Horse Connection

Geoff Young

During the last spring show at the Oaks in San Juan Capistrano, I had an opportunity to have dinner with three women who represent a generation of equestrians whose lives and careers have been molded by a hard work ethic that has led to success.

Their passion and love for the sport and the horse industry was apparent as we began to talk; and over a wonderfully relaxed dinner of wine, artichokes, and seared ahi tuna (it is California after all), these three women expressed their concerns, hopes and advice for the future of horse sport in this country.

Joie Gatlin, the San Juan Capistrano show jumper, whose father was a stuntman for classic Hollywood westerns, and mother was 1962 Miss Rodeo America, represented the United States at the FEI World Cup Finals in Las Vegas. She has won numerous grand prix and is one of the leading competitors on the national show jumping circuit. She and her husband Morley Abey run their own training and showing business.

Liz Denny has spent better than 18 years in the horse industry, and was part of the staff of renowned professionals Jimmy Williams and Susan Hutchison at the famous Flintridge Riding Club. After many achievements as a junior rider in hunters, jumpers, and equitation, Liz was named the 1992 PCHA Reserve Rookie Grand Prix Rider of the Year. She currently runs her own training business and still competes in grand prix events.

Jami Jensen is an accomplished amateur rider who competes at grand prix level, but her contribution to the sport goes beyond the show ring. Jami is one of the influential sporthorse breeders in the U.S. Her breeding facility and farm in Colorado are well-known and she has elevated the quality of horses in this country with her outstanding bloodlines, one of which is the stallion, Accord III.

Despite the growing popularity of show jumping, there has to be a way to generate more interest in the sport. How do we do that? That is the first question I posed to the women.

Jami – “ In Europe, horseshows are the number three sport and are televised. Here in the US, we’re somewhere behind bowling. Maybe we need more excitement, like having more Las Vegas World Cup qualifiers with people flying off horses and rolling around in the dirt.” This brought much laughter as we all recalled the last Vegas World Cup.

Joie – “When you have a speed class, people get into it more because it’s more exciting, so I think that’s part of it. I think if you take as an example Spruce Meadows where they give out free hot dogs on Friday nights to encourage people to come out and watch. It works, that place is packed. That’s where sometimes I think show management misses out. Sure, it might cost them $5,000 to give out free hot dogs and soda, but they’ll fill the stands and they’ll get that investment back in other ways. That’s one way we differ with shows in the states. Jami is right. In Europe, horseshows are on TV all the time. I was in San Patriano, Italy, at the number one horse show in the world. I jumped clean in the Grand Prix, and the guy whose place I was laying up at in Belgium was watching on TV and called my husband Morley in California. Morley knew I had gone clean before I got out of the back gate! That is why the sport is lagging here - because we have no coverage. Every show manager here should go to Spruce Meadows or a top show in Europe and see what they do and bring some of those things back here.”

Since these women have been in the business for over twenty years, I asked them how the dynamics of the show business has changed since they started.

Liz – “There are so many more classes than there used to be, from short stirrups to low children’s beginners. Back in my day you went to schooling shows until you were good enough to go to an “A” show. Now, there seem to be more “A” shows than schooling shows.”

Joie – “There are so many more shows now and people show so much more now.”

Jami – “I’m an amateur and if I’m tired or not feeling well I might not do an additional class, but the professionals go week after week after week. To maintain that kind of mental sharpness is tough.”

Joie – “It’s turned into such a big business that we don’t have the time we used to have to develop good young riders and develop our own young horses. You just want to go show and win that year-end award.”

Liz – “Another thing is that the kids don’t do all of their own riding these days. We rode our own horses, not our trainers. You have to learn to ride through problems in order to be a capable rider instead of riding horses that are well schooled all the time.”

HC – “It’s important for a rider’s development to work out those problems on their own, isn’t it?”

Jami – “That’s the part of the sport where you have to want it bad enough to put in the time on your horse.”

Joie – “That’s where our industry could see some problems down the road with young professionals spending so much time showing instead of developing their horsemanship.”

HC – “So it’s more about getting the ribbons?”

Joie – “I think it is but it’s getting difficult for the horses as well. The courses now are so difficult and technical – the jumps can’t be bigger than 4’6” so they make the course tricky. It takes a rider with experience, someone who has been to World Cups or jumped a Grand Prix.”

Liz – “What we have to do is simplify it because the basics are so important. Yes, there are trends and things change, but the basics remain the same.”

Jami – “I was really surprised – I had some young amateurs who were next to me at the show and they really didn’t know how to take care of their horses. One girl’s horse got out of the stall and was wandering around and she didn’t know what to do. I said to her, ‘get a halter and put it on him and get him back in the stall.’”

Liz – “Kids really need to be forced to do these things with their horses.”

Joie – “And that’s the horsemanship part of it.”

HC –“So, after all of the years that you three been involved in the industry, do you see a different trend?”

Liz – “People want to go clear and faster and there seems to be more of an instant gratification thing, but you have to pay dues. You can’t be young and experienced. You can be talented, but you have to develop it.”

HC – “This instant gratification is a trend our whole society seems to be immersed in.”

Joie – “Another aspect of our sport is that it has become quite a service industry. That’s the way my business is. We provide a service –full grooming, full everything. Everyone is so busy now. Our ladies show up and need to ride by ten because they need to leave at eleven. That’s just the way it is now.”

Jami – “Many don’t even know their horses anymore - really know them.”

Liz – “There isn’t enough time spent in the barn just being around the horse.”

Joie – “It’s not what we did as kids. It’s really up to the trainers now to manage the physical well-being and soundness of the horse.”

Jami – “Grooms now are responsible for so much more than they used to be with taking care of the horses. It’s a big profession now.”

Joie – “I don’t call them grooms, I call them ‘horse care professionals’ because the good ones are incredible. They are part of my team and they share in the victories.”

HC – “Who will take the reins of this industry into the future?”

Jami – “I think there are a few out there that want it bad enough, but maybe they don’t have the money to do it, and they will have to scrape and do whatever it takes to make it.”

Liz – “We tend to have riders who can afford to do the sport but are not necessarily the most talented. And then there are the ones who work so hard and have no support, and they become the workers in the industry even though they may have the superior skills. It’s a Murphy’s Law kind of thing.”

Joie – “What we have to do as older professionals is take the young riders, 18-21, out of the juniors, and we need to nurture them and teach them horsemanship. Why the vet does this and why the farrier does that, and why you need to have your horse so fit. It’s up to us to teach them how to take care of their horses, because without the horses we have no business.”

We finished up dinner and I couldn’t help but be so impressed with the passion and concern and genuine love these women have for horses and the horseshow industry. One doesn’t take the time to express concerns and advice about something that they don’t care about, and these women care very much. Joie and Liz summed it up perfectly.

Joie – “It’s a great sport and a great business and it’s how I’ve made my livelihood. I wouldn’t change it for anything. Sometimes when we say something critical about the sport, it’s because we care about it and want to make it better.”

Liz – “We teach a lot of things that are parallel to one’s life. You can learn from horses many things that you can take into your everyday life. Like your magazine, you have to work really hard and persevere and that makes it a better magazine. The same is true in our business. We believe that in order to go forward, just as it is with horses, everything needs to be positive!”

I couldn’t agree more.