Competitive Level and Teaching Ability 

The title of horse trainer encompasses many definitions, descriptions, focuses and levels. From riding instructors that teach summer camps and up down beginner kids to coaches and riders at the top FEI levels and everything in between fall under the umbrella title of horse trainer. Some trainers specialize in something specific such as jumpers only or young horses while others cover many categories. It is important for any professional to focus on what they are good at.  When you are looking for a trainer you have to know what strengths you are looking for and what weaknesses you can live with. There are countless people that are impressed by riders’ competitive accomplishments. Rightly so, it takes a lot to campaign and be successful competing in any equine discipline. However, whatever a rider has won, or whatever level they’ve ridden at, has much less bearing on what they could teach you than you might think. . There are very different skill sets involved with training a horse to do things, teaching a rider to do things, or being a competitive rider. Yes experience is invaluable. You need to be realistic that what the person has experience in is what you actually need. 

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 Some of the best and most influential trainers I know don’t ride due to physical issues, or don’t compete for whatever reason. They watch. They have the best eye for when a rider is about to mess something up. One of them is a R judge. He would teach from  the judges perspective rather than what a rider would say or think. It was enlightening. People that don’t ride as well, or don’t have that draw to performing in competition can be amazing students of the art of riding horses. A very dear friend of mine is one of the best teachers I’ve had. She rides but doesn’t really show. She rode a lot in her pony and junior career. Now she is a judge and an avid studier of the sport. She is constantly watching horse shows, clinics,  anything she finds online. She has worked for some top trainers in the hunter/jumper industry and watched their methods. I’ve gotten some of my best instructions ever from both of these trainers. 

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A rider looking for help needs to be aware of what they truly need in a trainer. In the hunter/jumper world there are many professionals that primarily show. They live on the road and show lots of horses every week. They catch ride all the time. I think of these pros as jump jockeys. They will most likely do a great job showing your horse to the best of its ability but they might not be the best at giving the pre show pep talk or talking a rider off the ledge about a particular confidence issue. When the riding part comes easy or naturally to someone they might not even be aware of what they do to be able to teach someone else how to do it. They may not have the time to train at home to help your horse improve.  

Clients that deam competitive level as such an important criteria in a trainers credentials may miss out on someone with the talent that they could really benefit from. Not every trainer has the financial backing or desire and mental fortitude to compete. Performing in front of others and being judged for it is a very specific task required in any type of performance activity, be it a sport, a recital, acting, being a public speaker or anything like that. Showing horses also takes a lot of time and money and this is exponential to get to upper levels. Not everyone can swing that. In eventing there are not pro days and amatuer days of showing. A pro can’t show the horse to prepare it for the amatuer. It is even harder in that discipline to be able to compete as a trainer as owners are less likely to pay for the pro to show their horse. So the burden of showing or building one's own show record comes to the pro owning their own horses and paying for their own to show. It is very expensive and most trainers don’t make enough for that nor can afford to buy quality young horses that they can train up and be competitive in today’s show ring. 

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It is important that a trainer knows the sport, knows what is required, and is involved in the sport but to have ridden at a certain level does not preclude if they can train to that level. There are some riders that get to upper levels with their one very special talented horse. That doesn’t mean they can ride multiple kinds of horses. That doesn’t make them a great instructor. Being able to verbalize a concept, know the riding theory behind what you are asking a student  to do, know multiple ways to get the same thing accomplished, understanding different learning styles of riders, knowing proper technique and position, understanding anatomy, knowing where to start and how to progress are all skills that make up a good teacher. A good trainer of horses is another skill set altogether as is being a good jump jockey in the show ring.

When you are looking for a trainer, determine what you or your horse need help with most. Find out what the trainers you are interested in specialize in or what their training focus is. Find out what level they’ve trained horses and riders too. That would have more bearing on what you may need. Find out if their horsemanship and training philosophy resonates with yours. These talents are most likely more important for the majority of clients out there. 

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No Time Like the Present

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The end of November feels more like the end of the year for me than New Years. The holidays have begun with Thanksgiving, my birthday falls at the end of the month, finals and indoors are over, a lot of the horses start winter break, and the new show season starts December 1. It's a natural time for a recap, review and reset. This year also marks the end of the decade.  I took some time on my birthday to look back on my life with horses. There are so many facets to my long life with horses. At the beginning of this decade I was working hard at training and showing hunters, jumpers and equitation horses. I was traveling and showing a lot, living the life. I felt like I was doing a good job with the horses and riders. I was producing good riders and good horses without huge budgets. Ten years later I’m at a riper age as a horseman. I’ve got some years of experience. I’ve had lots of horses teach me stuff. I’ve been to a lot of different places and shows and been able to learn from good people. I’m not so old that I’m too crippled yet to still be an active rider. I am old enough to make better decisions.  

My current horse is tough. He’s tough by nature. He is a Thoroughbred, a war horse that raced until he was 7.  While I’ve been going through the process of his retraining, recovering from some pretty severe pasture accidents, rehabbing, and trying to teach him that he is no longer a race horse I’ve often thought that maybe I’m too old for this. Too old for this green, strong, athletic, unpredictable, hot, fast, headstrong, opinionated, angry and many other adjectives of a TB. He has been one of the tougher horses I have encountered in my career. I believe that he came to me at this time because it is the right time. When I was younger and bolder I would not have made the best decisions for him. I would have moved along quicker with more of an agenda. I may have ridden through things that just needed more time or figuring out the mental component. While his antics would have bothered me less I wouldn’t have known how to bring this kind of horse along and do right by him. I’m grateful for the many horses that have taught me things and brought me to this point. I’m grateful that I’m still young enough that I can throw my leg over this horse and get it done.  I may be a little more cautious than I once was but I am wiser too. I’m very lucky that this horse belongs to me so there is no timetable. No expectations. I never bought him to be an investment horse. I didn’t care what he became. This allowed me to go at whatever pace he needed.

As a trainer there are often many extenuating circumstances surrounding each horse. It is much different when you have to get a horse sold quick, or get it ready for an owner to ride. I have a couple of other horses in my stable right now that came to me for various reasons and degrees of difficulty. I’m having pretty good luck turning them around. These horses have owners and timetables and pressures but I’m getting better about managing all that too and do what is best for the horse. It is always a learning curve. 

As I move into the next decade I am lucky enough to be training a more versatile group of horses. I’ve gotten back to my roots in eventing. I get to travel and coach all over in both eventing and hunter/jumpers. I’m building some success with rehabbing am loving helping horses and their people develop to be the best they can be.