It sounds like a dream arrangement: taking over an older, experienced grand-prix horse to ride in lower-level competitions, where he can soar over less-demanding fences. Showing one of these horses with mileage, however, means careful maintenance to keep him in top form without strain, since such mounts often have old injuries that could flare up if they are not cared for properly.

Philip Richter, a 41-year-old amateur rider, got the chance of a lifetime when he began riding the well-known grand-prix horse Glasgow, but their success came with meticulous attention to the animal’s welfare. In this article, Philip describes the transition, and along with Glasgow’s other caregivers, details the program they’ve followed to keep the horse healthy and happy.

Philip Richter will never forget the day in 1997 when show jumper Norman Dello Joio grabbed him for an urgent conversation behind one of the tents during the Festival of Champions competition at the US Equestrian Team headquarters in Gladstone, New Jersey.

“Norman looked at me with a combination of awe, excitement and desperation, telling me how he had to get Jamaica Jackpot, this horse that was in Scotland,” Philip recalled.

“You need to talk to your mom and your dad. We’ve got to put a syndicate together,” Norman had insisted.

“He knew the horse was extraordinary when he sat on it,” Philip said.

The syndicate assembled in a hurry included Philip’s mother, Judy Richter, Norman’s longtime supporter and mentor who was wowed when she saw a tape of the horse; her sister, Carol Hofmann Thompson, and grand-prix rider Lisa Tarnopol, as well as friends Tony Weight, Danny Magill, Ira Kapp and David Weisman. The large number of investors was necessary because of the cost of the horse, renamed Glasgow after the city in the ­region where Norman found him.

It never crossed Philip’s mind that eight years later, in 2005, he would be the one riding the regal Dutch-bred chestnut gelding. After a successful career at the highest level of the sport (see “Who Is Glasgow?” at left), Norman decided it was time for Glasgow to stop jumping in grands prix, but that it wasn’t time for him to stop jumping entirely.

At 15, the horse “needed some aspirin and medication to feel his best,” said Norman. “To this day, he has all the heart in the world, and he’s a fantastic show horse. I thought with Judy Richter being such a knowledgeable horsewoman, she could give him the care he needed and let him show in a limited way and still have a fantastic life.

“My gut was if we just retired him and turned him out, he would fall apart pretty quickly physically. The horse really loves jumping and competing, so I thought this would be the best solution.”
So Norman told Philip he wanted him to ride the horse in the Amateur-Owner Jumpers, where the fences ranged up to 1.4 meters (4-foot-6) with 1.45-meter spreads, as opposed to the top height of 1.6 meters (5-foot-3) and width of 2 ­meters (more for water jumps and triple bars) in grand-prix championships.

The syndicate that owned Glasgow wanted what was best for him, and Norman noted he would get the finest care after Philip took over the reins.

The investors were well aware of Glasgow’s veterinary needs, although much of the cost of keeping and campaigning him had been covered by his considerable winnings.

“I think nobody would have felt good selling him to some random amateur to show who wouldn’t have known his particulars and gone the extra mile to make sure he got the best care,” said Philip.

Winning the Lottery … with Conditions
An accomplished Amateur-Owner Jumper competitor, Philip had a predictable first reaction to the idea of showing Glasgow: “I just won the lottery.”

But taking over a big-name horse has its downside. Everyone remembers the heyday of such an animal. It’s a lot to live up to.

After thinking about it, Philip was more reserved. “I was a little bit nervous,” he acknowledged.

Glasgow, now 20, definitely enjoyed quite a reputation. What if the horse didn’t perform well for Philip? It would be a blot on the name of an animal who was once one of the world’s best jumpers.

“As an amateur, I can get on and make a lot of mistakes,” Philip observed.

On the other hand, if they did well, it would be what everyone expected. After Philip and Glasgow finished their victory gallop in the prestigious Saturday Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic in Lake Placid, New York, last year, someone at ringside asked, “How can you not win on Glasgow?”

The comment smarted for a minute, but Philip conceded, “It’s a true statement, really. The horse could jump the High Amateurs with one leg tied up around his ear.”

That said, however, “Glasgow’s not an easy horse to ride. He sights in at jumps and is really aggressive to them. He’s a handful,” Philip said.

In addition, Philip faces the added challenge many amateurs do—limited riding time. As a partner and a managing director of Hollow Brook Associates LLC, a New York City-based registered investment adviser, he often just gets in the saddle at shows and does only a few of those a year. He concentrates on the most competitive fixtures, such as the Devon Horse Show in Pennsylvania, the Hampton Classic in New York and the Old Salem Farm Horse Show in New York.

The beginning of the relationship ­between Philip and Glasgow “was the crucial time. I think we got along really well from the start,” said Philip. One reason is that Philip is comfortable riding a hot horse like Glasgow; another is the horse was “incredibly well-broke and responsive.” And, as Judy pointed out, “Norman made it all work: Norman, [Norman’s son] Nick and sometimes [Norman’s assistant] Sean Crooks school the horse and get him ready. You don’t just take good care of him and walk in the ring at Lake Placid and win.”

But there was still a lot for Philip to figure out with the horse. “I’ve learned to let him go and let him tell me what he can and can’t do. It’s a matter of trusting him and leading him to the jumps, not telling him to go to the jumps,” he said.

Occasionally Philip has found that to be too much of a good thing. “One year at Lake Placid, the last line on the course was eight strides; then in the second round, a flying seven strides.” Or so it seemed.

“I gave him the reins and was clear. I wound up doing it in the six, not the seven. I landed and saw the distance.” Philip said. “You can get away with things on a horse like that, which you can’t get away with on a lesser horse. That’s well and good, but you have to be respectful.”

I don’t do lunch; I do lessons,” and “It’s not a job, it’s a life,” are a few of the phrases top hunter/jumper trainer Karen Healey uses to ­describe the profession she chose for herself when she left college to work for George Morris 40 years ago. She earned $50 a week and lived in a room over the barn during that time.

