Equitation Riders Don't Polish Just Their Boots

They work on fine-tuning every skill in the fall before the equitation finals begin.

The leaves are turning, the weather is cooling, and stirrups are coming off saddles. That’s right, it’s fall equitation finals time, and riders across the country are putting in extra lesson hours and saddle time to prepare for their assault on the big classes.

But how does one prepare a junior rider for that time-honored cauldron of stress and excitement that is equitation finals season?

We asked four of the top equitation trainers—Karen Healey, Westlake Village, Calif., Andre Dignelli, Katonah, N.Y., Don Stewart, Ocala, Fla., and Missy Clark, Warren, Vt.,—for insight on how they get their students ready to ride their best.

They all agreed that October is not the time to be fixing any major position flaws.

“That’s homework that needs to be done throughout the year,” said Healey. “Form and position need to be pretty ingrained before you think about going to finals. When it gets to be this time of the year, it’s more about the execution. Preparing for finals is more about polishing the details and being able to execute.”

Junior riders spend a lot of time without stirrups in the fall, being sure they have a tight leg and balanced seat. They also practice riding as many different horses as they can.

“We make everything just a little more difficult and tighten up the screws,” Stewart said.

For Stewart, finals-prep lessons are more about building a rider’s positive outlook rather than picking apart their riding with criticism.

“We want everything on a positive note. You hear everyone telling them everything they’re doing is wrong, but I’ve found I get more success with a lot of positive input. I try to let them know that it’s not the end of the world or the cure for cancer,” said Stewart with his usual wry sense of humor.

Clark added, “You try to make sure that nothing they see in the finals is anything they haven’t seen prior to them.

It’s all about being well versed in solving distance questions, rideability and position.”

“Mental preparation is harder, because a lot of that has to do with mileage, and there’s no substitute for the time and experience of going to lots of horse shows and being under pressure,” she added. “There’s no fast way to get that done. You rarely see someone who no one’s heard of show up and win those things, and it’s not a factor of favoritism, it’s a factor of mileage and experience, like in any sport.”

The Talent Search Is Different

The traditional big three of equitation finals—the Pessoa/USEF Medal Finals, the ASPCA Maclay Finals, and the Platinum Performance/USEF Talent Search Finals—all have a distinct flavor. They’ve been joined by a myriad of other finals, such as the Washington International Equitation Classic (D.C.) and the North American Junior Equitation Championship (Md.), among others.

The Medal and Maclay finals are held in indoor rings on the East Coast, while the USEF Talent Search finals has East and West Coast editions. The Talent Search finals, which come first in the fall schedule (p.66), are unique in that they have a gymnastics phase, and their courses usually include an open water jump and other natural obstacles.