I don’t understand the complaint either. There are horses who hate Dressage but are happy to jump, as well as those that don’t like to jump but prefer Dressage (like yours.)
It’s a good thing to find the horse a job it enjoys and most people do just that, rather than trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
I think it is worth investigating why a horse doesn’t “like” jumping but they aren’t automatically a dressage/trail/whatever horse. At the same time, sometimes horses do prefer one job over another.
I have one who, for whatever reason, likes to leap about like a silly man when cantering in company. I’ll hopefully get him over it someday but my short term plan is to not ride him in showing classes that require cantering in company.
I’ve owned a tricky warmblood who flipped back and forth between the dressage and jumper ring (prior to my ownership) with each person claiming he didn’t like whatever it was that the job was. In reality, he had back and suspensory issues as well as a hefty dose of skepticism about his riders after he had been treated with a heavy hand and beat around a course. Which came first? Who knows. No longer relevant.
I also owned a TB whose owner tried to event her, and based on my experience with her the poor mare was positively terrified of jumping and her goal was just to get to the other side as quickly as possible. I worked and got her comfortable with the hunter ring where at least the obstacle fillers looked mostly alike, but she was never going to succeed at dealing with much diversity in jump types and water was an absolute no go.
But she hacked beautifully, and I ended up starting some dressage with her before she finally injured herself and required retirement.
Most horses can find some specialty (if not injured) that they click with.
I don’t think the complaint is finding a horse a job it likes, it’s saying that just because a horse doesn’t like jumping for some reason does not automatically guarantee that you can just turn around and make it into a dressage horse. If it doesn’t like to jump because of a pain issue that hasn’t been investigated, it may not be able to stand up to the physical demands of dressage. There’s a difference between selling a horse when you concluded it wasn’t a fan of jumping, did a bunch of dressage work, and then sold it along knowing it likes its new job versus selling a horse that doesn’t like to jump as a “dressage prospect” having not tested that theory at all.
Again,
Yes there are horses that don’t want to jump. Horses shouldn’t be forced to do what they don’t want to do. However, there are a lot of horses with physical issues that won’t jump because they are hurting and people don’t work the horse up and just say it doesn’t want to jump. That’s who my rant is targeted at.
Exactly, and it’s up to people to know what they are doing, and to find that specialty where the horse is happy and well suited.
Yes, I remember that. Poor horse. 
Seems the last trainer tried to do the right thing by marketing him as a dressage horse (schooling training level dressage, which seems right for potential a career change), and Marieke thought she could fix him & took her anger out on him when she couldn’t.
Especially if it has a neck, back, or other physical issue. Find out what’s wrong with the horse
Well, there is dressage, and there is DRESSAGE, if you know what I mean! Bebopping around at an entry level test is one thing. But sometimes conformation doesn’t allow for the activity we ask the horse to do.
It’s incumbent upon us to find out what make the HORSE happy
I don’t disagree? I’m just not sure why there’s a huge beef with a potential career change for this horse, seems someone did recognize he was not happy jumping (whatever the reason, I don’t know) and the video from his ad showed a very appropriate training level dressage horse, and he seemed quite content. I have no dog in this fight. I’m not saying all ex hunters are perfect dressage horses. I think the people who had him were marketing him at an appropriate level for a dressage horse and that was more in his best interest than this trainer who is still pushing him in the hunters, falling off, and beating the poor thing.
There are videos on CMH of this horse in the children’s and adult divisions from 2020. He ribboned in all of his classes at capital challenge that year in children’s hunter out of 20 entries. I wonder what happened since then.
Was this the pro who had him in her program at the time? She sure doesn’t ride like someone who I would think would show at the level of Capital Challenge.
IMO, her coming off was more a product of her quite poor equitation. I speak so bluntly of it only because y’all say this is a pro. That’s surprising.
No, children’s hunters are for junior riders only and the adult division is for amateurs only.
Of course. But the horse was presumably trained by a pro and the person riding here was that pro… or not. At first glance, I assumed the rider was his amateur doing a long stirrup class.
Four plus years is a long time in the context of a show horse’s career. Almost anything could have happened.
Soundness issues or injuries, change of owner, change of rider, change of trainer, change of routine, an incident that caused a loss of confidence. The list is endless.
There are lots of horses who have very long and successful careers with great care and training throughout. However, there are plenty of other horses who are not quite so lucky.
Clearly someone has noticed that this horse is either not liking the hunter ring anymore or for a physical reason, shouldn’t be jumping and thus marketed him as a very low level Dressage prospect. At his price range I expect he has been vetted. At least he’s not head bobbing lame.
The fact that a self styled “professional” apparently tried to make him do what he doesn’t want to do for whatever reason, was a terrible decision and her reaction to his minor spook was unconscionable. I can see being embarrassed by falling off in that way, but she needs to improve her riding, it isn’t the horses fault.
I could see him happily tootling around on the flat in the future. I hope his owner keeps him happy and researches his/her next “pro” more carefully.
Exactly - it’s anybody’s guess, and it likely involves a series of events rather than a single traumatic experience.
She says she’s a “pro”. As you know, in the U.S. anyone can call themselves a “pro”. Her USEF record is mostly 2’6" and under and is not very impressive, even in the those divisions. It doesn’t seem that people are giving her their high level hunters to ride.
If I am looking at the correct horse, it had a very impressive record with many different riders across the 2’6 - 3’ divisions and was owned by a very successful equitation barn during that time period. Looks like it was sold and was off for 8 months prior the show at which this incident occurred, so something must’ve happened.
I don’t think the ‘pro’ in the video has had the horse very long. Judging by the record and ads posted online, the horse was purchased from Florida around late 2021 to a program in Texas, they started marketing it for sale mid 2023 as a hunter, then the farm/program the horse was located was closing and posted the ad marketed as a dressage prospect mid 2024, wether the client moved to Mariekes farm with the horse when the barn closed or Mariekes client purchased the horse is unknown to me, but seems to have been with her for at least a few months at the time of this show.
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