Leah Lang-Gluscic and AP Prime. Photo by Conklin Photography.
Last week we met Leah Lang-Gluscic and AP Prime, an 8-year-old off-track Thoroughbred she campaigned from beginner novice through the CIC2* level in less than two years. While AP has soared through the levels, Leah is now taking a step back at the two-star level to address his dressage and show jumping. Like many off-track Thoroughbreds, AP struggles with remaining relaxed and fluid throughout his dressage tests, and Leah hopes to rebuild his muscle memory to help him handle those tense moments. “The flatwork has always been a little challenging,” Leah said. “He tries so hard that sometimes he gets a little bit tense and too inward. That’s been a struggle from the beginning. But it’s a matter of me becoming a sophisticated enough rider for him. He has the ability and the movement. In the beginning, getting him to relax over his topline and really use himself was always a challenge, and now it’s getting him to relax in the ring.”
Leah trains for dressage with Kathryn Barry, who in turn trains with Olympic bronze medalist Christine Traurig. Kathryn’s training philosophy and focus on helping AP stay relaxed has helped immensely, Leah said. “My weakness is keeping my horses supple enough, so at home I’m trying to be diligent about that,” Leah said. “Kathryn really stays on top of me about that and understands AP and how sensitive he is. It’s really a matter of being disciplined about what AP needs at home.” To give herself as many opportunities as possible to work on AP’s relaxation in the ring, Leah is hauling to schooling shows this summer to ride her two-star test hors concours in front of different judges. “We’ve been working on dressage all summer and getting him in a lot of different rings for practice,” Leah said. “The collection has come a long way even since this spring.”
Leah and AP Prime at Red Hills. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.
While AP hasn’t had a cross-country jump penalty since Richland last year, the show jumping at the intermediate level continues to present challenges, and they’re struggling to leave all the poles in the cups. But, as with the dressage, Leah knows exactly what she needs to do to keep fine-tuning their show jumping as a team. “I’m always working on classical equitation and being correct in my jumping position,” Leah said. “If I do that, he’s brilliant. He jumps once a week or once every two weeks depending on our competition schedule. I’ll set up exercises to keep him tuned up and sharp, but the big thing with him is staying in really correct classical equitation. If I focus on that and just ride the gaits to the jump instead of trying to pick a distance, he’s so good.”
With her summer homework in mind, Leah is diligently preparing for Fair Hill. “Right now, I’m just really focused on fall,” Leah said. “He’ll do the two-star at Richland and one or two more horse trials, and then the Fair Hill CCI2*.” Leah hopes to move AP up to Advanced in January at Rocking Horse. Then she’ll tackle the CIC3* at Red Hills, hit a CCI at either Jersey Fresh or Bromont, and then aim for the Fair Hill CCI3* in the fall of 2014. “Rolex in 2015 would be amazing, but who knows,” Leah said. “That’s the perfect world plan. He definitely has the ability. It will just come down to soundness and everything working out. The goal is always to get to that level no matter when it happens and to be as competitive as possible when we do.”
Editor’s note: Leah wanted to give a shoutout to EN’s sponsors Omega Alpha and FLAIR Nasal Strips, as both of these companies help keep AP in top form.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3SCKWmlLPQ
Leah and AP Prime going intermediate at Richland
Next week on EN’s Got Talent: We’ll meet Courtney Cooper and R Star, a 7-year-old homebred Irish Sport Horse mare owned by Courtney and Neal Camens, her husband. A half-brother to Courtney’s Who’s A Star, who was third in the Jersey Fresh CCI3* in May, this exciting mare was ready to move up to intermediate before having an unexpected surgery last winter. Courtney is now moving “Hope” back to that point, and they most recently won their preliminary division at the Horse Park of New Jersey last month. Hope is by the Dutch Warmblood stallion R. Johnson, whose sire G. Ramiro Z has produced many successful horses, including show jumper Ratina Z, gold medalist in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games. Thanks to Margaret Rizzo McKelvy for the tip!
