Jasen Shelley, a United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) hunter and jumper course designer, encourages riders at all levels to try a hunter derby, whether at a USEF-rated or local horse show.
“Course designers and judges are often looking for elements of a course that will help riders show off the best aspect of their mounts, whether that’s using a long gallop to showcase how efficiently a horse can cover ground while still meeting the fence out of stride, or utilizing a fence that is interesting [without being scary] to demonstrate how brave a horse is and how well he jumps,” says Shelley.
You can introduce your horse to jumps similar to those he might see in a derby class at home so that he won’t be startled when he comes across them in the show-ring. Shelley offers these ideas:
Back to Intro to the Hunter Derby >>
This article originally appeared in the July 2014 issue of Horse Illustrated. Click here to subscribe.
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