Search Results

If you’ve ever picked out what you thought would be a young international dressage prospect(s) and the future revealed otherwise, you may already know how difficult it truly is to pick a winner far in advance. The journey from 3 to 7 in a dressage horse's career is full of surprises, good and bad. Buying a young prospect is like getting married. You really don't know what you have until after you've made the commitment. Some mediocre horses reveal themselves as rare dressage talents, and the most promising young horses often go nowhere in their careers. You can, however, increase your odds of success by using the sage wisdom of successful horse professionals. I've been intentional about trying to learn from them over the years. What do they look for and what is the secret to their repeated success? I've noticed that while still seeing the big picture, they focus on specific attributes, ones that tend to be more important in predicting dressage success. I just came back from an amazing experience watching the stallions selections at the 2025 KWPN stallion show. We watched one three-year-old stallion after another. It's a great exercise for developing a discerning eye. Looking at that many horses, hearing the judges remarks, and discussing them with other successful professionals helped me to refresh my thoughts on this topic. Here are 5 tips for picking a top International dressage horse: 1. Prioritize the Hind Leg.  If there is one thing that has held true, a horse with a great hind leg will prove to have a significant advantage in developing as an upper level dressage horse. Smart dressage horse buyers make it an important focus and a priority attribute when they select a prospect.  The best horses have an active hind leg that comes quickly off the ground, like it is trotting on hot sand. It articulates its hind joints as though it is trotting over poles and never looks "out behind." During transitions, it never looks clumsy or uncoordinated behind. It finds it easy to switch leads behind when cantering. The use of the horse’s hind leg should contribute to an overall impression that the horse is extremely nimble, not slow, clumsy, or uncoordinated.  By way of example, look to great horses with Ferro in the pedigree. That stallion contributed greatly to the Dutch breed by giving many of his offspring a great hind leg for dressage.  You can recognize a great hind leg from the first step. It shouldn’t take several strides for the horse to get going with his active hind leg. While observing the horse on the longe line, note how it reacts when the longe whip encourages it to move forward. Look for a hind end that drops and pushes forward. Related to this, the active hind leg should have power. The legendary Jazz can be credited with giving a hind leg that has the power needed for success at the higher levels. Jazz' typical offspring had a power from behind that lifted the front end, creating an ideal impulsion with lightness and expression. It's no wonder that this stallion became a legend and produced more than 125 horses who went on to compete at Grand Prix. 2. Look For Uphill Tendencies. Observing the horse from the side, look for the horse to tilt its torso upward as it pushes forward, right from the start. Look for a “motorboat” and avoid buying a level-moving “freight train” even if it flicks its legs extravagantly. Don’t confuse big leg movement with uphill movement.  3. Visualize Piaffe and Passage. Imagine the piaffe and passage as you watch the horse move. For example, what will its front leg style be? Will it have enough activity and specifically, knee action to score the needed 8 or 9 needed to win? Does it have enough power and lift to produce a passage that has air-time? Predicting this involves both art,  science, and experience, but knowledge of pedigree can sometimes help you make more educated predictions. Trainability is highly inheritable, and don’t forget to scrutinize the mother-line! 4. Buy a Great Walk and Canter. It’s easy to fall in love with a fabulous trot and there are more and more near-perfect trots in this generation of dressage stallions. That said, I can (but won’t) name several of these famous stallions that often produce flat canters that often show lateral tendencies and walks that are far from the 8 or 9 you’d like to be able to count on.  Buy a canter that is handy, uphill, clear in the rhythm, naturally collected, and easily extended. Never buy a flat canter with a lateral tendency. Stallion Daxx has an excellent walk and canter as a coming 4 year old - Click to see... Buy a Young Horse That Looks Young. Recently, I've been seeing a number of US dressage enthusiasts promoting bloodlines that produce overly mature young horses. These offspring look great at 3 years old, but at 7, they’re thick bodied and they lack the elegance you want to ride down center line at the CDI.  Take Florencio for example. Most would agree that this stallion was one of the better young dressage stallions in the world in the last two decades. I remember seeing him as a young colt when he got off the trailer at Reesink Horses in Eibergen, NL. I videoed him trotting in hand in the outdoor courtyard. He was a slow developing young horse and while he was a lovely type and a beautiful mover, he was small, immature, and late to mature compared to other young stallions his age. Several dressage horse shoppers passed on buying him because of it. He just wasn't the mature beefy type of young horse that buyers often fall for. History ended up writing a very different story for this legendary stallion, a success trajectory that began with his winning the World Championships in both 2004 and 2005 earning the highest marks ever given to a horse at the World Championships for Young Horses to date. Summary A good rider can give the horse what nature hasn’t given it. A good rider can quicken that slow hind leg, deal with a tight back, and half-halt a horse to move more uphill. But why start with a handicap?  Some buyers make poor decisions because of their "trainer mentality." They believe they can fix a horse's shortcomings and in fact, are actually attracted to "project" horses, especially when the price is discounted. Remember, the road to Grand Prix is full of surprises. Keep shopping until you find a horse that checks all the boxes because horses with shortcomings put you at a serious disadvantage. Don't listen to that voice in your head that says, "yes, but you are such a talented trainer, you can fix this horse." Maybe, just maybe you can, but it's a fools mission. Your competition is buying better horses than you and you'll have regrets in 4 years if you buy a horse that needs fixing. The more experienced you are at selecting young dressage prospects the more likely you are to admit it's nearly impossible to know for sure if a young horse will turn out to be a champion. Experts know how difficult it is to predict which young prospects will end up being great. I'm confident though that using these tips will increase your chances of picking a winner. This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them  with Steve. Together we make one another better. This post is copyright by the author 2024. No reproduction of any part is permitted without expressed permission.

