42 SIDELINES OCTOBER 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By Kathy Serio
W
e employ many “artful terms” every day in the horse
world. We have the “art of riding,” the “art of finding a
distance” and the “art of the critique.” This last one is
something not every trainer has grasped, and each has their own
technique. In sales, I’m evaluated for performance, etc., and some
have utilized the “sandwich technique” — an “artful” way of giving
constructive criticism. Every trainer should heed this advice:
begin with a positive, add a negative, followed by a positive. This
approach keeps everyone feeling good, and
is truly an artful (and
tasteful!) way of critiquing someone’s skills.
Listening to the trainer’s strategy when their client is going into
the ring and the trainer’s feedback when the client is exiting the
ring can be fascinating, running the gamut from funny to helpful
to brutal. I’ve also seen client reaction vary from tears to laughter.
The Young, Overeager Trainer: Artfully Trying to Come Up
With
Something
Positive:
Picture this: an equitation class where the teenage rider
missed at the last jump, and the second miss on course, the
horse stopped and she fell off. You may have numerous ideas
on how you’d handle this situation, but this is how one trainer
handled it.
The Debrief:
Trainer:
“You would have
so
won that class if he wouldn’t have
stopped and you hadn’t fallen off. It was
that
good!”
Me (thinking):
It wasn’t that good. He didn’t see the trip…
Sassy Teen: “Did you even, like, watch that trip? He was, like, so
horrible the whole trip! It was like he had never stepped foot in
the ring this morning!”
Me (thinking):
He never had stepped foot in the ring this morn-
ing….
Trainer:
No, you rode great. Trust me!”
Rider sulks away, kicking dirt on the ground. Since I knew the
trainer well, and he looked rough, I couldn’t resist and said:
Me:
“You
just
rolled in from the club, huh? You’re eyes are yel-
e
The Artful Clapper
low…”
Trainer:
“I haven’t been home, haven’t been to sleep, and I
changed in my friend’s car. I’m definitely still tipsy. I only saw the
last three jumps on course. Was she good?”
Me
(laughing): “Figured. No, she wasn’t good. But you are bril-
liant with the, “You would have
won
it
if
you hadn’t fallen off! He
never got in the ring this morning huh?”
Trainer:
“Negative!”
Before Married Life: Trainer Coaching Utilizing a “KISS”
Technique (Keep it Simple Stupid)
Catch riding the wonderful horse Classic Control (Bentley) for
Tommy Serio’s client a few years ago, the horse proceeded to
miss a lead change (for the second time) in the warm-up. So, I
pulled him up and kick him to correct him.
The Brief:
Tommy:
“Nooooo …
don’t wake the sleeping giant. Ignore him!”
Me:
“
What
sleeping giant? What does that mean?”
Tommy:
“Do what I say (hmmm …
that
line doesn’t work any-
more). Just do one lead change, you’ll be fine”
Me (on deck):
“Anything special I need to know about him?”
Tommy:
“I think he’s mentally challenged. Trot by jump one and
let him look at it so he remembers it isn’t scary to jump and don’t
leave him to his own devices.”
Me:
“Well fantastic” (Trotting into the arena thinking, “mentally
challenged? How? Does he have a learning disability? Does he
have Tourette’s syndrome? Schizophrenia? Paranoia?)
The Debrief:
Tommy:
“Great trip, beautiful rhythm. You couldn’t have ridden
any better.”
Me:
“Tape recorder, please. I want you to repeat that, louder.
Mentally challenged? Excuse me?”
Tommy:
“He’s a big Baby Huey; you need to be there all the time
for him. Protect him. Think for him. Don’t let him do anything by
himself. He thinks he can do a lead change by himself, but he
Kathy’s artful dogs, Humphrey and Harlow, showing off Lisa
Cueman photos.
An artful critique with Tommy Serio taking place in the golf cart.
Humphrey seems to be giving his opinion on the debriefing!
