Goodbye Pixie Dust... Moving from Ponies to Horses

by Maggie Junkin

2016 was a big year for me.  I got my first horse.  Getting your first horse is an exciting moment for many young equestrians and one I will never take for granted, however I have to admit I wasn’t overly excited to go from the ponies to the horses. 

Why?

It seemed like a step closer to growing up.  Like Peter Pan, I enjoyed being forever young.  I had just turned 13, what was the rush to leave the pony world behind?  

Maggie & Shaded (Scooby) competing in the 2015 Pony Medal Finals.

Here are all the things I missed most about the ponies: 

1. The Bows.  What goes hand in hand with ponies?  Bows, bows, and more bows!  I loved wearing hair bows and I could express myself through my choices.   I love dogs and promote animal rescue so my favorite bows were my Danny and Ron’s Rescue bows from Belle and Bow Equestrian and my Chihuahua cross bone pair. 

Maggie's Danny & Ron's Rescue Bows

The bows were the first to go once I started in the Large Pony Hunters.  I missed them. Bows were easy.  Throw two braids in, gel my hair, tie the bows in place, and off I went. 

Now I had to put my hair up.  Okay, so now that we are discussing my hair, let’s just say I have a lot of it!  It’s like wrestling a wild lion.  Once I finally get it lassoed under the hair net, I finally have to squeeze into a helmet two sizes bigger than my last to fit it over my hair. 

2. Paddock Boots.  I was finally getting adjusted to the new hair situation and should have been prepared for what would come next… my trainer's suggestion it was time for tall boots.  Ugh!  Most kids can’t wait for their tall boots.  Much like getting your learner’s permit at 16, it’s a monumental event! 

Well, not for me.  Okay, so maybe I don’t like change, but I also have a serious issue with comfort.  I loved my paddock boots.  They fit like a glove, maybe a little too snug because I refused to get a new pair, but they were just fine.  

Now I had to go boot shopping. That actually wasn’t as painful as I had feared; however the break-in period was.  Band-Aids were my new best friends and only after several weeks was I finally able to walk in them. 

Cleaning them is a whole other story.  Five minutes and my paddock boots were polished.  My tall boots require at least a half hour, lots of patience, and even more polish.

3. Easy Mounting.  I had my tall boots for one month when my trainer asked me to ride a new horse he had in the barn.  I had only ridden a horse once before. 

Why did Tommy look so big?  Why did he raise his head like a giraffe when I was tacking him up?  Forget these new tall boots, I needed high heels!

I could barely slide Tommy's bridle over his ears.  Speaking of ears, where did those cute little pony ears go?  I was now struggling to get a bridle over mammoth size Warmblood ears.  

Once I finally got the tack on I was beginning to feel accomplished, until I walked out to the mounting block and immediately realized my next challenge.  I needed a stepladder.  To make matters worse, Tommy wouldn't stand still and squirmed side-to-side to challenge me even more.   I finally made my way into the saddle and off we went for our lesson.  

Maggie's first lesson on Tommy

I felt really small on him and wasn’t sure of what to expect after all the effort it took to get to this point.   I guess Tommy felt like he had tested me enough and he behaved like a perfect gentleman that first lesson.  I spent the month getting to know him and we seemed like a good match.  My parents surprised me by purchasing him right when we were ready to leave for winter circuit in Gulfport. 

I was thrilled.  I was taking Scooby and Tommy was now coming too.  I had really begun to love Tommy.  I was finally getting used to my tall boots and my tall horse.  Things seemed to be coming together... or so I thought.

4. Pony Striding.  I had never really jumped a three-foot course on Tommy.  But how hard could it be?  I jumped three-foot on Scooby all the time.  But on a horse, things are different.  First, I had real trouble with pace.  I was used to ponies that have some motor; now I had this big barreled Warmblood.  

My trainer insisted I had to learn to use my leg. I have been riding and playing soccer since I was four years old.  My legs should be pretty strong, but apparently they weren't strong enough. 

Without pace, I could no longer find a distance.  It was there and then it wasn’t.  It took time for me to learn how to keep the pace and find the distances with Tommy.

