In its inaugural season the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping Series has been a major focus for the U.S. and Chef d'Equipe Robert Ridland. Thursday's competition marked the second and final Nations Cup competition for the North America, Central America and Caribbean League and a strong finish by the designated "point team" the Stars Team was vital to winning the League and Final's qualification. Additionally, to demonstrate the strength and depth of the U.S. program the second American squad, the Stripes Team, was also looking for a podium finish.

McLain Ward and Rothchild

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The U.S. did just as they had set out to do as the Stripes Team of Brianne Goutal, Katie Dinan, Candice King and McLain Ward cruised to a second place finish. While the Stars Team of Kent Farrington, Reed Kessler, Charlie Jayne and Christine McCrea earned a fourth place finish and in doing so clinched the top spot in the League and Final's qualification for the U.S.

"This really fit into our plan. It would have been nice to win but we had two good finishes," said Ridland. "We've now qualified for the Finals and won the League to boot."

Ridland also believes the strategy of having two equally powered teams helped the U.S. on Thursday and is an example of things to come.

"We did it a little differently than most by having two equal teams but I think it really worked out today. Each team had a mix of veterans and young riders or young horses with more experienced riders. I believe the future looks really good."

Course Design Leopoldo Palacios built a demanding 12 obstacle track that tested not only rider's ability to leave the rails in place but also ride efficiently to finish within the time allowed. It was made all the more difficult in the second round as high winds and pouring rain picked up.

Goutal (New York, N.Y.) and Remarkable Farms LP's Nice de Prissey were the pathfinders for the Stripes Team, collecting four faults after rolling the pole at fence three in the first round. In round two the 12-year-old Selle Francais stallion produced another four fault trip after dislodging the rail at the bicycle jump at eight.

Next up for the Stripes was Dinan (Wellington, Fla.) and Grant Road Partners LLC's 12-year-old Selle Francais gelding Nougat Du Vallet. In round one the pair jumped an immaculate clear over Palacios' challenging track. They returned later in the afternoon to repeat their faultless effort to be one four combinations to jump double clear.

"I was really pleased, Nougat felt great, I knew when we walked the course it was do-able but you still have to do it. There's always more pressure when you're on a team and it was only my second Nations Cup and I just wanted to rise to the occasion, stay calm and poised. I knew after the first round I was only halfway done and needed to make some adjustments for the second round. Which I was happy I was able to do. I'm just so happy and my horse jumped great," said Dinan of her double clear effort on Thursday.

Jumping in the third spot, King (Wellington, Fla.) and Campbell VDL produced a 13 fault trip in round one after lowering the heights of three obstacles and collecting a single time fault. In their return effort the pair demonstrated improvement with Stateside Farm's LLC's nine-year-old Holsteiner stallion just faulting at two fences and again collecting a time fault for a second round score of nine.

Rounding out the Stripes Team effort was Ward (Brewster, N.Y.) and Sagamore Farm's 12-year-old Warmblood gelding Rothchild. The veteran pair produced a tidy and efficient effort as a clear never looked in doubt in the first round. Jumping in a deluge of rain in round two, the pair repeated their clear effort to join Dinan and Irish riders Conor Swail and Cameron Hanley on the double clear list.

The Stripes Team finished on a two round total of nine faults.

Leading off the Stars Team was 2011 Pan American Games Team Gold medalist Farrington (Wellington, FLa.) and Robin Parsky's Blue Angel. In round one the 11-year-old Anglo-European mare lowered the heights of two fences for an eight fault effort. The pair returned with an improved trip in round two, just collecting four faults for a foot in thewater at fence four.

Kessler (Lexington, Ky.) and Mika jumped in the second spot for the Stars producing a near foot perfect trip in the first round that was just marred by a mistake at the plank at fence five resulting in four faults. The 2012 Olympic Games veteran and her own 14-year-old Selle Francais gelding returned in round two producing their second four fault of the day after also putting a foot in the water at four.

Jayne (Elgin, Ill.) and Alex Jayne and Maura Thatcher's 10-year-old Zangerscheide stallion Chill R Z produced a four fault effort in the first round after knocking a block off the top of the wall at fence 10. In round two they again jumped a four fault trip, just rolling the front rail of the oxer at fence nine.

Riding in the anchor position for the Stars Team was McCrea (East Windsor, Conn.) with Candy Tribble and Windsor Show Stables' Zerly. The pair jumped a stylish first round but after losing a shoe early in the course the nine-year-old KWPN mare rolled the poles at the final two efforts coming out of the triple at seven for eight faults. In round two the 2011 Pan American Games Team and Individual Gold medalist used all of her experience as she guided Zerly to an impressive fault free trip.

The Stars Team finished on an overall total of 24 faults.

The Stars Team's fourth place finish resulting in 75 points paired with the 100 points the U.S. earned with a win at the $75,000 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup presented by G&C Farm at CSIO Wellington meant they finished with a total of 175 points to top the North American, Central America and Caribbean League. The U.S. and Canada (172 points) have now qualified for the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping Season Series Final to be held in Barcelona, Spain September 26-29.

The team from Ireland finished on a score of four to earn victory in the $100,000 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup, with the Stripes Team finishing second and Team Canada One earning third place on a score of 14.

To learn more about the CSIO5* Spruce Meadows 'Continental' Tournament visit; http://www.sprucemeadows.com/tournaments/view_tournament.jsp?id=25

Follow the 2013 U.S. Jumping Team here.

Sometimes dressage riders think it is enough to teach their horses the movements, but they don’t take into account that a young dressage horse needs more than just movements to excel in competition and move up the training scale. Respect and self-assurance are the indispensable preconditions for building a harmonious partnership.

There is no question that horses are stronger than we are. Because they are flight animals, trouble can happen in the daily handling and work as well as at the more intense atmosphere of a show. All too often we observe bad behavior: Horses pull their riders around, do not stand still while they are mounted and use the rider to scratch their itchy heads. While all this is tiresome, it more importantly shows that the horse has never learnt to respect the rider as the herd leader. This is the position in which the rider needs to be, and so respect needs to be established early on. This includes fairness, which is key to a horse’s contentment and happiness.

The harmonious partnership we aim for begins with groundwork even before we have the young dressage horse under saddle. Securing a form of general obedience from the ground allows us to work in a relaxed way with our equine partner and helps a lot when it comes to riding because the horse has learnt to trust and follow us as he would in nature, following the lead mare in a herd. In this article, we show how we establish respect from the ground and how this leads to strengthening a horse’s self-assurance, which is necessary preparation for his first shows.

Step 1: Establish Respect
There is no magic. Rather, systematic training and consequence are indispensable in gaining a horse’s respect. And it must be done in a way that lacks any force, violence and injustice. Your uppermost aim has to be to become the herd leader, because in doing that you give your horse the security he needs when being worked, thereby increasing his faith in you and in the environment in which you work. The horse learns that you are the one determining the speed and direction in which he moves.

