TM Sporthorses

10/25/2026

Yesss Don!!!! I agree

The hunter ring is known for its grace and polish, but veteran trainer Don Stewart believes it’s time to raise the bar—literally and figuratively. With decades of experience training top junior and amateur riders, Stewart has seen firsthand how course design impacts not just ribbons but the overall quality of riding in the division.

“I’m a big believer in harder courses,” Stewart said. “I think courses should be harder for the hunters. I think the judging would be easier.”

It’s a compelling idea: that more complex courses would lead to more objective judging. By asking riders to show track, pace, and ex*****on over turns and striding, stronger courses may create clearer separations in quality and fewer subjective ties.

In Stewart’s view, many hunter courses are too basic to properly assess a round. When every rider completes a smooth, rhythmic trip over simple lines, it becomes difficult to reward one over another.

“You go in and you do your job, and three horses are the same,” he explained. “And there’s really no way to separate them, because nobody took a risk.”

This leads to overly subjective judging and potentially discouraging results. For riders who are capable of showing brilliance, there’s often little incentive to take chances. “The ones that really want to go in there and go somewhere and get it done and ride, they don’t have a lot of opportunity,” Stewart said.

He doesn’t blame the judges, but rather the format. “If there’s more asked, you can see more,” he noted. “It’s like equitation. There’s a lot to look at.”

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/10/15/rethinking-the-hunter-ring-why-we-need-harder-courses/
📸 © Heather N. Photography

10/11/2026

The team had a great day at Whippoorwill Finals yesterday!!!!! I was so proud of all our horses and riders!!!

Jalyn and Noble’s very first show!!! What a darling quiet good baby he was… he learned how to jump gates and a whole course AT the show!!! He did everything asked of him like the Noble Gentleman he is!!! What a bright future they have 😍

Jalyn and Max!!! They rocked the 3’ height and put down an Equitation course that left me speechless!!! It was flawless …. 👏👏👏

Bella and Diego were great in their second time moving up to the 26” height in the Children’s. She ROCKED her derby course with all of her lead changes!!! The confidence and improvement from them is really incredible.

Reagan and Ellie moved up to the Pony Hunters and WOW did they excel! This pair has found their groove to say the least!!! They won one of their jumping classes!!! 🤩

Avery and Max were fabulous as usual!!! They were consistent and rocked all 3 classes with a 2nd and 3rd over fences in a VERY competitive division!

McKenna and Mav!!! What do I say about this pair? 🤔. McKenna gets the sportsmanship award and showed everyone what I once thought was not possible! She has developed a level of trust with Mav that kept him happy and trying his very best!!!

We missed Piper and Rye and Synclaire and Nala and hope Rye feels better soon! I am seriously contemplating putting her in bubble wrap blanket in the field 🤪🥰

Congratulations to the entire team on a great day!

10/08/2026

The most beautiful night with some great girls and ponies!!!

(And Nala jumped the hedge for the first time!! I think she’s a bit of an overachiever!!! 🤩)

09/28/2026

My girls are pretty good about this!!! RIDER FITNESS is HUGE!!!

I feel like I have had this conversation until I am blue in the face: riders should exercise outside of the tack, Laura Crump Anderson writes. With top athletes like McClain Ward and Boyd Martin exercising regularly outside of the tack, it’s clear that fitness will improve your riding. Exercise outside of riding isn’t just for the elite; rider fitness has a huge impact on every rider’s success in the saddle.

While unmounted exercise is important, time spent in the tack is the best way to improve your riding. The sport-specific skill you develop in your seat/core, legs, arms, and hands cannot be recreated by any exercise program. Correct timing and knowing when to reward and when to push is not going to come from box jumps. As a lifelong equestrian, my timing and feel is not something I have developed in the gym.

Exercising outside of the tack can reduce your chance of injury. Strengthening muscles that are not worked during riding creates a healthier, more stable body. Working out can improve your ability to tell where you are in space, improve your body composition, improve your mobility, and even help fight depression and anxiety. Exercise can also improve your sleep, which is an essential part of rest and recovery.

I am a lifelong equestrian. I started riding ba****ck on the trails on my Shetland Miniature cross. I got into a hunter jumper barn when I was eight and have competed locally and well as at a few rated shows like Upperville. I found the sport of eventing when I was 12 years old and have been hooked ever since. That has not stopped me from working in grand prix dressage and showjumping barns as well. I believe that in this sport, you can always be learning.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2024/08/16/why-riders-need-to-exercise/
📸 © Tally Ho Creative

08/15/2026

💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

“Comparison is the thief of joy,” my wonderful trainer once told me. I have carried that quote with me for years, Ella Alvarez writes.

