ngTHE GP B A
andP WHEN world-renowned show jumping trainers John and Beezie Madden noticed a disconnect between North American breeders and riders, they decided to make
an effort to bridge the gap with the John Madden Sales Breeder’s Bridge to Performance contest, where two winning young American-bred horses will receive three months of free training with Callie Schott at John Madden Sales. If the venture is a success, they plan to make it an annual event that will create a legacy of well-trained, American-bred young horses.
“W
e had great success with the American-bred stallion Judgement ISF and currently have another American- bred gelding in our top string, Counselor [sired by
Judgement ISF] and see no reason that the next top grand prix horse couldn’t be born here in North America,” says John Madden, explaining his impetus for organizing the contest.
The Process After the initial selection through photos and
video, the 139 applicants were narrowed down to five semi-finalists. Callie Schott then traveled around to ride the semi-finalists and narrow the selection down to the finalists. On her blog for The Chronicle of the Horse, which follows the selection process and includes videos of her rides, she says, “When trying a horse, I try to keep in mind what I’ve seen John and Beezie do so many times in trial rides. They get a good feel for the horse on the ground and in the saddle, keeping a careful eye on temperament and aptitude. John always says, besides a lame horse, the second most disappointing type of horse is one that doesn’t have the aptitude to learn.” She continues, “John always stresses that when trying a
horse, it is important to set them up for success. You want to see a horse at its best and not overface them. Mildly challenging a horse’s scope, carefulness, character, soundness and rideability is important, but it should be done in a limited enough way that it is realistic for the horse.” John says that they have received quite a bit of positive feedback on the contest, but if they go forward, he says they will
12 July/August 2012
strive to improve the contest and the benefits that it will bring our sport horse industry. “I hope it will give exposure to quality breeders here in North
America, and perhaps other people in the market will take a look at these options as well,” he says. “Our population of jumper prospects may be a little less condensed than you would find in Europe, but we have them here and they’re worth considering. I think it’s a nice bonus that two of the five semi-finalists are off-the-track Thoroughbreds.”
What Makes a Prospect? The criteria for the five semi-finalists
were simple: “We picked the semi- finalists based on how we pick any horse we go to try for our business,” says John Madden. “We were looking for horses we considered to be all around solid prospects for the grand prix ring in years to come. We tend to like the
Thoroughbred-types, the lighter Warmbloods. We’ve had better success with that type over the years.” They narrowed it down based on conformation, the
horses’ jumping ability and style, and gave consideration to bloodlines when they were personally familiar with sire or dam or siblings. “Beezie, Callie and I watched video after video and tried to
judge rideability, scope, carefulness, aptitude and soundness from what we saw,” he explains. “It could be difficult depending on the quality of the video and how much was provided to judge those qualities, but that was where our focus was.”
Above: Wrigley and Callie Schott, who works with the Maddens and who will be training the two winning horses.
By Amber Heintzberger
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Photo by Sportfot
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