It presents step by-step training programs and showing advice from recognized experts in hunters, jumpers, equitation, dressage, and eventing, along with money- and time-saving ideas on health care and stable management.
Several years ago, my family owned a horse named Going Places. “Space” (his brain often seemed in a galaxy far, far away) was my brother’s equitation horse, but he occassionally gave a lightning-fast buck in flat classes that sent my brother sailing. So Space needed a new job. At the same time, my quick and catlike jumper had been sidelined with an injury, so we decided that Space and I would ride in the jumper division. The problem was that Space’s flat jumping style did not make him very competitive and we’d usually knock down some rails. Initially I was disappointed, but soon, a funny thing happened: I started to ride better. I learned to ride Space very correctly, paying close attention to flatwork, focusing on his rhythm and making…
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” by Kelly Clarkson for my first horse, True Abbey. She taught me how to ride and was the first horse to ever toss me! That mare endured so many shenanigans from a younger me. Haley Macdonald Johnson One of my mother’s favorite songs was “Sundown” by Gordon Lightfoot. I named one horse that, and since I lost mom in 2012, if I ever get another horse, I’ll also name it Sundown for her. My mother was my everything. Fawn Littlesky It’s more of a theme song for my daughter. She tends to overthink in the hunter ring, so her trainer suggested she do a jumper division to help her loosen up. Her theme song is “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins. The strategy worked: She’s a…
* “Years ago, trainers were criticized for developing riders who were pretty yet ineffective and passive.” 1 Our first rider’s leg is nearly impeccable, though her stirrup iron is a trifle too close to her toe. A good reference is to have about one-quarter of the foot in the iron. The stirrup is angled forward across the ball of the foot correctly and at a right angle to the girth with her little toe touching the outside branch. Her heel is down, her ankle is flexed and her whole calf is in contact with the horse’s ribs. There is a nice angle at her knee. Her seat is a hair too far out of the saddle, but she’s off her horse’s back, and he can use his hindquarters. Her posture…
Whether 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 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 to the ground. I…
Based at Fox Covert Farm, in Upperville, Virginia, Jim Wofford competed in three Olympics and two World Championships and won the U.S. National Championship five times. He is also a highly respected coach. For more on Jim, go to www.jimwoffordblogspot.com. Everyone talks about how each horse is different and how they love dealing with different types of horses—and then they put exactly the same equipment on every horse in the barn. Did I miss something? I must have been out of the room when they passed a rule that suiting your equipment to the horse doesn’t matter. I definitely wasn’t around for the rule change that says everyone has to use a cavesson and flash noseband attachment cranked down tight enough to leave permanent grooves in the cartilage of your…
Picture the perfect formula for producing a world-class horse-and-rider partnership: The rider is taught correct basics from a young age with access to upper-level coaching and a variety of horses. Her horse is carefully bred to enhance the talents, temperaments and trainability of his parents and is developed from foal to Grand Prix in one consistent training program. Now picture this formula working in Kansas, about 1,500 miles from the dressage meccas on the East and West Coasts. That’s what has happened with 27-year-old Emily Miles (née Wagner) and her 10-year-old American Warmblood Registry stallion, WakeUp, the 2014 Grand Prix reserve champions at the Markel/U.S. Equestrian Federation Young and Developing Dressage National Championships. Here’s how their individual stories combined to build such a successful partnership. Emily’s Story Emily’s dressage roots…
