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An Amateur Point of View

Finding the right trainer to achieve your goals
by Russ Vento

Not long ago, I got a call from a woman with a question: “I need a new trainer. How do I choose the right one?”

Finding the right trainer for yourself and your horse isn’t hard. But it isn’t necessarily easy, because it requires two things: that you be entirely honest with yourself, and that you take the time and effort to do your research.

If you’ve been reading my columns, you know that I talk a lot about being honest with yourself—about your own level of skill, about your horse and about your goals. So you’ve heard all that before. In my opinion, it is the basis for every successful endeavor.

So, having said that, let’s get on to a few concrete suggestions.

Take a good look at your situation and your goals

You’ve got to really look at where you are and where you want to be. That means being brutally honest about what is right for you, and that’s the hardest thing to do (“maybe it’s not my trainer—maybe it’s me”). Sit down with your trainer and tell him your goal. And then ask, “How do we get there?”

Maybe he or she will reply, “You’re not ready; your horse is, but you’re not.” Okay, fine. You come back with, “How do I get ready? What do I need to work on?” If you’re not spending enough time, suggest increasing your saddle time—for instance, adding another lesson. If he says that he doesn’t want you riding your show horse that much, get an old gelding out of the pasture or ride a school horse. Ride. Put your time in. Because if this is the case, you are the problem. You don’t need a new trainer; you need more work.

Another question is that if you want to be competitive at the Nationals, is your trainer at the level that he is nationally competitive? Or regionally competitive? It doesn’t mean that he’s not going to be, and that’s a big thing, because I don’t want to trash people. But is he there right now? You have to look: Is my horse better than my trainer? Is my horse not good enough for my trainer?

If you set up the right system to get to your goal and your trainer can’t or won’t fulfill it or be honest with you, then you do need another trainer. I look at it that you open the lines of communication, and you ride and you go to horse shows, and you judge yourself realistically and you work together—and if you’re still not happy, then you’re not in the right place.

This is not a slam at trainers. There are so many situations where the trainer is right for the amateur, but not for the horse. Or the horse is wrong for the amateur All those factors are part of your situation, so you can’t blame everything wrong on the trainer.

Figure out what your options are and research who might match your goals

In the Arabian industry at this time, there are top level trainers in many areas of the country. Before you start calling all the ones that specialize in your division, narrow the field by figuring out what you are capable of from a time and money standpoint. Ask yourself: “I’ve got this amount of money to spend this year on my horse. Is it feasible for me to fly across the country?” If it is not, then don’t waste time looking at horsemen 3,000 miles away. But if it is, that changes your perspective. As Americans, we look for convenience: 10 miles down the road, I love my horse, I can go see it every day—that’s all a convenience. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the trainer 10 miles or 30 miles down the road is the right one for me. Weigh the pros and cons of those close by and the ones farther away.

You have to find the best trainer for your horse, for you, in your division. A great way to do it is to go to the Nationals or to the Regionals and sit there and watch. Maybe have three or four trainers in mind. Watch them; see them in the warm-up pen, as well as how they present the horses in the show ring.

No matter what else you do, be sure to watch the trainers you are considering give their amateurs a lesson. There are so many different training styles. Some teach aggressively, while others teach technically. Some of us like to learn aggressively, some like to learn technically, some like to be babied through it. I personally need an explanation. If you tell me what you want me to do, I can do it, but I need that explanation—“you need more nose, you need more speed, you need more collection, you need to slow down.” Then I can fix what I’m doing wrong. But I need the ‘do this, this, and this, and you’ll slow down.’

We’re not expected to figure this all out by ourselves. Go talk to any amateur out there and they’ll give you five minutes of their time. Go to a horse show and say, “Hey, you ride with so-and-so. How does he train? How does he feel? Will you take five minutes and look at my horse and tell me if it’s the right one for your farm or your barn?”

Through all of this, you are seeking answers for these questions: Is this trainer at the level I want to be? Is he the right type of teacher for me? Is my horse the right horse to be with this trainer?

Making each situation work for you

It’s my opinion that you can make nearly any arrangement work. If you find that the best trainer for your horse is right down the road, then great. That has to be the easiest situation from a time and money standpoint. But if you find that the best one is all the way across the country, and you don’t have unlimited resources of time and money, there are ways to ease the time and finance obligations.

Let’s say that in your opinion, the best trainer for your horse is a long plane ride away. You enjoy that trainer and the way he trains and the way your horse is working. But if it is inconvenient—whether it be financially, or because you have children or other demands on your time—to go there and ride every week, then you need to find a riding school, whether it be hunter, western or English, so that you spend the time in the saddle In a case like this, you find someone else to do the ground work for that trainer.

I believe very strongly in the use of riding schools. There are teachers everywhere, whether they be in Arabian barns, Saddlebreds, Morgans, whatever. These people may or may not be great trainers, but many of them are great teachers. We keep saying, go back to basics and learn these things This is one way that you can do it. Your trainer can coordinate with your riding instructor at home to work on the points you need most. For instance, we’ve had some of our younger kids who need to work on their showmanship, or their riding is good but their confidence level isn’t there. So when they are at home, working with their riding instructor, they address those items.

Another aid to learning is to send videotapes of your work at home to your trainer for his feedback.

Or maybe your trainer and your horse are above you, and it’s hard to get you to match together. At home, find a lesson horse, pull that old gelding or broodmare out of a pasture—spend time with that horse and work on the things that will get you with your horse and your trainer.

