Truth. Unless the op can present a video of this unicorn ride I say it’s bs. And if you’re riding in rated derby rounds albeit international ones there’s plenty of pics and video.
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Op posted a good bit about having a kid to upper five budget for a 1.3 prospect for her adult daughter and the timeline for this mare seems to line up. If she’s a catty 4’3+ horse then regional derby’s doesn’t seem unreasonable. With the OPs attitude it sounds improbable that she is equipped at the moment to pilot the mare around an effortless derby course. The trainer may have brought it up hoping the OP would sponsor some shows for the trainer to show.
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I think I can sort of articulate the different types of “sitting” a horse might do on course. You should never be picking to a hunter gap. The gap may encourage a smooth arc over the jump and give the horse room to rotate the shoulder and lift the withers to jump in hunter style in front. For some horses, that may be achieved by slowing down slightly at the fence. The sit then feels like a half halt in the body. Other horses need a half halt a little early then leg at the fence to activate the hind leg. Others still may do neither of these things to get the power and body parts in order. And not all of them really need the gap always but might be able to get a bit closer to the wide ground line especially if it’s a horse who likes to meet the jump slowing down.
In the jumpers, you are “lighting the horse up” and so you may have to coil the spring a bit more before the jump so the horse doesn’t get flat with the extra speed (momentum carrying the horse more into the jump than vertical). Again, there are different ways to accomplish this for the individual horse.
There is less of a change in the hunter canter due to slower speed and how the related distances are set. There’s less lengthening and shortening, galloping and coiling the spring. So, the changes to meet the jump in the best way for that horse are more subtle, and the best riders make it imperceptible because they will also be able to see their distances farther away and make the best adjustments for their horse in enough time that nothing is obvious. Also, a talented hunter can cover up some imperfections with its calm demeanor and naturally good style.
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Okay, whatever. There’s no need to be snotty. I’m asking serious questions here, trying to be light-hearted, not trying to brag up my horse who, by the way, is never going to do anything in the derby until I can count on her to not go playing and porpoise-ing after a fence from time to time. That’s considered disobedience,and is a strict no-go in hunters, I know that.
Geez, it’s tough to post anything on this forum without somebody having to play “mean girl.”
It really shouldn’t be. Just ask your questions without making snarky, opinionated, uneducated remarks about hunter riders.
If I had a dressage question, I would never go to that forum and ask my question while also mentioning that the riders seem to really insert some complaint that denigrates dressage riders and proves I know nothing about dressage while basically saying my horse has the potential to be a top dressage horse but I just don’t know that I can bring myself to lower my riding to that self-perceived level that is beneath me. But people come here ALL THE TIME and do that to the hunter discipline. It’s just so snotty and off-putting.
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What RND said.
Typically on this forum, you get what you give.
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Disagree. I’ve read many a thread where the poor OP has tried to describe a problem, only to meet a bunch of skepticism and hostile questions which the OP can’t really answer without risking revealing the specific situation or the actual parties involved.
I really appreciate those posters who take the time to address an OP’s issue in good faith. Some on this thread have done that, and I thank them. Others are all too willing to place a negative construction on an OP’s post.
To those, including RD, who heard me being dismissive and critical of the hunter discipline, I apologize. I shouldn’t have been flippant. All the equestrian disciplines require dedication and hard work. They deserve my respect.
But to those who challenge me to post videos if I think my mare is so “hot,” I say the following:
Yeah, I thought about it. I reviewed some videos from our first show. I thought she was great. I had fun. We were champions in our division. My description of her as talented enough for international derby wasn’t coming from me. A hunter trainer said that. An eventing trainer said that when we took a cross-country clinic.
I described her good qualities. They exist, I have confirmation. Since when is it bad to love your horse and be excited about her potential? Does that make y’all’s horses less wonderful? Does that warrant challenges like “You think she’s so hot, let’s see some video.”?
Well, I thought seriously about doing that. But then I thought the better of it. You challengers are now poised to criticize my mare’s performance/potential up, down, and sideways. You gotta do it because they think I’ve been uppity. Then someone in my region who klnows me is bound to recognize my mare and me in the video, read your remarks, and then wow! Gossip machine activated.
It’s like, Hell to the no!
I’m sure I’m not the only OP who’s thought: Forget I ever said anything.
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@phippsie62 if you want to PM me, I’m happy to talk more. I have a wealth of experiences with playing with a talented, hot mare in the hunters (and jumpers) 
and I’m happy to chat.
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I really appreciate this part of your post, and I would encourage you to take advantage of supershorty628’s offer - she is not exaggerating at all when she claims to have a wealth of information on this topic. Good luck with your horse no matter what direction you take.
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I just wanted to say that if this was directed towards my post, it certainly was not intended as any sort of challenge, but a suggestion to help you get a more accurate answer to your question (since it’s very difficult for anyone to answer whether your horse would make a good hunter derby horse without seeing how your horse goes).
My apologies OP. I also felt perhaps wrongly that you were denigrating hunter riders. Sounds like you have a nice talented horse. For the record I haven’t seen this forum pick apart people who shared their videos. I have seen this forum pick apart posters who presented scenarios that were suspect and couched in negativity to the sport. Good luck with your horse.
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I have only ever heard this expression positively, to denote a horse who has a fluid rhythm before the fence, soft in the bridle with a harmonious approach and good bascule over the fence.
I don’t find OP’s use of it weird but maybe it is a regional thing. I’ve heard it here a lot and I dabble in all disciplines (dressage, eventing, yes even occasionally an HJ show or two…).
I had a clinic with Denny Emerson decades ago and he was using that phrase… as well as “make your horse move like a jungle cat!”.
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This was my experience too. But, I have not been to a hunter show in lots of years so I was not sure if it meant the same thing with how people were reacting to it.
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I’ve also only ever heard the phrase used as a compliment.
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