Little has changed about the best way to go about becoming a professional hunter/jumper trainer today: “Step number one is you’ve got to find somebody to apprentice with,” advises Karen, who attended three years of college before her apprenticeship with George. In addition to training Juniors and Amateurs to national titles in hunters, jumpers and equitation, the California-based veteran has mentored many former students into professional careers.

The positions Karen recommends to aspiring professionals may not be offered as “apprenticeships” per se, but any post with a good trainer can become a great education if taken with the right ­attitude. “Identify somebody who you have tremendous respect for, and throw yourself at their feet,” she urges. Karen’s time with George eventually earned her the position of barn manager, but well before that she made the most of every moment at his stable. “When the vets and farriers came to the barn, I followed them around and asked questions all the time.”

Karen’s contemporaries agree that working for a respected professional is the best preparation for stepping out on your own as a trainer. Realistic expectations of what the job entails are important. “You need to know that riding will likely be a very small part of it,” she stresses. “Be willing to do anything and everything. And don’t sit there waiting to be told what to do: Look for things to do.
“If you really, truly do that, you will find that most professionals really appreciate it and you will get opportunities to ride,” Karen continues.

Some seasoned professionals worry that today’s instant gratification society is taking its toll on aspiring equestrian professionals. “I see young professionals skipping a lot of steps,” says USEF R judge Susie Schoellkopf, director of SBS Farms in Buffalo, New York. “They want to walk into a riding job or open their own barn with just teaching and riding. It doesn’t work that way. You have to be willing to start from the bottom and work your way up.”

That’s just what her protégé Jennifer Alfano did, working first as a groom (for 1988 Olympic silver medalist Gem Twist), then honing her horsemanship in the hard work of a sales barn. When Jennifer ­arrived at SBS Farms, she was well versed in many aspects of horsemanship and, equally important, she was anxious to learn more. The ability to take criticism constructively is key in a young equestrian looking to make training careers of her passion for horses. “If you say to an apprentice, ‘You didn’t quite handle something well,’ too often the instant reaction is ‘I quit,’ rather than ‘How can I get better at that?’” Susie says.

Paths to Professionalism
Knowing you want to go pro early on is a big advantage. Courtney ­Calcagnini made that decision at age 12 and strategically plotted her Junior career to attain that goal. She started as a working student for Mike McCormick and Tracey Fenney at Four M Farm in 1997, when she was 13, then took on the same post for Colleen McQuay’s huge sales barn in Texas in 2000. When Courtney aged out of the Junior ranks, the position with Colleen became paid. She spent six years gaining experience and knowledge with Colleen’s supervision and encouragement, then formed her own barn, CSC Farm in Pilot Point, Texas, in 2007.

Courtney’s patient path to professionalism was driven by a simple mission: “Always put your best foot forward every day,” was and is her motto. Throughout her working student years, her determination and hard work ethic paid off. “I was a bit shy to do any ‘networking,’ but you stick out like a sore thumb if you are a hard worker.” That quality earned her Colleen’s attention in the first place, and continues to keep her in good stead with mentors, including veteran hunter professional Otis “Brownie” Brown and noted hunter judge Linda Andrisani, who are critical to a young professional’s success.

Thanks to a good reputation in the area and Colleen’s blessing, it didn’t take Courtney long to launch her business. Within about a month, she had 12 horses, just one of them owned by a client from Colleen’s sales-oriented business. “I never solicited one client,” Courtney says. “I got a few phone calls, and it grew from there.” Today, she maintains 15–18 horses, owned by seven or eight clients, which the 28-year-old trainer describes as “perfect for me.” The clients include the Reid family, for whom she found the Adult Hunter Curtain Call in early 2009. Courtney rode the horse to USEF Grand Champion Horse of the Year as a Regular Working Hunter that year. That “really put me on the map nationally,” she notes.

Brian Walker, also 28, took a different path after deciding on a training vocation. Under top equitation trainer Missy Clark’s tutelage, he concluded an elite Junior career by winning the ASPCA Maclay National Championship in 2001. Until then, Brian catch rode for several trainers, including show-jumper Todd Minikus, and that opened the door to working for him after he finished in the equitation division. Brian credits Todd with disabusing him of the notion that going pro would be easy. “You go from being a top ­Junior rider where everybody is helping you to mucking stalls,” Brian says. “Todd probably helped me the most in putting a bit of humility in me and letting me know I wasn’t going to be spoiled.” Brian also had a head start in that lesson because he grew up in a family of horse professionals in Canada.

After roughly a year riding mostly young horses for Todd, Brian accepted Olympic show jumper Peter Leone’s offer to work at his Lion Share Farms in Connecticut, where he taught lessons and schooled Juniors and Amateurs at home and at shows. Adding another dimension to his knowledge base and experience, Brian went to work for European show jumper Jan Tops in Holland. Brian’s ongoing friendship with Missy, who had purchased horses through Jan, opened this door that Brian considers a huge part of his horsemanship education.

Through long days at the barn, shows and sometimes 23 hours of driving the countryside in search of young horse prospects, Brian paid close attention during his immersion in the different world of European show jumping. “They are all geared toward competing and selling horses,” he explains. “We are so geared toward clients in the States.” Learning from Jan’s ability to identify excellent horses was an especially valuable chapter in his European education, Brian adds.

He returned to the States in 2006 to work for Eddie Horowitz, whose ­subsequent retirement led to Brian running his own business, Woodside Farm, for the next three years. In 2009, Brian accepted the head trainer post at Old ­Salem Farm, and in late 2010 he ­relocated to Wellington, Florida, to start up his business from scratch.

When Amanda Steege showed in the Second Year Green division at the 2001 Devon Horse Show, the vest she wore under her shadbelly was the same one her great-grandfather wore when showing at Devon in 1913. When she won the division championship, though, nobody credited a lucky vest. Like her earlier successes on the Ocala, Florida, circuit and at the Legacy Cup, her Devon championship reflected meticulous horsemanship and a talent that such top hunter/jumper professionals as Rick Fancher recognized long before she did.

