Interesting US International Show Jumper Breeding Statistics continued (the WHY???)
PART 2
As I’ve said before, I’m sure someone could spend a great deal of time attempting to determine exactly why the US is virtually non-existent in the production of top show jumpers while often at the top of the standings in the international competitions. After taking the time to firmly think about it I’ve realized there is one simple answer … it’s the difference between actual top horsemanship and the illusion of US horsemanship within the sport … a concept we have happily (almost blindly) embraced.
While often letting go of our ego fed constructs helping us to feel good is difficult, to really evolve past current limitations to the next level as a whole you need answers and solutions that work. In the realm of horses, that always eventually requires a hard facing of the truth.
I. The Illusion of Top Horsemanship
First and foremost, when a rider can personally or through clients afford to buy new horse after new horse year after year, bred and produced by someone else, their level of horsemanship can’t fairly be judged by the amount of trophies they’ve won. From my perspective, they are literally buying a high end carnival ride ticket to the top, and moving on to the next ride when the current one loses its allure (usually losing its potential for competitiveness and keeping that rider in the limelight).
When you have been riding horses since you could walk and have spent half your life in the show ring, riding and competing well is instinctual and second nature. Many of these riders couldn’t explain to you what they were doing if they tried. Horsemanship is knowledge … of the horse … and what it takes to connect and evolve in a partnership forward with it.
It is the long struggle, from the beginning to the end, that forces you to figure out what you as a horseman are doing both wrong and right. When success is handed to you on a silver platter, standing on the shoulders of a village of support and resources (in the form of breeders, trainers, vets, farriers, grooms, and whoever it is that is writing your checks for you because we all start off spending money in this sport), you can be predisposed to gaining a false sense of accomplishment as a horseman.
I’ve ridden in big classes with top riders for quite a while (on and off) now. I’ve intimately seen enough of the world to know while some of it is very neat, there are some aspects I find distasteful. I’ve seen top FEI ranked riders win a grueling class on a horse that’s been winning Grand Prixs for years for that person, get off, hand the horse to the groom (not even give their partner so much as a pat or a carrot), and leave (no doubt hopping on a plane to get to the next show).
ANYTIME a horse has tried to march well around a 1.40m or better class for me, successful or not, I am thrilled and deeply appreciative, and they and anyone else near KNOWS it. It is an incredibly long, difficult level of training and requires tremendous heart for these animals to do this for us. They don't do it for a big NFL check or a large crowd and all the glory and glamour that comes with success; but simply because we ask them to. Grand Prix horses literally risk their well being and give it everything, so we can have this profound experience and connection with them.
I doubt there are many 10 year (and older) Grand Prix horses on the planet that would pass an unforgiving vet check. No matter how careful we are, these horses are all feeling the aches and pains that any long term top athlete or performing artist regularly pushed to its limits will feel, and they are simply doing it for us.
When it comes to US riders chasing points (whether its the US Rolex rankings or the FEI rankings) the feel from my perspective is borderline maniacal. They’ll ride a horse in Lexington in a big Grand Prix on Friday and have that same horse in some other state marching around a tough Grand Prix two days later on Sunday. Those horse shows clear out so fast, and some riders are on such an intense mission to collect point in whatever way they can … more horses … more horse shows … on and on. I’ve personally never had the backing to even attempt to ride for points, but if I did, I guarantee it wouldn’t change how I feel about, train, and manage my horses (including showing).
II. The Reality of Horsemanship
So you get the point guys. As far as I’m concerned out of control human ego and horsemanship are diametrically opposed. And while being at the big shows and winning is great (especially when you worked your butt off and beat all the odds to do it) I’ve learned the hard way that some of the people who have won the most are those you don’t want anywhere near your horse if you actually like it.
The primarily same small group of riders winning international competitions for decades for this country has very little to do with our overall horsemanship (in terms of show jumping) as a nation … hence the pretty feel good illusion.
From my perspective the horsemanship of the US jumper world in particular is severely lacking. While there are certainly some good horseman doing amazing work, the general tone of the majority from the ground up has some large holes scattered though out.
