Breeding the Show Jumper - Influence of the Selle Fracaise bloodlines

Quidam de Revel

In order to improve my own education on bloodlines I have been doing a bit of research into prominent show jumping horses and their families. I have used several sources that I was previously unaware of including the sites:

Sporthorse Database

World Breeding Federation of Sport Horses

The WBFSH compiles a list of top horses competing in each discipline and the bloodlines. They also have a list of top sires. These lists are based on FEI competition results. I also looked at the horses that were in the top 10 placings in show jumping at the 2012 London Olympics. In some cases the same horses were involved. In many cases the same bloodlines are involved. One of the impressions that I got from studying this list was the overwhelming presence of Selle Francais bloodlines in the top show jumping horses; even in the top competing Dutch, Holsteiner and Belgian Warmblood horses.

WBFSH Top 10 Jumping Sire Ranking

1 BALOUBET DU ROUET (SF)- 10.328
2 KANNAN (KWPN) - 9.576
3 DARCO (BWP)- 8.442
4 QUICK STAR (SF) - 7.983
5 HEARTBREAKER (KWPN) - 7.499
6 CARETINO (HOL) - 6.844
7 QUIDAM DE REVEL (SF)- 6.308
8 NABAB DE RÊVE (BWP but 100%SF)- 6.067
9 DIAMANT DE SEMILLY (SF)- 5.644
10 CARTHAGO (HOL)- 5.585

Of the top 10 Sires, 5 of them are 100% Selle Francais; 3 are over 25-50% Selle Francais, 1 is 1/8 Selle Francais. Only Darco has no evidence of the Selle Francais blood influence.

The top 10 horses in Show Jumping from the Olympics are:

Nino Des Buissonets (SF) Kannan/Narcos II
Eurocommerce London (BWP) Nabab de Reve/ Chin Chin (56% SF)
Blue Loyd 12 (Old) Landor S/Hadj (50% SF)
Noblesse Des Tess (SF) Cumano/ Irak E
Rosalia La Silla (HOL) Cassini I/Contender (12.5% SF)
Hello Sanctos (SBS) Quasimodo/Nabab de Reve (62% SF)
Big Star (KWPN) Quick Star/ Nimmerdor (50% SF)
Flexible (ISH) Cruising/Safari
Star Power (KWPN) Quick Star/ Calvados (75% SF)
Tripple X III (AES- KWPN) Namelus R/ Calve Z(25% SF)

Out of these 10 horse, 7 are 50-100% Selle Francais. Two of the remaining three are 12-25% Selle Francais. Only Rich Fellers' Cruising does not have a significant influence of Selle Francais in his breeding. However, he is significantly Thoroughbred in his Irish Sport Horse breeding which is worth considering when analyzing what kind of genetics make the Selle Francais blood so significant in top level show jumpers.

Whenever you take current success at the top of the levels and try to break it down to bloodlines, you have to take into account trends at the time that the horses were born. In this case the majority of the horses competing in the Olympics were born between 2000-2003. Two Selle Francais sires that show up more than once in direct lineage are Nabab de Reve and Quick Star. Cor de la Bryere is the most well known Selle Francais that shows up somewhere in almost all of the show jumping sires. I examined these three stallions in an effort to better understand the nature of the Selle Francais success.

Cor de La Bryere - the Thoroughbred influence

Cor de la Byere was born in 1968 in France. "Corde" as he was nicknamed was by Rantzau, a French Thoroughbred racehorse who later became most well-known for the jumping horses that he sired. Rantzau had a reputation for producing sensitive, difficult horses that were generally excellent jumpers. The dam of Corde was Quenotte B by Lurioso,who was sired by Furioso, an equally influential Thoroughbred stallion. She was a Selle Francais show jumper. Although Cor de la Bryere's bloodlines were considered exceptional, the French selection committee recommended that he be gelded. Instead he was sold to the Holsteiner Verband as a 3 year old and later that year won his 100 Day Test.

Cor de la Bryere stood at 16.2 1/2 hands (169cm). He was a dark bay with one white hind stocking. I was unable to find out any information about whether he was ridden, but his success in the breeding shed overshadows any question of his value. With select mares he produced some of the most important sires in sporthorse breeding.