Maggie & Tommy ended up Champion and Reserve Champion weeks 5 and 6 in Gulfport. 

For me moving from ponies to horses wasn’t an easy transition.  I had to give up things that I loved, move out of my comfort zone, and challenge myself.  

Now, I don’t miss the bows as much.  Tall boots are finally comfortable, and I have found love in a great horse--big ears and all.

So in the end, maybe I'm not like Peter Pan.  Maybe I am ready to grow up, and maybe, just maybe, I am finally ready to say goodbye to ponies and pixie dust.  

Maggie Junkin is a 13 year-old who competes in the Large Pony Hunter Division with Shaded and the Children’s Hunter Horse Division with Tommy Bahama.  She is committed to animal rescue. Her favorite rescue to support is Danny and Ron’s Rescue. 

Maggie trains with John Mastriano  of Tustin Farm in NJ.  She lives with her family, five dogs, and three cats in Jenkintown, Penn. Maggie is thrilled to have qualified Shaded in the Large Pony Division for The Devon Horse Show 2016. 

The Anatomy of a California Split

What exactly is a California split?

A California split is used either when a class is very large (usually over 25 horses) or in a combined division like the junior hunters.

A judge typically keeps a "stagger" or a ranking of the top 8 ribbon winners as a class goes on.

In a California Split, the judge needs to rank 16 ribbon winners and at the end of the class (typically after seeing 50-plus rounds), the judge pins the class as follows:

#1 & #2 on stagger each win Division A and Division B of the same class
#3 & #4 on stagger are second in Division A and Division B of the same class
#5 & #6 on stagger are third in Division A and Divisions B of the same class
...And so on

How else is a big class split?
Another way to split a class of 50 low hunters is when the 25th horse goes in the first class of two back-to-back classes, the judge pins both the classes.  (The second class will usually only have 15-20 that have gone since some riders choose to only do one class.)  This is often called a Casual Split.

Where did the name come from?
Apparently not from California!  The California split is an East Coast thing.  And after asking many people who have been around the industry as judges and horse show managers for years, it's unclear where the name comes from.

These is some sense that it originated at WEF with large classes in the juniors.  One judge remembered when a junior hunter class was judged by one judge as the first class of the division and the same class judged by a second judge as the Maclay, and that this situation was for some reason called a California split.

How do judges feel about it?
Some judges don't like California splits because it means keeping track of 16 ribbon winners, which can be unwieldy and exhausting.  Usually in a large class after you have your top 8 ribbon winners ranked, you only need to work in the rounds that are good enough to fall into that top group.  With a California split, you have to work in any round that would place in the top 16 in the class.

However, other judges prefer the California split to a Casual Split because it can mean the best rounds get rewarded.  In a casual split, the strength of each division is more or less random.  Division A might have better rounds than Division B for whatever reason.  In that case, a horse that wins Division B might not be nearly as good as the horse that wins Division A.  With a California Split, the best horses and rounds in the class are rewarded accordingly.

Kim Ablon Whitney is an 'R' judge and the author of the Show Circuit Series.

Top things to Love About the Gulfport Winter Classic!

by Maggie Junkin

I am 13 years old and riding has been part of my life since I was 4.  I have been lucky enough to compete all over the country.  I love traveling to new places and riding in different venues.

This winter I had the opportunity to show at the Gulf Coast Winter Classic, in Gulfport, Mississippi.  Here are several standout things that make me look forward to returning to Gulfport next year.

14. Friendliness is in the air.  From the show office to the exhibitors everyone was friendly.  Gulfport is a relaxed setting.  Strangers smile and say hello.

13. The Gulf Shores.  From the City of New Orleans to Mobile, each offers easy day trips.  Discover tasty Beignets and Chicory coffee at Café Du Monde in New Orleans.  Enjoy the many miles of beaches and national parks, and the exploration of the quaint beach towns with galleries and boutiques.  

12. Grass Grand Prix Ring.  Cheer on your favorite grand prix riders as they navigate their way around the large grass grand prix field.

11. Groom’s Class.  A chance to reward our hard working grooms.  The winning groom walks away with the coveted distinction of top groom and a cash prize.

