Corner By Judy Wardrope


point of view Jumping the Grand Sire – Cabri d’ Elle A


person’s curiosity is naturally aroused when one hears about a horse that was named to the British Team nearly a decade


ago, jumped in 33 nation cups, two European championships and one World Cup Final, and is still competing in the 1.60-meter division at the age of 20.


His current rider/owner, 24-year-old Paola


Amilibia of Spain, who has owned the Selle Français stallion since he was 16 and was twice the Spanish champion young rider, says, “People thought he was finished, but he’s always been sound with me. He feels like a cat and is a pleasure to ride.” What qualities have contributed to his ability and his longevity? What can we learn from his points of functional conformation? As one would


expect from a durable athlete, his lumbosacral gap is bisected by a line drawn from the top of one hip to the top of the other hip. This construction, confirmed by palpation, is equivalent to having a very strong transmission. This is the area of the spine used to support and sustain lifting. As we have previously observed when


examining the configuration of the jumper’s rear triangle, the ilium side (point of hip to point of buttock) and the femur side (point of buttock to stifle protrusion) are of equivalent lengths. This construction lends itself to the coiling and uncoiling the rear spring, an obvious requirement in jumping. The ability to clear high and wide obstacles


is directly related to stifle placement, and, in this case, we see that the stifle (the protrusion rather


48 September/October 2010


Conformation


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