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.
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.
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.
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.
