The USDF Sport Horse Prospect Development Forum
By Heidi Chote and Michele Dodge (perspective from a trainer/USDF faculty member and a breeder/AA rider)
The USDF Sport Horse Prospect Development Forum presented by Dressage at Devon was hosted by DG
Bar Ranch in Hanford, CA with presenters Scott Hassler and Ingo Pape. Held on October 4th and 5th the weekend was warm and hot, as Summer made an unwelcome re-appearance. Warmed by both the 98 degree weather and with the hotbed of talented youngsters and riders presented these two days, we auditors sat back and took a lot of notes and drank a lot of water. People attended from all over
California and even Oregon, with about 130 people gathered to watch these talented young horses and riders, expertly coached by Scott Hassler and Ingo Pape, with additional input from Willy Arts. What an incredible brain trust of knowledge on starting the young sport horse on their career trajectory!
Each of the 130 auditors was given a cool gift bag with a set of the current On The Levels Dressage Test
DVDs and a little book called The Journey which is a compilation of articles written by USDF Certified
Instructors taken from USDF Connection Magazine focusing on gaits or movements from Training Level through Grand Prix.
The weekend consisted of rides coached by Scott and Ingo, lungeing and riding presentations by Willy
Arts, a Saturday evening reception and lecture, and question and answer sessions throughout the two days. Each day seven three or four year old horses were presented in varying stages of training. The general consensus was that these horses were quite mature for their ages and able to show good work with quite good concentration in (for most) unfamiliar surroundings.
The purpose of the Sport Horse Development Program is to bridge the gap between the Sport Horse in
Hand competitions and the FEI Young Horse classes or regular USEF classes. There’s a clear need for mentoring the young horses in the beginning riding years and this program is geared to give guidance and assess the path the horses should take to the next step of their careers. As was explained several times in the forum there are three paths that these developing horses can travel; 1) aiming for the FEI young horse classes, 2) choosing to compete in regular USEF classes, or 3) continuing to develop away from the shows until mature enough and strong enough to feel confident in their ability to succeed when presented. Not one path is better or worse than the others. There is only the one that is right for each horse.
In our opinions the one striking consistent theme of the riding was the quest for mental and physical relaxation and rhythm in all three gaits with a forward thinking attitude. It was a real treat to see the attention to quality over detail and all of the horses were improved with the work. Stretching was employed in warm up if the horse’s balance and contact was well established. Regardless of the height of the neck, a soft elastic contact with the horse seeking to connect with the rider was the goal.
A group of us from the Sacramento region attended so it was fun to compare notes and discuss strategies with each other during breaks. We were well fed and hydrated and offered to tour the barns after the workday was through. The grounds were immaculate, the footing great and the staff helpful and cheerful. Kathie Robertson from the USDF office was present to keep everything running smoothly as was Kevin Reinig , our California Dressage Society President. FEI, USEF and Sport Horse Judge Kristi
Wysocki helped moderate and gave some perspective when asked from the judge’s view.

Riders and horses included: Lindsay Bridges of Reno, NV on three year old Hanoverian mare D’ Hot
Toddy, Lehua Custer of Moorpark, CA on four year old KWPN gelding F.J. Ramzes, Ashlyn DeGroot of
Hanford, CA on three year old KWPN mare Gamebria, Sarah Gammie of Canby, OR on three year old
Hanoverian gelding Renoir MLW, Sarah Lockman of Rancho Cucamonga, CA on three year old KWPN stallion Geronimo, and Ericka Reinig of Wilton, CA on four year old Hanoverian gelding Wredford. In addition, Willy Arts demonstrated lunging and backing a young KWPN mare owned by DG Bar. One suggestion (coming from a breeder) would be to include the dam line as well as the sire of the horses in the printed bios.
At times we auditors felt almost like we were in the arena with the horses – we sat so close to the side of the arena that we could actually reach out and touch the horses. That could be a little unnerving at times, but luckily these young horses were all very well mannered.
On Lunging and Initial Backing of the Young Horse:
Scott and Ingo both believe all young horses should be lunged in side reins before they are backed. They start by lunging in a halter. Ingo adds elastic insets to the side reins at first, then they graduate to donut side reins. Scott uses regular side reins for about 80% of horses – for those with really soft mouths, sometimes Vienna (sliding) side reins are used. Ingo noted that he seldom uses Vienna reins.
