SIGN IN YOUR ACCOUNT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT FEATURES

FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?

FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

AAH, WAIT, I REMEMBER NOW!

Sidelines MagazineSidelines Magazine

  • LOGIN
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Subscriptions
    • Flipbook
    • Subscribe Options
    • Order Sidelines Caps
    • Order Individual & Back Issues
  • Podcast
  • Marketplace
    • Business Ads
    • Directories
      • Barns, Farms, Trainers & Clubs
      • Equestrian Services
      • Real Estate
      • Stallions
      • Tack & Feed Stores
    • Classifieds
    • Horse Trailers for Sale
  • Advertise
  • Blogs
    • Show World
    • What’s Happenin’
  • Partners
  • Contacts
    • Contacts
    • Employment
1
Saturday, March 13 2021 / Published in Sidelines Feature

Opportunities for Young Riders in the Hunter-Jumper World 

By Andrew Welles 

From your experience as a trainer, what are ways young riders can grow in their training if they don’t have the means to have a string of horses of their own? 

Take advantage of every opportunity the sport offers you. If that’s a riding opportunity, make sure it’s with good horses that are going to be productive to your learning. It’s also important to look outside of just sitting on a horse, whether that’s walking a Grand Prix course or studying how top riders approach different questions on that course with different types of horses. Also, watch how they warm their horses up in the practice ring. If you’re watching the practice ring for the Grand Prix, go online afterwards and watch the rounds that those riders had. Take advantage of opportunities to watch top riders flat or school their horses. Soak up every bit of knowledge that you can throughout the day when you’re at the horse show or when it’s an off week training so you aren’t just relying on your one horse to get the experience that you desire.

How do you think the sport has evolved to support opportunities for young riders?

I think the U25 series is amazing and I wish they had it when I was under 25. Starting in Florida, you get the opportunity to compete under the lights, in a team event, compete on the grass field and in the main stadium. As you go throughout the summer, the U25 series at different horse shows are spaced out enough that you don’t have to have multiple horses just to do the series. I think that’s an amazing way to help young riders who want to become professionals really grow in the sport. The U.S. team has done a great job with trying to expand the base of younger riders, giving them opportunities to jump on Children’s and Juniors Nation Cup teams, and I think all of those things are springboards for future success in the sport.

How do you begin getting people to invest in you?

It doesn’t happen overnight. You first need to develop relationships and a lot of the time, those relationships come from putting yourself out there as a professional and in meeting potential investors through teaching, helping them with their horses and developing relationships. If you look at the most successful riders out there, you see that just because you ride great doesn’t mean that you’re going to get an owner. There are a lot of fantastic riders who struggle to put horses underneath themselves. Likewise, a lot of riders that you would have said weren’t the most talented growing up always have horses to ride. You need to focus on yourself and your career, especially when people invest in you. But there are a lot of riders who become so focused on their own riding that they lose sight of the bigger picture of being involved in the business and in training, expanding their relationships with people. At the end of the day, that’s the way that you build relationships that become investments in your career. The second thing is that you need to have the guts to go up and ask somebody if they would be willing to support your career. It’s always a really difficult question to ask, so be creative but courageous. If you’re too shy about it, you’ll never know what opportunity might have passed you by.

What advice would you give to a young rider who is looking to make a name for themselves — whether to get catch rides or to gain traction in the community?

If you have a professional who is really looking out for you and your development, believe in that professional. Have honest discussions about your goals in the sport and in the business. Utilize them to help you network and expand your opportunities. I see so many riders who bounce around from one opportunity to the next, going from professional to professional, and at the end of the day they haven’t built a solid base for themselves. Sometimes, working consistently with a professional who has your back and who has your best interest in mind really pays its dividends.

Photo:

Andrew Welles and the Itasca Group’s 8-year-old Idol H&H.

Photo by Four Oaks Creative

Originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Andrew Welles developed his passion for horses at a young age. Andrew grew up in the sport, training under renowned equestrians Missy Clark and Chris Kappler. As a junior, he produced top results in the equitation ring before entering the international show jumping scene in 2008. Andrew has produced top three results in many of the top Grand Prix on the tour including the Grand Prix of Devon, the ATCO Power Queen Elizabeth ll Cup, the Hampton Classic Grand Prix, the Grand Prix of Miami Beach, the Mary Rena Murphy Grand Prix in Lexington, the 5* Governors Cup in Tryon and throughout multiple weeks of the Winter Equestrian Festival. He now owns and operates Team Welles, a training and sales operation out of Wellington, Florida, with his wife, Alexandra. 

Double D Trailers Info

Share this page:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
Tagged under: hunter-jumper, opportunity, young-rider

What you can read next

Nancy Smyth: Bringing Horses & Art Together
Tamie Smith: Fearless in the Face of Uncertainty
Whitney Mahloch: Dancing Between Disciplines   

Download Sidelines Digital now from your favorite app store!

Sidelines Magazine - Apple store   Sidelines Magazine - Google Play store   Sidelines Magazine - Amazon store
Update iOS app. Re-download Google Play and Amazon app.

Follow on Instagram!

sidelines_magazine

Sidelines Magazine
Jessica West always rode any horse that was availa Jessica West always rode any horse that was available to her throughout her Junior career, so she knew she had an advantage when she decided she wanted to ride on an NCAA team in college. Now a senior at @@auburnu and majoring in psychology, Jessica has enjoyed everything about the equestrian team and is ready to move on to her next adventure. 

