The Five Types of IHSA & IEA Horses

by Kim Ablon Whitney

I love judging IHSA and IEA shows.  Both are great organizations that offer a fun, reasonably priced way for beginners to learn how to ride and for advanced riders to build up their skills and enjoy being part of a team.  And neither organization would exist without the wonderful horses that kindly allow different people to jump on their backs a bunch of times in one day.  In judging IHSA and IEA, I have noticed that there are certain types of horses you see…

1. The Starmaker

He’s pretty, comfortable, and calm.  He has a big rhythmic stride, does auto-changes, frames up, and basically looks like a horse that would fit in at any low level eq or hunter classes below three-feet at most A shows.  

I call him the Starmaker because every single rider—from novice to open—looks good on him.  He’s easy to find a distance on and finds the distance himself when needed.  Everyone is hoping to draw this horse because he makes nearly any rider look like Tori Colvin.

2. No Change Charlie

Not only does he never do flying changes, he doesn’t even like doing simple changes.  He also enjoys picking up the wrong lead on the flat and when starting a course over fences, swapping leads on the flat (beautiful flying changes here even though he doesn’t do flying changes), and cantering in front while trotting behind.

3. Runaround Sue

This horse has one speed—locomotive.  She jigs at the walk, flies around the ring at the trot, and is out of control at the canter.  Somehow, though, over fences she manages to gallop around the ring at breakneck speed yet still add five strides in every line.  Most riders have a look of total fear when they are on this horse.

4. Tiny Tim

He’s 12.3, usually a paint or an appy.  Always furry no matter what time of year of the show.  He’s probably 32 years old but still going strong.  Somehow the largest rider always draws him and her legs hang down to his pasterns.  He’s also usually impossible to get to canter, preferring to just trot a little faster as said rider flails and kicks.  Also prone to breaking five times on course.

5. Rocky Road

Rocky is the most uncomfortable horse anyone has ever ridden.  It’s like riding on a bull dozer inside a tornado.  Even the open riders look like they can barely post on him.  The beginner riders?  It’s a miracle they stay on at all.  When sitting trot is called, a judge just feels overwhelming pity.

But seriously, all these horses are great.  Each teaches the riders in its own way.  And it’s up to the judge to try to look past each horse’s innate differences to evaluate the rider--often no easy feat!

Kim Ablon Whitney is a 'R' judge in hunters, equitation, and jumpers.  She's also the author of the Show Circuit Series.

What Would George Do (WWGD)?

By Kim Ablon Whitney

Dear Mr. Morris,

I'm certain you don't remember this, but many years ago I wrote to ask if I could learner  judge with you.  I was just starting out as a judge at the time.  I had my New England Horsemen's Council judge's card, which I got at the earliest age possible, 18.  I could not yet apply for my USEF 'r' until I was 21.  

I noticed that you were listed in the prize list to judge at the Myopia Hunt Course Labor Day show.  Back then, there were no hunter derbies and Myopia was one of the only shows that used some of its natural obstacles in regular classes.  The show wasn't USEF-rated but it always got good attendance for the beautiful setting and the chance for courageous riders to show over more interesting courses.

I couldn't believe my luck--you were judging at a show so close to me!  I gathered up all my own courage and wrote you a letter (this was back before email).  I outlined my experience competing in the equitation and cited my NEHC license and asked if I might be able to sit with you at Myopia.

Did I expect to hear back?  No.  But then it happened.  I remember the phone ringing in my house (landline, no cell phones yet either).  I picked up.  "Hello?"

Next came your trademark slow and creaky voice.  "Kim, this is George Morris.  I received your letter."

I nearly fell over.  At best I had envisioned you possibly jotting me a quick note to tell me no and sending it in the mail.  I never imagined you'd call.

You said you would love to have me sit with you but unfortunately your plans had changed and you weren't judging the show anymore.  Wendy Chapot was filling in for you and you suggested I ask her.  

I thanked you profusely and hung up, still in awe, my hands shaking.  In the end, I did call Wendy and I had a great, educational day sitting with her.

I never got to learner judge with you.  But I still learned from you.  I learned that no matter how important you become, you are never too important to be polite and responsive to someone.

