A teen's perfect model

The ideal horse for youth championships does not have to be an elite star, Catherine Austen says, finding that temperament and partnership are as vital as talent

- Catherine Austen

TO have represented your country by the age of 21 can symbolise one of two things. It is either the pinnacle – in ambition and achievement – of a sporting career, or a staging-post on the way to bigger things, and over the years plenty of riders in all three main disciplines have fallen into either category.

Whatever the future holds, those who wear that British flag will have demonstrated ability, focus, dedication and a tremendous work ethic. They will also have been riding the right horse. But what is the right horse for an ultra-ambitious teenager, and does it differ between eventing, dressage and showjumping?

Gill Watson trained the young rider eventing team for 30 years and has seen considerable changes in the type of horse required over that time.

“The young rider Europeans used to be at what is now CCI4*-L level and their big trial was Bramham, and the juniors were at CCI3*-L level and did Windsor,” she says.

Now young riders compete at CCI3*-L level and juniors at CCI2*-L.

“But the technicality is greater than it was. I’ve seen all shapes and sizes of horses do well, but you need a genuine horse with adequate – not necessarily extreme – paces. They have got to have jumping ability and be careful, and bold enough across country.

“Soundness has always been very important, but possibly the crucial thing is temperament. They must have a willingness to oblige.”

Gill, in common with all the trainers H&H spoke to, emphasised that the key element is in the rider building a partnership with their horse.