POINT OF VIEW
the time they realize a horse has potential at four years old, either they don’t want to sell it or the price is high.” “It is much easier to fly to Europe and rent a car and with-
in three to four days go to four countries and see 50 horses a day. In the U.S. this is impossible and very costly flying from place to place to see one or two horses. Also with the reces- sion many breeders stopped breeding or bred fewer mares so the number of horses available here has decreased,” says Janet Foy, an FEI 4* and USEF “S” judge from Colorado Springs. “Also, the current dollar/euro exchange has im- proved the dollar’s buying power,” she adds. In Germany alone, Christine says, “they have a supply of horses that are good enough to supply three dressage teams.” But it’s clear that U.S. fans want to support U.S. horses. For
example, we’re proud of our Triple Crown winner, Kentucky- foaled American Pharoah. We’ve produced world-class event horses as well. But lately we have struggled to produce top dressage and jumping horses, and the struggle continues. How can we produce strong international contenders in
dressage and jumping? In the decades since our last U.S.- bred Olympic medalist, we’ve im- proved the quality of the sport horses bred in this country. What needs to happen so that our home- grown horses will perform on our teams? Christine explains that she is
currently creating a pipeline of de- veloping young horses. “It works in conjunction with the pipeline developed with Robert Dover and Debbie McDonald,” she says. “My plan is to broaden the base and develop the horses upwards to- ward the pinnacle of Grand Prix and hopefully onto a champion- ship team.” Jayne describes the progression. “The idea is to help the
people involved, whether breeders or someone who buys a young horse to develop or resell it. [Christine’s] program is for people who have a young horse prior to when it goes into the ring in the four-year-old test. We now have a full program from foal to Grand Prix.” About producing our Valegro, Christine does admit, “I
don’t believe there will ever be another one. But we have to have the ambition through the breeding, riding, guidance of coaches and showing, so we can create a supply here in America of good horses that move up to be a team horse for a championship.” On the jumper side, U.S. Show Jumping Development Coach and Chef d’Equipe DiAnn Langer is working to bring
64 November/December 2015
together young horses and young trainers. She believes our nation can produce super jumpers. “Yes, we can develop a horse like Hello Sanctos,” she says firmly. DiAnn, from Aiken, South Carolina, is a former member
of the USET and is a USEF “R” judge. She’s also the mother of jumper rider Kirsten Coe. Her vision is to connect educated young riders with domestically-bred jumper prospects. “We have to develop more young horse riders, and put the im- portance on them as much as our developing riders.” She sees a pipeline as crucial. “All countries are compet-
ing for horses to ride. It’s time to realize that in ten years we won’t have horses to ride [due to global demand]. It’s a mis- sion of mine: young horse trainers can and should be the foundation of our discipline. Without them, we will not be able to find the horses.”
Solution: Grow Our Own Yes, this solution is obvious. It’s also quite possible—though certainly not easy. “We have good quality but fewer numbers than Europe,”
Janet says succinctly. “The number of breeders in
this country is not as much as Ger- many and the Netherlands. So we encourage people to invest in young horses, so we have a bigger number of young horses, which raises a greater number of quality horses. And, they are more afford- able [at that age],” Christine adds. Christine agrees with our other
Christine Traurig showing Etienne (Ehrentusch x Ak- tuell) in 1998, two years before they earned a team bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games.
experts that success comes down to the pipeline that feeds tops horses to top riders and trainers. She sees a pipeline starting with “the young stock, from breeding to under saddle, for the funda- mental years of four, five and six.”
To aim for the Grand Prix pinnacle, she says, breeders must carefully research top bloodlines and buyers must invest in young prospects. “Not everyone wants to be a breeder,” she continues.
“Some want a product that they realize has big potential. I want to encourage them to invest in a youngster, say a two-and-a-half-year-old.” Buying a product at a young age helps the breeder make money, and the new owner is proud to see the horse bloom when he “clicks” with the right rider. Anne Kursinski, a five-time Olympian based in French-
town, New Jersey, says, “I believe if America wants to do it, we can do it. The tough thing is they’ve been doing it for centuries abroad.”
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