Macella's Corner
to support. But that said, there will always be tremendously individual approaches to the job of being a horse trainer and that’s what makes us different. At the end of March at the Blenheim
T
Trainer Certification and “the Job” he effort at trainer certifica-
tion is extremely laudable and a step in the direction of stan- dardization that is important
by Macella O'Neill
trainer in the US today and who supports us as the base mainstay of the industry? I immediately realize the first difficulty
show, while sitting at the meeting on the status of show jumping in the US that was chaired by David O'Conner, I found myself thinking that there is an entire topic that goes widely unexplored: What is the role of the "typical" working horse
is defining what constitutes a "typical" working horse trainer. For my purposes here I mean someone who is consistently developing and maintaining a training business. And then, able to produce ap- propriate quality horses for their custom- ers to ride at a variety of levels. If also very lucky, able to compete successfully themselves. What it takes to be able to accomplish that extensive definition is an amazing array of skills found in various combinations throughout our industry. Without belaboring the many
importance of making our personal lives a priority often takes a back seat. So while we sit at meetings discuss-
ing how to support horse shows, the development of young horses, how to adequately encourage owners, how to further advance the already successful elite riders and all other varied topics, it occurs to me that contemplating how to encourage, support and advance "typi- cal" horse trainers should also be a prior- ity for discussion for all forums, begin- ning with USEF and USET. These horse trainers are what compris-
priorities that every working horse trainer must juggle, simply to keep their businesses afloat and their customers happy, it is obvious that being a professional in this sport is well beyond a full time job. It’s a job that leaves little time for anything else. And for that matter, most often does not provide time or any other resources that allow profession- als to pursue their own individual goals. Personally, pursuing my rid- ing ambitions has certainly made me a better coach and trainer as I am sure it has for all of us, but the
Photo © Flying Horse Photography
es the very backbone of the industry, and also are an often unsupported and un- mined talent pool. It is a terrible shame not to be utilizing opportunities for these discussions as this is an imperative topic for consideration when we are discussing the status of US show jumping. Discus- sions, forums, meetings and get togethers focus on the topics of helping the shows, World Cup Finals processes, points, qual- ifying, Teams and so many other topics while the very core of the sport gets little organized support and attention. I for one would welcome an open, or-
ganized discussion forum of the riders and owners that centers only on this top- ic. Together we are a strong group, alone we are….alone!
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