Horse Illustrated Magazine

A while ago, I had a conversation with some friends about the relative difficulty of different disciplines. They were of the mind that if you can ride saddle seat, you can ride any discipline. My riding instructor in high school used to say the same thing, and I can kind of see why you might think that. The saddles are flat, so it’s up to you to keep yourself in the right place. You’ve got to manage two sets of reins. The horses tend to be pretty high-powered.

But overall, I disagreed with my friends. I spent half my life riding saddle seat, and not to toot my own horn, I think I was pretty good at it. I’m not the prettiest rider, but I felt comfortable riding saddle seat, even when riding a hot Saddlebred through five gaits. It’s been a couple of years since I last sat in a cutback saddle, but even now I think I’d feel pretty confident seated on a flat saddle aboard a high-stepping horse with a big “go” button. It feels natural to me.

But navigating a dressage test? I try, I really do, but I have trouble getting it. And when I read or hear an expert in the discipline explain what are supposed to be basic concepts, I just get more confused. Not to mention that when I took a semester of dressage during my sophomore year of college, it took me quite a few rides to get used to the feeling of all that saddle around me. For some riders, a dressage saddle feels more secure, but after having ridden saddle seat for so long it just seemed constricting. I felt like I couldn’t sit where I needed to.

And jumping? Don’t get me started. I also had a hunt seat semester in college, and at the end of it I felt okay about jumping. But when I started taking lessons in the discipline again a few years ago, it was like I’d never ridden before. I still can’t see a distance most of the time and I’m pretty sure I look like a drunk monkey over every fence. Yeah, I can ride a hot horse with two reins and a flat saddle, but frankly, I haven’t found that to translate perfectly to other disciplines.

But enough about me.

Last night, I went to Saddlebred night at the Alltech National Horse Show where one of the featured events was the Multi-Breed Challenge in which four professional hunter and jumper riders paired up with four Saddlebred trainers for a fun competition. The Saddlebred riders would ride a 2’6″ hunter course, then the hunter/jumper riders would compete in a five-gaited class. As a spectator with an interest in both of those disciplines, I have to say, it was fantastic.

Here are some photos from the competition, along with a look at some of the competitors as they’re more typically seen, for comparison.

Back to The Near Side