Talking with Terrance: Equitation – the weak link?

Millar sees a growing disconnect between the grass roots and elite sport, and he believes one of the weakest links is the equitation division.

HS: The March issue of Horse Sport featured an interview with George Morris, in which he identifies equitation and hunters as an obstacle to developing show jumping talent in the US. Do his views align with yours?

TM: They do. After reading George’s article, I may sound as though I am parroting him, but my friends and acquaintances know I’ve been harping on this topic for the last three or four years.

HS: In general terms, what is the problem in Canada right now?

TM: I feel that we have a real shortage of jumper riders coming through the ranks. This will be reflected in a growing shortage of riders to represent Canada in the future, both at the Young Rider and senior levels. Canada used to be very well-represented at NAJYRC. We used to put teams together from the provinces or co-mingle the provinces, but we always had strong representation. We have won individual and team gold medals in the Young Rider and Junior divisions at NAJYRC. In the last year or two we haven’t been able to field any Young Rider teams from eastern Canada, and last year we had not even one individual. I see that trend continuing.

In Florida this winter at the inaugural Young Rider Nations’ Cup – even though half of eastern Canada was showing in Wellington – we would not have been able to put together a team if three riders from Alberta had not been committed enough to fly in, in spite of being in the midst of circuit at Thermal. And what’s even more concerning is that it wasn’t as if we could put a group of names together to choose from; these were the only combinations available.

Fortunately, the small number of riders we do have are very good. Our Young Rider team in Wellington placed a strong second. On our inaugural European Young Rider tour last spring, our team attended two shows and had some super results, including Ben Asselin winning the Young Rider Grand Prix at the second show. In Wellington they also had a Junior Nations’ Cup, open to riders between 14 and 18 years of age. We struggled to put together a three-rider team at the last minute, and they were eliminated. In the Children’s Nations’ Cup (up to 14 years) we couldn’t get even an individual. This is a tragic reflection of the realities of where we are in developing our future jumper talent.

HS: Why do you think it has come to this, with so few young jumper riders in the country?

TM: I want to point to two main factors: firstly, the equitation division, and secondly the hunter division. Equitation has become a whole division rather than a class or two. It’s become an end in itself, rather than a means to an end, which used to be correct riding.

HS: Do you believe equitation should disappear?

TM: I don’t believe equitation should disappear, but it should be a couple of classes at a horse show, not a division in itself. It’s perhaps a radical suggestion, but equitation classes should be limited to riders 15 years of age and under. This doesn’t mean that the pursuit of proper form and the understanding of good flat work should be forgotten. Great riders keep working at these skills all their lives.

HS: So what are young riders being taught, if equitation has become an end in itself?

TM: What riders are asked to do seems to bear little relation to effective riding. In the equitation classes that involve jumping, improvisation is frowned upon, which stifles the development of instinctive riding and quick reactions. For instance, to add a stride is a punishable offence. Every horse is asked to do every line in a similar fashion. I remember watching the CET Medal Final at the Royal one year. A horse cross-cantered a few strides around the end of ring. The person beside me said ‘there’s that one blown.’ One could make the argument that you often see a jumper cross-canter around the end. Riding to a fence in cross-canter takes a fair amount of skill. Why should a rider lose the chance to place if the horse cross-canters? Equitation horses appear monotone, with every spark of life drilled out of them. A horse that jumps with a flat back is desirable in equitation, which is completely contrary to what a good jumper should do. I just don’t think this is healthy at all.

HS: You pointed out that the Young Rider team in Wellington in March had three riders from Alberta, a province that proportionately has the smallest amount of hunter and equitation activity in Canada.

TM: The future should be what Alberta is doing. Spruce Meadows has, by design, focused on jumpers almost from the beginning, which has inspired so many young riders to pursue the jumper discipline. It also bears mentioning that at the recent North American Riders Group (NARG) meeting in Wellington, the question was asked: where did hunters and equitation fit into NARG’s future? The answer is illuminating: NARG vice-president McLain Ward responded that NARG would be a jumper-only focused organization because the hunter world, and by extension equitation, had become very much separated from the jumper world.

HS: You have said you would like to see the age in the equitation division capped at 15 years. What else would you suggest as ways to grow the pool of young jumper riders?

TM: I think it would be very healthy if we were encouraging our young riders to participate in the jumpers at a much earlier age. In Europe, they have pony jumper classes that are full of kids having a lot of fun. They’re developing instincts and learning to ride against the clock. By the time they are 13 or 14 they are jumping 1.2-metre courses.

One of the more compelling arguments for introducing the jumpers to younger riders would be that many more boys would be attracted to the sport. Right now, junior divisions are almost devoid of male participants. I’d also like to see our rated shows have jumper competitions for young riders according to the FEI levels, starting with the pony division and including the Children’s, Junior and Young Rider divisions.

HS: The CET Medal series was created to nurture future jumping talent, but it sounds as though you don’t believe it’s fulfilling that mission. Why?

TM: The age limit for the CET Medal is 21 and under. I find that incomprehensible. There are always exceptions to the rule, such as Tiffany Foster, who has won the CET Medal Final and gone on to become a frequent member of the Canadian Team. Erynn Ballard is a classic example – a Maclay Medal winner and a winner of individual gold at NAJYRC. It’s also unusual these days to have riders who are at the top in both hunters and jumpers, which Erynn is. Laura Balisky is another example of a Maclay winner who became an Olympian.

The CET Medals have morphed into something they shouldn’t be, starting with the way they are judged. Another issue is the resources they eat up. People ‘need’ their equitation horse, and that costs lots of money. Heaven forbid that you would bring a young jumping horse to the medal finals.

The interest and enthusiasm for horse sport is growing exponentially – nowhere more so than in the hunter/jumpers. Canadians have always taken pride in the success of our international teams. In order to continue achieving this success, we need to examine the paths our top riders have taken in reaching their goals. We also need to ask why, while there are more participants at hunter/jumper shows than ever before, the pool of riders at the Junior and Young Rider levels is so small.