Tustin Farm’s Wilmer Diaz winning the 2016 Groom’s Class

10. Lady Luck.  Catch a show or try your luck at gambling at the Biloxi and Gulfport Casinos.

9. Lodging.  There are many great housing choices, all within a half hour of the show grounds. There are plenty of hotels. You can rent large beach houses to share with your barn families, or stay in condos on the beach.  There are also plenty of RV sites on the horse show grounds.

View from our beachfront condo

8. Well-planned layout.  The horse show facility is laid out in an exhibitor friendly way. The jumpers are in the front of the show grounds. The show office, exhibitor lounge, farrier, retail and café are in the center. The hunter rings are in the back. The stabling areas are close to the schooling rings and show rings. There is plenty of parking and there is uncongested space between barns to hang out and unwind in between showing. 

Getting in some soccer time in between divisions

7. Institute For Marine Mammal Studies.  Spend a few hours here and learn about marine life rescue.  Learn the story of the 8 Katrina Dolphins who lived in the Marine Life Oceanarium on the beach in Gulfport, Mississippi. On August 29^th, 2005 during Hurricane Katrina this center was crushed by a tidal wave sweeping the dolphins from their tank into the Gulf of Mexico. Learn of their survival and where they are today.

6. Restaurants.  Numerous choices make Mississippi’s Gulf Coast a fabulous place to dine. From beach shacks to seafood, oyster and steak houses you will find something for everyone. In addition there are several diner and dive establishments to make the adventurous happy as well. 

Lunch by the marina at Shaggy’s in Pass Christian

5. VIP tent.  Enjoy snacks, beverages and catered lunches while watching world class jumping right before your eyes. Mingle, make new friends and maybe even get the opportunity to meet an Olympic course designer, Leopoldo Palacios, like I did.

4. Check out college campuses.  My mom and I use our horse show travels to check out regional schools. On our drive from Pennsylvania to Mississippi we passed Duke, Elon, Clemson, and Georgia Tech, to name a few.  We made a stop at Auburn University.

3. Shopping.  Browse the boutique shops, hunt for antiques, shop the outlets, check out the souvenir stores, whatever your style, shopping is the perfect rainy day activity. Leave space in your suitcase!

2. Infinity Science Center and the NASA John C. Stennis Space Center.  Riding at this level often causes younger riders to miss school.  Use downtime to explore the learning opportunities Mississippi has to offer outside of the classroom. Don’t miss a stop at the Infinity Science Center, located on the border of Mississippi and Louisiana, adjacent to the Pearl River. Learn about space travel, planets, weather, and storm patterns.   Explore by bus NASA’s largest rocket engine test facility.

1. The proud people of Mississippi.  Gulfport, Mississippi is often overlooked with the mention of Hurricane Katrina. The New Orleans area was devastated. However, Gulfport was hit equally hard. It’s humbling to talk to the locals and hear their stories. Eleven years later and they are still rebuilding with hard work and great pride. The shopkeepers and restaurant owners welcome the six-week influx of people from the horse show crowd.  It is southern hospitality at its finest.

Maggie Junkin is a 13 year-old who competes in the Large Pony Division with Shaded and the Children’s Hunter Horse division with Tommy Bahama.  She is committed to animal rescue. Her favorite rescue to support is Danny and Ron’s Rescue. Maggie trains with John Mastriano of Tustin Farm in NJ. She lives with her family, 6 dogs, and 3 cats in Jenkintown, Pa. 

 

A Look Inside Commissions

by Kim Ablon Whitney

The Winter Circuits have begun and that means riders are trying horses nearly every day.  Vets are doing pre-purchase exams and money is changing hands.  

Ever wonder how commissions on sales in the horse show world work?  So do a lot of people.  

Selling show horses isn’t like selling houses--even though many show horses cost the same, or even more than many houses.  

In real estate, there is a basic commission that all real estate agents get, with rare exceptions.  Six-percent of the cost of the house is split evenly between the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent.  