Years ago, I traveled to Europe and found a young horse for an American rider. The horse’s name is Verdades, and the rider’s, Laura Graves . Verdades is the one of the most successful horses in American dressage history, having been ranked as #1 in the world at one period in his amazing career. I’m so pleased how that all turned out.  I admire Laura’s talent and persistence, the generosity of her sponsors, and the brilliance of her coaches. But let me be the first to say it: We got lucky.  That seems to be the American way. Each year, when we need to put a team together, we look around a year or two before and ask, “Does anyone happen to have a good horse right now?” Compared to what’s happening in Europe, it all just seems so hit and miss to me.  Yes, we have wonderful programs to support up and coming riders. Yes, we have a developing horse list. I was on it and in 1993, was the 4th ranking rider in the USA coming into the North American Championships.  But compare that to Dinja Van Liere earlier this year. I had one horse ready in 1993. Dinja had three horses that could have medaled at the 2024 Olympics. Dinja is currently ranking 3rd in the world. She has a barn full of horses that are in the queue for future competitions. She just rode Mauro Turfhorst to 4th place among the world’s best 7 year olds in Ermelo. Her understudy, Kim Alting, helps her train a barn full of younger horses.  What are Dinja’s chances of having horses ready to compete on the world stage in the coming years?  Quite high. In the past, the USA has used two approaches for sourcing our International  teams - riders showing up serendipitously with an FEI horse they’ve owned and brought along, or sponsors buying equine superstars for them. There’s nothing wrong with these approaches, but sadly, we’re having trouble keeping up with Europe with just serendipity and sugar daddies.  So, what’s it going to take? This summer, while attending the World Championships for Young Horses, I asked that exact question to two prominent figures in the European dressage landscape, people who have sent many horses to the Olympics over the years. Their answers were simple and direct. “The USA needs to have more good horses coming along.” It’s a numbers game. We need to have more top-quality young horses.  Things go wrong. Horses go lame. Sponsors fall through. If we’re too dependent on luck and a few benefactors, we’re at risk. We need a solution that is designed to beat the odds. Our riders need more than just one good-enough horse at a time, they’ve got to have better solutions in place for sourcing top horses and more promising prospects in their queue for the future. It is more common for top European riders to do this. At the 2024 World Breeding Dressage Championships for Young Horses, we saw a powerhouse of horse talent other countries and other successful Olympic riders already have in the queue for future International competitions. Germany, Holland, Denmark, and Sweden each qualified and brought a full quota of horses allowed by the FEI for their countries and reserve horses too. The quality of horses from these countries was quite impressive. I'm proud of the progress the USA has made and the three horses we qualified for this event (note: the FEI allow rules allowed us 6, plus reserves). But, I fear we are sadly behind Europe in our queue of world-class young horses being nurtured by our best riders. If a country’s head count for world-class young horses is a “leading-indicator” for that country’s future success, (and I’m certain it is), we’re working with a troubling handicap. Are we going to have a great team for the next Olympics? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Along with all the things the USA is doing right, we need to start investing in more and younger top-caliber horses. I’m hoping our USA-based young horse competitions  get even more traction to encourage this focus.  Buying more and younger top-caliber horses could also shift the demographic pool where riders could find sponsors. Top young horses (foals - three-year-olds) are often purchased at price-points within reach of many dressage enthusiasts, including the growing number of now-retired riders (like me) who might enjoy owning a potential champion. Partnerships and syndications can make financial participation within reach for many more individual dressage supporters, lessening our dependency on our sport’s limited number of uber-wealthy sponsors. Certainly, there are many factors behind sporting winning teams year-after-year. But one thing is clear to me; the countries that start with more great young horses will have the advantage for putting together winning teams. Author's Note: I believe in the concept of investing in many young dressage prospects, knowing that maybe one or two of them may turn into a world champion. The others, we'll find nice homes for them and they'll pay for themselves. I've been approached by others about doing the same, so I've organized a very special 7-day tour of Holland and Germany in conjunction with the famous KWPN Stallion Show in Jan/Feb 2025. We have very limited capacity and there has been some very strong interest from the dressage community. Contact me if you'd like to learn more. This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them  with Steve. Together we make one another better. This post is copyright by the author 2024. No reproduction of any part is permitted without expressed permission.  Did you like this article? Please share it with your other horse-loving friends!

To any dressage rider who will ever own a truly rare and special horse, you are among the most fortunate. When you spend time with this animal, you feel an unexpected delight and joy. Your time riding this horse will be some of your happiest moments and you'll be forever changed from time spent together. It surprises you with an abundance of generosity, and even more so, at the time you need it most. You become its servant, and you not only accommodate its special needs, you also insist that others do so as well. When the time comes to say goodbye, you cry real tears. Margit Otto Crepin was one of the lucky ones. She described her special horse, Corlandus, with such passion. “He is the horse of an era. To own such a horse is the most wonderful thing. He is like riding nothing else. I feel so dissatisfied when I am on other horses. Yet the feel he gives to me, helps me to make the other horses better. He is an inspiration.” - Margit Otto Crepin (Credit: https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2021/12/great-horses-of-the-past-corlandus/) I too have been so fortunate having owned/ridden some truly great horses, and have helped clients to discover their once-in-a-lifetime partners. And while it is hard to really put into words what it is that makes those horses so special, I can only try to describe the hidden attributes that separate those rare and special horses from the rest of the herd. Like great human athletes, great horses have resilience . Even after a tough ride, with sore muscles, a hard show schedule, they still meet you at the stall door when you come for them the next day. In their 2nd year at Grand Prix, when they know exactly the point where they have to piaffe or pirouette, they do their best, even knowing how hard it is. They’re tough. They like to work. Doing dressage and being out in public excites and motivates them. It’s a great experience to own such a horse, but only after they are gone do we look back and fully appreciate the depth of their generosity and their exceptional work ethic. They are brave , especially if you are there for them. They trust you and will go through the fire with you. Sure, they might spook or need a lot of your patience while they are afraid of the judges box. But in the end, they do so much for you, against their instincts, and all the more because they trust you. Great horses have a sort of equine self-esteem . When a dressage horse knows it’s good at the movements, they seem to take joy in performing. It’s a sort of hotness, like a jumper attacking a line of fences. When you turn onto the diagonal, you only ask once for the extension. Coming into the piaffe, you feel the horse starting to boil in anticipation. A great horse is good at its job and seems to know it. If you are ever so fortunate to experience such a special horse, you are forever changed. You’ll see the horses your peers are riding and wonder why they’ve settled for less than what they could have, that nearly intoxicating feeling a special horse gives to a deserving rider. Every horse you ride afterwards will be better because of your time with that special horse. While many horses have nice gaits, those truly special horses with these hidden attributes are rare, but worth seeking out as the reward is indescribable. This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them  with Steve. Together we make one another better. This post is copyright by the author 2024. No reproduction of any part is permitted without expressed permission.  Did you like this article? Please share it with your other horse-loving friends!

