I have never shown a horse but my uncles and grandpa has. My uncle first showed when he was 10, and he said as long as you practice you will be fine. I have riden in front of other people, at rodeos and stuff (not showing or competing) and I get kind of nervous having strangers watching me, half the time tellng me I'm am doing something wrong (which I wasn't its just the way things go here in Tennessee) so all I did was not look at anything around me, I looked straight in front of the horse or between the horses ears. It makes you a lot less nervous. When I first started out I had a problem with backing up, too, but part of that depends on the horse. But I have gotten used to backing up. I also have a problem with "staying on the wall" and I tend to go in tight circles instead of wide ones, try not to let the horse control you, make sure he/she listens to you. The best of luck to you! Let us know how it turns out!