The Young Horse Trainers School: Developing the Champions

of the Future

By Jessica Filiatrault

Introduction

What makes horses champions? Is it the way they are bred? Maybe it is the way they are

developed and trained? Perhaps it is a bit of both? These were just some of the tough

questions tackled at the week-long Young Horse Trainer School hosted by Maplewood

Stables in Reno, NV in October, 2013. Spearheaded by renowned equestrian professionals,

Julie and Kevin Winkle, Linda Allen, and Jose Alejos, the intensive program hosted

approximately 18 professional horsemen eager to improve their skills with green horses.

The astounding wealth of knowledge possessed by all 4 clinicians made for a remarkable

learning experience for all participants, as well as over 30 horses. I was fortunate to be one

of the participants.

The concept for this program arose

from a need for professionals in the

USA who know how to properly

develop young sport horses for

international competition. In the

past, buyers of top competition

horses have gone to Europe to make

their purchases. The European

training model of horse

development includes shows

specifically tailored to the needs of

youngsters, along with trainers

dedicated solely to their development. Unfortunately, for many professionals in the United

States Hunter/Jumper disciplines, their work revolves mostly around showing and points-

chasing, with little opportunity to dedicate their time to young horses. Travelling on the

road 30-40 weeks of the year is hardly the environment for young horses to reach their full

potential. The eager and energetic young horse requires ample turnout and enough time

off from work to properly develop physically and mentally.

Founders of the Young Horse Trainers School

Linda Allen has spent more than 5 decades as a rider and

trainer and developed 8 horses from un-started or off-the-

track up to International Grand Prix level (jumpers). In

addition to competing internationally, Linda spent many years

managing one of the first breeding operations in the U.S.A.

dedicated to the jumping discipline. Many of the home-bred

horses progressed to successful careers at the Amateur and

Grand Prix levels, as well as in the dressage and hunter

disciplines. Linda is an FEI ‘O’ Jumping Course Designer, USEF

‘R’ Judge for Jumpers, Hunters and Hunt Seat Equitation and

FEI ‘I’ Judge.

Julie Winkel has dedicated her life to showing champion

hunters, jumpers and hunt seat equitation at all levels. She is

also a judge for Hunter, Hunt Seat Equitation and Hunter

Breeding, including prestigious shows such as the USEF Medal

Finals and World Cup Finals. Julie writes for Practical

Horseman Magazine and is a frequent clinician for USEF Hunter

Breeding Judge’s Clinics. Julie currently owns and maintains a

breeding operation at Maplewood Stables in Reno, NV.

Jose Alejos has been starting young horses and

working with problem horses throughout the

U.S.A., Mexico, and Central and South America

for many years. Jose has worked with Linda

Allen and Julie Winkel training horses and has

produced training videos with Bernie Traurig

featured on www.EquestrianCoach.com.

Schedule for Six Days of Schooling

During the first 3 days of the clinic, participants and their horses were divided into small

groups and given the opportunity to work with each clinician in different sessions during

the course of each day. Jose Alejos covered topics such as early handling, the first rides

under saddle, and getting the horse’s hind-end engaged. Julie and Kevin Winkle taught

correct groundwork, conformation, and free jumping, while Linda Allen focused her

sessions on flat exercises, work with ground poles and cavelletti, and preliminary jumping

gymnastics for four and five year old horses. Day 4 was dedicated to halter breaking,

trailer loading, and classroom discussion while the rest of the horses enjoyed a day off. On

days 5 and 6, we were able to build on what the horses learned in the first 3 days and end

with course work for each group of four and five year-olds.

Entering Jose Alejos’ World of Feel

My group began each of the first three

days working with Jose Alejos. Jose

urged us not to think about the

mechanics of riding or how you look

when working with young horses. He

told us to simply, ride what you feel.