When I decided to devote myself full-time to helping dressage riders find special horses in Europe, I imagined my clientele would be amateurs. But to my surprise, it soon became a service for other dressage professionals. I loved working with good riders, helping them find great horses. It was inspiring to observe the talent that some of these riders had but also alarming how bad most were at making purchase decisions. I’ve been out of the show world, being CEO of a digital marketing company for 17 years. A few years ago, when we bought a winter home near Wellington, and started investing in horses overseas, I began attending dressage shows again, Dressage at Devon which is close to my farm in PA, and Wellington, close to our winter home.  It was fun to see people that I used to teach, now riding Grand Prix and judging shows! But it was disheartening to see how many talented USA riders are still competing on horses that they shouldn’t be wasting time on - horses that are holding back their careers. At one show in particular, we had guests from Europe with us. Frankly, we were embarrassed.  Since then, I’ve been in many conversations with other dressage professionals who are involved in horse sales. We all agree; dressage professionals tend to be quite bad at picking horses for themselves.  Looking back over the years when I used to travel to Europe with dressage trainers, helping them navigate their horse search/buying process, I saw some predictable patterns in how dressage professionals make bad horse choices.  Dressage Riders Tend To Buy Projects It’s not uncommon for dressage riders to be wowed by a horse with a freakish talent, like an extreme extended trot or a passage with great expression, while also having a bad canter or an impossible piaffe. Trainers tend to have way too much confidence in their ability to fix things. I swear, dressage trainers have an unhealthy attraction to “project” horses. Maybe it’s the pride of training a horse that no one else could have trained.  Years ago, I was competing a horse at Devon. Another local trainer was telling me about how horrible, difficult, and dangerous her horse was when she first got it. She was so proud that she trained it and now, here she was showing it at Devon! I listened affirmingly, but inside was thinking, “Yes, here she was, not winning at Devon in front of potential students, sponsors, and friends." I remember thinking, “Who even cares where you started with this horse or how little you paid for it?” I had just won the class where she didn’t even get a ribbon. My name was just etched on another one of Devon's prestigious perpetual trophies. Meanwhile, no one (but her) will even remember she ever showed there. People only care how your horse finishes, not how bad it was when you started or how cheap it was before it was trained.   Do you think anyone (except her) is impressed that she trained a horse she had no business riding or that she has just wasted precious years of her fleeting career? You might argue, yes, but if that’s what she enjoys…” I’d say, in the end, no one enjoys being unsuccessful as a professional, not getting sponsors, or even getting injured.  I know some would argue that it was all she could afford. But, I had just won the class on a homebred Hanoverian cross I paid less then 10K for unbroken because it was all I could afford. Admittedly, my horse wasn't a top International horse (which is what I should have been riding). I just made sure to not buy a project. Dressage Trainers Believe They Can Fix Horses We all know at least one woman who picks one bad husband after another because she thinks she can fix them. I swear, dressage professionals have that same gene; so many dressage riders have an irrational attraction to “projects.” When they see a horse with a 9.5 trot and a 5 canter, they are sure they can fix the canter.  Years later, they’re still working on the tempi’s and the horse is 14 years old and getting arthritis. The horse is still standing on its hind legs instead of going down the center line, not finding the right connection to the bit, or going lateral in the walk. These riders watch the awards ceremony from the sidelines and see other riders who were more careful which horse they chose. Smart riders who actually care about their careers don’t let the ego/hero/rescue thing cloud their judgment, and won’t give the time of day to a horse that isn’t a good career partner. Successful dressage trainers spend their precious years in the saddle on a horse that wants to do dressage, likes to show, and has the talent to win. Yes, some of these can still be challenging and even difficult at times - but they are horses that, in the end, can go the distance. When riders choose horses that aren’t compatible with their career ambitions, eventually they are tempted to be too tough on those horses. It’s a fool’s errand for the rider and often unfair to the horse. Dressage Riders Try To Be Good At Riding Every Different Type of Horse Successful dressage professionals not only avoid “projects,” they are also careful to pick horses that fit into their program. My wife rode a fantastic Contango son that another country’s team rider had owned and then sold. The horse’s former rider said, “he just wasn’t my type of horse.”  Smart dressage professionals say that. They know that they won’t be brilliant on every type of horse, and they make sure to train horses that align with their preferred feel and fit into their training system. No one cares if a trainer can ride anything. They don’t give Olympic medals to riders because they can ride every type of horse. Medals are earned by smart riders that choose a compatible partner that goes the distance with them. Dressage Professionals Think Their Only Problem Is Their Lack of Money  There has recently been a lot of discussion online about solving horse ownership problems with money, saying, “We need more sponsors to buy better horses for our riders,” but I don’t agree. Yes, money is a problem, but money is not the singular solution. I know enough very wealthy riders, and those who have money behind them that have never been long-listed. It takes talent, and it also takes a skill that is not talked about nearly enough in our industry; developing a great eye for a horse, having a strong network for finding horses, and developing the skill set for picking horses. It’s not as easy as most professionals think it is, and the younger the horse, the more often you’re wrong. A fool and his money are easily parted. Many professionals may be a bit naive about their ability to know a good horse when they see one. I know I was. That pretty much cost me my riding career and I see it happening to too many other professionals. It makes me sad seeing so many talented riders showing up at CDI’s with (expensive) horses that are just not the total package. I suspect some of those riders wish for a better horse, but feel stuck with what they have because of financial reasons.  Dressage Professionals Don't Get Help From More Experienced Buyers and Agents Just as being a dressage judge requires a separate skill from teaching and training, so is evaluating dressage prospects. Just sourcing good prospects is a time-consuming activity. Most successful professionals in Europe have a trusted network of people they rely on to help them. Far too many USA dressage professionals feel qualified to pick their next horse, and that one time when they do have a sponsor, they pick out the wrong horse for themselves. It is so common and it makes me very sad. Today, we're seeing more successful USA competitors engaging the help of agents (often quietly, and behind the scenes) to find and pre-qualify their future horses. Because I’m involved in dressage horse sourcing world-wide, I know first-hand the back-story of quite a few of the horses selected for world competitions. More top riders are realizing how much value a talented agent can be to their future success.  Recently while on a hike, I serendipitously ran into a recruiter for the Philadelphia 76'ers. It reminded me about how sports teams find top talent. In dressage, it's even more difficult as we are looking for top riding talent, top equine talent, and a great compatibility. In my opinion, our country has relied on random luck that a team will just magically come together year after year, while other country's riders are much better at sourcing great horses. If the USA teams are going to consistently take home Olympic medals, we need more of our riders with better approaches for having top horses at their disposal, and that includes working with talent scouts for International horses. I am grateful that years back I was able to fill the gap for professionals using the network I built in Europe together with the experience I had worked so hard to gain. We weren't always successful. No one is. But overall, we hit our share of home-runs, and I’m quite sure I saved a lot of professionals from making some bad horse choices.  This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them  with Steve. Together we make one another better. This post is copyright by the author 2024. No reproduction of any part is permitted without expressed permission.