Side reins help with straightness and shoulder control. The horse must develop some thoroughness and acceptance of contact before they are backed. They both also use “free schooling” as the horse is more experienced – in full tack and side reins in the big arena. It requires 3 or more people to free school a horse, but is excellent for teaching straightness and self carriage. This technique is not seen much in the
US.
The horse must be through and accept the bit before they are backed (sat upon). Backing requires an experienced ground person who can read the horse and has consistently worked with the horse. The rider gets on and off several times until the horse is comfortable with the process. At first, the rider may just lay across the horse’s back before fully mounting. Once the horse is comfortable with this process, then the rider is lunged on the horse, and later schooled under saddle with the ground person in the arena. At this stage, it is all about building confidence. If the rider lacks confidence, it is not good for the horse – we must be their leader. Always remember, be quiet, don’t panic, slow movements, keep cool – the horse looks to us for its confidence. If they are scared, our fear just intensifies their own fear.
Starting young horses is not for all riders!
Finally, when the horse is ready, they are ridden out of the arena to expose them to things. Our goal in the early training is to:
Build confidence
Develop balance
Establish rhythm
Build straightness
Create a harmonious topline
Develop free forward thinking and moving horse (fast is not forward)
Always have a plan, make good decisions and don’t create problems.
Willy Arts did a lunging demo both days, showing the progression of lunging and backing a young horse.
He does not like to pull on the head to stop the horse – a whip on the chest is better, it discourages the

horse from turning in to the handler. Body language is important to set boundaries and keep the horse between the aids. He uses a breastplate w/ surcingle when lunging – that way, the surcingle doesn’t slip back and scare the horse. He starts the horse in a halter with a chain on a small circle (8 or 10 meters) to keep the horse between whip and hand. Never yank on the horse’s face – use the whip to chest,
SLOWLY and gently, and encourage the horse to move forward around the person. As the horse learns to understand, he increases the size of the circle, and always keeps contact so the horse cannot turn its haunches in (this is for the safety of the person lunging).
If the horse falls in while lunging, do not step back – this means the horse is not respecting your aids.
Always step toward the horse to push them out. Relaxation and acceptance of the aids means you can ask the horse to go, and the horse accepts it and goes.
As the horse progresses, he adds a bridle, but with the halter and chain over the bridle. He likes to always start the day where you left off the day before – so if yesterday was lunging in a halter, then today there may be a bridle on, but the lunge line is initially attached to the halter. He adds the saddle when the horse is comfortable lunging in a bridle.
In his demonstration, Willy showed that he prefers to use the reins on the bridle, over the saddle with the stirrups run over the reins, instead of the side reins that Scott and Ingo use. Then as the horse progresses he puts the reins behind the cantle. When the horse is ready and comfortable lunging, they add the rider – initially just partly on, then getting on and off, then riding.
Three Year Old Horses:
The demo riders started after the lunging and backing session each morning. We had three year old horses, then four year old horses. There were the usual young horse antics; attempts at diving toward the exit, calling to friends in the barn, shyness near new friends, concern over the auditors’ presence etc. but with time and quiet coaching each horse settled well and was able to relax and concentrate on the use of their bodies. Scott and Ingo took turns coaching the horses and riders.
When a young horse is tense, do not allow them to get totally straight and heavy in the hand. Use inner flexion, which is soothing to the horse. Softness of the topline indicates confidence, so keep the inner side soft. If the horse is worried about something, don’t take them straight at it, but approach from the side, a step of leg yield toward the scary spot, which allows the rider to stay in control. If approached straight on, the horse can gain control by stopping or stepping right or left or spinning. Instead yield the body to the side, flex, work toward softness which is relaxation. We saw this in practice several times, as the three year old horses were faced with a strange arena and over 100 people!
Always remember – if you choose to do something, do it successfully. Always have a plan to allow the rider to succeed. Remind the horse of what you want instead of correcting it – if you have to correct, you were too late, something went wrong. Let the young horse do something successfully, then let them be – don’t get too greedy, especially with young horses.