Too often today, contacting someone becomes a tireless game of chase.  Phone calls go unanswered and so do emails.  I know of learner judges who contact judges or management and often get no response.  

I also know of judges who simply won't take learner judges (I'm not just talking about saying no to unqualified learner judges or to having a learner at a high stress show, such as a WCHR show).  

I suppose when you are a senior judge, you have earned the right to say no to learner judges, but you, Mr. Morris, were pretty senior and you a) would have let me sit with you and b) took the time to call to tell me you weren't able to judge that day.

Why?  My guess is because you dedicate yourself to teaching others better horsemanship--whether that be through riding, auditing, reading, or judging.  And because you simply were raised with manners.

When faced with situations of how to respond to people or how to treat them, I wish more judges, trainers, and riders would ask, WWGD? 

Kim Ablon Whitney is a 'R' judge in hunters, equitation & jumpers.  She is also the author of the Show Circuit series.

Asking the Hard Questions

By Kim Ablon Whitney

I want to applaud The Chronicle of the Horse Associate Editor, Molly Sorge, for her commentary in the October 26th issue.  

If you haven't seen it yet, Molly shares how she asked both Betsee Parker and Tori Colvin "about the effect that the backlash of Inclusive's positive test for GABA has had on them."  Molly confesses she was "shockingly disappointed in the answers," which were vague and even a bit odd (Parker relayed that: "things have been about as wonderful as they could ever have been.")

She was only asking the hard questions, which is what every journalist is supposed to do.  "I'm a reporter.  It's my job," she wrote. 

In mainstream professional sports (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL), the media serves an important role.  Print, online, and TV reporters cover the games--giving fans the pertinent facts from the games.  But they also interview the players to relay their perspective about the competition, the sport, and the other teams and players.  

Reporters also give their opinions on plays, performances, and attitudes, and those opinions are not always kind.  Reporters can be critical of a player not hustling on a play, or flipping his bat when he hits a home run.  On a larger scale, the amount of words written about steroid use in baseball and the players who were involved could wallpaper a small planet.

Alex Rodriguez has been ripped by the media for his steroid use.

I've covered the show circuit for many publications and I've often felt that our job as reporters for the horse show world was only to report the happy moments: the big wins, the hardworking riders, the talented horses.  Basically, I felt I was supposed to make it all rainbows and unicorns.

I have always longed for a more investigative look at our world--to bring to the surface the bad parts that we all see on a day-to-day basis.  Our sport is like any other--we have our warts.  There are riders who have poor attitudes, or horses that get nerved when they come up lame so they can keep showing.  There are horses that are drugged to be quiet.  Where are the interviews with these riders, or the interviews with riders speaking out against these practices?  Where is the story of the horse that was thrown away when it couldn't perform--where is the story that has no happy ending?

In other professional sports, some reporters are known--and sometimes despised by players--for their penchant for asking the hard questions.  In Boston, one of our best sports reporters and columnists is Dan Shaughnessy, who writes for The Boston Globe.  Dan has even been given disparaging nicknames by certain players because he hasn't just tossed them softball questions or written to their egos.

A Washington Post article chastising Bryce Harper for not hustling on a play.

Some players won't speak to the media or won't speak to particular members of the media.  Others learn to deflect questions.  But most understand that speaking with the media is part of the deal.

Perhaps publications covering the show circuit aren't asking the tough questions because then those riders will refuse to grant them interviews anymore.  That, in part, is what has stopped me from asking tougher questions.  Certain riders or trainers might blackball certain writers.

But in order for our sport to become more mainstream, we need to look at all aspects of it.  We need to hold our "players" to higher standards, and we need to write about it publicly when they fail.

I hope Molly's commentary is the beginning of asking more of the hard questions and the beginning of riders giving the answers.

Kim Ablon Whitney is a 'R' judge in hunters, equitation, and jumpers.  She is the author of the Show Circuit novels.

Top 6 Things Pony Riders Love About The Washington International Horse Show

by Maggie Junkin

1. Walking the city streets of D.C. and visiting the White House.  See, Mom, it's not just a horse show... it's actually educational!