We learned how to be proper leaders

for our horses, rather than dictators or

passengers. His relaxed and assertive

style proved to be very effective with a

4 year-old mare brought by one of the

participants. We watched as Jose coax the mare into transferring more of her weight to her

hind end by asking her to back-up and shift her front-end to the side. He also led the mare

into a series of transitions between gaits. Instead of using just his hands for downward

transitions, Jose used his whole body and shifted his weight towards the hindquarters, only

using his hands when the horse did not

listen to his body. By the third day, the

mare had developed a more balanced

way of going and was much lighter on

her front-end and in the bit. Everything

Jose did with each of the horses centered

on the basic principle of applying and

releasing pressure. He instructed us that

getting control of a horse’s hind-end is

one of the foremost tasks. When asking a

horse to move his hind-end to the right,

for example, he applied pressure with his left leg behind the girth. As soon as the horse

responded with one step to the right, the pressure was taken off. After the horse knew how

to respond with one correct step, Jose then asked for two, and so on. He instructed us to

reward the horse for the slightest try by releasing pressure; to only ask for a little in the

beginning; then build on it and gradually ask for more. He never got frustrated or angry if

the horse didn’t respond correctly. He simply waited for the horse to find the right answer

and rewarded him by releasing the pressure and giving the horse a pat. He echoed the

words of iconic horseman, Ray Hunt, when he said make doing the wrong thing difficult, and

the right thing easy.

Building Confidence with Julie and Kevin Winkle

Our second session of each day was

with the mother-son team of Julie and

Kevin Winkle. We began with proper

groundwork lessons with Kevin, using

a rope halter and long lead. As he lifted

his right hand with the lead in the air,

the horse responded correctly by

moving off in a circle to the right. Kevin

encouraged us to use the first few

circles as an opportunity to gauge what

the horse is thinking and what his

energy level is. He posed thought-provoking questions. Are the horse’s ears pricked

forward with a happy expression or laid back with an attitude of resentment? Is his tail

relaxed and happy or cocked in a way that expresses tension or high-energy? Horses

communicate by using body language, so we were encouraged to read theirs and respond

accordingly. We watched as Kevin used his body language to turn the horse’s hind end

away from him to ask him to change direction. That particular horse had obviously done

this groundwork before, so Kevin made it more challenging by introducing obstacles such

as a brick wall, tarp, and brush on the ground around the arena. Careful attention was paid

to developing the horse’s confidence

with such items. Instead of asking the

horse to step over any obstacle right

away, Kevin first asked the horse to

merely circle near it. Only when the

horse was comfortable going toward

and away from the brush, did he ask the

horse to step over it. Once the horse

was comfortable with the brush, Kevin

then, continued to the tarp. After desensitizing the gelding to the sound and touch of the

tarp, the horse was happy to step over it. Just like Jose, Kevin built each lesson upon the

previous one in a careful progression.

From there, Julie took over the lesson with a focus on jumping.

She instructed us about free jumping and conformation with

different ages from yearlings to 9 year-olds. The staff had

carefully constructed a jump chute in the 80x80 solidly built

square pen. We watched three horses go through the chute

which at first, contained only ground poles. Later, these poles

were raised to become low jumps, which were gradually raised

higher according to each horse’s level at their respective ages.

The youngest horse, a yearling, only jumped a height of

approximately 2 feet. The oldest horse, a 9 year-old Grand Prix

prospect, was able to jump 4’6”. However, after each horse

jumped the higher height comfortably, they were all given a last

chance to go back through the chute with the jumps lowered to

the ground. “A horse always remembers the last thing he does”, Julie told us. Putting the

jumps down and making it easy for them was a way of building their confidence. After her

thorough lesson on correct conformation for hunters and jumpers, Julie was quick to

remind us that evaluating conformation is not the only way to determine potential. Superb

athletes can make-up for many flaws in conformation by having tremendous heart.

Developing Proper Technique with Linda Allen

Our third training session consisted of

working with 4 and 5 year-old horses with

Linda Allen. Linda reminded us to always

train a horse in a way where he can find

the right answer. She urged us to keep

exercises simple initially and gradually

make them more technical over time. We

began our horses with simple flat work.

