At the conclusion of my last column, I returned from the Hampton Classic in New York and embarked on my sophomore year at Santa Monica High School. Knowing that I have to return to the East Coast for four, potentially five, equitation finals between now and November is daunting, particularly with one Advanced Placement and three Honors classes at school (and one college class that I am still contemplating enrolling in).
I know it sounds like I’m a complete nerd, but I did go to a Justin Timberlake concert. Sometimes I do fun things with my two-legged friends!
The biggest challenge for me is time management. I have tons of reading for AP US History, so I know I can do that at night. I need to keep my riding tuned up and that can be done immediately after school, but I have to keep in mind that Daylight Savings Time, which starts Nov. 4, will cut into the amount of riding time that I have.
Taking all that into consideration, I made myself a flexible schedule of riding my more experienced horse in two flat and jumping lessons a week, riding my young green homebred hunter twice a week, and offering to exercise an experienced equitation horse for a trainer friend on an as-needed basis.
For the Equitation division, it seems to me that my muscles need to be really strong, with the emphasis on calves, thighs, abs and upper body. In theory, one could do maintenance in a gym or with free weights, but the key element that is lacking is reaction time and the mindset needed for riding in a medal final. Physical as well as mental coordination is required to make quick decisions on course. That can only be achieved from actual hours in the saddle.
I was all set to catch ride an equitation horse at the LA International Jumping Festival in Burbank the weekend of “the deluge.” (See “USEF Talent Search” story, page 96). What a mess. I got to the show only to find that the rings were under water and a blown electrical transformer had left the show office with no lights and no computer access. They could not answer phones to inform competitors of the problem and, worse, the Equidome had no lights. As we all know, you cannot jump in the pitch black.
To further complicate matters, an FEI World Cup qualifier Grand Prix was on the schedule, in addition to the third phase of the USEF Talent Search West Final. Management made the right decision and cancelled the show, with the exception of the third phase of the Talent Search, which went on the grass field with Olympic chef d’equipe George Morris and East Coast Grand Prix rider Jeffrey Welles judging.
The competitors were good sports and rode under less than desirable conditions. It served as a reminder of the tough situations that Mother Nature can impose on riders, trainers, owners and show managers. There were over a thousand entries for that show, many from out of state, so everyone lost out. It was a very expensive rainstorm.

Foxfield Derby
I was asked to write an article about the Foxfield Jumping Derby for the Chronicle of the Horse. It is one of the highlights of the fall in California. It was set to take place Oct. 6-7 at the picturesque Foxfield Riding School in Westlake Village. The Derby is divided into two sections: The morning class, 3’6” in height, offers $1,500 in prize money and is open to junior and amateur riders. The course is comprised of approximately 22 natural and stadium obstacles, including a bank-ditch combination, open water, sunken road and multiple liverpools. In the afternoon the same course is raised to 3’9”, the prize money goes up to $4,999 and the gates are open to professionals.
It is a nostalgic event for me because I went to sleep-away camp at Foxfield when I was 7. I stayed in the “Shetland” cabin and received the award for being the youngest camper. I brought my strawberry roan pony Ellsworth Kelly, a.k.a. “The Flying Couch.”
The camp offers one session in the summer that has a real horse show in it. The counselors and our “Big Buddies” helped us braid our ponies and get our show clothes on. The parents were invited and it was an amazing learning experience for me. Reservations for that session open up the week after Christmas and it fills up quickly. If you would like to know more about Foxfield go to www.foxfield.com.
But, back to the Derby: Many famous International Grand Prix riders such as Hap Hansen, Susie Hutchison, Anne Kursinski, and Rob Gage have competed in the Derby in their youth. Susie Hutchison won the Derby five times and told me that it was one of the first equestrian events to be televised.
Oddly, many riders who would enjoy competing in it often overlook the Derby. Many entries come in the day of the competition, and I really think it suffers from a lack of publicity. Also, some trainers do not have access to natural obstacles (ditch, bank, water) to have their students practice over. Perhaps an open schooling day could be arranged at Foxfield a month in advance, or a list of facilities with natural obstacles could be made available on the Foxfield website. There are all sorts of liability issues that start to factor in, but it’s definitely worth it.
I went in the Derby in 2005. I was 12 and rode Houdini, a horse that had never been in a Derby and had open water issues. I practiced for months ahead of time at home and never did make it over the first time. I got to the Derby and made it over the open water (I did have to growl at him) and the feeling was pure triumph. Ironically, I made it over all the natural obstacles, but had the last rail of the stadium portion down on Houdini, who was in no way a Derby horse, but was, for sure, a super careful children’s jumper. That is why a Derby is important. It builds confidence in the horse and the rider.
My next stop is the Regional Maclay Final in Westbrook, CT, the region of my trainers Missy Clark and John Brennan. Wish me luck as I hope to make it to Syracuse for the 2007 National ASPCA Maclay Finals!
Zazou Hoffman is an accomplished junior hunter/jumper rider who lives in Santa Monica. California Riding Magazine is pleased to have this hard-working young rider as a regular columnist. She can be reached via e-mail at barnum1126@adelphia.net and her past columns can be viewed at www.ridingmagazine.com.