2.  Showing in the Verizon Center -- super cool venue!  How awesome is it to show where a professional basketball and hockey team plays?

3.The Jumbotron.  Seeing your name up in lights?  Priceless!

4. Stabling in the streets.  Not sure it's the ponies' first choice for stabling but it's a pretty cool experience.

5. The shopping.  The best shopping experience of any horse show. An entire concourse of equine retailers and unique boutiques. They even have a candy store with chocolate covered bacon!

 6. The ribbons.  It doesn't matter what color you get, they're all beautiful with an amazing medal in the middle of the rosettes.  These are ribbons to treasure for years to come.

Maggie Junkin is a pony rider and animal advocate who has raised lots of awareness and money for Danny & Ron's Rescue.  In 2013 Maggie was fifth at Washington in the small pony hunter stakes class with Foxlair Fantasia. WIHS is her favorite horse show and she hopes to have the opportunity to show there again someday.

How to Put on a Bridle & Other Notes from Judging the NEEC Horsemanship Class

By Kim Ablon Whitney

This past Saturday, I had the great pleasure to judge the Horsemanship Practicum at the New England Equitation Finals with Dr. Kate Chope and former winner of the Horsemanship Award, Larissa Laffey.  For those of you who aren't familiar with the Horsemanship Award, here's a brief description:

-Riders take a written test on Friday night with questions that range from horse care to class specs to current events in the horse world.  

-The riders with the top 12 scores in the test take part in a hands-on "Practicum" on Saturday.  They are given a score out of 100.

-Riders' scores from the New England Medal class are averaged with the other two scores to produce a final score and an overall winner.

Usually, I sit in my little judge's booth and don't interact with the competitors I'm judging.  This was such a welcome change!  I got to actually interact with the kids doing the practicum and get a better sense of some of the juniors on the show circuit.

I worked with Kate beforehand to coordinate questions.  In the past, judges have asked riders to evaluate conformation, demonstrate wrapping or braiding, identify bits or grain, or put together a bridle.

I feel like one of the most important things I see as missing from junior riders at horse shows these days is being involved in prepping the horses for the ring.  Too often, I hear of riders who show up just before their class to a perfectly prepared horse, having no idea of what it took to get their horse ready.

When I rode in the equitation, I prepared my own horse.  Sure, I consulted with my trainer at times to figure out what my horse needed but I also just knew from taking him off the trailer or out of his stall on a show day whether he might need a few minutes on the lunge-line to get some bucks out, or an extra class.  

Do any riders today know how to prepare a horse for the ring, and do it themselves?  I wanted to know!

So I gave the riders a scenario and asked them to tell us what they would do to prepare.

Here's the scenario I presented:

You have a seven year-old equitation horse that’s been doing the equitation for a year.  It’s May and you’ve been training all winter in the Northeast.  You are at one of your first shows of the year and your horse will probably be fresh.

You will be doing the New England Medal at 3:00 pm.  You arrive at the show at 7:00 am.  The ring is all-weather footing and the weather is sunny and in the low 70s.

Look at the schedule for the day (below) and when you come in to the session, be ready to talk through how you would go about preparing your horse in order to have him ready for the New England Medal.  

Ideas to consider include:

-how the tack might differ from what you would use in the actual class,

-how you would prepare your horse,

-whether you would enter additional classes and, if so, which ones

8:00 am

127. Puddle Jumper (.70 -.80 m) Table II, Sec2(b)
130. Training Jumper (1.0 m.) Table II, Sec2(b)
131. Training Jumper (1.0 m.) Table II, Sec2(c)P&S
134. Low Schooling Jumper (1.10 m.) Table II, Sec2(b)
135. Low Schooling Jumper (1.10 m.) Table II, Sec2(c)
141. Child Jumper (1.10 m.) Table II, Sec2(b)
138. Adult Jumper (1.10 m.) Table II, Sec2(b)
148. WIHS/M&S/NAL Jumper Classic (1.10m)

147. Junior A/O Jumper Stake (1.30 m.) Table II, Sec2(b)

403. Open Equitation 14 & Under Flat
404. Open Equitation 14 & Under O/F
406. Open Equitation 15-17 Flat
407. Open Equitation 15-17 O/F
432. MHC Junior Medal
431. THIS National Child Medal

440. NEHC Junior Medal

441. Marshall & Sterling Junior Medal

442. Pessoa/US Hunt Seat Medal

446. National PHA Medal

Here's what I learned from their answers:

The riders in the practicum knew the types of things you would do to prepare a horse, i.e., lunge, ride in the ring, ride around the show, have a lesson, enter an extra class or two.  They had ideas about what types of bits you might use for these differing activities and what tack you might use to lunge, and what classes you might enter.

