Eventing barn offers information about the entire equestrian equation
On any spring morning when it isn’t raining sideways, the outdoor arena at Sheridan’s Come Again Farm is likely to be filled with experienced riders and their horses cantering in sweeping circles and then soaring over jumps. It is a sight to behold when riders and their steeds are in perfect synchronicity and communicating with each other flawlessly. The riders at Come Again Farm participate in eventing. The sport is something of an equestrian decathlon with riders participating in dressage (essentially equine choreography), stadium jumping, and cross-country jumping. It is a sport that requires both discipline and toughness.
Genevieve Stadler is only 14 years old, but she’s been going over jumps on horseback since she was five and has been eventing for much of her childhood. As she sat on a beautiful, bay athlete named Ty, we asked her how best to get started in this challenging and exhilarating sport.
“I think, start with taking lessons,” she said as she sat comfortably in her English tack atop Ty. “Then, if you really like it, lease or buy a horse. I really like it a lot!”
Although we interviewed Genevieve on the occasion of only her second time riding Ty, the two already look like a great team. The horse’s responses to Genevieve’s nearly imperceptible signals were nearly perfect as horse and rider flew over a series of challenging jumps.
Riding at Genevieve’s level requires the proper start and lots of good instruction. The owner of Come Again Farm, Lee Ann Zobbe, has some basic advice for parents looking for a safe place for their child to begin riding. “Suitability of the place they’re going to take lessons,” Zobbe said in a momentary break between lessons. “Proper safety equipment. Those are the two major things.”
Kathi Mallet-Prevost, this reporter’s wife, rode horses as a little girl and then resumed riding when her family matured. She now competes on an Irish Sport Horse named Sportsfield Earl Grey who is a professionally trained eventing steed known as a “School Master.” Though Kathi has always been a confident rider, having Sportsfield Earl Grey has taken that confidence to another level.
“He is very trustworthy and very steady,” she said firmly as she sat atop her gigantic, nearly snow-white steed. “I know he’s going to jump whatever I put in front of him.”
Eventers train and compete using lighter-weight English saddles and bridles. Cowboys use heavier tack, bulky western saddles with a horn to grab hold of in a jam. This reporter’s 10-year-old son is a rodeo cowboy who rides his horse, Noble Essence, in barrel and pole races. She is a small horse with a big motor.
“She’s really fun to ride,” Colton said as he stood in the shedrow at Come Again Farm. “She’s fast.”
Noble Essence comes by that speed naturally. She is a direct descendent of Kentucky Derby winner Northern Dancer. The other side of her pedigree is entirely Arabian, another speed breed.
Equestrian pursuits, though, have their challenges. More than a few racehorse trainers have said that good horses go bad faster than strawberries. Tammy Stevens knows that. When we talked to the attorney and eventer, her four horses were all on stall rest with various injuries. Still, Stevens is of the belief that such challenges serve as character builders, particularly for young equestrians.
“Horses and eventing and caring for the horses teach lessons that are lifelong and will make for fabulous leaders and participants in society,” she said as she sat in the sun watching her fellow eventers taking a lesson under the watchful eye of Lee Ann Zobbe.