TRAINERS’ POINT OF VIEW By Amber Heintzberger Young-Horse Trainers Speak Out
track. Getting young horses started correctly also means that there are more prospects available for top riders to choose from, which ultimately improves the odds of the U.S. winning med- als at major competitions with American-bred horses. But with dreams of Olympic glory getting all the attention, there’s not always incentive for trainers to focus on working with young horses—if they even realize it’s a career option. Three trainers, who focus primarily on young horses, discuss
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how they got started, what keeps them going and what they hope for the future of young horse training and competition.
Lauren Bliss Kieffer is an
accomplished three-day event rider who has competed to the four-star level. Working for Karen and David O’Connor in Middleburg, Virginia and Ocala, Florida, she has a particular interest in working with young event horses. Her current upper-level horse, Veronica, is owned by Team Rebecca.
What prompted you to become a young horse rider/trainer?
Lauren: After I came to be a working student for Karen and Da- vid O’Connor, they started teaching me their methods on their own homebreds. Over several years they gave me more respon- sibility in starting their homebreds and then also working with Ms. [Jacqueline] Mars’ homebreds. I now enjoy bringing along Ms. Mars’ young horses every year, although it is a huge team effort from the day they are born.
Nicki: I was in Calgary for five years before coming back to Colo- rado, which is where I grew up. I got more into young horses
s programs develop for showing young horses in the United States, breeders and owners are looking for trainers who can start their young stock on the right
Hunter/jumper trainer Nicki Wilcox is a Colorado native
who spent five years working for Grand Prix show jumper Frank Selinger in Calgary, Alberta. She and her horse J.E.S. Quito, whom she started as a two-year-old, have shown successfully in the young horse classes in the United States and will be starting the Grand Prix jumpers later this year.
French rider Marjory Berkache was born and raised in
Paris. She moved to the United States in 2002 with her Ameri- can husband and currently lives in Florida with him and their two children. She is a certified instructor who has evented to Intermediate level, is working on her USDF Silver medal, and she has started over 200 young horses at her farm in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Her 12-year-old RPSI (Rhineland Pfalz Saar International) registered stallion Tailored Fortune has competed successfully in eventing and dressage, and she is hoping to reach Prix St. Georges with him this year.
at St. George’s Stables in Calgary, working with show jumpers and hunters. As a working student at Frank Selinger’s, I was re- ally pulled into doing a lot with young horses. It’s fun to start with a blank canvas and watch them develop and come into themselves.
Marjory: My parents bought me a very naughty pony who bucked me off all the time, so I learned to stay on pretty much anything. When people had young horses acting goofy, I was the first to volunteer to ride them and so I earned a reputation for being able to ride the young horses. I enjoyed it and stuck with it.
Warmbloods Today 89
Lisa Houghton
Heidi Payne Fine Art
Shannon Brinkman
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