The biggest problem is folks watching the top riders and trainers, and trying to emulate them without understanding what it took for them to be where they are. The subject can be quite confusing, because at the top you have a mix of some good work happening, and in the exact same ring less than impressive horsemanship. To make things more confusing sometimes those demonstrating poor horsemanship have temporarily gelled with the right horse (or one of a pile of horses they are riding in that class) and are winning.
1) Position and the Developing of Riders and Horses
When I was 19 years old I took the Spring semester off from college and took a job through the fall at a nice professional hunter jumper farm in New Hampshire. They had about 70 horses, a good (if not slightly disenchanted) European breeder and trainer, and around 10 fairly classically trained hunter-jumper riders.
The trainer (I remember his name was Git) quickly asserted that I was not your average US rider and had skills he could put to good use. He set me to the task of starting five young warmbloods they had yet to succeed backing. One horse would bolt when you put your foot in the stirrup, one started bucking after one trip around, one was a run away in the open, etc. They were slight problem children, but compared to the quick, sensitive, racehorse bred cold backed thoroughbreds I was often dealing with, they were fairly un intimidating. And, for whatever reason they were some of the most drop dead gorgeous horses on the farm, all beautifully bred, so I was happy to comply.
Git was savvy enough to just leave me alone, and within a month or two of quietly working in the round pen with my sack full of treats, all five horses were going beautifully in the outdoor. Within another month or so they were jumping little courses, the other older riders became jealous and I’d say were looking forward to my return to college.
About a month after I started, a 16 or 17 year old ‘rock star’ young rider showed up (everyone seemed to be in awe of), and I began to understand part of the reason I was able to start these horses the rest of the crew hadn’t been able or willing to take on. This young rider always rode with her stirrups about 4 holes shorter than I would for daily flatting, and unless she was walking, her reins were as short as possible and she was leaning forward jockey style in two point. All the time. I remember thinking she needs to stay away from these greenies, because if anything goes wrong (which is almost always bound to happen the first year or two on a sensitive, powerful horse) she is going to just topple off. And as memory serves topple off she did … more than once.
The short stirrup, short rein, two point position has become such a point of pride in this country, that we seem to have forgotten it is just one tool in what needs to be our diverse toolbox. It would be tough to build a good house from the ground up if all you owned was a hammer.
Yes, it can be a difficult position to maintain and is one you need to practice to master. And yes, you often see top riders (more and more as the years pass it seems) galloping around big courses in this position and riding clean and winning. It’s an excellent position for staying out of the horse’s way and freeing its back so it can gallop and jump; while the short rein offers control, and encourages the horse to keep its weight off its forehand and recover quickly from a jump, being ready to negotiate the next one.
That being said, it is also a defenseless position if anything goes wrong. When your weight is forward almost leading the horse’s motion, if that movement stops or balks, you are in trouble. The shorter the stirrup, the harder it is to wrap your leg around the horse, and the seat and the use of your upper body’s weight is as important (if not more) as your leg and hand to a strong effective ride that drives from behind and is connected through the topline.
I’ve noticed a common tactic to aide with this defenseless position is to kick your lower leg out in front of you, riding with the lower part of your body in a chair position. And while this is an effective method of bracing yourself against a hard landing or the forward motion not going where you hope, it’s extremely hard on your balance. There is a reason in horsemanship 101 we teach a straight line perpendicular to the ground from your shoulder to your hip to your heel. Because if you don’t maintain this line, you are unbalanced on the horse (the same way you would be if you were trying to lean while standing), and when you are unbalanced you have to compensate by gripping with something.
In this country in almost epidemic proportions we are gripping with our knees (as a result of I believe trying to imitate the top riders too soon). Gripping with any joint along the leg (toes, ankles, knees or hips) is going to lock your leg and then your body upward. Your leg needs to act as a well grounded spring, and this can’t happen if you are gripping with your knee like a first time rider on a bareback horse clinging to hang on and simply squeezing themselves off. To make things worse, your knee then acts as a vice grip on the horses back, and guess what it does nine times out of ten? It causes the horse to drop its back the thus become hollow. This is the opposite of the round, telescoped topline and engaged hind end we are after which allows for athletic ability.