As quoted in a Eurodressage article:

The mare Tabelle (by Heißsporn) brought five approved sons in a row. First of all the sons Calypso I and Calypso II got big influence in the Holsteiner - and Hannoveranian - breeding of today. The mare Furgund (by Colombo) was bred by Cor de la Bryère 18 times and delivered five approved sons. One of them, Calando I, was German Champion in jumping with Karsten Huck, and today he is still one of the most important sires of the Holsteiner breed.

The mare Deka brought the approved stallions Caletto I, II and III by Cor de la Bryère. Calleto I was very successful in the international jumping circuit with Michael Rüping and today he is a demanded sire. The most important Cor de la Bryère-son for the breeding must be Caletto II, sire of the Olympic Champion Classic Touch, who lost his life by a tragic accident after only four years breeding.

The offsprings of Cor de la Bryère were also very successful in sport. First of all the dressage champion Corlandus, who was a highlight on the international dressage scene for many years, ridden by French Margit Otto-Crepin. The grey Corrado I, who has returned for breeding at the Holsteiner Verband, won several World Cup-qualifications under Franke Sloothaak.

Corde was known to produce incredible bascule, scope and jumping technique. He was also know to produce highly trainable, good dispositions with an excellent, balanced canter. He had a freedom of movement that made him suitable for both jumping and dressage horses. His athleticism and springiness improved the longevity of jumping horses preventing premature breakdowns previously caused by horses that exhibited only raw power. However his influence was predominantly in the German breeding of Oldenburgs and Holsteiners, where he crossed well with the powerful, heavier warmblood mares. It took a number of years for the French to see the usefulness of their own son.

Quick Star - The Anglo Arab Influence

Quick Star was born in France in 1982. His sire is the well known Galoubet who is predominantly French Trotter crossed with Thoroughbred. And his dam, Stella, who was 7/8 Anglo Arab was a highly successful jumper under Nelson Pessoa. Stella was sired by Nithard, who was considered the "foundation sire of the modern Anglo-Arab." Nithard started with a respectable career on the racetrack but went on to sire some very influential progeny including his grandson, Matcho AA, who was imported to Hanover and has had a significant influence as a broodmare sire of dressage horses.

Quick Star was small in stature standing just at 15.2 hands (159cm). He was ridden by Meridith Michaels, who took him to Germany with her when she moved and later married Markus Beerbaum. While in Europe with Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, Quick Star was stabled at Paul Schockemoele's stables and was supposedly used by Paul Schockemohle for his own breeding purposes covering around 400 mares without the owner's approval. The owner, Alain Katz, had difficulty impressing the French breeders with this "midget" but the criticism was soon proven wrong by the success of his offspring. He seems to have inherited force, power and courage from his Galoubet lines, and the intelligence and technique of his dam line.

Quick Star is known for producing spirited horses with lots of character; strong, short backs capable of catapulting over the fences, and occasionally some aesthetic weaknesses including disproportionate head and necks, and less than perfect front ends. His youngsters are known for their strong wills, keen attitudes, and incredible jumping talent. In forums on the internet, he is described as a producer of horses that challenge the average amateur but are unmatched in jumping talent.

Nabab de Reve - the French Demi-Sang influence

Nabab de Reve was born in Belgium in 1990 and is by the well known Selle Francais stallion, Quidam de Revel. Although Nabab de Reve is registered as a Belgian Warmblood, his dam is also a registered Selle Francais. The bloodlines are pure French, combining well known French Demi Sang lines with an infusion of Thoroughbreds such as Orange Peel, Furioso, Rantzau. The result was a highly successful show jumper that competed at the international level with great success. Nabab's jumping style shows great front end technique characteristic of other French Thoroughbred lines like Furioso and Rantzau. But unlike the hotter more aggressive style of a horse like Quick Star, Nabab appears to leisurely power over the fences.

Nabab was ridden by Phillipe Le Jeune at several world championships including winning the bronze medal at the World Games at Jerez. In 2002 he was named Horse of the Year by the BWP ( Belgian Warmblood organization). He has produced several licensed sons for the BWP including Bacardi van’t Lambroeck, Winsome v d Plataan and Vigo d’Arsouille. Nabab de Reve has produced numerous successful show jumpers including Olympic successes, Eurocommerce London, and Hello Sanctos. He has proven to be an excellent broodmare sire and seems to cross well with the offspring of Cor de la Bryere's sons. He is also considered an excellent cross with Heartbreaker mares. Unfortunately his frozen semen has mixed reviews and there are few off-spring in the United States. Nabab's get tend to be large with notoriously plain heads. They are known to be honest with a good temperament for amateurs. In most videos of offspring that I have seen, Nabab produces horse with elastic form, great shoulder rotation and opening up of the hind-end over the fences.

