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Aug 03, 2020
USEA Podcast #263: Producing a Young Horse
Joining USEA Official Podcast host Nicole Brown this week is five-star rider Lauren Nicholson (née Kieffer) and legendary groom and USEA President Max Corcoran for an episode all about producing young horses and how to can give them the best possible start to their career.
Nicholson came to work for David and Karen O’Connor when she was 17 years old and has spent the last 15 years bringing hundreds of horses along in their barn and for Jacqueline Mars’ program which breeds and produces horses from the ground up. Corcoran also spent over a decade on the O'Connor Eventing Team grooming and working with the young horses, so as Nicholson said to start off the podcast, “Most of my education for young horses came from working for David and Karen O’Connor and Max, so this should be a good episode.”
Questions covered in the podcast include:
- What do you look for in a young horse? Breeding, temperament, conformation, etc.
- How do you start their education?
- What are your favorite exercises for teaching balance in a young horse?
- How do you introduce jumping?
- When do you give your young horse breaks?
- What are your classic signs of a horse going through a growth spurt?
- What can you do at home to make sure your horse is ready for his first event?
Nicholson and Corcoran are a wealth of knowledge and discuss everything from why they start horses in a rope halter to the importance of good feet to using ponying as an emergency brake to exercises for starting jumping and more.
They end with each sharing their top three tips for laying good foundations with your young horses, but these are just a teaser for an episode you don’t want to miss!
Nicholson’s top three tips:
- Treat them like horses in the beginning
- No timeline for a young horse –some horses are ready for YEH Championships and some horses can’t trot a crossrail.
- Get them out a lot without an agenda.
Corcoran’s top three tips:
- If you aren’t comfortable doing this yourself find someone to help you.
- Be very patient
- If you have a horse that isn’t going to work out, it is okay to be honest with yourself.
Subscribe to the USEA Official Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PodBean, or Stitcher, or click below to listen in!
Jan 27, 2022
Advertise
USEA Media Kit and USEA Sponsorship Packet now Available for 2022!
Interested in tapping into the audience of three-day eventing? Consider partnering with the United States Eventing Association (USEA) in 2022! The USEA is a non-profit 501 C (3), which serves as the national association for the Olympic equestrian sport of three-day eventing.
Jan 26, 2022
Instructors
Position, Balance, and Aids: Three Core Topics Covered in the USEA Eventing Handbook by the Levels
Whether you are a rider preparing for a move-up or a trainer looking to ensure your training program is well-rounded, the soon-to-be released USEA Eventing Handbook by the Levels is the go-to guide to assist you in navigating key decisions. Lucky enough, attendees of the 2022 USEA Instructors’ Certification Program (ICP) Symposium at Barnstaple South Farm in Ocala, Florida on February 8-9 will be the first people outside of the those involved in its creation to access this passion project that the ICP Committee has put two years of research and hard work into developing.
Jan 25, 2022
Volunteers
2021 USEA Volunteer of the Year: Cynthia Smith and Her Record-Breaking Year
In 2021 Cynthia Smith recorded 536 hours and 59 minutes of volunteer time, setting the standard with the most amount of volunteer hours recorded in a single year since the creation of the USEA Volunteer Incentive Program in 2016. The record-breaking number of volunteer time earned Smith the 2021 USEA Volunteer of the Year title.
Jan 24, 2022
Leaderboard
The USEA Lady Rider of 2021 is Leading the Charge in Elevating Eventing Competition on the West Coast
Tamie Smith’s year has been nothing short of action-packed as she packed up all 25 of her competition horses and made her way to the East Coast for the first part of the year before hopping on a jet to Tokyo where she served as the U.S. team reserve for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She then stayed overseas and competed abroad for a little while before returning home to the West Coast. While this year has been full of opportunities to show, her aspirations are bigger than just competition. The 2021 Bates USEA Lady Rider of the Year has been full steam ahead chasing goals in both her riding career as well as in her impact on the sport’s future.