We taught them how to properly respond

to action from our legs, body and hands to

establish rhythm and suppleness.

The second day, we began working with light contact on the bit and started over single

ground poles. Once the horses were comfortable trotting over a single ground pole without

changing their balance or rhythm, a series of three trot poles was introduced spaced

approximately 4’ apart from each other. We, then, performed courses of ground poles with

various turns and lines at the trot.

Once the horses became comfortable, the

original three trot poles eventually evolved

into canter poles spaced 9 feet apart from

each other. By the third day, after

reviewing lessons from the previous days,

we were able to introduce small cross rails

to our horses. Linda set up a cross rail in

the middle of the arena with a ground pole

placed approximately 9’6” feet in front of

the base of the jump. This pole served as a

visual guide to help the horses figure out where to place their feet before takeoff. After the

horses were comfortable trotting the small cross rail, a 2 foot vertical jump was placed one

stride beyond it. This was the first time many of the horses had cantered a fence while

under saddle. Linda reminded us to merely encourage our horses forward and give them

complete freedom to let them figure out jumping on their own.

The Final Two Days of the Clinic

For the final two days of the

clinic, all of the different

groups joined together to

alternate showcasing how

their horses progressed from

the beginning of the week. The

more mature horses were

introduced to small courses,

complete with flowers, small

walls, and combinations of

jumps. It was amazing to see

how much they had learned in

just one week. Some horses

made mistakes, such as knocking down rails or refusing to jump. In response, Linda

reminded us that when encountering problems, take a step back and do something easier

for your horse before attempting to move on. “Don’t fix a problem by creating another one,”

is one of her cardinal rules.

Drawing the Line

Looking back over the entire

week with these clinicians, it

was interesting to see how

their different backgrounds led

to many of the same principals.

The basic essentials of applying

and releasing pressure, slow

progression, and being a leader

to your horse were present in

each of their teachings.

So how do you develop a champion horse? The consensus at the clinic seemed to be that

slow, steady training with plenty of time for rest and recovery at the early stages was best.

Long-term success should never be sacrificed for short-term gain. No gimmicks or

shortcuts, just solid horsemanship. It is this principle of solid horsemanship embodied by

great trainers like Jose Alejos, Julie and Kevin Winkle and Linda Allen that leads to gaining a

horse’s trust. I learned that if you ask for too much of a horse and use too much pressure

before he’s ready, especially in the beginning of training, you can damage a horse both

physically and mentally. So where is the line? It’s a tough question, and I believe this

Young Horse Training School can help any rider come closer to finding the answer.

The Young Horse Trainers School was held from October 7-12, 2014 and will be hosted

again by Maplewood Stables on September 2-7, 2015. This six-day event will be specifically

directed toward the care and training of today’s purpose-bred sport horse. For more

information on the next Young Horse Trainers School please visit

http://www.mwstables.com/.

About the Author - Jessica Filiatrault

Jessica Filiatrault is the owner and head trainer of Matador Farm in Metamora, Michigan, USA. Her primary discipline is hunter/jumper. Just prior to opening Matador Farm, Jessica spent two years as head trainer at Sunset Cliff Farms in Burnet, Texas, USA , where many of her students earned top rewards at the “AA” level. Before that, she spent her 2011 show season working and riding for Anne Kursinski at Market Street Farm in Frenchtown, NJ. Her time there was spent refining her teaching and training skills so that she may better prepare her students and horses for the top levels of competition. For more information about Jessica Filiatrault and Matador Farm please visit http://www.matadorfarmllc.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/jessica.filiatrault.

For more information about Linda Allen, please visit http://www.llallen.com/.

For more information about Julie Winkel, please visit http://www.mwstables.com/.

For more information about Jose Alejos, please visit http://www.josealejos.com/.

Photographs courtesy of Diane Tetreault.