It’s common knowledge amongst eventers that what you see isn’t always what you can produce when starting a young horse. Like any elite level of athletics, a top-level athlete is hard to find and challenging to produce. And not every one will make it to the top. So it’s a fair challenge for us as riders to pick out those diamonds in the rough — usually, they’re friendlier to the old pocketbook, and most upper level riders prefer the process of making one’s own horse versus purchasing a “going” one. At the top of our sport, this makes much sense: partnership is the name of the game, and that partnership can’t be built overnight.
Sometimes it takes several years, as demonstrated by this video newly-crowned Pau champion and two-time 2023 5* winner Ros Canter and the spooky and “mercurial” Izilot DHI (Zavall VDL – UN, by Cavalier), on whom she’s had the ride for about five years. And here is where that gangly journey began (click here to watch the video below on Facebook if you can’t see it embedded):
And here is Izilot DHI at his very first BE event. As you can see, always a huge talent but he has taken some channelling and patience!
Posted by Ros Canter Eventing on Monday, August 1, 2022
And here is Ros and “Isaac’s” winning jumping round at Pau:
Started from…somewhere…and now a 5* winner — let this be inspiration to never give up for all of those reading with their own sensitive and gawky young horses!
Go Eventing.
Autor Sally Spickard