By the time Amanda left her family's Red Acre Farm in Stow, Massachusetts, for Boston College in the mid-1990s, she was already pretty sure she wanted to make become a professional horse rider. She was less sure about measuring up to the high standards she'd set herself. "I knew I loved horses and I loved riding. But I didn't know if I was talented enough to do it on the level I wanted to."

Aiming for the Best
Amanda's benchmark for quality came from horsemen she'd grown up and around, beginning with parents Mitch and Kathy Steege. While Kathy kept Red Acre'as riding school going at home, Mitch taught Amanda and coached her at shows from lead-line classes on. "She didn't have a lot of nice horses to compete as a kid," he says. "They were tough and green. She learned that you don't just do everything one way; you adjust to the horse, so he feels almost as if he has trained you."

The parent-as-instructor setup—not always an easy one—worked for them. Amanda "had respect for what I said because I was so active in the business when she was growing up," Mitch says. "When we had little arguments, it was mostly because she doubted herself."

Amanda says she also learned a lot from a "difficult Children's Hunter" that she rode for a couple of years. "Even when you saw a distance, you had to stay quiet, sort of melt into her back a little." Another equine teacher was her beloved Junior Hunter One In a Million: "maybe not the fanciest in the workd, but definitely had the most heart; not necessarily the winner, but got ribbons everywhere, including a third and a fourth at the National Horse Show in 1993, my last Junior year."

For her last two Junior years, Amanda got additional help from top A-circuit trainer Bill Cooney. "She was already a good rider," Mitch says. "It's different, though, hearing that from your family and hearing it from leading professionals. Bill brought her along and bolstered her confidence."

Another big influence in these years was fellow New Englander Peter Wylde, a former equitation finals winner and eventual 1999 Pan American show jumping gold medalist. "I was always impressed by his riding and his horsemanship," Amanda says. "My best friend rode with him as a Junior; we'd watch her together, and he'd give me little pointers. I took a year off between high school and college and worked for him that winter in Florida, mostly grooming and flatting horses. That summer, when not showing with my dad, I worked for Peter at big shows."

Peter's high standard of hands-on care and management were a good match for those Amanda grew up with, says Mitch. "At a horse show, we got up at 3 or 4 a.m. and were the last people to leave—and we rarely left the show clean!"

Horse trainer Jake Nodar will be participating in one of the oldest horse sports as a contestant on History's Full Metal Jousting, which will premiere on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 10 p.m. Along with fifteen other competitors, Jake Nodar will don 80 pounds of steel armor, mount a jousting horse and pick up a 11-foot-long, solid fir lance to compete in full-contact jousting for a chance to win $100,000. The EquiSearch staff had a chance to ask Jake a few questions about his Full Metal Jousting experience.

EquiSearch: How did you get into horses?

Jake Nodar: I began my career at the age of 17. I started as a volunteer for Days End Farm Horse Rescue, and within a few weeks, they hired me as farm manager. From there I pursued the training aspect and headed out to Colorado with two horses to go through the John Lyons training program. After graduating, I started up my business and have been training full time ever since.

ES: How did you prepare for the show?

JN: I wasn’t really sure how to “prepare” for jousting. I guess you could go out in the street and let a Fiat hit you at 25 miles an hour. In addition to the horses I was working daily, I started hiking 7 miles a day 5 days a week as well as lifting at the gym. I’m built like a noodle, so I needed to increase my strength.

ES: Tell us about the horses used for the program. Were they already trained jousting horses? What breeds were they?

JN: All the horses were draft or draft crosses. All had several months of training for full contact jousting prior to the start of the show, some had a bit more. They were great horses that came from all over, and some of them were actually rescues, which given my background, I was really happy about.

ES: We couldn’t recognize the saddle used in the bio videos. What sort of specialized tack did you use?

JN: We used an Australian stock saddle. It allowed for a long leg and the pommel gave a little extra added protection to the “important parts” of the competitors.

ES: What kind of training did you undergo as part of the show?

JN: Prior to making the show, we had to go through a week-long boot camp to ensure we could hold up to the demands of the sport. We started with basic under saddle exercises and then the lance was added in, then the 85 pounds of armor. I’ve gone through some tough training programs, but I can safely say, this one takes the cake. Once on the show we did all sorts of training exercises from experiencing our first hit, to regaining balance after a hit, to proper lance control.

ES: How did you get used to holding the lance?

JN: Holding a lance completely changes your balance. We did exercises where we would cradle the lance and ride tight serpentine patterns, as well as “lance push ups.” Basically we would do repetitions of lowering the lance slowly, then bringing it back up over, and over, and over again to build the strength in the right arm.

ES: Can you tell us about the armor? How hard was it to get used to riding in armor?

JN: Riding in the armor was a huge challenge. I knew it was going to be heavy; I prepared myself for that. I didn’t think, however, about just how much my vision would be limited, and your helmet is basically locked in place, so looking side to side doesn’t really happen.

ES: What gives a jouster an advantage? Size? Riding skill? Accuracy?

JN: I think you need a combination of all of the above. Size definitely helps, but you can knock someone off their horse every pass, but if you aren’t hitting the grand guard (target), you won’t receive any points, so you need accuracy, and having a good seat can make all the difference between taking a hit and being catapulted off your mount.

ES: It looks like there’s quite a variety of horsemen participating in the show. How was it competing against such a diverse group of guys?

JN: It was a great mix of horsemen. About half of the group came from theatrical jousting backgrounds, and the other half was all types, everything from a world champ steer wrestler to a grand prix show jumper.

ES: How did your experience with horses help you throughout the competition?

