Another rider death

[callyhan]

@BAY WITH CHROME

I watched the July 2019 video. I should forward this with a caveat. I’m just a low level rider trying to wrap my head around the tragedy that’s happened, and what’s been happening to this sport. I mostly ride dressage, but I like eventing and we usually go to one or two BN/N events a year. I am a USEA member, but I’m low hanging fruit.

I have way more experience in this sport as a spectator and volunteer jump judge than as a rider, so take what I say below with a grain of salt.

I read the comments before watching the video. They made me expect way worse. With the exception of the poor call made to go through the unmowed portion of the course, this ride seemed about average for what I see when I jump judge. I saw a strong horse that was forward and had a tendency to want to flatten out and get on the forehand, and a rider that was correcting that a few strides before the fence. I saw a horse that took a lot of strong rein aids to half-halt but that’s very common on cross country. They met a few fences underpowered, but I did not see a horse with a lack of scope for this level… Isn’t that course beefy for the level? I saw what I would say was an average pair on a tough track… so are average riders now getting killed in our sport? When I say average, I mean that they are the middling line, not professionals with incredibly talent and not riders that just fell off the turnip cart either.

I’ve watched many riders on course ride like the above. Is that the metric for “dangerous riding”? Excluding the unmowed portion - I mean the rest of the ride. Am I not doing my due diligence in reporting them for dangerous riding to the TD? My honest take has been the last few events I’ve jump-judged at, most riders were way more dangerous than the above in between fences, with horses barely in control and riders really loose in the tack.

Add me as another low level amateur that didn’t think the Rebecca Farm video was totally out of the ordinary. I mean the horse looked strong and obviously was ripping around that course but it honestly doesn’t look that different from a lot of rides I see from kids with OTTBs around here. You’d be hard pressed to find a jump judge with the courage to call someone out on that for “dangerous riding”. I think it would take something more extreme to get flagged or carded in these parts.

Also should mention I saw on article on Kat and Kerry On in my local small town Ontario newspaper today, so this story is definitely circulating outside of the equestrian realm.

[Jealoushe]

@LockeMeadows

Out of respect for the recent loss of this horse and rider, I will refrain from commenting on their video. I agree that is cruel and heartless.

I will share my point of view of the Eventing community in general.

Eventers tend to make fun of the Hunters saying it is “easy”. What they fail to realize is that flawless trip is a result of seamless communication between horse and rider. Many Event riders couldn’t put together 8 good fences if their life depended on it and it shows in SJ. I say many because there are some riders who are absolutely a pleasure to watch in SJ/XC. They are not the majority though. I’m always perplexed watching SJ at Events. If the horses went around in between the rider’s legs in a balanced manner and come back easily to a half-halt without flinging their head all over God’s creation, so many more rails would stay up!

I did a quick YouTube search typing in Preliminary Stadium Jumping. This is the first video at that level. Folks, this is scary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agBmn6F5124 The second video wasn’t quite as bad, but the trip fell apart towards the end and that type of jumping could end VERY badly over a big solid fence such as a table. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH6iRzUZ89k I would assume that they both took these horses XC? Scary…

Then I found this one. This rider is LOVELY. I don’t know who she is, but her base of support is wonderful. Even when her horse doesn’t get a great spot, she is tight as can be in the tack. What a pleasure to watch! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6pT7-xju4k This rider is safe and effective.

Stop with the “eventers suck as SJ” crap. NO THEY DON’T. Sorry I’m yelling but no, they don’t. They also have THREE disciplines to train which is insanely difficult to manage. So maybe they don’t have the polish of an Eq rider or the skill of someone who shows 1.30m but that does not mean they suck at SJ. MOST are actually quite good, especially at the Upper Levels. Rails come down from minor mistakes, but we also have TIRED horses who have jumped XC already.
Trolling through Youtube you can find bad videos of any riders, any disciplines. You have no idea what was happening that day with that rider.

This attitude is not helping our sport at all whatsoever.

Every rider can improve, every discipline can improve. Saying "Many Event riders couldn’t put together 8 good fences if their life depended on it and it shows in SJ" is not only total BS, it hurts our sport.

[Jealoushe]

@endlessclimb

I am (was, or whatever) that wild and wooley rider. It’s where all my questions and requests for advice on learning and schooling a good gallop came from. My mare was dragging me through BN XC - with an extremely abrupt half halt I could get her back , but it wasn’t fluid.

