of the HITS Triple Crown Million Grands Prix, placing third in 2010 (Saugerties) and second in 2013 (Thermal). A gray Dan- ish Warmblood, Chianto (Carano x Primus) placed eighth at the 2010 World Championship, helping the Canadian team finish fifth. John, a Canadian Olympian (Sydney 2000), says, “He’s defi-
nitely a very special horse for me—the fact that he’s 18 years old, and I started him at 11.” Chianto’s owner is Alison Moore, who rode the horse
until 2007. “They sent him to me because he was a little difficult to sell at the time,” says John. The plan was for him to compete and sell Chianto. The two bonded, though John recalls it was a tough first year. “It was extremely dif- ficult getting him to jump a course without either stop- ping or knocking two down. I knew he had a lot of scope. I knew he wanted to be careful. It was just his sensitivity and his nerves.” Chianto had shown in Europe, but John says, “I just think
he didn’t like that show horse environment. I guess he didn’t like his life, though he had good riders and came out of a great barn.”
“He’s a sensitive horse. His flight for life instinct is like no other.”
“He loves to jump. He loves his job. I don’t jump him much
anymore,” John continues. “He knows I will never overwork him in any way or mistreat him. He’s a sensitive horse. His flight for life instinct is like no other.” John says that Chianto knows when a class is really im-
portant. “When he went to the World Championship, he was 14 at that time. He just knew it was important for me and he gave me everything he could that week. It was unbelievable. Nobody knew the horse. He was definitely an underdog.” John and his wife Gretchen believe in a variety of hacking
and turnout. “Our horses are not wrapped in bandages and stand in a stall all day, and aren’t ridden in the same ring over and over,” says John. “We do a lot of hill work. It’s all about their mind, in my opinion, that they relax and they enjoy their work.” “Fitness is very important today,” he adds, noting that he
doesn’t use walkers or treadmills. His horses are turned out twice daily, two hours in the morning and two hours at night. “They also are handwalked. They are very special. The horses are always happy to see us.”
Kiss the Sky Another gray, Kiss the Sky is Selle Français (Elway ISR x
Cyrano). Ridden by Lane Clarke, this 1998 mare represented Australia in the 2009 World Cup Final in Las Vegas, finishing twelfth in the Grand Prix. To date, Kiss the Sky has jumped in 41 FEI competitions. Horsemanship Unlimited of Temecula, California owns the
mare, and the Clarke family all work with her. Allen Clarke, father of horsemen Lane and Lynn, says, “My eldest son Lynn schools her at home and Lane shows her.” He recalls how this mare came to the family’s farm. “I got
her for a crazy low price because we work with special indi- vidual horses. She had flipped over backwards and broken a woman’s pelvis. Other trainers didn’t want to buy her. So I decided to do it myself and it paid off.” He describes her fitness routine. “Most of her work is in
Chianto (Carano x Primus) and John Pearce at HITS Thermal 2013.
He calls the horse of that time a “wreck,” explaining that
Chianto would lather in the warm-up, and even paw so much he’d try to lie down. “I just rode him and rode him. I just kept telling him ‘it’s okay, it’s okay.’ We did a lot of galloping on the racetrack and a lot of flat work on a big grass field and did a lot of hacking. We stayed away from gymnastics. He hates gymnastics.” The gray thrived on his new routine. “What makes the whole thing special is the partnership, the bond that I have with this horse. He is really quite special. He really trusts me and he knows if he works with me it will never be stressful. It will always be fun,” John says.
46 January/February 2015
the hills. She walks 45 minutes and comes back puffing after walking up hills. She canters only once or twice a week. “She works six days a week. During this schooling, she will do a third in a frame, a third long and low, and a third on loose rein. It is a bit of a regimen. Once a week she walks 12 steps, back 3 steps, walk 12 steps, back 3 steps. Horses use the same muscles backing up that they use to jump.” The mare jumps only every other week. Allen doesn’t use a tread- mill, preferring the horse walks on natural surfaces. “On the trail, they walk on uneven ground, so it works tendons and ligaments,” he adds. “Horses are meant to walk around 12 miles a day grazing,
so I try to keep it as natural as I can.” He beds horses on hay. “I rarely have colic here, if ever. Horses should be kept eating all day. So she can eat whenever she feels like it. They regulate themselves.” The hay he uses is Bermuda or what’s known as 3-way, a blend of forage such as oat, wheat and rye.
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