JN: My past experience with horses helped greatly for jousting. I’m used to getting on new and different horses on a daily basis, so I’m very comfortable getting on new horses and figuring out how they ride. The partnership is so important between horse and jouster. If you have their trust, you can focus on everything else that you need to when galloping down the joust list.

ES: Be honest: How much does it hurt to get hit with the lance? To fall off in your armor?

JN: I’m not going to lie, the hits hurt… they hurt really bad. The hits can also vary, depending on the angle the lance hits you, where it hits you, speed, etc. As far as falling with armor, who said I fell? You’ll have to tune in to find that out.

ES: What was the biggest challenge for you when learning to joust?

JN: My biggest challenge was lance control. My arms are like noodles. Most of the guys' biceps seemed to be the size of my thighs, so I had to work very hard on that so I could be on target.

ES: What are some jousting essentials that people should know before watching the show?

JN: Jousting is amazing! It’s very easy to follow and is such a great spectator sport. It’s a beautiful combination of chaos and finesse. The rules are simple. There are up to eight passes. You must hit the grand guard for points: 1 point for a touch, 5 points for a broken lance, and 10 points for an unhorsing. Those are my favorite. It’s going to be a great show. Get ready to see something like you’ve never seen before!

I would want to go on an African safari and see the wild animals that I love—especially lions!
Meghan Katherine Cline, Massachusetts

I'd definitely go to the 2012 Olympics! I've always wanted to attend the Olympic Equestrian Games and see my idols compete. It'd be just absolutely amazing to be in a place with so many incredibly talented horse people! That's more of a chance of a lifetime than a vacation, but I can't pick anything else.
Kaitlynn Wallace, via Facebook

Ireland, hands down.
Joyce Harrison, Ohio

I would love to go to Ireland or follow in my trainer’s footsteps and travel Europe to continue my riding education and learn EVERYTHING there is to know about horses!
Lisa Ryan, New Jersey

I would love to ride in Ireland. I’ve never been, but the scenery is amazing and the equestrian culture is even better than it is here in Virginia.
Lindsay Berreth, Virginia

I would go to England and ride. I would go on trail rides in the countryside because the saddles fit the horses, they have good tack, and the horses are nice and are local to the area: Highland “pony” in Scotland, Dartmoor pony when riding on Dartmoor. I would take lessons from John Lassetter and Jennie Loriston- Clarke because they offer everything a person could ask for in a lesson. Their schoolmasters are fantastic. At Jennie Loriston-Clarke’s I rode Catherston Dazzler. Yes, the top sire of eventing horses in the world (at the time of my lesson) and Jennie’s ex- Grand Prix horse. And I rode a piaffe that was show quality. I was so excited! I never hoped to ever ride a piaffe in my life and I did it! Amazing! After seeing in the mirror that was show quality (not just a shuffling of feet) and not what you see now that passes as piaffe, but the true, piaffe. I am still excited about it.

Also, another reason for riding with Jennie Loriston-Clark and John Lassetter is that I will be riding the “correct” classical dressage... not what passes for dressage that is seen in the ring now. Not only were the lessons fantastic, they were reasonable... if you think $100 (40 pounds) reasonable to ride with people that have top credentials (Spanish Riding School, Saumer, gold in dressage, etc.) and on top of that they were really nice people. The people in the yard were really nice. And I won’t talk about the countryside. Huge old trees, history everywhere, grass, good footing. Ok, so I have had my ideal riding holiday... I would do it again tomorrow. Trail riding and dressage lessons in England, that is my ideal riding holiday.
Barbara Kinsey, British Columbia

My dream has always been to go to all three Triple Crown races in one year. It would be perfect if there were a Triple Crown winner, too!
Jaye Fisher, Alberta

Through the highlands of Scotland!
Linda Frost Alvey, Ohio

I would love to trade my California for a riding adventure in Spain or Portugal. I love those Baroque horses!
Liv Gude, California

Riding a beautiful Spanish horse on the beach in Andalusia.
Edee Weigel, Montana

We’d take our horses to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and camp with them along the trail.
Renelle Devenport Cadena, Texas

I’d love to take a riding vacation in Canada for 5–7 days and ride through the mountains!
Madelynn E. Hamilton, California

I would choose Ireland. It is one of the big horse countries in the world, and I would love taking a trail ride to see the castles, beaches and wild ponies.
Dee Sousa, Illinois

I had the opportunity to visit the Cadre Noir in Saumur, France, but at the time, I did not fully appreciate its significance. I would love to return to visit and ride there and through the French countryside. I’ve always loved that Cadre Noir includes Thoroughbreds among their horses, performing high-level dressage and other pursuits.
Laury Marshall Parramore, Maryland

Read more answers to this question in the February 2012 issue of Practical Horseman magazine.

When strangers look at Denice Kinney’s gelding, Cisco De Kid, they’re most likely to see him as a well-tended, sweet-faced old fellow who’s gone gray around the eyes with his 28 years. But Denice sees an entirely different picture.

To her, this now-elderly Quarter Horse is the living, meaningful embodiment of her sister Julie’s memory. Julie died of cancer at age 20, in 1999, and since then, says Denice, “Cisco has been a best friend to me.”

Denice’s ability to convey how a horse changed her life earned her the grand prize in Horse&Rider's first Readers’ Choice “Your Horse Your Life” contest. A panel of judges chose her photo and essay from those of five finalists determined by readers’ preliminary online voting. She won a photo shoot, with coverage in H&R, plus tack and clothing prizes from sponsors Weaver Leather and Miller International, Inc.

“The prizes are really wonderful, but that’s not why I entered,” says the Fairview, Illinois, resident. “I did it to honor Julie.

“Even though I was 12 years older than my sister, we were very close,” Denise continues. “We shared our love of horses, and even shared the same birthday. It was devastating to lose her, and Cisco has done more for me than any grief counselor.”

Whenever she's with Cisco, says Denice, she feels her late sister's presence and is at peace.

