8EN received an overwhelming response to Hylofit’s Next Top Amateur Contest, in which we sent out a call for amateur eventers to share the big goals they’ve got their sights set on for this season. In addition to winner Courtenay Tuxhorn, who received a Hylofit System and lifetime membership, Hylofit also selected four finalists who will receive a discount on the hardware and a lifetime membership: Kathy Nolan, Jolie Jantz, Jeffie Chaplin and Mallory Stiver. EN is honored to publish all of their entries, and best of luck to all! Read on to meet finalist Mallory Stiver and her OTTB, Huey. Go Eventing.

Photo courtesy of Mallory Stiver.

My name is Mallory Stiver, and I currently compete at the Intermediate/CCI2*-L level with my 9-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred, Hugo Boss, AKA Huey. I have had Huey since he was 3 years old, and together we have gone up the levels together. I had only ever competed to Novice before I got him, so it’s pretty safe to say we’ve been learning the ins and outs of upper level eventing as a team.

I am as adult amateur as they come — juggling between trying to keep Huey fit enough to compete at the upper levels, while also working full time at a dental office, and chipping away towards my bachelor’s in marketing management. Having three very time consuming things on my plate, occasionally things have to get put aside on the backburner so I can focus my attention on the other stuff. The past couple years, I would take a semester (or two) off school, or cut back on hours, so I could focus on bringing Huey up the levels. It wasn’t ideal for my education, but I was able to save up a lot of money working and also bringing Huey to where he is at now. I just threw my heart and soul into riding him and taking as many lessons as I could.

This past winter, my job got the backburner this time and I was able to save up enough money to take a few weeks off work to take Huey down to Ocala and do a couple events with my trainer. Living in Kansas, this was a huge advantage, as we do not have very many Intermediates OR FEIs in our area, so we were able to get a jump start on the spring season.

Photo courtesy of Mallory Stiver.

Now that I am nearing the end of my degree, with plans to pursue a master’s afterwards, unfortunately it just seems inevitable that Huey is getting the short end of the stick this time. However, being a very goal oriented person, not competing is just simply not in the realm of possibilities for me. Riding and competing is my stress relief, and being an amateur, I’m clearly not doing it for the money or any team spots, but purely for fun and love of the sport.

Instead of throwing Huey to a pasture while I finish school, I would still like to compete him and keep aiming towards new goals. We recently moved up to Intermediate less than a year ago, so my next big goal would be to complete a CCI3*-S with him this fall, or hopefully the AECs. Summer is just around the corner, thus beginning the 5:30 a.m. wake-up calls to ride before the heat.

Huey tends to struggle a bit more in the summer. Though he is a young fit Thoroughbred, he has always been a bit on the quieter side, and feels pretty lethargic during the hotter months. I remember when we completed our first Intermediate last July at Champagne Run, I came off cross country telling my trainer how tired he felt, and knew that I would have to up his conditioning after that. It paid off, and we had a successful fall season finishing with a confident double clear cross country at the Heritage Park Horse Trials, with Huey still full of fire.

Photo courtesy of Mallory Stiver.

This spring, I have tried to get creative with our fitness routine, and instead of doing trot, canter and gallop sets, which are not only time consuming, but more strenuous on Huey’s big body, I have incorporated my parents’ long and extremely steep driveway into his conditioning schedule. I have also started running their driveway as well, because how can I expect my horse to be fit if I’m not right there with him? I don’t know if this beneficial to him yet, but I do know that his physically he is feeling strong.

I am constantly trying to do right by my horse. I want to set him up for the best possible chance of success and help him in any way I know how. Having this Hylofit System would absolutely help Huey and I reach the lofty goals that I have set for us this fall, and will help me learn more about my horse’s body. It would also reaffirm that I’ve been making the correct decisions on his fitness routine, or it will tell me that what I’ve been doing is wrong, so that I can make the proper adjustments if need be. I don’t just want to complete a CCI3*-S this fall – I want to complete it with a confident cross country round, and with a horse fit enough to do it again.

Click here to read more about how using Hylofit can up your fitness game. Want to learn more about using a heart-rate monitor? EN has a handy guide here. You can also sign up here to receive updates and tips from Hylofit on how to make the most of your conditioning and training work at any level. Go Amateurs. Go Eventing.