Bend on a 3 year old is very slight. It should never be beyond the width of the shoulders (right or left), this is the bending zone. Beyond that zone is loss of balance, the horse disconnects from the shoulder, and we see with young horses that is very easy to do. Avoid outer flexion – use large half circles to develop correct flexion and balance (we see this exercise later on and it is very effective). This was an important note especially for the young horses that thought it might be easier to exit the arena at the open side rather than continue to face the arena full of auditors.

Use the horse’s back to create relaxation – don’t let them get slow or lazy, keep them lively and relaxed.
Don’t do down transitions until the quality of the gait is good – keep it forward and lively until the horse experiences a quality gait. When it gets good, let them experience the good gait for a bit, then ask them to transition down. And remember, if the 3 year old horse is tired, don’t push too much, quit while you are ahead. We are reminded that young horses need many breaks in the early training, and training sessions are short.
With a green three year old, we don’t define and restrict the horse too much, we want the horse gliding fluidly across the ground, that is enough definition with a very young riding horse. Don’t restrict the energy, but try to channel it – don’t worry so much about whether they are straight, as long as they are covering ground, and the whole body is flowing. Horses find straightness out of fluidity. Go with the flow of the horse. Don’t worry about the whip being always on the inside – when we change the whip, it can disrupt the horse. At this stage, we want the horse fluidly forward, everything else is secondary.
Don’t worry if they curl up a bit, this will get better as the horse gets stronger – the neck comes up from the body as he gains power. We will shape the horse more once they understand that basic concept of fluidity and forward thinking.
Remember the walk is a precious gait in a young horse – always think of the horse when it is walking.
This is not the time to think of other things such as your grocery list, your chores. And don’t spend much time in the walk. Keep the reins longer, but with enough contact that we have control if something goes wrong. Don’t collect the walk on a young horse.
If the horse runs through the shoulder (such as trying to escape out a gate), walk before you lose the shoulder, and turn from the walk where you have more control. Make the change before you lose control – if you lose control, it is too late, the horse learns the wrong way to do the task – again, if we have to correct, it is too late, something has happened incorrectly.
With the more advanced three year old, in down transitions, keep the horse active behind with no backwards tendency with the hand. Don’t ever let the horse slam on the brakes. Think in the down transition, seat and leg to passive hand – leg leg leg, seat. Some horses needed more forward activity at times to find the balance.
It is easier to find the horse’s rhythm and tempo, and easier to develop straightness in a more forward, longer mode – Ingo noted he likes to always start in a bit of a stretching mode with young horses. In this longer frame, keeping the forward tendency, perform transitions, trot to canter, back to trot, changing direction, all while keeping the horse long and low. It is so important for the rider to stay still and easy in the balance and soft in the hands to help the horse find its own balance.
Some young horses are lovely and supple in one direction, then counter bent and falling in the other direction. This is a common young horse pattern. The rider is tempted to open the outside rein to try to get the horse to go there when tracking to the stiff side. Resist the temptation – the outside rein is support for inside leg. An exercise that can help the horse become more evenly supple was used.
Tracking to the stiff side (in this example, the right side), come off the short side on the quarter-line, then lead the horse to the track – a very slight leg yield, even if just 2 inches at a time. When the horse gets crooked, use a 20 meter ½ circle to rebalance and create some correct bend again. Complete the ½ circle slightly off the track, again, baby leg yield toward track, then circle off when the horse wants to counterbend and lose balance again. This exercise was used repeatedly and helped create some

balance and suppleness to the horse’s stiffer side. It also helps keep the rider centered on the horse.
When it gets a bit better, switch to the easy side (in our example, the left side) to give the horse a release.
Don’t be overly obsessed with fixing everything at once, address it and improve it with each ride. Don’t get too picky and too disciplined with such a young horse. Learn to show off the highlights then try to make the weaknesses a little improved – but not perfect. Remember, young horses need many breaks in the early training, and training sessions are short.
When riding the young horse that gets a bit flat and/or has rhythm problems at times in the canter, once they are advanced enough to understand moving forward, it is time to build some swing in their back.
Develop the size of the steps, bigger or smaller, without hurrying – the goal is for the horse to learn to swing and develop cadence. Shorten and lengthen the size of the stride – not the speed. Speed is not good, we want to develop cadence. Avoid a too quick tempo – go for hind leg activity but not too much speed. Tiny pulses from both legs to send him, then quietly work in that tempo.
