Making the Cut. An inside look at the selection process of a Clinton Anderson Performance Horse.

Transcription

1 Making the Cut An inside look at the selection process of a Clinton Anderson Performance Horse. Each spring, a group of colts bred for their outstanding bloodlines, conformation, athletic ability and willing dispositions start their training as Clinton Anderson Performance Horses. While each of the colts has been bred for a successful future in the show pen, the reality is that not all of them are going to live up to their potential, and I only have 10 training slots available, which means each year nearly half of the colts get fired from the program. In fact, by the time the colts reach their 3-year-old year, I ve whittled their class size down to three or four extremely talented athletes. Although they haven t been started under saddle yet, the colts included in the performance horse group have already been culled from a larger group. On average, each year I breed for 10 foals. Since I only have 24 - Making the cut

2 10 training slots available, I want to be sure I have the 10 best bred, conformationally correct, most trainable, and preferably, the prettiest horses to choose from. Let s say out of the 10 foals I breed, I really only like seven of them. I ll sell the ones I don t like and then buy three other yearlings at futurity sales that meet my criteria. That doesn t mean that the ones I sell are bad horses or won t turn out to be really good horses, it just means if I can only start 10 colts, I have to be really picky about what I keep and what I don t. If I had the manpower to start 30 colts a year, I would keep most of what I raise and try them all. It s just a numbers game, and I m trying to put the odds in my favor. What the Performance Horse Program Is Breeding, raising and training performance horses is a hobby for me and a lifelong passion. I can still remember the first time I watched a reiner gallop full-out down the arena, attack the dirt and melt into the ground as he slid to a stop. I couldn t wait to ride a horse like that someday, and now I look forward to sharing my passion for reining with my customers. Today, the only way I ll personally train a horse for someone is if they purchase one of my performance horses. Once a customer purchases a horse, we start a partnership where I train and compete the horse for them, and they take part in the horse s daily progress and success at shows. The bottom line is that fun is the name of the game for me. Don t get me wrong, I want to win, but winning and making money aren t my number one goals. This isn t what I do to make my living; it s what I do to get away from stress. In fact, I tell interested owners that if their goal is to make money, they need to run away from me like the plague and find a trainer who strictly trains for a living and is at the top of the game. Of course the negative to one of those trainers is that they take in a lot of horses. Rather than being a special customer, you compete against a dozen wealthy owners with very talented horses and you can get lost in the crowd very quickly. You re really going for fun. Look at owning a performance horse in the same way. Could you win a lot of money with your horse? Yes, but more than likely, you re not going to. Rather, this experience is about having fun, watching your horse progress in his training, going to futurities and cheering him on and socializing with other owners and trainers. Why Cuts Are Necessary Since the performance horse industry isn t how I make my living, it means I can be pickier in my criteria for what type of horse I train compared to other professional trainers. But, it also comes with a downfall. Because training top-level reining and working cow horses isn t how I make my living, I can t devout all of my time to developing potential prospects. My knowledge and talents are needed to help run Downunder Horsemanship, teach clinics, travel to tours, etc., and unlike professional trainers, I don t have the luxury of having three or four assistant trainers working for me. Instead, besides myself, Professional Clinician Shana Terry works with the performance horses. Because we re both involved with the running of Downunder Horsemanship, we don t have the time to ride 20 horses a day. Innovation I like to think of owning a performance horse like going to Vegas. When you go to Vegas, you know there s a pretty good chance you re not going to win any money. You could win a lot of money, but there s a good chance you won t. Owning a Clinton Anderson Performance Horse is the only way I ll personally train a horse for a customer. Rocky (Chics Dig Scars), a Quarter Horse stud by Smart Chic Olena out of Princess in Diamonds, is owned by David and Gina McGee. Summer No worries Journal 25

