Olof explains that he spends a lot of time working with the horses on an individual basis, especially over the winter. “I work them under saddle, on the lunge and double lunge,”he says. “Over the winter I’ll break the team down and work on individual problems and weaknesses. Not everyone does it that way but it seems to work for us. The perfect horse can go left and right, lead and wheel. Not all horses can do everything, but we switch them out.”
A team of driving horses is only as successful as the sum of its parts. According to Chester, “A great team works in a synergetic manner; they complement each other.” But he also explains that a good match is not always obvious at a glance. “My two lead horses, Rolex and Grumus, don’t look a lot alike: one looks like a dressage horse and the other is heavy. But there’s some magic in how they work together. Rolex is flighty, while “Mecki” (Grumus) is calm and cool. They don’t do the whole show together – they’re good in dressage but then I move them around.”
It is common practice to move the horses around depending on which phase they are competing in. For instance, Chester says, “Rolex does the lead in dressage and is the wheel in the marathon. Jamaica does the opposite thing. Para was on my team this summer: in dressage and cones he’s the right wheel, in marathon he’s the left wheel.”He explains, “It’s a little trial and error. The issue is strength – if they bend too much in the turn on the marathon they’re slow, but that’s good in dressage.”
Chester remarks, “I’m a big believer in figuring out which combination works, and I don’t change that. In the winter we work on fundamentals, getting them balanced, straight and strong. Para started as a left wheel, I drove him with Jamaica, changed them around and spent the winter making him a good right wheeler; but it worked before, so I put him back on the left.”
Of course it is important to play on the horses’ strengths, and with the funda- mentals firmly in place the versatility of Chester’s team is a key ingredient in his success.
Olof explains, “The sport originated around 1978 or so, and they’re still chang- ing the rules to make the scoring absolutely effective. A Four-in-hand always has five horses. During a competition you are allowed to switch one out. From the beginning of the sport you’ve had a spare horse, but now it’s also to have the best combination over three days. A ‘three day’ horse goes every day, has strength in all three phases. The idea is not to excel in one phase but to be strong in all three. Four for five years ago it was possible to have a decent dressage score and win the marathon; now you have to be strong every day.”
When it all comes down to it, winning is not everything. “I’m lighthearted on the carriage,” says Chester. “Horses make you humble. There are two guys on the carriage with me and we have a lot of fun.”Of course a few gold medals can’t help but put a smile on their faces too, and with this magical combination of horses there are sure to be many smiles in their future.
WT
Jamaica’s Fairy Tale
Jamaica has become famous for his “rags to riches” success story as a world-class driving horse. Recently he received the prestigious award The 2008 Farnam® Platform® Horse of the Year at the recent United States Equestrian Federation’s Annual Meeting.
Jamaica’s story started years ago in Belgium, where he was headed for slaughter. Fortunately for Jamaica, he was rescued and trained as a tourist carriage horse. This didn’t last long, however, because he refused to stand still. While his personality did not suit the tourist trade, Jamaica proved to be a perfect addition to Chester Weber’s team of international-caliber combined driving horses. He has helped the team win the Four-in-Hand National Championship title six years in a row.
“The USEF award is a great chapter in Jamaica’s amazing story,” says Chester. “Of course Jamaica’s career isn’t over as I am hoping he will be one of my superstars during the 2010 World Equestrian Games.”
When Jamaica’s competition days end he will retire on Chester’s Live Oak farm in Ocala to live out his days grazing and lazing about the fields, with no hint of the slaughterhouse that was once his bleak future.
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