Words of Wisdom - Jennie Loriston-Clarke

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Words of Wisdom

Jennie Loriston-Clarke MBE, the doyenne of British dressage, shared an interesting thought in a column published in Horse & Hound in July 2022. Its title was "‘Are we sacrificing horses’ soundness for the wow factor?"

Jennie has had a dressage competition career that includes representing Britain at five Olympic Games and winning bronze at the World Championships in 1978, the same year she became a Fellow of the British Horse Society (BHS). She is renowned as a trainer and judge as well as being a passionate supporter of British-bred horses, having trained home-bred horses to international level.

On Breeding Horses for Longevity

Soundness is such an important topic from a breeding point of view. Many dressage horses seem to require specialist treatments during their careers nowadays, and I wonder whether this is because we are now breeding horses to have such huge, elastic paces that their bones and joints can’t quite keep up with the amount of pressure put on them.

On Big Movers

"It’s certainly the case that these big-movers need to be treated much more delicately than a horse with more normal paces. I have seen some marvellous young horses at the World Breeding Championships and, closer to home, at the Futurity championships, that don’t appear to have continued with a career in sport. Where are they all now?"

"Some riders ask too much from young horses too soon. As far as I’m concerned, the more spectacular the movement, the less that horse should be shown as a youngster, unless they really are very strong. The basics are more important at those early stages than the wow factor, but in showing correct training it’s possible to give judges a glimpse of what is to come."

On Competing Young Horse

"Young horse classes and championships are great, but I do see horses that are pushed further than they are ready for at that stage in their development. I wish more people would realise that a horse can still become a perfectly good grand prix horse even if it takes a little more time."

"The last thing you want to do is force it with a horse that isn’t mentally or physically ready, so stand back and assess the horse’s brain as well as its body. Would it benefit from competing in a young horse class, or from a few more months turned away in the field?"

Read the full article in Horse & Hound