Really the Greg Best Masterclass in the big indoor arena, was probably unnecessary, since his comments throughout the jumping classes were masterclass enough for the many who sat around the arena, hanging on every word. Greg certainly loves a microphone and has a wonderful way with words, which is kind of funny, since his personal jumping guru, Frank Chapot, was the exact opposite…
“Frank just grunted once if you did it well and twice if you did it wrong, and that was it. That’s how you knew if you’d done a good job, there was never any advice on how to actually make it better; it was just one grunt or two. I’m such a believer that 90% of the way that you learn is through self-discovery, for me it was more like 98% and I’m still learning every day. Some things I do better and some things I do worse than I used to. I ride a lot worse, but I probably teach a lot better and it’s all through self-discovery. I can’t really say that in regards to teaching methods that there’s anybody that’s been my inspiration and the person I emulate, because I do more than grunt…”
As anyone who has heard Greg in action will testify much more than grunt, but the words are used in such a positive way:
“It’s so easy to be just critical, but criticism doesn’t do any good without there being something constructive to say. So easy to sit there and list this, this and this wrong, without offering an opinion of how to actually make it better next time. I say to people all the time, it’s one of the most important things, in riding and in life in general – don’t focus on the problem, focus on the solution, and just keep moving forward all the time and focus on solving the problems.”
Greg had two wonderful pupils for his master class, Olivia O’Connor who has just graduated to Grand Prix classes with her 12 year old Thoroughbred, For Fun, and the less experienced combination of Kristy Haworth and her Andalusian / Thoroughbred cross, Cobble Stone.
Of course, Greg had a well worked out plan of attack. He wanted to show how riders can make sure that the preparation they do is appropriate for the course they are going to encounter.
The two riders were cantering their horses, and Greg was not happy with what he saw:
“Olivia’s canter might be appropriate for a Western Pleasure class, but not when you are about to approach a 1.40 jump. If you were riding a nervous, worried horse, then you might under-do the energetic forward work, but Olivia’s horse is not a nervous bunny – he’s lazy. So start doing some canter / trot transitions, try to get him in front of your leg, really motivate him.”
Western Pleasure canter – not good enough
“Kristy’s horse is less experience but I love the horse, he has wonderful self-carriage and self-motivation. He is sensitive without being over reactive.”
It was important to focus on the result you were aiming for…
“When our horses walk into the ring, we want them to feel they are supermen, they can tackle anything. Every horse is different and you have to think about what that particular horse needs to get the confidence on the day.”
“But when we are preparing for a competition, we are not just dealing with the horses, we have a couple of very excited young riders, and we have to keep them confident, we have to prepare the package, so when I am talking to Olivia I am very positive, very assertive, very definite but when I am talking to Kristy, I talk very quietly, very peacefully, that’s lovely, that’s beautiful.”
“I like jumping little jumps, it gives you as riders a chance to tune in your eye, and see the move aggressive stride I want you to see.”
“My coach Frank Chapot would give you four jumps in the schooling area, if you didn’t figure it out in four jumps, you could go home. I have a very different belief. I try to be very encouraging, I tell the riders what I am working for and get them to communicate that to the horses.”
So the girls jumped a few fences, with Greg alternating between being hyper aggressive to poor Olivia – WEAK!!! – and super comforting to Kristy – that’s lovely.
“You don’t try and make changes during the warmup, you just remind. 90% of learning is self-discovery, and you are just trying to get your students to think about things.”
Things like where you are in the draw…
“Being later in the draw means you have the advantage of knowing what you have to beat. Go early and you set the standard and put pressure on the others. I liked to go early, as an aggressive rider I liked to put pressure on the other riders.”
“My goal was always to make my horse a better horse today than it was yesterday. Early in the show, I didn’t care if I won, come Sunday afternoon, and the big class, then I cared. Just be the best you can be on the day – sometimes horses get over-awed, sometimes to do half of the course is a good result.”
Olivia gets it right on the little course.
“That was great. That makes me happy. This horse is a legend, you are so lucky to have him. Now trot down, long and low and relax his muscles, press him on, let the reins slide, pressing, pressing, pressing for a longer stride. Trot more, push at him, push at him.”
