Nancy Sue Ryan has won so many World and Congress Champion titles in Hunter Under Saddle that she has lost count. GoHorseShow.com wanted to find out more about her background, accomplishments and whether she is pleased with the way hunter under saddle horses have evolved through the years. Find out what she had to say about a variety of topics, including what she attributes as her secret to success.
Q: Nancy Sue, let’s start from the beginning. How did you get involved with horses?
A: Horses started early in my life. My mother would rent a horse for $10 a month, and my sister and I would spend the summer days riding–bareback of course. We rode in a club named “The North Dallas Saddle Tramps.” On the weekends, we went to “Playdays” and actually played on our horses–from bareback pleasure to the pick-up race. Dallas County 4-H soon became the place to show which escalated into the Quarter Horse Shows. In June of 1974, I went to work for Dave Page where I lived and worked for three years, and then went to work for Jack and Lou Finney.
Q: When did you win your first World Championship?
A: My first World Championship came to me as a youth in 1973, as a 15 year-old, on Mike Bar Bob. I got into the hunter under saddle (called Bridle Path Hack back in those days) because his trot was so rough. My first Congress win was in 1974, in the Senior Hunter Under Saddle out of 102 actual shown entries, again, on Mike Bar Bob. Back then, I totally was clueless, it was just another horse show showing my backyard horse. Mike could trot the fastest and actually could canter slowly. Sadly, there was not a Congress win picture taken. (Pictured left is Nancy Sue with daughter Courtney, spring of 1986)
Q: How many World and Congress Championships have you won over the years?
A: The number of Congress and World Championships have never been counted officially. I have always felt the championship belonged to the horse and not to me.
Q: How do you think the hunter under saddle horse has evolved to the present day?
A: Hunter Under Saddle horses are faring better than in past years. It has evolved from who was the fastest trotter to today’s modern hunter under saddle horse. With the early Thoroughbred influence mixed in with the Quarter Horse pedigrees, I think we have developed a great hunter under saddle horse. I compare my hunter under saddle horses to automobiles. We went from the large gas guzzlers (17 hand horses) to the more compact cars (Western strided hunter horses in order to fit in smaller arenas) to now the more midsized cars that are the best of both worlds. So I believe we are heading more in the right direction now. Many of the horses that were winning in the hunt seat were basically tall western strided horses that went nowhere. I think the English horse should still have the stride to make the distance between the jumps easily and not at its maxed out stride.
Q: What do you look for as a judge?
A: I am always going to go for the horse that represents the ideal “Breed Standard.” If I put a horse first, then it is my opinion that this is the horse I want each horse to be like. Trends are developed in the show arena by rewarding the current fad being it positive or negative. The English horse should have the length of stride to perform the event it was intended, Hunters. This horse will always be “ideal” of what I am looking for while judging the hunter under saddle horse. There will be times when a horse is not “Breed Standard” that will be the winner because the breed standard did not perform at its best and within the guidelines described in the rule book.
On a side note, I would like to see added to the hunter under saddle gaits–a collected seated trot. This is both a training aid and useful gait that would be beneficial to the horse as well as the judge to separate the placings in the class. Executive Director of Judges Alex Ross said that it would be okay for the judges to use this gait in the hunter under saddle classes. It is no different than in the western classes when we ask for a regular jog and then a moderate extension of the jog.
Q: What are some of your pet peeves when showing or judging the hunter under saddle classes?
A: I can’t stand a horse that looks intimidated, and also ones that look like they are trotting really fast. I also am irritated to see a rider that shows in the center of the arena off the rail the whole time or the rider that is slightly off the rail where you can’t pass them on the rail because they are too close to the rail or on the inside either. It is especially difficult to ride with these riders when they are going really slow. It has the potential of causing a wreck just like driving on the interstate where you are having to navigate around a tentative driver versus someone who is assertive and knows where they are going.
Q: As a leading breeder, what is your ideal prospect?
A: I think we need to remember we are breeding for conformationally sound horses who are able to do the events they are intended for. We need to be breeding for good minds. The good minds make it easier for both the horse and trainer/rider/exhibitor.
Q: Why do you think you have been so successful in this industry and what would you like to see as your legacy?
A: I would hope people would think of me as a true horseman that always had the interests of the horses in mind. I just love horses and seem to click with them, and I feel that I understand what they are thinking and what they need to be successful. I believe that is why I am able to ride so many different types of horses. I work my program around the needs of the horse and don’t try to fit the horse within a specific set program. I also hope that I have made a difference in the breeding aspect of the industry. My mother was involved in breeding all the way back in the sixties and seventies, and I am the third generation involved in this aspect of the industry. I just hope I am remembered by trying to modernize the hunter under saddle horse and bringing positive changes to the discipline and the industry as a whole.
Thanks Nancy Sue for taking the time to share your thoughts! You can find out more about Nancy Sue’s stallion, Fabuluke, by visiting the Show Stop Farm website.
Photos © Jeff Kirkbride