You do this by using specific body language and repeating short voice commands. Horses are usually quick learners. After showing them something new, given the right timing and praise, you only need about three repetitions to secure the behavior you want. One general remark on the use of the voice: In nature, horses communicate soundlessly. Voice aids are still useful, but we are not allowed to completely rely on them because in stressful situations the horse will pay less attention to them than to our body language. So the latter is of greater importance.

The basic needs: Groundwork begins by teaching the horse to halt, go forward and back up. With a young, unbroken horse, we most often use the Dually Training Halter designed by Monty Roberts. It works with pressure on the nose that can be quickly applied or loosened as needed.

Attached to the halter is a heavy lead rope that lies comfortably in the hand. Gloves protect the rider’s palms in case the lead rope slips through them when the horse jumps. We prefer a length of three meters (9 feet, 9 inches) in contrast to the usual two, because we have a better chance of holding on to the horse if he tries to break away.

With some horses it is useful to additionally use a stick/dressage whip to give signals, but you must first teach him to accept the touch of it on his body without fear. If a horse is not well-behaved on the ground when you begin with him, take a whip along with you, as it can be useful whether he pulls and rushes ahead of you or wants to trundle behind.

We start with the first exercises in the security and reduced space of our round pen, but later it should be possible to do the basics in every environment. For us, it is important to establish a “relaxing zone” in the middle of the round pen, where we allow the horse to rest after an exercise. Here, he gets praised and stroked and soon knows that this is a place where he can relax.

Lead forward. Lightly pull at the rope and combine it with a voice command. I use a “kissing” noise. Usually horses understand this very quickly and soon the noise is all you need to ask them to step forward. There are several positions the leader can be in: We prefer, particularly with stallions, to have the horse’s head at shoulder height. We walk relaxed at that position while keeping a certain personal space between us. The horse is not allowed to touch us, let alone push.

If a horse tends to pull, the typical reaction is to pull back. To stop this cycle, put either the Dually halter on or attach a lead chain running from the right cheek down over the nose and into your hands. It is not about using force but about refining the signals you give. Each time the horse tries to pull forward, give a short but firm signal with the lead rope and put the end of the whip in front of his nose. Praise him when he reacts promptly.

If the horse trundles behind you, carry the whip in your left hand and point its end at the hindquarters of the horse. Usually this is already enough, and the horse will catch up with you. If not, you can slightly tap the hindquarters to get the desired effect. Repeat until the horse has learned you will not tolerate him staying too far behind you.

Halt. A much-needed basic the young horse has to learn is to react to pressure applied by the rope running over his nose. The horse should learn to give to the pressure. If we want the horse to halt, we give a short impulse with the rope and combine it with a short but clear voice command. I use “whoa.” As soon as the horse reacts to this combined command, the pressure applied by the halter has to stop and he has to be praised accordingly. Some horses—in particular, sensitive, “electric” ones—understand the signals promptly, and you soon can give very fine impulses. Others will only react to your voice command. But some more phlegmatic types don’t react immediately to the impulse given by the rope over the nose, and you have to give several small but firm impulses in succession. If he continues to ignore me, I increase the impulse by putting the end of a whip in front of his nose.

Go backward. Once the horse learns to halt obediently and reliably, start teaching him to go backward. For that you need a rail on one side of the horse so he cannot evade you. Stand in front of him and take the rope with your left hand about where the snap attaches to the halter. The shorter the rope is held, the more directly the impulses are transferred to the horse’s nose.

With your right hand, hold the rope in a loop. The horse already knows that the pressure on the nose means to yield. It is important that the impulses you give via the rope are short but repetitive. If the horse does not react, use the end of a whip or bamboo stick to apply short taps on the shoulder. Eventually, it should be sufficient to give slight impulses on the nose for the horse to walk backward in a quiet rhythm.

Directly after the last step backward, you must establish the forward impulse in your horse again and ask him to step forward. With some horses, you may need to pause and relax for a moment at the end of the rein-back, but the horse must always be willing to step forward out of the rein-back at any time.

Step 2: Increase Self-Assurance with Long Reins
Once the young horse becomes familiar with the voice commands to go forward and he can halt, we begin longeing him in a round pen. We start with a single longe line, then add a second line so he gets used to them running behind his hindquarters. This is good and necessary preparation for the work in long reins.

Cautionary note: Find someone to help you. Remember that we have a lot of experience longeing and using long reins, and you need to be experienced too if you are going to try it.

Longeing and long-rein work releases the horse from the immediate proximity of his herd leader and asks him to discover his environment almost on his own. Going out in long reins develops and strengthens a young horse’s self-assurance and consolidates his faith in his rider, who now walks behind him. With more advanced horses, this work is a way of keeping them entertained between training sessions in the dressage arena.

What you need: We use a snaffle bridle with an egg-butt or full-cheek snaffle bit in combination with a flash noseband. The cheekpieces and noseband help keep the bit quiet and straight in the horse’s mouth.

We prefer soft, round long lines to flat, webbed ones. We attach them to the bit rings and always wear gloves.

We use the same voice commands we’ve been using. In general, the long reins replace the rider’s calves and together with the voice commands take care that the horse moves in the direction and speed we intend to go.

We don’t use a surcingle when long-reining so the reins can have more freedom of movement. We can touch the horses where we need to and can work them in a more sensitive way than when the reins are fixed on a surcingle.

First exercises. The first time we use long lines on young horses, we stay in our longeing circle or round pen, but you can also use a normal arena or indoor. We use all the commands the horse already knows from his weeks of groundwork.

Day by day, we explore the yard a bit more. For example, we might go to a nearby field or to the edge of the forest. If you observe that the horse is more and more comfortable in his new position ahead of you, show him some new tasks to deal with, such as walking into puddles or over logs, walking, trotting or even jumping over poles on the ground. Never forget to promptly praise him after he has mastered a new task.

The more faith he develops in you and himself, the more you can look for new challenges. We may ask our youngsters to pass by a grazing herd or work in long reins next to others. Or we might ask them to go through the creek running through our property. After extensive rainfall, we sometimes have a kind of lake in our courtyard, and we like to ask the horses to walk and trot in there to get used to water splashing their legs and belly. Be sure to do everything slowly, never asking for a second step before the first one. Then your horse will develop positive self-assurance, helping him to deal with the same things more easily when being ridden.

Step 3: Desensitization—Prepare Your Horse for the Unknown
Sometimes there are dressage riders who think that working their horses in a focused manner is only possible by excluding them as much as possible from any outside influences. A horse might be oversensitive for whatever reason and so needs to be worked in quieter surroundings in the beginning. But, in general, we are strong believers that it is no good hiding horses behind the walls of an indoor arena with the atmosphere of a monastery. Dressage horses are destined to be competed at shows and there they will find a whole lot of stimulation and noises that could easily distract them if they have not already seen and heard as much as possible at home. This is particularly necessary for stallions.

