A great article and IMO a must read in the Feb 27th issue of COTH
If I knew what you were talking aboutā¦?!
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COTH magazine has a long article about the art of jumping out of stride at speed and whether todayās riders lack that skill because they donāt have or make access to galloping flat out. It quotes quite a few riders who say that once one is able to keep oneās balance at real galloping speed, one is able to look at much of XC in a very different way. Among people interviewed were Jenny Brannigan, who has galloped race horses, BD, Sr. and Kevin Freeman who rode in timber races, a California eventer who also gallops race horses, and an eventer who foxhunts her horses, along with Jimmy Wofford . There are some lovely pictures, and if you want to see perfect equitation over a timber fence, there is a droolworthy photo of Kathy Kushner in the Maryland Hunt Cup.
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I am curious, why is it not possible for ULRs to find places to practice this method? I doubt it is meant for the likes of lower level riders, at least below Training, but what stops professionals from going to places and practicing thus. Down here in SC we have a place like Gibbs with all sorts of fences that one can suss out a course and play.
Perhaps the deeper question might be, why is this now an issue? if we look at the courses presented at upper levels, we see a cornucopia of technical, not galloping fences. We see run like hell, rate back hard, jump jump jump and run like hell again. Where is the jumping in stride any more? The likes of Denny Emerson talks about how OT has not changed, MPM has not changed, but the technical questions create such a drag on time that the idea of even pacing, jumping in stride is almost laughable.
This lower level nothing loves competing at Windridge in NC. The reason being, at Novice, we get this wonderful course that is mainly jumping fences in stride with a couple of technical questions. Boy howdy is that fun, and if I get to Training, we get one more level like that. From Prelim on what I see is run and brake, run and brake so the idea of lamenting the loss of in stride fences at the higher levels is humorous.
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Well, from what I gathered from the article, if a rider has found his/her balance at racing speeds, anything slower is perceived as even slower, which allows the rider to make better decisions on the fly to keep the rhythm as much as possible. As I read the article, I kept thinking that the style described for ML was the exact opposite of keeping the rhythm as much as possible even in technical combinations.
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Look at someone like Michael Jung, and how smooth and effortless he and his horses make those technical courses look. The ability to rate the gallop without doing it four or five strides from a fence is much more efficient. Youāre going to have a happier, likely safer, horse being able to maintain a balanced 625 mpm gallop than tear around at 700+ and have to seriously interfere with the horseās balance a few strides from the jump, then ask them tear away again.
The argument could be made that the run and jump at speed element was introduced at Prelim in old LF events. It made riders at that level go out and seek the ability to jump at speed. That ability would carry over to XC, allowing for a comfort level with jumping from a higher speed without having to pick, pick, pick for a distance.
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Does anybody here gallop track horses in their spare time? I have a couple of trainer acquaintances, a nearby track, and Iām proficient on young horses (intermediate 1,000 years ago). However, when Iāve been on the backside in the morning, its crazy. There is a loose choreography that everybody working seems to understand. Iām really hesitant to ask because I donāt want to be an imposition. On the flip-side, there is only one way to learn ā¦
IME melula it isnāt a āspare timeā jobā¦ itās a full time one. a very exciting, can-be-rewarding job, but labor and time intensive none-the-less. 
it doesnāt hurt to ask. mention it to your track acquaintance - thatās how you get your foot in the door. you could start as a groom too, before becoming an exercise rider.
Do coaches train the gallop for eventers anymore? When I was prepping to go prelim, specific lessons on how to gallop a horse in balance ā on a training track ā were part of the job of getting ready.
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If anyone has good eyes and a desire to read: https://www.facebook.com/NationalSteeplechaseFoundation/photos/pcb.1469981613034572/1469979193034814/?type=3&theater
melula, if your spare time happens to be at the ass-crack of dawn, Iād go for it! One of the bigger racing farms near me has a training track on-farm and actually had a program going at one time to train up exercise riders. I have an acquaintance that did it and I think it was especially successful because they have some stock on the farm that arenāt actively racing anymore, good to put beginners on (beginners in the exercise rider world, not total beginners to riding in general) til the get the hang of things. Iād have loved to get into the program but there was no way to make it work in addition to a full time job.
