These top grand prix riders judged two of the premier equitation finals this fall and observed some interesting trends in U.S. young riders.

• What made you want to judge a major equitation final?

McLain Ward, who judged the ASPCA Maclay Finals: The finals are very important. I think what happens in these finals sets the trend for where the sport is going on many levels, in terms of who we should watch as a talent for the future, what is the test being put forward, what direction are you leading the training and riding, and what’s important in these riders to single out as special. I think it sets the trend of where you think the sport should go, so to be able to be influential in that way is really important for the future of the development of the riders in our country, I think.

At that level, I like being part of it. I don’t see myself ever judging on a regular basis, but I enjoy doing these types of events and take them very seriously.

It was an honor to judge with [Chrystine Tauber] because of her depth of knowledge and the fact that she was a student of Bert deNemethy’s.

Candice King, who judged the Pessoa/USEF Medal Final: The Medal Finals were such a big piece of our lives as juniors, I think for me it was a way to give back to the sport. The sport has given me so much, and I’ve built a career around it. When I got the call, I felt honored that they wanted me to judge.

I’m involved with the Emerging Athletes Program, and it’s just another piece of our industry; we all need to help out and give back. I’ve judged the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search before, and years ago I actually pursued getting my judge’s card. I learner-judged quite a bit, but I didn’t have the time to continue and fulfill all that I had to to get a license.

I have to say, 241 trips was a long time to be sitting down not on a horse, but it was very interesting. It made me take a look at where our industry is and where it’s going. Other shoes are a good position to put yourself in sometimes.

• What went into the planning of the course design for the day?

Ward: About 15 years ago, this retro look came about in these equitation finals, more so in the [Pessoa/USEF] Medal Final than the Maclay. It was interesting and different at the time, but it’s gotten old, in my opinion, and it has nothing to do with where the sport is going.

I make no bones about the fact that I really believe that these classes should identify riders who are going to go on and one day possibly ride for the team. That’s the goal here. And the test and the course should be something that’s relevant to the sport. A hogsback hedge is not relevant to what we’re doing now; it’s not coming back.

We built a course that we thought had the flavor of what we’re seeing at these championships like the Nations Cup Final and the World Cup Final. It’s difficult because at that height, versus at 5’3″, you have to turn the screws on the course quite bit.

I also don’t think courses need to be gimmicky, so that the trainers feel that the horses need to be worked excessively to do it well. We wanted the horses to show life— for that to be acceptable.

Bobby Murphy was a great asset to have; anything we asked for, he made a great effort.

King: My fellow judge, Cynthia Hankins, was in France, so we spent a lot of time on the phone and on WhatsApp. We had a philosophy of what we wanted the course to be. We didn’t want the course to cater to a specific kind of horse; we wanted it to be jumpable by any type. Depending on what kind of horse a rider was sitting on, they were able to make choices that suited their horse and showed off their riding skills.

Cynthia built it and jumped it a few times, and then Allen Rheinheimer was instrumental in helping us. He helped us fine-tune it to its final stage. We were very happy with it; it did exactly what we wanted to do. We wanted the riders to shine, and we were pleased with how it ended up.

• What was your overall impression of the riders’ abilities?

Ward: I think there was a large enough disparity from the top to the bottom, and you see that at any event. We talked about it after the [Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (France)]. That’s not just unique to the equitation.

I was surprised to some degree by some of the horses’ reactions. It wasn’t a particularly spooky course, and for me, some of the horses and riders seemed a little lacking in preparation. Hopefully those people take home the lessons learned and are a little better for the next time.

As for the trainers, some are doing an incredible job, and some are doing a good job with what they have to work with. It’s like any level of the sport.

I think there’s somewhat of a poor basic idea of position in the hunter industry, specifically, today. I don’t mind saying it. Forward, balanced riding isn’t what you’re seeing a lot of in the hunter ring. Being ahead of the motion and on the neck, hunched over with the horse unengaged is what you see a lot of. You also have to be able to sit properly, and that’s totally gone in the hunters.

You see kids who come out of a hunter background, and in my opinion, they have a lack of idea of correct position and seat.

King: I travel around the country teaching clinics, and I’ve seen this there as well as in some riders at the final. The one thing I think we lack is the lower base of the position and the aids. I feel like all the riders are so wrapped up in numbers of strides and the picture they’re presenting, but there’s a real lack of fundamental skills and horsemanship.

For sure, every year there is a really strong group at the top that have great skills and would excel anywhere, but as a whole, when I travel around and as I sat there watching 241 rounds, the feeling I got was that everyone’s so quick to get in the ring and show, but there’s not enough homework being done by the majority of the riders. There needs to be more connection from the aids and more horsemanship. That’s the big missing piece that I notice.

