In 2005, Maloney was aiming to the make the Ontario Young Riders team with her Thoroughbred mare, Kiss My Tiara, when she suffered a devastating fall and broke her neck. Two years later, Maloney returned to riding with a fresh outlook and deeper understanding of the need for a safe horse and rider.
Today, Maloney is head coach at Tiara Equine in Stouffville, ON, where she specializes in coaching lower-level riders and training horses to be solid entry/pre-training eventers. In 2013, the Ontario Equestrian Federation named her Coach of the Year.
Here’s what she has to say about her own experience, and how riders can reduce the risk of injury, or recover from a bobble, on the cross-country course.
“The day of my fall, I’d had a bad jump at fence four. It threw me off my rhythm. The jump where I fell was a bounce later on course. My mare refused the first jump, and when I re-presented, she jumped large, then crashed into the second jump. I’d ridden the course before with no issue, I was fit, I had good coaching, I knew my horse well and she had never had a stop on cross-country before. Sometimes you have to pay attention to the warning signs that it’s not going to be your day.
Dealing with Hiccups
I find there are two types of event riders: those who love cross-country and are brave and aren’t rattled by a hiccup; or those who get nervous and start kicking or overriding. The fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants types need to take a second to think about what went wrong and how to correct it, then move on. The second types need to take a deep breath, repeat a little mantra to remind themselves what to do, and not let it negatively influence the rest of their ride.
If cross-country is making you fearful, you may not have the right horse, the right coach or even the right discipline. You also have to look at your goals and determine whether your coach’s specialty is in line with them, and whether he or she is respectful of your goals. You need regular lessons, not just coaching at shows. When you are on a budget you might be tempted to skip lessons to afford to show, but don’t.
People get too goal-driven – don’t be in a rush or feel pressured to upgrade. You should have jumped the majority of the courses in the province solidly at one level before you upgrade.
Warning Signs
Pay attention to the subtleties. Is your horse normally forward out of the box and isn’t today? Is he taking you to the jumps or sucking back? Have you been in the sun all day and are not feeling great? Is the footing good, or has it rained and your horse is sliding and losing confidence? There’s no shame in pulling up and calling it a day. Some people feel “I have to finish” no matter what.
If you are getting eliminated and having refusals, take it seriously and rethink your show plan. Maybe you need more lessons, as something may be missing in your training.
Cross-train. I take lessons with Peter Gray (eventing), Sally Sainsbury (jumping) and Jessica Costello (dressage). I run clinics for my students all winter with different clinicians, as I believe the more opinions you can get, the better.
Get the best safety equipment you can get – buy an air vest, even if you compete at the lower levels. Don’t spare expense when it comes to having safe, approved equipment.”