These horses benefit from ground poles and cavaletti. We usually start with a single ground pole, initially walking over it, then to the trot both directions. When the horse is comfortable, we add a 2 nd pole (and 3 rd poles), and we can space them further apart.
Canter work is done on a 20 meter circle, sending the horse forward, then think collection and work a 15 meter circle which helps balance the horse toward collection, then back out to the larger circle and a more forward canter, then again, back toward collection on a smaller circle. Feel the inner seat bone, keep the outside leg on the horse to keep him on the smaller circle, keep him light in the contact, and celebrate the moments when he shifts his weight more behind, which helps with the rhythm problems.
As this canter work becomes harder, it is common for the horse to grab the bit – don’t let him get heavier and lean, lighten the contact f he gets heavy. A bit of uberstreichen to help him carry himself.
And of course, remember with the young horse that we don’t want to overdo it.
Four Year Old Horses:
These horses had already been to several shows and were quite comfortable in the new environment, so the focus was more on refining the reaction to the aids and further developing the quality of the gaits.
Always remember to ride the horse behind the saddle, not just the head and front of the horse – activate the hind leg. Never allow the horse to pick up speed in the canter transition, the first canter stride should be carried not pushed. The transition isn’t finished until the rhythm and impulsion are apparent. Then in the down transitions, we want the hind leg to come under so the horse doesn’t drop its weight on the front end. In the down transitions, think 3 steps of preparation, leg, leg, leg, so the rider’s lower leg activates the horse’s hind leg, then the seat for the actual down transition. Ride the hock, ride the engine, don’t worry so much about the head and neck.
To work on a little more length of the neck, use a little pressure of the inside ring finger, and inside leg to create the bend. Soften on the outside, but keep contact – it is important that there is consistency on the outside contact. Keep him searching for the bit, but always with light contact so there is something to work with. Warm him up this way, a bit long and low, then bring his poll up with slightly higher hands, and keep the hind leg activated.

An exercise was introduced to get a horse quicker to the aids - using the halt to medium trot for a few strides with the goal of a quick response to the leg, then soften the leg as a reward. The horse should develop a quick response to a soft aid.
For the very talented and big moving young horse - build the quality of the gaits even more and enjoy the naturally forward tendency. Control the tempo within the gait – if you are at 10 mph in the trot, add or take away 1 mph – go to 9, then back up to 10 mph, very small changes. Control and develop it the quality gaits to even higher quality.
To build the quality of the canter lengthening – from the canter on a big circle, go forward 1 mph, then add 1 mph, then add 1 mph, slowly build it, control every stride ( it was very interesting to see the quality of the canter lengthening using this slow process, it was lovely!). Fancy with control, that is the goal. The down destination isn’t always the walk – the horse must learn to give us changes within the gait.
Remember when changing direction, every step should feel the same as the horse transfers from the right to the left bend. If there is tension, don’t ride less – ride to a consistent bend. Don’t let the horse change the quality of the gaits in the smaller figures – develop suppleness so the body can contract and expand. Remember always, the seat carries the energy, not the hand.
After each horse and rider, questions from the auditors were read and briefly answered.
Q – What aids to stay in front of the leg?
A – Slight leg pressure and voice – avoid the whip.
Q – When do we add the sitting trot?
A – It depends on the horse. When they are strong enough and swinging enough in the back.
Q – Why the varying tempo within the gait?
A – To keep the horse’s concentration, it keeps the horse thinking about the rider. Then it helps to find the right tempo where the horse is still swinging.
Q – Why do you want less flexion and more focus on bend in the body?
A – Young horses break out through the shoulder more – we need the outside rein to control the shoulder.
Q – When do you introduce spurs?
A – It depends on the horse and rider. They prefer to use more equipment to keep the aids lighter, so rather than use a heavy leg aid, it may be better to add a spur.
Q – The rider is sitting to left when horse needs balance to the right. Why not addressed?
A – The exercise we used helped center the rider and balance the horse.
Q – When to use a dropped noseband?
A – This horse was fussy in the mouth, and when they switched to the dropped, she was much happier.
