[QUOTE=StarDoozer;6402376]
“In this country, it’s very difficult to even get people to look at American bred horses - even with the same bloodlines as those at the top in Europe.”
I’ve put together a group of people to buy a very special six or seven-year-old for me for the future while some of our youngsters grow up. Of course I’m all about supporting the US bred horses but I’ve been hard pressed to find a single one for sale with the quality of TRAINING that I’m looking for. THIS is a huge reason people go to Europe. For the most part horses started here aren’t taught to use their bodies well so even though it may be a full sibling to something equally as nice in Europe, if we don’t have people starting them well and teaching them to go nicely to the contact and over the back it’s a moot point.[/QUOTE]
This post illustrates the challenges the US is up against. StarDoozer is a talented young trainer (Brentina Cup, Gold Medalist) who has ridden at the national level, has a good amount of experience training young horses as well as stallions, and whose mother is a highly talented and reputable breeder and trainer. Yet, in this post, she seems to indicate she is unwilling or simply prefers not to have developed the young horse she seeks and would rather “put together a group of people to buy” for her such a horse from Europe.
She says she is “hard pressed” to find the quality of training on the horse she desires. This begs the question, why is a trainer such as herself not doing this? If she doesn’t possess the qualifications necessary to develop a talented 3 year old into the horse that she seeks, then who does?
The US does have the quality of horses: there are many very good horses now, even if fewer really top horses. Elite athletes are rare, that’s why they’re special. They need to be sought out, just as is the case with European trainers seeking European horses. The really good ones don’t stay available for long and once in training, become a hot commodity.
The poster says she is looking for a “very special six or seven year old”. One assumes this means a horse for the Developing classes, one who has not only the talent but has had the systematic and correct training under his/her belt as is much more common in Europe; a six or seven year old that is mentally and physically ready for FEI work (as would be the case if a horse had finished the FEI 6 year old classes - a jumping off point to PSG if utilized correctly). Again, she could be doing this training herself rather than gathering investors. Perhaps she could offer breeders incentives to train their talented young horses, rather than place full blame on the quality of training youngsters receive here in the US.
Before the names Wolfram Wittig and Uta Graf became known on the international competition circuit, these trainers were quietly working in their yards, breeding, starting and correctly bringing along talented young horses without the public accolades that most US trainers seem to seek. This brings another key point; good trainers of young horses in Europe are highly respected. They make a good living and are sought out. Some of them go on to public arena, but it isn’t necessarily considered a prerequisite to be considered “successful”. Too many young trainers here ( and sadly too many experienced trainers) seem to need to be “out there” on superstars in the sexy classes: FEI Young Horse, Developing Horse and mostly, FEI. Rather than doing the work themselves, (and educating owners to support the time it takes to develop a horse through the levels) they would rather gather a group of investors to buy the horse for them and “have it now”. Until more emphasis (and reward) is put on the value of correct training, and less on the glitter and shine of competitive success, we will lag behind Europe. Our equestrian sport governing bodies -as well as professionals- have a responsibility to educate their clients this way.
I also disagree with StarDoozer’s point that we do not have the professionals here capable of starting and developing young horses correctly. Still not enough, but there are most definitely now a good number of very qualified young dressage horse trainers, who do know how to start youngsters well, “teaching them to go nicely to the contact and over the back” etc. There is a problem of cost, yes, and sometimes an unwillingness of breeders to send their young horses away to get their good start. Who could blame them? It represents an enormous expense and risk for a breeder to send their very best youngsters sometimes far away with a good amount of risk involved. In the current scenario, it may make better sense to sell at a good profit early, perhaps to a home where such a horse may not have his talents utilized but will hopefully be happy -and put those profits back into the breeding operation. This is, in itself, a major challenge for US breeders, putting aside any issue of training.
I understand if an Amateur would have written this particular response to the original post, for the reason that an Amateur may not have the ability to train a potential GP horse. But it is troubling that the comment comes from a talented young professional. This underscores the issue of trainers who seem to seek the spotlight on a superstar horse; instead more effort should be made collectively by the good US breeders, owners AND trainers towards creating a mutually beneficial system that rewards good training, develops talented horses, and with luck, wins a few blue ribbons. The original poster’s question was which breeders here have produced GP horses. As long as our own qualified trainers are not developing talented US bred horses, we will remain behind the Europeans in producing sufficient numbers of domestically bred GP horses.