My Horse, Your Life
Cisco, as it turns out, had been a bonding agent between the sisters well before Julie got sick. He kept them connected at a time when Denice was grown up and on her own, and Julie remained at home as the teenaged baby of the family.

“I got my first horse as an adult,” Denice remembers, “and when Julie was about 15, in the mid-1990s, she took an interest in horses, too. I decided I would try to find one that she could ride, so we could ride together. When we found Cisco, we both liked him—even though he bucked when we first rode him—and I paid $1,500 to take him home.”

Sometimes Denice kept custody of Cisco, sometimes Julie did. For the next five years or so, the sisters shared their horse interests and rode together when they could. Eventually, Julie saved enough of her own money to repay Denice for Cisco, and did so by handing over the sum, proudly, in $100 bills.

Then, right after Julie turned 20, she learned she was in stage IV of a rare and aggressive form of gastric cancer. Despite treatment that included a month’s hospital stay, she lived just another five months.

“She was so brave, never complained, and she never lost her faith in God, even when she knew she was facing the end,” Denice recalls. “She did things to help us, when it was us who wanted so much to be able to help her.”

Forever Homes
One day, as that end got closer, Julie passed her horse’s lead rope, and what would be a lifeline, to Denice.

“The whole family was at the hospital with her, and Julie’s eyes met mine in a stare that seemed to last for an eternity,” Denice relates. “Then she said, ‘I have a favor to ask. Please—take care of Cisco for me, because I won’t be able to.’

“I don’t have the words to explain the emotion of that moment, but from then on, Cisco has kept part of Julie with me,” she continues. “When I’m with him, I feel her presence, and am at peace.”

For some time after losing her sister, Denice couldn’t face up to riding. But Cisco, she says, helped bring her out of that, just by being there in need of daily care, and by having been Julie’s horse.

Cisco remains an active equine, over 12 years after Julie’s passing. He’s helped several children learn to ride, participates in an annual parade, and takes his turns out on trails. He resides with Denice’s two other geldings, one of them that first horse, now very old, that she purchased many years ago.

What might things be like if Julie were here today? Denice thinks she’d still be a trail rider, with a small barn of her own.

“And I know for a fact she’d still have Cisco!”

Denice and Cisco.

Denice's Contest Entry
Cisco is a horse that has been a best friend to me since my sister, Julie, passed away from cancer at the age of twenty in 1999. As sisters, we shared so much together including our passion for horses. We even shared the same birthday, although I am twelve years older.

When Julie was diagnosed, I was overwhelmed with emotion. During one of my last visits with her in the hospital, our eyes met with an understanding that only sisters can have. She knew her time was near and she said softly to me, "Please take care of Cisco, and if he ever gets in pain that can't be controlled, please put him down." We buried Julie a month later. That was twelve years ago, and Cisco is now 27. I count it a blessing to own him because when I spend time with Cisco, I feel the presence of my sister and the memories never fade.

At first, I couldn't bring myself to ride again. I would take a bucket and sit in the pasture and watch the horses. Cisco would come up and just stand next to me, as I cried, and he would nibble on my shoulder as if he understood, and to say everything will be okay. Cisco has done more for me than any grief counselor ever could. I love this horse because he gives me peace and comfort. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of Julie and our special bond.

Can you hear me laughing? Giving me control of this column is like giving a teenager booze and the car keys. Of course, editors do serve a certain function … I guess. I mean, how many normal people do you know who can tell the difference ­between a dangling participle and a hanging chad?

Politics in Horse Sports? Surely Not
I started watching politics when all that “hanging chad” business was going on down in Florida in 2000, and I have been watching these boobs in Congress ever since. It is only getting better, or worse, depending on your point of view. I was going to say this is the political silly season, but that is a redundancy (remember, I am editing my own column this month). Will Rogers, the famous cowboy humorist, said he did not write jokes; he just watched Congress and reported the news. If he were still around these days, he’d have his audiences rolling in the aisles. What a confederacy of dunces. I don’t know which bothers me more—the fact that they are stupid or that they think I am stupid. And the faces on them … have you looked at them on TV lately? Their hair is carefully styled, sprayed and blow-dried, their makeup is perfect and they have obviously had a little skillful work done on those nasty crow’s-feet and that horrible turkey-neck … and that’s just the guys! The rock singer Sting has a lovely line about politicians … “they all seemed like game show hosts to me.” Huh.

Of course, we’d better reelect them. They couldn’t get a real job otherwise, and they would just end up on welfare. Either way, we wind up paying for them. It might be worse—they could be involved in horses.

Can you imagine how the horse world would look if politicians ran our sport? Oh. They do? You mean we have politics in the horse world? Explains a lot. For example, horsepeople are always yakking about how they want a bigger TV audience, more people, more prize money, blah, blah, blah. But then when the TV suits—who do not know anything about horse sports but really know how to increase TV audiences—tell us to change our antiquated “competitive attire,” all I hear from the horse pols is a lot of bovine excrement about the “sacred traditions of the sport.”

Which sacred traditions are we ­talking about, darling? The ones where the 16th century riding master Federico Grisone was prancing around Italy ­practicing his rollkur, wearing a great ostrich feather in his fedora, lace cuffs on his shirts and pointy-toed booties? (Those would be really handy if you needed to climb a chain-link fence in a hurry.) What, no air bag? Tsk-tsk. The horror.

Jim Revisits Unitards
Look, as long as you insist on careening around the arena dressed like the Phantom of the Opera, you are kidding yourself about “reaching out to the general public and increasing our audience.” Joe Sixpack takes one look at you and hits the remote … he has NASCAR in his favorites, and you don’t look like an athlete to him—you look like a dork.

And NASCAR? Now, there’s a phenomenon for you. Have you looked at their audience figures? Incredible. If you guys are serious about increasing TV audiences, let me tell you how. We already have air bags for riders, so it would just be a natural evolution for our sport. Here it is: We figure out how to put air bags on the horses, fit out the horses and riders with Nomex flame-retardant suits and then when they have a fall, they burst into flames! I guarantee you the TV numbers will go through the roof. And if the guys’ and girls’ flame suits are skintight unitards? Bigger than American Idol. I’m just saying.