It is so easy to compare yourself in the horse world, especially when it comes to showing. Ours is a sport where, regardless of the rulebook, the playing field is never completely level. The reality is that finances shape opportunities. Top horses cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even if you have the knowledge and patience to develop a young horse yourself, the cost of purchasing, training, boarding, showing, veterinary care, and farrier work adds up. There is no inexpensive path to success.

It can be difficult not to compare yourself when you walk into the warm-up ring and see someone riding one beautiful horse while their grooms are already preparing the next two. In the hunters especially, that comparison can feel impossible to ignore. Most riders, myself included, have one horse- one partner, one chance each class to put together the round we’ve worked so hard for. Meanwhile, someone else may have three horses in the same division: three opportunities to find the perfect distance, three chances to recover from a mistake, and, on a great day, three chances to sweep the ribbons.

Is that fair? I actually think it is.

📎 Continue reading this piece at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2026/08/08/when-comparison-walks-into-the-warmup-ring/
📸 © Andrew Ryback Photography

08/12/2026

Equitation often carries a reputation as a junior rider’s proving ground. But Geoff Teall makes a compelling case that every rider, regardless of age or discipline, can benefit from training like an equitation rider.

“Equitation riders learn more about lengthening and shortening, turning, lightening, and making their horses responsive than most riders in other disciplines,” he writes. Those skills stretch the rider, challenge the horse, and ultimately make both more capable in the long run.

At its core, equitation is about learning how to ride into and out of problems. “Since fine-tuning your equitation skills involves learning how to ride into and out of specific problems, you learn a lot about training,” Teall explains.

Instead of simply drilling a course, equitation work encourages riders to think critically. Each challenge becomes an opportunity to use position, balance, and timing to find the solution. By approaching mistakes as puzzles to solve, riders develop resilience, confidence, and a stronger sense of feel.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/08/25/why-every-rider-should-train-like-an-equitation-rider/
📸 © Heather N. Photography

08/02/2026

Well 🤔. That will work 😬🤣

Well, here's an idea for riders who lose track of where they're going because they can't stop staring at their horse's head. It's a helmet visor, upside down, secured around the rider's neck with a hair-tie. It prevents the rider from looking down and thus encourages him to look where he wants to go. Totally unconventional, but it worked.

08/02/2026

Noble’s first ride off the track! What a sweet special boy! He’s going to be soooo nice 💜

07/27/2026

Congratulations to Jalyn on her purchase of Noble Gentleman-this dream has been a long time coming and we are all so excited for their future together!!!! Noble decided he is done with his race career and with Jalyn’s help we will figure out what his future holds. Big huge thanks to Leanne Hester for always saving me the best ones 😍

07/26/2026

We had the best 2 days at the Virginia Commonwealth Games! I am so thankful for everyone who makes these trips happen …. Moms who bring me Diet Pepsi and food, Dads who drive trailers, my two “young adult riders” who set the bar for the younger riders, little brothers who hang out with zero complaints, the absolute best group of horses including the Hunter horse who happily dabbled in the jumpers like the best boy he is, best friends at the show that make this all happen, best friends at home who play with my fur babies, Aunties who double as horse people, and for our Trent who always has my back!

Jalyn and Max were Champion in their debut doing Pleasure Horse and did the most amazing Hunter Hack test (or was it an eq test? Who knows but it was perfection) 3rd in the Big Derby and amazing jumper rounds on a lifelong hunter horse- she rocked it every second and is the best big sister to my younger girls!

Bella and Diego were by far the most improved!!! She made me so proud- she cantered everything with confidence and got some great ribbons !! She always has the best attitude and her sportsmanship is stellar- the one who gives you a hug just when you need it!

Piper and Rye —- I am at a loss for words! Piper rode perfectly and gave Rye such a great experience at her first big show. They won a hunter class and rocked the jumper ring!! Rye is just 😱 … she blows me away with her intelligence, grace and huge heart! It’s not often you get a special racehorse like this ! What a bright future these two have!

McKenna and Diego were absolutely amazing in the hunters- she won the Eq on the flat that was more like a Maclay test.. yikes it was hard ! McKenna was the best assistant to me and always works so hard!

Avery and Max were amazing both days! When his momma Kenzie says wow to a flat class you know it was good 😊!!! Avery rocked her jumper courses like a superstar and was Champion both days!!!

My little bits!!! She is my tiny mini me! Always gives me 100 percent! She absolutely shined like the star she is in short stirrup with great ribbons in some tough competition on the cutest pony there is!!! The jumpers were challenging but she never gave up and I promise you there is no other kid that I will run on foot with in a coliseum in front of hundredss of people!!! Yay Reagan - continue to work hard and do big things I am so proud of you!