Expertise is Earned not Purchased

Breeding success is not something that can be purchased in a single horse or dose of semen. The majority of breeders that have produced Olympic show jumpers have acquired their knowledge through years of experience at shows, auctions, and the breeding shed. The Selle Francais's success in show jumping seems to be the result of a multi-generation focus on creating superior jumping power and technique. The Selle Francais breeders have combined proven Anglo Arab and Thoroughbred blood with the stronger, more powerful French warmblood and trotters to produce horses that have a reputation for being keen and careful jumpers with a lot of power. The bloodlines that are more predominantly Anglo-Arab lines have a reputation for quick, careful jumps as well as strong wills and intelligence making them excellent top level competitors but not necessarily suitable for an amateur.

It seems that a breeder interested in pursuing a breeding program that utilizes the Selle Francais lines would be advised to consider the distinctive differences in temperaments between the Selle Francais horses heavily dosed with the French Demi Sang/ Trotter lines and the more Anglo-Arab/ Thoroughbred lines. This requires an examination of three to four generations. But regardless of the choice in family, it is undeniable that the Selle Francais lines offer a heavy dose of power and technique on the horse bred for the top levels of show jumping. The number of Selle Francais horses that were successful at the Olympics in 2012 indicates to me that the French continue to have a "finger on the pulse" of successful pairings for top level show jumpers.  

Breeding with Purpose - Outlining The Journey

In anticipation of the start of breeding season I decided to delve into some thoughts and observations I have made recently about the breeding of sport horses. I am not any kind of authority on the subject but I am definitely a student of bloodlines and what they produce. I am also very interested in the marketplace for horses because the majority of my business is training for sales. In the U.S. a breeder of sporthorses can rarely recuperate the expenses they put into their offspring unless they sell them within the first year. This results in most breeding programs being short lived and short sighted. I believe that if the United States wants to be competitive on the international scene, then there must be an American breeding program producing quality horses for American riders.

I have observed that the breeding of horses for equestrian sports in the U.S. is no where near as organized as it is in Europe nor as organized as Thoroughbred breeding in the U.S. The only explanation I have for this is that the marketplace for sporthorses lacks any cohesion. In order for breeders to have a reliable market for their horses, various breed organizations and sport organizations need to work together to create an infrastructure that includes reliable statistics, quality auctions and incentive programs that financially encourage breeders to participate. All of the elements exist in the U.S., there is just not a network to unify them. The result is that American breeders often choose bloodlines based on convenience and information no more reliable than rumor; and then they pray that they will get lucky and sell whatever they produce.

The Breeding Plan

I am a person who likes to hear why breeder's do what they do. I recently communicated with a breeder that had a sibling of my stallions about their program and in spite of being virtual strangers our phone conversation lasted over an hour. This particular breeder had acquired several thoroughbred mares off the track and was breeding to young American warmblood stallions that had demonstrated excellent scope over fences in their stallion testings and were second generation lines of prominent European stallions. He had produced some nice horses but was frustrated with the limitations he faced in getting his horses sold. The basic gist was that he was having to sell his horses before they began their show careers because he did not have an in-house trainer. However the trainers that purchased his horses were tripling their investments within the year. He was eager to participate in these profits but thus far had been unable to figure out a way to. Although we all know the scenario of tripling profits with horses is rare and very circumstantial, the essence of this breeder's quandary was that he was frustrated with the limitations inherent in the marketplace.

I came away from this conversation with two thoughts. First, there seems to be an opportunity for partnerships between breeders and trainers of young horses. And secondly, many breeders do not have a budget or a plan to train and show the horses that they breed. Their goal is to sell them young. This is understandable given that putting a young horse with a reputable trainer can cost $1200-$2500 per month depending on what part of the country you live in. To bring a young horse from first rides through a program like the USDF Young Dressage Horse or USEF Young Jumper Championships requires a minimum of 18 months which equals $21,000 to $45,000 in training costs. In addition, annual show expenses could run an owner anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000. Based on these round numbers the investment in a horse competing as a five year old is estimated to be anywhere from $57,000 to $100,000. This sounds ridiculous but unfortunately these numbers are a reality for a breeder that does not ride or start their horses.

