Warmblood By Michael Barisone Want to Improve Your Odds? Build a Pipeline!


cases, they need to. Maybe you have a sponsor who has a gazillion dollars


T


and that’s great. You go out and buy a horse that does every piece of the Grand Prix, you ride it and it’s a pretty good bet that you’ll make it to the Grand Prix. But I chal- lenge you: name a rider who’s gone out and bought a made horse and got on a national team. Briton Carl Hester and German Isabell Werth, to name just two of the world’s top riders, started with two- or three-year- olds. Their horses were created by these riders. Their model, whether they start with a yearling or a four- year-old, is creating horses for the future—and they’re creating lots of them. That’s where, as a nation, we’re falling behind. When we’re talking about horses and our goals, we have to be care- ful to keep our eye on the ball with what we’re doing with training and breeding. There’s a disconnect between breeders and rid- ers in America, and we need to bridge that gap. First of all, we have to get the young horses going and under the seats of our capable riders. The family of my long-term business partner Vera is


involved with a foal auction in Holland. About five years ago Vera and I realized we needed to make better use of our farm. Vera called me from Holland and said she’d bought a foal, and I said, ‘buy another.’ I figured out that we can buy three foals and ship them to the United States for what one three-year-old costs to buy and ship. That led me to think, if I buy one horse every year or two, I shot my wad of cash on one bet. If I spend that same money on three horses, I triple my chances of succeed- ing. I know this is not a simple thing for most people. Most trainers do not have their own farm and can’t pay board on twenty horses. But a creative mindset—and taking advantage of what we have—is what’s going to help us succeed. So if Vera and I buy three or four foals every year, by the time the oldest are seven, we will be able to identify


op American dressage riders are not creating the pipeline they need, they just aren’t. And in most


which ones are rock stars. We’ll also have one that’s an unrideable donkey, maybe one that goes lame, but the reality is most of them will turn out to be decent horses. That’s a direct quote from Carl Hester. Whether they be- come nice for a junior/amateur or go to the Olympics, you will have several decent horses. Over the years, Carl has only had one that was unrideable. In my mind, that system creates a pool of horses from which our top competition mounts are going to emerge. It also has the benefit that rather than me having to fly all over to find a horse for an amateur client, I can have them walk into my back barn to find their next four-year-old, a good qual- ity horse I’ve known for most of his or her life. Now, I don’t pick out the foals we


buy. We all need to stick to our skill sets; I’ve seen some foals in my life- time, but Vera’s brother-in-law Paul Hendricks is much better at picking foals out than I am because he does it all the time. Paul has seen thousands


of foals in his lifetime and he can look at a foal and say, “I like that hind leg for a jumper but not a dressage horse.” He may not always be right but, for choosing a foal, he’s the expert. I’m not the expert, so I leave that up to him. I can see the overall picture: what the papers say, what the bloodlines mean, maybe the look in the foal’s eye and some basic conformation. But if I choose a foal I’m taking a bigger risk than if I let Paul choose one for me. By purchasing foals, Vera and I can spread out the


wealth. And with planning, we are prepared for the time that we have 20 horses to feed and care for. I want to have five horses of every age out there with a team of riders, whether my assistant Justin or the young women who work for me. From what I see, that’s how British gold medalists Charlotte [Dujardin] and Valegro got started. You never know which combination will be next to make it big. Everyone will have a different model: not everyone


has a farm and not everyone is brave enough to take the risk of buying foals. At this point, between facilities, fees and shipping, I have probably a half a million dollars


Warmbloods Today 65


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