I sit and write this while on a plane home from another horse shopping adventure abroad. Leslie is spending another few days over there looking for more, so, lucky me, I got to spend four hours this morning waiting for my time to board. Thanks be to God there was free WIFI in the airport so I got to hunker down and troll the internet, which I have not really had opportunity to do for a few days.

I was reading a story about the Young Event Horse Championships at Fairhill, which led me to a comment on the story. Then another click led me somewhere else, which in the end led me into that sometimes stinky dark gossip place that is the Chronicle chat boards. I try to stay away from that chat board as, while, admittedly, there are at times some very interesting and intelligent discussions that go on there, often it makes my skin crawl. As I read the rants and raves of SOME self-proclaimed ‘professionals’ I envision either 50-year-old, 300-pound, cat ladies that rode 25 years ago at the novice level miserably, or 20-year-old YR wannabees that think they know it all just because they once trained an OTTB to prelim level, and I have to slowly turn the computer off and back out of the room before I do something really stupid like reply to their insane comments.

The thread that got me all twitchy today was how some breeders (I assume they were breeders, I mean, they SAID they were breeders, but for sure they could be the aforementioned cat ladies) had their knickers in a twist because foreign-bred horses won the young event horse finals for both four- and five-year-olds. They were upset and suggested that there be a separate and additional award given to horses bred here in North America. I can see people being upset that American horses did not win, but certainly they should be upset out of shame? Perhaps out of disappointment? But these people were jealous and vindictive on the one hand against the poor imported creature, and on the other hand they reminded me of those crazy schools I toured for my son that wanted to give prizes and commendations to all kids despite whether they could count properly or even get their shirt on the right way. Oh and btw… how about being upset that as well the two star and three star winners were also foreign-bred?

Why should the American-bred horse get an award if they are anything outside of the usual award placings for YEH? To give American breeders a boobie prize? To make them feel better? We are not truly that pathetic are we? The gripers on the board protest that the winning YEH are not necessarily the ones that will go on and I do agree with that, but usually that comes down to the almighty dollar and the fact that many go on to get sold into amateur hands (as did Leslie’s that won a few years back now) and this is a problem that plagues many countries, not just our own.

Others complain that many of the winners are just what I like to call ‘Flashers’, ones that over jump and move like dressage horses, with little blood in their pedigree and indeed I have made that comment myself over the years, but that has more to do with the judging criteria than the ‘who bred what’ question.

I get so sick of listening to people bemoaning the purchasing of foreign-bred horses because you know what? I DONT WANT TO FREEZE MY BUTT OF IN THE UK IN OCTOBER! But we cannot easily find these horses in this vast country of ours. If you are breeding and owning a top rate five-year-old at this moment, one that is 50% or more blood, one that is very well produced (meaning is well started on the flat and I can jump it around a few fences over 3’3”, meaning it has traveled off your farm before and hacked down roads and fields) and you are selling it for under $50,000, I am going to tell you something right now…YOUR MARKETING SUCKS! I have no idea where you or your horses are, as I have never heard of you or seen your horses. The only person I am aware of that is breeding a real supply and producing these sorts of horses is Ms. Mars, and as far as I know hers are not often for sale. So while you sit behind your computers and bemoan the lack of recognition you deserve for your young horses I challenge you to this…WHERE ARE YOUR HORSES?

Someone stated that things were the way they were due to the ‘romance’ of the European trip. I can assure you that for Leslie and I there is no romance any longer in our UK trips. They are no more romantic than when a doctor goes in for a shift after a SARS virus hits town … something they probably idealized as very ER-like in their youth, but now only think of how long it is going to be before they get into their own bed or when they would get a proper meal again or see their kids. The other day we drove for 11 hours in one day and between drives got to step out into lovely, grey, raining sideways, English weather to shiver over tea cups and watch horses go around with their tails clamped down and ears back all day. I must have said to Leslie at least four times how he must thank God every day that I saved him from that wretched land and brought him to Florida where the sun shines and they know how to make you a good cup of coffee. Anyways, I digress…but what I mean to say is that I would love to stay in this country and do my buying here.

Either one of two things is happening. Either the breeders here are not breeding good enough horses as event prospects (and believe me, plenty in Europe do not breed good enough either) OR, the good ones are getting sold into other equestrian facets instead of eventing. But, either way, I have no clue how that gives people the right to bitch and moan about the lack of American-bred at the championships. If you are not breeding good enough horses, get better, if you are selling them into the jumper world, then good for you. But if you want them to show up at a YEH championship then here is what you have to do…

1. Breed a good one.
2. Get it broke properly.
3. PRODUCE IT or sell it to someone good who will. At some point between completing point 2 and the horse turning 5, either send it to a professional to be produced OR, call up professionals and say, “Hey, I believe I have a top class horse here for sale and I am going to send you video of it being ridden and jumping and you are going to want to buy it.” And certainly if you have what you think you have, someone good will buy it. But you must produce it first to the point where it can show itself off enough for us to want to buy it. That is what the Europeans do very well. They break them nicely and have them started very well. Don’t expect people to run out and purchase your horses as yearlings from you, as while some will, I, amongst others I am sure, cannot afford that luxury.

Some think it is madness, or expense beyond reason to buy expensive four- and five-year-olds, but I will challenge them that it is madness or expense beyond reason to buy yearlings. For one thing, you need to buy a few to find the one that you know as a four- or five-year-old is what you want to own, as you cannot look at a yearling and know what it is going to transform into in four years, how it will develop physically, how it will move under tack, what kind of work ethic it will have. Maybe there are some gurus out there that can do that kind of future telling, but I sure can’t. Most do not want to buy unbroke babies, so before you breed the next Sam be prepared to please produce it to the extent that it can show itself off to the next Mikey Jung for purchase.

If you really are hardworking, thoughtful breeders as you claim to be on the boards, please do not throw stones as the imported horses that are more successful than yours or the clearly wise riders/owners whom purchased them. Sour grapes are never becoming and please don’t insult everyone with the notion of a prize for American horses even if they were not in the top five, as that just reeks of a pat on the head for the slow kid that wasn’t able to quite win, but needs a gold star anyways.

And by all means, my email is very easy to find, when you have that stand out five-year-old please email us with video!