POINT OF VIEW
How have the modern tests changed the breeding for- mula for selecting the ideal young event prospect? GM: There is a lot of discussion as to genotype—what
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percent of Thoroughbred versus Warmblood should be in the breeding of young event prospects. That’s less important to me. Instead I focus on the phenotype—the temperament and trainability aspects that a particular youngster has in order to develop the talent and traits that he/she inherited. If you look at Germany’s [international champion rider] Mi- chael Jung, he has competed to the top of all three sports— dressage, eventing and show jumping. And his world cham- pion event horses aren’t necessarily the better movers, yet his training and the trainability of his horses are superb, which is why he excels at all three phases. CF: Yes, there has been a trend to migrate away from pure
Thoroughbreds, as the dressage and jumping phases have such high standards now. You can run into training issues lat- er on with the Thoroughbreds, which may be because of the breeding or may be because they gallop at such a young age which can lead to soundness issues down the track. I have been riding Warmbloods longer than most Ameri-
can eventers and have had much success. The Warmbloods can become fit for cross-country; they just need the train- ing and time. I have been buying Warmbloods from the Ger- mans for many years, and they are now breeding specifically for eventing, crossing in the right amount of Thoroughbred blood for endurance. The breeders already had to adjust their breeding for the speed requirements in show jumping. You can’t get too caught up in the breeding formulas—
it’s best to assess each particular horse. Is he trainable? Is he light on his feet? Does the work come easy to him? Is he will- ing? These are the most important things to consider.
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Any other closing thoughts? GM: At Fourth Level dressage, your horse has to dem-
onstrate so much suppleness and obedience while being a submissive and willing partner. Yet a four-star cross-country course asks for a different kind of horse—one that has initia- tive, boldness and a ‘take charge’ attitude. The trainer’s chal- lenge is to mold the horse to know the difference and to be able to take on either role at the right time. The only way this can happen is by building a close partnership with the horse. That kind of relationship is the key. CF: Success in the dressage phase of eventing takes time
and patience. Yes, you need the right type of horse as dis- cussed above but that is not enough to come out as the leader. You need to train the horse correctly from the begin- ning and build that relationship and partnership with your horse so that when you go into the dressage ring you are working as one.
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