I had zero plans of moving up this year, because I didn’t have a good handle on the level I was at last year. I want it to look and feel pretty, harmonious, and smooth before I even attempted a higher level. Somewhere, this message is lost to other riders - somehow they go barreling through a course and think “I finished on a number, let’s move up” instead of thinking “jesus christ that was a wake up call…”

This needs to change. Not only do the trainers hold responsibility for calling it like it is (especially with kids), adults need to take the rose colored glasses off, take away their self-imposed timelines for XYZ level, and recognize that “barely made it” is absolutely not good enough.

YES! There are a few riders I can think of I see at events here that barely finish, but their part time coaches, the social media crowd, all cheer them on, support them and push them to keep moving up when they aren’t straight, aren’t balanced, can’t get leads, and basically just run their horses at fences. They have bad dressage and multiple rails every event but go clean XC and that seems to be all people consider when moving up. Their goals are to upgrade as much as possible, and all this info is just right there available to us on social media now. Soon enough your luck runs out.

[LadyB]

I think those of you who think that ride looks ‘OK’ need to re-analyze your thoughts on a good cross country run. That horse was not listening, the rider was hauling on the face right before the fence, causing the head to fling up, how does a horse see a jump with their head up like that? It doesn’t, hence the bunny hopping over many of those fences, They were just lucky it was athletic enough to clear them. Add a wider spread and a higher jump, not so lucky.

If you think that riding is ok, that scares me. That riding is not ok. Just because you see others doing it, doesn’t mean its OK. Those people have been lucky. That horse had no respect for the rider, there was no straightness, a lot of those lines were angled and unsafe, and I don’t think those lines were planned. Was the horse pretty awesome, yeah, imagine how good it would be with a bit more foundation on its flatwork in between fences.

Maybe that’s where the issue lies, many riders think that specific ride is OK, well its not, IMO.

[beowulf]

If you rode like a hunter up to an Intermediate table, you’d get seriously hurt. I’m not trying to be flippant, but the two sports don’t compare and trying to make eventers like hunters or hunters like eventers won’t fix the problem.

Many eventers can string together 8 jumps in a good distance, so I disagree with that statement. The two videos linked show a horse that was overfaced (and a lack of scope) for the level and a horse that was lame – bad examples within our sport, sure, but not representative of the quality within our sport as a whole.

To be competitive at the higher levels you HAVE to be fast between the fences. Just about every horse that leaves the start-box is in a barely controlled bolt -exception being the true masters like MJ - who are extremely rare in the sport. Then you have these technical questions you have to dial back to a “show jumping canter” for in a matter of seconds, and then you have to make time by going into sixth gear between fences… This is hard to do smoothly even on a horse with no training holes… Which is part of the reason why eventing has seen such a rise of heavy bitting in the last 10 years…

This is what modern eventing is now.

The sport is dangerous. The jumps and how we arrange them is dangerous. The courses are pushing the limit of what horses morphologically are capable of doing within the realm of safety. Even the video posted by LockeMeadow of the 2012 Prelim vs the 2016 Prelim - there’s a big difference in the SJ course despite both being within specifications. The margin of error is too small, and it’s awful that a mistake can get riders and horses killed. That mistake doesn’t always come from an unratable horse either; think of the near misses this sport has had at the top levels the last five years (anyone remember the Andrew Nicholson crash at the hanging logs a few years ago?).

It is not the JJ’s job to be looking out for dangerous riders. They are volunteers. Most of them have some level of eventing know-how, but the job of looking for dangerous riding falls on the Stewards. We could tighten up qualifications but we’d still have people (trainers, parents) pushing riders up the levels. There needs to be a better system for coaches and trainers to say “No, you’re not ready” vs being “Yes” men. There needs to be less level creep because even in 10 years the courses are completely different. I walked my first recognized Training level XC course in the early 2000s. Just this summer, I walked the course again with a friend who was debuting at Training there. I remember my course and this new course was tougher, significantly more technical, and required some serious flying to make the time. I finished my course within time and hadn’t even tapped into 2nd gear on my horse - watching my friend it was really eye opening to see just how much the sport has changed, especially the lower levels.

Focusing on the frangible and collapsible fences, doing studies ($$$$$$$$) on the readability of fences, particularly table types, trying to find designers that are forward thinking and up-to-date on all the newest technology and advances… Sometimes I feel like the sport is hanging on to old customs and very outside the ring of modernity.

There’s a lot of problems in this sport. It’s not just one issue causing all of these awful accidents. :no: There needs to be more transparency, and more movement by our Safety Committee to analyze each of these cases and figure out how, going forward, these tragedies can be prevented. There are going to be some hard answers coming soon to our sport, even harder if things don’t change.