So part of our dressage training at home is to desensitize the horses to a lot of different noises and visual impressions that could come at them when it counts the most—at the showgrounds. Of course, we will never be able to simulate the special atmosphere at a show, in particular the ones held in a big stadium. And we will never know for sure what we will find there. But the more we show the horses, the more we know how they might react, and that gives us, the riders, the chance for prompt reactions. For example, we accustom stallions to working in the presence of mares step by step.

Cautionary note: Get help to do this, and remember that beforehand the horse needs to have learned respect for and faith in his rider.

The easiest form of desensitization is to keep horses outside as much as possible where they can see and hear a lot more than they do just standing in stalls. It helps to include regular trail rides in your training program so that your horse is not panicking if a bird flies out from a bush. Training outside in all types of weather helps horses when they have to compete in rain or worse.

The most decisive factor is that you have a firm impact on your horse if he spooks. “Firm” doesn’t mean to bore spurs into his flanks and holler loudly for him to pass the frightening object. Such a reaction, often seen, only strengthens the horse’s flight instinct and lets the “monsters” appear even more dreadful. Horses think in pictures and next time will associate the monster with the pain of the spurs or whip. Instead, when your horse meets a frightening object, react in the following way:

• Take the reins a bit shorter and halt in front of it. Allow your horse time to look or sniff at it quietly while you talk calmly and pat or stroke him. This also calms you down as the spook of your horse usually also makes your heart beat faster.

• Then pass the object a few times on each lead in walk, preferably in the shoulder-fore position.

• Now divert your horse’s attention from the object that frightened him by starting to trot and going on with focused work. Very effective, for example, is riding lots of different transitions so that the horse soon puts his thoughts in another direction and forgets about the fear.

Often it is typical objects like flags rattling in the wind, umbrellas being opened, running and barkings dogs, loudly clapping crowds or music that frighten young, inexperienced dressage horses at shows. Luckily, these are things that can quite easily include in desensitization training at home. All you need are some helping hands confronting the horse while you sit in the saddle. The advantage is that, in this case, you are aware of the fact that your horse might spook, jump sideways or show a little rear as a first reaction. Go slowly, step by step.

Don’t confront your horse with more than one frightening object in a lesson. Switch to another one the next time. Then, on another day, go back to the first object to confirm the horse’s positive reaction. If he ignores the once-disturbing object, great, but try once more on another day until there’s no significant reaction to it anymore.

There are horses that have to repeat this training several times over a longer period and only a very few never become bombproofed. The decisive factor is that you and your horse have built faith in and respect for each other. Then the horse will not bolt away panic-stricken.

Desensitization is just a way to strengthen this respect and faith and see if it is already strong enough or has to be deepened even more. When your horse is familiar with several different objects and doesn’t panic or spook at them, you can try an obstacle parcours, or obstacle course, including several of the objects following one another. You can ride this parcours or lead the horse, however, the motto has to be “make it more difficult.” This kind of overstimulation will harden your horse and done step by step, it will help enormously at a show.

It is also useful to take the horse to a show just to work in that atmosphere. There, you can see how he reacts to different objects and determine whether he still needs training at home or if you can start him with a quiet conscience.

Knowing that the young horse’s future is destined to be in the dressage arena, we set a good foundation from the ground. This kind of work helps you and your horse master the first starts outside the secure surroundings of your home turf. The horse knows that whatever comes his way does not have to be frightening because you, as his herd leader, are at his side.

Stefan Schneider and Uta Gräf are headquartered at Gut Rothenkircher Hof in Germany. Schneider, a veterinarian specializing in equine dentistry, has competed in jumping, reining and working equitation at the highest levels. Gräf is one of Germany’s most successful competitive and classical dressage riders. Both are well known for combining top sport with natural horsekeeping. At home, Schneider works the horses from the ground while Gräf does the riding. Gräf’s DVD series, “Joy of Dressage,” comes out in English in April 2013. Schneider has co-authored the book Stallions Care and Management. Look for reviews of both in future issues (gutrothenkircherhof.de).

Kent Farrington and Blue Angel

Sportfot

The Stars Team, composed of Reed Kessler, Kent Farrington, Charlie Jayne and Christine McCrea, has been chosen as the "point team" for the United States. Kessler (Lexington, Ky.) and Farrington (Wellington, Fla.) were teammates on the winning U.S. team in Wellington and look to secure their second Nations Cup victory of 2013. Kessler, who recently placed 10th in her first Rolex/FEI World Cup Final, will ride her second place finisher at the 2013 $200,000 Gene Mische American Invitational presented by G&C Farm, Mika. Farrington brings Robin Parsky's Blue Angel into Nations Cup competition; the pair won the $150,000 CSIO4* Grand Prix presented by Wellington Equestrian Realty in March as well as last week's $33,000 ATB Financial Cup at Spruce Meadows.

Jayne (Elgin, Ill.) will ride Alex Jayne and Maura Thatcher's Chill R Z on the Stars Team. The reserve combination for the U.S. Team at the 2012 Olympic Games recently traveled to Gothenburg, Sweden and earned a top 20 finish at the Rolex/FEI World Cup Final. McCrea (East Windsor, Conn.) brings her $25,000 Grand Prix of North Salem winner, Candy Tribble and Windsor Show Stables' Zerly, to Spruce Meadows' Nation Cup competition. The pair spent the winter jumping at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival where they won the $125,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup.

Brianne Goutal and Nice de Prissey

Sean McMillen Photography

The U.S. will also be represented by a Stripes Team composed of Brianne Goutal, Katie Dinan, Candice King and McLain Ward. Goutal (New York, N.Y.), who won many of the most prestigious equitation titles during her junior years, will ride Remarkable

Farms LP's talented Nice de Prissey in Nations Cup competition. The pair began their 2013 campaign with a third place finish in the $50,000 Wellington Equestrian Realty Grand Prix at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival. Riding in her first North American Nations Cup, Dinan (Wellington, Fla.) brings her veteran partner Grant Road Partners LLC's Nougat Du Vallet into competition on Thursday. The pair won the $100,000 Empire State Grand Prix presented by the Kincade Group at the Old Salem Spring Horse Show following a successful debut at the Rolex/FEI World Cup Final.

King (Wellington, Fla.) will represent the U.S. on the Stripes Team with Stateside Farm LLC's Campbell VDL. The pair closed out the month of May with a fourth place effort in the $50,000 EMO Grand Prix presented by Zoetis. Rounding out the team is Ward (Brewster, N.Y.) and his 2013 $200,000 Gene Mische American Invitational presented by G&C Farm and Wells Fargo Grand Prix of Devon winner, Sagamore Farms' Rothchild.