If a house has been on the market a long time, agents are sometimes willing to reduce their share to make a sale happen.  If more than one agent worked to sell the house (helping to stage the house, or holding an open house when the other agent is out of town), that second agent will get a piece of the first agent’s commission.  But that 6% always comes out of the cost of the house--it’s never added onto the cost.

In real estate, the price of the house after the sale goes through is easily available to anyone who wants to know--either through city records or a quick search on Zillow.

In the show world, it’s more like the wild west.

While it used to be common practice for the trainer of a horse to take 10% of the purchase price as a commission, now the general commission for sales is 15%, and 20% for leases.  BUT, there’s a lot of variance around those numbers.

Part of what alters that number is whether another trainer is involved in the sale.  This trainer is often referred to as an “agent.”  Because much of the money trainers make on the show circuit is through sales, many have carved out a solid niche as an agent.  

An agent is someone a trainer can call when that trainer can’t find the right horse for their client.  

“Agents have the connections to all the trainers and sales barns and they know everything that’s for sale in a certain area,” explained an industry insider who was willing to divulge the secrets of the sales world but for obvious reasons will remain anonymous.  “Agents are necessary because they make the love connection.  Like a trainer will call an agent and say, ‘I need a low amatuer jumper for a lady,’ and then the agent will call his contacts and find that low amatuer jumper.”

When agents get involved, the commissions can get murky.  “The problem is sometimes you have even more than one agent getting involved in the deal and everyone wants to get a hand in the pot,” said my source.

Often a seller will tell an agent up front what needs to happen for a deal to go through.  In this scenario, a person selling a horse might call an agent and say, “The owner wants 50K, so let’s price the horse at 75K and we can split the 25K.”  This is where sometimes sellers and agents bulk up the price in order to get more for themselves.  As long as the owner gets the amount she said she needed, all is good.  Or is it?

As with the house that doesn’t sell right away, sometimes agents are willing to reduce their part of the commission to make a sale happen.  “Let’s say I was going to make 10K off the sale but the deal wasn't going to get done.  I’d rather take 5K and make the deal than kill the deal and get nothing,” said my source.

As with real estate, some deals happen in a matter of minutes--others take months.  “You might make a good chunk of change from a thirty-second phone call, or you might work on a deal for weeks and then have it fall apart and have nothing to show for it,” my source explained.

My source also explained a big problem arises when the buyer in the previous scenario that paid the 75K for a horse that includes the 25K in commissions goes to sell said horse.  Understandably, the seller wants to get at least 75K for the horse since that’s what she paid (depending on the horse’s show record and current condition).  

Only the horse was really only worth 50K.  “That’s when I think the agents are doing a disservice to the industry because people end up paying more than a horse is worth and then they can’t sell the horse for what they bought it for and reasonably they aren’t happy about that,” said my source.

In order to protect house buyers, real estate agents must be licensed and agree to adhere to a strict code of ethics or risk losing their license.  

Should agents of horses be licensed and held to a similar code of ethics?

And, of course, there is no public record of sales prices for horses.  Should there be one?  Should the USEF or USHJA take on the responsibility of monitoring and regulating sales?  

In 2013, Debbie Bass tried to get a rule passed making sales include an official bill of sale with all the parties involved, but no prices.  It was met with a lot of negativity, if not outright hostility, perhaps because it felt like it would be the start of a slippery slope into total transparency around transactions--something certain trainers and agents don’t want.

Another argument against transparency is that people don’t want the price they spent on that new equitation horse available to the masses.  

But since that price is whispered and gossipped about back at the barn (and probably inflated along the way), could a Zillow-like transparency for horse sales really be such a bad thing?

It should be noted that there are many trainers who do things the right way.  

One particular trainer is known for having a 10% commission split by both sides of the transaction with no add-ons, no matter what.  

One thing is for certain, it’s imperative that owners and buyers become educated, speak up, ask for details, and generally advocate for their interests.

Kim Ablon Whitney is an 'R' judge and the founder of www.belowthecutoff.com. She also writes novels set on the show circuit.

A Glossary of WEF

by Kim Ablon Whitney

Headed down to the Winter Equestrian Festival for a weekend, or the whole circuit?  Better brush up on your WEF-lingo!

