breed show evaluation, but more intensive and detailed), Ha- noverian breeding societies encourage owners to performance test their mares to determine their rideability and assess whether their talent lies in jump- ing or dressage. Te MPT goal also meant that Lucy and Jessie had to be able to display their optimum gaits, good balance and easy rideability, plus peak level free jumping in just over six months from the time the girls first climbed on their backs. For this, the girls enlisted
some training help, but still no other riders. Te girls had to let their mares practice free jumping though a chute of three fences, performed without a rider, which they did over three different week- ends in the months prior to the MPT. About three months before the MPT, which was held in October 2014, nearby trainer Lauren Dearlove started coming once a week to help prepare the girls for the nuances of the ridden test, which is similar to a dressage test. Tis would be a new experience for all concerned. Hanna
the two children’s hunter riders to learn what a true dressage horse should feel like, Lauren also let them ride Felix, one of her own FEI horses. Jordan says she will never forget what it felt like to passage (albeit unin- tentionally) and says that riding Felix taught her “what it feels like when a horse carries itself better and connects to the bit with bal- ance.” Training a young horse was
Balou Moon BHF with her rider Hanna Toering scoring 8.5 for the canter at the MPT.
a great experience for both of these young riders. Lauren says that the girls learned not to esca- late any baby horse exuberance, for example. She also observed that both mares have become very much like their teenage rid- ers! Both girls commented that their Hanoverian mares were easy to bond with and more
cooperative and more competitive than other horses and ponies they had ridden.
MPT, Breeding or Both? As if being only 12 and 14 and having only six months to
and Jordan normally ride and compete with their hunter/ jumper trainer, Peter Foley of Aldie Virginia. And since these young mares are bred for those disciplines, flat hunter-style saddles and eggbutt or D-ring snaffle bits were what they were accustomed to—and what Lauren encouraged them to use throughout the training process. As Lauren says, “good riding is good riding, no matter what kind of tack you use.” In addition, as the MPT requires that horses be ridden in groups, Lauren worked with both pairs at once, riding in- doors, outdoors, out of the ring and up and down hills. Te goal was to give Hanna and Jordan the experience of feeling and producing the best possible forward gaits of which each horse was capable and to make them, riders and horses alike, more centered and more balanced under all conditions. Te three-year-old mare, Jessie, needed to work hard at gaining strength and learning to move really forward. Te four-year- old mare, Lucy, need to learn how to shift her weight back off her forehand. And, both young riders needed to learn the difference between a gait that is merely quick and one that is powerful and lengthened. Lauren says that the lessons were great fun, and that she
enjoyed using games and modern film references to convey what the movements should and shouldn’t resemble. For ex- ample, one of her instructions was, “don’t let your horse walk like Elle Woods in heels in the film Legally Blond.” (Transla- tion: no short, choppy strides allowed.) Rick Toering recalls coming into the barn on more than one occasion to find all three of them in the center of the ring, giggling. In order for
56 March/April 2015 SPECIAL HANOVERIAN SECTION
produce MPT excellence was not challenging enough, the girls also decided that they would breed each mare before the MPT. Te girls confidently assumed that since they had
The MPT Explained The Hanoverian Mare Performance Test evaluates a mare’s rideability, gaits and jumping talent, with each area weighted one-third in the final score. During the under saddle portion of the test, a mare’s gaits are scored in addition to her rideability, which may be influenced by her temperament. Mares must be able to show a lengthened stride in each gait, and such simple dressage movements as a three loop serpentine and free walk on a loose rein. The rideability test is somewhat similar to USDF Training Level Test 3. However, accuracy of the required movements is only important to the extent it reveals the mare’s rideability. The jumping portion of the test is conducted in a jumping chute without a rider. Most jump chutes are constructed on a 21 foot stride with a cross rail, followed by a smaller oxer or a vertical, then a larger oxer. As the test progresses, the height of the last element will be raised and widened to match the mare’s scope and ability. There are two scores given for the jump chute, one for scope and the other for technique. The two scores are then averaged for a final jumping score.
American Hanoverian Society
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