I’m finding beginner student after student, started by someone else, riding with their stirrups at least 3-4 holes above their ankles. The classic position of the stirrup for flat riding is just beneath the ankle, or at the highest, at the ankle. I’m not sure if the USHJA certified trainer program is teaching this or where it’s coming from, but if they are the program needs to be revamped because it is simply wrong.
A stirrup this short is for jumping around tall courses (or riding racehorses), and that’s it. Danny, my mentor, use to joke that if you cut the reins off while a racehorse was galloping most jockeys would roll off the back. While amusing, this is not the connection through the hand we are working to teach.
A truly educated horseman and rider (someone that wants to be able start tough babies, negotiate lateral movements to eventually teach a horse to truly engage its hind end, and ride Grand Prix) needs to have a stirrup length that is adjustable by about 6 inches. I’m not talking about lengthening your leg when you ride without stirrups, because actually learning to ride with a long stirrup is a completely different feel.
Beginners need to start with a comfortable position (length of stirrup) so they can find their balance and not cling with tight joints when they ride. Gripping is counter-productive to motion. A short stirrup is something that comes with time as the balance is found and the muscles are developed, if the trainer knows what they are doing.
When starting or riding a green horse, your upper body needs to be as close to the vertical as possible, and your seat in a position in which it can easily connect to the saddle (or quickly be light if the horse is tight through the back and offended). I’ve given top riders, who could march around a Grand Prix course on a strange horse, lunge lessons because they were afraid to get bucked off of a young cold back. The first thing I did was drop their stirrups four holes, followed by teaching them how to sit up and use their seat to gradually train the horse to accept this hopefully comfortable and reassuring natural aide.
I’ve seen trainer after trainer on beautiful young horse after horse, riding predominantly in a two point position with a short rein. And while I use to, I no longer wonder where that nice young horse went, because I already know what went wrong. The extreme two point position is a disaster for developing horses. Unless a horse is fully properly physically trained and mature, and the rider has a strong feel for engaged and round, a two point position will hollow the back as you attempt to the put the horse on its hind end almost every time, even when they are in a frame and appear to be round.
A young or green horse starts off long across the body and heavy on the forehand. They are gradually with time shortened and their weight shifted back. It takes muscle and development, particularly through a maintained connected topline to accomplish this. You need your weight and your seat to help the horse find and accomplish this development. And you especially need a versatile rein length (like a foot of leeway) so the horse can be allowed to be long as they mature.
I recently worked with a rider and young horse that were both extremely talented but the mare was (until I got my hands on her) bucking continuously and generally miserable with a rider on her back. This rider was attempting to, in my opinion, emulate too soon what is commonly seen at the shows among top riders. I call it the western pleasure warm up canter. I’ll often see these huge warmbloods, cantering in an extremely slow, 4 beat gait, and the rider sitting there barely moving (practically smoking a cigarette and having a drink), forcing the horse to hold it for an extended length of time.
I’m not sure what the point of this particular type of ride is, but a correct, collected true canter is a three beat gate. And since a jump is simply an extension of a canter stride, I recommend making sure your horse doesn’t develop too much of a physical habit of cantering incorrectly.
I know this is a very comfortable ride for the person sitting on top but it takes a lot of discipline on the part of horse to maintain this. Maybe that’s the idea, but it strikes me long term as unfair. A true collected canter requires 100% the work and focus of both the horse and the rider. If you want the horse to do all the work while you sit there in a chair position in my opinion you are seriously in the wrong sport, and should maybe take up professional trail riding. Your horse can be trained to be broke, disciplines and relaxed, and you can just hang out.
A truly collected canter takes 2-3 years of consistent training to accomplish, according to most classic dressage trainers. Even a big, sensitive, scary mare needs to be given the time and room to canter on an open step as long as possible until she is ready to collect. Or she is going to be in physical pain, and react accordingly.
This is where a full seat, upright body and longer rein are very useful. The connection through the seat gives you and the horse confidence, your weight back (not forward) encourages them to move off the forehand, and the longer rein allows them to be long across the topline until they are ready for more advanced work.
