TRAINERS’ POINT OF VIEW By Amber Heintzberger Time to Call it a Day? Top Event Riders on When and Why to Pull Up on Cross-Country
challenge. Whether it’s a young horse trotting around a “tad- pole” course made of little logs on the ground or an Olympic veteran attacking a four-star level championship, everyone has good days and bad days. We’ve all seen riders pull up their horse, raise a hand and
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walk back to the barns before they’ve crossed the finish line—sometimes after only a couple of jumps. And some- times the dressage leader, in spite of a brilliant score, opts not to run on cross-country day. Spectators may be baffled, but riders have their reasons when they choose to withdraw during or even before the cross-country phase of a horse trials or three-day event. What are their reasons? We talk to three top event riders for their points of view.
Meet the Experts: Jessica Bortner-Harris owns and operates Rocky Start Eventing in Thurmond, North Carolina. She has com- peted through the three-star level of eventing with her off-the-track Thoroughbred Win the War and has several young horses coming up the ranks. She is a popular clini- cian and writes a blog for
www.eventingnation.com.
Peter Barry of Dunham, Quebec has been selected for the Canadian Eventing Team competing at the 2014 World Equestrian Games team riding his Irish Sport Horse Kilrodan Abbott. He and his wife Susan own Maple Hill Farm where they raised their two children, Alexandra and Dylan, and they breed sport horses. Peter also represent- ed Canada at the 2012 Olympic Games.
New Jersey rider Holly Payne operates a teaching and training business and has competed through the four- star level in eventing in the U.S. and England and also at the FEI levels of dressage. She is an ICP level 3 certified instructor with the U.S. Eventing Association and a gradu- ate “A” of the US Pony Club. Holly certainly comes from a horsey family: her mother, Marilyn Payne, is an Olympic dressage judge and her brother Doug also competes at the four-star level of eventing.
ross-country jumping is a serious test of both physi- cal and mental endurance. Both horse and rider have to be sound, fit and mentally prepared for the
Even if your horse passed the vet inspection at a big event, is there anything that would prompt you to withdraw before cross-country?
Jessica: As riders, we know our horses very well. There
are times when we might feel something “off” in our horse or know our horse is acting out of character. One could make it all of the way to the warm up and realize that something just isn’t right, but the horse is sound. That’s why, in this sport, it’s imperative that we know our horse inside and out. For instance, Win the War is a very stoic horse. He does not tend to show lameness or pain until it’s become a huge deal. I have to be very honed in on little pieces of evidence that may show he is not quite right. Peter: I personally believe as long as your horse is sound
and fit, it’s the right thing to continue and finish. Of course if your horse is tired or lame, you should pull up. Otherwise, the only reason I’d pull up is if I’m at an important competition that I would need to go clear to qualify for another event, but the horse had a run-out or whatever. If there’s another show in a couple of weeks I might choose to save my horse and try on a better day. Otherwise, I like to continue and finish what I started.
“One could make it all of the way to the warm up and realize that something just isn’t right, but the horse is sound.” – Jessica
Jessica and Win the War at Pine Top Farm in Georgia. Warmbloods Today 27
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