“Good, now do it again.” Sound familiar? If your ears are still echoing from your trainer’s oft-repeated phrases during lessons or warm-ups, take heart. From every age—youth to select, beginner to all-around amateurs at the World Show level, we’ve all grown accustomed to our trainer’s favorite words of advice…even if it takes us a few extra times for it to sink in. Top amateur and youth exhibitors from across the country shared their trainer’s go-to phrases.
Caitlin Bloyer—Shows Iron Icon under the guidance of Alison Koenig of Poynette, Wisconsin
“Alison’s most common catch phrase is, ‘Practice perfection,’ so we hear that one a lot at shows and schooling,” Caitlin explains. “She also tells me quite often to never stop showing, keep riding through whatever happens and sell it. When I’m in the middle of a hunter course Alison always yells, ‘Are you counting?!’ and she usually starts counting out loud at me to keep me on pace. I think one of Alison’s funnier teaching habits is that one more time never means one more time. We probably hear “one more time” at least three times each lesson. I think this goes back to her practice perfection outlook. She doesn’t overdo it, but she pushes us till we ride to our potential. Alison also makes sure to remind us that we always can go back to basics to improve. She makes sure that we don’t take things that should be “easy” for granted. Even for fences, we do a lot of flat work to perfect everything that happens in between the fences. Or if I’m taking a lesson with someone who jumps smaller than I do, Alison takes away my stirrups to make sure I’m still challenged and perfecting my skills.”
Samantha Bayer—Shows RR Certain Bout This under the guidance of Jim and Deanna Searles of Cave Creek, Arizona; also showed Please Nicker in reining under the guidance of Trent Pedersen of Eagle Point, Oregon.
“My reining trainer, Trent Pedersen, used to always say, ‘Make sure to breathe, because if you don’t you’ll die,’” Samantha says. “Which would always make me laugh and relax. I remember him saying that to me right before I went into the finals at the Youth World and then I wound up winning. It’s really simple and common sense, but that’s how Trent trains which I like because it keeps me from over thinking. When learning the cow horse, I was told a series of funny metaphors to get me to relax including, ‘Imagine you are taking a Sunday drive to the corner store,’ which is hilarious if you think about running full speed down the fence towards a cow. It doesn’t really compare to cruising to the 7-11 for a Slurpee.”
“For the all-around I don’t think I’ve been told any light-hearted phrases, except Deanna has reminded me to not take things too seriously and not to ‘Ride like a robot girl’. I find that as a competitor I put enough pressure on myself, and that simple silly things help me so much more than the standard ‘Shoulders back. Heels down’. In my opinion, by the time a lot of us are in amateur, we are so conditioned to remember all of those things, that keeping us focused on having fun and trusting our feel prove to be the most effective.”
Morgan Ilic-–Shows Stuck Up Zipper and Sirtainly No Doubt on her own with guidance from her show mom in Franklinville, New Jersey
“I’ve always done all of my own training,” Morgan says, “But I do have a fantastic horse show mom who keeps me on track. Some common phrases I hear from her are: ‘Where are your earrings?!’, ‘MORGAN wake up! Your class is next!’, and my personal favorite: ‘SPARKLE!’ She loves to say this one as I’m walking into the arena. I always respond with an eye roll but deep down, when she says that it reminds me to put my game face on!”
Miranda Reed—Shows OK Im Hot under the guidance of Terry Cross of Weatherford, Texas
“Terry is a very chill, relaxed trainer,” Miranda says. “He always reminds me to give my horse a chance to get it right before I punish him. In showmanship, he usually reminds me to hesitate before moving into Fred’s space on a back maneuver. Fred is really good at showmanship, so sometimes the focus of Terry’s attention is turned to my body and facial expression. He will say during practice, ‘I want you to try to smile during this whole pattern and never let your face give away when something goes wrong.’ He usually bursts out laughing because I give a really fake smirk, but the principle he is trying to teach me is so important. During horsemanship I usually hear, ‘Your left shoulder is creeping forward again. Try to remain square,’ and I’ll roll my left shoulder back. When I enter the show pen, Terry always says, ‘Remember nobody usually has a perfect pattern. Go out there and execute what you and Fred can do best!’”
Hillary Roberts-–Shows Chrome On My Zipper (“Long John”) under the guidance of Butch and Patty Campbell of Whitesboro, Texas, and WhatsCooknGoodLookin (Candi”) under the guidance of Rusty and Katie Green of Pilot Point, Texas.
“When I’m riding Long John before the trail or horsemanship and am about to go in, Butch always tells me to ‘feel his feet’ and to ‘have a nice time,’” Hillary says. “I always know I had a good pattern when I get a high five after I come out from Butch. When I’m at home riding with Patty going over horsemanship and I don’t do something right, she tells me she is going to ‘Scream bloody murder’ or ‘Go native’ which just makes everyone laugh. When I’m at Rusty’s riding Candi, I hear a lot of ‘Use your feet’ from Rusty. Sometimes when I’m showing and I pass Katie on the rail, she either gives me a thumbs up or just says ‘I don’t like that.’ Then I know if it’s good or bad!”
Caitlin McGinty—Showed RL Suddenly Famous under the guidance of Chris and Melissa Jones and Brad Kearns and Valerie Kearns of Grayslake, Illinois
“I’ve had everything from ‘Quit sticking your chin out,’ to ‘Ask him, don’t tell him,’” Caitlin says. “But the best one is ‘Stop hula dancing on the horse’—a direct quote from John Boxell that everyone used to laugh at. My horse had so much hock, I couldn’t help moving with it!”
Brittany Lofton—Shows Huntin For Fun under the guidance of Jill Newcomb of San Diego, California
“I hear ‘Showmanship face,’ ‘Where’s your lipstick?’ and ‘Your boots are dirty!'” Brittany says. “Most often after show days, Jill asks me ‘red, white or bubbles?’” referring to my beverage of choice.
Hope D’Alessio—Shows Invested In Cookies under the guidance of Kim and Curtis Reynolds of Fairfield, Florida
“Curtis said in one of our showmanship lessons ‘Back up faster! Like a machine gun!’” Hope says. “Kim says in equitation practice ‘You have three warnings each practice to close your fingers on the reins. After those three, then, you start paying me for each time I say it!’”
Mary White—Shows Absolutely For Me under the guidance of Will and Elizabeth Knabenshue of Whitesboro, Texas
“I usually hear ‘Stretch down with your legs,’ ‘Stay in front of the vertical,’ ‘Toes forward, use the side of your calf,’” Mary says. “Oh and ‘Do not roll your spur, press with your leg!’”
Michelle Forness—Shows Stretch Machine and Star Studded Rolex under the guidance of Robin and Jenny Frid of Pilot Point, Texas
“‘Connection, connection, connection!’ and ‘Power creates power!’”
Join the conversation: Tell GoHorseShow your trainer’s most repeated phrase in the comment section below or on Facebook at facebook.com/gohorseshow.
