BY TONYA RATLIFF-GARRISON, FIELD EDITOR
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| Judy Davis emphasized to the clinic participants that they need to pay attention to details, even the small ones like the keepers on the bridle and saddle. |
There are three things to keep in mind in hunter under saddle: movement, suitability and willingness.
"You want freedom and quality of movement with a lot of impulsion from behind," AQHA Pro Horseman Judy Davis told participants in the Youth World Cup hunter under saddle clinic Wednesday, July 9, morning. "But it's not a race. What you want is an open strided trot that is free flowing. You want self-carriage but not speed."
The hunter under saddle class is to prepare hunt seat horses for a show career where they will jump.
"So you need that strength behind them to get over fences," Judy said. "That's why you want that strong impulsion in the stride."
Judy and AQHA Pro Horseman Kelly Chapman, who was also leading the clinic, encouraged the youth to evaluate their horses at both a trot and a canter to determine which is the horse's best gait.
"If the horse has a big, sweeping trot but not a good canter, than show off that trot as well as you can," she said. "But if the canter is better, than show that off."
"You need to have in mind what your horse's strong point is," Kelly added.
When walking the horse, he should look relaxed.
"Your reins should have no droop in them nor should the head be collected to where it is behind the vertical," Judy said. "You don't want them overbridled. You just want a nice steady feel of the mouth."
