Getting To Devon
(Continued from Page El 8)
horses in Pennsylvania, Mary
land, Virginia, and New Jer
sey.
The show season runs year
round.
Horses that work hard on
the weekend get a rest during
the week.
“Most horses don’t neces
sarily do a whole lot of work
throughout the week. They
need down time,” he said.
These horses generally take
the first two days of the week
off work and turned out to
pasture. Later in the week
they may do light workouts on
the lunge line or under the
saddle.
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E HORSES
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“Horses that show are very
fit once they’re fit like that
they don’t have to work dur
ing the week,” he said.
“Devon horses are the athletes
of the horse world.”
The Riders’ Responsibility
Riders in the hunter compe
titions are allowed to get into
the ring in the early morning
however are not allowed to
jump the course, he said.
A diagram is posted at the
in gate. However, when the
horses enter the ring, “they
are walking in with no prac
tice on that course,” he said.
“Everybody’s on the same
level playing field.”
Besides the course of the
jumps, the diagram includes
the distance be
tween the
jumps. Since
hunters are
judged on their
even stride and
style between
and over jumps,
riders have to
know how the
horse will cover
that distance, he
Pasture or Hand Breeding Available
said, to best show off the
horse’s jumping ability.
“Depending on how big
your horse’s stride is would
determine how you need to
ride down the line,” said Joce
lyn.
Riders may “need to coax
their horses if they think their
mounts will back off, look at
the spectators, and look at the
jumps,” she said.
“As a rider, you need to be
able to feel that, and keep
coaxing them and telling
them, ‘you can do this.”’
Relying on feel, and an eye
for a distance, is imperative as
riders judge whether to move
up a bit or be quiet and wait it
out, “and all that relies on
what you call a good eye,”
said Jocelyn.
Although the festive atmos
%L'
£ £To win at Devon, takes a great ride, a great horse, and everything
coming together at the right moment. It’s hard to win because every
horse has earned the right to be there only the good ones make it.
The courses are hard and the lines are long. They do everything they
can to test you. 9 5
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 10, 2003, Boarder & Trainer-El9
phere can be intimidating,
“the fair is fim, once we’re
past the pressure of the horse
show,” said Jocelyn.
Horses and riders have to
be able to get past the distrac
tions “and go do their thing,
no matter what to shut out
anything and go do their job,”
he said.
Catch Riding
Most of Jocelyn’s riding in
struction came from her fa
ther, John, who grew up on a
hunter/jumper horse farm in
nearby Lititz and also exhibi
ted horses. Her mother, Leslie,
also helped her learn how to
ride.
Jocelyn began “catch rid
ing” riding horses for other
owners at an early age. By
the time she was 14 she found
herself riding for many differ
ent owners, which served to
make her comfortable on a
wide variety of mounts.
“First of all, I love to ride,
and every time I get on a
horse, whether it’s a green
horse or a horse that’s been
around for a while and just
needs a tune-up, I want to ride
to the best of my ability,” she
said.
“At the end of the day, we
(Jocelyn and her father) dis
cuss how each horse was, how
I rode each horse, and what
we can do to better the horse
and better the ride,” she said.
Sitting atop a horse gives a
unique perspective, according
to Jocelyn, who gets different
readings from each mount,
whether it is tense, fresh, over
whelmed, or intimidated.
“You are dealing with a
second personality with the
horse,” said John Martin.
“There are large differences
from horse to horse, and a
professional’s job is to be able
to get the maximum out of all
different types.”
“You can’t overreact,” so
no one notices that the horse
is nervous, she said.
Jocelyn works to disguise
the faults of horses by sitting
quietly, using subtle motions,
and not making any quick or
Jocelyn Martin
exaggerated movements to
relax the horse.
“You can’t be too rough
with your hands or pulling on
the reins. You can’t be sitting
up there, flopping around,
and letting your seat bump
around or your legs flopping
around.
“The rider needs to be able
to trust what she’s sitting on,
and the horse needs to trust
the rider,” she said.
“Once the horse feels that
the rider is going to do a good
job and not make mistakes,”
said Martin, it will settle in to
do a better job on the course.
Lodestone Farm boards
25-30 horses, most of them
hunters and jumpers in train
ing. Jocelyn does the majority
of the riding, working eight or
more horses a day. She not
only starts young horses but
also works with horses at each
stage of development.
The Martins work with chil
dren and adults of all ability
levels, taking riders to A rated
and local shows.
The 34-acre farm also in
cludes a heated bam with 34
stalls, a tack room, office, and
lounge, plus an indoor arena
with a viewing lounge. The
operation also has an outdoor
ring, numerous fields for turn
out, riding trails, and a small
tack store which the Martins
renovated into a home for Jo
celyn.
(Turn to Page E2O)