Jessamy Rouson

The American Way of Training Hunters & Jumpers Jessamy Rouson

Welcome to the world of showjumping and the American show hunter. This is an insight into a training system respected worldwide as "The American Way." In this book, I bring the reader through the very basics of riding and training a young horse and up through the eventual showmanship necessary within the competitive horse show arena. No book is able to replace the day to day attention of a knowledgeable and experienced trainer. However I believe this book shall greatly enhance the education of the inquisitive horse person and add new insights into the development of a fine show horse and a successful rider. All good training is a result of conveying a concept to a horse in successive degrees of complexity and rewarding each positive step profusely. A horse which is happy and enjoys his job will eventually be competing successfully within his compatible and respective division. The horse which is resentful of the rider and his job will eventually prove to be disappointing. The key to successful training is to present each training step decisively and compassionately, accompanied by generous praise and positive reinforcement at any sign of a positive response from the horse. Proper training technique and skill aside, I believe positive reinforcement to be the most significant and imperative step in the successful training of any animal. The Number One Rule in training is the horse always, always comes first. Horses are extremely generous animals - indeed the progression of mankind through the ages has been built on the backs and through the labor of many kind hearted horses. Those of us in the horse business owe the horses everything and should treat each horse with the respect and compassion one would desire for themselves - The Golden Rule. With young and inexperienced horses, less is more. By moving slowly and patiently in the beginning of a horse's career and building a solid foundation, one avoids time consuming setbacks. The rider and trainer are then able to move relatively quickly through a successful training program. If done properly, training the horse shall be fun and rewarding for both the horse and the rider. Enjoy!Jessamy Rouson