Admittedly, when we talk about a dressage horse that’s a great mover, we are typically thinking about the trot, maybe the canter, and probably not the walk. It just isn’t as important to us and besides, there are fewer scores in dressage tests that reward a good walk than a good trot or canter.  In past decades, we’ve seen horses win medals with walks that are “good enough,” but not exceptional. But as the world is seeing more and more exceptional trots, maybe the walk scores will be the tie-breakers. So, here are the four things I focus on when looking at the walk: The Rhythm You simply have to start the discussion of a great walk with the focus on rhythm. Interestingly, you can hear a good walk even before you see it. The foundation of this gait is in its perfect rhythm. It produces a continuous sequence of footfalls, equally timed, deliberate, and not rushed.  For example, if you hear the first two foot falls, then a break in the sequence, then two more, the horse may be walking in a pace-like fashion. If the entire series of steps seems a bit rushed, the horse likely has a tight walk, lacking power. When the hind leg swings forward toward the front leg, it forms a momentary visual “V” with the front leg in a good walk. If the horse is moving in a pace-like deviation, no “V” is formed and the same side legs are moving in more of a parallel fashion, less like a “V.” You want to avoid horses with too strong of a tendency to pace.  Ironically, the biggest and most impressive walks can also be the most vulnerable to becoming pace-like especially when the horse’s back is tense and/or under a less than tactful rider. Extreme walks can be easily disrupted.  For example, the Hanoverian stallion, Graf Goetz scored an average of “4” as a young horse, especially during breeding season when he was tense and distracted at shows. His walk would become pace-like. With careful training and much practice, this same stallion scored consistent high marks (8, 9, and 10) under International judges as a successful Grand Prix horse. There is a fine line between a “4” walk and a “10” walk. Another point about rhythm is the actual speed. If a horse takes quick, rushed steps in the walk, they are typically lacking power, expression, and freedom. This type of walk might get through the test with a safe “6”  in extended walk, and it typically does not get pace-like like big slower, expressive walks. But especially in movement with coefficients, an “8” would be a lot better score.  2. The Hind Leg A great walk begins with a powerful intentional hind leg that articulates all of its joints and steps well under itself. Even if the horse is walking on concrete, it articulates its hind legs as though it is walking in taller grass. Avoid horses that have a stiff, sweeping hind leg that doesn’t articulate, looks clumsy, or nearly drags its toes.  Unlike the trot, the power from the hind leg will not produce an uphill posture or lift of the horse's body off the ground. The walk is the only gait in which feet are always on the ground and there is no “time-in-the-air” as in the trot and canter. The power of the hind leg is therefore expressed differently in the walk than in other gaits.  A powerful hind leg should produce a nice forward expressive walk with a good overstride and a snappy rhythm that isn’t rushed. A weak use of the hind leg produces a walk that has quicker, smaller, less expressive steps.  3. The Front Leg Most observers first note the amount of overstep in the walk to decide whether or not it is good, but great walks also have a distinctively beautiful use of their front legs. In the trot and canter, the front leg has the chance to show pretty extreme elevation and a degree of knee action, depending on the horse’s style of movement. In the best walks however, we’ll also see an exceptional freedom in the shoulder that allows an additional reach of the front leg. The best walks are beautiful in this way. Interestingly, some horses have a lot of freedom in the shoulder when trotting and/or cantering but not in the walk.  Some shorter-coupled horses are given credit for having good walks simply because they demonstrate a better than average overstep. But the best walks are more than just about rhythm and overstep from behind. The best walks also have a great shoulder action.  4. Stretch Overall, the back should relax in the walk, allowing the neck to lower and the stride to lengthen. A horse bred for driving, for example, may have a good hind leg and a pronounced activity in its step. But without a relaxed back, a horse doesn't naturally stretch forward into a high-scoring extended walk. The back remains tight and the horse is slow to stretch down. Horses like this tend to hold back from opening their stride. This type of horse may have an active walk but is at a disadvantage in demonstrating high-scoring medium and extended walks. There are any number of popular dressage bloodlines that produce “just good enough” walks. When a dressage star leaves us breathless with its piaffe and passage, we tend to forgive the short period of walk when the horse minces along with tense, relatively short, inexpressive steps.  While dressage scores show more range than they used to, (in my limited observation) judges still tend to use their mid scores for the walk. For example, a horse may have a very poor walk with little freedom or expression in the extended walk, but still earn a 5 or 6 if the horse is otherwise brilliant and the rider is famous. By contrast, a horse demonstrating a remarkable walk may only get one or two points more than a competitor with a poor one. As the judges have become more bold in using their range of scores in judging other movements, I trust that this type of approach will become more common in judging walk movements in the future. As that happens, perhaps “just good enough walks” will no longer be good enough to win a medal.  Practical Tips When Inspecting the Walk Here are a few practical tips to use when evaluating the dressage prospect’s walk: Give It Time Some horses demonstrate a great walk from the first step, but others need a bit of patience. Wise horsemen give a young horse the chance to relax with a few minutes of walking in order to demonstrate their best walk in a more relaxed state. The ideal situation is to see the young horse walk after being longed in side reins (loose of course), then walked for a few minutes in hand by a good handler who encourages the horse to relax and walk forward.  Breed associations have caught on to this and typically watch a horse walk for a few minutes if necessary. This gives a young horse, tense from the excitement of the inspection event, a chance to relax and demonstrate a walk with a more relaxed back. All said, don’t be too quick to judge a horse’s walk. You will need to give some horses a chance to relax before you can see the potential.  2. Be Careful Judging Very Young Foals Evaluating the walk of a foal is even more speculative. That’s especially true when the foal is new-born. Foals are born with extremely long legs in proportion to the length of their bodies. To form an initial opinion about the walk, it’s sometimes better to wait until a foal is at least 3 months old when it is a bit stronger and more coordinated. Even then, it can be hard to tell with certainty if the walk will be great, but you might see positive or negative attributes that may be informative. Keep in mind that when a foal is tense from excitement it may not show you the best walk. Just like in an older horse, sometimes you need to give the foal a chance to walk for a minute or two. If the foal isn’t yet weaned, a handler can lead the mare for a few minutes allowing the foal to walk by her side. The ideal time to get an impression is after the foal is a bit relaxed, but before it grows tired.  