Horses feel pressure points – regular cavesson especially with a flash can cause pulling on the skin at the corner of the mouth, , which can even cause thickening of that skin. Dropped noseband allows the bit to slide with no pressure from the flash/cavesson.

Q – Is it OK to use a plain cavesson with no flash?
A – If the horse is quiet in the mouth and goes well, then yes, it is OK. Use what makes the horse successful.
Q – Why work on walk/canter transitions when rhythm and balance are not there for the easier transitions (walk/trot or trot/canter).
A – The transitions have the same purpose – the horse learns to carry himself.
Q – What snaffle is preferred – single link, double link, etc?
A – Whatever the horse likes best.
Q – Do you prefer forward seat or dressage saddle for starting young horses?
A – The weight of the rider and saddle can affect the horse. An all purpose saddle may be easier for 2 point work. Either is OK, again, it depends on the horse.
Q – What is the preferred timeframe from backing to showing a young horse? How often to work the young horse?
A – We start horses in July when they are 2.5 (a bit later in the year if they aren’t preparing for YH classes or stallion testing), then at 3.5 they are preparing for YH classes, showing in Jan and Feb of the 4 year old year. Breed shows and inspections are also good exposure of the younger horse.
Q – What are the aids for activating the hind leg?
A – Forward driving aids, seat and leg. A common mistake to use the hands in the down transition. If the problem is in front, the solution is behind. Passive with the hand, more forward to down transition.
Q – Why was this horse ridden in lower frame?
A –The horse was not swinging through the back and body. Need access to the top line, not just quicker, but w/ more swing. Ingo likes to start long and low and end long and low to help with the swing.
Q – What are the goal of the aids in a young horse?
A – Consistent, light, supple. If you close the hand, the horse should go there. If he braces, he is not there yet. With many horses, the frame is a pose, need to be able to use that frame, not just ”lucky light”. Of course, it takes a long time to get there.
Q – How do you teach horse to stretch?
A – Depends on the horse. Horses should follow the hand, if they don’t, work on it gradually, a little longer, reward, a little longer, reward. Don’t expect rapid stretch, and reward for every increment.
Q – When do you introduce lateral work?
A – The rider must have control of the horse’s shoulder and connection between the aids.
Q – When do you introduce flying changes?
A – Play with them when they are 4 – sometimes when jumping. Think of a change of lead through the canter instead of a flying change. Then more seriously addressed in Fall of the 5 year old year, although it depends on the quality of the canter. Do NOT drill counter canter too much – it is too hard for the horse to be taught don’t change, don’t change, so we perfect the counter canter. Then suddenly one day, we ask them to change which is so different from what we were schooling before.

Q – Which type of competition (YH, Regular tests, none) do you prefer and are judging criteria the same?
A – It depends on the horse, the three paths are all correct, depending on the horse. Judging criteria are different – in regular tests, 13 to 25 scores, a mistake/shortfall in one is not a huge effect on the overall score. Mistakes are more heavily penalized by the judges in regular national tests. In Young
Horse classes, there are 5 scores (Walk, Trot , Canter, Submission, General Impression), so if the horse is lacking a good walk (for example), that is 20% of the score. Minor mistakes are not penalized in YH classes as they are in regular classes. In the Young Horse classes, the presence of the horse and the quality of the gaits are more important.
Q – How were the demo horses picked?
A – We were looking for a variety of type and training, breed was not a factor. 20 horses applied.
Q – What exercises are good for a young horse to help strengthen the hind end?
A – All exercises that work toward self-carriage are helpful. It is OK to ask for a degree of self carriage, then give the horse a break. Strength comes from good diet and good work. It is common with young horses that they have weak stifles, narrow chests, this will improve with work and maturity. Better to have short sessions of good quality work and keep the horse working. If the horse is consistently defiant, he may need a break from the work or a change in the routine – hacking out, some change in the work.
When this program returns to the western states, we encourage all riders, breeders, owners, and supporters of young horses to attend and see what the program is about. We’d really like to thank the riders, owners, and breeders of the lovely demo horses, as well as the DeGroot family and Willy Arts for hosting us, and of course, USDF (Kathy Robertson), CDS, and Dressage at Devon for sponsoring such a wonderful program.