ve been taught. If you’ ve been raised never to complain, you don’ t make a sound. That’ s why it’ s essential to be able to confide in a partner, in someone close, to feel supported. Especially now, with social media, sources of stress, even insults, come from everywhere. Spending your life on it is hell. Watching everything that’ s said can quickly make you addicted. The danger is being devoured by it. Just one remark is enough to darken the mind and ruin a training session. That applies to jockeys, as it does to any athlete. Identifying a recurring thought, that’ s part of a whole hygiene of life.
G. What are the solutions?
J-P. C. We’ re not in a garage. There’ s no miracle fix. The human soul is craftsmanship. Some are more receptive to hypnosis, others to sophrology, to cognitive psychology... The principle is to identify the needs, the personality of each athlete, the tools that will help, in order to bring a fresh perspective on oneself. With jockeys, I’ m often working in a curative mode, since they usually come to see me when they’ re not doing well. With riders from the French Equestrian Federation or with Charlie Dalin before his Vendée Globe, it’ s more about coaching: working to optimize, focusing on every detail to be the best. A detail is not just a detail. It’ s what makes the difference between a high-level athlete and a very high-level athlete. In equestrian sports, young riders have understood this well. At the top level, 80 % of them work with a mental coach.
G. What advice would you give jockeys facing a major event like the Qatar Prix de l’ Arc de Triomphe on Sunday?
J-P. C. Above all, don’ t imagine yourself lifting the trophy or holding a big check. That kind of anticipation is the worst poison. The definition of sport is“ here and now.” Not yesterday, not tomorrow, both are sources of
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