It’s three and a half months until the Makeover, but who’s counting, right? Ha! But in all seriousness, this year of preparation and training with Salesman has just flown by. And writing these monthly updates just keeps sneaking up on me, making the months feel even shorter.

Courtesy of Kristina Hobbs

However, I am happy to report it has just been a fabulous journey with this boy. After his first event last month we have had our homework lined up pretty well with him. Of course, I’ve been continuing on with the flatwork and foundations – which seems to be a never-ending task with horses no matter the level – but I’m also focusing on improving adjustability in his canter. Salesman spends two to three rides a week still focusing on the flatwork, but we have started to tailor some of his flatwork to added adjustability for his jumping phases. That requires him making a lot of changes in stride length while staying soft and relaxed, adding the flying changes, and introducing lateral work to increase his suppleness. Some days, we  even add poles to his flatwork to relate it all to the jumping without over-jumping his legs. I think it’s very important to conserve horses’ legs at this level of training: we don’t jump big often, but we focus on rideability and technique until they are very solid at all of the basics. This makes the bigger fences easier when the time comes.

And last week I decided it was time! We put the course up around two feet and nine inches to get him to jump about what he will have to jump at the Makeover (with some even a little bigger) and boy, did he rock his jump school. He has become so rideable and adjustable, and the suppleness from all of the flatwork has allowed his body to relax over the fences as well, leading to an improvement his technique. Not only did he jump lovely, but he also brought his flying changes forward into the course work without missing a single one. I’m thrilled with this because normally young horses will miss them pretty consistently. In courses for the first month or two, you try adding them before they get really solid at landing and re-balancing quickly enough to get the change done.

In addition to Salesman’s normal work at home, my 3-year-old son now thinks Salesman is his horse and loves to come out early in the morning and hop on with mommy to cool him out. And of course give Salesman his treats!

Mom, son, and Salesman. (Courtesy of Kristina Hobbs)

This past weekend we took him out to a local hunter jumper club show at Valhalla in Aubrey, Texas. And he showed up like he was a total professional once again. As he warmed up and was so relaxed and easy I had to remind myself it was really only his second horse show. It blows me away just how calm, cool and collected he is in new environments. He schooled the course with more confidence than he has in the past and handled his first big scary indoor very well. We stepped him up a level to jump around a little bigger course than his last show and he didn’t bat an eye. He still wants to know I’m there and needs support from the rider, but he’s gaining more and more confidence every time he goes out. I was thrilled with how rideable he was, staying connected and in a lovely rhythm the whole way around. He added his changes, even if they were a bit sticky at times, and jumped around cleanly, bringing home a blue ribbon in one class!  I was impressed re-watching the videos at how much better he started jumping towards the end of the course as he learned how to rock back and lift in the shoulder at the deeper distances. He has found this quick part off the ground that is going to set him apart from others.

So what’s next on the agenda? While I am leaning towards re-routing this guy to strictly Show Jumper competition at the Makeover, I plan to take him out cross country once more later in the month. This is not only to see where he’s at, but also because I think it just makes horses better to go out and jump solid fences out of a bigger step. It keeps their minds and bodies a bit fresher and more careful. After that, we will likely head back to Texas Rose Horse Park where we went in May and do a jumper show there as well – I maybe will even let him do a hunter course or two! Then we will finalize what he will do in Kentucky and plan his last two months accordingly.

Ideally, all will go great and he can have a more laid back and relaxed August where we just maintain the training, and do more gymnastics-related work to clean up his technique a little more, but let him rest a bit so he is fresher for the Makeover. The Texas heat can really drain these guys after a full spring of training and learning to compete in their new jobs, on top of their bodies going through soreness as they get fit in a new way to do these disciplines. Because of this, I find that letting them take it easy and not overdo it in August is best. Overall, I think if we had to go to Kentucky next week I’m fully confident in this boy’s ability to step up to the plate and perform. I’m so excited to put all of these few little detail pieces together and let him gain some more experience and confidence in the next few months – and then show him off in October!

The Jockey Club supports many aftercare initiatives including the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, the only accrediting body in aftercare, and Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.), which encourages the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon completion of careers. View all of the initiatives supported by The Jockey Club.