[callyhan]

@LadyB

I think those of you who think that ride looks ‘OK’ need to re-analyze your thoughts on a good cross country run. That horse was not listening, the rider was hauling on the face right before the fence, causing the head to fling up, how does a horse see a jump with their head up like that? It doesn’t, hence the bunny hopping over many of those fences, They were just lucky it was athletic enough to clear them. Add a wider spread and a higher jump, not so lucky.

If you think that riding is ok, that scares me. That riding is not ok. Just because you see others doing it, doesn’t mean its OK. Those people have been lucky. That horse had no respect for the rider, there was no straightness, a lot of those lines were angled and unsafe, and I don’t think those lines were planned. Was the horse pretty awesome, yeah, imagine how good it would be with a bit more foundation on its flatwork in between fences.

Maybe that’s where the issue lies, many riders think that specific ride is OK, well its not, IMO.

I don’t think anyone here would admit to it being “ok” now that the COTH experts have determined it’s dangerous. But the fact is the Rebecca ride was average and can be typical of some areas where good coaching, events, training, etc. is lacking. If the sport is killing the average rider (even if the educated eye thinks they are not good enough to be there) there are serious issues.

[TMares]

@callyhan

I don’t think anyone here would admit to it being “ok” now that the COTH experts have determined it’s dangerous. But the fact is the Rebecca ride was average and can be typical of some areas where good coaching, events, training, etc. is lacking. If the sport is killing the average rider (even if the educated eye thinks they are not good enough to be there) there are serious issues.

You are skipping over those who are saying just that ‘looks like lots of kids ripping around on TBs around here’ , etc.

This is the only equestrian sport where you are hurdling headlong at solid objects and hoping you make it to the other side. Better regulation of who can move up when is going to be more effective in the long run that frangible fences.

I recall watching a documentary about Paul Newman and his auto-racing passion. He loved racing, and he listened early on in his driving career when he was told to learn how to race in an underpowered car until he knew better what he was doing. That gave him the ‘bottom’ needed to excel.

Either place, on the track or in the field- hubris kills if you don’t know what the hell you are doing out there.

[YEG]

@JER

Ok so Kat Morel had a regular coach and was in FL with her training group/barn.

Everyone here - or very nearly almost everyone here - who has seen the videos agrees on at least one thing: that the horse was not straight.

How is it that a rider who rides regularly - for years - with a coach who has UL experience can get away with riding a horse this way not to mention moving up the levels?

How is it that the coach didn’t teach her the importance of straightness, apparently at any point in the years that the rider was competing this horse?

I don’t know the coach. I realize that Kat Morel was an adult and could make her own decisions so it’s possible that she’d resisted any attempts to - literally - straighten her out. But it’s also very possible that the coach doesn’t reinforce the basics and is fine with her students moving up whenever they scrape through the requirements. If that’s the case, this coach wouldn’t be unique, IME.

I’ve been haunted by the Rebecca video. And also the Red Hills video where she leave the start box crooked and it goes from there. Seriously.

I wish I’d discovered the Rebecca video last week or last month or last year. I wish I’d posted it on here on a thread called something like ‘OMG! - How is this not dangerous riding?’ (Which I have done with videos in the past.) I know I would have been raked over the coals by some BB members saying it’s not my business or I was hurting someone’s feelings or I have no idea what I’m talking about. All of that might be true but none of it’s as bad as Kat and Kerry getting killed on XC.

And you know what? It might have got back to the rider and she might have seen all the fuss and - who knows? - maybe someone who cared about her would have got through to her.

So this comes down to the one action we can all take that doesn’t cost anything. To borrow the well-worn phrase from Homeland Security, if you see something say something.

If you see someone riding dangerously, reach out to them. Ask how it’s going, tell them you saw them out there and you were a bit worried. You can do this in a friendly way and you may have a discussion of what’s going on with their riding and their horse - which all horse people like to do - and you’ll have expressed your concern in a way that might make them rethink.

Who cares if it’s a total stranger or a rider who rides at a higher level than you? It’s a human thing to say ‘How’s it going? I saw you had a bit of a hairy moment at the ditch…’ No need to be afraid to speak up if you spot a dangerous or potentially dangerous situation.

Make safety and riding concerns something that we talk to each other about as equals and without boundaries and without fear.