The Europeans Do It Better

I have always been the first person to complain about riders shopping for horses in Europe. I have seen plenty of imported horses that did not compare in ridability or talent to their American counterpart. However, recently I have been looking for specific bloodlines and talent in the U.S. and I simply can not find it. In contrast I can spend hours watching auctions in Europe via the internet and see multiple versions of the type of horse I am looking for. There are two possible explanations for this. First, the marketing is just better in Europe. There are hundreds of farms in Europe that work together with stud farms to hold testings and auctions to exhibit their horses. This exists in the American Thoroughbred industry for racing but not for sporthorses. The other, more depressing option is that we simply have sub-standard sporthorse breeding in the United States. This is not an option I really want to accept but the lack of a consolidated source for information makes it difficult to refute.

So how do Europeans do a better job in the breeding of sporthorses? I would argue that it starts with a marketplace that is well organized and well publicized. Stud farms and breed organizations across Europe hold annual auctions to showcase young stock, stallions and horses in training. These auctions help to educate the horse-interested public on successful bloodlines and have created buyers ready to spend money for quality as seen by the recent prices at the P.S.I. auction in Ankum. The breed organizations are very discriminating in their stallion and mare approvals and most of the breeding programs have been multiple generations in the making.

By contrast, in the U.S. there are very few multi-generation breeders of sporthorses and the majority of warmblood horses bred are through small breeding programs that have been in existence for less than 5 years. There are multi-generation breeders of American thoroughbreds for racing, but few thoroughbred breeders think beyond the racetrack and few develop their bloodlines for long term use in the equestrian sports of jumping, dressage, eventing or even polo.  The Jockey Club has begun several programs to begin to promote the Thoroughbred beyond the racetrack but there are few breeders of thoroughbreds that consider the other equestrian sports more than a dumping ground for their inadequate.

Looking Forward

I was excited to learn that the USEA announced a new prize for Young Event Horses that is a grant for a qualifying 5 year old YEH Champion to travel to the 7 year old two star championships in Europe. The grant is larger for a U.S. bred qualifier. This kind of promotion and incentive program encourages breeders to create a long range plan for their young horses. American breeding programs must begin to think in terms of decades not years. Trainers and breeders need to cooperate to bring young horses from the nursery paddock to the competition arena in an equitable manner. This, in turn, will give buyers a reliable source for horses that is also invested in the horse's success.

As the equestrian show organizations incentivize quality development of breeding and young horses, the breeders will need better sources for information on bloodlines. In the world of thoroughbred racing, breeders have tools such as Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., Equibase, Equineline to help inform their choices. When I considered breeding or purchasing a racehorse, I managed to satiate my dreams through the wonderful tools of Keeneland's database for their annual auction's and Equibase's Virtual Stable where I monitored horses that actually raced as if they were my own.  This type of network of information between bloodline research, auction results and actual competition records benefits breeders and encourages participation in the sport. There is a basic source of information available in the competition records kept by the U.S.E.F. and affiliate organizations but there needs to be a magazine, ezine, blog or website that synthesizes this information and makes it accessible to the public.

As I understand it, equestrian sports have a much larger audience and participation among the general public in the British Isles and Europe than there is in the United States. This is not an accidental cultural phenomenon. I believe it is the result of a deliberate infrastructure and cohesive marketing. If we want to consistently see American bred horses compete at the top of the equestrian sports we are going to need to invest in a multilateral approach to breeding of sporthorses. We must develop a comprehensive source for information on bloodlines and competition results of certain bloodline crosses. *** We must encourage long range planning of breeders and the cooperation between breeders and trainers to get horses into competition. And finally, we must develop reputable sporthorse auctions where breeders can exhibit their offspring and buyers can reliably purchase quality horses. If we create this kind of infrastructure with the information already available, then U.S. breeders will  undoubtedly experience marketplace and competition success comparable to Europe. Then there will be no reason why anyone would travel outside of the U.S to purchase quality bloodstock except to diversify or just to have a nice trip in a foreign country.


