Jim Wofford: Eventing Designed By Humans For Humans, Not Horses

May 21, 2008

I’ve been reading Jim Wofford’s cross-country column in Practical Horseman for the last year, and I’ve slowly warmed up to him. I wasn’t sure I liked him at first, because he’s raw, opinionated, and tells it like it is — sometimes a little too bluntly.

But I’ve found that I can’t really disagree with him, and I’ve grown a very deep respect for him. If I hadn’t developed that already, I would now that I’ve read an online exclusive article he wrote regarding Eventing Lives in the Balance.

I’ve been waiting to hear from him on this topic, and Jim Wofford brings a highly-informed, horse-centric, and intimate view of what’s gone wrong with cross-country.

“It is clear in my mind: We now have an event that was designed by humans for humans rather than by humans for horses. Because of this, we have forced riders to cross the line between discipline and domination.”

Jim argues that our horses are equipped to make it through a cross-country round safely. He compares the cross-country phase to steeplechasing. In steeplechasing, he explains, horses are jumping fences of the same heights and at the same or greater speeds, and they aren’t experiencing the devastating rotational falls that are claiming the lives of horses and people in cross-country. Horses don’t want to fall. They are agile, and will do whatever it takes to stay on all four feet. This is why horses stay safe in steeplechasing despite large fences and speed. Horses with good balance and self carriage shouldn’t have any problem negotiating a cross-country course.

He also explains how the cross-country phase of three-day eventing hasn’t changed in 85 years. The course design isn’t that different, and the time requirement is the same.

So, just what is the problem with cross-country today?
The root of the current danger problems in cross country

Jim believes that horses are being asked to specialize more and more in the three phases, making them more dependent on their riders and losing their personal initiative. With the higher-level dressage movements and emphasis on collection, horses are depending on their riders for every cue and movement. With the technical fences in show jumping and even in parts of cross-country, riders are required to slow their horses and guide them to good spots through tricky combinations. And the result is that on the easier cross-country fences they are making up for lost time and relying on their horses to do the work. But the horses are so used to relying on the riders to adjust their strides and find their spots, that they aren’t taking care of themselves as well. They’ve lost their initiative.

I may not do eventing myself, but I’ve been riding my whole life and know enough about jumping and dressage to know that this is a valid theory. And it’s coming from a three time Olympian and horseman who knows this sport like no other.

The solution: initiative and self-carriage
I’m always advocating getting to the root of problems when we want to see change, and this might be what needs to change to make eventing safer. Jim suggests:

1. First of all, don’t even think of competing without competence. You are in this sport because you treasure the partnership the sport gives you with your horse. Work on your competence to the exclusion of any competitive desires. Bert de Némethy said, “A good feeling after the round is better than any ribbon.” That statement is as true today as the day he made it, over half a century ago.

2. When you are training, make sure to include daily exercises in initiative and self-carriage. If you cannot finish your dressage periods with quiet work on long, soft reins, you are not riding your horse in self-carriage. Regularly practice jumping gymnastics on a long or loose rein and remind your horse that he needs to, in Eric Smiley’s lovely phrase, “take ownership of the fence.” Jump small banks and ditches on loose reins and find steep slides and hill climbs where you can remind your horse how to adjust his own balance without your dictation. Make him proudly independent of you so that he understands his job so well you merely walk the course and then show him the way. Tell your horse what you want him to do, and then allow him to do it.

3. This last part might be a little bit my fault, and I apologize. Due to the recent increased importance of dressage and show jumping to the competitive outcome, I have stopped telling people to find a horse with the “look of eagles.” Horses who are successful in competition these days are extraordinary movers and powerful, careful show jumpers. But finding one who combines all this with the look of eagles is nearly impossible. Thus when we compromise, we must compromise on the horse’s movement, not on his agility. I now recognize that more than ever these are the qualities we need, qualities of the horse’s spirit. Certainly we need great movers and powerful jumpers, but above all we need a partner, not a slave. We need horses who are supremely courageous, fiercely independent and phenomenally agile.

Find such a horse and treasure him. Teach him that you will trust him with your life. Give him the education he will need, and then sit quietly while he does the job you have very skillfully and very patiently taught him. He won’t let you down. We owe all this and more to our horses. As Jackson Browne says, “There are lives in the balance.”

This is just a small portion of Jim Wofford’s analysis. I would strongly recommend taking some time to read his article, Eventing Lives in the Balance, for a detailed look at this issue and it’s potential solution.

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