Anyone who has ever seen Peder Fredricson walk a course knows that the Swedish top rider always carries a piece of paper on which he makes notes. Peder explained how he developed this habit: "Before I started show jumping, I was actually an event rider and my habit dates back to that era. In eventing there are a lot of details that you have to remember, such as which minute markers there are exactly. I made it easy for myself to write down these details so I wouldn't forget them, so when I got sponsored by H&M at some point and they wanted me to ride jumping and stop eventing. I switched but I never stopped using my 'cheat sheet'".

"I write down all my distances on that piece of paper. If, after walking the course, I no longer know exactly how many canters I had to ride in a particular line, I always have that note to fall back on. I don't have to waste energy on trying to remember the number of canter, I just look at the note so that I can use my full energy to warm up my horse, one or two combinations before I have to enter, I get off my horse to visualize the course. Usually I don't need my cheat sheet anymore, but if I have forgotten something, I don't have to ask another rider for help, which again saves some stress ".

"So I continued to use my cheat sheet because I was so keen to achieve good results. I knew that as a rider of H&M this was also expected. People might get the false idea that I am a very organized person while that is not the case at all. I use that note just because otherwise I am a bit chaotic (laughs) ".

Source: The Insider