Newbie Advice Needed - Daughter wants to do more in Hunter/Jumper

[Belmont]

The one thing that I will add, that keeps coming up, is your daughters desire to be on a NCAA Equestrian Team. While yes, your daughter is young and this can seem like a long off dream, actually getting onto the good teams is getting more and more competitive. They are recruiting and getting verbal commitments from girls as early as freshman year. Recruiters spend multiple weeks at major AA circuits watching all the rings, talking to potential recruits, and doing their scouting.

While it is a little ways off before you have to really consider and worry about it (after all DD could always change her mind about riding in school), if that is something you want to do - it might be in your interest to send DD to camps (like the one A&M has one in TX) and talk to coaches about what they look for in a NCAA Equestrian recruit and the entire process. You’ll be surprised how early they are watching even the pony rings for up and coming juniors.

A friend of mine does consulting and 1:1 training with mostly high school students trying to get onto teams. I’d be happy to put you in touch to even just chat with her about your goals.

Other than that, great input all over this topic from a lot of knowledgeable COTHers.

[findeight]

Reining was removed as FEI regulations were cumbersome to follow and increased the price of competing. Space for sports more globally accessible and popular also figured in.

In SJ, most FEI level riders do not own the horses they compete on. They can’t afford and/or don’t have time fir personal horsesThey. might be partners but its never solely their call when decisions are made. In some cases, owners take a World Champion off their horse and hire another rider or take it over for themselves.

Being a Pro rider is not what daughter thinks it is. Its always somebody else’s horse and they write the checks. And if the Pro makes the horse a winner, they usually have to sell it for the owner.

Getting the education to enter a lucrative profession and becoming a financially comfortable Amateur doing what they want with their horse is the way to go. Ask around the shows, 90% of those who have been in the sport for many years will tell you the same thing.

[Sdel]

@Belmont

it might be in your interest to send DD to camps (like the one A&M has one in TX) and talk to coaches about what they look for in a NCAA Equestrian recruit and the entire process.

For reference, here is a link to TAMU’s camp requirements. They are very clear about how they are designed for NCAA hopefuls and that the rider already having show experience at 3’3” for the jumping camps. You have to have a resume to get into them.

https://12thman.com/sports/2015/3/23/GEN_2015060101.aspx

[HeelsDown123]

Perfect suggestion!

[HeelsDown123]

Got it - thank you and fully agreed!

[HeelsDown123]

Got it, super helpful. She wants to ride as much as possible for now and the foreseeable future, with a long term goal (subject to change of course) of riding in college (ideally NCAA level) while pursuing a degree in something outside equestrian. The after college, who knows, but more likely a career that supports her equestrian hobby. That’d be my guess, but it’s a long time from now for sure!

[HeelsDown123]

Thank you for this, extremely helpful to know you’ve been in her shoes and can see the path ahead. This post alone has probably reset our expectations for sure.

[Scribbler]

The nice thing about the idea of riding on a college team is that it helps a horse crazy child imagine college as a continuation of riding, not as "you have 7 years to ride and then you go to college and No More Horses " which is how it actually worked out for lots of us.

Let her dream, help her build skills, and see where you are in 5 years. Don’t sink her college fund into horses hoping a scholarship will rescue her! Also there are other ways to ride in college other than the NCAA leagues.

I would say, let the child dream, while you make sure she has access to good experiences and training and some understanding of costs. Ten going on eleven is that magic pre-puberty age, where kids can have a lot of physical competence without the hormone mood shifts. Plan ahead for the horses to help her through middle school which is a hell-hole for many girls. She may benefit from being able to base her competitiveness in the horse world, or she may need to take a slower pace and be around horses in a more healing way. Don’t tie horses too closely to competitiveness and Clanters idea of learning to lose as well as win is very important.

Finally you don’t really know her full scope at ten. She will grow a lot in the next 5 years and that will change her center of balance but also make her stronger. Lots of children have a naturally balanced seat adults can only envy. But other factors include her level of feel and intuition for a horse, her courage when the jumps get taller, and her courage and determination when the horses get difficult. She hasn’t been tried on any of this yet.

I don’t doubt she is a nice little rider for her age, but with her riding schedule she’s going to just be an advanced beginner. It’s the job of the trainer to instil confidence and encourage, so they are right to be pointing out riding is a good fit for her. But at this point, anyone who thinks they can predict her final adult outcome (Olympics vs amateur vs old lady with a mini cart vs back country trail rider vs mounted archery) is bluffing you.

Oh, and as she enters puberty. Make sure she has a good sports bra, and period protection that does not leak or chafe, and that she can call off a lesson if she has serious cramps. Also that she does not fall into a body dysmorphia/ body shaming culture which can be especially harsh in junior hunters. Also watch male coaches, staff and peer riders like a hawk, and make sure she is fully aware of personal space, but also that she doesn’t get a crush on a predatory male coach at 15 and think she’s in love with a real boyfriend. Hopefully the new Safe Sport rules will rein some of this in, but inappropriate sexual behavior with minors seems to have been rampant in the hunters especially for decades.

