Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2015 i Practical Horseman

7 Things To Do in OCTOBER APPLY for a U.S. Eventing Association 2015 Worth The Trust Scholarship by the Oct. 1 deadline. Two scholarships will be awarded to fund educational activities: a young adult amateur eventer (age 16–25) will receive $3,000 and an adult amateur (age 26 and older) will receive $2,000; www.useventing.com. CHEER ON rising showjumping stars at the Platinum Performance USEF Talent Search Finals East, Oct. 2–4, in Gladstone, NJ. The show features three phases: flat, gymnastics and show jumping; www.usef.org. ATTEND the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, Oct. 8–17, in Harrisburg, PA. Events include the Pessoa/USEF National Hunter Seat Medal Final and the $85,000 Grand Prix; (www.panational.org). The show will also host its second East Coast Equine Comeback Challenge on Oct. 13; www.ahomefor everyhorse.com. HEAD TO the Dutta…

Event horses, like all athletes, must be in top condition to perform well. Their training includes conditioning work that adapts muscles, bones, heart and other systems to meet the demands of competition. But some new research raises a question: Do these horses train hard enough? Last spring, scientists at Kentucky Equine Research carried out a two-part study while field-testing a new fitness-monitoring smartphone app, which the company is marketing as KER ClockIt Sport. The app, adapted from one developed for racehorses, uses Bluetooth technology to collect information from a heart-rate monitor and small transmitter worn by the horse during work. It records the horse’s speed, distance and altitude as well as his heart rate. Heart rate is a key measure of fitness. The harder the horse’s muscles work, the harder…

Old Salem Farm, one of the most iconic horse-show venues in the country, has fostered dreams, both large and small, for more than half a century. Located in North Salem, New York, only an hour from New York City, the beautiful, 120-acre property graced by a magnificent 85,000-square-foot barn set on the top of a hill has served as a base for a long list of famous—and infamous— trainers. Hosting everything from local shows to international events, it’s long been a popular destination for spotting equestrian and non-equestrian celebrities. The property itself has been the focus of many grand plans and extravagant investments—some of which panned out and many of which did not—and, at times, more than a whiff of scandal. A group of retired policemen, led by North Salem…

Until the 1980s and ’90s, the American Thoroughbred was tremendously popular in the U.S. jumper, hunter, dressage and eventing worlds. The breed’s beauty, athleticism, stamina and courage graced our show rings and stole our hearts. The warmblood invasion had not yet begun and our nation’s booming racehorse industry provided a constant stream of track retirees looking for a second career. The pool of prospects was so broad and deep—encompassing an almost unimaginable diversity of shapes, sizes and abilities—that someone with knowledge of the breed, an eye for talent and good conformation and plenty of time and patience to sift through tens or even hundreds of off-the-track Thoroughbreds had a fair chance of discovering a future hunter, jumper, eventing or even dressage champion. And, because even talented ex-racehorses were available at…

Whether I am judging a model class, evaluating a prospect for a client or sizing up the yearlings at home, I first stand back and look for an overall impression of balance and symmetry. My ideal horse “fits” in a square box. By that, I mean he is defined by matching and equal parts, both front to back and side to side. This allows for athletic ability, soundness, trainability and longevity in the job. A horse who fits in a box will have a body that is made up of one-third shoulder, one-third back and one-third hindquarters. I like to see the withers and point of croup at the same level. The horse’s stance, from point of shoulder to buttock, should equal the distance from the height of the withers…

The Pan American Games are the third-largest multisport event in the world, behind the Olympics and the Asian Games, yet they’re far from high profile. Held every four years, the Pan Ams include every Olympic sport and then some (roller figure skating, anyone?) with 41 countries participating, coming from the southern tip of South America up through the Caribbean, Bermuda and Canada. But mention the Pan Ams and many people in the United States will give you a blank look. Lack of major media coverage made the summer’s Toronto Pan Ams practically a nonhappening in the U.S., although they were staged just across the border in Ontario. The situation was particularly egregious for the equestrian disciplines. There wasn’t even any live streaming of the dressage and the eventing, although show…

Beacon Hill trainer Stacia Madden is a firm believer in the advantages of starting out with equitation, no matter what direction a rider chooses to go later in her equestrian involvement. She has enjoyed seeing Jessica Springsteen and other riders who got their grounding at Beacon Hill do well in the jumpers. She cited Brianne Goutal, the first person to win every major equitation title of the current era, who has gone on to win major grands prix—including the American Gold Cup the year before Jessica’s victory. Equitation offers an opportunity to gain self-assurance in the saddle while honing skills. “Jessica was a timid rider in the very, very beginning,” Stacia recalls. “But once she built some strong relationships with horses and built her confidence, everything took off. It was…

If ever a horse lived up to his name, it’s Lucky. Just ask Christine Griffin of Equine Well-Being Rescue, Inc., in Snowfl ake, Arizona. A certified equine veterinary technician, she helps coordinate adoptions for horses in desperate need and takes on a few cases that other rescue groups might not be willing to handle. “I found Lucky in a really horrendous situation,” she said. “He was being kept by a person who was a hoarder. The barn was three-quarters full of stuff this person had collected. Lucky only had about a 12-by-12-foot area to be in. He wasn’t clean, he was standing in manure, and he had to share water with other animals. “Lucky’s body condition score was a 1 when we did his intake,” she continued. “He was 835…

*The first attribute in a rider and horse is courage, and that’s been taken out of our sport. 1 What I first notice about this photo are the puddles all over the ring. When I first competed in Aachen, Germany, years ago, it had rained and rained and you couldn’t tell the rest of the ring from the water jump. But the riders trucked on and everyone jumped well. That kind of grit is gone these days. The horses and the riders are too precious. Course builders and show managers have watered everything down. The first attribute in a rider and horse is courage, and that’s been taken out of our sport. So I’m pleased to see this rider and pony riding in these conditions. It’s good to experience, and…

With a year to go in Jessica Springsteen’s Junior career, a series of equitation triumphs were enough for her to feel comfortable saying adieu to equitation and focusing on the jumpers. She had won the 2008 ASPCA Maclay National Championship, the 2009 Pessoa/USEF National Hunter Seat Medal Final and the 2009 George H. Morris Excellence in Equitation class. She’d also taken a second-place ribbon in the 2009 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals East. It was, however, these achievements that demonstrated the influence of her equitation base for winning in the jumper ranks. Her victories in 2014 included the $200,000 American Gold Cup; the puissance class at the Washington International Horse Show, which helped earn her the competition’s leading jumper rider sash; and a class at the Dublin Horse…

“The American Gold Cup began as one of the first important grand prix events in the U.S.,” says Michael Morrissey, president of Stadium Jumping Inc., the event’s longtime show manager. For the past 45 years, he says, “it has featured our country’s most legendary equestrian athletes.” Started by Michael’s uncle, Gene Mische, at the 1970 Cleveland Horse Show in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, the prestigious event has always concluded with an exciting world-class grand prix competition. Conrad Homfeld, who went on to win the 1984 Olympic individual silver and team gold medals, was victorious the first year. Ten other Olympians and six World Cup champions have won it since then. Winning the Gold Cup has probably been on the bucket list of every top show jumper in the country. Michael Matz…