P Still Standing H
arvey. Irma. Maria. Tree names that will go down in history as the largest back-to-back hurricanes to hit America in over a century. For those of us who had to prepare our farms for the worst, it was a stressful time. Having been through six hurricanes in the past, I felt
prepared: filling every gas tank and gas can to the top, filling an extra propane tank for the grill, buying a cupboard full of dry and canned goods, and stocking two weeks of food for the horses. Social media was eagerly helping many to find farms and transportation for evacuating their animals. Friends of mine in Texas and
Florida had to deal with flooded fields and barns while some had to find ways to provide drinking water for their animals while waiting for the electricity to be restored. Kudos to all the horse people who came together to provide help and support for one another before, during and aſter these storms. A hurricane with sustained winds over 100 mph (and gusts much higher) leaves behind a huge mess of branches and trees that have fallen
on whatever is in the way—nature’s way of culling the weak from the strong. I’ve oſten noticed how mature, healthy trees can succumb to the storm’s beating, while the ones we pinpoint as decrepit and weak will come through the storm still standing. In other words, it’s not easy to predict beforehand which trees are the weakest and likely to fall. But by and large, the young, immature trees remain strong and are hardly affected by high winds and rain. Ah, the strength and heartiness of the young! When we decided to focus on youth—both young riders and young horses—in this issue, I was enthusiastic. Aſter all, they are the future
of our dressage, jumping, eventing and driving disciplines. Ten there’s the question of who will take over the breeding of Warmbloods and other sport horses in ten, twenty or thirty years, something we’ve come to expect from the current more ‘mature’ generation. I commend the Hanoverian verband in Germany for initiating the Young Breeders Championships roughly two decades ago to address this concern. Tey cleverly put together an attractive, educational competition to bring young equestrians—our future breeders—together. With nineteen young breeders (ages 16 to 25) representing three registries in North America participating this year, as part of a group of 111 competitors total, we happily cover this important event on page 14. Two other young competitors we feature are Will Zuschlag, a rising star in eventing who graces our cover aſter winning the NAJYRC
championship, and young cowboy Hunter Anderson from Idaho who bonded with an unusual mare to start his career in jumping. Teir inspirational stories are on pages 21 and 27 respectively. When it comes to starting young horses and marketing them in North America, we face quite a few challenges when we compare ourselves
to the Europeans, don’t we? Te remaining articles in this issue examine these challenges—whether we look to get our young horses started or seek low cost showing options to give them exposure to the show atmosphere. I asked Jochen Schleese to offer advice to those riding lots of young horses but are able to afford only one saddle, a dilemma many trainers
face. I also asked columnist JP Giacomini to share his early experiences starting young horses, while columnist Judy Wardrope compares the conformation of four yearlings and two weanlings. We round out the issue with some interesting commentary from Bundeschampionate winner Laura Blackert (page 39), insights on the
value of foal inspections (page 54), and Michael Barisone’s candid (and entertaining) remarks about the search for young prospects (page 73). President Franklin Roosevelt once said, “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” It’s
up to us ‘mature’ equestrians to encourage young equestrians to learn as much as they can and ride through those challenging storms with their horses. Because when the rough weather ends, you just never know who will be leſt standing. Enjoy the issue,
Liz Cornell
editor@warmbloodstoday.com
Our Mission: Warmbloods Today is the leading magazine in North America focused on the entire spectrum of Warmblood breeds. It’s a place where people from all aspects of the sport horse community can come together: amateurs, owners, trainers and breeders. Each issue contains interesting, informative and often heart- warming stories of peoples’ experiences with their horses, along with thought-provoking opinions from various professionals and amateurs. We cover all horses from European descent bred for the sports of jumping, dressage, eventing and driving including the Iberian breeds and American Warmbloods.
10 November/December 2017
ublisher’s Welcome
Ed Haas
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