3 That s why we only start off with 10 colts and then cut that number down to three or four really outstanding athletes by the time they reach their 3-year-old year. That s important to do, because not only are we riding this year s 2-year-old performance horses, but we re also continuing to prepare the 3-yearolds for futurities. It s an ongoing cycle. Not only is our time a consideration, but I m also conscious of my customers money. On average, it costs $1,200 a month to keep a performance horse in training, which is industry standard. If I know a horse doesn t have the potential to perform at the top-level of his given discipline, I don t want to waste the owner s money or my time. When I send my horses to outside trainers, I appreciate their honesty when they tell me that a horse won t make the cut. If they call me up and say, Your horse isn t good enough, I thank them. Trainers are notorious for having what I call grocery money horses. Most professional trainers need to have anywhere between 25 to 35 horses in training in order to make a living. Reality is that at least half of those horses shouldn t be in training. They aren t talented enough, but the trainer has to have them to pay his bills. If he were brutally honest, he d only have about seven horses in training, but he d starve. I can be brutally honest with my customers because I don t make money in this industry. In fact, I actually lose money. For Shana and I to get paid $1,200 for each horse, it s a waste of our resources. We could make far more money by training Signature Horses or producing more DVDs, but this is our hobby and what we like to do. Narrowing the Field From the time a colt is started until the spring of his 3-year-old year, he has to survive five cuts: 1st cut after four weeks of riding. 2nd cut after eight weeks of riding. 3rd cut after 16 weeks of riding. 4th cut after 24 weeks of riding. 5th cut the spring of the 3-year-old year. When the training program gets harder and the pressure increases, we re looking for the horses that remain calm and collected like 3-year-old Brie (aka Hail of a Princess, Custom Crome x Princess in Diamonds). The ones that overreact and get hot are cut, because when it s all on the line and the pressure is on, those horses tend to fall apart Making the cut

4 After the First Four Weeks Innovation During the first four weeks that we start the colts and take them through the Fundamentals, we re looking for those that say, Pick me! Pick me! Basically, I m looking for the teacher s pet like the little boy or girl sitting at the front of the classroom, eyes on the teacher, hands folded, just begging to learn. I m not looking for the punk kid in the back of the class that I have to drag to the front and force him to do his homework and then eventually he doesn t mind coming to school every day. I m looking for the horses that are like sponges and want to learn. Now, if I had unlimited time to work with the horses, I wouldn t mind working with the punk in the back of the class; it would be a fun challenge, but the reality is I don t have enough time to do that. So, if after four weeks of riding we see a colt that s not easily trainable, doesn t have a desire to please and isn t a great student, we cut him straight off the bat. Does that mean he has no future as a performance horse? Not at all. We just don t have the time and resources to keep pushing him on in our program. These horses need to literally be screaming, Pick me! Pick me! At Eight Weeks We re still evaluating the horses on their willingness to please and their attitude to learn, but we re also starting to pay more attention to their athletic ability. By this stage, we re starting to ask the colts to turn around a little bit and beginning to work on the stop. The horses that aren t showing us that they have a natural ability to really stop hard get cut. In my experience training horses, I ve found that you can t make a horse want to stop; it s got to be in him. It s kind of like how a cow horse needs to be cowy or a hunter/ jumper has to want to jump. These horses have to have the desire and ability to do the discipline, otherwise, they won t enjoy their jobs and will never reach the level we need them to compete at. At this point, we re also testing their trainability a little more by putting more pressure on them asking them to collect more and move their five body parts better. We re really paying close attention to how soft and supple the horses are. I m looking for a horse that s like putty in my hands I When it comes to selecting my top performance horses, I m after those that are like the teacher s pet and scream Pick me! Pick me! Marty (aka Great Like Elvis, Wimpys Little Step x Homecoming Chic) is exactly the type of horse I m looking for. can move and bend his body any which way. Horses that are resentful about our hands and legs shaping and moving their body parts around get fired because to do well in our chosen disciplines, they have to be I m looking for the horses that are extremely soft and supple. I also want a horse that gets off the bit and isn t heavy in my hands. Where the horse naturally carries his head is important too. I m looking for a colt that keeps his head level with his withers, not way up high or dragging on the ground. If a horse naturally wants to keep his head level with his withers, which is the right look for reining, it ll be very easy for him. If he wants to hold like sponges and want to learn. Summer No worries Journal 27

