n DANIEL: I figure out what goals best suit the horse, and then stick to the goals until the horse tells us if it’s time to move up a level, or to wait, or drop back. If the horse isn’t quite right at a show or tired, we put goals and emotions aside and give him a break. It pays off in the long run; we have a healthier, happier, sounder horse. We don’t make judgments based on winning a particular class or showing to win in my hometown for example.
WT
HOW DO YOU MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT THE MANAGEMENT OF THE HORSE? HOW ARE CONFLICTS HANDLED?
n GEORGE: It’s important to have a team behind each horse: rider/trainer, owner, vet and farrier. Then you need good communication.
BETSY JULIANO competing her horse Wildest Dreams in
Wellington. Photo by Erik Olsen of Horse Sports Photography
46 September/October 2009
n BETSY: I have run my farm for 10 years, but it is a great comfort to have George here for advice. He has had much more experience with high performance horses and we defer to him because he’s the ranking professional. If you have passion for horses, your goal should be to make their life predictable, secure and as high quality as you can. If everyone who works with the horse has the same goal, then there is a terrific synergy between all parties.
n DARREN: If as an owner you like someone’s riding, but not the person’s management, you have a conversation. You say ride my horse but use my vet, or my farriers, or take jumping lessons from this person. If the rider agrees to these criteria, it’s a deal.
n DANIEL: I will politely say that something else is better for his horse. It’s not always what the owner wants to hear and I trying not to hurt feelings, but I may have to say I think we need to stay home from a show, or the horse needs this feed or the blacksmith needs to do such and such. Remember, they pay me for my opinion.
WT
WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH AN OWNER WHO RIDES?
n GEORGE: If I’m competing the horse I might spend more time riding rather than giving lessons to the owner. Betsy is an accomplished enough rider that I don’t need to keep everything at a lower gear or compromise. On the three or four days I’m not at her farm riding, she keeps the horses going and there isn’t the need to make repairs. When her horses are ready for the international arena,
we will revisit how we’re doing. Right now the plan is that I’m competing the younger horse at 2nd level and getting her used to the arena. The older horse is Prix St. Georges and Betsy could compete him. On the other hand, if that horse shows a lot of promise, Betsy may not compete him at that level so he could go on. She could ride him after he accomplishes what he can on a larger scale.
n DARREN: I treat all scenarios on an individual basis. I’ve had several owners who enjoy tacking up their horses, or warming them up, or helping with the gallop. Depending on the animal, it’s not bad for some horses to have more low key rides. You let the owner bomb around at training level while you’re going advanced a month from then. It’s not ideal, but with a tried and true campaigner, it would work. I had one owner that would ride every now and then. When she rode for a couple of days I spent three days apologizing to the horse. You have to decide if this
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