It all begins with retraining
Standie talents are many however like all former race horses there is rehabilitation and
retraining required in preparation for a new career. A vet inspection to determine
if there are any physical injuries that might prevent some of the more challenging equine
sports is always recommended first when you adopt a pacer.
The Standardbred Fan Club's retraining video for
pacers walks you through teaching your horse to accept a saddle, ground work, lunging in a round ring,
your first ride and how to work with your horse on walk, trot and canter.
The retraining video also demonstrates a fully retrained pacer readying for dressage and show jumping competitions
which is the next level of specialty(s) some riders may choose.
more info
Famous Standardbred Horse Jumpers
Video (click area above) of the Standardbred Halla in the Olympics with rider Hans Günter Winkler
as she outperforms all of the jumpers to win the historic
Olympic Gold in Stockholm 1956
Halla the greatest Olympic gold jumper
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Halla (May 16, 1945 - May 19, 1979)
The only horse ever to win three Olympic Gold medals
in the sport of show jumping.
Many people don't know that Standardbred horses are talented jumpers.
In fact,the Olympic record for the most Gold medals in Show Jumping is
held by a Standardbred mare - and to this day, Halla's outstanding accomplishment
still hasn't been matched!
more info
Bionic Woman demonstrates the jumping potential of a Standardbred during an exhibition high jump contest at Santa Anita Racetrack, 1983 or 1984 by
jumping an astounding height of 6'9"
Bionic Woman, a splendid jumper
In the mid-1970's a Grand Prix rider Susie Hutchison and her trainer Jimmy Williams
decided to buy a Standardbred mare that couldn't even canter who had failed as a trotter
at the race track. This was an unusual gamble since most professional riders and
trainers of their stature wouldn't dream of considering a Standardbred mare that couldn't even be ridden.
Who could have guessed that Bionic Woman could jump as high as
6' 9" and was so talented that she made it to the prestigious Nations Cup.
With William's dedicated retraining of the horse, Susie rode Bionic Woman to numerous Grand Prix wins in Canada's west coast and representing
the United States twice at the Nations Cup the pair excelled at Spruce Meadows in Calgary.
Bionic Woman and Susie Hutchison were also the open jumper champions at the
Desert Festival Horse Show (Calif.) in 1984.
Read about these two talented Canadian equestrians and the amazing Bionic Woman on
The Chronology Of The Horse web site.
High Hopes, a talented jumper
High Hopes was also a Standardbred trotter owned by the talented trainer, Jimmy Williams.
With retraining High Hopes went on to become the Pacific Coast Jumper Champion in 1961, 1964, 1965, and 1966.
High Hopes was eventually bred and a half-Thoroughbred offspring named Here's Hoping
was also successful in the show jumping ring.
Primrose, a Standardbred show jumping champion
Registered as Primrose Express, this Standardbred horse
was a show jumping champion of the late 1960's and early 1970's. Like Bionic Woman,
Primrose could reach the magnificent jumping height of 6'9" which he did on two occasions.
Primrose's half-sister was crossed with Thoroughbred-type stallions and produced
several successful foals.
Standardbred Fan Club member Marie-éve Jacques and her talented
Standardbred jumper
Standardbred Fan Club members and their jumpers
Many of the Standardbred Fan Club members have worked with their Standardbred horses
to become successful riders with talented jumping partners.
Almost all of our members horses were former racing horses, either pacers or trotters, and
the remarkable physical abilities of the horses with their riders have made them outstanding both as pleasure jumper riders
and in the show ring.
In 2008, the Standardbred Showcase Riding Club was formed whose mandate is to promote the Standardbred
as a performance horse. In the same year, the Standardbred Showcase Riding Club held its first inaugural
Standardbred Showcase horse Show
in Milton, Ontario. Since then, the show has grown into a annual series of shows with
over 20 classes each, including halter and showmanship, english and western pleasure and equitation, dressage,
mounted obstacle, jumping, driving, games and costume.
Many of the Club's members compete in all breed jumper shows successfully. A well-retrained pacer can become an accomplished
pro with practice and patience as the famous, world-class Standardbred show jumpers have demonstrated.
meet the members