*** In an effort to create my own database of breeding information, I intend to follow up this blog post with specific research that I am doing into the success of particular bloodlines among both warmbloods and thoroughbreds.

Suppleness - Using a Jumping Exercise to Improve Flat work

Borrowing the Brilliance of Others

The majority of the training exercises that I do with my horses are variations of lessons I have taken and then made my own through practice on different horses. I have had the good fortune to practice exercises on lots of different horses and have learned that certain exercises benefit horses in different ways. The other way that I have developed my training program is by watching other people teach. At a recent A Hunter/Jumper show I was lucky enough to walk through the covered arena and spot one of my favorite instructors to watch, Don Stewart. Since my background is boot strap eventing, equitation horses and riders are like an exotic curiosity for me. I say that with a sense of humor, but with acknowledgment that just watching an equitation guru like Don Stewart teach a routine lesson fills my head with ideas. The lesson that I saw at the show was a lesson with jumps and poles on a circle. There is a similar exercise outlined in the book 101 Jumping Exercises.

As I watched Don Stewart teach his lesson I took particular notice of the softness and rhythm of the horses as they turned on the circle. The horses lifted their shoulders and carried themselves in balance so that the jumps passed effortlessly beneath them as if part of the canter stride. The jumps were no larger than 2'6" and the poles played as important a role as the jumps. The riders practiced staying with the horse, not ahead or behind the motion. I was quickly convinced this type of exercise needed to become a part of my training program with my young horses.

The Set-Up

I set up my exercise at home using three sets of standards placed beside one another approximately 30-40' apart. I placed poles between the standards and perpendicular to the standards approximately 3-4 turning strides away. This gave me three possible jumps with poles to work with on a figure of eight. I started all of the horses out with just poles on the ground and tried to maintain a rhythm at the trot and then progress to the canter. The horses showed me how much they could handle and if they quickly understood the poles I progressed to adding low x's between the standards.

Each horse handled the exercise differently depending on their physical and training weaknesses. I discovered holes in what they knew and how they handled the challenges. Overall I felt that the horses found it was difficult to stay supple on the turns but the exercise required that they use their backs and step under in order to get from each pole to the next. I also experienced my own weaknesses and discovered (again) that being still and letting the horse do its job is never easy.

Example #1 - Ashley and Crimson

I did this exercise with a couple of horses before Ashley came for a lesson on her horse, Crimson, an off-the-track-thoroughbred that we have been working with for about 6 months. Crimson is a large bodied thoroughbred with a big barrel that struggles to lift his back and step under with his inside hind. This in turn makes him difficult to keep connected from back to front and supple in his turns. I knew from the experience with the other horses that this exercise would help focus our lesson and help Crimson use his hind-end.

Ashley began trotting the poles on a circle after a short warmup. As she navigated the poles on the circle, she had to be very specific about her aids in order to travel from the center of one pole to the next. This involved coordinated use of the reins and leg aids to keep his shoulders and hind legs staying on the same path. I don't think she or I imagined what a challenge this would be for the both of them. But the improvements in Crimson were immediate. Whereas before she had been struggling to keep Crimson consistently bent on the circle without losing his shoulder, the specific path of the poles kept her timing of her aids accurate and her eye consistently looking ahead.

The poles made Crimson more aware of his feet and he lifted his shoulder through the turn as opposed to leaning against Ashley's inside leg which had become his habit. As he relaxed and understood he started to soften his neck and back and easily come "on the bit" for Ashley.

We did not try to canter the poles before we added an x to one of the sets of standards. Crimson, like most of the off-the-track thoroughbreds struggles to keep his canter rhythm on the circle. Instead we used the jump like a canter transition. Ashley worked to keep her hands following him over the small jump, he maintained a canter on the other side of the x and she worked to keep him steering to the next pole. As his canter became disorganized she returned to the trot and repeated the exercise. In this way he practiced using his body correctly without a lot of struggle with the bit and Ashley could focus on following him and staying balanced herself.

Example # 2 - Rocky and I practice using both reins to turn

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity for someone to document my ride on Rocky through the exercise. My goals for Rocky were to use the exercise to improve his technique over the fences and help him see his distance to the fence on a turn. He is a naturally very clever with his feet about poles and jumps but he has a tendency to leap off the ground from any spot he feels necessary regardless of distance from the jump. This creates a challenge for me as a rider to stay with him and limits the height I am willing to jump until he becomes confident about his distances. As I did the exercise I found that the technique over the fences and his confidence about his distances improved as the suppleness in his canter improved.