If you really want to develop horses for the jumper ring, and just can’t wrap your mind around the idea of getting out of two point, find someone else to start it and make sure it’s somewhat safe, and stick with the hunter ring for a few years. I’m not saying this to be derogatory towards the hunters. It’s a good alternative, allowing a horse to be long and low and on an open stride and to slowly over time move their balance backwards and collect. You can spend a lot of time in two point while building confidence, and still eventually get the job done.
Finally, my favorite misconception that I recently heard; 'the same person that starts and develops the horse is usually not the best person to show the horse.' Now isn’t that just the ultimate thumbs up to buying your winning competition rounds?
I recently watched a European team handily win a Nations Cup somewhere across the Atlantic. For the first time in a while, I watched every rider negotiate the course in a full seat with an upright position most of the time. It wasn’t a heavy driving full seat with a long rein, as was common to see 30 years ago in the international ring, but a fluid, controlled connection with a medium length rein. At the jump each rider smoothly came out of the tack unfolding into a light, giving two point while in the air, and then softly and quickly folded back into a full seat upon landing.
The strength of the connection (more forward and light or more back and heavy) was a little different for each partnership, and I was astounded at how consistent and beautiful the rides were. The horse’s hind ends and backs were supported by the rider’s seat, yet not hindered. If anything went wrong, the rider was right there to drive and push as needed for confidence or to stay on, yet could easily pop out of the tack to free the horse to move. So I’m sorry guys … it’s a nice try to justify our current predominant method of doing things … but the more tools you have in your toolbox the more capable the carpenter you are.
The biggest thing I find missing in even advanced riders in the jumper world in the US is feel. You need to know what it feels like when your horse is truly round and engaged and comfortably able to maintain it for extended periods of time … and what it feels like when they are not. Then you need to understand the steps required to with time develop and find and keep that feel as things become more challenging.
It’s hard to help a student when they don’t have a clue what you are talking about (and just assume you are wrong because that’s not what the winning riders look like or what some of the top coaches say) … and can’t see or feel it even when your bending over backwards to make it obvious. Jumps help, because it is a clear expression of how the horse is going, but unless the jumps get quite big, a talented or well developed horse (especially one that hasn’t been ruined yet) can jump well even when things are going wrong.
Which brings me to my next point; draw reins. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen a top rider cantering around the ring in draw reins and talking to a client, completely distracted from what they are doing. I’m not saying draw reins aren’t a useful tool in the right hands with a certain type of horse, but this habit we have of throwing them on everything is in my opinion lazy and dangerous.
To actually understand what is happening underneath you, you need to discover what the horse is leaning towards naturally. I’ve seen draw reins in the wrong hands destroy a horse, both on the flat and over a fence. Because this tool can be so strong, it can act as a substitute for learning to feel where the horse is, and make adjustments that work so you can maintain collection, extension, evenness and discipline without it. It's the difference between taking the time to be in the moment to feel, ask and then allow (which in advanced training can take years); or wanting and demanding. The first method works on sensitive young horses, the second method usually doesn't.
While demanding is an attitude that may work on an equine that's mature and needs a tune up or a wake up, the horse can only be as alert and aware as you are. If you are so focused on what you want that you are imposing your will by insisting on an outcome, first it's harder to focus on the moment (to be alert and aware), and second you are not understanding what a horse is. Horses confidently follow the strong, providing leader, and wane and run away from the overly demanding and aggressive leader. Since we need a show jumper to find the difficult balance of confident yet following (jumping when asked), alert but not fearful; demanding rather than asking can be a dangerous attitude to maintain for more than a second or two here and there. And while a light draw rein may be simply containing squirrelly sensitivity or helping to encourage steady focus (which a mature developed horse should already have), a strong draw rein is 100% demanding all of the time.
That's why this overuse of draw reins by top riders on advanced horses is disturbing and is, in my opinion, yet another sign of the times. Those that are riding the horses aren’t those that developed them. Not because it is beneath them … but because it is beyond them. So the draw reins are hoped to help maintain what has already been achieved by a stronger horseman (and will definitely eventually be lost if not re-introduced every once in a while) for a little longer. It's a sign of the microwave style of training this industry has embraced, as is the fewer and fewer beautifully managed top teenage Grand Prix horses. We are now seeing a new 9 and 10 year old show up on the scene each season for an occasionally brilliant, but often far too short career.
