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Saturday, January 09 2021 / Published in Sidelines Feature

Prepping for the Winter Season in Florida

By Hardin Towell

How do you plan your horses’ show schedules through the winter? I want to get my horse fit for Winter Equestrian Festival without tiring him out in the December shows.

You have to look at what your goal is for the year with the horse, and backtrack from there. If it’s a young horse, it’s a little bit different because you’re developing it, so you probably wouldn’t do a ton in Florida because it’s the same rings. If it’s a 6-year-old, you’re going to stick to the Young Horse classes and you’re not going to go jump a 1.35m or 1.40m class. You just need to look to see how they’re coming along. If they’re jumping great the first two weeks of the season and go clean in every class, I wouldn’t do much more. Maybe you wait until one of the last weeks of the 6-Year-Old Finals if that’s one of your goals.

As a trainer, I talk to the junior or amateur riders and see what their goal is for WEF. If it’s a hunter, maybe it’s the hunter derby at the end or WCHR week. If it’s jumpers, it might be the U25 Final. Once we set that goal, we backtrack and see what’s going to point towards that goal. With the U25 series, if you aren’t ready by the beginning of WEF then you aren’t going to be ready since those classes only get bigger as the season progresses. So we usually decide if those riders are going to do the whole series or just parts of it.

If it’s a Grand Prix horse, you have to pick different goals based on what the rest of the year looks like. It really depends on the horse and what the person’s goal is for that year. When it comes to our junior and amateur clients, the U25 Final is typically their goal. You have to backtrack from there, thinking about how you can have your horse and your rider most set up to perform best for that big goal class.If it’s a Grand Prix horse, you have to pick different goals based on what the rest of the year looks like. It really depends on the horse and what the person’s goal is for that year. When it comes to our junior and amateur clients, the U25 Final is typically their goal. You have to backtrack from there, thinking about how you can have your horse and your rider most set up to perform best for that big goal class.

What’s the best way to transition my horse from cooler weather to warmer weather in Florida?

All of my horses have been to Florida before, so they take the transition quite well. It’s difficult when they come from Europe sometimes because they’ve never really had that type of heat and humidity. The main thing is keeping the fungus and bacteria off of those horses that aren’t used to the Florida climate. Ones that have been to Florida have a stronger immune system and they can handle that, but when horses come from Europe they typically get fungus since nothing really dies in Florida. Most of the horses handle it fine. 

How do you keep your horse(s) from getting bored of the same routine during such a long period of time?

The past few years, we’ve had big farms with big grass fields. The show does get boring, but  having big grass fields or being able to take the horses on trail rides and give them plenty of turnout, keeps their minds occupied. By April they’re definitely ready to get out of there and go somewhere new, but a lot of turnout and trail rides help with that.

We also like to keep the exercises at home interesting for them. This exercise is one we use across the globe at Oakland and at every level: We like to jump a series of four or five verticals in a row with one stride in between and a rail in the middle. We also put up guide rails so the horses are forced to rock themselves back and stay straight throughout the whole exercise. We think that’s one of the best exercises to do at home, whether it’s a rest period or you’re gearing up for a show. The biggest thing is shape for horses, and by doing this exercise, they can’t twist and really have to rock back on their hind end.

Is there anything special that you do as a rider or trainer to prepare?

Mentally, I think it’s important to understand that WEF and the winter season is not the end-all. A lot of people put a lot of pressure on the winter season to always get great results, but you really have to use it as a training device. It’s a stepping stone to your goals for the rest of the year. Of course it’s nice to get some good results because it’s a long season, but sometimes those wins can be from just training and developing young horses or getting to know a new horse. There’s more than one way to look at the winter circuit.

Hardin bio:

Hardin Towell comes from a very prominent equestrian family, with his parents operating Finally Farm in Camden, South Carolina, and his sister, Liza Boyd, dominating the hunter ring. Having great success as a junior hunter and equitation rider, he soon became a professional and continued this success in the jumper ring. Some of his career highlights include qualifying for the FEI World Cup™ Finals in Las Vegas in 2015 and in Gothenburg, Sweden, the following year, when he also won the CSI5* in the Shanghai leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour. Hardin has continued to have international success, and is currently based in Wellington, Florida, where he’s focusing on teaching students.

Photo:

Hardin Towell 

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Tagged under: florida, hardin towell, hunter-jumper, wef, winter season

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It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is. It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is...

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Diarado-Diamant de Semilly- Chacco Blue
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An outstanding Pedigree- Chacco Blue and Diamant de Semilly
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You can find ALL of the stallions featured towards the back of the magazine in the equestrian gallery. Keep a look out EVERY Sunday for a new handsome STUD muffin🧁 and don't forget to subscribe to get your very own edition of Sidelines Magazine, the magazine for horse people, about horse people 🦄

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Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses—in a way, she was born into her career. She grew up in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where her parents ran a farm. Her mother taught, and her father had a jump business and then created one of the first horse show software programs: Ryegate Show Services, Inc.

