28/ OCTOBER 2024 THE RIDER


6 Ways To Compete Against Yourself


By Kathy Farrokhzad. It’s tempting to watch


other horse people and feel either somehow deficient, or somewhat rushed. Many of us end up avoiding new learning because it takes us out of our comfort zones. However, it helps to


think of “competition” not as an aggressive, winner- take-all, loser-get-none sce- nario, but as a process of self-development and edu- cation. In other words, the quickest route to winning might be to “compete” against yourself instead of others - in all areas of riding and horsemanship. It’s not just about the


show or competition arena. It can be about everything from horse management, to ground skills, to training and skill development, to doing the most fun things you’ve always wanted to do with horses - like a weekend camping trip, a trail chal- lenge, or a swim at the beach.


If you regularly look


for ways you can expand your skills, you will surely be on track toward making progress as you build in step by tiny step into your regu- lar routines. Here are 6 ways


that you can improve to make gradual improvements in your own skills and knowledge. Watch Others In this day and age,


you don’t even have to watch a rider in person (al- though you certainly can do that too). Search for your topic of interest and you’ll likely find many videos on YouTube, Instagram, Tik- Tok and Facebook. Look for clinic videos, major shows (that are often live- streamed) and training videos put up by profession- als from all around the world. Watch them and see what you would like to em- ulate - and what you would definitely like to avoid doing. Then take some of those ideas back to your horse and start practicing.


Instruction You can’t avoid in-


struction when it comes to horses. Not even for groundwork. As the old say- ing goes, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” At some point, you will need guidance. Find a well-educated


instructor who understands your goals and needs, and


the commit to a regular schedule. If you would like to develop new skills, you have to find the information you need, and then dedicate time and effort into your “homework.”


Steps Break down your goals into small, manage-


able steps and be satisfied with making incremental progress. Learning is a funny thing. Occasionally, you might make a huge leap in your skill development. Other times, (much of the time!) you might have to claw your way through each phase, feeling like it’s one step forward, two steps


back. Stay devoted to chal-


lenging yourself and build your repertoire of skills one after another.


Routine One way you can de-


velop new skills is to put them into your regular rid- ing (or groundwork) rou-


Giavanna Rinaldi Rides to Victory in Kubota Grand Prix at Major League Show Jumping Ottawa


Ottawa, Ontario – The American anthem rang out as Giavanna Ri- naldi celebrated victory in the $31,100 USD CSI2* Kubota Grand Prix on Saturday, August 24, at Wesley Clover Parks in Ot- tawa, ON. The Major League Show


Jumping Ottawa tournament has attracted some of the top-ranked athletes in the world to Canada’s national capital for a weekend of equestrian sport. With 55 horse- rider combinations contesting the Kubota Grand Prix, the interna- tional flavour was apparent when five different nations were repre- sented in the eight-horse jump- off.


In the end, none were


faster than 25-year-old Rinaldi and her new partner, Snapchat vd Broekkant Z. With a jump-off time of 39.72 seconds, the pair claimed victory over Colombia’s Roberto Teran Tafur riding Iron Maiden, who stopped the timers in 40.57 seconds. Bliss Heers of United States was double clear in a time of 40.97 seconds to take third riding Goodbye while Abdel Said and Calvaro slotted into fourth place representing Belgium. Two-time Canadian Olympian and hometown


Leah, for always taking such good care of the horses.” To score victory in her first


trip to Wesley Clover Parks was an exciting moment for Rinaldi, who is originally from Wayne, IL, and now calls Wellington, FL, home.