2) Management of Horses
I’ve talked extensively in the past on my opinion that even very expensive, valuable horses should live as natural a lifestyle as possible (turn out, safe social interaction when possible, etc). And I do tend to agree that most folks in the US try to keep their horses as well cared for and happy as possible. But there a few areas we could definitely use some work in that are glaring signs of poor horsemanship.
When I was 13 years old I quickly learned that chasing a horse was considered idiotic by a real horseman. At some point Danny found me chasing a horse around the ring and had an absolute meltdown. In his mind, and I’ve come to learn he was 100% right, the horse knows it’s body better than we do and will naturally play and push itself to limits it can safely handle. But they are creatures of flight, it doesn’t take much to wind them up, and when we get in there and start stirring things up to help the horse blow off steam without control and intelligence, it’s a recipe for disaster.
There is a huge difference between lunging a horse and chasing a horse on the lunge line. Repeated small circles are hard on a horse’s body. And while sometimes they will buck and rear and play on their own, or want to be to so lazy they are receiving virtually no benefit from a lunge work out, to really help a horse on the lunge line you need to know what you are doing. The same way we are looking to achieve controlled energy under saddle, it is the useful and safe desire when lunging.
I’ve seen Grand Prix riders chasing nice horses around a ring right before a big class while I’m waiting to carefully lunge and stretch mine (and one time watched this same horse nearly go down an hour later in that class). I’ve seen God knows how many grooms chasing a horse to exhaustion on a lunge line at the shows.
Training and horsemanship are about containing that good energy, not wastefully expelling it and potentially hurting the horse (or rider) if it goes down. I understand if you’re dealing with green riders and need to take the edge off a horse to keep them safe, but the horse will burn energy on its own if it needs to. You don’t need to chase it, and frankly I’ve got to agree with Danny; you’re miles away from the concept of what high level horsemanship is all about if you do.
Which brings me to my next point regarding controlling horses. The amount of drug use (and I’m not talking about pain relief or hormonal balancing) in the country on the A show circuit is truly astounding. If I’ve had a horse in training for years, I guarantee I know what that horse looks like ‘clean’ or 'on' something. I don’t use drugs to train or maintain horses; so regardless of what the trainer is putting out there; the difference is painfully obvious to me.
Now I’m not 100% opposed, because like one of my vets use to say, drugs keep the doctor safe. And we do want everyone safe. I may occasionally use an oral supplement if it’s that horses first time on the trailer or off the farm, but their temperament is what it is, and you need to train and fit the rider accordingly and honestly.
Part of the problem is definitely this concept that horses need to be robotically disciplined at every show. Stewards in particular need to understand that green, hot blooded, sensitive horses act up sometimes. If they aren’t drugged down they may scream, spook, explode, run away and do all sorts of naughty things until they’ve accepted this is their job they’ve been working towards and all is going to be well.
A ten year old who has made the trip overseas is much less likely to react at a show. But if folks are having a meltdown because even an older experienced horse will have a bad day, or may always be on fire but jumps beautifully, trainers can be somewhat pressured to resort to drugs.
By the way, random creative drug use does not pre dispose a nice mare to catching, carrying and nursing a healthy foal. So while you may be winning that hunter class or taking the edge off your sensitive show jumping mare just a bit, you are also greatly minimizing her chances of ever successfully reproducing.
To me this extreme overkill is the ultimate sign of misunderstanding what a top equine athlete is (a giant ball energy being prepared to explode over multiple obstacles) and the process required to discipline and control that energy publically and in strange locations with crowds. It is also a sign of a lack of horsemanship, because 9 times out of 10 you can train a good horse past tension (and actually use the energy as a tool for creating more discipline) and teach most talented riders to humanely deal with it.
