Catch Riding

[helloalt]

So I'm posting under an alter because...well I am. :) But I had a question about catch riding...
I don't own my own horse but I have been lucky enough to be able to show two 3'6" horses for the end of this year and hopefully next year. One is a very nice junior hunter who can be a bit odd and difficult to ride at times. The other is a...well he hasn't quite decided what he is. Leaning more towards equitation horse. He is hands down one of the hardest horses I have ever ridden, and I've ridden some pretty hard ones. He comes with a lot of emotional baggage and when in doubt he used to stop. Even with just a little bit of doubt he slammed on the breaks. I think the amount of falls I've had has about double since I started riding and working with him last fall! :lol: But because of his trust issues and strong dislike for a miss I've learned to be pretty accurate.
But 2010 will be my last junior year and I would love, love to be able to start doing more catch riding. I ride almost everyone at home, about 7-9 horses every day and have jumped almost all of them, so I've gotten pretty good at jumping two jumps and figuring out the kind of ride they want over fences.
My biggest problem is my lack of 3'6" show experience. On the junior hunter I have done 4 shows and the other one, we'll just say he's an equitation horse:yes:, I've only done two shows with him at 3'6". And because of financial limitations I can not go to many more shows than this, especially when we take them both.
I've talked to my trainer about this and asked her about the possibly of catch riding, she did agree that I am good enough but because of my smaller resume it will be harder. So I guess what I'm trying to say is do you all have any suggestions as to how to get these catch rides?

[Beau Cheval]

Honestly, catch rides come from having connections. If your trainer doesn't have the connections to get you catch rides, you will have no catch rides. If it is really important to you, look into riding with a bigger name trainer, but it sounds like you have a very lucky situation going on already, and I would be uncomfortable shaking it up. If you bring in enough business that you are worth it to your trainer, perhaps discuss hooking up with another bigger name trainer and maintaining your relationship with your current trainer. It will depend on your trainer how she will feel about this. I'm on the no connections side of things, but i have had WS jobs where I have gotten to see the with-connections side of things. There is a very visible divide. Good luck!

[Across Sicily]

Beau said it all - it's ALL about who you know (or who someone you know well knows).

Build yourself a little resume by being able to ride the tough ones, the ones who run away, the hot ones, the pokey ones, the ones whose mouths you can't touch, etc. I can guarantee you none of the horses I rode were "made" but they all needed someone to show them for various reasons (usually they are sales horses who need an amateur, a junior, or an eq rider). Quite a few of these catch rides have come out of my barn, which is a big name and has a lot of horses that show.

Prior to being with this barn I was with someone who was extremely well known locally. I became kind of a well known jr rider in the area for being able to get on any of the loony stuff she had and get it around the ring well. That got me quite a few nice horses to ride.

Good luck.

[juniormom]

Good luck! That is such a hard thing to do. Our daughter did well and won at Nationals, was with a couple BNT's and still did not have many catch rides at shows. She would have been thrilled to have more and was on the road quite a bit. She did well with the ones she did have, but I think there are a lot more kids wanting to catch ride than there are catch rides available. She exercised a lot of horses, but didn't ever get to show many. Maybe it is being in the "right place at the right time." :)

[helloalt]

As important as this is to me I could not switch to a bigger trainer. As you did say, I would not want to give up these horses I have be able to ride. And I adore my trainer, I practically live at her house.



Build yourself a little resume by being able to ride the tough ones, the ones who run away, the hot ones, the pokey ones, the ones whose mouths you can't touch, etc.


Fortunately, I have been able to have this experience at home. As I previously said I ride 7-9 a day and generally jump half of them. I've had the sully ones, the hot ones etc,, both of the two I ride now are tough which is why I have been able to ride them. I have show many different types by they have been on my own dime.

[RockinHorse]

My biggest problem is my lack of 3'6" show experience. On the junior hunter I have done 4 shows and the other one, we'll just say he's an equitation horse:yes:, I've only done two shows with him at 3'6". And because of financial limitations I can not go to many more shows than this, especially when we take them both.


I agree your lack of experience this is a big problem in getting catch rides to show in the juniors. People do not give catch rides to people so that the people can get into the show ring and get some experience. They give the catch ride to someone who has enough miles in the ring that they are comfortable that the rider can pilot their horse around and make it look good. Can you look at ways to get your self out to the shows on your horse more often so people can see you are able to do the job?

[Windswept Stable]

I would venture to say-- that of the catch rides available-- the 3'6" catch rides are few and far between. Folks with the junior hunters are for the most part going to have their catch rides go to the "famous" kids--just because those kids get noticed more and are generally pretty darn accurate.

Keep trying and be gracious when you get to ride anything. Express your thanks over and over -even if it was the biggest piece of junk you ever sat on. Get yourself to shows and prove yourself and perhaps you will find some rides along the way. Also--be careful with what you ride--you say your fall number has increased since you started riding the stopper. Horses stop for a reason..the chances of you "fixing" him are slim-- you are too valuable to get hurt. Be careful and have fun and best wishes to getting some rides!