To learn more about the horse-and-rider combinations on both U.S. Teams click here.

The $100,000 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup gets underway at 12pm MT.

Live coverage of competition can be found on FEITV.org.

To learn more about the CSIO5* Spruce Meadows 'Continental' Tournament visit; http://www.sprucemeadows.com/tournaments/view_tournament.jsp?id=25

Follow the 2013 U.S. Jumping Team here.

June 10, 2013--William Coleman III and Phillip Dutton both maintained their leads in the final show jumping phase to win the CCI3* and CIC3* divisions respectively at the 2013 Volvo CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event, The Todd Sandler Challenge, held June 6 to 9 at the Bromont Olympic Horse Park in Bromont, Quebec.

The Olympic equestrian discipline of Three Day Eventing is often referred to as the triathlon of equestrian sport, with the phases of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping taking place over three consecutive days. While the cross-country is considered the most thrilling phase, the show jumping at Bromont held plenty of excitement, as scores were very close among the top contenders in all four International Equestrian Federation (FEI) sanctioned divisions.

William Coleman III of the United States became the winner of the CCI3* division and the Todd Sandler Challenge. Riding Obos O’Reilly, owned by Four-Star Eventing Group Syndicate, Coleman posted one of only two clear show jumping rounds in the CCI3* division. The challenging show jumping course was designed by Mauricio Garcia of Puerto Rico, who was assisted by Canada’s Jean Pierre Ayotte.

“I do love this event,” said Coleman, who was a member of the U.S. Eventing Team at the 2012 London Olympics. “I like the way it’s run and the people who run it. I always have a good time here. Some people have events where they tend to do well, and Bromont is one for me.”

Finishing second in the CCI3* was Canadian Olympian Selena O’Hanlon of Kingston, ON, who piloted Foxwood High to the only other clear round in the division, rising three spots from fifth place following Saturday’s cross-country phase. O’Hanlon also rode two other horses in the CCI3*, both of which finished in the placings. With Bellaney Rock she was fourth, while A First Romance placed 12th.

“This was the first CCI3* for all three of my horses,” said O’Hanlon. “I am thrilled with how all of them went this week, and I’m happy to be taking them home happy and sound. I’m looking forward to the future with all three of them.”

In the CIC3* division, Phillip Dutton maintained the lead he established after cross-country with Team Rebecca’s Ben. In the CIC3* division, competitors rode a shortened cross-country course compared to the CCI3*, but the final show jumping phase was over the same course as the CCI3*. Dutton had one fence down in the show jumping, but with a two rail lead, he still comfortably finished first with 72.1 penalties.

“I am overall pleased with Ben; he’s a very talented horse,” said Dutton, a two-time Olympic Team gold medalist for his native Australia who now competes for the U.S. “Ben’s work is getting better and higher quality.

Dutton, a frequent competitor at Bromont, was once again impressed with the calibre of competition.
“Bromont and Fair Hill CCI3* are the two hardest competitions of this level in North America in terms of terrain and course design,” he said in reference to the annual events held in Quebec and Maryland.

Moving up to second place with one of only two clear show jumping rounds in the CIC3* division was Canada’s Jessica Phoenix on Pavarotti, the horse with which she won individual gold and team silver at the 2011 Pan American Games.

“Pavarotti was awesome all weekend long, and he was so rideable on cross-country,” said Phoenix, who was the highest placed Canadian at the 2012 London Olympics. “He couldn’t have jumped any better.”

In the CCI2* division, Erin Sylvester of the United States managed to maintain her lead, despite a less than perfect show jumping round riding Mettraise. Her eight fault round and final score of 70.4 penalties stood up against the field of 14, after only four riders went clear in the show jumping.
“Overall I was really happy with my horse today; she got excited in the ring but she still tried really hard,” said Sylvester. “This is a big improvement over where she was even a few months ago.”

American Buck Davidson moved up five places in the CCI2* show jumping phase, vaulting from seventh after cross-country to second place after posting one of the division’s few clear rounds with Santa’s Keeper. Davidson was also third with Knight Lion.

In the CCI1* division, Waylon Roberts of Port Perry, ON, was the only Canadian winner at the 2013 Volvo Bromont Three Day Event. It wasn’t an easy victory for Roberts, who went into the show jumping with Yarrow only 4.8 penalties ahead of Erin Sylvester on Paddy the Caddy, who had added a single time penalty to their score in the show jumping. That one time penalty turned out to be just enough to keep Roberts in the top spot. After taking one rail and adding four faults to his score, Roberts finished just 0.8 points ahead of Sylvester, with 49.7 penalties.

“I thought the course today was really well designed. It was challenging for the level,” said Roberts, who was excited to have had such a major success with Yarrow, a six-year-old Canadian Sport Horse gelding sired by Yavari and bred by his parents, Canadian Olympians Ian Roberts and Kelly Plitz. “I’m really excited about Yarrow. He’s also a part of our family.”

The success of the Volvo CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event relies on the support of many sponsors and volunteers each year. Volvo returned as title sponsor for the second year, and Bromont was included for the third time in the PRO Tour Series. The Professional Riders Organization (PRO) is a non-profit group of accomplished event riders dedicated to promoting the sport and advocating safety for horses and riders.

“We are delighted with Volvo’s involvement again this year,” said Sue Ockendon, Event Director of the Volvo CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event. “We are also grateful for the sponsorship we have received from SSG Gloves, and from Keith and Debbi Eaman. We greatly appreciate the support from all of our sponsors.”

While the weather didn’t cooperate for much of the weekend, Ockendon says it’s a tribute to the ongoing improvements to the footing and drainage at Bromont, and to the efforts of the cross-country jump crew that the event was a success in spite of the rain.

“Jay Hambly and his crew worked very hard to make it possible for the horses to run at every fence,” said Ockendon of Bromont’s resident course builder and his team. “They put gravel down at every fence throughout the day on Saturday. That’s what helped the footing stay solid.”

The cross-country courses at Bromont were designed by Derek Di Grazia of the United States. Riders agreed that Di Grazia, the resident course designer at Bromont since 2009, created tracks of world class quality at the 2013 event.

“Derek is arguably one of the best designers in the world,” said Dutton. “What you find with his courses is consistency, and his courses are bigger than what you see in most of North America. You can have confidence in the lines that the distances are going to work.”

The 2013 Bromont Three Day Event was host to an FEI Course for officials, technical delegates, stewards and course designers. The course drew people from around the world to Bromont, which is in the final stages of bidding for the right to host the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games.

“The FEI Course was very good,” said Ockendon. “It gave people from all around the world the opportunity to come to Bromont and see how it works.”
The Volvo CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event, The Todd Sandler Challenge, is made possible in part through a contribution from the Government of Canada. The organizing committee also wishes to thank the Gouvernement du Québec, Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, for their support of this year’s event.

