Five-star Kiwi eventer Monica Spencer wants riders to “set up” before their fences, and she’s developed several different ways of telling them that.

While teaching a previous clinic in Florida, she explained, she encouraged riders to “set up” before a cross-country question. The riders would sit taller, but she wasn’t always seeing them properly prepare their horses for the obstacles when she asked them to. Finally, she realized that because of her New Zealand accent, everyone thought that she was asking them to “sit up.”  

 “So now I say, ‘check in,’ ‘change gears,’ ‘down shift,’ ‘sink in,’ ” all in the spirit of making sure that every pair she coaches has the best possible approach to the task at hand. That means there should be a conscious decision on the riders’ part to prepare their horse for what’s ahead with a well-timed, well-executed half-halt to make sure that the horse registers and is in an appropriate balance for the next question.

Fresh off her seventh-place finish at the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L with her Thoroughbred, Artist, the Paris Olympic hopeful gave a two-day clinic at Copper Meadows Equestrian in Ramona, California. There were plenty of opportunities for Spencer to workshop her coaching vocabulary as she guided seven groups of riders, ranging from introductory to four-star level, over show jumping and cross-country exercises.  

Throughout the weekend, she kept the exercises simple and her instructions consistent, with the goal of improving rideability and confidence by helping riders better adjust their horses in between asks so that they were prepared to fully commit to the next question.

“I only really ever say about five things,” she said. “Check in, hold the line, support with leg, hands forward, and commit.” 

On the first day, which focused on jumping in the arena, she set four fences in a figure-8-like pattern: two fences, an oxer to a vertical, were set fives strides apart straight down the outside line and, on the other side of the arena, two verticals were set opposite to those, each angled across the diagonal. Riders first jumped straight down the five-stride, oxer-to-vertical outside line, then came around the short end and headed across the diagonal, jumping a vertical and riding a bending line to the oxer in the opposite direction. They then finished a figure-8 by jumping the other angled vertical on the diagonal, and bending to the vertical on the outside line. They completed the exercise by coming through the short end and jumping one angled fence to the other, with an inside bend between the two.

Spencer was less concerned about the number of strides each pair got in between the fences, and more about riding with a tangible half-halt to set up, especially in the bending lines. She had the riders do the pattern on a continuous loop as she gave them adjustments until she was satisfied with their comprehension of the lesson on rideability. Next, they tested their skills over a short course consisting of the figure-8 and an additional outside line (vertical, oxer, vertical) set at five strides apart. 

“The repetition helps the horses to learn and the rider and the horse to become more confident as a partnership,” she said.

For the upper-level groups, Spencer placed take-off and landing rails on either side of the verticals in the additional line to change the striding into a shorter six strides, emphasizing the ability to ride the half-halt and change the horses’ shape over the oxer. 

Spencer reminded riders at every level to ride straight and plan their lines to find the center of the fences, especially when navigating the bending lines. As part of the checking-in process between the jumps, she also recommended that riders focus on the fences as they approached. 

“I know that we’re taught to always look straight ahead,” she said, “But that’s more about keeping your head up. You should still be looking at the fence with your eyes.” 

On day two, Spencer had the groups apply the same conscious riding principles across the country. 

“In the warm-up, keep it simple but make sure that your horse is responding to your aids: Can you go forward, can you go back, do they follow your hand?” she said. “You should also ask some questions that are going to be asked of you on course. Ride straight lines and be disciplined. Make good turns, change directions.” 

Then, she had each group warm up their horse as they would for cross-country at a horse trial, giving them pointers after they had completed warm-ups on their own. Again, Spencer was looking for a palpable down shift out of the gallop about 5-6 strides out from the fence so that the horse could get a good look at the obstacle, then the rider to “commit” with a giving hand and consistent pace to the jump. 

When practicing obstacles on course, Spencer kept mostly to her playbook of key phrases, watching closely for how each rider timed their change of gears and implemented a straight-on approach. Those on greener horses were rewarded for “getting it done,” but discipline was expected of all participants. 

Spencer also took time to address noticeable teaching moments. When a horse was getting backed off at a certain question, she had the rider “check in” and down shift earlier in the approaching line so that they could then pilot their partner more positively forward toward the bogey. When a pair was having trouble holding a straight line, she had them aim toward a different point when they set up, which resulted in a straighter execution. 

Several riders were preparing for upcoming shows, so once she had assessed the partnerships, Spencer coached them over questions a level up from the one they entered. 

On moving up the levels, Spencer said riders should have confidence at the current level, be training more difficult elements regularly and confidently, and have a knowledgeable coach.

“Make sure that you’re feeling really established at the level that you are competing at, and that you’re training at least at the level above,” she said. “Then you can have the conversation with your coach to determine whether you and your horse are ready to move up.”

Taren Hoffos, whose family owns Copper Meadows, and as a four-star competitor was the most advanced rider in the clinic, got plenty of mileage out of her rides with Spencer. 

“Monica’s lessons were all about applying the fundamentals of riding in order to create a process for horse and rider to follow in show jumping and cross-country riding,” she said. “She stressed keeping it simple and clear for the horse, valuing consistency and predictability. Her input was super helpful: I was able to identify holes in my training that I look forward to working on and correcting.”

At the end of the clinic, both horses and riders walked away more confident, relaxed, and ready for what’s next, as Spencer intended.