3. Look For Correctness Part of your inspection of the walk should include watching the horse walk directly toward and away from you. Ideally, you want the horse to be as correct as possible because deviations in conformation and in movement can put the horse at higher risk for lameness. But honestly, it’s not that simple because you aren’t necessarily looking for absolute perfection. Be careful not to categorically dismiss any young horse who has less than perfectly straight movement. Remember that the best horse in the world is not necessarily the most perfect horse in the world.  Making Your Final Assessment Sometimes we find a walk that is just amazing, sometimes we find a walk that is a deal-breaker. Most of the time, we find walks that are anywhere between those two extremes. How does one decide? You Can Fix Some Walk Issues, But Not Others Keep in mind that in spite of the false belief that “you can’t train the walk,” a talented trainer can often get more points in the walk movements with the right approach and program. For example, a rider can teach a horse to relax and stretch on command, even in the midst of an intense performance (as in a dressage test). This may earn an additional 1, 2, or 3 more points in the extended walk.  A walk with a volatile rhythm can sometimes be managed, making the difference between a 4 and an 8 score in a collected walk. A rider that is skilled at keeping the hind leg active can get a better score in a walk pirouette even on a horse that isn’t as naturally active behind. It is important for a rider to be very self-aware and not overly confident about what they can truly work with in a less than 10 walk.  2. Always Pass On A Bad Walk If you have fallen in love with a horse and you love its canter, this is going to be difficult. But you need to pass on a horse with a bad walk. Don’t make the common mistake great riders make, believing they can fix every issue in the walk.  3. Know Yourself I remember Harry Boldt, one of my instructors. He was known for being brilliant at canter pirouettes. Many professionals are better at some things than others. Some riders have a unique talent for working with specific walk challenges, others seem to make every horse pace. Part of the purchase decision with imperfect walks has to do with the rider’s honest understanding of their own talent for training this gait. If you are confident in navigating a walk with a volatile rhythm, go for it. Otherwise, you might be better off buying a horse you’re more sure of. This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them  with Steve. Together we make one another better. This post is copyright by the author 2024. No reproduction of any part is permitted without expressed permission.

Lately, there has been a lot of discussion about whether we like our top riders to develop their own horses or buy ones already made. In those discussions, some have suggested the ideal scenario is that our future Olympic horses are bred domestically, then trained up through the levels by American riders who eventually are picked for the team.  Reading that reminded me of the feelings I had when I watched past Miss American Pageants when contestants would say they want world peace. Everyone smiles and agrees, but knows this girl has absolutely no clue about world affairs or how things really work in keeping wars from starting. So it is on social media, where everyone can be an expert and say things that make them feel good.  So what do we tell Miss (or Mr) Dressage America when they say riders should buy domestically bred horses and ride/train them themselves? OK, this is two subjects: Developing or training a team horse, and domestic vs. imported horses. I’ll discuss the issue of training in this article, and handle the topic of domestic vs imported in another post.  So, should our Olympic dressage horses be developed or purchased? The purist in each one of us says “yes,” top riders should make their own horses. I know first-hand that many top riders prefer to make their own horses, giving them a foundation in their system of training. Some have compared remaking a horse that has been trained in a different dressage system as having to unbutton a shirt before you can button it up again. You lose time in the horse’s career and sometimes it never really works out in the end. Think about Totalis.  The sportsman in each one of us also says “yes,” they should have trained the horse themselves. After all, who wants our sport to become even more exclusive than it already is? Do we want our Olympic team to be made up of people who bought their way there? Of course, we all want to think “I too could stand on that podium and receive that medal,” and “the only reason I’m not there is because someone didn’t buy an expensive horse for me.” OK, I’m calling BS on that line of thought. I’ve lived long enough to see many very wealthy people never make the team, even after spending millions.  If you haven’t noticed, riding is extremely difficult. Competing at Grand Prix takes more than a trained horse. Winning at Grand Prix in International competitions is an experience that will only come to a very elite, talented few riders, rich or poor. It is naive to think our team will only be made up of wealthy people in the future. It takes a lot of talent, a lot of discipline, and a lot of luck no matter how you look at it.  And, buying a horse that has already beaten all the odds and has proven talent for International level Grand Prix, is sound, and can compete with the top horses in the world, young enough to have a future - well it sounds good to me! I’ll take two please. If a sponsor steps up and purchases one for any of our talented riders, one of these very rare (and very expensive) horses, I say an enormous and deeply heartfelt thank you to them for supporting our sport and our country in that way. May many others follow in that sponsor’s footsteps! Yes, I’m a bit jealous. But, I’ll get over it and cheer for other riders and wave my American flag! But seriously, aside from a bit of jealousy, I’m happy if any talented, hard-working American dressage rider is fortunate enough to partner with a fantastic dressage horse. I know first hand how difficult it is to win a Grand Prix when against other top riders.  Last month, I watched Isabel Werth have a brilliant ride in Rotterdam on her new (made) horse, Wendy. I had seen the pair before, and wasn’t overwhelmed. But Werth had made this talented mare more like her partner over the past months and the result was so beautiful and so inspiring to watch. I can’t imagine any scenario where a top rider is given a top horse and the rider doesn’t have to bring that horse into his/her system and become a partner. Sometimes it never works and it looks really bad for the new rider/trainer. Regardless of where a horse is in its training, it takes a brilliant dressage athlete to sync with a horse and produce a winning score on the world stage of dressage.  