Don’t worry videos are coming shortly
The Training Solutions from Top Riders forum is easily my favorite forum at the USEA convention each year. Karen O’Connor, Boyd Martin, Phillip Dutton, Leslie Law, Clayton Fredericks, Buck Davidson, Shannon Lilley, Hannah Burnett, and Lynn Symansky took and and all training questions from the audience for an hour and a half. One audience member would ask a question and then all of the riders would answer the question. You will be hard pressed to ever find a group of better riders to answer questions. As an aside, I am uploading videos of the forum and I will be posting them when they are uploaded.
Mr. Nunn from Bit of Britain started the forum off by asking about what unique technology the riders are using these days. Karen said that she uses leather bits a lot when a horse tends to grab ahold of traditional bits. Boyd said that he tries to compete all horses up to prelim in a snaffle. Boyd emphasized that there are risks in using too strong of a bit too early. Phillip said that he sometimes uses a standing martingale when training at home (they are not allowed in competition of course). Leslie Law said that he typically prefers a very natural approach to training. After a quick plug for Southern Star Saddlery, Clayton Fredericks said that he is a fan of simplifying the nosebands that he uses and often checks his horses’ mouths to make sure they are in good condition. Buck said that he prefers to actually take things like stirrups and reins away to teach the horse and rider to be more independent. Hannah Burnett won the quote of the day award by saying “I love breastplates” and said that everyone should use one when jumping. Lynn echoed what Buck said and suggested working students on the lunge to focus on the rider’s performance.
What to do about helping horses to stop horses from grinding their teeth? — Karen said that if nothing else works, putting a little spec of dirt in a horses mouth right before they go into the arena will stop grinding.
What to do about nervous horses in the warmup who as spooking from other horses, etc? — Shannon said that she tries to do as much desensitization training at home as possible. She also said there’s nothing that can replace going away from home as an experience for the horse. Hannah said that she tries to break things down for the horse and gradually introduce them to more and more complex situations.
What to look for in a young horse? — Boyd says it all depends on what you want to do with the horse. He said that for him the goal for every horse is to do a 4* so he needs a horse that can gallop and jump well. The next big priority is having the movement in the dressage. He said that he looks for 60-70% or more Thoroughbred. Phillip said that he really suggests people look at the attitude of the horse. That’s advice I didn’t take from Phillip once and spent the next year and a half learning a lot of patience. Leslie said he looks for heart, but that this can be really hard to diagnose in a 40 minute pre-purchase test ride.
What’s the difference in quality in buying from the US or overseas? — Boyd said that in Europe there are literally thousands of people specifically breeding event horses and they are all within a few hours drive of each other. Shannon Lilley agreed with Boyd and said that you can see 15 or 20 horses in a day in Europe whereas you can usually only find one or two suitable horses for purchase per day in the States on a purchasing trip.
Which horse would the panelists most like to ride? — Hannah Burnett said Neville Bardos. Leslie Law said Inmidair, mentioning that the horse has all of the skills: “that horse could medal.” High praise from someone who knows a thing or two about winning an Olympic medal.
How do I make a horse who is short in the neck reach down into the bridle?— Buck said that transitions are his key to getting the horses to reach out into the contact. Clayton said that he likes the horses really light in the contact.
Dr. Kevin Keane asked about how the riders have evolved to the short format in terms of preparing the fitness of their top horses. — Leslie said “a fit horse is a fit horse” and said that he hasn’t changed his fitness program a great deal over the years. He said he believes in interval training and then sprinting the horses closer to three-days. Clayton said that there is a greater intensity at the CIC format because there is less galloping between the fences. He explained that they do more sprinting now than perhaps they used to for the long format. Buck said that different horses have different fitness ceilings and that he does a lot of trotting and perhaps fewer gallops. Buck suggested that the riding has changed for the better in that riders are pacing their horses on course now more than when the short format first started.
How much time off should horses get after a three-day? — Lynn said that she believes in giving a month off when possible and then bringing them back gradually but of course every situation is different.
What’s your favorite exercise to teach horses to be brave jumping? — Boyd explained that he thinks it is very important to be careful that event horses don’t ever get the idea about stopping. As a rider, our responsibility is to never scare the horse. Clayton said that it is critical for the riders to have a good position with their body so they do not have to interfere with the horse’s head and neck. When this starts to become a problem it can easily turn into a vicious cycle.
How often do you jump your upper level horses over bigger jumps? — Hannah said that it really depends on the horse and that she has one horse who hardly ever jumps larger fences because he needs practice at being calm.
How do you avoid having to use a bigger bit? — Boyd explained most problems are related to training questions. He said that if a horse doesn’t slow down on the cross-country you haven’t trained the horse to slow down at home. Leslie said that he always tries to avoid using a bigger bit, but he would rather use a bigger bit that a horse listens to rather than have to pull on a horse’s mouth constantly with a snaffle.
What to do with a problem horse? — Buck said that he likes to reduce the issues into as simple of a situation as possible such as riding in a confined indoor arena. He also mentioned that sometimes you just have to realize if things aren’t going to work out and try to find a different horse.
When is the right time as an instructor to step in and tell their students that a horse might not be working out? — Boyd explained that he believes a rider can help improve a horse but that we can’t fundamentally change them completely. Lynn said that often times bad behavior by a horse is about the horse not being a good match for the rider rather than the horse just being a bad horse.
What are your favorite exercises for indoor arenas? — The question was asked by a Minnesotan who said she has to spend 5 months each winter in an indoor due to less than ideal weather. The panelists sheepishly admitted that they don’t spend enough time up north in the winter to have to work in an indoor for extended periods of time. Buck said that the biggest thing that he sees from people who work in indoors all the time is that the horse gets behind their leg. He said you have to constantly test the horses.
What can we do to get the most fitness out of the riders? Leslie said that before Athens he would work out in a heat chamber set to the conditions they would have to deal with in Athens. Leslie finds that aerobic fitness is most important for riding. Clayton observed that riding is a core strength sport and suggested lots of work on an inflatable workout ball. Clayton said that working out is important to improving a rider’s mental toughness as well.
Go eventing.