Riding all her life, Annette spent many years as a groom and loved it, but knew it wasn’t what she wanted to do as a career. After she finished college, Annette’s father recruited her to help process entries at Ryegate. Since her father, Lloyd Longenecker, founded it in 1981, Ryegate has provided show management and office staff for some of the largest shows in the country. Now, Annette has taken over from her father and directed the company as it focuses on managing memberships and rankings for organizations such as the North American League, WIHS Championships and Equitation, Rolex/USEF Computer Ranking and National Medal Series (THIS NCM and Ariat NAM). Ryegate also provides scoring software for use with video walls, and production teams for hunter and jumper shows.

“Besides running Ryegate Show Services and its various organizations, I can be found in the show office, running a scoreboard or judging jumpers at most shows,” Annette said. “I love getting to wear a few different hats at the show.”

When she’s not busy at a show, Annette lives in Annville, Pennsylvania, with her “fur-baby,” Maggie Mae, and enjoys spending time with her many godchildren. Though she doesn’t currently own any horses, Annette rides when she can at Rolling Acres Farm with Patty Foster, Ashley Foster-Worthington and Mary Lisa Leffler.

Read this month unbridled with Annette Longenecker by clicking the link in our bio. Never miss a story by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine! 🦄
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A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself The spor A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself 
The sport of eventing is a demanding and mentally challenging discipline that requires a combination of physical and mental fortitude from both the rider and horse. While having a coach can be incredibly beneficial, self-coaching can also play a crucial role in a rider’s success.

I think that given the opportunity, most riders would like to be coached every day. The reality of life in the horse world, however, is that the majority of us need to absorb as much from the lessons we have on a limited basis and then practice those skills at home to improve.

When I am riding, I try to have a plan for the horses each day and focus on what I’m looking to achieve. It’s important to be aware of the steady improvements rather than trying to solve everything all at once. This is especially important when teaching horses new movements or exercises that they might struggle with, and we need to give them time to learn and understand what we are asking for.

I have a couple of quotes that I use regularly when I’m teaching, and these are mottos that I hold myself to in my daily work as well.

The first is, “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.” This is a quote that was said to me many years ago when I was still motor racing and I keep it in the back of my mind each day. It’s easy to get stuck doing the same thing every day with your horse and bad habits are hard to break, from both riders and horses!

This leads me to my next quote, which is, “If what you are doing isn’t working, try something else.” It really is as simple as that! Many riders I see keep asking a horse to do something the same way over and over with an ongoing negative response and they wonder why things don’t get better. In these circumstances, I recommend that the rider change something, even if it’s wrong.

Read the full article by clicking the link in our bio! Don’t forget to keep your eye out for our April subscription!
📸Photo by Alex Banks Photography
The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here and we are so excited to feature three-day eventer Liz Halliday on the cover! Big thanks to photographer Melissa Fuller for the beautiful photo of Liz and Cooley Nutcracker- Liz Halliday-Sharp - HS Eventing. Liz and her horses have taken the eventing world by storm - and find out how Liz is at the top of the sport as a female eventer! As the horse world gears up for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event 2023, it's the perfect time to enjoy our eventing issue!! We also feature eventer and woman entrepreneur Frankie Thieriot Stutes, who is not only an eventer, but also runs Athletux and FRANKIE CAMERON handbags and accessories. And don't miss our eventing story on Robert "Bobby" Costello, who will be leading the US Eventing team to the 2024 Paris Olympics- and US Equestrian has named Bobby the eventing technical advisor/chef d'equipe!! Liz, Frankie and Bobby all have GREAT stories - don't miss any of them and don't forget to get your tickets for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day event! We are also excited to introduce you to hunter-jumper rider Casey Lorusso Smith, who is not only a talented rider but also a psychotherapist and incorporates horses into her career. If you are up for adventure, then read the story on dressage rider Priscilla Baldwin who certainly doesn't let any grass grow under her feet! We also head to the west coast to catch up with hunter-jumper trainer Jim Hagman of Elvenstar Farm, we feature beautiful art by equestrian artist Tammy Tappan, and we get to know Miranda Jones and her family. Miranda is not only an attorney who spends a lot of time in the courthouse, but she's a rider and spends lots of time riding, and is joined by her daughters also! We are excited to feature Stephanie Lightner in our Unbridled column, and don't miss our columnists George Williams, Robert R.L. Jacobs and Margie Sugarman! It's a great issue - and you can read it online, but don't forget to go to the website and order a subscription and get every issue delivered to your mailbox!! Enjoy this issue and enjoy the ride: Link in bio!!
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