Innehållsförteckning för March 2017 från Practical Horseman

Last month, I mentioned that in an early stage of riding, I became obsessed with seeing a distance. So this month, reading our clinic coverage of German Olympic eventing gold medalist Andreas Dibowski (page 42), I paused when he said, “Finding a distance is practially an obsession for riders who compete in jumping disciplines.” Andreas explains that a rider’s responsibility is to show the horse the right direction, give him the correct speed, keep her own balance and know the condition of the horse and her own fitness. The horse’s responsibility is to find the moment of take-off. You need to be aware of the distance to the fence, he says, but you want to focus more on creating a powerful canter and maintaining it all the way to the…

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.jimwofford.blogspot.com. When I started writing this column more than 10 years ago, I promised that I would always be willing to address difficult issues and to express my opinion about them. In the decade since then, I have been continually surprised to realize that people read what I write. I know this because I get a fair amount of response to my columns—mostly positive but mixed with occasional hate mail. I haven’t caused my editors too many problems along the way, although sometimes someone disagrees with me strongly enough to cancel…

Between 2000 and 2015, Las Vegas was the only U.S. city to host the FEI World Cup™ Finals, staging them six times. A seventh Vegas Finals is scheduled for a new venue in 2020, but this year, center stage belongs to Omaha, Nebraska, and the Midwestern city is making the most of it. Omaha will host both the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping and the FEI World Cup™ Dressage Finals 2017, March 29–April 2. The two competitions are expected to bring about 70 of the world’s best human and equine athletes, representing at least 25 countries, to Omaha’s CenturyLink Center. Many riders and spectators will be making their first trip to the city for the Finals and they should be pleasantly surprised with the variety of restaurants, sightseeing options and…

Young athletic horses often suffer from a disorder called arytenoid chondritis, characterized by inflammation and ulceration of two small cartilage pieces (arytenoids) at the opening of the horse’s trachea (windpipe). Under normal conditions, the arytenoids move apart to let air flow through. But when they’re inflamed, airflow can be disrupted, impacting the horse’s overall health and performance. A definitive cause of the condition hasn’t been identified, although it’s generally thought that bacterial infection or injury plays a role. In humans, however, the disorder has been linked to gastroesophageal reflux—a condition that occurs when acidic stomach juices return back up into the esophagus. Since horses can’t vomit due to an extremely tight band of muscle where the esophagus joins the stomach, it’s been assumed that they don’t experience gastric reflux. But…

George H. Morris is the former chef d’équipe of the U.S. Equestrian Federation Show Jumping Team. He serves on the USEF National Jumper Committee and Planning Committee, is an adviser to the USEF High- Performance Show Jumping Committee and is president of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame. Three Solid Leg Positions 1Our first rider has a very good position. I am fanatical about the placement of the stirrup because if it’s where it should be, it gives you the right support. This rider’s stirrup is at a right angle to the girth, a quarter of her toe is in the iron with her little toe touching the outside branch of the iron. She is flexing her ankle and driving her heel down. Her whole calf is in contact with…

An equestrian mental-skills coach and A-Circuit competitor, Tonya Johnston has a master’s degree in sport psychology. Her book, Inside Your Ride: Mental Skills for Being Happy and Successful with Your Horse is available in paperback or e-book editions. For more info on Tonya’s work, go to www.TonyaJohnston.com. Winning a national hunter-seat medal final is a tremendous accomplishment. It is rare for one rider to win more than one final in one year, but last year it happened twice. TJ O’Mara and Hunter Holloway each won two national finals in their last year of eligibility as junior riders. TJ took the 2016 National Champion USEF Talent Search Medal Finals and 2016 Pessoa/U.S. Hunter Seat Medal Final and Hunter won the 2016 WIHS Medal Finals and the 2016 Maclay Medal Finals. Had…

Show-Ring Approved Prints Choose from a geometric or floral print inside the collar and cuffs of the Allison Pull On Show Shirt from Noble Outfitters™. The traditional show shirt has a front quarter zip with a stock-tie loop and snap collar. Princess-seam side panels allow for a slimming fit and a dropped-back hem provides added coverage and keeps this top tucked into your breeches. A mesh underarm panel provides extra stretch and ventilation. Shirts are 88 percent nylon and 12 percent spandex; XS–2XL; $79.95; www.nobleoutfitters.com. Safety-Stirrup Makeover Italian-made Tech Stirrups Venice feature a magnetic mechanism on the tread that allows a safety branch to open when a certain weight load is exceeded. In an emergency, this leads to easy removal of the foot. The branch then automatically returns to the…

It’s like no other jumping championship. At the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final, March 29–April 2, in Omaha, Nebraska, fans will see three demanding competitions, each building toward the next. The only break is between days two and three, so those trying for the world indoor jumping honors can catch their breath briefly. In contrast to other multi-day title meets—such as the Pan American Games, the World Equestrian Games or the Olympics, where everyone starts the competition for the individual medals on zero penalties— riders add to their scores throughout the World Cup™ proceedings. The one who stands at the top level of the podium, raising the trophy in triumph, will have done so carrying a total number of penalties accumulated throughout the weekend. “At the Olympics, you can…