Education of
A yearlong series that follows the training and development of a young stallion.
Toti The
By JP Giacomini
agree that the first year of work is focused on the basics. Although there are many roads that can “lead us to Rome,” this column will pres- ent the ongoing education of the three-year- old Warmblood stallion Totil Hit, or “Toti,” over a period of one year. From backing to his debut in competition, trainer JP Giacomini will pres- ent the techniques he uses for Toti, working in hand, on the lunge and long lines, free jump- ing and under saddle.
R
Editor’s note: After receiving numerous requests from our readers to present this type of ongoing training jour- nal for a particular horse, we decided to give it a go. We look forward to hearing your feedback. In the mean- time, please enjoy this presentation of one man’s road to educating a young horse.
egardless of the discipline one intends for the future of a young, athletic sport horse, most trainers will
Training Journal #1
Who is Toti? Totil Hit is a beautiful young Warmblood stallion I have known since his birth in 2012 at Dogwood Sport Horses in Georgia. He is by the one-and-only Totilas, who is one of my favorite dressage horses of all time (followed by Vale- gro and Damon Hill). While I was giving clinics at the World Equestrian
Games in 2010, I got a chance to watch Totilas in training. This is when Totilas had his greatest and saddest day, as his historical partnership with Edward Gal came to an abrupt end right after the Games when Paul Schockemoehle acquired the stallion. I have been wishing to train a horse just like Totilas ever since. My wish came true when Sherry Smith, Totil Hit’s owner and breeder, asked me to take over his education in October 2014. Our “Toti” had already been successful in breeding classes in hand (at Devon for instance) and it was time for his prep- aration under saddle and as a breeding stallion. Toti’s dam, Stellar Hit, is by the five- and six-year-old World Champion and leading sire Sandro Hit and is out of the celebrated dam line Wolken- tanz II (Weltmeyer) x Donnerhall x Pik Bube. She has consistently produced great horses for Sherry, and incidentally, Toti’s older brother, Quintessential Hit by Quaterback (ridden by Alyssa Pitts), was described by Charlotte Dujar- din during a recent clinic in British Columbia as “a very special horse for the future” that “she would really like to take home.” I believe that Toti has a remarkable conformation, with a superb topline,
a naturally arched neck coming out from a long and wide set of withers, powerful hindquarters with a long, oblique hip and low-set hocks that will facilitate collection. His back is very strong and this is the area that needs the most work from my point of view, as strength requires relaxation. Toti’s gaits are powerful: the walk is long and fluid but shortens easily
A recent conformation shot of Totil Hit (Totilas x Sandro Hit) at age three.
All photos by Shelley Giacomini
in a clear four beat; the trot has a considerable natural suspension and a slow tempo; and the canter has an amazing balance that makes him already look like a Grand Prix horse. The challenge is to make this trot ride- able, quicker and more engaged, as suspension tends to stiffen the back and disengage the horse. Think of a deer trotting in a slow, stiff, elegant trot across the road, versus a tiger swinging in all his joints in a nice tempo but not a high suspension. The Germans frequently mention that they want a “quick hind leg,” simply meaning that they want the horse to engage his hind legs under the body, on request, in a tempo faster than the trot they were travelling in. We call this
Warmbloods Today 27
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