As to the original topic, I think it is one of those skills that is going by the wayside due to the shift in eventingās focus to short format, with XC courses that are more like outdoor jumper courses over terrain with some galloping lanes between clusters of fences. It IS still a beneficial skill to have, but itās no longer an absolute necessity.
I attended this clinic (as an auditor, horse is several years past being able to do this stuff) https://www.facebook.com/events/222360194895180/ over the weekend. The ages ranged from 12-20 in general, with 1 older lady who is hunt staff and wanted to give race riding a whirl. Not a single of the kids events. They all race either horses or ponies on the local circuit and they foxhunt.
There is no crossover these days. People do one or two things and specialize. The kids who want to go to NAJYRC have no desire to foxhunt or race their horses (or other horses) because thatās not what their trainers suggest they do. I think parents discourage it to- this stuff seems too dangerous to them.
And I disagree that it isnāt a useful skill in the short format. Whether you look at WFP or MJ, they both have horses that run and jump in balance out of stride. Not a lot of setting up compared to other riders, because they donāt need to. This saves them time and keeps them on their dressage score. That is exactly what the article talks about steeplechasers doing. And clearly the German and British systems and riding cultures are very different, but they have produced a generation that is more successful than any Americans at this moment in history.
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I know trainers at the local training facility but yeah, you cannāt just āpart timeā it. You could theoretically go in and gallop one or two a morning but they train starting at 7am or earlier and if you are going to do it, they want to know you know what you are doing and you are going to show up regularly. The track near me is probably very typical and it opens at sunrise and is closed by noon at the latest. The afternoons is when maintenance is usually done on the actual track so it isnāt like everyone is done early because they want to be, they are not generally allowed on the track in the afternoon. In other words - trying to gallop racehorses after work isnāt going to fly.
Also, having galloped racehorses before, when I thought I was fit - it is a whole other level of core fitness. It would be great to do but less practical than fox hunting, in my opinion.
YES it is possible at the lower levels. Aim for the 3 day events that run like clinics! Dorothy Crowell has certainly kept herself as a Midwest institution passing on ALL of her knowledge and experience āvolunteeringā to run steeplechase schools at the two local 3Days, IEA at the Hoosier Horse Park and Hagyard Midsouth at the KHP (well she might get a motel room, in IN, and a dinnerā¦) Itās a real treat to watch both the horses and the riders make their second attempts, a few thirds, and finally get it!
http://eventingnation.com/indiana-eventing-association-event-recap/
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Most tracks (rather than training farms) are going to require you to get a license and gallop for the stewards before you can work horses for money in the mornings. Itās a professional job and they donāt just let trainers throw people out there because as youāve noticed, people doing it understand the system and someone who doesnāt can cause big accidents. Ask one of your trainer friends about learning and if they have a training center or farm where you can start if you want to.
Iāve only galloped my own horse on the farm. It IS a trip and you learn to think fast, but I donāt think Iād do it for someone else unless I was getting paid good money. Luckyās a workhorse, has brakes, and we were by ourselves on a small oval. My old horse might have put me through the fence-he was hot. I hate to think what itās like getting put up on an unknown around a bunch of other horses.
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FWIW, I can think of a couple of training tracks within easy trailering distance of me, and theyāre used by eventers, not race horses; certainly some coaches are. (Iām a fan of sand flats on the beach at low tide, too.)
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I do think there is something to this. When the fastest youāve ever gone is possibly 600mpm, average prelim speed at 520mpm still seems awfully fast. Conversely, if youāre comfortable galloping racehorses at 800+mpm, 520 seems like an easy canter.
Iām currently galloping 6+ TBs in the mornings (often in open fields with hills), and I have learned a whole lot in the past few months about what āSPEEDā actually is and where exactly the edge of control is. Iāve developed new tools to deal with tough, strong horses that will help me on XC when my own horse gets rolling. Iāve ridden long format CCI*s and have many miles of galloping upper level eventers, but exercising a strong, fit racehorse (who knows how to intimidate and get the jump on you) is a whole 'nother game.
