“When I lease a horse, I want to return it to the owner better than when it came to me.”
better for all parties.” About this trainer-to-trainer dialogue, she adds, “What concerns me most is that the horse is properly represented. Trainers must be honest with what they’re representing. You really have to rely on your trainer. Have trust and faith that he or she will find the right horse for you.” Such networking can initiate the lease. Ali explains,
“We orchestrate the leases for our clients, or horses we own with other people. Normally another trainer, who has a client who wants to lease a horse for a set period of time will contact us. If we have a client who wants to lease, we call another trainer.” She describes the process of riders trying out lease prospects. “They usually come for a weekend. They will sit on horses we pick for them and create a list of the top five. Then they’ll retry those again to decide the best match.” “We have a lot of horses in our barn,” says Daniel, “so
having a horse, and also the expenses involved. It’s a way to ease into it. Then if you feel it’s really working, you are more prepared to buy a horse.” Natalie advises clients to lease if possible to build confidence
and develop skills. “You’re more likely to learn a lot if you lease a horse first, to figure out what’s the best choice for you.” Ali says, “There are more leases in pony hunters than the
horses, because kids are growing all the time. It’s easier to lease a small pony for a year, then surrender that lease and lease another for the following year.”
MATCHING HORSE AND RIDER A lease can start with the horse being available, or the rider looking for a horse to lease rather than buy. For this temporary ownership to succeed, both horse and rider need to become partners, and generally a good trainer overseeing the pair is crucial.
Daniel explains how leasing usually starts with a client. “The
arrangement is whatever the rider is comfortable with—what her budget is, and what her goals are. Maybe she has one more year before college, so usually leasing is a nice option. Or she will only do children’s hunters one year before she moves up, so she wants a horse for that year. Or it can be a child moving up from ponies to children’s hunters.” Lisa emphasizes frank and open discussions between the
trainers. “It’s to optimize the performance of the horse. The more candid you are and the more back and forth it is, the
we’re pretty lucky matching. I almost always have something available. The rider can try one that’s suitable, and then I get a feel for what type of horse she likes, something she will get along with.” Anne explains that when she leased Pik L to Kya Endreson in 2011, she told the junior rider about the stallion’s person- ality. “Kya said to me later, ‘Everything you said, you were 100 percent right.’” “A stallion is no different than the ocean—you never turn
your back on it,” Ann adds. “With the ocean, you can turn your back and a rogue wave knocks you in the water. It’s similar with a stallion. If you turn your back and drop your guard, he knows it.” Kya and Pik L won the Junior Championship (individual and
team) in 2011 at Gladstone. Anne notes, “She just won her first Young Rider class with him—her first time ever showing Prix St. Georges, and she’s just turning 17.” At the Virginia Dressage Association Fall Competition in October 2011, Kya scored 69.342% in the Team Test, and 67.105% in the Individual Test. Jody praises the leasing option. “Often you can obtain a horse that has more training than if you would go out and try to buy it. Especially for junior or young riders who want to compete at the FEI level—leasing gives them an opportunity. If they started with a young horse with potential and trained it up, they might not get to that level because they would age out.” She recalls leasing her upper level horse to a junior rider. “This rider was tenacious and matched the horse step by step to do CDIs at Junior level. She learned more than she could on any horse—she figured it out and went with him. Her family wouldn’t have been able to afford a horse like that. Sometimes the experience they can gain from a leased horse is priceless.”
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