Carla Diewert is the winningest rider of Thunderbird Show Park’s spring series. But it’s her school-to-win strategy when the bell rings to signal the start of the 45-second countdown timer that she credits for her success in the ring.
“People always are in a rush when they get in there. I’m paying for this 45 seconds to school the horses properly in the ring and I’m going to use that time,” she explained.
“I show [my horses] the whole ring and I look at the clock to make sure that I cross the timers in time. But I might as well use my 45 seconds because both of my horses are quite spooky, actually. And then once they see everything, then they’ve got it dialled [in]. Then they’re really good.”