Riders who are uncomfortable at speed on XC tend to panic and/or make poor decisions. The only way to get comfortable galloping is to do it, and not just āthis one time, we went really fast.ā I donāt think this skill is necessary until you get to prelim+, but this experience certainly can benefit lower level riders, too (provided they have the strength and ability to be safe at higher speeds).
The long format at CCI levels was definitely a benefit to helping riders and horses be more comfortable jumping and galloping at faster speeds-- put your hands down at 640+mpm and leave your horse alone, even when he finds the long spot. I know the long format is doing fairly well at the lower levels, but those steeplechase speeds arenāt really fast enough to gain a true feel for cruising and jumping (nor should they be faster, for jumps of N/T size). My horse gained a wealth of experience at the P3D in 2015, and I think it was a large part of our success at Intermediate level last year. I wish more riders with upper level aspirations would support the P3D and appreciate what they can gain from it.
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It is interesting that people have kind of lost the ability to gallop and jump out of stride. I learned it in the hunt field decades ago. My current fox hunter is an ex chaser and his natural cruising speed is about 26 MPH (from the GPS I carry) which is about 700 m/m. Thatās with no urging. So the days I lead people know we are going to be moving along.
To me that is just a comfortable cruising speed on a run.
We had some kids out at one hunt and they all tucked in behind us ( a lot of the adults had fallen back) and the kids just got pulled along. The kids were grinning ear to ear. One girl commented that she didnāt think her pony could go that fast.
Where I teach the school has a riding program. When they go out trail riding Iāll trailer in if my schedule allows. The kids will always ask if they can gallop. The trainer is great about it and just sends the capable ones off with me and we gallop the big fields.
Kids love to do it but I think very few really get to do it, which leads to adults who are terrified to do it.
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I evented as a kid but donāt currently because I canāt afford to as a grad student, but do foxhunt as the local hunt is pretty affordable for a family membership so my husband and I both get many opportunities to ride throughout the season. I do still take lessons with and have a lot of non-hunt riding friends who are eventers because I admire the well rounded training approach and hope to event again someday.
Iāve convinced a few friends to come out and try hunting and a couple juniors have either capped a few times or joined, but where I live there is a perception that fox hunters are crazy (and I think to some degree donāt care for their horses - though I would say there is just as much variation in standards of horse care among my eventing and showing friends) and that event horses are too valuable to risk out in the hunt field. We hunt in a lot of pretty serious mud for much of the winter, but some fixtures can generally be counted upon to have nice footing and usually our 3rd field manages to stay on higher ground or on gravel or paved roads so there is an option to stay out of it.
I canāt really speak to the too valuable to risk part myself - my hunt ponies have been very inexpensive backyard or auction specials that I hunt for a season or so and then sell, though I love them all and cry when they leave! I like to think that if I had a horse worth tens of thousands of dollars that I would have the same attitude that getting him out and about over all kinds of varied terrain was the best thing for him, but since Iām unlikely to ever be in that situation I honestly canāt say what I would do.
Hunting has definitely improved my riding for the better, especially riding at speed and jumping out of stride. I also found that it has dramatically reduced my natural tendency to micromanage to the fences because you simply canāt do that when you are out for hours at a time and your horse has to have his head free in order to assess a new fence, ditch, etc. in trappy footing. It also helps me learn which scenarios my horse will need some hand holding/help through and in which ones its best to just basically stay out his way and let him get the job done.
I think mostly my eventing friends see hunting as something totally separate from eventing that doesnāt have much value in training an event horse/rider. And maybe that is true w/ the format changes, but if I had been able to foxhunt as a kid I think my eventing would have been much improved as I had a tendency to sometimes ride just about backwards to XC fences I wasnāt sure about and hunting 2x per week for the past 4 seasons has really driven home that FORWARD is the answer and that a good balance can happen at a variety of speeds.
To each their own though. I try not to be too pushy about trying to get folks to come try out hunting, though I probably am at times. I just think it is such a blast that I want to share the fun and excitement, haha.
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Iād love to hunt, but itās just not in the budget unless I do it instead of competing. Capping with the closest local hunt is $90 during cubbing season and I think $150 during regular hunting. And the reality is my horse would need to go out a couple of times a week in the very back for at least a season for there to be any hope of making a solid citizen of him.