For more information about the Volvo CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event, please visit the bilingual website, www.bromontcci.com. Live scoring is available throughout the duration of the event.

Volvo CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event – Final Results

CCI3*
William Coleman III (USA) – Obos O’Reilly – 58.2
Selena O’Hanlon (CAN) – Foxwood High – 65.6
Sarah Cousins (USA) – Tsunami – 68.2
Selena O’Hanlon (CAN) – Bellaney Rock – 69.5
Alison Springer (USA) – Copycat Chloe – 77.0

CIC3*
Phillip Dutton (USA) – Ben – 72.1
Jessica Phoenix (CAN) – Pavarotti – 76.3
Lauren Kieffer (USA) – R. F. Cosima – 80.5
Caroline Martin USA) – Titanium – 91.6
Sarah Cousins (USA) – Westerly – 92.7

CCI2*
Erin Sylvester (USA) – Mettraise – 70.4
Buck Davidson (USA) – Santa’s Keeper – 78.8
Buck Davidson (USA) – Knight Lion – 82.4
Booli Selmayr (USA) – Castle Diamond – 82.7
Kate Chadderton (AUS) – VS McCuan Civil Liberty – 83.4

CCI1*
Waylon Roberts (CAN) – Yarrow – 49.7
Erin Sylvester (USA) – Paddy the Caddy – 50.1
Mikki Kuchta (USA) – Calle – 54.5
Phillip Dutton (USA) – Mansfield Park – 54.7
Lucia Strini (USA) – Petit Filou II – 54.9

Will Faudree and Andromaque

© 2013 Shannon Brinkman

Faudree (Hoffman, N.C.) and Jennifer Mosing's Andromaque entered the final phase in fourth place following a spectacular trip around the cross country on Saturday. In the show jumping, the 12-year-old Irish Thoroughbred mare faulted at fences six and 10A to move down one place. The talented pair finished in fifth on a score of 55.8.

"She tried very hard and looked great this morning. She's naturally a very careful horse, so I'm not too concerned about it in the future," said the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games veteran of Andromaque's performance on Sunday. "I just need to apply what I learned this weekend going forward."

Faudree also realizes the importance of competing in Europe and facing different challenges as the U.S. prepares for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games next year in Normandy.

"The rails are quite light and spindly over here; you can't even breathe on them. We need to be prepared for that in the future."

Little (Frederick, Md.) and Raylyn Farms Inc. and Phoebe and Michael Manders' eight-year-old Wurttemburger gelding RF Smoke on the Water were able to maintain their eighth place position despite incurring eight faults. The 2012 USEF National CCI3* Eventing Reserve Champions lowered the heights of fences eight and 11 to finish on a total of 60.

First to jump for the U.S. on Sunday were Burnett (The Plains, Va.) and Jacqueline Mars' 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Harbour Pilot. The 2011 Pan American Games Team Gold and Individual Silver medalists finished in 26th place on a score of 91.4 after rolling poles at the second and eighth fences.

Buck Davidson (Ocala, Fla.) and Sherrie Martin's The Apprentice were also competing at the Saumur CCI3* on a Land Rover Competition Grant but were eliminated on Saturday's cross country for not properly jumping fence 18B before continuing on course.

Australia's Levett claimed victory at the prestigious French competition finishing on his dressage of 42.6 with Shannondale Titan.

To learn more about the Saumur CCI3* visit; http://www.saumur.org/cci/accueil-gb.html

Follow the 2013 Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team here.

"Last year it was an all-star cast," said Michael Morrissey, president of Stadium Jumping and American Gold Cup organizer. "We wanted everyone to have a good experience and go away thinking this was the climax of the season. We feel we really accomplished that. This year, we are particularly excited to share The American Gold Cup in this incredible venue to a national television audience."

"NBC Sports Network's coverage offers a rare opportunity for sponsors and advertisers to reach an incredibly large, mainstream audience," continued Morrissey. "We encourage interested sponsors and advertisers to contact us about this unique marketing opportunity."

"The American Gold Cup is a prestigious equestrian event and we are happy to provide coverage to our viewers on NBC Sports Network," said Mike Perman, Vice President, Programming, NBC Sports Group.

Following last year's enormous success, Old Salem Farm in New York's Westchester County, will again serve as the picturesque setting for the American Gold Cup.  Old Salem Farm offers state-of-the-art facilities surrounded by 120 gorgeous acres. In 2012, the North American Riders Group (NARG) named The American Gold Cup one of the Top 25 Best Horse Shows in North America. The owners at Old Salem have made many renovations over the past few years to create one of the most extraordinary show facilities in the world.

The American Gold Cup scheduled for September 11-15, 2013 will feature a full array of jumper classes, including sections for Children and Adult Jumpers, Low and High Junior/Amateur Jumpers, plus the Open Jumpers.  New this year, the ASPCA Maclay Regional Championships will be held on Saturday evening in the Old Salem Farm indoor arena. The featured event, the coveted $200,000 American Gold Cup, will be held on Sunday September 15, 2013 and broadcast on NBC Sports Network the following Sunday, September 22, 2013

For further information, visit: www.stadiumjumping.com, or http://www.theamericangoldcup.com,

May 12th, 2013 -- The equine veterans ruled at the Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event this weekend, taking the titles in all four sections of the competition at the Horse Park of New Jersey. But their riders were a mix of the up-and-coming athletes who are the future of the sport, and those with well-earned team experience.

Change is gradual; sometimes you don't see it coming, then you wake up and there it is. But anyone who watched the event in horse-friendly Monmouth County had a chance to glimpse where things are going.

Veronica's permanent rider is now Lauren Kieffer, 24, who came up through the ranks of the O'Connor Event Team, and took over the ride from Olympic multi-medalist Karen O'Connor after she broke her back in a fall with the mare last year. Lauren led through all three phases to win the CIC 2-star on a score of 55.3 penalties, adding 8 time penalties cross-country in a division where only one person made the optimum time and dropping a rail in show jumping. She still had a nice margin over Sharon White's ride, Don Sheffield (57.9).

Lauren Kieffer, winner of the CCI 2-star with Veronica

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

Lauren is grateful to the Broussard family, which owns Veronica, for giving her the ride.

"It was very generous of the Broussards to take a chance on a new rider. It speaks worlds to their dedication to the sport that they're willing to give it to a younger rider rather than one of the top riders who ride for them already," she commented.

Boyd Martin handed over Remington XXV to 23-year-old Caitlin Silliman for what was supposed to be the first leg of the  17-year-old horse's  retirement, but he never looked better as he, too, led through all the phases of his division, the CCI 2-star and finished on his dressage score of 41 penalties, the best of any horse in the entire event.

"The more I learn about him, the better I'm able to ride him," said Caitlin, noting that Boyd, her boss, has been "a huge help." But she observed that Remington has learned something too; he's thinking more on his own than he used to with Boyd's professional ride.

