An R+ Future for Sporthorses: Via Nova Plans a Young Horse Development Program

Every horse, from the most expensive, gorgeous sport horse to the plain old pony in a back pasture, is simply a horse. If we could read the mind of that flashy, talented warmblood out there winning medals, we’d learn what they really care about is food and time with their pasture buddies, not their spectacular performance in the arena.

They have no Olympic goals. They need what horses need, and they have no care or concept of competition or sport. This is simple. To be happy, a horse needs the things that make a horse happy, and none of those have to do with human standards of performance or competition.

So why would we be getting excited about plans for a Young Horse Development program at Via Nova aimed at high-level competition in the future?

We’re in it for the horses, first and foremost—but to reach the horses, we have to reach the humans. To better the lives of horses, we must influence the people who train, ride, and love them. As in every kind of human tribe, equestrians look to the top tiers of success and authority to see how to act and think and what to believe. We could try to influence those people and drive change by criticizing what they are doing now (and, like all punishment, that can sometimes work, at least on the surface) or by showing them a positive reason to change.

What motivates a competitor? A great performance. Improving. Winning.

Often that comes at a real cost to the horse’s well-being, not because the rider or trainer doesn’t care, but because they don’t know any other way to get that kind of performance. They don’t realize that they can influence their horse’s motivation to perform better without pressure, or understand how to do it on the horse’s terms.

Horses are often labeled as “evasive” or “unwilling” in a human context, when they’re really just trying to find something that works for them. They aren’t avoiding work because they don’t want to. They are avoiding work because they don’t understand it, aren’t strong enough, or don’t see the value for them to do it.

We want to show that we can use our PtP Positive Reinforcement tools and skills to truly motivate horses to perform at high levels and love doing it. We’ve already started.

Gilly is training and competing our KWPN Lord Leatherdale gelding, Imagine Via Nova, in USDF dressage. Imagine and Gilly won the 2023 USDF 2nd Level Region V Championship and 1st Level Reserve Championship, also competing at Nationals that year. So far in 2024, Imagine is competing well at 3rd level. He’s qualified for the 2024 regional championship in just his first two outings.

Is competition compatible with Priority to Positive and Via Nova’s mission to bring Positive Reinforcement to the equestrian world?

We make sure that it is. Here are a few of the ways:

• Gilly applies the Core Principles in training, riding and showing Imagine VN. If he makes a “mistake,” (by human competition standards) she never punishes him for it. She uses the Principles to find the missing piece in his training.

• Imagine VN has learned his dressage movements through Positive Reinforcement at home, so he’s happy to execute them at the show. Gilly doesn’t need to say, “Do it or else!”

• If he’s worried and spooky in a crowded warm-up arena, she doesn’t force or shut him down; instead she uses shaping and counter-conditioning, giving him time and reason to learn he’s safe.

• She’s done a fabulous job of dealing with typical show environments where the rules often don’t allow her to use most of our R+ tools. She looks for the times and locations she can mark and reward Imagine.

• Imagine VN competes in the required tack for his competition level, but Gilly doesn’t need to wear spurs to get what she asks. Imagine’s R+ training means he offers his dressage movements in response to light cues.

These are just a few specifics of how we’re approaching shows with Imagine. We have many things to develop and learn about how best to use Positive Reinforcement to improve performance in higher level competition. The Core PtP Principles help us stay on track even in challenging circumstances, so we can prove to the wider world that this training method not only works to create a happy equine athlete but also a successful one.

In the future, our Young Horse Development program will acquire youngsters selected for their natural abilities, so that we can train them to their strengths using R+. (Core Principle 5, Set Up for Success: It’s not cheating to make it easy!) We’ll be training horses physically capable of what we’ll ask them to do, and just like with Imagine VN, we will progress only at their pace regardless of any competition goals. But as every competitor knows, breeding and talent alone don’t equal success. It’s in the training.

That’s where Positive Reinforcement is a game-changer. Our horses want to try. No matter whether they win or not, we will be creating happy, eager athletes who want to perform their work. The kind of horses that speed up to get to the arena so they can play the games they enjoy with their rider.

We also plan to develop a team of talented and successful riders who will use Positive Reinforcement and our PtP Principles to compete for us on our Via Nova horses.

We’re already looking for the riders who will join our Young Horse Development Team in this Positive Reinforcement competition journey! If you have extensive dressage or eventing competition experience, and this sounds. like a great plan to you, don’t hesitate to check out our Job Opportunities!