[HeelsDown123]

Thank you, that would be excellent. We have 1 or 2 connections to NCAA Equestrian riders that we’re going to be tapping into, but if your friend is willing to give some early advice, it would be greatly appreciated for sure! I honestly don’t know how to private message someone on this forum yet (although I looked for 5-mins!), but feel free to send me a message if you can.

[HeelsDown123]

Agreed! This is definitely the plan. Ride through college pursuing both Equestrian and a nice Degree, then have a career and family and land that supports the hobby!

[HeelsDown123]

Great advice, thank you!

[deweydee]

There’s also IHSA at the collegiate level. I know a few HJ and dressage friends who went that route. It seems like they’ve gotten plenty of ride time and also rode separately with private farms while in school. I never had the money, talent, or opportunity to even consider an NCAA type route and didn’t hardly ride while I was in college. I echo the others, finding a stable career to fund your riding is the best option for most people.

I would comment, there are many many things I never learned about horses until I owned one. I was in a number of different lesson programs as a kid and none touched heavily on lameness, wellness, feeding, groundwork training, etc. When they did, it was because a lesson horse wasn’t available that day or during a horse camp when you’ve got a lot of time to fill. While Pony Club sounds great, if it’s not an option, there’s still forums, friends, and learning by doing.

Your daughter is lucky to have someone so invested in helping her pursue her dreams!

[Scribbler]

Indeed most lesson programs are cagey about the medical maintenance their horses need. They aren’t going to blast it to the world that Dobbin gets hock injections twice a year or else he’s lame, or that they are worriedly monitoring the melanomas on Silver (greys get melanomas) or that Pookie colicked again and they were considering euthanizing but he recovered etc. They don’t need the gossip and drama.

The folks who will stand in the aisle and discuss Every.Last.Vet.Call in detail are the ammie owners especially at self board barns. And while they often get things jumbled up, you learn a lot and can go Google or ask COTH for clarification.

So don’t expect much in the health care line in a lesson/lease barn. They aren’t going to tell you.

[2DogsFarm]

@Scribbler

old lady with a mini cart vs back

You looking at ME?!!?
In my mind, I’ve still got this going on too:
Circa 1989

A couple years later

& Mostly now

[HeelsDown123]

Well that makes sense!

[candyappy]

@fledermaus

I grew up in the 1970’s in California. Horse keeping was not an investment in a child’s future, it was simply something horse crazy kids did with their spare time. We kept our cheap grade horses in our backyards or at rundown rental stables and rode every second we had. We rode to the 7-11 for slurpees, we rode in orchards and picked fruit from horseback, we swam our horses in local ponds. We never had lessons, our shows were at best regional, and we all had a wonderful wonderful time.

I learned things then that are very hard to acquire under a regimen entirely controlled by adults. There is nothing like being entirely responsible for your horse’s well-being and safety. Nothing like getting you and your horse out of a jam you got yourselves into – totally alone. Not to mention, how to stick on your horse no matter what!

This was my youth as well and I wouldn’t change any of it.

@fledermaus

Coming back to horses eight years ago, one difference among many I found, was that children no longer played on and with their best-friend horses on summer days that went on forever. Nope, riding was a Youth Sport with everything regimented, ruled, costumed, and very expensive. Horses are now a means to an end – winning – not an end in themselves.

This is so sad and so true and I see it too.

@HeelsDown123 your daughter deserves this childhood. She can still enjoy a horse of her own, have a childhood, have dreams of competing in the future while experiencing fun with her own horse?

To me a fair compromise would be buying a horse suitable for her now-- while still doing 2 lessons on the show horse she can show on. She can have fun, learn what horses are really all about and compete and not break the ( your) bank.

[findeight]

@Scribbler

So don’t expect much in the health care line in a lesson/lease barn. They aren’t going to tell you

But they’ll put it on your bill as “ meds” or “vet” and maybe on the bills of everybody else who “leases” the horse.

[NoSuchPerson]

For Dogs sake, people, please stop telling the OP that she needs to buy her daughter a horse so she can recreate your past of idyllic days riding your unicorn pony, flower-braided mane, bareback across waving meadows of wildflowers that surround the carriage house-converted-to-horse-stall in your backyard.

Yeah, I grew up with that half-feral Pony Girl gang racing around the countryside with our backyard horses and ponies and I was better for the experience. But the vast majority of Americans today do not have access to that. That lifestyle is not an option. That kind of horse environment does not exist in their area.

For most people in urban areas, which these days is most people, riding opportunities are limited to the kind of places the OP daughter is riding. Places where you schedule lessons and the only real opportunity to do all those fun, silly things like bubble baths, flower-mane braiding, horse painting, and bareback games are during horse camp on school holidays and summers.

[LCDR]

Quick note about NCAA. If you are paid for riding they just might disqualify you because they consider you a professional. I know this makes little sense, but my daughter being paid to ride and keep other’s horses in condition for a barn really hung up her NCAA approval to compete as an amateur for a long time. It finally worked out.

[Spudsmyguy]

I stand (well sit) corrected.