If anyone thinks a horse is like a motorcycle, a commodity that one can just buy and ride to the Olympics, they are very naive.  Do I like the idea of riders developing their own horses? Frankly, I don’t care. Some brilliant Grand Prix trainers I’ve known over the years didn’t like riding younger horses. When accustomed to riding at high levels of collection, a trainer can inadvertently expect too much too soon from a young horse without intending to. It can be frustrating for the horse and the trainer.  Other Grand Prix riders I’ve known are somehow able to dumb down their expectations for a young horse, and enjoy riding horses at lower levels, patiently bringing them along. I guess some college professors can enjoy teaching first grade too. It would drive me crazy. Who are we to judge?  When I was an FEI level trainer, I didn’t enjoy riding 3, 4, and 5-year-olds. Practically speaking, I didn’t like the risk to my safety that goes along with riding a young horse. If I got hurt, it would be devastating to me and my family that depended on me financially. I appreciated a horse with good basics, but I had others who rode under me that enjoyed putting the foundation into younger horses. It just wasn't my thing. From a business standpoint let’s look at real odds; many promising young horses don’t go the distance and become team horses. Statistically, most don’t make it. So, to beat those odds, how many young horses does a top FEI rider have to start with, spend years riding in order for one to be an Olympic hopeful when it's nine? More than is practical. A top International level rider bringing along one young horse is not a realistic plan and neither is that top rider riding 5+ four-year-olds a day on top of their other teaching and training. Yes, there are anecdotes where that one horse worked out. I mean, I sold Verdades to Laura Graves who worked really, really hard and got lucky too! But success isn’t made up of a plan that involves catching lightning in a bottle.  So what is a good plan?  Or maybe the better question is, “Among the very short list of riders who show up with top horses year-after-year, what are they doing right? How have top trainers managed to have horses for the Olympics again and again? This question sounds like another blog post! But I'll give you a hint - most riders who show up year after year have many options in the queue (of developing young horses) and they don't leave it to chance. They are always working hard on that aspect of their careers. Conversely, in my observation, most of our (USA) professionals need to put more of their focus on building possibilities for future horses, and that can mean many different pathways. But riders who are successful on one horse after another have plans in place, engage the right resources, and devote a portion of their time to making sure they have more than one option for a team horse always coming along. Meanwhile, for riders who simply had a sponsor step in and buy them a ready-to-go Grand Prix competitor - well, good for you! I want to go on record saying these riders should still receive our full support and yes, also our full respect - and go team USA! This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them  with Steve. Together we make one another better. This post is copyright by the author 2024. No reproduction of any part is permitted without expressed permission.

As a young dressage professional and showing Grand Prix, I felt that the hard work I had put into my riding education was paying off. And with that newly found success, came a bit of self-confidence. I remember being irritated about the then powers-that-be who were unwilling to fast-track some of the current top riders through the judging licensing program even though the country really needed more good judges. Those of us who had gotten a lifetime of dressage education from some of the world’s best trainers, and had proven ourselves in the show ring and produced other riders - we felt insulted and dishonored being made to sit with our entry level students, and even students of our students in endless judging forums.  Looking back, some of that angst was justified and I’m sure many more of my generation of FEI riders would now be filling the judges boxes had things been different. But some of that angst was my own arrogance. I failed to realize that  judging is a very separate skill than training and teaching . Yes, there is a lot of knowledge overlap, but it is a very separate skillset and there is a lot of knowledge (and basic competency) I didn’t have and would need to work long and hard to attain. I was only half-right.  And I had another blind spot in my competency as a celebrated rider; my ability to pick a great dressage horse. I thought I had several nice horses in my barn that might one day replace my USET listed horse, Graf Goetz. I was wrong. I didn’t work hard enough at a succession plan and in the end, that was one of the things that was career ending for me as a competitor. I might know what you’re thinking at this point. You’re wondering if Steve had money to buy a great horse, and my response might surprise you. Not really, but in the end, the problem wasn’t money.  As a celebrated rider, some wealthy people came together and bought me a beautiful black stallion for my next team horse. If I knew then what I knew now, I would never have allowed this horse to be my sponsors’ choice. He was a breathtaking mover and he had amazing and flamboyant gaits. In fact, I got the high-score of the entire show at the Palm Beach Derby riding third level under Edgar Hotz on this stallion. (Usually the highest score is earned at the easier test levels; training or first level). But in spite of that early success, this horse was never going to go the distance or be a team horse. If I knew then what I know now, I would have recognized that.   He had a slow hind leg, especially in the collected trot and canter. His overall technique was not easy to work with. His reaction from the leg wasn’t to lower his hind end and push uphill. In fact, it was quite the opposite.  When Robert Dover initially saw him, he said, “if you get this horse to Grand Prix, it will be an amazing testament to your talent as a rider.” He meant it as a polite way of telling me I hadn’t made a good choice, but in my cocky arrogance I took it as a challenge. I did train that horse and when I stopped riding him (due to health reasons), he was well-started in all the Grand Prix movements. His gaits were fabulous and after 10,000 transitions, he moved uphill. But, at what cost? It was not fun at all, for me or that horse. What if I had been on a truly gifted horse? Training this stallion was hard on me, physically and emotionally. It may be why my body eventually broke down. That horse was neither generous or happy to work and I went through a career ending depression which I’m convinced affected my health. My naive confidence in my ability to pick a good horse and to train any horse was my downfall. I felt ashamed to tell my generous sponsors we had made a very expensive bad choice, but when the horse eventually developed lameness issues, I had no choice. The years spent riding that difficult horse were hard on me emotionally because I felt trapped. I had to ride this horse that was really, really difficult. The entire situation made me look bad as a trainer because that’s what bad horses do to trainers, make them look bad.  