Also leading throughout the CIC 3-star competition (do you sense a trend here?) Will Faudree's ride, Andromaque, finished on 51.1 penalties, adding only four time penalties cross-country as he prepped the mare for a trip with the U.S. contingent going to Saumur, France, this month.

"She's a star. I've always believed in that horse. She came here this weekend in preparation for Saumur and I wanted her solid in all three phases," said Will. He noted that her dressage performance was a wake-up call; "I won here on a score of 51, which is really exciting, but I know in France, 51 probably won't get me in the top 20, so we've got to up our game."

Jessica Phoenix celebrated Mother’s Day with her husband, Joel; her son Jacob and Exponential, who won the CCI 3-star

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

The hardest-fought division was the CCI 3-star, where Buck Davidson had no margin for error after cross-country on the 8-year-old D.A. Adirmo, who faced the biggest test of his short career on the course designed by John Williams, who has held that job for the entire history of Jersey Fresh. He was one of only two double-clears on that route; the other was that fiercely competitive pair, Canada's Jessica Phoenix and Exponential. Buck had 51.5 penalties to lead after cross-country, Jessica had 52.7. It's interesting to note that Jessica was the busiest rider at Jersey Fresh with five mounts, and I have to say she looked none the worse for wear after her final trip as she accepted a Mother's Day chocolate ice cream cone from her 3-year-old son, Jacob.

I chatted with Debbie Adams, D.A. Adirmo's owner, before the show jumping. Debbie came up with the idea for Jersey Fresh 11 years ago, and was so excited about how her Dutchbred horse was doing.

Listen: Debbie Adams

The winner of the dressage phase, Californian Mackenna Shea's horse, Landioso, had dropped to third with time penalties after cross-country. But disappointingly, he didn't make it through the horse inspection this morning. Mackenna, who had to settle for the sportsmanship award, a clock, rather than a ribbon, said the problem was a shoeing issue, and as soon as Landioso was reshod, he was sound. That's eventing.

With Courtney Cooper and Who's a Star on 63.9 penalties rather far back in third place, it was obvious that Sally Ike's course would be the decider between the top two.

Jessica had a rail at the eighth of 12 fences, a black-and- white oxer.

"I was thinking, `Oh, I sat on him' and apologized to her horse: `I'm sorry, I won't do that again.' " Then "we went around to the last line, and he was awesome."

She had given Buck some breathing room, but she didn't watch him go.

He used up his advantage at the first element of the yellow-and-white triple combination, dropping a rail at the oxer. And three fences later, it was over, as he had another knockdown at the next-to-last obstacle.

That was it, he finished second on 59.5 penalties, ahead of Courtney, who had one of only two double-clears in the division.

Analyzing what went wrong, Buck said, "when he hit the 'in' of the triple, it sort of startled him. I landed short coming out of the triple and thought, 'I better add' (a stride). If I had gone, he would have had a back rail. Obviously I shouldn't have done that."

Buck noted that the horse is young and when asked what A.D. Adirmo had learned, he replied. "Everything. He was trying, he's still green. I'm very excited with the finish. He's a nice horse for the future."

Jessica empathized.

"In this sport, it's so humbling, all I want is for everyone to have a good weekend. At the end of the day, when you win, you want to win because you've been at your best. You don't want to win from other people's rails. I feel for Buck,, it's unfortunate. He had a great weekend on that horse."

Jessica Phoenix and Exponential

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

Jessica--who was on her country's silver medal team with Exponential at the 2010 World Equestrian Games--was especially thrilled, because ironically with all that mileage, it was her first 3-star win.

And she was merely following orders from new Canadian coach Clayton Fredericks.

He had advised her to withdraw from the Rolex Kentucky 4-star last month after her dressage test wasn't up to snuff.

"This horse does not need to prove himself in his jumping phases. He just needs to go out and be competitive. Let's go to Jersey and win it,"  he told her.

So she did.

Jersey is a very different event from high-profile Rolex, just as the compact Horse Park of New Jersey is completely different from the expansive Kentucky Horse Park. That figures; Kentucky is all about the horse industry; New Jersey is not, even though the horse is the state animal, for what that's worth.

Jersey Fresh is an amazing volunteer operation that goes above and beyond with a shoestring budget. Everyone makes a big effort, and riders love the hospitality. The event has improved in recent years. There was a feeling that this edition was the best ever.

CIC 3-star winner Will Faudree with Andromaque

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

It drew a nice crowd for tailgating around the "Jersey Shore" water complex yesterday, despite the omnipresent threat of rain, which graciously held off until the competition was finished. The eventing gods have been kind this spring; the same thing happened at Rolex.

John, the cross-country designer, called his layout, "a notch more difficult this year, but it's also a better course. We're finding ways to utilize the property better so the course can be more open, galloping and flowing." He noted that with the one-fall rule for elimination and only three refusals on course allowed, the competitors don't get out of sequence as they used to when they remounted and caused delays, or kept going with refusal after refusal. Therefore, they don't get in each others way as they often did in the old days, making it difficult for the course to cross itself, as it does now. Therefore, the course "can exist on a smaller piece of property," John pointed out.

I spoke with Morgan Rowsell, the course builder, for his viewpoint.

Listen: Morgan Rowsell

Jersey Fresh was the source of a big improvement, breakaway flags that fall when a horse hits them, rather than breaking and injuring the animals. Last year, one of Will Coleman's horses was impaled by a broken flag and suffered a serious injury. Dr. Scott Palmer, the veterinarian who pulled the horse through, called then-U.S. Equestrian Federation President David O'Connor's (now the U.S. eventing coach) attention to the situation and suggested flexible poles should be used. They were at all the narrow jumps on course at Jersey Fresh.

Here's how Scott explained the situation.

Listen: Dr. Scott Palmer

It was good to catch up with Karen O'Connor and hear about her recovery. While she's back jumping, she has yet to compete; when she will do that, and what she will do, is still up in the air. Meanwhile, she's worried about Mr. Medicott, her 2012 Olympic horse. Marilyn Little is riding him while he's being syndicated, but not all the shares have been sold.

Listen: Karen O'Connor

Also on the injured list is Boyd, who had ankle surgery after Rolex Kentucky and was sporting a big bandage. He's getting it off tomorrow, and soon will be doing dressage, he said. When he'll be eventing again he couldn't say, but I'll bet it will be soon.

I'm switching gears at the end of the month and going to the Devon Horse Show, one of my favorites. Look for my postcard May 31. In the meantime, check out facebook.com/equisearch and facebook.com/practicalhorseman for more photos from Jersey Fresh.

