Coined as the “World Championship of Colt Starting”, the Road to the Horse competition brings together a few elite horse trainers every year to compete and showcase their skills and talents. For attendees — who are able to actually meet and talk to the competitors and witness them in action — this unique event is both an exhibition and an educational experience.
This year, the format has changed from three to four trainers competing against each other to three teams with two members each, competing for top honours. This new format allows for trainers to use their partners for guidance and support throughout the competition. The three partnerships consist of Team Australia, Team USA and Team Canada. It is a landmark year for the “Great White North” — this is the first time any Canadian has competed at the Road to the Horse International.
Two renowned trainers and clinicians — Jonathan Field and Glenn Stewart — will represent Canada at the competition. Both are based in British Columbia and have had extensive careers, in Canada and abroad, teaching clinics and starting colts. Both have built their programs around the principles of natural horsemanship. “My goal is to instil confidence, respect and understanding between horse and human,” explains Stewart, who counts his mentor, Pat Parelli, as a major influence in his career. Field was born into a horse loving family and grew his business out of a desire to achieve a better connection with his horses. Both trainers were surprised but excited to get the call to compete at the Road to the Horse International.
“I was in Fort Saskatchewan when I got the call,” Field says. “When I was asked if I would represent Canada at this competition, of course I said, ‘Yes!’ It is such an honour to be able to represent your country.” For Stewart, the competition presents such a tremendous learning opportunity that he could not turn down the offer. “It will probably be one of the biggest learning curves of my life,” he says. “An opportunity like this doesn’t come up everyday either — the competition is out of my comfort zone but that is where you find the pressure to do better and learn more.”
The competition opens with the colt selection process — one of the most important decisions the clinicians will have to make. Out of 10 geldings, provided by the historic Four Sixes Ranch of Texas, each competitor will get to see the horses move freely in a herd and may consult his partner in the selection process. Once the horse has been selected only that clinician may touch his horse. His partner can offer guidance and advice throughout the competition but is banned from making physical contact with his partner’s mount. Two round pen sessions follow for each clinician and the competition culminates in a mounted obstacle course that competitors must complete with their colt. Each section is scored by the judges to determine the winning team. Of course at the end there is also a “twist” — a challenge unknown to any of the competitors that they may chose to accept for bonus points.
So what will Team Canada be looking for in the colt selection? “I’ve been pondering this and there are just so many ways to approach it,” laughs Stewart. “I think I will try to pick (a horse) that stays in the middle of the herd, but also looks like he has confidence. Bravery is a good quality in a horse — if you can get it to work for you. I want to pick a horse that I would want to ride, however I have to keep the fact that I have only four hours to start him and complete an obstacle course in the back of my mind.” With regard to the colt selection process, there is one other concern for Stewart: “I have to admit that I’m a fool for pretty,” he adds with a chuckle.
The round pen sessions are where the real work begins, and where clinicians lay the groundwork in anticipation of riding their colt over strange obstacles after just a few hours of training time. Although every horse and situation is different, in an ideal world, Field would like to have a few things accomplished at the end of the first session. “I would like to have the horse leading nicely, yielding each body part to pressure, probably have the saddle on and off. If things are going really well I would hope to have the girth tightened and the horse cantering around saddled. My goal is for the horse to leave the first session still feeling confident about what happened in there.”
Preparation for the Road to the Horse started early for both Stewart and Field. The time limit placed on the training process at the competition will present the biggest challenge for both — a very different reality than training at home. “This summer we did a ride out into the mountains where there are some wild horses and I usually do a few colt starting demonstrations,” explains Stewart. “In preparation for the competition I chose the wildest broodmares I could find and decided to start them keeping the time limit in mind — I called it the ‘Road to the Horse Special,’” Stewart laughs.
Both trainers agree on what will likely be the hardest aspect of the competition. “For me it will be letting go of the fact that there are 8,000 people and media there watching you,” says Field. “You have to stay present and focused on your horse.” Stewart added that “you have to be paying complete attention to your horse and not get sidetracked. Also, you have to be planning ahead always, thinking about what you have to accomplish mounted on this horse on the final day.”
The Road to the Horse International runs March 9-11, 2012 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Past winners include such elite trainers as Josh Lyons, Clinton Anderson and Stacy Westfall. One competitor from Team USA is none other than Pat Parelli, mentor to both Field and Stewart. So how do they feel about competing against someone who guided their learning through the years? “It will be so great to compete against all those guys of that calibre,” says Stewart. “It’s exciting,” adds Field. “I will actually just be so honoured to be there and I look up to Pat so much. This is an event and an opportunity I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