But horse politicians would never go for it. Can you hear the press release from the FEI? (That stands for Fédération Equestre Internationale. With this bunch you can’t even get past their title before you are snarled in a translation. I thought only grapes come in bunches, not nuts. Guess I was wrong about that, too.)

Anyway, is it just me, or does it sound like Deepak Chopra writes their stuff? They think in Swiss-Deutsche, write in French and then put the pressers out in some semblance of English. I ran the last one through one of those computer translation programs, and it came back in Swahili … with footnotes. Basically, it said the FEI planned to hold open, transparent judicial hearings about a recent inquiry into a rider riding too fast cross-country. (I thought the point of going cross-country was to ride too fast. Too fast cross-country is like ­political ethics … an oxymoron.) Anyway, the press release went on to say that the rights and privileges of the guilty hussy would be fully protected, after which she would be taken out and stoned to death in the Lausanne public square. Sharia law is tough on fast women.

The Other Wofford Brother
And speaking of death and stuff, I guess this is as good a place as any to talk about it. Last fall, a rumor went around the Internet saying I had died. Well, the truth of the matter is that I did! Die, I mean. And you’ll never guess what happened next. See, I have never told anyone before, but I was an identical twin, and it was ­really the other brother who died.

Boy, you sure find out in a hurry who your friends are when you die. I saw a couple of emails—they basically said while the writers had not wished for my demise, they approved of it. That’s OK, they know who they are, and they are on my list.

The other brother? I never really knew him. I think it made both of us feel weird, looking at our identical twin and thinking, “Whoa, that dude is really ugly.” I don’t think we could stand the stress. I never knew much about him; he was in the gas and oil business down in Texas, but I think that was a cover for some small-scale illegal herb smuggling. Then he was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Enron thing, and the last time I saw him, he was wearing a parole bracelet. That boy broke a lot of branches when he fell out of our family tree.

Always There: The ‘F’ Word
People got their online knickers in a twist over that little kerfuffle, but if you really want to see people get stirred up, it takes only one little word. No, it’s not “Republican” or “Democrat,” although those work pretty well if your dinner party is dull. No, it only takes one word … are you ready? ­Really ready? OK, here it is: FAT.

Whoops, I just typed the word “fat” and look: I already have five hate emails in my inbox, two death threats and an envelope full of talcum powder on my door step (at least I think it is talcum powder). Wonder what that’s about?

Anyway, the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan from New York had a lovely phrase. He remarked that society was “defining deviancy down.” (He must have been at a couple of the competitors’ parties at Radnor during the 1970s to come up with that observation.) So, it seems to me that these days society is “defining obesity up.” And I’m telling you, saying “fat” in one of my columns is the third rail. Last time I slipped that word under the radar, I answered hate mail until after next Christmas.

But here’s the deal. Not only did the editors leave me in editorial ­control of my column this month, but I just slipped the intern in the IT department some green. She did a little hocus-pocus with the software and next thing you know, every hate mail I get counts toward one of the performance targets in my contract, and the computer ­automatically sends me a $50 bonus. All I have to do is click on each hate mail, hit control-alt-delete and $50 cash is credited to my account.

So now when it comes to hate mail, bring it on. No, really. Would I lie to you, especially over the holiday season? Of course not. Happy New Year.

This article originally appeared in the January 2012 issue of Practical Horseman magazine.

My horse’s own sire, *Shaklans Padron NA. My gelding has such a wonderful combination of beauty, athleticism and character that it’s hard to imagine finding another to replace him. I would take a sibling in a heartbeat!
Joy Koepke, Kentucky

My current horse is a gelding, but if I owned a mare, I would want to breed her to Inspiration, a stallion at my ranch. He not only has great looks but he’s a great mover with a wonderful temperament.
Ellen Mohler, California

I would have to bend the rules a bit. My beloved pony, Spunky Monkey, is a 28-year-old gelding. If he were a stallion, however, I would breed any mare to him. At only 12 hands, he is a small pony, so I would love to have a younger, larger version of him to ride in coming years. The mare I would chose is eventer Headley Britannia, ridden by Lucinda Fredericks. I think the combination of an outstanding eventer and a small, clever pony would make an amazing horse, not only for children, but smaller adult riders as well. Of course, the foal would have to be named Spunky Britannia (filly) or Headley Monkey (colt)!
Grace Sauter, Washington State

‎*Bask+++
Cindy Craig-Kirk, via Facebook

Bucephalus for sure!
Krista Strehle, via Facebook

I would breed my awesome racing-bred Quarter Horse mare to Seabiscuit. They would compliment each other well, and I think their offspring would be something to marvel at.
Jenn Copp, Vermont

Secretariat!
Stephanie Bennett, Maryland

Secretariat—hands down! Best horse EVER.
Gina Tiernan, via Facebook

Secretariat. I may not be old enough to have watched him race in person, but I have seen every piece of video I can find and stared at every picture of him I can pull up. I have loved him since I was a kid, and he is the reason I fell in love with Thoroughbreds. He had more heart than any other horse I’ve ever seen. My absolute dream is to own one of his offspring.
Stephanie Klebes, Massachusetts

Secretariat! He was the best horse ever. I wasn’t alive when he was, but he was awesome!
Michaela Moore, Virginia

Bucephalus.
Betsy Edwards, Virginia

Bucephalus, totally!!! There’s a frieze showing him and Alexander the Great in one of their battles with the Persians and in the midst of all the fighting his ear is swiveled right back towards Alexander, paying attention and ready to do his part. The artist’s rendering of the horse’s expression is wonderful.
Samantha Hetherington Cassetta, via Facebook