• How is the equitation division different today than it was when you were competing?

Ward: On the high end, it’s light years ahead. I go back and watch my rounds, and I don’t think I would have won today.

The sport is evolving fast, especially in the last decade. It’s no different than grand prix show jumping. There’s no way that the winner in the ’70s is going to beat the guy who’s winning today if you go head to head. But that doesn’t mean that the best of each era wouldn’t have evolved and figured out how to win; they would have. But to be ahead of your time is the hardest thing in sport.

It’s not that Beezie or myself ride better than Conrad Homfeld or Michael Matz did. But now there are 50 people who ride as well as Michael did. That’s the natural progression of it, but it’s a good thing.

You also have a culture where there’s more shared information. It’s a smaller world, and at the highest level, whether it be equitation or show jumping, I think there are more people learning faster and trying to get better and pushing the envelope further.

King: It’s the same in that the kids are kind of the same—there are the ones who are doing it because they like the horses and they’re going to go off and have careers outside the horse world, and then there are the kids that have their goals set on being team riders.

The feel is still the same, but the courses have evolved. They’ve gotten more technical, with lighter jumps and horses with more blood and more carefulness. But that’s across the board of the sport. It’s not different in just the equitation. The grand prix courses and horses have evolved in the same way.

• Do you think the equitation division is an effective path to the grand prix classes and the team?

Ward: I think the equitation division can be different things for different people. It can be an end goal for certain people who aren’t going to continue on to a serious level of horse sport. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

But I think that for the serious kids who want some sort of future in horse sports, it’s got to be considered a stepping stone and not a be-all, end-all. It’s a gateway to recognize talent, to get yourself on the map, or to figure out what you need to do better. I do think it’s an unbelievably useful tool. One day, if Lauren and my children ride, they’ll do the equitation. I think that it truly has a place in the development of position and style. That goes back to why I want to be a part of it and what we wanted to build in the course. We wanted to create a stepping stone to what I think the real sport is.

King: For me, the equitation division is a good place to develop riders. I don’t think it’s an end unto itself, but it’s a very important piece in the American system. It’s supposed to teach the fundamentals of riding and the American system, and that’s what I think we need to teach more of and get back to prioritizing.

I think the equitation division is a very useful tool for young riders. You go down the list of our team riders, and they all did the equitation division, even if they didn’t win.

• How important is a rider’s position at the top of the jump for you as a judge?

Ward: I think there’s a difference between good position and stiffness or posing. That doesn’t mean that I don’t think that the position at the top of the jump isn’t very important and should be very correct, but it shouldn’t be stiff.

If you were going to break it down and look at a picture of [Pessoa/USEF Medal Final winner] Spencer Smith, you might say that his shoulders are rounded. But he’s also about 6’2″. Ian Millar’s shoulders are slightly rounded at the top of the jump. So are Ludger Beerbaum’s, especially when you compare them to Ben Maher or Scott Brash, who are shorter. You have to take the physical build somewhat into consideration. My legs aren’t very long, so I don’t have Conrad Homfeld’s leg at the top of the jump. I always wanted my leg to look like that, but it’s just not how I’m built.

But to be rigid and stiff is also an error, and doesn’t get the best out of a horse. So I think that it’s not that we’re getting away from correct position at the top of the jump, but you have to take it into account with all the other factors.

King: I think we have seen a shift away from posed equitation winners. It’s not about how you look; it’s about how you ride and how effective you are on your horse. Yes, there needs to be a good basic position, but the equitation division is not about how pretty someone sits on top of a horse over the jump. It’s about how effective their position is with that horse every step around the course and over the jumps.

• The ASPCA Maclay Finals flat phase was quite technical, with tests like half-pass and flying changes. Why?

Ward: The flat phase needs to be seriously looked at in that class and whether it should count for 50 percent of the result, as it does. The specs of that class are, for the most part, 100 years old. They were put forward when courses were twice around the outside and down the middle. Courses have evolved to the point where you can’t execute the test without being good on the flat.

The flat phase is a difficult thing to judge. I think the powers that be should look at it. Obviously, riders’ knowledge of flatwork is very important, but I’m not 100 percent sure that the balance of importance doesn’t need to evolve to some degree.

We asked for some difficult things on the flat because on the specs, that phase is supposed to count 50 percent. It’s a little hard to create that 50 percent importance with just walk, trot and canter when you have a course as technical as we had. You wanted to test to the degree that you felt it was difficult.

I just think the class and the riding has evolved to the point where that part of the test isn’t working correctly. I hope people will look at it a little bit. As the sport evolves, the format has to evolve, too. I think that’s important. Just because that’s how the class was created doesn’t mean it’s an appropriate test for today.