Rocky has a tendency to swing his hips to the outside of the circle in an effort to avoid having to engage his hind-end. The intermittent poles and jump required him to keep his hind-end working. Also I could feel that I was throwing him onto his forehand by pulling with my inside rein on the turns. I had to concentrate to stay over the center of him and turn with both reins in order not to change his balance and inadvertently his lead as he tried to rebalance beneath me.

A Supple Jump - A Better Horse

Elmar Pollman-Schweckhorst mentions in his book, Training the Modern Show Jumper, that you can not access the full potential of a horse without the horse being supple: "With a supple horse, it is easier to make use of his power." This is just as accurate a statement when it comes to dressage as jumping. The horse has to learn to turn and maneuver its body without bracing against the rider. He has to be willing to do this, not forced. The horses in the lesson I observed Don Stewart teach at the show made the jumping on a circle exercise look easy. Their canter rhythm was unhurried, balanced and flexible. And the jumps were effortless. Regardless of whether the ultimate goal is a supple jumper or a supple dressage horse, the exercises with poles require that the horse work on engagement and stepping under their body without over involvement of the rider. The rider instead has to pay attention to the coordination of their turning aids and staying balanced over the center of the horse. My advice, don't expect to get it right the first time. Ashley and I can both attest that those equitation horses and riders made it look a lot easier than it is. There's hours of practicing exercises like these behind the effortless balance and suppleness those horses and riders demonstrate. But what a wonderful ride that must be!

Lunge Lesson #2- Solving a bad ride

Learning When to Get Off the Horse

One of the most important lessons a rider can learn about horseback riding is when they should get off the horse. I repeatedly have to learn this lesson but I must say I think my judgement is improving. I am inherently a fighter that doesn't want to give up but my current circumstances have dictated that I learn to solve my riding problems from the ground. I regularly ride young horses with no one else at the farm. Although I generally ride within view of my neighbor's house, I recognize that every time I step in the stirrup I am taking my life (and the ability to raise my daughter) into my own hands. I never get on a horse without a helmet and I try to remember to get off the horse when a ride starts to go bad. Regardless of whether one rides alone, these are two very important rules of thumb that will hopefully keep me riding into old age.

The clinics I did with Buck Brannaman emphasized to me that 90% of the problems a rider has with a horse are visible from the groundwork. Buck is not a proponent of lunging but he is a proponent of looking at riding problems literally from the ground up. I now try to identify when something in my riding is hitting a wall and I step off the horse. I look to my groundwork to dissect and solve the problem- sometimes it involves groundwork exercises that are about directing the feet and sometimes it involves more traditional lunging. The point is that I try to avoid fighting horses from on their back. I have learned that most of my horse injuries were a result of a fight from on their back, and young horses seem to do better learning something new when they don't have you in "mountain lion position" trying to make them do something they are afraid of.

Phippen, aka Chicken Little

Phippen, one of my off-the-track thoroughbreds has one significant character flaw- he doesn't believe in himself. I know this sounds silly but I have come across a few horses like this and all of their problems seem to go back to a fundamental lack of belief in themselves and their ability to solve challenges. These horses often exhibit a sudden change of heart, are prone to panic or in a few cases are extremely disobedient- rearing, spinning, taking off. Phippen is not an extreme case and is definitely making huge progress but I come across things periodically in our training that unexpectedly overface him. I believe the way that I will teach him to have that confidence in himself is by identifying these moments and giving him a way to accomplish the challenge.

Today I came across a new challenge for Phippen- cantering in a 10-15 meter circle. It is my experience that 80% of all off-the-track thoroughbreds struggle with two handicaps from the track- they have mouths that have been taught to pull on the bit, and they have always balanced on their forehand. (Springstone's Crown Prince is the current barn exception to this.) Phippen, in addition to these typical handicaps, is a long gangly horse that at 5 years old has more leg than body. He has made huge improvements over the year but compressing his body and balancing onto his hindquarters for a smaller circle was almost more than he could bare. As I spiraled in on the circle from 20 meters to 15 meters, his neck went up, legs flaired in all directions and he began to throw his head violently in the air. He was never disobedient but clearly was on the verge. After several very unsuccessful smaller circles where he fought my contact, I decided that we were headed down the wrong path. I got off and walked back to the barn in search of my lunging equipment.

