WORKING WITH YOUNG STALLIONS Young horse classes showcase stallions along with mares and geldings. Not every horseman enjoys training young stallions but Lisa thrives on partnerships with them. “There is a lot of character that will come with them, which is a beautiful thing. Use it.”
She notes that stallions need a
routine. In general, stallions don’t like surprises. And especially with a stallion, the trainer shouldn’t hurry. “People let little details get away from them. With a stallion, that can lead to a big disaster,” she warns. “You like what testosterone
brings with it. You can focus it, if you get them on your side. And that doesn’t mean wrestling them to the mat. It means being firm but fair,” Lisa advises. A knowledgeable trainer practices appropriate responses, always being fair to the horse. Lisa emphasizes, “What yesterday was, was yesterday. You don’t hold a grudge in
Lisa Wilcox and Pikko del Cerro HU show medium trot across the diagonal.
any of your corrections. It should be a second, it’s done, and you’re on to the next thing. That’s how you get the happy horse. You’re always going to have work sessions; you’re going to have sweaty boots. Ernst says, ‘You torture yourself and not the horse—that means discipline. That means your seat.” She continues to describe the
trainer’s responsibility. “Discipline yourself. Discipline your hands. Discipline how you come with an aid. Be correct and nine times out of ten you’re going to find the horse responds in a way that corresponds to what you were asking.” Lisa calls the Developing
Horse Grand Prix program “a nice, inviting way for a horse to learn. That’s so important. You’ve got
to keep the horse happy—don’t overface him. What overfaces a stallion for instance is atmosphere, the new everything. You have to think ahead of them and try to protect them in their education.”
Familiar Bloodlines Pikko del Cerro HU (Pik L x Rohdiamant x Grundstein II) is related to three Oldenburg stallions that Lisa Wilcox showed
in Germany. She rode Rohdiamant (Rubinstein x Inschallah x Chronist) in Grand Prix, and they were long-listed for the 2000 U.S. Olympic team. The 1990 stallion stands eighth in the latest (2011) WBFSH sire rankings for dressage and has sired 26 approved sons. “Rhodi” was clever, just like his grandson, Cerro. Lisa explains how she can feel Cerro perk up, at the drop of a hat. “I can
start to feel him get light in his loafers and start to pump up. I say, ‘Okay, no.’”She recognizes that sensation as the same as the Rubinstein sons she trained. “I know them well. I know when things are getting critical, and obviously I ride. That’s when I stop walking and I trot. I start to keep his mind busy. I say, ‘You start to become more attentive to me and not the atmosphere.’ If I stay walking around and wait for something to happen, it will happen.” Lisa fondly calls Cerro “Monkey,” because he is very curious. “He watches everything you
do. He’s just a curious little George.” She mentions another similarity to Rohdiamant. “Cerro can go from zero to 100 in no
time. You think, ‘Wow, where did that come from? Holy cow!’ Rhodi had that stimulation, too. They’ll look like they’re just sleeping, and all of a sudden, aah! It’s like in an awards ceremony. I keep my wits about me.” In Germany Lisa trained Royal Diamond (full brother to Rohdiamant) and showed him
at the Bundeschampionat in 1999 (second place, five-year-olds) and 2000 (champion, six- year-olds). She also trained another Rubinstein son, the seven-year-old Relevant, to win the Nürnberger Burg-Pokal championship in 1998. In this competition, horses seven to nine years old show in a short Prix St. Georges test. Lisa and Relevant went on to represent the U.S. in both the World Championships (WEG) and Olympic Games. Cerro’s sire Pik-L is a son of Pik Bube II, known for siring performers and broodmares
in dressage and jumping. Pik Bube II is the damsire of the champion Grand Prix jumper, Checkmate 4, ridden by Meredith Michaels Beerbaum and still competing at age 17. A grandson of Pik Bube II is the Elite Hanoverian stallion, Sinatra Song, standing at High Point Hanoverians.
26 November/December 2012
Lisa showing Relevant at the 2002 World Equestrian Games, Jerez, Spain.
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