Advice for those following along is also wise; “I
think that if you have a love for horses, commitment
to the sport and you are passionate enough about
it, this can be an amazing thing. It kept me out of
a lot of trouble growing up; I give it credit for that.
It’s like anything though, if you want to be good
at any sport you have to work really hard and take
the good with the bad, there will be more bad than
good in the beginning. The rewards though, are far
more than you can imagine.”
“If I have a request of the generation before
my generation I would ask them to help get it to
‘back in the day’ when they talk about it being
more ‘sport’. They talk about the atmosphere, the
crowds and fun. They helped create it then and
make it happen; I would ask they help it come
to life again. I remember when Susie Hutchison
reminisces about how everyone was so enthusiastic
about it, what changed from then to now?? Can’t
the older generation find it and teach us how to
make it that?”
For Steve, the best part of working with Ashlee
is, “I’m like the creator. It’s amazing when you can
be on the ground, you give advice and it gets done.
I am a horse guy and I focus on how the horses are
going. When I work with ‘Ash’ I never say anything
about her, my observations are always about the
horses. I tell her what I see and she responds
instinctively. I believe that as long as she is doing
what she is supposed to do, she is invincible. There
are so many ways and styles and riders but the one
universal thing is that riders must stay out of the
horse’s way so they can do their job. There can
be so many different styles as long as they don’t
interfere. Who is to say what’s right and what is not.
jump clean. Riders should strive to instinctively
This translates into the will to have your horses
know what is happening when a horse leaves the
ground so the horses focus is on the rails. It is not
an accident getting to the top of this sport.”
Steve says, “I think that you have to find your
own rhythm and destiny. Ask questions and have
the love and passion for the horse first, sport
second. Put the time in on the horses; don’t be
afraid to challenge your teachers to become the best
teachers they can be. The clinic with Meredith was
so appropo about her insisting the riders knowing
what it’s all about and why they do what they do.
Success is going to come but most of the time, in
this sport, it’s about adversity.”
“I always said that success is great but, in some
ways, success breeds arrogance while adversity
builds character. The wins and the losses have to
be handled with the same attitude and acceptance,
at least external. None of us like to lose but we
have to handle it correctly or it will eat us, and our
successes, up.”
55
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