During those difficult career years, I began taking more trips to Europe and became increasingly committed to developing my eye for a good horse. By 2001, having stopped riding altogether, I was traveling there monthly with customers. I learned bloodlines inside and out, what they produced, how they behaved, and how likely they were to accept training at higher levels. Rideability and temperament is passed onto offspring more predictably than movement or conformation, so this type of knowledge was a great asset in helping people decide what to buy.  I learned the tricks of the trade horse sellers use and how to protect buyers. I learned the lay of the land in Europe and who to work with (and who to avoid). I learned a lot about how to spot horses that would work out over time and how to uncover the right information. I learned what to expect from certain bloodlines and whether you want certain lines in the father’s or mother’s bloodline.  My background as a Grand Prix rider and trainer was extremely helpful, but being in Europe every month for the better part of 10 years was an incredible educational experience in a specific area of expertise: finding great horses, ones that would go the distance.  This was an entirely different education and expertise than I had earlier in my career.  This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them  with Steve. Together we make one another better. This post is copyright by the author 2024. No reproduction of any part is permitted without expressed permission.

I often hear about international dressage riders buying foals in hopes of someday owning a dream horse they couldn’t otherwise afford. It’s a proven strategy, especially if you buy more than one foal. But selecting a foal can be tricky, and certainly different from looking at a dressage prospect under saddle. Buying a foal comes with a lot of risks. Will the foal stay sound? Will it have a great feel under saddle? Will it have the talent you need to compete at the highest levels of dressage some day?  Because of those inherent risks, you need every advantage as you evaluate foals for sale and ultimately choose which to purchase. Here are a few tips that may improve your chances of success:  Evaluate the foal when it has just the right amount of energy. Sometimes when foal shopping, we’ve arrived at the breeders only to discover the mare and foal outside, where they’ve been for hours or even days (with a shelter). This is a problem because foals typically don’t present themselves well when they are tired. When you ask them to move, they’ll just jog along. When stimulated a bit more, they gallop. Tired foals often have trouble showing you their potential. They may even look a bit clumsy when in fact, they’re not. Ideally, when you arrive at the foal’s location, the breeder has kept the mare and foal inside from the day before and overnight. When you see the foal turned out after a nice rest, it will be fresh and ready to show you its best. That’s when you’re most likely to see the foal's potential.  But be careful. Foal adrenaline can make even any foal look better than it really is. When the foal is very excited, you may see a lot more activity in the hind leg, freedom in the shoulder, and impulsion than will be expressed in the foal’s actual working trot. When the foal is holding its tail straight up, you will have more difficulty getting a look at the actual technique in its gaits.  Look carefully for that narrow window of time beginning after the foal lets out its initial burst of energy, and before it quickly grows tired. If you’re videoing, that’s the time to be sure to capture the foal’s movement.  This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them with Steve. Together we make one another better. This post is copyright by the author 2024. No reproduction of any part is permitted without expressed permission.

In my retirement years as a dressage professional, I’ve discovered an activity that is really enjoyable; foal shopping in Europe. If you want a back-stage tour into the horse world in its most raw form, travel around from farm to farm and meet small breeders. Every address is a new discovery.  I especially enjoy meeting the breeders, typically down-to-Earth people who often invite you into their homes to enjoy coffee. They are so proud of their foals and pleased to show them off to you.  More times than not, you have to look at the foal in less than ideal conditions. That’s where you have to be careful. Sometimes you have to be sure to see the foal on the right footing.  Having shopped for decades and been in more than 1000 different circumstances, I can attest that horse shopping puts you in some pretty crazy circumstances in which to evaluate horses, and not all are ideal. A friend and I still talk about the time we showed up to look at a 2 year old filly. It was with a group of at least 15 other 2 year old fillies. It took the barn managers 45 minutes to catch her, a round-up that entailed her escaping into the large indoor stabling complex and her exploring places in that facility horses typically wouldn’t go. She outsmarted 3 determined Dutch horsemen who ended up exhausted, bruised, and humiliated. It was like capturing a wild deer.  The point at which my client said, (after 30 minutes into the high speed chase), “please, don’t go to any trouble,” left us laughing so hard at this ridiculous situation, we couldn’t speak. By the time they caught her (she ran into an empty stall which made it possible to get her halter on), she was too tired to show, so they just put her away. We did our best to keep a polite composure and showed gratitude for all their trouble, but when we got in the car, we laughed so hard we couldn’t drive.  While not all circumstances are that bad, there are a few common situations you often get into when foal shopping. The most common problem you might encounter is a poor area to present the foal.  A smart seller will show you a foal in deep grass, deep mud, or deep sand. Foals will lift their knees and articulate their hocks in an exaggerated way to compensate for the unnatural footing, and it will make them appear to have much better movement and a very different natural technique than nature actually gave them. You can be easily misled by this type of presentation, in person, or on a video. Be careful.  Ideally, you will want to see a foal in the same type of footing that they would perform a dressage test. That might mean a turn-out paddock, or a field where the grass is mowed.  The size of the turn-out area can also make a difference. Sometimes, when a foal is turned out in a very large field, it will start galloping. By the time it stops running, it is a bit tired or too far away to evaluate properly. So, very large fields often don’t work out. Longing pens tend to have deep footing and foals might not show you their best movement when confined to a circle.  The ideal area to see a foal can be an indoor arena. Typically, you’ll have the depth of footing that is ideal for the foal to show you its natural ability, and in a safe environment. Also, the size of many riding stables’ indoors (20m x 40 - 60m) is perfect even if it is an outdoor paddock of a similar size or maybe a bit smaller.