The Lunge Lesson- Turning at the canter

I grabbed a lunge line and lunge whip and I made one tack adjustment back at the barn. I put a standing martingale on Phippen. I adjusted it so that it was at moderate length- once attached to the noseband, it was just long enough for me to push the strap up along the underside of the neck and throat latch. I was careful not to make it too short because my goal was not to hold his head down, rather it was to give a resistance to any head throwing. As I gathered up my equipment, numerous groundwork opportunities arose. These are the little thing that are crucial to improving Phippen's overall coonfidence. For example, my standing martingale was in the trailer next to the fence. Phippen had to walk with me through a narrow space, deal with the trailer door flying open, back out of the narrow space, stand patiently while I readjusted the tack. All of these little moments were opportunities for him to confront issues and solve the challenge without panic. Handling the small stuff gives him confidence and helps him realize he can handle the bigger stuff, like challenging jumps or dressage questions.

In the roundpen, I attached the lungeline to the bit and trotted him on a normal sized circle. I asked for the canter and watched what happened as I began to make the circle smaller. As the circle became smaller, Phippen raised his head and neck to balance. He struggled with keeping his legs organized, swapped leads and floundered as he tried to figure out how to accomplish the task. I kept the circle just challenging enough in size, and allowed him to regroup and start over. The patience paid off. As he began to figure out his own balance (without the added weight of the rider) on the smaller circle he relaxed and kept his lead. Watching him on the lunge also helped me realize that I was asking for too much at once when I was riding him. His gangly conformation means that he is more legs than muscle, and he is really not strong enough yet to carry himself in a frame on the smaller circle. I saw on the lunge line that I needed to allow him to carry his head higher, poke his nose out, while he figured out how to shift his weight to his hind-end. By asking for the smaller circle and at the same time for him to be "on the bit" put him in a situation he felt was impossible to achieve and the reins were like a trap he had to fight.

After cantering both direction on the lunge with rhythm and consistency, I returned to riding. I asked for the canter and immediately let his head and neck go where it needed to go in order for him to keep the rhythm on a smaller circle. As we repeated the circles several times I could feel his mouth getting softer, his body getting more relaxed and he became more willing to try to adjust his body as I wanted. There were no perfect circles ready for a dressage test, but by the end of the ride both myself and Phippen were taking normal breaths, my arm muscles weren't throbbing and he was clearly willing to try the next question without panic or fear.

More Safety = More Confident

It has taken me a few years to learn to appreciate the training time off of the horse as much as the training time on the horse. And more than years, it has taken me a few horses. The number one lesson that I have learned from training horses is that they have to be confident in order to be safe. That goes for riders as well. And the best way to teach a horse confidence is by recognizing when a riding problem is escalating into a panicked, distressed horse (or rider); get off the horse and go do groundwork that allows you to analyze and address the issue. I am not suggesting that all riding problems can be fixed from the ground, but you would be amazed at the number that can. Also, no ride is worth your life and a slightly dangerous situation can become life-threatening when a horse panics. I have found as I have taken the time to address the horse's problems in a way that allows the horse to become more successful, they become problem solvers on their own. More importantly, they become a safer ride.

Why Own a Horse? (Especially if you don't ride.)

Horse Ownership in a Nutshell

I think that there is one universal truth when it come to owning a horse- ALL HORSE OWNERS ARE NUTS. And if you are a horse owner and don't believe this statement, there is probably a therapy group you should join to help you come out of your state of denial. I am sure there are some husbands out there who believe that somehow they are exempt from this statement because they just pay the bills (resentfully in most cases) for the animals that their wives and children own. But they are in a state worse than denial. At least once you admit you are crazy, you can enjoy your craziness.

I can't tell you how many times people have come to my barn and witnessed how much work it is to take care of these horses on a shoe-string budget (quite literally) and have said to me with a look somewhere between pity and awe, "How... Why do you work so hard to ride and care for these horses?" And the answer is, "Because I absolutely love it. I love being outdoors. I love the thrill of their personalities, their majestic power, their fragility. I love the challenge intellectually, emotionally, practically. I love being able to eat what I want and not worry about gaining weight. I love that I don't have to pay for a gym membership. I don't worry most days of the week about what clothes I am wearing or make-up. I love that horses keep me real, keep me honest with myself, keep me humble. I love watching their herd relationships. I love that I get to see the sunset almost seven days a week."