Until then,

Madison Harris is a senior at Berry College in Rome, Georgia, studying Business Management. As team member of the Berry Hunt Seat team, Madison has held the captain's position of Historian for 3 years as well. On top of team, riding her Appendix Quarter Horse mare, Sassie, and participating in the IHSA Media Internship, she also started and manages her own photography business called MHarris Photography. Photography and horses are two of her passions and she is incredibly excited to be helping out with the Practical Horseman coverage this year in Harrisburg.

Nicole Mandracchia has been riding for over 10 years and is a working student at James and Robin Fairclough’s Top Brass Farm in Newton, New Jersey. She helps tend to the farm's 25 driving and jumping horses. She grooms and shows at major horse shows on the East Coast, such as HITS Saugerties and Ocala, Garden State, the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show, the Pennsylvania National and Lake Placid. She attends Centenary College and is the senior captain of the IHSA team where she has been competing in the Open level for four years. Nicole is planning to graduate in May 2013 with an Equine Studies degree with a concentration in Communications.

For the latest results and information about the 2013 IHSA Nationals, click HERE. Watch live streaming of all the action HERE.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Nicole Mandracchia's Blog: Final Hunt Seat Day at IHSA Nationals: I heard one of my favorite songs, “Titanium” by Sia, come over the loudspeaker this morning while all our horses were out schooling. I sang along with it for a few bars and then turned to one of my teammates with a smile. “It’s going to be a good day—this is a good song.” He looked at me like I was crazy, but I was getting good vibes.

As the saying goes, it ain’t over until it’s over. It seemed as though Centenary’s luck finally turned around today. Senior Cori Reich won the coveted USEF/Cacchione Cup title, something she has been working very hard for. This is the third time in five years that a Centenary rider has claimed this title; graduate Lindsay Clark won it in 2009 and graduate Marissa Cohen won in 2011.

It was so stressful listening to the announcer list the riders’ names in reverse order of placing during the awards presentation. Our entire team was there to cheer for her when her name was called in first place—we were all in tears. After all the ribbon pictures were taken, we stormed into the arena and enveloped her in a group hug. There are so many of us that I’m sure it looked like a stampede! Cori is amazing and we are so proud of her.

Our Open Flat rider, junior Kathryn Haley, scored a win for us in Team Open Flat. The judges did not call the riders back for further testing like they did last year. Instead, they asked the riders to drop their stirrups to the right and perform flatwork without them, including a lengthening of stride at the canter. Katie rode beautifully and with the same grace and poise that she always has. I wish I could flat as well as she can!

That win brought us to a tie with Goucher College for 5^th overall in the team placings, which was the same placing we received last year. Being one of the top five teams in the country is pretty good and we’ll definitely take it! Skidmore and St. Lawrence deserved the win—their riders were exceptional all week. Stanford University jumped to the Reserve Championship, which was great for them! The Savannah College of Art and Design was third and Mount Holyoke was fourth.

The show always does three sportsmanship awards to recognize three individuals who have worked hard all week to make Nationals possible. Rebecca Folk of Lafayette College won the Rider Award, Erin Githens of Lafayette College won the Coach Award and Centenary’s very own Amy Gregonis won the Volunteer Award. Congratulations to them—all were very deserving!

There’s also a Horse of the Show award given to the horse that has been the most consistent all week and has been a favorite among riders and coaches. Centenary’s King won this award, and he proudly posed in the winner’s circle. He will receive free SmartPaks for a year and won a beautiful bridle, which we want him to wear in his lessons every day. Centenary has had King for 7 years, and he has been such a great addition to our program. He has taught countless riders how to ride and always comes to Nationals with us. He also does ANRC Nationals, IDA shows at Centenary, IHSA shows at Centenary and Hunter/Jumper team shows. He a professional and knows his job well.

After the award presentations, we packed up our equipment and horses to go home. This was the last IHSA show of my college career—I graduate from Centenary in two weeks. It’s so surreal and I do not know where the past four years have gone. IHSA has been a part of my college career from day 1; I have always been committed to our team. I have learned so many essential riding skills competing in IHSA shows in Zone 3, Region 3. As a captain, I’ve learned the value of teamwork and how to run horse shows successfully and efficiently. I have learned how to get the best out of my team and encourage them to work hard and never give up. I’ve made so many life-long friends that I will never forget and will always keep in touch with. And most importantly, I’ve learned horsemanship skills that will last a lifetime.

Ultimately, we had a great year and that’s all that really matters. We were undefeated, winning every show all semester and we claimed the Zone 3 Finals Championship. None of Centenary’s success would have been possible without the help of all 60 people on our team, and I thank each and every one of them for one of the best years our team has ever had. I can’t thank our coaches Michael Dowling and Heather Clark enough for all their support and dedication to the team. All those no-stirrup lessons and practices ultimately made us stronger riders. It has been an honor to work with each member of this team, and I hope that they will learn as much from IHSA as I did.

2013 IHSA Nationals ended in a tie this year between Skidmore and St. Lawrence. Both coaches had wonderful things to say about the other team. Mary Drueding (St. Lawrence): "I'd rather share than lose the title. I'm incredibly proud of Zone 2 in itself. We have strong riders, strong coaches, and we all fight until the 8th class on the last day." Belinda (Asst. Coach of Skidmore): "This was a really special camaraderie and we're both thrilled to share the title within Zone 2."

© Madison Harris

I have to share this photo of my own team, Berry College, who claimed 6th place today. On a personal note, we have fought the past three years of my college career to reach Nationals and haven't made it as a team past Zones. This year, after an undefeated season, my team made it to Nationals. I have never been a part of such a hard-working and supportive group of people before and I was proud to watch them accomplish this goal. This was probably the greatest present I could've received at the end of my senior year. Go Vikings!

© Madison Harris

King, the Dutch Warmblood from Centenary College, won Champion Hunt Seat Horse of 2013 Nationals. What a beautiful guy!

© Madison Harris

I had the chance for a quick word with Peter Leone after the Cacchione Cup final. He stated: "The Cacchione final testing was Maclay caliber of skill. All the coaches and teams should be incredibly proud of their riders. I was impressed."

© Madison Harris

We have some fantastic video footage provided from a number of sources this week!

© Madison Harris

Running the in-gate at a horse show, especially Nationals, takes a large amount of skill and multitasking. I caught our manager, Chris Mitchell, in the middle of a vary precarious situation involving the balance of coffee and calling riders.

© Madison Harris

Everyone has a tendency to stop and check out the coveted Hunt Seat National Champion trophy, I know I have a couple of times.

© Madison Harris

Meet Lucy! Lucy is a 12 year old, Dutch Warmblood, who is owned by the United States Military Academy. After speaking to her owners, Lucy was found by a friend of the family and shared with them her remarkable talent as a jumper. Lucy has been a show-favorite this week due to her floppy ears as she listens to her riders. As her owner said: "She's known for it, and sometimes you can't really help how big your head is!"

