This will be my first foray into blogging, so please be patient and hopefully I will get the hang of it. I promise in the future they will be shorter, but for this initial submission I thought it would be good to provide a little backstory.

To clear up what most people ask me first: “What’s up with your name?”

Yes, it is unusual, but it happens to be a family name. My dad’s mother Joan Ransome was the last of her Ransome line and in honor of her and keeping the name out and about, my parents decided to name me Ransome whether I was going to be a boy or a girl.

Now that that is cleared up, I want to share with you what an amazing experience I had participating in the George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session in Wellington, Fla., AND how I got there.

I’ve been riding for about 10 years, but I really only started competing in the A circuit about six years ago. Over the years I have had some good success in the West Coast equitation scene and really only started competing in the jumper ring a couple of years ago.

USEF Show Jumping Talent Search classes have always been my favorite. I love the format with the jumper style equitation over bigger fences combined with a legit flat class. In 2014 I had a heartbreak result at Talent Search Finals; I will explain that later in another post but all I can say is that I was very hungry for success this year.

As it turned out, I did win Talent Search Finals—West. Not only did I have the excitement of winning, but also I knew the win would secure me a spot at the George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session. For me, the Training Session has always held an aura of mystique. People talk about it, it’s in Wellington (a big deal for us West Coasters), there are wild card applications and there is also the prestige of riding with some of the most talented young riders in the United States.

I have always looked at it as a personal goal and benchmark and to actually realize the opportunity was a thrill. In addition to securing a spot via the Talent Search win, I ended up reserve champion at the EAP National Finals and with that result, I secured a spot as well. YEAH! I was in for sure with a back-up!

My parents are very supportive of my riding efforts and we decided to head to Wellington three days early with the hopes of finding a new jumper and to also secure a horse to borrow to ride during the session. Coming from the West Coast, it didn’t make sense to fly out my jumper Albertino. Having three days of trying many horses and jumping big really set me up for the training session.

I had just come off of the USHJA EAP Nationals in November, so I felt confident about the stable management portion of the program. Once your horse arrives at FEI stabling, it is the participant’s responsibility to care for and prepare the horse for the remaining three days. I knew going into the mounted portions of the session that I would probably be one of the more inexperienced of the riders but I felt secure about the stable management and caring for my horse.

There was such incredible talent and the fact that most of the junior and young riders participating were not only having extreme success in the national equitation finals, but most of them are regularly competing in grand prix classes with consistent results. I knew I was up for the challenge and for me, keeping my nerves at bay was going to be tough—especially on a horse I had only ridden twice in the previous three days.

This year’s session was a little different in that for the first time George Morris wasn’t actually teaching, but the USEF organizers made it clear that he had eyes everywhere (I am sure he was watching the live stream!). USEF put together an incredible trio of clinicians: Beezie Madden, Laura Kraut and Christine Traurig. I was excited about that in that everybody has a different style and approach to teaching and getting such a high level of feedback from three very accomplished equestrians was a chance of a lifetime. Kind of like a three-for-one!

No one could ever replace George Morris, but having these three clinicians working with our group was extraordinary.

Day 1:  Set up and settle in

Since we were in Wellington for three days prior to the session, we went ahead the day before the first day to check out the FEI stabling. We ran into Mitch Endicott (fellow West Coast participant) and he had already started setting up his grooming stall. I followed suit and wanted to be sure I had a head start that afternoon before the official start, not knowing exactly what time my horse was being hauled over in the morning.

I wanted to be sure everything was ready and I could focus on settling in my horse; especially since he was borrowed for the session. I made countless trips back and forth to the Tackeria and Dover Saddlery for supplies. A lot of items I needed I brought from home in checked baggage, but buckets, rakes, etc. I had to get in Wellington.

Liverpool arrived right on time at 10 a.m., and I was able to get him settled in comfortably. Once everyone got set up and horses put in their stalls, we had a group meeting to go over the plan for the next three days and what we could expect. At this point, it really hit me how much of an honor it was to be there. It was surreal. So many of the other riders are so accomplished, I kind of felt like the interloper. . .(did I really belong there?).

We had a tack review with Equine Care and Stable Manager Colleen Reed. She has a very long and strong background with Pony Club and definitely preferred a more traditional approach to tack. My tack inspection did not go as well as I had hoped. I thought I was very prepared but Colleen wasn’t so keen on the clips and snaps I use on my jumper tack. I learned that more traditional and straightforward tack was preferred.

After the tack check, we all had a chance to hack our horses on our own. We had afternoon barn chores and a welcome reception towards the end of the day. Night check at 9 p.m. EXTREME excitement in anticipation for the day.