3) Horse Shoeing
The final element definitely stopping the production of jumpers in this country is trimming. Now, I am not a professional farrier. On average I shoe and trim about 15 horses (mine and maybe a clients or a random outside horse for someone willing to pay my prices as I find it to be a very physically unforgiving job). But Danny, my mentor, as well as a licensed thoroughbred race horse trainer, was a professional horse shoer and began my thorough education on the subject at the age of 13. I’ve been trimming for over 25 years now, and since 2000 (and an apprenticeship on my own horses with Jerry Hey, a pro shoer in California at that time) I’ve shod all my competition horses or horses in long term training and every foal born on this farm. I also have a habit of finding top shoers at horse shows and seeking their opinion and advice on my horse’s feet. So I have seen and experienced a lot, and received quite a bit of detailed instruction.
While I find most of the shoeing to be decent (most horse feet are appropriately protected without a significant amount of overhang) it’s the basics of trimming that have really caused me some concern. And yes, it’s true, as one farrier once told me, a horse will compensate and you can get away with more than some think. But, that idea disappears when a horse is competing near its physical limitations. Especially if that horse doesn’t have the ideal size or shape of foot, or if the tissue making up the wall isn’t as strong or as thick as we would like it to be. Supplements do help, but nothing substitutes for a solid, consistent trim and shoeing job.
Here are the basics every farrier and trainer or rider-manager of a competition horse should be away of. The anterior-posterior balance of the horse (i.e. the angles of the feet) need to match the angle of the pastern as closely as possible. The hind feet should generally be a degree or two higher than the front feet. The front and hind feet should be an even length, while the hind feet should never be longer than the front feet, but can be a tiny bit shorter.
Sometimes a horse’s conformation will affect the angles that best suit their feet (for example a sickle hocked horse does better with a little lower heel in the back) but you will need to adjust all the angles on the horses feet to match accordingly.
Improper medial-lateral balance will cause a horse’s hoof to become irregularly shaped with time. On sensitive horses competing at a high level it will cause that horse to go lame (pull a tendon or a muscle or stress a joint). Even horses properly balanced at the beginning of a shoeing by the end of the shoeing may have grown enough out of balance to be in danger if they are under physical stress.
Medial-lateral balance is the equivalent of wearing a platform shoe with a heel horizontal to the ground. If you pick up the foot and sight a line from bottom of the heel to heel and a line down the cannon bone (with the leg hanging free) you should find a 90 degree perpendicular angel.
If this balance is wrong, it would be the equivalent of us wearing a platform shoe with the heel off balance (one side higher or lower than the other). I have received animals from other states perfectly shod, his feet perfectly A-P angled, yet every foot’s medial-lateral balance off in vary capacities and directions.
So imagine if you had four legs, and four platform shoes with heels all differently angled. It would make life a little tough … especially if you were running marathons or jumping hurdles while carrying someone on your back. I wouldn’t even consider jumping this horse higher than 3’ until that balance was 90% fixed, because I knew he would (not might) go lame.
I’ve seen horses at shows with their hind feet so under slung (i.e. a lower hind heel than the front feet) that it made me wince. Now I don’t know if this was intentional, as there are theories that a low heel will give the horse physically a little more scope. But, I’d hate to even imagine the long term damage this was inflicting on the horse’s hocks and stifles, absorbing that extra strain while jumping. (I actually believe a higher angle in the hind feet increases power without stressing the joints, but remember when tweaking hoof angels, similarly to juicing up an engine, there is always a breaking point).
Yes, there are some top horses walking around with beautifully managed feet, no doubt. But because the average shoeing many are receiving is so inconsistent, I strongly suggest trainers and riders educate themselves to the basics. Buy a tape measure, a tool to measure angles and a t-iron to measure medial-lateral balance. Eventually you can develop an eye and catch most blatant discrepancies, but until that happens, get to know your animal’s feet and hold your farriers accountable.
I know there are a lot of professional horse shoers out there that will not be happy I’ve said this, as it is an incredibly difficult job (and you should love and appreciate your good farrier). But if the national shoeing was better and more consistent, I wouldn’t have had to learn to shoe my own horses to have any hope of success.
4) Trainers and Registries Promoting Questionable Stallions
No horse is perfect. That being said, as I’ve said before, there are weaknesses we can live with (and still produce top show jumpers) and weaknesses we can not live with. If a problem is environmental it will not be passed on genetically. That young horse will have an opportunity for a fresh start if they are properly managed.
Whats surprising and a statement on our horsemanship as a country is the number of ‘top’ trainers promoting stallions that have serious conformational defects or soundness issues, and registries seeming to happily approve them.