But I am crazy- fully admitted. The real question is why would someone else, especially a person who does not ride, want to own a horse?

"The Investment"

This fall (2012) Springstone had an opportunity to put together a partnership on the young horse Jadore WW. I was involved in the aquisistion and training of Jadore since the fall of 2011 and I believe she is a horse that shows a great deal of potential as a top level show jumper. However to produce this horse to the top levels would require an investment that was beyond the scope of my current resources. I needed "Investors" to get this horse on track to meet her potential.

The term "Investor" is a tricky word when used in association with horses. I would love to get a list of the number of sitcom episodes that have been based on the joke of a naive investor with big dreams of making millions getting duped into the purchase of a broken down racehorse. The truth of horses is that they are expensive, fragile, temperamental creatures that are a high risk investment at best. They take a base of knowledge to care for them and train them that is only gained through years of experience. The value of a horse is often judged by intimate knowledge of bloodlines, nuanced show records and subjective experience of riders with the usual vulnerability to markets shifts. In short investing in a horse is primarily an investment in an experience, a little like a trip to Las Vegas or along the lines of something Indiana Jones would pursue in Raiders of the Lost Ark- brave the hostile natives, booby traps and ancient curses for the promise of a special statuette of which only a few will know the significance.

It came as a wonderful surprise to me when our family friends expressed a willingness to invest in Jadore WW. A number of conversations took place over the phone outlining the details of the partnership and responsibilities involved. The partnership was drawn up legally into a limited liability corporation with details clearly agreed upon. We talked about her potential future but entertained a healthy dose of skepticism in an attempt to keep everyone with one foot on solid ground. Our family friends had decided to go into the horse business, long distance, and they don't even ride.

The Introduction

Last week, some of J'Adore's new family came to visit. In typical horse-fashion, she injured her legs the day before their arrival. Nothing serious but a few cuts and a bandaged leg, but I had to remark on her timing. As I said in the beginning, one thing I love about horses is how they keep you real.

I always enjoy watching non-horsey people's reaction to horses up close and personal. Frank's first few comments were about J'Adore's size. Even horse folk like my mom noted her massive size at 3 years old- every bit of 16.3-17h, with big bones and a broad chest. The other trait that is blatantly obvious to the uneducated is what a curious, nosey mare she is. As soon as Frank walked to the fence, J'adore walked over to meet him and nosed every inch of his face and arms as if vetting him out to see if he was worthy of her. Frank handled her cautiously remarking on her sudden flinch at an accidental bump in the nose, "These creatures are so temperamental and big."

The horses took to Frank as he sat by the fence reading news items on his phone. I don't know if it was the peppermint gum he was chewing or they just liked his unassuming presence near the herd. I have always said that horses are the best judge of character. They immediately identify dominant personalities, call out over-bearing individuals, and are wary of people with unsettled personalities that are prone to drama. As Buck Brannaman says, "Your horse is a mirror to your soul, and sometimes you may not like what you see . Sometimes, you will." In my observation the horses including J'Adore liked what they saw in Frank's soul.

 

The Future 

I am very thankful for the involvement of Frank and Doris, and the many others that helped in 
setting up the partnership that will allow me to continue to train this wonderful mare. I have been researching the "horse syndicate" model for quite some time and believe it is probably the best and only way to go with horse partnerships. There are great resources for learning about the process of "syndicating" or forming a limited liability corporation to own a horse and I am including several links below for further reading. Competing horses at the top level of the sport can be very cost-prohibitive. I believe the "syndicate" model offers opportunities for expanding participation in the sport to people who don't necessarily want to ride or compete horses but enjoy their personalities and watching them perform. Ownership of a horse has the potential for financial rewards but first and foremost it should be fun and an adventure that everyone can share the process.

http://www.experienceeventing.com/syndication.aspx

http://www.westpointtb.com/about

http://www.dreamteamracingstable.com/

http://www.sporthorseenterprises.com/showjumpingsyndicates.php

http://www.demonedressage.com/Syndicate/index.html