Looking at foals can be like looking into a room through a keyhole. You can’t see the whole picture, only parts of it. While there is no certainty in selecting foals, here are some things I get excited about when I watch a foal move: I like to see the foal's body shift uphill as a result of the hind legs’ impulsion. I know I put more emphasis on this than some other horse people and I attribute it to my background as a grand prix rider, trainer, and clinician. I never liked horses that don’t raise their withers as a natural reaction to the rider's leg. Saying it in a positive way, I love the feeling of a horse that feels like the shoulders come up as a result of the rider’s driving aids. Some horses have big leg movement, but don’t shift to an uphill posture. It’s just not for me. I like to see a good articulation of the hind joints and a free shoulder, even in the foal’s normal trot. Nothing’s worse than riding a horse with a clumsy hind leg, no matter how much impulsion and presence it shows you. I know this is a bit of my personal preference coming through, but I feel in today’s competitive environment, nothing is more disappointing than a piaffe and passage with no bend at the knee. Twenty years ago, that was ok if the horse had good impulsion and metronome type rhythm. Today, judges and audiences want to be wow’d. While it can be tricky business to see these qualities in foals, they are characteristics in a foal’s technique that I focus on. I like to see a foal with presence. You often hear breeders of international dressage superstars say, “we knew he was special, even as a foal.” This is hard to describe, but great foals seem to know they are great, and they exude a presence that normal foals don’t have. It is easy to be fooled, especially by foals who are “late bloomers.” I rarely disqualify a foal if it doesn’t have a presence every day, but I do get excited when I find a foal that has that rare and inspiring presence that gives it something extra.  This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them  with Steve. Together we make one another better. This post is copyright by the author 2024. No reproduction of any part is permitted without expressed permission.

Breeders and professionals with knowledge of dressage horse bloodlines can be a terrific help. This is one of the great advantages that breeders have in Europe. By attending the stallion inspections and young horse championships, they have early knowledge of which young stallions are producing the next generation of great riding horses. It’s not uncommon for me to hear Americans talking about a stallion they are excited about, when in Europe, people are already breeding to that stallion’s best son, or even grandson! Typically, people focus on the stallion when discussing a foal’s breeding, but I recommend focusing on the mare line even more. As temperament is one of the most predictable traits that mares and stallions pass on to their offspring, prioritize foals out of mothers who competed successfully in sport. If you’re buying a potential breeding stallion, look for mother lines that have produced other approved stallions.  I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to buy a foal out of a good mother-line and this is also why I’m a huge advocate of shopping in Europe for world-class foals. The number of world-class mother-lines in Europe per square mile is exponentially higher than in the United States, where we have a much smaller percentage of exceptional mares and they are scattered far and wide.  Certain bloodlines produce certain traits, good and bad. Knowing the bloodlines helps you know what to look for. For example, I can think of one stallion that often produces crooked legs. Knowing that, I’m very careful to look at his offspring’s conformation. Some bloodlines are known for producing foals that are prone to cribbing, or easily develop uneven heel height. Some stallions produce fabulous young horses, but they rarely make it to the FEI levels.  Be careful not to be completely dismissive about any particular bloodline. Some stallions that are reportedly difficult to train are fabulous in the mother line. The famous Amor was an example of this. His direct offspring were mostly difficult, but he produced many mares that became famous producers of horses that didn’t have Amor’s difficult nature.  While I’m a strong advocate of picking good bloodlines, I’d caution buyers to pay a lot more attention to the horse itself. I’ve seen many, many terrible horses by famous stallions. I look for a fabulous foal that has the brilliant traits of its parents. There are plenty of mediocre horses with great pedigrees. I see them advertised on Facebook every day. Be careful not to end up owning one of these by being too enamored with the foal’s papers.  This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them  with Steve. Together we make one another better. This post is copyright by the author 2024. No reproduction of any part is permitted without expressed permission.

When looking at a foal, it requires a sharp eye to see the important moments when the foal shows you its best movement. It requires an attentive eye. But that can be a problem. I’ve often come away from evaluating a foal and realized I didn’t pay enough attention to the mother. What if the foal grew up to be just like his/her mother? Would I still want to ride it or breed a mare to it? Does this mare have her own greatness? Does she have a presence and good movement? Are you drawn to her? Be careful to make allowances for her current maternal state. For example, she may be thin from producing milk. In most cases the mare won’t be in riding condition.  Amateurs often make the mistake of being too critical of a mare’s back conformation. The lack of muscling over the loin area changes the aesthetics of the mare’s topline and most amateurs say the mare is “long-in-the back,” when she isn’t. Sometimes mares are kept in training and are ridden, but most are not. Don’t be fooled by this because an unfit mare who is also nursing a foal may not be great to look at.  You can, however, see certain things in a mare’s movement. Look for an active hind leg, even in the mare’s “normal” trot. Look for freedom in the shoulder, an expressive front leg, and overall uphill movement.  I love to see a mare walk out of the barn and command attention with her presence. I love to see a mare’s positive attributes in conformation and overall quality align with her pedigree. In other words, you can say something like, “Wow, she really looks like a Jazz daughter!” This post is the opinion of Steven Wolgemuth at the time of publication. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute to this article, a question, or even a disagreement, please share them  with Steve. Together we make one another better. This post is copyright by the author 2024. No reproduction of any part is permitted without expressed permission.