“It’s my first season doing


Giavanna Rinaldi riding Snapchat vd Broekkant Z for owner Ash- ford Farm won the $31,100 USD CSI2* Kubota Grand Prix on Saturday, August 24, at Wesley Clover Parks in Ottawa, ON. Photo by Ben Radvanyi Photography


favourite Amy Millar of Perth, ON, rounded out the top five with a double-clear performance riding Jagger HX. Ottawa marked only the


third competition together for Ri- naldi, who rides for Enda Car- roll’s Ashford Farm in Belgium, and Snapchat vd Broekkant Z. “He’s quite young but he defi- nitely doesn’t act his age; he acts like an old soul,” said Rinaldi of the eight-year-old Zangersheide gelding (Hunter’s Scendix x


Concorde) owned by Ashford Farm. “This is only the second two-star grand prix he has ever jumped. I wasn’t able to watch any go before me in the jump-off, but I know my horse has a really big stride so thought I would use that to my advantage. I tried not to interfere with him. He knows what he’s doing. To get the win as a young horse just learning the ropes, he’s done a fantastic job. I want to thank Ashford Farm for the opportunity and my groom,


Major League Show Jumping and I’m really excited to be out here,” said Rinaldi, who is com- peting as a member of the Archers team. “The field is amaz- ing. It rides great and I love jumping on the grass. There’s a nice crowd here, nice atmos- phere, and we got really lucky with the weather. This venue also really takes care of the horses; there are plenty of places to walk and hand-graze them. I love it.” The $200,000 USD Major


League Show Jumping Team event, presented by ClipMy- Horse.TV, was also held on Sat- urday with the win going to the Northern Lights. The all-Cana- dian team of Elizabeth Bates rid- ing Heartbeat W, Sean Jobin aboard Coquelicot vh Heuvelland Z, and Nicole Walker riding Atout des Trambles held off the Trailblazers for the win. Team KPF claimed the final spot on the


tines. So if you want to work on canter departure, for example, make sure you integrate this specific skill into each and every ride. You can work on the


transition toward the end of your warm-up, in the “les- son” phase of your ride (when you do something new or something you’re still working on) and then maybe do a little “pop quiz” at the end of your ride, just before you get off the horse. In this manner, you


can weave the new skill into other more comfortable movements.


Feedback Get feedback from a


clinician or judge (who maybe doesn’t know you at all) and work on their rec- ommendations. Alternately, self-as-


sess. How did your ride go on the trails? How well did you get along with your horse at the beach? All of the results are a form of feedback that you can use to inform your understanding of your progress and train- ing with your horse.


Track It Finally, it is important


to keep track of your progress. Use a journal, or a book like my Goal Setting for Equestrians Workbook to reflect on the new skills and plan your next steps week to week. Later on, you can come back to your notes to gauge your progress, areas that need special atten- tion, and achievements. Don’t think about


competing against everyone else. Rather, compete against yourself, step by step. One sunny day, you may come to the realization that skills which seemed un- reachable have become your new everyday comfort zone. Soon enough, you will have to challenge yourself even beyond those levels!


Bio: Kathy Farrokhzad is an EC coach and author of the Horse Listening book collection, Goal Setting For The Equestrian: A Personal Workbook, and the creator of the Practice Sessions on- line program. If you liked what you read here, check out her blog at HorseListen- ing.com for many more arti- cles about horses, riding and life in general.


Colombia’s Roberto Teran Tafur took second in the $31,100 USD CSI2* Kubota Grand Prix aboard Iron Maiden, owned by Rock- ing Basilisk Farm. Photo by Ben Radvanyi Photography


podium with a third-place finish. The Major League Show Jump- ing Ottawa tournament runs through Sunday, August 25, 2024, at Wesley Clover Parks in Ottawa, ON. Showcasing the highest level of international show jumping competition with a CSI5* rating from the Fédéra- tion Equestre Internationale (FEI), Major League Show Jumping Ottawa also features a CSI2* division to offer a com- bined total of more than


$800,000 in prize money. For more information on


the Ottawa Equestrian Tourna- ments, visit www.OttawaEques- trianTournaments.com. All competitor information is avail- able at www.ottawaequestrian- tournaments.com/calendar and full results can be found here. All class lists and results are also available by downloading the Major League Show Jumping app.


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