5 Up and coming 2-year-old: Paparazzi Girl aka Fergie (Gallo Del Cielo x Princess in Diamonds) his head up high, it ll be much harder and unnatural for him to keep his head level with his withers and get the head carriage we re looking for. We re also starting to figure out which horses want to get hot and excited and which ones are mellower. I want my performance horses to be a little on the lazy side because when we add speed and start to run them hard, a naturally hot horse will get even hotter. I d rather be on a horse that you As the pressure increases and training have to kind of say, Come on, come on. Than be on a horse that you re saying, Oh man, slow down! Those horses that have a tendency to get hot often don t do well in the show pen because when it s all on the line and you increase the pressure, they get too hot and fall apart. gets harder, I m looking for those horses that still want to be at the front of the class. At 16 Weeks After four months of working with the horses, I have a pretty good idea of what I ve got and what I don t. At this point, I m looking for horses that have a very natural stop and turn and continue to be willing and soft. As the pressure increases and training gets harder, I m looking for those horses that still want to be at the front of the class. Of all the cuts, this is the most telling because, usually, if a horse survives this cut, there s a good chance he s going to go all the way. Basically, if I m still interested in riding a horse after four months, I really like him a lot. At 24 Weeks Only horses with a big stop are going to survive this cut. If you want to compete at the top level, you can t beat anybody without a big stop, and unfortunately, you can t train that into a horse. If a horse doesn t naturally want to stop and stick his butt in the ground, he gets fired. I ve tried to make horses work that don t stop naturally, but the results are inconsistent at best. One time the horse will show really well and the next time he ll let you down. We re also starting to put even more pressure on the colts now teaching them how to do lead changes and galloping on them. The more pressure you add, the more of a tendency they ll have of getting hot. So we re paying close attention to those horses that can handle the pressure and still remain calm and relaxed and those that get hot and lose their minds. There are some horses that seem 28 - Making the cut

6 really good minded when everything is what I call cutesy cutesy you re just riding around and having fun. But when you ask them to work a little harder, put in some overtime, they back off. This is where the great horses say, I still want to be on your team, and the average ones or slackers say, You know what, this is getting a little too tough for me. In fact, in a lot of ways, it s similar to employees. I have a great group of employees at Downunder Horsemanship, but about one out of every eight is the outstanding one. This is the person that I d go to if my house was on fire and I only had a garden hose to fight it with and the fire department wasn t showing up for another hour. We probably wouldn t save the house and there s a good chance we could get injured, but this person says, Let s go! They re the ones you keep no matter what, but the ironic part about these employees and horses is that they re zero maintenance. They never expect anything, never give you any stress, they re fun to be around and do their Innovation Up and coming 2-year-olds: CD Jackson aka Jackson (CD Lights x Shes Icing onthe Cat) Epic Surprise aka Lyle (Jerry Lees Surprise x Shine on Retsina) Summer No worries Journal 29

7 Up and coming 2-year-old: Reys Shining Spark aka Marshall (Shining Spark x Reys Starlight) jobs without being told. That doesn t mean the other seven aren t worth having around, but they re not going to go out and win the futurity for you either. At this point, my focus is on finding that superstar. This is the last cut of the horses 2-year-old year, and after this, I have the horses I m most excited about training and competing on. Spring of the 3-year-old Year When the horses enter their 3-year-old year, the training gets more rigorous and the pressure is building to step up to the plate. We re really seeing who has the heart to be a true champion. The horses are starting to get tired, the challenges are increasing and the training is becoming work. We re expecting them to be on their game every day, not every other day or when they feel like putting in the effort. At this stage, I always remember something Ian Francis told me once. He said, Every day I wake up with a little bit of an ache and pain in my back and in my knee, but I still give it my best. That s the attitude I m looking for in my horses. If they have a little ache or pain somewhere, do they suck it up and go, or do they quit? The ones that don t really want it get a little sore and tired and say, Hey man, I m done. I need a week off. Trainability Trumps Athletic Ability I will always overlook athletic ability in a horse in favor of trainability. If a horse is extremely trainable but lacks a bit of talent, I ll forgive him for that. But I can t forgive a horse that has phenomenal talent and no trainability. I ve had horses in my career that were absolutely outstanding talented individuals but had bad attitudes and no try. They were like an employee that wanted to cheat and steal from you. Every time you weren t looking, they had their hand in the register drawer stealing cash. I m looking for the kind of horse that s like the employee where you can go away on vacation and leave the keys to the safe with them and come back and there s not a penny missing. I value trainability and honesty way more than athletic ability and talent. I could win more on an average talented horse with a great mind than I could on a horse with great athletic ability but bad attitude. It s no different than employees. I would rather take an average employee with a great mind and upbeat attitude than a brainiac that is temperamental, doesn t follow direction well and isn t a team player. That type of attitude doesn t work around here for horses or humans Making the cut

