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Part seven in a series on preparing for your first three-day event.
In this series Ashley Adams, assistant trainer to Bonnie Mosser at Point Above Farm, offers advice to riders preparing for their first three-day event. Ashley is currently preparing her Thoroughbred gelding Vaunted for their second time competing at the Rolex Kentucky three-day event.
I don’t know another rider that doesn’t get just as nervous for the trot-up as the rest of the competition; it’s just as big a part of it as the dressage, show jumping, or cross-country. Before the trot-up try to keep the horse “in a bubble” as much as you can; I remember one time when poor Karen O’Connor had a horse step on its heel on the way to the jog!
Typically it goes numerically and takes about a minute a horse; you want to head down about 15 minutes beforehand, so look at the schedule and count about fifteen horses before your horse is scheduled to trot. I put boots on the horse to protect the legs while I warm him up. I like to have someone there with me, be it my coach or a friend to watch the horse trot while I’m warming up. I’ll go in a circle both directions, walk and halt and make sure he’s paying attention to me. You want the horse moving forward, not dragging him along, which can affect the outcome of the trot-up as well. You want to position yourself next to the shoulder. I like to keep my shoulder at the point of Vaughn’s shoulder, I’m lucky that since he’s an OTTB he learned to trot young and he trots very straight.
The biggest thing is that all horses trot up differently, just like they have different jumping styles, so it’s rare that you can jog one horse like another. Some like to trot with their heads straight in the air, some with their heads low. I think it’s important to have your coach, vet, and farrier help you practice. It’s also important to have your horse trot in a bridle for practice just like at the competition. Your coach might comment on your position; the farrier might talk about how when you make the turn you need to keep the horse straight because your horse travels wide behind, or something like that; the vet might tell you if the horse moves better when it goes faster or slower.
When I trot Vaughn I can hear his footsteps better than I can see if he’s even. You’re the one who will be trotting the horse and need to listen for the sound of even footfalls when your horse trots.
During the veterinary inspection you will stand in front of the grand jury, positioned in front of the horse, facing the horse, with your hands on both reins as they walk around the horse and check for blemishes or abnormalities. Then face forward with the horse and take 2-5 steps of walk before you start trotting. It’s important for riders to make sure they’re straight as well as the horse. I’ll pick a point in the distance, like a tree or a post or the flowers at the end of the trot strip, and trot straight to it – don’t take your eyes off it.
It’s also good to know whether you need to carry a whip: some horses spook at their surroundings, some don’t. Bonnie carries a whip with Murry because he gets behind her but I can’t carry one with Vaughn or he’ll run away with me!
I always bring my horse back to the walk approximately two to three steps before the end of the jog strip, turn the horse to the right, get straight again and then trot again. It’s important to remember when you turn the horse to the right you don’t want to rush. Just like in the dressage, give yourself plenty of time to make a good presentation and show your horse off. Take your time and allow the horse to take equal, even steps, and pick another point in the distance; this time you will trot past the ground jury and pull up at the end of the jog strip and continue to walk off – don’t pull them to a halt. Make it very smooth; the flow is just as important as making sure their socks are white and all that jazz.
Once you understand how your horse trots and what your horse needs from you, you can also decide what bridle the horse needs to go in – or you can use a jog chain, though they’re not as common nowadays. One advantage in using a bridle is that if you have two reins you can manipulate the horse’s head placement to encourage straightness. I usually just use my dressage bridle to trot up and I put a flash on because that’s what my bridle has, but some horses go better without a flash–it’s trial and error. I could trot Vaughn in a jog chain because he tends to trot straight so I can let him have a looser rein, while Murry trots with his shoulder out a bit so Bonnie needs to have the rein to keep him straight.
Again, it really helps to practice the jog on a regular basis. Typically at a big event barn you’ll do a Monday morning trot-up to make sure all of the horses are sound. Maybe you could trot your horse at your weekly lesson with your coach watching, which is convenient and helpful. You don’t really want to pay a field call for your vet to come out and watch your horse jog every week. When we trot the horses out at Bonnie’s I always volunteer because it’s good for a little extra fitness, too – then I can have an extra donut!
Check back on Friday when Ashley suggests a few fun trot-up fashion and turnout do’s and don’ts for you and your horse!
Links:
http://www.bonniemosser.com/pages/AshleyAdams.html
Ashley’s Fan Page on Facebook – become a fan!
Ashley’s Blog
