Yves Hootakers: “Our goal is to keep the horses fit and the riders motivated in the absence of tournaments”

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Together with 8 students competing from 1* to 5* Grand Prix and almost 40 horses, renowned trainer, rider and tournament organizer Yves Hootakers continues to work during the forced break. “We are all in the same position. Our main task is to keep the horses in good shape and keep the riders motivated in the absence of international tournaments,” says Hootakers.

“I think it is very important to diversify the training. All our horses go to the forest at least once a week, go to the racetrack once a week, lunge once a week, and on Sunday they have a day off – that’s already 4 days. On Tuesday we work on dressage, with poles, and then we split the jumps between Wednesday and Thursday. Also, all horses go out to levadas and walkers, so they go out of the stall at least three times a day.”

It is important for Hootakers to build his work at the beginning of the week, do jump training in the middle of the week, and continue until Sunday. “We alternate gymnastics and routes from week to week. In gymnastics, we change exercises every time. One of my favorite exercises: 4-5 verticals with a canter tempo in between, or small keys to train strength and reaction. Also, I love the trot lines through the keys, then through the oxer tempo and then another oxer after 2 tempos. I like to start lines on the keys because it gives the rider the opportunity to keep the horse in front of him, making it easier to keep the rhythm throughout the line. It also trains the balance of the rider.

As far as jumping is concerned, we concentrate more on working with young horses. We don’t jump much with experienced horses. With them, we mainly work on management,” says Yves.

Photo: Herve Bonnaud/ www.1clickphoto.com

Lunging is built differently for all horses. “If the horse is tight in the back, I want him to stretch and work down and forward. Other horses don’t have strong hindquarters and I work with them on the Pessoa harness. Some horses work on the reins, but here it is important that the rider knows how to do this, because it is necessary to have a good feeling for the horse in order to do the job correctly. We set aside one day for lunge work in order to add variety to the training and to get the horses moving without riders. For some horses, this is an opportunity to throw out excess energy, while for others it is useful to stretch, ”says Yves.

Work on the racetrack is also different for different horses. “If it is a phlegmatic horse, the emphasis is on short accelerations. We move at a calm gallop, then we accelerate sharply and slow down again so that the horse listens to the rider and quickly responds to his commands. If, on the contrary, you have a hot horse, focus on relaxing and calming down.

“On Fridays we have an easy job. After that, we work at the trot to get rid of muscle tension after a day of jumping,” says Hootakers.

Yves considers it important to work on different soils. “I think it’s important to work the horse on different grounds and not be tied to the parade ground. We often work dressage on the grass and when we go out into the woods, we work in the woods on the tracks.

In order to keep their students motivated, Houtackers organized team competitions: 2 riders per team, the first round on Thursday, the second on Friday. “Everyone was interested: both riders and grooms, everyone wanted to do their tasks well. In other words, we have combined training and entertainment. Don’t forget to have fun and enjoy your workout, it’s great for keeping you motivated. Be stay healthy and stay safe!”

Source: World of Showjumping.