Gem Twist. Too bad he was a gelding. On an up note there is always his clone. Maybe they won’t geld him!
Ashley Shepherd Vaughn, via Facebook

Totilas.
Tracy Bright, via Facebook

Theodore (Teddy) O’Connor!
Carla Kenyon, Oregon

I would breed to the best stallion in the history of stallions “Latin Life”! He is my trainers (Laura Dwyers) stallion. He is a 16-year-old Oldenburg who was horse of the year in 2006 and just got sixth competing at Intermediaire 1 at USDF Championships. She loves him and he loves her. They respect each other and learn from each other everyday. She raised him and will have him forever. He has many, many babies and I would be honored to have one/breed for one but my only problem is my horse is a gelding.
Meghan Ricketts, California

If no one breeds responsibly to improve horse breeds, we won’t have any quality horses in 10 years time. My pick—not sure if he was a stallion—I have to go with the horse that got me into the original long format 3-day … Murphy Himself.
Shannon Reynolds, Arizona

Bold Ruler to Somethingroyal.
Kim Cronenwett, Ohio

If he were a stallion, I’d pick Gifted, my favorite US dressage horse. I met him (and Carol Lavell) in Washington, DC. She said he was so sensitive he didn’t like to be touched. Carol left my trainer and me alone with him while she did something. I wanted to touch him so badly, but I knew he wouldn’t like it. When they were in the arena, everyone was so quiet, I could hear his tail swish
Wanda J. Silas, North Carolina

Cavalier Royale.
Ali Welch, Louisiana

Clinton by Corrado.
Jen Arevalo, California

I would breed to Hickstead.
Sally Spickard, Missouri

Tjimme 275 as sire and Oege as damsire or vice versa, because of the hair, the sweet temperament, the hair, the curvy Baroque build, the hair and the jumping talent.
Amanda Kirk, Massachusetts

Today’s science has proven time and time again that good breeding depends on the discipline, conformation needed and the right mindset for the job. With new genetic understanding, we hopefully can begin to plan to breed using genetics for those three issues, preventing career-ending injuries and destructive behaviors for all disciplines. What a day that will be!
Janice Grinyär, Montana

If I had a top-quality Thoroughbred mare, I would definitely breed her to Dr. Fager. The Doc raced at 2, 3 and 4 years old, achieving his greatest campaign at age 4. That year, 1968, he earned four championships: Horse of the Year, Handicap Horse, Sprinter and Turf Horse. No other horse has accomplished this.
Sue Sefscik, Florida

It would have to be Milton because he was the best. He looked a lot like one of my ponies who passed away. Milton is my horse role model for his efforts and love for jumping.
Bonnie McLean, Maryland

I would breed Zenyatta to Galoubet.
Rosalie Giordano Oliver, Massachusetts

Read more answers to this question in the January 2012 issue of Practical Horseman magazine.

For most hunter riders, winning the AHJF Hunter Classic once is a lifetime dream. Liza Towell Boyd has won it twice, and in a way that made the victories “very special” for her. In 1997 (the Classic’s inaugural year), her father Jack Towell laid the groundwork for her as a Junior to win on her hunter Monday Morning. In 2008, it was her younger brother Hardin Towell—only recently out of the Juniors himself—who was ”eyes on the ground” for Liza Boyd, now riding Fiyero as a professional.

Just as this history illustrates how the Towell family team from Finally Farm has grown and strengthened, Liza Boyd also found the two classics differed in an important way: her own involvement in the process. Her Junior Hunter Monday Morning, an off-the-track Thoroughbred, was “a little bit of a tricky horse who would only do one lead change,” so he was routinely prepared at home and at the shows by Jack Towell. “Then I just got on and rode him—I was the jockey!” Liza Boyd says. By 2008, after more than a decade of learning to adapt to all types of horses in the family business, she was “much more hands-on in the care and training of the horse” and much more responsible for Fiyero’s achievement. Ultimately, however, the result was still all about a family effort that started before Liza Towell Boyd was born almost 30 years ago.

Growing Up With the Best
Liza’s mom, Lisa, rode in the Amateur divisions for a while after she and Jack started their Finally Farm business (originally in North Carolina), and she was the parent most often helping Liza on the flat during her earliest riding years. “I loved my little white ponies,” Liza recalls. “I loved brushing them and hopping on bareback and riding with friends.” Jack coached her over fences, where she had a natural eye for “finding the jumps.” However, the technicalities of riding demanded more work. “The correct position, the strength for holding a two-point and—especially—getting the correct diagonal, all that was really tough for me.” Liza remembers days of practicing on the longe with Lisa giving instruction and encouragement. “But it was something I always wanted to do.” By age 3 she was showing on a small pony named Cash and Carry.

She affectionately recalls Hardin having a more ambivalent attitude about riding as a youngster. “He liked to ride when there was an audience, but he didn’t like to practice at home. He had some really bratty ponies, and I remember once when he fell off and looked at my dad and said, ‘I’m taking up a different sport!’” The middle Towell sibling, Ned, showed in the Short Stirrup and Junior divisions until his main focus became foxhunting. “That was his world,” Liza says. “He was very social and went to all the hunt balls.” Ned has put even hunting aside in recent years for a business career and involvement in local politics, but Liza is sure he’ll be back on a horse when time permits.

The young Towells’ access to training from other professionals was a plus whose importance Liza recognized only later. “I look back now and think, ‘You didn’t realize how lucky you were!’” A great friend of the family was the late legendary trainer and judge Ronnie Mutch. One of Jack Towell’s early mentors, Ronnie also trained Liza and Hardin. Now that she is teaching and giving clinics herself, Liza says she finds she uses teaching techniques that she ­absorbed from Ronnie.

Other key influences included top equitation and jumper trainer Missy Clark, who coached both Liza and Hardin in their Junior equitation days, and the late hunter judge and trainer Roger Young, who lived across the street from the Towells’ Finally Farm. “We would go over there after school, and I remember Roger watching me ride and giving me tips.”

