44 SIDELINES OCTOBER 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
won’t remember the whole thing sometimes. He matured slow,
he eats slow, he walks slow, he canters slow, and he thinks slow.
He
is
slow. You know your next course?”
Me:
“Yep.”
Tommy:
“Would you care to share it with me any time today?”
That was probably one of the most artistic debriefs I’d ever
heard, and in about two minutes, I understood the horse. Bentley
ended up WEF Circuit Champion, doing it in his own artful way,
to the beat of his own very slow drum.
Post-Married-Life Debriefing: Keeping it Even Simpler Stu-
pider (KIESS):
The Brief:
Tommy:
“You know your course?”
Me: “Yep.”
Tommy:
“You want to share it with me?”
Me:
“Nope.” (laughing)
The Debrief:
Tommy:
“You know what to fix?”
Me:
“Yup.”
Tommy:
“You want to share it with me?”
Me:
“
You
! Your c-l-a-p-p-i-n-g deficiency!
Tommy:
“Honey, I
did
clap! (turning to Garet standing next to
him) Garet! Help! I
did
clap, help!” (Garet pleads the fifth and
walks away, laughing.)
Me:
“I don’t know, honey, all we heard was
Garet’s
clap!
Tommy:
“Who is
we
?”
Me:
“Chapeau and I, hello??”
Tommy:
“Well, tell Chapcrap to do something clappable and I’ll
clap!”
Trainer Larry Glefke hears this dialogue and chimes in:
Larry:
“Clap Tommy, just
clap
! Clap like you have never clapped
before; like your life depends on it, because it does! Make your
home life easier and just
clap
! Why do you think I clap!? Man,
Serio, just
clap
!
The Ideal Artful Sandwich Technique From Husband/
Trainer:
Warning! This will never happen. But, here it goes!
Tommy:
“Ah, sweetheart, I thought you rode that really well and
he made some great jumps.”
POSITIVE
“Perhaps next time Chapcrap will cooperate and not make
such a big deal and be less obvious while staring at the group of
children in matching neon shirts, shouting and skipping up to the
Grand Hunter ring during your trips.”
NEGATIVE
“It all worked out in the end, as the busload of children left after
you gave them the evil eye going around the corner of the arena
in your second trip, and then they started crying and ran away,
shuffling up the sidewalk!”
POSITIVE
The lesson: the art of the delivery is tangent to the art of the
critique, which is based upon the art of the ride. Trainers and
significant others, remember: It boils down to simply the art of
clapping. So, just clap and everyone’s happy!!
About the writer: Kathy Serio is an amateur rider based in Wellington, Florida,
where she works full time in the equine pharmaceutical industry. In 2012 she
married her trainer of 12 years, Tommy Serio, who often calls her “Lucy,” for “Lucille
Ball.” Being trained by her husband brings a whole new dimension to riding as an
amateur. Kathy spends her spare time riding and laughing with her 2- and 4-legged
gang. As Charlie Chaplin said, “A day without laughter is a day wasted.”
Photos courtesy of Kathy Serio, unless noted otherwise
Bentley and Kathy: Bentley shows his beautiful art form as he
jumps.
Photo by Randi Muster
Artsy Humphrey with Patricia Power’s Grey Horse Oil painting.
