I enjoyed the Fourth of July at the Lake Placid Horse Show in upstate New York. My super star jumper Jamison has gone on sabbatical but my trainer Missy Clark is letting me ride Doc, her amazing Indoctro 7-year-old. Our first classes together were on the grass Grand Prix field at the Lake Placid Horse Show. Things went pretty well, but there’s lots of room for improvement. I had several noteworthy rounds on my stalwart equitation partner Ivy.
Also, Marisa Metzger, my rider friend from California, decided to come and work for Missy’s barn, North Run, for the Lake Placid Horse Show. When I first started training with Missy and John Brennan, the staff was almost exclusively female, then it shifted to Latino men and now it’s back to female college educated women.
Bicoastal Equitation riders Navona Gallegos and Taylor Harris at the
I Love New York Horse Show in Lake Placid.
I’ve been working with Missy back East for a few seasons now, so I was curious to know Marisa’s impressions as a newcomer. Here’s our chat:
What were your duties and where did you stay during the show?
My duties for North Run were to care for the horses that I was assigned before and after showing, including cleaning their stalls, watering them and applying their treatments at the end of the day. I stayed at a hotel Missy provided for me and the three other girls that were working as grooms for North Run for the two weeks.
How many horses were stabled with North Run? How many did you care for?
There were about 36 horses stabled with North Run, not including FEI horses, and I cared for between four and five throughout the two weeks, as well as helping with the FEI horses on days when they were showing.
Was it inspiring to see World Cup rider Hillary Dobbs training side by side with the junior riders?
Yes, it was very exciting to get to watch Hillary Dobbs up close, and even more exciting to talk to her! Sometimes it can be hard to see riders like that as normal people and it was amazing to get to have conversations with her that have nothing to do with horses. It was also extra cool because I was able to help take care of Quincy B, her World Cup horse, which was so exciting.
What was it like to work with the FEI horses?
Working with the FEI horses was something that I have never done before and it was a really great experience. It was amazing to see the amount of care that went into those horses and I feel that I learned a lot from spending time with them. Also, because I took the horses to the ring for the Grand Prix, I was able to stand in the warm-up ring and hear Missy and John’s input and training techniques.
How does the East Coast differ from
the West?
The East Coast is very different from the West Coast in a lot of respects. I feel that on the East Coast, riders are expected to do more for themselves than we do on the West Coast. At North Run, all the juniors were expected to unbraid their horses’ manes everyday as well as clean their own tack and ride their own horses in the morning. Also, the horse shows on the East Coast run a lot different from ours in that, even when it rains, they still show!
California North Run intern Maria Metzger.
Photo: Winter Hoffman
What do you think of Missy Clark’s
training methods?
I thought they were quite varied and that she was very good at having individual programs for each horse. Even when Missy is warming up six different horses for the same class, she is able to individualize what each needs to do for themselves and their horse. She also uses a lot of “old school” techniques along with newer ideas, which is a good way to keep horses fresh as well as happy with their jobs.
The barn staff at North Run is mostly female. Does this change the dynamic?
I think that the mostly female staff helps the barn run more smoothly because we are able to communicate well. I asked the manager Emily Kilker how she felt about the staff and she agreed that the staff worked well because we understood what needed to be done quickly and were willing to do it. Also, the mostly female staff felt more comfortable around each other and, therefore, encouraged teamwork and helping one another.
Me being presented an award by Mr. and Mrs. Richard Feldman,
founders of the Lake Placid Horse Show.
Would you like to work with them again?
I would love to work with North Run again! I am hoping to return to work for North Run for Indoors this year and possibly even longer. Although it is a lot of work, I felt that I learned a lot at Lake Placid and that I could continue to learn, even if I do not get to ride much.
Did you learn anything you can apply to your own riding?
I learned a lot of techniques that I can use to improve both my and my horse’s performance. I am excited to return home and test out what I learned here at North Run!
(P.S. Marisa and I both noticed that the barn work is completed very quickly on Grand Prix days by the girls because many of them are riders and take a special interest in watching the top riders and their horses compete.)
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