© Madison Harris

While we're here with our teammates cheering us on, we have a tendency to forget how proud our parents are of us. As our number one fans since we start our careers, countless hours are spent watching ringside. They stick with us through the highs and lows, the falls, the smiles, and most of all, the moments that matter most. I had the pleasure of capturing Flavia D'urso's father watching from the gate as Flavia received her Champion ribbon in Collegiate Open Equitation Over Fences for Skidmore College. Not a single person could help but smile as he pointed her out in excitement and pride.

© Madison Harris

The final 10 riders from the Cacchione Cup line up for the awards ceremony.

© Madison Harris

Peter Leone is present today at Nationals. Winning riders have been awarded his "Show Jumping Clinic" book as a prize here. All 10 of the Cacchione riders received a book as a token of competition. Peter is a Member of the United States Equestrian Team and has represented the United States on numerous occasions including in 1982 when he helped the U.S. finish fourth in the World Championships in Dublin, Ireland, and in 1996 when he and Crown Royal Legato were part of the USET's Silver Medal team at the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta.

© Madison Harris

Cori Reich, of Centenary College, becomes emotional as she is left standing in the lineup as the winner of the 2013 Cacchione Cup. After finishing 15th last year in the Cacchione Cup, Reich was ecstatic with this accomplishment. Speaking to her after the awards, she "thanked Heather and Michael for pushing her incredibly hard and expecting a lot out of her and her teammates. That's how accomplishments are made."

© Madison Harris

The Cacchione Cup is a wrap! Final standings were: Cori Reich, from Centenary (Champion), Flavia D'Urso, from Skidmore (Reserve Champion) and Blake Roberts from Virginia Intermont (Third).

© Madison Harris

Here's the mounting arena where the riders meet their horses. Afterward they make the walk through the tunnel to the competition arena.

© Madison Harris

Approach these exercises at a calm, regular, balanced pace with quite a long or possibly even loose contact. I place a great deal of emphasis on awakening the horse’s initiative at an early stage of training and attempting to maintain that initiative throughout his career; thus, my emphasis on soft reins.

Do not ride your horse as if you must give him a good ride, but rather attempt to be an intelligent passenger. Once he gets to the obstacle, he must arrange his footwork and propel his body over the fence. At this point, it is your job to stay out of his way. If you run into difficulties, you should either lower the obstacle or, if you are jumping gymnastic obstacles in sequence, remove the last obstacle and lower the others until you get your horse going forward again. Once he is calm and balanced, you can resume the exercise.

Your goals are for your horse to maintain his rhythm, balance and regularity of stride over obstacles. I think that we should teach the horse to balance himself, not to expect us to balance him. An excellent exercise is to count in rhythm with his stride as he proceeds down the line of obstacles. For example, if you have obstacles set up to produce one stride in between them, as the horse lands over the first element you should be able to say out loud, “land.” Then, as he reaches the end of his stride before leaving the ground over the second obstacle, you should be able to say, “one,” in rhythm with the takeoff. If there are succeeding obstacles, you should be able to repeat this down the entire gymnastic line.

This sounds like a very simple exercise, but you will find it surprisingly difficult to perform correctly while your horse is jumping. You may find that the timing of your voice is not in rhythm with your horse’s landing. This is the most common mistake I see in my clinics. Riders who make this mistake usually have some weakness in their jumping positions that causes a loss of balance. This loss of balance is very distracting because the rider will think more about self-preservation than about maintaining balance and rhythm in the landing phase of the jump. If you land out of balance, it means there is something wrong with your position. If there is something wrong with your position, it is usually that your lower-leg position is faulty. Most of the time, if you improve your lower-leg position, you will improve your landing after jumps.

Your horse should maintain an absolutely steady, regular cadence down the line of obstacles. Your counting should also be steady, regular and cadenced. Riders who become agitated when jumping will find that their voices rise in volume and pitch. Many riders will quicken the cadence of their counting until their voices and their horses’ strides are no longer in synchrony. Many times, these are the same riders who will blame their horses for rushing.

Practice keeping your eye on the next object in your horse’s path. For example, if you are trotting toward a pole on the ground, look through his ears at the pole until it goes out of sight. With young ­horses and inexperienced riders, I do not ask the rider to alter the horse’s step in front of the pole because I want to ­awaken the horse’s initiative. Whether he takes a slightly long step or adds a step before the pole, I am equally satisfied. If he steps on the pole, the chances are good that he will learn from the experience and not do it again. If he continues to step on the poles on the ground, I ­suggest that the rider find another prospect, as this one is probably too dumb to improve over obstacles.

Look sequentially at each object in your horse’s path. If you are trotting over a series of ground poles followed by an obstacle, look at the first pole on the ground and then keep your eye on the obstacle until it goes out of sight ­between your horse’s ears. This will help you maintain a straight line through the gymnastic exercises and will also help you develop your timing. You can’t see your stride if you don’t see the jump.

These exercises rely on cavalletti to stabilize your horse’s length of step, speed and balance. If an obstacle follows the cavalletti, use the posting trot until your horse steps over the last pole, then softly lower your seat to the saddle. This ensures that you are in touch with your horse’s back when he leaves the ground.

Do not lean forward while negotiating the cavalletti. When your horse leaves the ground to jump the obstacle, you should have the sensation that he has brought his withers up toward your chest.
For all cavalletti and jumping work, your horse should wear protective boots or bandages on his legs as he may knock his legs while learning to ­coordinate them.

For this column, I am excerpting Gymnastics 2 and 3. To learn Gymnastic 1, which consists of four cavalletti exercises, click here.

Her base of support is OK, but she needs to be on guard against dropping back into her saddle too early. Her buttocks are very close to her saddle, and if she drops her seat at the apex of the jump, her horse’s back is punished.

Her posture—her back and shoulders—is correct, and her head is up. I think her eyes would be up, too, but the photographer seems to have caught her blinking.

I never mind seeing a rider grab mane, as that is far preferable to grabbing the horse in his mouth. However, I should not be able to see her right hand crossing over the left side of her horse’s neck. If her horse drifts right, she should use a left opening rein and right leg to correct him, rather than trying to neck-rein a correction.

This horse has an uneven front end, which is a shame because he is a round and powerful jumper. However, as this rider is much more advanced than the novices earlier in this column, she might be able to sharpen him up. She should jump him over small verticals and parallel oxers, on circles and figure eights, to get him into the habit of jerking both his front legs high. The gag bit indicates that he might be heavy in front and hard to balance, so that probably increases his tendency to land and use her hand as a fifth leg. She might experiment with different bits to help lighten him, but she should take care not to overflex him or ride him too low.

This horse is in good weight, but the turnout on him and his rider is rather rustic and without polish. They are prepared for a working session only.

This article originally appeared in the June 2008 issue of Practical Horseman magazine. Is this photo of you? Email Practical.Horseman@EquiNetwork.com, and we'll identify you!