Status: Professional – Program: Old Salem Farm
As a horseman, I am most proud of… my knowledge and experience differentiating horses’ personalities and styles. I’ve had the opportunity to work with an array of horses that have helped me learn to communicate better. All horses understand most of the same language, but just like people, each requires a specific approach to fully translate what we would like from each other.
As a horseman, I would most like improve… my knowledge on how all the correlating body parts of a horse connect. What I love and trust most about the vets I work with is their ability to do a full body evaluation of our horses and their mechanics, something I seek to further understand.
A horse person I admire is… McLain Ward. Not only is his longstanding success commendable, but also his ability to assemble a great team, keep a clean and organized barn, and create a great atmosphere to help manufacture achievement.
Something my students always hear me say is… focus on building your connection. Your connection is your leg, your seat, and your hand, which creates good energy, power, and balance. Use feeling to create, maintain, and manage this while blending with good position and you can do just about anything.
My go-to music at the barn is… country music. Something I believe the horses like and everyone for the most part can agree on and enjoy.
I’m never without… a watch. I am a firm believer in a strong daily schedule–knowing where and when things should be happening. Keeping a steady flow to the day and trying to stay timely and on schedule helps maintain a positive environment for everyone on the team and the horses.
The biggest thing this sport has given me is… the opportunity to respect when things don’t go exactly as planned. Show jumping is such a humbling sport; we lose so much more than we win and sometimes from the tiniest mistakes. When faced with adversity, I have a calm mindset and a strong understanding of how to always keep learning and striving to be better.
Something I aim to give back to the sport is… helping guide young professionals. I’ve been able to work with and learn from some great horsemen, coaches, and grooms. We all see this world and sport in our own lens and helping young professionals navigate their way through it is something I am always willing to do.
On Mondays you’ll find me… playing golf. It helps me stay mentally strong, in tune with mechanics, and keeps me outdoors. I find so many similarities in golf and show jumping, and I feel it helps me stay sharp with riding and training.
My favorite training exercise for horses is… gymnastics. It’s a great way for horses to learn how to use themselves, get stronger, and improve jumping technique. There are endless dimensions and combinations you can build to help your horse be more athletic and competitive.
My favorite training exercise for riders is… also gymnastics. It’s great for riders to be able to work on their position and balance on take off, in the air, and on landing without having to worry too much about a specific distance.
My advice for young equestrians is… to “apply it.” Apply what you feel while flatting to your jumping. Apply your mistakes to the next round. Apply what you study to your riding. Take in as much as you can and put it towards your next second in the saddle. We never stop learning in this sport and our horses are always feeding us information, so it’s our job to put ourselves in a position to anticipate what they may think or do.
If I wasn’t an equestrian I would be… a teacher or a coach for another sport. I love teaching and sport. I love having the ability to inspire and push people to be better than their best. I believe it’s an added bonus I get to work with animals on top of already being able to do these things.
My favorite horse show is… WEF because… Although I love to travel, I also like being in one place for longer periods of time. More importantly, Wellington is great because you get to experience an amazing level of sport every day. People from all over travel to Wellington for some of the world’s best show jumping, which creates an unparalleled atmosphere where you can watch first hand some of the sport’s best athletes warm up and compete.
My motto is… practice like you play. To a certain degree, it is important to keep yourself familiar with the feeling of what you are trying to create in the show ring. There are exceptions, but whether you’re flatting or jumping, you should feel comfortable feeling like you are being judged or on the clock. We only get 90 to 120 seconds in the ring and that can be limited to only one time a day while showing. Anything we can do to prepare ourselves for that moment, the better.
