Between Rounds

After reading that ignorance, cheating, judging and misconduct were listed as the sport’s biggest problems in 1951, our columnist sees a parallel to current issues.

While at the U.S. Equestrian Federation for a meeting recently, I had a few minutes before the other participants arrived and picked up a copy of the 1951 American Horse Shows Association President’s Report to the Board of Directors. As I read the report, I realized everything was absolutely true of our sport 60 years later.

Our columnist takes a look at how horsemen have created their own language.

Every day on farms and racetracks, at shows and events, all across the United States and Canada, horsemen and horsewomen utter remarks, questions and phrases that make perfect sense to them but might just as well have been spoken in Swahili to an outsider.

The author explains how his choice to downsize his business has helped him see his real priorities in the sport.

This past winter I found myself in a position to step back from my business and take the time to assess where I stand in this sport and in my life. At the time, during the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (Fla.), I was lucky to have great clients, wonderful horses and a staff that was top of the line. We were having a good time together and enjoying quite a bit of success. In my mind this made for the perfect time to stop and reflect on what I was doing and why.

Our columnist believes the medals the U.S. team earned in Mexico had a lot to do with a new feeling of unity.

My wife Beezie Madden and I have just returned from Guadalajara, and as I reflect back on the week at the Pan American Games, I think I am most pleased with our team spirit. Team spirit is such an intangible thing and hard to create or define, but I think the net effect shows clearly in our team’s results.

In everything we do, we need to make sure we’re continuing to challenge our riders.

As the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association convention approaches in early December, several recent Chronicle articles have given all of us in the hunter/ jumper world something to think about.

Many people complain about the issues Shelley Campf, Leo Conroy, George Morris and Ron Danta have brought up in their articles.

Our columnist points out that a rider’s success largely boils down to how many hours he spends in the saddle.

There are several diverse groups of riders who all know, to varying degrees, that in order to become better they need to ride more hours than they currently do.  

Our columnist takes the reader behind the scenes of the USEF Hearing Committee, Hearing Panels and more.

The U.S. Equestrian Federation Planning Committee has been reviewing all parts of the organization over the past 18 months, including how members perceive the regulatory process.

Many aren’t familiar with the numerous components of the process until they receive a certified letter or want to file a protest or charge. As a member of the Hearing Committee and having served on Hearing Panels for the past few years, I hope to demystify this process.

Twelve years after his first team experience, our columnist thanks the individuals who made that medal bid and every one since then possible.

Here we are again, getting ready for a team trip to Mexico; the Pan American Games are right around the corner.

I rode on my first team at the 1999 Pan Ams in Winnipeg with Pajama Game, and wow, how the times have changed since then! Twelve years ago, I was “the young guy”—only 22—and I had absolutely no clue that I was going to represent my country until the day before we left for Canada.

Our columnist believes that the completion of our country’s pipeline for horses age 4 up to Grand Prix is imperative for getting our international results back on par with the world’s dressage superpowers.

The “three Ps” normally associated with Grand Prix—piaffe, passage and pirouettes—could easily be replaced by different ones when summing up the current state of dressage in the United States: practice, patience and perseverance.

From USPC Championships to EAP to World Cup qualifiers, our columnist sees an opportunity for riders at every level to learn more.

Recently my travels have taken me around the continent to a variety of different events. They’ve been a good reminder of the wide array of activities offered by our sport. The fun and fresh perspective that can come with adding a little variety to what we do is sometimes overlooked when we fill our schedules with horse show after horse show.