Dr. Kate Chope & Larissa Laffey as we await our next contestant.

But, too often their plan involved ALL of the above.  It felt like the "kitchen sink" answer, not the answer of a rider who actually prepared her horse for the ring.  

They said they would ride the horse around the show and in the ring in the morning.  Or have their trainer ride the horse--yes, some kids said this (although slightly disturbing at least they were being truthful).  They also cited lunging the horse and showing in extra classes before the actual class they were aiming for.  All in one day!  That seemed like a lot for one horse!

I wished kids would have picked one approach and then said something like, "if the class didn't go as well as I would have liked, I think next show I would lunge him first."  I think they were just trying to demonstrate their knowledge so I didn't want to fault them too much but I still would have preferred a more targeted answer.  Not every plan for preparation works--I would have liked that they would make a plan and then adjust for the next show.

I did appreciate that several riders mentioned hand-walking the horse around the grounds to get them used to the show.  I felt that those riders showed that they are actually a part of their horse's preparation.

After explaining their approach, riders moved on to putting a bridle on the horse that was kindly leant to us for the practicum.  We soon saw a disturbing trend... too many riders couldn't get the bit in the horse's mouth!  

Instead of using their thumb to open the horse's mouth, they just clanked the bit against the horse's teeth, hoping he knew the drill.  Thankfully, our practice horse didn't oblige.  

Other riders didn't know how to hold up the noseband or hold the horse's nose correctly.  Riders then had to adjust the bridle.  Several knew the benchmarks for correctly fitting a bridle but it felt more like they had read it in a book, not done it a million times themselves.

Karen Clark, who organizes the whole Horsemanship Class, keeping warm and monitoring the sessions

Lastly, Kate asked some signs of a soft tissue injury and of colic.  The best answers included riders talking about their own experiences with these issues--not just presenting book knowledge. If a rider shared personal anecdotes along with the facts, it was clear they had spent hours each day at the barn and not just in the saddle.

In the end, we did have three riders scoring in the 90s.  The winner of the practicum section stood out, especially because she noticed things about the horse in the stall and when she was putting on the bridle.  She talked about checking his water to see how much he'd drank, seeing if he'd manured, and other details she noticed about him while she was tacking him up.  It was impressive and indicative of someone who actually takes care of their own horse.

We also had a few riders who scored solidly in the 80s and would have scored a lot higher, except for a few holes or mistakes in their performance.  Some of these felt like the riding equivalent of picking up the wrong lead when you enter the ring--sometimes luck just doesn't go your way that day and you make a careless mistake that means your performance in that one class isn't indicative of your overall skill level.

I noticed in the results that the top three overall were from one barn.  That barn is clearly doing something right in the way they are training their kids not just in the ring, but in the barn too.

Sadly, I heard from people at the show that many kids who are competing in the Medal Final don't even take the test.  I'm not certain exactly why this is.  Perhaps they're not good test takers, have a learning difference, and/or don't want to have to do what seems like "school work" in their off-school hours.  I can appreciate those issues.  But I wonder if some kids who would excel in the class aren't even entering for some reason?  And I certainly wish the majority of kids would want to enter this special class.

In the end, all I know is that this class is one of a kind in the hunter/jumper world and I wish there were more of them.  I hope the kids who placed feel as good about their ribbon in the horsemanship as they would about getting a ribbon in the New England Medal Final.  Riding is only one part of the sport.

Kim Ablon Whitney is an R judge in hunters, equitation, and jumpers.  Her latest novel set on the show circuit is Winter Circuit.