74 SIDELINES FEBRUARY 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Tina believes in letting horses be horses – even Olympic horses
like Calecto get to enjoy a splash in the water
.
Photo courtesy of Tina Konyot
Tina and Calecto V
Photo by SusanJStickle.com
Tina and Dimantino
Photo Courtesy of Tina Konyot
buying the future and believing in me. As with all my horses, I will
take my time, because I enjoy riding and training.”
Dimantino arrived in Canada, home for Tina and her significant
other, Roger Attfield, Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer,
when they aren’t at their place in Florida. “He’s a very sensible
young horse, but he didn’t know what to do about anything,”
recalls Tina. “To develop a youngster, I think it’s important to
establish confidence so that the horse feels good about himself
and enjoying himself, walking around out in the open, so that they
bring that confidence into the arena. The first time I rode him to the
back field at our farm in Canada, Roger went with me on an older
horse and Dimantino was like, OMG, I’m out here – no fences, it’s
all wilderness! I was riding him, smiling. He was so cute: look at
THIS! It has to make you smile.”
Dimantino didn’t know about turnout either. In Canada, Tina has
round pens constructed with sturdy mesh fencing. “They’re very
safe and Diamond started out in there – it took a little time, but
then I moved him to the next paddock where he goes out and
plays,” Tina explains.
Just recently, Tina took on re-training a jumper for new clients.
“This horse has the potential for dressage and I’m very excited
about working with him,” Tina says. “We have no idea if he has
what it takes to be a grand prix horse, but the progress he has
made since he arrived in October indicates that he might be able
to go all the way. This might lead to spending some time in the
summer months training my horses in New York where I have
friends and clients.”
Tina uses natural terrain to train her horses and they all trail ride
at least once a week. “They go into the woods, into fields, through
creeks. There’s a big lake – I know the bottom is safe – Calecto
plays in the water, takes a little swim,” she says. “All of my horses
in training learn to do this. I don’t just go for a trail ride: we work.
I’ll go down a trail and do some tempi changes, some piaffe, some
passage – practicing basics for wherever they are in their training.
Sometimes we do what I call tree work, little circles and turns.
You’re training them, but you’re not in a 60 x 20 arena surrounded
by the alphabet. I would be bored to death in the ring all the time.
Horses get bored, too. It’s called ring sour for a reason.”
The Future
More of the same: champagne and; teaching and training;
hacking out; enjoying Smoochie, strengthening the dynamic
partnerships with all her horses; being in the now, totally “getting”
the minds of horses entrusted to her care and training; enjoying
life to the max; many more moments of shameless joy with horses
and dogs.
Tina has more than talent: she has fifth generation genes from
an incredible horse and animal-training family. Her mother always
told her: “You are just like your father” – the renowned horseman,
Alex Konyot. “I learned so much from my father,” Tina says. “I
would love to teach more people about the rich background of
horsemanship that I lived. It was engrained in me as a child.
Robert Dover, who was a great fan of my father, always told me
that what I learned is irreplaceable. I would love to honor my
father’s memory by sharing that knowledge.”