The Bridge: Spans across the in-gate of the International Ring--a good place for trainers or riders to watch rounds.

Coffee Cart: Situated at the entry to the rings. The place to get your favorite caffeinated beverage.

Dever: Official golf cart rental shop.

Fete Cheval Etiole: Teams of grand prix riders judged for style and performance to benefit the EQUUS Foundation.  A must-not-miss event!

Food Trucks: Multiple food trucks offering a variety of fare at the Wellington Amphitheater on Forest Hill.  Always a good bet for a quick and easy dinner.

Global: The dressage facility across the street from the show where certain special classes are held, such as the U25 classes.

Grand Prix Village: Exclusive area of farms adjacent to the show grounds.

Great Charity Challenge: Relay-style competition featuring top riders raising money for charity.


Keke's: Where everyone goes for breakfast on days-off.

Kontiki: Best place for sushi after a busy show day.

Oasis Cafe: The eatery in the middle of the show grounds.

Players: The legendary Sunday-night party spot overlooking the polo club.

Pony Island: The stands where pony riders hang out around their rings during pony classes.

Riders' Lounge: Small area in between the grand prix warm up ring and the International ring where top riders stash their ring bags and relax during classes.

Rost Ring: Hunter ring near where you can find the best bathrooms on the show grounds.

Saturday Night Lights: Grand prix classes held under the lights on Saturdays with lots of entertainment for kids and spectators.

Short Stacks: Monday breakfast spot.

Showgrounds Live: Online schedule, orders of go, and results.  Gets people where they need to be at the right time and keeps all those rings miraculously working. 

Sushimoto: Another good sushi spot.

Tackeria: Tack shop without horse show prices.

Twenty-dollar ring: Schooling ring where riders can pay $20 to practice over a course.

Vendor Village: Strip of shops where riders can find their favorite brands and equipment.

VIP Tent: Exclusive tent overlooking the International Arena where people with wristbands can watch classes while being served drinks and meals.

26 Things Every Buyer Thinks When Looking at Horse Videos

by Kim Ablon Whitney

1. Please stop trotting.  I've seen your horse trot plenty.  For the love of Pete, canter and jump!

2. I really hope this is the one.

3. Canter already!

4. You think this horse is worth how much?  Was that a typo?

5. I need a great horse and I'll never find it.  If only I had the money so-and-so had, I wouldn't be looking at my 100th video today, I’d be out riding my amazing new horse.

6. If this horse doesn't canter in the next ten seconds, I'm clicking ‘off’.

7. Wait, what if I click ‘off’ and miss the most amazing jumper ever?  Maybe everyone is getting impatient and we’ll all miss this amazing horse and if I just keep watching a little more I’ll find this horse is the next Brunello.

8. Come to think of it, this horse sort of looks like Brunello.  Well, only it’s gray.

9. I wonder how firm they are on the price.

10. It's cantering!  That's progress.

11. Did I say Brunello?  What the heck was I thinking?

12. Will my trainer like this one?  She’s hated all the other videos I’ve sent her.

13. Where is this horse located again?  Is it worth driving that far to see it?  What if I don't go and it's amazing and I could have won with it at Devon?

14. I'd really like to win at Devon.

15. Does it look like it's a little off going to the right, or is it just bad footing?

16. Where was this video taken—in a wind tunnel?

17. This ad’s been up a while.  Does that mean the horse is terrible, or just hasn't been discovered yet?

18. Jump already!

19. I swore I wouldn't get another gray.

20. God, I love looking at horse videos... It's like window shopping.  If I find a horse, what am I going to do with my free time?

21. Please jump.

22. I need to cook dinner.  I also need to pee.  What am I doing still sitting here?

23. Did the description list the USEF number?  Please, people, make my life a little easier.

24. I've probably spent three hours total looking at horses online today.  I just hope my boss didn’t notice the two hours I spent doing it at work.

25. I should probably do something tonight besides look at more videos.  Like get a social life.

26. Wait, it's jumping!  It's finally jumping!

Kim Ablon Whitney is a USEF 'R' judge and the author of the Show Circuit Series.