POINT OF VIEW John and Beezie Madden, in generously offering their
nationwide “Breeder’s Bridge to High Performance” contest in 2012, spoke eloquently about connecting young horses and top young riders as being a key to industry health and success in sport. John cited that U.S.-bred equine young- sters often have all the talent needed to succeed but don’t receive the proper training, development or exposure nec- essary to showcase their talent to the same extent as their European counterparts. One of the missing links is a strong cadre of young professionals ready, skilled and able to start and develop these young Warmbloods in their formative years (two to five). Pegasus award winner, Olympic course designer, and
YJC/Jumper Futurity founder Linda Allen is passionate about creating educational opportunities for young horse trainers to build their skills and for professionals to suc- ceed in careers as young horse specialists. Linda comments, “While the level of sophistication in breeding sport horses in North America has improved exponentially and we have young horse specialty classes in all three Olympic disci- plines, the biggest missing link is the paucity of horsemen with the knowledge and skill to do the essential early train- ing and the willingness to stay home and do this training on horses from three to five or six years of age. The depth of knowledge and experience gained from training horses that are on the way up (and not just on the way down) certainly gives them [young horse trainers] an edge competing any- where at any level.” To build a pipeline from the breeder to create the sort of horses most sought after in our industry—namely horses ready to compete at a high level—young horse specialists need to be encouraged and educated. Young horse trainer skill-building schools and clinics are emerging as important support systems and new professional career opportunities in all equestrian disciplines. Linda Allen partnered with hunter/jumper “R” judge and
breeder Julie Winkel and natural horsemanship trainer Jose Alejos to create the Young Horse Trainers School (YHTS), a six-day program offered annually on both coasts to “en- courage aspiring professionals as well as amateurs with the interests and skills to do a successful job bringing on youngsters.” The YHTS includes backing unstarted three or four-year-olds, ground work, early flatwork, an introduc- tion to free jumping and jumping under saddle. Similarly to serve the dressage community, starting in 2010 Scott Hassler, in affiliation with the USDF, offers an annual Young Dressage Horse Trainer Symposium in which riders and au- ditors spend three days or more with top-level dressage cli- nicians focused on the needs and appropriate development of young Warmbloods five years and under. In eventing, the Young Event Horse series offers breeders and young riders alike an opportunity to explore and share skills in assessing
90 January/February 2015
the quality and developing the aptitude of young event horses at ages four and five.
Creating Young Horse Specialists Linda explains, “There are as many ways [to train young horses] as there are top horsemen. We share the philoso- phy that every horse should have a fair shot at learning to do a job in a confident and happy way. In Europe not only do young horse specialists earn respect from breed- ers, owners and riders alike, bringing along some special youngsters can often open doors for a rider to go on to an international career.” But Linda is quick to point out that a three- or six-day clinic is not enough to provide even the most talented rider with the knowledge, experience and skills to go out and start their own youngster unassisted. For this purpose, several major breeders with strong professional young horse training programs offer a range of internships and working student positions to promising young trainer candidates. Internships including those at Spy Coast Farm (Kentucky, North Carolina), Tish Quirk Equine Services (California), Hilltop Farm’s breeding division (Maryland), Maplewood Farm (Nevada) and my own Branscomb Farm (California), give young professionals and amateurs alike a chance to work directly with some of North American’s best breeders and young horse trainers, some who are also winning upper-level competitors in their own right. Interns or working students experience firsthand the process of bringing an elite-bred youngster under saddle and beyond. Positions are generally full-time residential commitments of six weeks to six months or more in length and involve riding or working with six to eight horses a day under the supervision of the head trainer and his/her staff. Some internships also include breeding-related skills such
Paul Johnston’s Klinton OBF (Clinton-Heartbreaker) competing at Young Horse Show Finals in Tryon, NC with SCF Young Horse trainer David O’Brien.
Courtesy SCF
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