Helping your trainer to be right for you

There is always the chance that the right trainer for you and your horse is the one you are with, even if things aren’t working out as you want them. Maybe you have looked around and for whatever reason, no other situation fits better. Perhaps you need to say, “Okay, I have the right horse and I have the right trainer. I’m committed to my trainer, but maybe he/she needs help in specific areas.”

Now is the time to address whether your trainer just needs more education. Maybe you or your horse are a little ahead of him, and with some help, he could do just fine for you. If you are with a good trainer, whom you like and who has been good to you so far, but who perhaps needs a little more experience himself, that is something that might be rectified. You don’t necessarily need to be in another barn.

Perhaps the answer isn’t that your horse flies to a new trainer. Maybe you could send your trainer to spend a little time with a horseman you think can help. Or better yet, go with him or her. (“I really like what so-and-so is doing. Maybe we could go and spend a little time and learn.”) I don’t think that any trainer in the industry would object to having a couple of visitors for the weekend, assuming that he doesn’t have commitments elsewhere. From my experience, their reaction would be, “Hey, sure, come watch for a weekend.” And every year before Scottsdale, trainers from all over the country drop in to watch the Arizona trainers work horses, always with the idea that there may be new techniques to learn. It’s a time when everyone is watching and learning from everyone else.

There is something else to consider as well. There are many people who are great trainers, who achieve multiple successes at many levels, that aren’t necessarily at a big huge barn. Maybe you want to stay with your trainer, and promote him or her a little more. Maybe increasing your advertising—upping your trainer’s profile in the industry—will help let everyone else know that he or she is that good.

Making yourself right for your trainer

There are a lot of factors in the ideal show ring combination: horse, amateur, trainer. Whether your trainer is across the country or nearby, you owe it to yourself to be the best you can be. When people see us in the ring, they may think, ‘oh, it looks so easy,’ but nine times out of 10, those people who make it look easiest are working the hardest. It could be that they have a local trainer or riding program; it could be that they can ride the hell out of a horse but they’re not as fit as they used to be. All of that is part of it as well.

There is a whole group now, the 50-and-over club (which I’m real close to getting into)—we know how to ride and show, we’re just physically not capable of doing it for 25 minutes in a class. Some people swim. Some exercise. We had a client who was a bit frail, so to keep her strength up, she walked on a treadmill an hour and a half a day. That commitment is a huge part of reaching your goal.

If you are your own trainer, you can get better

There are so many specialized trainers at this point—it’s a specialized industry. But that doesn’t mean that you, as an amateur, can’t train your horse at home if that’s what works best for you. And then you may haul your horse to a trainer on Saturdays and learn more.

Or perhaps you can’t afford to have your horse with a trainer all the time, but you can afford a lesson a week or four lessons a month. If that’s what works best for you, that’s what you do. I’m not trying to say that if you don’t have a trainer, you can’t win, because I don’t believe that.

As an amateur, there is something you can learn from everybody, and it doesn’t have to be in a formal lesson setting. Maybe you can’t afford to have your horse with a trainer, so you go to the horse shows and sit there and watch and learn. You can learn more than showmanship and ring technique; watch how they prepare and get horses ready. If you watch so-and-so show a horse and you’re really impressed, go to his stalls and say, “Do you have 15 minutes to talk to me sometime this week? I was really impressed with how you did this when you were showing. Can you explain to me how you did that, so maybe I can work on that on my own?” I would be very surprised if someone wouldn’t help you—they all love to talk, as long as the timing is right.

When I was learning more about horsemanship, I wasn’t financially capable of doing many things that others did. At the Nationals, I would get up at 2:00 a.m. and just watch the trainers work for hours and hours. I got something from this one and something from that one. So spend the time to watch and learn. (I should add that I still sit in the stands at Nationals in the middle of the night and watch people work horses. It is endlessly informative, and I don’t think I’ll ever give it up.)

And finally, always remember that you have many choices

The lady who called the other day and got me started thinking about all of this was in a situation that is not unusual as people grow in the Arabian industry. She was outgrowing her horses, and it was extremely hard for her because she was so committed to her trainer. She’d started with him, she’d learned from him, and she was very loyal. But she was financially capable of buying horses that might have been better than that person at that time. The quality of horses she was purchasing were outgrowing him at that time, so he wasn’t going to achieve her goals. My questions for her were just what we talked about: You’re in a great position because you can go look at the Nationals. You can pick the five people you might want to work with, watch them train, watch them show, learn all those things and make your decision.

All of that reminded me of one more very important point: If your time and money allows, finding a new trainer doesn’t have to mean giving up your old one. You can still keep a horse with him and spend time with him, and keep another horse somewhere else. It’s not a monopoly. You don’t have to have every horse with one trainer.

But wherever you send your horse, one thing is important: You have to believe in yourself and your trainer. That’s the first step toward achieving your goals.

For anyone who would like to email questions, topics, or comments, I can be reached at info@battagliafarms.com. I’d love to hear from you.

Russell Vento Jr. has been involved in the Arabian industry for 25 years, and since 1989 has been a partner in Battaglia Farms. He was honored twice with APAHA Amateur Horseman Awards. To date, he has owned or shown 30 U.S., Canadian and National Show Horse national champions, and he now enjoys watching his daughter Skyler win on many of the horses with whom he was successful. He has been a Large R USAE/AHA judge since 1996.