One thing that would help achieve your very last sentence, which I fully agree with, is to stop the practice of posting a video with the title “OMG - How is this not dangerous riding?” Because that title shuts down your aim before anyone even opens the thread. It is exclusionary, it invites gossip, not critical, fair, inclusive analysis in the spirit of learning.

I completely agree we need to have those investigations and reports and conferences like doctors, aviators, engineers (hell I am an engineer), NASCAR, etc have. When we have an incident we need to all learn from at work we don’t watch the video and say OMG look what this employee did to the company truck.

If we are going to get there, it needs to truly be from a place of not judgment but trying to better ourselves and the sport.

So can we work on that? Can we start with changing our language, and invite discussion by saying things like “do you think X could have contributed”, “was X a good decision”? I really am brainstorming right now to see if we can find a format that works.

[Jealoushe]

@YEG

So can we work on that? Can we start with changing our language, and invite discussion by saying things like “do you think X could have contributed”, “was X a good decision”? I really am brainstorming right now to see if we can find a format that works.

SBM

In my experience on this board, if the public dislikes the person anything goes. If the public likes the person, don’t ask anything at all unless you are ready to pay in eternal hellfire. Been through it a few times here :lol: and basically was called a bully every time when my questions are genuinely questions or concern.

[endlessclimb]

@Jealoushe

YES! There are a few riders I can think of I see at events here that barely finish, but their part time coaches, the social media crowd, all cheer them on, support them and push them to keep moving up when they aren’t straight, aren’t balanced, can’t get leads, and basically just run their horses at fences. They have bad dressage and multiple rails every event but go clean XC and that seems to be all people consider when moving up. Their goals are to upgrade as much as possible, and all this info is just right there available to us on social media now. Soon enough your luck runs out.

See, here’s the kicker. We do GREAT in dressage, for a horse of her type. Low 30s, consistently. Totally had our flatwork down. We TOTALLY have a handle on SJ (minus some in gate issues which I was developing a routine to help us get though) - nearly always double clear and reasonably smooth.

It was just XC where we hadn’t “gotten it” yet. Flatwork didn’t translate to the adrenaline of an open area, and that alone is where I need(ed) to focus. No way would I want the fences any higher when we are cowabungaing through the little stuff.

[mvp]

@Jealoushe

Unfortunately in 2020 course design does not really allow this at the higher levels, unless you are as talented as MJ and Andrew Hoy.

The issue is, we need the sport to allow mistakes. It needs to allow misses and near misses. Currently the cost is too high in a miss. The margin for error is way too small.

Maybe I’m misreading, but this seems like a contradiction in terms to me: 1. Modern course design inherently excludes all but the most incredibly talented. 2. So let’s modify that to make the margin for error greater.

I will always agree with making things safer where you can since sh!t happens. Heck, check out my paranoid thread about stall fronts that horses won’t try to jump over. But why can’t riders also take more pride in choosing the course and the ride that keeps them and the horse safe. I know I sound like a Fussy Hunter Marm to those who adore the culture of eventing. But there’s some merit in limiting one’s machismo such that one stays alive.

[Pennywell_Bay]

I was at a clinic recently for SJ. A lot of eventers were there. The clinician (a GP rider- that was the focus-stadium) worked with a teen rider. Tried to help with control so the horse (teen wants to go Training this year- has done 3 events? non rated- wants to go fast and big) was not flipping its head every second and leaving from whatever spot it wanted. Clinician told the mother and the rider- I want you to have more control because I am afraid you are going to get hurt.

Clinician got on and schooled the horse. “This is what you need to do and work on to have control”. Guess what- kid cried, mom complained- clinician is a big meanie, texted the kid’s trainer. Now the teen will not ride with that clinician/trainer again. They are looking for a future horse that is hot and fast. Sent back a perfectly lovely trial that already had Training miles with a “kid” because “it isn’t forward enough”. Ok. I am saying exactly what people have said here- it is an accident in the making. Guess what- no one there cares. She’s a pretty rider, is brave is always told how great she is. Horse can jump high, kid goes with it- what do I know? Wants to do big, high, fast jumps but doesn’t work on dressage at all.

Sorry for the rant. I do not know how to change the mind-set some have that moving up, going fast and big is all there is without solid basics- which consists of more that hanging on. So much for a culture of safety. It is so frustrating.

[Jealoushe]

@mvp

Maybe I’m misreading, but this seems like a contradiction in terms to me: 1. Modern course design inherently excludes all but the most incredibly talented. 2. So let’s modify that to make the margin for error greater.