At horse shows, Liza had the chance to watch the best riders in the hunter/jumper world. “For me, it was people like Elizabeth Solter. I remember thinking how great she was, such a diverse rider who could ride a hunter round beautifully and then go win the grand prix at Harrisburg. Also Nicole Shahinian-Simpson—she was a little older than me, but when I started doing Junior Hunters she was winning everything and I thought she was terrific. She rode in such beautiful style, so slender and tall and always in perfect position.”

”Just Another Girl”—NOT!
Top coaching plus Liza’s own work ethic added up to a brilliant Junior career whose many high points ­included winning the National Pony Finals on her large pony Tickled Pink, coming second in the Washington International Horse Show Equitation Classic on Brother and winning the Junior Jumper Championship at Washington on Naturally, a sister of famous grand prix jumper The Natural. In her final Junior year Liza also won the Junior Hunter Championship at Madison Square Garden on Juliet, a “very special” hot chestnut mare who continued to win championships with Liza in her first year in the professional divisions.

Then, with the Juniors behind her, Liza had a go at a conventional non-horse-show lifestyle when she enrolled at the College of Charleston about three hours’ drive from the Towells’ farm in Camden, South Carolina. “I wanted to totally do the college thing. I didn’t take a horse to school with me. I joined a sorority and didn’t ride on any college team. At the beginning, none of my college friends knew anything about my riding life—I was just another girl there.”

But not for long. She says, “I couldn’t keep it up. Even though I told myself I wouldn’t, I couldn’t stay away from the horses. Saturday afternoon would come and when everyone else was relaxing I would be saying, ‘I need to go and ride.’” Some good friends of the Towells’ had a farm not far from the college. “I went out there on the weekends to teach lessons and ride.” She also went home occasionally to show. With Naturally, she eventually competed in her first grand prix classes. “She was a steppingstone into the jumper ring for me. That was fun—I thought, ‘Hey! I can do this!’”

I had basically overdosed on riding theory and needed some new reading material that was not directly horse-related. Fortunately, I discovered Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (hereafter Gladwell), Talent Is Overrated by Geoff Colvin (hereafter Colvin) and a groundbreaking scientific study, “The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance,” conducted by K. Anders Ericsson, Ralf T. Krampe and Clemens Tesch-Römer, all from Florida State University (hereafter Ericsson et al).

My day job is helping horses and riders to maximize their potential, and I am interested in anything that can help me to help them. All these works resonated with me, and I want to share some of the things I learned from them.

Bad News, Good News
First, let’s get the bad news out of the way: If you don’t work at your riding, you are not going to get any better. Simple as that. However, I prefer to think of it positively: If you work hard, you can get better. How much better you get is up to you. I am not going to lie; you are not going to be wearing a new Rolex any time soon if you think practicing just a little more often and just a little smarter is all it will take to propel you to stardom. What I can tell you is that we now have a much better idea of what it takes to improve performance. What modern scientists have found out about elite performers may surprise you.

The money quote for me in Ericsson et al was, “The differences between expert performers and normal adults reflect a lifelong period of deliberate effort to improve performance in a specific domain.” When you distill the scientific jargon into everyday English, these authors are saying the harder you work, the better you get, if you remember to work harder at getting better. In all this scientific information, you cannot lose sight of the central fact: Hard work (effort) alone is not enough. You must combine hard work with smart work (deliberate practice), if you truly want to become an expert.

Gladwell famously writes about the concept of 10,000 hours of practice necessary to acquire mastery in any discipline, and Colvin notes that no one becomes “great without at least ten years of very hard preparation.” Colvin goes on to speak of three “zones” of learning—the comfort zone, the learning zone and the panic zone. Briefly, we all know where our comfort zone is in the saddle. For example, you have been jumping 3-foot obstacles for long enough to feel comfortable. When your coach raises the jump to 3-foot-3, you enter your learning zone, because you still are capable, but you are no longer as competent as you were a moment ago. And if you suddenly raise the jump to 4 feet … panic! Your horse might jump 4 feet easily, but it is too far outside your learning zone for it to be beneficial for you to attempt. A good coach can keep you at the upper limits of your learning zone on a continual basis.

In his book, Talent Is Overrated, Geoff Colvin, senior editor at large at Fortune magazine, speaks about three “zones” of learning: the comfort zone, the learning zone and the panic zone. To put it in riding terms, say you’ve been jumping 3-foot obstacles for long enough to feel comfortable. When your coach raises the jump to 3-foot-3, you enter your learning zone—you still are capable, but you are no longer as competent as you were a moment ago. If your coach suddenly raises the jump even higher, you start to enter your panic zone. While you don’t want to go too far into the panic zone, Colvin says deliberate practice (smart work) won’t be beneficial unless it falls between the comfort and panic zones. A good coach can keep you at the upper limits of your learning zone on a continual basis.

Knowledge + Practice = Improvement
All this scientific stuff is great, but how ­exactly does it apply to us? First, it identifies the main factor for success: hard work, or what the scientists call “deliberate practice.” This is important because there are seemingly so many things that stand between where we are now and where we would like to be in five years. Horse sports are twice as difficult as other sports because there are two of you, and your four-legged friend is expensive. This means you are probably going to have to work to support your habit, and it means you will need to be very disciplined about your life if you want to fit in a job in the real world with your dreams.

OK, so now what? Now we get to work. But before we start, we need to revisit riding theory. I have always maintained that practice without knowledge is merely exercise, and I am in good company in thinking this. In 1733, François Robichon de la Guérinière, inventor of the shoulder-in, flying change and counter-canter, said, “Without theory, the practice will always be uncertain.” Modern performance scientists refer to this as “domain knowledge,” meaning knowledge of your field of study, whether in business, art or sport. Basically, the more you know, the better you are going to be. The increasing use of video and widespread availability (both online and in print) of training articles makes more information available to more and more people, yet many fail to put this knowledge to work.