The praise doesn’t last forever…
“Come on, use those useless little legs of yours. I don’t care if he breaks. Olivia really has lovely long legs, I don’t know why she doesn’t use them but her horse is a stiff old character and he needs those long steps. That’s it. Give him a big pat and a cuddle and tell him he’s a superstar.”
It was Kristy’s turn now. “Olivia set a high mark Kristy, but maybe you can beat her, perhaps you can beat her on the turn. I want you to give it all you’ve got but also make it as correct as you can. If you feel the horse getting anxious, make sure you finish with a better horse.”
Another super round.
“WHOO HOO! Even in modern day showjumping with sophisticated timing, horses occasionally finish on a tie, they were both terrific, neither deserves to lose. With two wonderful riders it is a very simple process, just understand what you are trying to achieve on the day. Some trainers want horses to be suspicious of the jumps, they think that makes them careful, I just want trust and mutual confidence. Thank you girls.”
And thank you Mr Best – we do hope we see you same time, same place, next year.
Greg Best on breeding and cloning…
The jumping ring at DJWTS has become as much a breeding seminar as it is an equitation class, with an increasingly well-informed audience in deep discussion of modern breeding trends. Greg Best is well aware that the young horse classes serve both the riders and the breeders:
“The funny thing about this sport is that you can’t have one without the other. This is about bringing breeders, competitors, sponsors and the horses together. None of it works without all of it working. And that’s something we were talking about on the way home last night in the car, just talking about how if one little part of it breaks, it all falls to bits, so we all have to understand each other’s wants and needs, we all have to be willing to try and facilitate things for everyone else as well.”
CH: It was extraordinary I thought, even in that four-year-old class you were getting one, two, three generations of very specific jumping-bred horses. And it certainly showed in some of those mares.
“Yeah for sure, unfortunately I think that the days are gone of the Thoroughbred coming off the track, there’s a few of them out there, but all of these, most of them here were purpose-bred horses. Unfortunately nobody is out there breeding Thoroughbreds to be showjumpers.”
CH: But when you had that wonderful chestnut mare who is out of a Grosvenor mare it just showed how nice good Thoroughbreds can be, and it jumped!
“Absolutely, but look at the lovely 5-year-old who won today and won the 4-year-old last year that’s as Thoroughbredy a Warmblood as you’re going to get. He’s got that very leggy, light, super animated way about him, that’s a Warmblood trapped inside of a Thoroughbred body. It’s technically a Warmblood, but that’s as Thoroughbredy that you’re going to get. For obvious reasons I’m very biased towards Thoroughbreds, obviously. I still love them.”
Surely we’re lucky here and in New Zealand in that we still do have the sorts of Thoroughbreds that the German breeders would give eye teeth for in their brood mare band. It wasn’t just Grosvenor – there were horses out of mares by Brilliant Invader, Balmoral Boy, Family Ties, Naturalism, King Tristram, No Mercy…
“Look at Delphi, the horse Katie McVean rode at the WEG. She is out of a Brilliant Invader Thoroughbred mare, by a Holsteiner stallion, and Delphi is probably one of the nicest mares in the world. So yes I think we are so lucky…”
Greg Best and Gem Twist at the 1990 WEG in Stockholm…
You had such success on Gem Twist, do you want to ride his clone – Gemini Twist?
“You know part of me hopes that the horse never really competes, because the legend of Gem Twist is something that should never be messed with. Part of me is really curious from a scientific point of view to find out how much is genetics and how much is everything else. So… I’d like to think that they cloned him to turn Gem Twist the gelding into Gemini Twist the live stallion for genetic purposes… I would hope that’s the primary reason for doing it. I hope that the horse wasn’t created to try to create another superstar. Nobody is really breeding with Thoroughbreds for jumping today, but with Gemini Twist, there could be a real turnaround.”
Did they geld Gem Twist because he needed gelding or was it just routine?
“It was routine. It probably was routine for showjumpers until recently. We see a lot of stallions these days, but 20 years ago they weren’t really out there. xx
The FEI says you’re not allowed to compete clones…
“Well the FEI changes their minds about a lot of things. If I was cloning a horse I wouldn’t tell anybody! There’s always going to be a stigma or an eyebrow raised with a clone… I wouldn’t tell a soul, just pop it out one day and say it is by Bush Bunny out of Something Over Here.”
This article first appeared in the May 2012 issue of The Horse Magazine