For a show jumper, the horse can be long and flat through the topline (thoroughbred type) or shorter and built more uphill. While I’ve had riders tell me they are specifically looking for a horse with a short high neck (so they can easily crank them up with a short rein no doubt), length that can readily be balanced and collected equals scope. A long spring squished together is going to jump further when released than a short spring squished together.
Mild sickle hocks are acceptable … work is a little harder on the hocks but shoe accordingly and that horse will have tremendous scope (imagine a rubber ball cut in half, the right side of that ball is the horses hind end, now make that line longer and pull it away from the center and that ball when pushed from behind is going to bounce further).
Post or straight legged is not acceptable in the hind end … the limb does not absorb enough shock and creates too much stress on the entire body.
Watch a horse move and look for clean fluid movement. If the hocks are wobbling noticeably there is a weakness and or a problem there. Hock and stifle issues are very non conducive to successful show jumpers.
If the horsemanship in the entire country is lacking and you want to produce a top horse, you are going to have to dig a little deeper than the status quo and my trainer/top rider or breed registry told me so.
5) Hidden Politics and the Brutalizing of Students
I’ve obviously spoken a lot about politics in this industry. For some reason, the politics of a horseman producing top show jumpers in this country seems to be as intense as riding Grand Prix. While the industry acts as if buying our stock from other countries isn’t a big deal (much the way affluent women buy dresses from top designers in Paris, its popular to shop for horses overseas) in reality as a breeder and rider I've been noticing something quite different.
In 2012 I trained and rode Fatima by Cradilo (now Fatima Ace), a mare I bred, to 3rd in the Midwest Young Jumper 5 year old Championship Finals (leading in the 1st two rounds of the competition until the final round). In 2013 Richard Rinehart rode Chanel, another mare I bred, to winning the same 5 year old championship. The following year Richard qualified Chanel again for the 6 year old finals. As I was watching that competition from Wisconsin I noticed one known Grand Prix rider with three 6 year olds in the class all identically US bred (via embryo transfer of course), Nicole Shahinian-Simpson.
It was a surprise, because I had never before seen one rider with three horses, especially an established rider (as they tend to focus more on the older horses), and definitely not all bred in the US (also then a rarity in this division). I watched as this rider carefully lured Richard and Chanel into a position of feeling as if he was really going to need to push on this normally ridiculously faster mare to win.
While Richard ended up beating the fastest time by four seconds, Chanel slipped going around a corner at this lightning pace, had a rail and came up second in the 6 year old championship. I later joked with Richard that I wished he had slowed down and left all the jumps up, as two years of winning in a row certainly would have been rare, and he definitely agreed it was a painful loss for us and the mare should’ve won the class.
I never did quite get just what was going on there (why this rider seemed to be on a mission to beat Chanel and Richard in the 6 year olds) until I was researching past Medal MacClay final winners for the upcoming hearing. I’ve come to think of Medal MacClay final winners as a direct line to and strongly influenced by George Morris, for multiple reasons. And sure enough, I discovered Nicole had won the MacClay final, and was now riding one of these young jumpers as the top FEI ranked US bred grand prix horse I could find at 535th. The lightbulb came on … breeding top show jumpers in the US is a very big deal, has those in the know's attention, and some folks pulling out all the stops.
Wouldn’t it have been better, if instead of working to decimate my reputation as a horseman and breeder to the point folks are afraid of or unwilling to spend real money on them, if the forces in power had just allowed me to show the country what I had and it was capable of, and to stay financially viable?
Because now you have one US bred in the top 1000 of the FEI rankings when you could have multiple, and more well on the way? Are those self preserving politics really helping us as a country to evolve to the next level, when I’m more than happy to share these horses as long as I can make a comfortable living and continue breeding and showing?
I suppose we are use to following orders without question, because if you walk around the horse shows, it won’t be long before you’ll find some trainer verbally brutalizing some poor student, and them sitting there and just accepting it. I was raised on military posts by a career officer, joined the Army National Guard and resigned as a Sergeant, and fully understand the meaning of the word (and need for) discipline.