I will always agree with making things safer where you can since sh!t happens. Heck, check out my paranoid thread about stall fronts that horses won’t try to jump over. But why can’t riders also take more pride in choosing the course and the ride that keeps them and the horse safe. I know I sound like a Fussy Hunter Marm to those who adore the culture of eventing. But there’s some merit in limiting one’s machismo such that one stays alive.

My comment was about making a 5* look like a perfect round, it was in response to someones post. Meaning only those who are basically eventing gods (false or not make it look that way. Many others can jump around it nicely and make it look good, but only a handful can make it look like a simple hunter round.

I agree with you, riders need to be more responsible (all of us) but if a rider has an ego and thinks they are amazing and they are far from it, how will they know they are delusional?

[Jealoushe]

@Pennywell Bay

I was at a clinic recently for SJ. A lot of eventers were there. The clinician (a GP rider- that was the focus-stadium) worked with a teen rider. Tried to help with control so the horse (teen wants to go Training this year- has done 3 events? non rated- wants to go fast and big) was not flipping its head every second and leaving from whatever spot it wanted. Clinician told the mother and the rider- I want you to have more control because I am afraid you are going to get hurt.

Clinician got on and schooled the horse. “This is what you need to do and work on to have control”. Guess what- kid cried, mom complained- clinician is a big meanie, texted the kid’s trainer. Now the teen will not ride with that clinician/trainer again. They are looking for a future horse that is hot and fast. Sent back a perfectly lovely trial that already had Training miles with a “kid” because “it isn’t forward enough”. Ok. I am saying exactly what people have said here- it is an accident in the making. Guess what- no one there cares. She’s a pretty rider, is brave is always told how great she is. Horse can jump high, kid goes with it- what do I know? Wants to do big, high, fast jumps but doesn’t work on dressage at all.

Sorry for the rant. I do not know how to change the mind-set some have that moving up, going fast and big is all there is without solid basics- which consists of more that hanging on. So much for a culture of safety. It is so frustrating.

Yes, where is the trainer responsibility? Honestly I think more of this lies on the coaches shoulders than they would like to admit.

I wanted to show my green mare and my dressage coach said, sorry but no. Until she can go in the ring and go properly the entire time, and be in total control and be ready to win she doesn’t need to show. Not everyone agrees with this, but more training and preparation for riders and horses will never ever be a bad thing.

I was listening to a podcast the other day and the rider (now I can’t remember who ugh) was saying how eventers show way too much and train to little. How we should really be training way more, and showing way less and that a lot of issues in eventing comes from this.

[mvp]

@Tackpud

Many bemoan the H/J trainers whose clients can’t go in the ring if they aren’t there. But the trainer is there to improve the horse and rider and make comments on the riding. Combined training does not have this person. So riders don’t know if their cross country riding is below par until something happens.

Wait, wha…?

You want jump judges around the course to report what they think is dangerous riding such that someone else at a later fence pulls them up? That sounds hard in practice and in political terms.

But also, I think a rider on an XC course and in the hunter ring can be trusted. After all, you will have had the chance to walk the XC course with your coach. You already discussed footing and options for your horse. And this Hunter Princess was made to walk in every water jump while she was eventing as a kid. My coach warned me that my horse had no idea what he was jumping into, so it was my responsibility to know what the landing was like-- will a hole to avoid, slippery, how deep, etc.

I assume every rider cares about self-preservation to an extent and tries for that at some point in their preparation for an event.

[RainWeasley]

I’m not sure what the point of the videos of bad show jumping rounds was. I can’t speak for the second horse, but the first horse was a small mustang out of the wild for, what, two years, pretty new to the level and the big difference was that Elisa didn’t continue to move her up the levels after that. And I see awful rounds in regular show jumping as well, and beautiful rounds in eventing SJ. If it’s supposed to be that you shouldn’t jump XC without being able to do a foot perfect SJ round, that doesn’t necessarily correlate. There are riders that are amazing in SJ but terrifying to watch in XC.

I was watching the Rebecca Farm video again after it was posted in that article on People…and I don’t think that the ride into the unmown field was intentional. You can see the rider clearly looking to the next jump to the right, horse is on the right lead, then abruptly swaps and goes the wrong way. She is struggling with the horse who then jumps into the field on its own. That’s what concerned me the most about the ride. There was very little control, right before jumps, between jumps, just in general. Granted, I noticed this time that the sky looked really stormy, so that could be influencing the level of rideability of Kerry On. But what I don’t get is how many people are looking at the round and saying “oh I see that kind of riding on XC all the time so it’s fine”. It’s NOT fine. At all. It’s scary, and dangerous, and I honestly don’t think that anyone who is having XC rounds like that needs to be doing XC until they get their training up to par.

