POINT OF VIEW
national federations bring breeders, riders, trainers, coaches and show managers together to identify and support talent- ed young horses and riders here at home? How will the next generation of Olympians find their way from a breeder’s field or the children’s divisions to win as mature partners compet- ing on the world stage? These were the questions posed by USEF Olympic and Nation’s Cup show jumping Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland and USEF High Performance Development Coach DiAnn Langer to a unique group of experienced coaches, breeders, trainers, riders and show managers at the Ridlands’ home at Blenheim in California last March. It’s time to explore some of the many positive options
T
now available to breeders, young riders, aspiring young horse trainers and show managers to build a bridge between the talented and exceptionally bred young Warmbloods cropping the grass at breeding farms all across North Ameri- ca and the legions of hungry young riders who aspire to the top levels of our sports. So many eager and talented young riders simply don’t have the financial resources to purchase a top competitive mount at today’s European import prices. And many breeders have only limited access to trainers ca- pable of bringing their best youngsters all the way to market as a “made” competition horse. Are there ways that these two issues can be resolved together?
Identifying the Issues Hillary Ridland, a renowned hunter/jumper trainer in her own right, facilitated last March’s meeting and kicked off the discussion with a focus on young horse training resources. She points out that in her husband Robert’s generation of international competitors and for most native Europeans, top competitive riders generally started their careers as developers of young horses before finding their way to the Olympic heights. The modern show barn model of coming up through the equitation or hunter ranks on already proven imported show mounts was not a realistic economic option for most of that generation and may not be for the next. DiAnn Langer, also the USEF Show Jumping Young Rider
Chef d’Equipe, adds, “By necessity, the future of all young riders will soon revolve around developing young horse prospects (referring to three to five-year-olds) because the prospect of being able to afford a top horse in ten years will be beyond most of their reach.”
here are many questions facing our country’s equestri- an sport right now. Where will our future world cham- pionship riders and horses come from? How do our
By Kc Branscomb
Building the Pipelines: Bridging Young Riders and Young Horses
Grand Prix jumper mare Venice B (Cathalido –Latano II) bred by Silver Creek Farms and started and developed through the Young Jumper Championship series by Branscomb Farm’s Daniel Zilla capturing third place at the Menlo Charity Grand Prix last summer.
DiAnn identifies three trends she believes will drive young
riders and professionals back to consider the “make your own” in the make or buy decision. “At the highest levels of com- petition and to obtain the top horses in our sport, emerging countries are now able to outspend us—we can’t just spend our way to the top anymore.” Second, she points to the 2007 economic downturn and cites a 40 percent reduction in Warmblood foal registrations across the board, concluding that that leaves more riders to compete for a smaller number of horses in the years to come. Third, and perhaps most im- portantly, DiAnn believes that those with the skills to develop youngsters from the field up through the ranks to Grand Prix will have a key advantage in winning at that top level. “Young riders like Michael Hughes (age 19) who have developed three- and four-year-olds seem to know how to reach down even to their high-level mounts to form a stronger partner- ship that gives them a competitive edge,” she explains.
Building the Pipeline Michael Hughes and fellow U.S. team member young Karl Cook are just two examples of young elite-level riders who now recognize the importance of building a pipeline of up-and-coming prospects to support their long-term ambi- tions. Their families have recently initiated or partnered with breeding operations to produce foals they hope will carry these riders forward in the future.
Warmbloods Today 89
Courtesy Jump Shot
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