When I am trying to teach someone to succeed on a dangerous animal doing about the most difficult thing you can (leaving the ground) things are often happening a little too fast for me to want to have a chat about whether I am right. If you do apply consistently what I tell you to and find the horse clearly responding in a positive way, that’s sort of the beginning and the end of the discussion. So yes, trainer-student respect is extremely important. But long term it needs to be earned, and I don’t consider regular torture (emotional or physical) to be a valid teaching method, as it tends to negate the value of all life in general and is a great source of suffering in this world.
There are good trainers and good horseman throughout the country. If you possess the eye to fall in love with a horse that is beautifully bred (it’s full siblings are killing it) and going and priced well, but your trainer has a meltdown because that owner is not in the club with the popular kids, you need to seriously consider finding a new trainer.
Your trainer does not own you, and they are not all knowing Gods with the right to dole out unjust punishment because they said so. You are a customer and they are providing a service, when you want it. And when you no longer desire their services for whatever reason, move on. It is the natural evolution of things, and often your path to the next level of horsemanship.
Because politics and sportsmanship are on the opposite ends of the stick. So if you hope to be a horseman (and help to produce top horses), insist that your trainers behave like professionals and career sportsman, rather than high schoolers working to be the popular kid and win that next pretty blue ribbon, and the adoring (if not naive) clients that may come with it.
III. In Conclusion
Cradilo was the most profound example of heart, grandiose power and presence, yet giant gentleness I have personally ever seen or experienced in a horse. He had a severe injury, yet we overcame it sufficiently together, simply because neither one of us belonged in the shadows. We had something to show the world, and many people as a result were moved and came to love him as I did.
But for whatever reason, in spite of my constant espousing and marketing of him, he was completely rejected by the US Hunter Jumper industry as a stallion (not one breeding to any member of this sport). Now his minuscule number of offspring bred on this farm, with the help of a few other trainers, are proving to be consistent combinations of amazing scope, speed and heart, and free of defects. Because Cradilo’s condition was in fact, as I always knew and stated, environmental.
Yet once again, the industry, led by a small group with personal agendas, have driven us into the shadows. These horses are my (and God’s) creation, each broodmare hand picked or bred by me. They are the perfect example of my idea as a horseman of a great athlete and partner. They are the direct result of who I have become in my craft, and can’t fairly be considered without that acknowledgement.
As I was with Cradilo, given the right circumstances, I am happy to share these horses with the world. And though I am proud of the fact they are American bred, it doesn’t matter where they end up, because nothing will change that fact.
But like others, I and a few of my horses have been literally tortured in this industry led by one man granted way too much influence (as absolute power corrupts absolutely) and not just during a clinic weekend, but for decades. To be standing here we have fought what feels like a war and have been through hell. So I find myself gun shy and protective of my life’s work and the friends who have supported and loved it with me.
These horse’s physical abilities are extreme, and they are sensitive creatures. To fully manifest into their capabilities they require a level of horsemanship, both mastery and patience, rare in the US. So I am leery to put them out there again, risking more debilitating backlash and sabotage, before we are ready and have been granted a real chance to solidly prove ourselves.
And I will not endure the high school pokes of entitled prima donnas who think they are horseman because they can shop, write checks and stick to and afford to have nicely managed an athlete someone else has produced (who they also don’t credit). I will continue calling them out on what they are and the vicious men (real horseman or not, if it acts like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a thug) they have been led by.
I know, just based on what I have sitting on this farm and the level of perseverance and commitment I’ve seen in multiple peers and students, this country is ready evolve to the next level as horseman. If you think a great round in a big class at a top show is satisfying, you should try it on a horse you’ve bred, started and trained. Even when someone else is learning from and having a blast on a horse you have in some form created (even when you are receiving zero credit), it is a tremendous feeling of accomplishment.
And we are right there … but we to have the vision, courage and faith to take a risk on what is not yet seen. It’s what breeders do every time they attempt to catch a mare. But if anyone else’s opinion or personal agenda to maintain power and control isn’t seen for the con job it is, and overcome, we will be stopped in our tracks. We will continue to depend on other countries elevated horsemanship for our, as a whole, secondary success.
ACE SPORTHORSES
