Beyond JumpsThe
A Young Rider’s Unusual
Journey Courtesy Ali Cornish
Every journey with horses must start somewhere. For 19-year-old hunter/jumper professional Ali Cornish, her journey has taken her on a road less traveled— and she owes it all to a difficult horse that has taken her through the ranks. Thanks to him, she ended her junior career with a coveted spot in the ASPCA Maclay Finals and has recently been able to launch her own business.
O
n her family’s ranch in Chico, California, cows and western saddles are the order of the day. Because of her upbringing, Ali blurs the lines between equestrian disciplines. As much at
home in a western saddle as she is in a jump-off, Ali’s ap- proach is unconventional, but she’s unshakeable in her resolve to combine the best of both worlds. She uses the skills she has learned from a variety of trainers, both Eng- lish and Western, to work with difficult, often throwaway, horses. Her goal is to always find and nurture that spark that helps make a horse great.
Second Chances Although Ali grew up with her feet in the stirrups, her real life lessons began six years ago. That’s when a talented Dutch Warmblood who was sour and burnt out came into her life. “I got him when I was twelve and he was really dif- ficult,” she says. “He was at the end of his rope.”
32 January/February 2014 Theodore, or “Theo,” was also exactly the type of project
that she wanted. “When we found him, I was looking for a 3’6 equitation horse, and we didn’t have the budget for a made one,” Ali continues, remarking that she actually pre- fers a horse without all the buttons. “I wanted to be able to look back [at the horse I got] and say that we came here together. My parents and I looked at him and, by the skin of our teeth, pulled it off and bought Theo.” After several months off, Theo was brought back to work, only this time he was under western tack. Although not a common practice in the hunter/jumper world, Ali sees it simply as good horsemanship. To her, good riding is good riding regardless of the discipline. “When I bring along a horse, I want him to be able to go Western and English. There’s a lot more freedom in your body and movement in a western saddle and it helps horses out in the fundamentals,”
Top of page: With Buck Brannaman coaching, Ali practices her roping skills on Theo.
By Katie Shoultz
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