114 SIDELINES FEBRUARY 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
e
The Inside Scoop!
The USHJA Emerging Athletes Program
By Marissa Degner, as told to Doris Degner-Foster
I
f you’ve heard about the USHJA Emerging Athletes Program
(EAP) and wondered what goes on at these training
sessions, Sidelines has the inside scoop! Sidelines writer
Doris Degner-Foster’s daughter, Marissa Degner, was selected to
attend the EAP National Training Session and Doris went along
for the ride – as mom and journalist. Here’s a behind-the-scenes
account of Melissa’s EAP experience – straight from our own
Sidelines mother-daughter team.
My excitement had been growing since I received word that I
would be traveling to The University of Findlay, Ohio for the USHJA
Emerging Athletes Program National Training Session. Even
a broken wheel on my suitcase and tornado warnings couldn’t
dampen my enthusiasm. My mom and I figured that surely we
wouldn’t come from Oklahoma, a state famous for its tornados, to
get blown away by one in Ohio, would we?
Dover Saddlery graciously donated supplies, including a
grooming kit that had the name of the horse that we would ride in
the training session written on the bottom. I drew a horse named
Ace, who would be arriving later that afternoon.
Ace was described to me as a hot Thoroughbred jumper, which
sounded a lot like my own horse at home. We were given some
time to hack our horses, and although I didn’t have much time
since my horse arrived late, I was looking forward to getting better
acquainted with him and jumping the next day in my session with
Olympic show jumping gold medalist Peter Wylde, who was the
head clinician and is vice president of the EAP program.
The day ended with a welcome reception, where I had a
chance to get to know the other riders better. The 16 of us were
divided into four groups of four. We would stay with the same
group throughout the training session and for the Nations Cup
competition on Sunday. My
group, which included Michaela
Wood, Jackie Flynn, and
Connor Siegel, became close
friends during the few days we
had together.
In the barn, we were
completely responsible for the
care and keeping of our horses,
and I loved coming early in the
morning to spend extra time with
Ace.
On our first day, my team was
jump crew for the first session.
By watching the first group ride,
I felt more prepared for my ride
later that afternoon. Each group
had a schedule to follow, and
when we weren’t in the ring,
we were with one of the other
clinicians.
I really liked our session with
equine physiotherapist Janus
Marquis, who talked about
things we could do daily for our horses, like stretching techniques
and exercises. The stable manager, Ann Thornbury, taught us a
lot about how a horse’s conformation can affect their soundness.
Because The University of
Findlay has such large number
of horses, we had the privilege
of seeing some unique things,
like shoe boils, club feet, and
other issues you often only see
in books. We also spent time
with Kip Rosenthal, a sports
psychologist. She gave us
each a chance to bring up what
troubled or stressed us when
riding and showing.
Friday evening we had a
pizza party at the barn where
we had a chance to talk to
some of the Horsemanship
Quiz Challenge participants.
Sixteen of them were randomly
assigned to groom for us during
the Nations Cup on Sunday.
On Saturday, Peter stated
he was happy with our group’s
progress. I felt like I knew my
Olympic show jumper Peter Wylde, head clinician and vice
president of the USHJA Emerging Athletes Program, with
Marissa.
Photo by Doris Degner-Foster
Marissa and Ace taking part in the USHJA Emerging Athletes
Program National Training Session at The University of Findlay.
Photo by Tricia Booker/USHJA Archives Photo
Continued on page 116