Day 2:  Christine Traurig – Flatwork

I arrived at the FEI stabling barn at 6:00 a.m., ready to start my barn chores; stall cleaning, replenishing my horse’s stall with shavings, laying out my tack for the day, morning bath (scrubbing off poop stains! Ah grey horses…), feeding hay and grain, cleaning and more cleaning.

It was pretty busy in the mornings, but that is my favorite part of the day doing the early morning barn chores; it’s relaxing to me.

After all the barns chores were done, we all headed up to the WEF VIP tent (I think) and had a super interesting lecture that Christine Traurig gave to us about developing the physical capabilities of a show jumping horse. I love all the hands-on work of developing and training horses and found this presentation fascinating!

After that we all went back to the barn to either tack up and mount up or do more barn chores. I was in Group 2 so we rode after Group 1. One important factor for this day was that it was 94 degrees out with 80% humidity. The flatting session was great. It really focused on contact and extensions and collections.

I felt like I held my own pretty well and my horse was great; although, given the heat and humidity, I thought I was going to faint at the end. After lunch we built the Gymnastics course for the next day with Beezie Madden.

Read more about Day 2 in the Chronicle’s report: “Establishing The Tempo With Traurig.”

Day 3:  Beezie Madden – Gymnastics

After a 6 a.m., arrival and morning chores first thing, Beezie did a mounted demonstration in gymnastics course to give an idea of what she was looking for in our rides.  We were in our groups again (two with six riders each) and our group had the benefit of watching Group 1 go first, but we had heat since we were riding later in the morning.

Beezie really focused on contact, extensions and collections; everything you would need to prepare your horse for competition. I had a bit of a rough time as I think my borrowed horse pretty much knew one speed once we started raising the fences. With continued perseverance, and really taking to heart Beezie’s feedback, toward the end, I was getting it.

Also, instinctually I can be a bit of a timid rider and this combined with my nerves (OMG, I am in a lesson with Beezie Madden!) I was a bit wimpy out there but Beezie pulled out my inner force and it was all good at the end! I really took to heart what she was saying; it felt very awkward at first (and very exaggerated)—but it worked and was very effective with my horse.

We broke for lunch and then set our course with Laura Kraut and course designer Conrad Homfeld. Laura did a great talk about Nations Cup teamwork and strategies. We walked the course, which was set at a solid 1.40 meters.

There were some concerns because some of the riders were on younger horses that had not done a course at that height yet, so we did end up lowering it to 1.30/1.35 meters. Barn chores and night check; another 15-hour day in extreme heat and humidity!

Read more about Day 3 in the Chronicle’s coverage: “Madden Sets Up For Success.”

Day 4 and Nations Cup Competition:  Laura Kraut

Today was a 5:30 a.m., arrival with barn chores first thing. I came a little early so I could braid my horse.

I was assigned the third position with my team that included Beezie Madden as our Chef d’Equipe and TJ O’Mara in the first position, Daisy Farrish in the second position, myself in third and Kelli Cruciotti in the final anchor position.

The first round for me was decent except that at a turn at the far end of the ring I truly did take the scenic route. My nerves, self-preservation and not really knowing my horse got the best of me. I think I had one rail down but I did get some time faults.

Laura Kraut was spot on when critiquing my round and saying that she could have gone out for coffee between those two fences—and she was right!

I really took this to heart and was bound and determined not to repeat the same offence in the second round. The second round came up quick; our team was leading so we had the benefit of watching others go first. The fences were raised and the water jump was a little more intimidating. I entered the ring with determination and ended up riding really well; EXCEPT! I had a stop at the water.

I think it just came up too fast for my horse and not knowing him, I didn’t give him the support (and tap) he needed to go over it. We circled and tried again and it was really good. The rest of my round was solid and my critique was good and accurate.

Read more about Day 4 in the Chronicle’s coverage: “Kraut Creates Friendly Competition.”

Despite the stop, I exited the ring feeling really good about my horse and myself. If I hadn’t had the stop, I think I would have been within the time allowed and I don’t think I had any rails. I didn’t feel like the interloper anymore; this group were my people, I deserved to be there and having had this incredible opportunity and experience has set me up so well for the 2016 season.

I cannot wait to get back in the ring and take what I learned from the George H Morris Horsemastership Training Session to heart and be more effective and successful in and out of the ring.

Ransome Rombauer, 17, won the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals—West (Calif.) in 2015 and was the reserve champion of the 2015 USHJA Emerging Athletes Program. She rides in the equitation, hunter and jumper divisions as well as on the Sonoma Academy Interscholastic Equestrian Association team. 

Rombauer, of St. Helena, Calif., also rescues at-risk horses, especially miniature horses and pursues a passion for photography and videography.