On Being The ‘Jack Of All Trades’ Kind Of Rider
Recently I took my Thoroughbred eventer to a hunter/jumper show with my jumper trainer. I don’t board my horse at my trainer’s farm. I’m a haul-in client who enjoys taking a lesson a week over fences and another in the sand box with my dressage trainer at a different facility.
But over the months I’ve spent working with this jumper trainer, I’ve gotten to know her boarders and clients, and feel a bit more part of the “barn family.” So when a hunter/jumper show on their calendar aligned with an open weekend for me, it felt like a great time to tag along and log more miles in the show jumping area.
Naturally, I didn’t wear beige breeches. After spending decades riding around the hunter ring, you won’t catch me in tan unless it’s absolutely mandatory. This baffled the hunter/jumper clients I showed with. They were also very confused by my brown boots, probably my most prized riding possession. And the thick leather of my polo-style breastplate. In these ways, I was like an alien to them, with a totally different routine and approach to riding, tacking up and caring for my horse.
The same can be said when I compete with my dressage trainer. I’m happy to operate out of my trailer for the day, if it means I can bus my horse home where he can spend the night turned out in his field instead of being cooped up at the show grounds in a stall. I don’t want a long warm-up – 20 minutes is totally enough.
In these ways, I feel like I have a foot in one of each of the disciplines, but am not fully in “all” of them. But don’t worry, there’s no FOMO here.
I’ve learned so much from riding in different styles, with trainers from different backgrounds, and from asking my personal horses to try new jobs and new rings from time to time. I think a versatile horse (and rider) is good for them mentally, and it keeps my skills sharp across the board.
Good riding is good riding. Rhythm and tempo are important no matter which job your horse is doing. In the jumpers, I learned doing less is actually more. I’ve carried that mentality over into the dressage ring, where I try not to overcomplicate it. From the hunters, I’ve learned to be light, accurate and subtle in my aids – it’s helped paint the finishing picture in the dressage ring. From eventing, I’ve learned to ride from feel, that smooth is fast, and not to get distracted by my equitation or riding the exact hard line or distance I had walked hours before – it’s OK to improvise when you’ve got to get the job done.
All of these experiences have taught me to trust my instincts as a rider. And it’s helped me train more nimble horses. I may not be the best or most traditional hunter rider, or the fastest jumper rider. Or even the most elegant dressage rider. But I am capable of getting around in all of those rings.
Photo credit: BNB Photography