Read more about Jessica at the link in our bio!

#ncea #ncaa #equestrian #collegiateequestrian #huntseatequitation #hunterjumper #equestrianlife #collegelife #showjumper #hunterhorse #horseshow #sidelinesmagazine
In the unique and challenging sport of combined dr In the unique and challenging sport of combined driving, Jacob Arnold has proven himself to be a bona fide star. It’s been said that success develops from a recipe based on hard work, perseverance, learning and sacrifice, paired with a love of what one is doing. Since the time he was a boy, Jacob has had the right combination of all of those ingredients, which have culminated in a meteoric rise to stardom.

Beginning his career as a Junior, Jacob earned the coveted @usequestrian Junior Equestrian of the Year award in 2011. Since then, he has taken the combined driving world by storm, competing successfully in four @fei_global World Championships. He also won the USEF Advanced Pair Horse National Championship in 2020 and 2021, among other victories—all before the age of 28, in a sport that has historically been dominated by older drivers. Last September, he placed 12th—the highest of any American driver—at the 2021 FEI Driving World Championship for Pairs in a field of over 100 top-level drivers.

Read more about @jacobarnoldcombineddriving at the link in our bio!

@alex.banks.photography #combineddriving #drivendressage #dressage #driving #carriage #horsedriving #equestrianstyle #equestrianlife #horselover #drivinghorse #carriagehorse #showhorse #sidelinesmagazine
@rolex Testimonee Daniel Deusser has claimed the f @rolex Testimonee Daniel Deusser has claimed the first equestrian Major of 2022, winning the prestigious Rolex Grand Prix at The Dutch Masters. In doing so he also claimed an additional bonus for non-consecutive Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping wins, following his victory at CHIO Aachen last year. The German champion’s outstanding performance riding his trusted partner Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z once again makes him the live contender for the coveted Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping.

Catch up on all the action and watch the free highlights video on the Sidelines Show World blog (link in bio!)

#showjumping #rolex #grandslam #rolexgrandslam #showjumper #dutch #netherlands #dutchwarmbloods #equestrianlife #hunterhorse #hunterjumper #equestrianstyle #showhorses #showjumpersofinstagram #jumpinghorse #grandprixjumer #grandprixhorse #sidelinesmagazine
Dog and Horse friendly 3 bedroom 2 bath on 1.25 ac Dog and Horse friendly 3 bedroom 2 bath on 1.25 acres in Jupiter Farms, Florida.

Jupiter Farms is an equestrian community with a trail system and a sand riding arena at the park. Charming home features vaulted ceilings, custom trim, custom lighting in master bedroom that changes color with a remote. Granite countertops in kitchen and laundry room. New 2022 stackable washer/dryer. Privacy fenced backyard with beautiful tall pines for shade, many palm trees also on property.

Secure fenced  25’ x 25’ pen with wood fencing , for a horse, dogs or a garden.  Wonderful property in desirable Jupiter Farms. 45 minutes to Wellington, 25 minutes to Jupiter Dog Beach. Perfect oasis for dog and horse lovers, close to everything in South Florida. MLS# 10778333, Agents welcome.

$655,000
Contact 561-246-9317
Load More... Follow on Instagram

From Our Classifieds Ads

  • Vintage Oaks Horse Farm
    Lessons + Training + Showing + Sales Summer Camps Jarettsville, Md Kelle Lerch 443-310-0315 Katie Fitzpatrick 717-676-2355 vintageoakshorsefarm@gmail.com www.VintageOaksHorseFarm.com The personnel at Vintage Oaks have a strong love and respect for riding and enjoying horses and we strive to share that passion with riders of all ages.

    [Read more]

  • AMARE EQUUS MASSAGE
    Ortho-bionomy & Acupressure www.AmareEquus.com 561-251-5425

    [Read more]

Sidelines Articles by Email

Subscribe to Sidelines Magazine Articles by Email

RSS Sidelines Blogs: What’s Happenin’

  • A Paris Horse Adventure: Saut Hermes 2022
  • Better Business with Malvern Bank: Michael Meller’s Secrets to Success
  • Third Annual Painted Ponies Art Walk takes over Southern Pines, NC!

RSS Sidelines Blogs: Show World

  • Jung Ends as He Began — On Top — at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS EQUESTRIAN™
  • ROLEX TESTIMONEE DANIEL DEUSSER WINS ROLEX GRAND PRIX AT 2022 DUTCH MASTERS
  • STABLE VIEW IN AIKEN POSTPONING ‘A’ RATED $400,000 H/J CHALLENGE SERIES DUE TO RESTRICTIVE MILEAGE RULE

Category

Recent Posts

  • The Importance of Finding the Right Bit for Your Horse

    By Liz Halliday-Sharp Anyone who knows me is aw...
  • Martha Ingram’s Family Ties, From Horses to Philanthropy 

    By Laura Scaletti Portraits by Brenda Black &nb...
  • Course Designer Spotlight: Alan Wade

    Course Designer Spotlight: Alan Wade Our next S...
  • Judge’s Spotlight: John French

    Judge’s Spotlight: John French Our Judge’...
  • Mindset: Making or Breaking a Comeback

    By Margie Sugarman Someone recently approached ...

Copyright © 1987 - 2021 Sidelines Magazine
Privacy Policy · Returns & Refunds Policy · Hosting by Lucian Web Service
· Login

TOP
Get the Sidelines Scoop — your weekly look behind the scenes.Sign me up!