And THAT is another reason this needs to be discussed. The people that see that video and think it’s all right. It needs to be established in the general eventing public that if your ride looks like this consistently, then you have some serious holes you need to step back and fill. Saying that you see kids on OTTBs like that at every event doesn’t make it a good ride. For those that can’t see these things in this video, this might be a good time to really watch it and ask questions about what is dangerous if you still don’t see it.

[ake987]

@LockeMeadows

Eventers tend to make fun of the Hunters saying it is “easy”.

Here we go…

@LockeMeadows

What they fail to realize is that flawless trip is a result of seamless communication between horse and rider.

Ah! Thanks so much for clearing that up. Consider me enlightened.

@LockeMeadows

Many Event riders couldn’t put together 8 good fences if their life depended on it and it shows in SJ.

Oh my. You are exceptionally skilled at combining sweeping generalizations and condescension into a single sentence.

@LockeMeadows

I did a quick YouTube search typing in Preliminary Stadium Jumping. This is the first video at that level.

Brilliant methodology.

@LockeMeadows

Folks, this is scary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agBmn6F5124

Yeah, it is. This video has been discussed at length on this forum.

@LockeMeadows

The second video wasn’t quite as bad, but the trip fell apart towards the end and that type of jumping could end VERY badly over a big solid fence such as a table. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH6iRzUZ89k

There were some sticky moments, however, the rider was quiet and managed the ride pretty well, IMO. But what do I know? I’m a stupid eventer who couldn’t string 8 good fences together if my life depended on it.

[anon69112984]

@Leprechaun

A mim clipped collapsible table.
https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/feat…l-table-659521

Thisvideo really should be called: watch how the log ground line causes a fall at a MIM-table. I am not jumping on you but I am horrified they actually use this video to prove how great the MIM-tables are when you can see how the horse gets stuck in the ground line.

[anon69112984]

@Jackie Cochran

There are times when I read about the rider/horse deaths, that I now consider eventing an extremely expensive form of suicide.

I KNOW that most riders and horses make it around without dying, but when top level riders and horses die month after month I think that the WHOLE eventing process should be reconsidered–starting with the so-called safety seat that does not seem to help in keeping horses and riders safe when the you-know-what hits the fan, and then going on to fences that horses would never experience in real cross-country riding, like fox hunting.

This is only my own very humble opinion, and it is obvious to me that no one agrees with me about this. I am just sick and tired of biting my tongue with every death cross-country.

Eventing needs a refurbishment pronto. The ones in charge over the past 5-10 years have messed it up completely. Quite a few European riders seem to think they are just guinea pigs on the course designers and ground jurors way to bigger events…

[mvp]

@NaturallyHappy

I think this is really sad and I cannot begin to imagine how the connections to this person and horse feel right now. However, I have to agree w Tackpud, the person that commented o the importance of straightness, as well as others who address the importance of good basics. I’m a show hunter-jumper rider who did a couple of BN with my nice horse for fun. I really can’t understand how a horse could safely jump something while crooked, and being pulled on so abruptly so as to have no rhythm…regardless of a canter or a gallop. I was taught to always work within the rhythm. I also fox hunt and have friends who have no rhythm when they jump. That would scare me.

Also, y’all, it was Jimmy Wofford who impressed me with this emphasis on basics and technique for both horse and rider. I was a ignorant, barn rat kid in NorCal when he came to give a clinic there. Unlike other clinicians I had seen, Wofford praised the “show ring basics” of a fine-equitating kid in my group. That is a verbatim quote. And he criticized me when i rode harder to a last, inviting fence that was warranted. He said, “Why did you do that? You just made what should have been easy for your horse hard.” The stadium part fo the clinic consisted of a gymnastic and all the horses jumped better by the end than how they hard started. Having been an untalented, but hungry rider for rides in the show ring, Wofford impressed me with the fact that the same attention to quality was necessary out side the ring, too. So, truly, I didn’t just ASSUMe that one could ride XC like a faster hunter course.

I will tell you all now, that Wofford’s teaching and his fine reputation gave me “permission” as a kid to disregard the people who were more about the “kick and pull” ride or just getting it done with guts and grit when outside the ring. I field hunted a lot of green and/or re-schooling horses then and in college. I rode them with an eye to keeping them in balance, reasonably soft and ratable and not frustrated. I believe the Wofford’s influence kept me safe out there.