8 It s like when we were filming the Fundamentals, Intermediate and Advanced series and Shana and I would be on set for 16 hours a day doing prep work, paper work and filming. Then we d ride our horses afterwards, and we might only get three hours of sleep before we d have to get up and do it all over again. But we both kept getting up and putting in our best efforts. I m looking for those horses. This is the stage where the really great horses start to shine. A Cut Isn t Total Failure It s important to understand that I m looking to compete at the world level against the top 20 or 30 reining trainers in the world, so my expectations are high. At that level, you have to have a great horse; an average horse just won t get the job done. And, if I can only ride three or four horses a day, I want to ride three or four of the best ones. Once a horse is cut from the Performance Horse program, he s cut. He doesn t get to come back into the program, but that doesn t necessarily mean he stops getting trained by us. If he s one of my horses, he ll likely become a Signature Horse. If he s owned by an outside person, I encourage the owner to first get a second opinion from another trainer about the horse s ability to compete at the top level. For example, one owner had a horse in for training and he was cut from the program within the first four weeks because he had a terrible attitude and didn t want to do his job. They took him to another trainer, and a year and a half later, he s looking good. But that trainer had to ride that horse two and a half hours a Innovation Although a horse might not make the cut for the Performance Horse program, it doesn t mean he won t make a great Signature Horse or a non-pro mount. Summer No worries Journal 31

9 Up and coming 2-year-olds: Instant Chance aka Chance (SR Instant Choice x Oaks Smart Chance) Gotta Hot Gun aka Kenny (Spooks Gotta Gun x Hot Coded Candy) day, seven days a week for a year and a half. A lot of time went into him, so much so that the trainer could have trained two horses in the time that it took him to train one. While professional trainers might have time to ride some of the average horses and make them work because they have to eat, I don t need that money to make my living. It s a hobby for me, so if it s not fun I don t want to do it. Now, just because a horse doesn t make the cut for a top-level performer, it doesn t mean that he won t excel as a non-pro or rookie horse. That s why I always recommend owners get a second opinion. A lot of trainers would be threatened by that because they never want another trainer to give their opinion or critique the work they ve done on a horse. I m not threatened by that because I feel confident I ve made the right decision, and if the other trainer likes the horse and gets along with him, great! The customer is happy. If the other trainer fires the horse, it is still good the owner got a second opinion Making the cut

10 If the horse is average and the owner asks if I ll still train the horse, my answer is no, because my time is limited. Even though he might make a great non-pro or rookie horse, I m looking for horses that will be able to compete in the top 10 percent of the industry. Finding those special horses that can compete at the world-level takes knowledge, experience and ability mixed in with a little luck. In reality, the selection process starts even before the foals are born, when I m matching the right mare to the right stallion and getting that perfect blend of bloodlines. It s an ongoing process and I m constantly evaluating each prospect to be able to determine if a horse has the mettle and mindset to handle the rigors of training and the stress of competing, but the more horses you work with, the better you get at recognizing that special something in a true competitor. Innovation While working with the young prospects, we pay close attention to how soft and supple the horses are and where they naturally want to carry their head. For a horse like Fergie who carries her head and neck level with her withers, collecting and having the right look for reining is very natural. Summer No worries Journal 33