It’s finally here. The horse show that many kids dream about. The show
that kids, parents and trainers have had on their calendars for months.
Win this show and you are a World Champion; something nobody can ever take away from you. It’s the AQHYA World
Championship Show.
For the over 880 horses entered, getting qualified is only half the battle. Getting to the show pen completely prepared, both mentally and physically, is another challenge in itself. How do the top trainers prepare their horses and customers for a long and stressful week in Oklahoma City? We asked World Champion trainers from many different disciplines to explain the secrets to their success in preparing for the Youth World.
“It’s A Big Deal”
“There is so much pressure to this show,” says Nancy Sue Ryan of Show Stop Farm in Nocona, Texas. Ryan should know, she won the Youth Finals in 1973 in Bridle Path Hack Hunt Seat (today’s Hunter Under Saddle). She has also coached Youth World Champions and judged the 2007 AQHYA World Championship Show. “The parents are more pressured at that show because every parent wants their child to do well. The kids put extra effort to be there and to do well. There will be 135 kids in the hunt seat and 135 of them want to win and only 15 go home with a ribbon. It’s a big deal!”
“This is the hardest show for me all year,” admits halter trainer Randy Jacobs of Dover, Ohio. “It’s just so nerve wracking with all these kids and wanting them to do well and wanting the horses to stay in good form. The Congress is hard because of the work load, but as far as the stress, the youth world is the hardest.”
“We put a lot of emphasis on the Youth World being that’s one of our big goals for the year,” says all-around trainer, Reid Thomas from Corpus Christi, Texas. “Once we get qualified, we put our focus on preparing for it.”
Dedication
At the top level, the intensity of the preparation requires that the kids must be dedicated, often sacrificing their summers and time with their family and friends to ride and train away from home.
“My riders often come live here at the ranch, often for weeks before the show and work on strengthening their legs and building confidence,” says all-around trainer, Vicky Holt of Argyle, Texas.“We try to work on two events each day and I place an emphasis on doing all of the maneuvers correctly, making them smooth and building confidence and communication between horse and rider.”
John and Jill Briggs operate Briggs Show Horses and take the preparation of their all-around riders very seriously. Much like Holt’s program, their youth customers spend two weeks at “Boot Camp” at the ranch in Pilot Point. However, they take it one step further culminating in a two-day practice horse show in Ardmore, Oklahoma.
“We rent the arena and the stalls, stay overnight and have a full dress rehearsal,” says John Briggs (pictured left with his wife Jill and six of their Youth World riders.) “We have each kid run through the patterns 10-20 times to where we are all happy. Our focus is to school all the kids in the arena by themselves and perfect as much as we can through repetition.”
The path to Oklahoma City has not come without a lot of hard work and preparation, as Briggs explains. “Over the course of the year we look ahead and ask ourselves, ‘Where do we want to have the kids by the time Youth World rolls around?’ We escalate all year to get there and the couple of days in Ardmore is the last little bit.”
The Briggs have seen results, although sometimes it takes a while. “It’s usually pretty tragic here (in Ardmore) but we try to stay positive,” Briggs admits. “It must really help because we see an improvement by the second day in Ardmore and then a big improvement once we get to the show. It seems to work because we’ve had some good success since we’ve been doing this.”
Some trainers feel as though they are able to accomplish as much preparation as they need by attending smaller shows during the month of July.
“We went to a show in Katy (Texas) in July to tune up,” explains Reid Thomas. “We have an internal rule, if it’s good, show it. If anything happens that you would not want to happen at Youth World, make an adjustment. I tell the kids to do whatever they need to do to put the animal’s respect back on their plate.”
Western pleasure trainers Bret and Candy Parrish of Pavo, Georgia, use shows in July to fine tune as well. “We experiment a little in July and try to do some things at the horse shows to see the best way to prep the horse. We play with maybe showing a horse fresher or more tired and we work on changing body position a little. Then we know where we want to be and don’t make any big changes before we get to Oklahoma City.”
Sometimes the shows in July can be more for the benefit of the rider than the horse.
According to western pleasure trainer E.H. Pait of Jonesboro, Arkansas, “Every year we go to a show at the end of July and have the kids show in both the youth and open class so they can mentally prepare for multiple splits. We want them to be able to stay focused. We’re hoping to get to do that again this year.”
For the halter trainers, they often stay home before the big shows and work on “peaking” their horses, a term used to describe getting a horse where it is the most physically fit.
“We start peaking them about a month out,” explains Randy Jacobs. “We give them snacks at night, work some of the horses more, work some less, and they all get brushed extra at night.” Additionally, says Jacobs, “We practice setting up the younger horses. There’s a fine line between too much practice and not enough, especially with the younger horses, but it’s essential that I have them broke for these kids. The customers aren’t going to take it lightly if their horse doesn’t behave. I want the kids to do well, and if their horse shows well and it just wasn’t their day, it’s okay. But if the horse doesn’t show well and misbehaves, then I feel really responsible. ”
“We work on putting more cover on them and brushing them more to improve their hair coat,” says halter trainer Doug Landon from Clark, Missouri. “It’s also pretty important that the kids come to the barn and practice with them more. I try to put the horses in different situations so they get distracted and have the kids learn how to deal with it.”
Oklahoma!
Everyone we interviewed spoke very highly of the new facility in Oklahoma City with “Love it!” and “Thank God they moved it from Ft. Worth” being the overwhelming sentiment. Better air circulation, less asphalt and more places to ride all make it easier on the horses. All of the trainers make an effort to make the drive to OKC as easy as possible on the horses and arrive with enough time to let the horses settle in before they show.
“I get there a little early so the horses can adjust to the change in temperature and fill back up after an 18 hour trip,” explains Jacobs. “We also try to get in the show pen late at night or early in the morning to practice. We try to do everything we can to avoid trouble but a horse is still a horse!”
The Mental Game
While the trainers are busy preparing the horses for competition, more and more they are also taking on the role of psychologist and preparing the exhibitor mentally.
“We don’t let the kids obsess about their draws,” admits Arianne Pait, trainer and wife of E.H. Pait. “Their tendency is to want to place the split before it even runs and we really try to not let them over-analyze. We tell them just to have as good of a ride as they can and just focus on that day and not think about the fact that they might be a past World Champion. You have to ride for that day and you will get into trouble if you don’t.”
“The mental part is important,” admits Thomas, however, “I don’t prepare them differently mentally because I try to teach them all year how to handle stress.”
But according to Ryan, “The biggest secret of all is confidence. You must build confidence in your horse, confidence in the program and trainer, and confidence in yourself. This makes it a team.”
All In The Family
In addition to the trainers’ clients showing at the Youth World, Briggs, Parrish and Jacobs will coach their own children as well this year. Bryce Briggs, Cody Parrish, Molli Lyn Jacobs and R.J. Jacobs will compete in Oklahoma City which adds yet another layer of stress to the already tense equation.
“My wife Candy and I get more nervous when our kids show,” admits Parrish. “You try to treat everything the same but you can’t. Anyone with kids knows that when it’s yours, there is some extra tension because it’s not just a client, it’s family.”
However, having your own children showing has real upside to it as well. Jacobs knows he has built-in job security. “I don’t worry about my own kids because they get to practice. If they’re not good, it’s their own fault. Nobody’s going to fire me.”
Trainers’ kids often have a real advantage in the show pen. “The plus side with Cody is that he has done so much of it on his own for long. It’s also nicer because he gets to ride every day and he’s more comfortable. He’s exposed to so much more in the preparation and that part makes it easier for us.”
Putting It All Together
So you think you have worked hard all year and left no stone unturned in your physical and mental preparation. And yet it doesn’t all come together. Why?
“The biggest mistake someone can make would be over preparation once they get to the horse show,” states Ryan. “It is better to stick to the program that you always have used, especially if it has worked in the past. Make sure the horse is happy and sound and that your exhibitor is happy and well rested…these are essential ingredients. Horses are habitual learners, the more you can repeat your actions the more they understand. Keep it the same and keep it simple.”
Best of luck to all of the exhibitors at this year’s World Championship show and to those interested in showing at that level in the future. It takes physical and mental dedication and preparation, but the payoff can be well worth the effort.
