How to handle the wide variety of moods your non pros might have while competing.
By Megan Arszman
Working with a non pro isn’t necessarily an easy task, especially when it’s also with a horse. The title “non pro” can run the gamut of almost every level of rider imaginable. There’s the non pro who has an excess of $500,000 in lifetime earnings and has been competing for years on aged-event horses. Then there’s the non pro who just started out in reining and can barely
remember a pattern, but they’re enjoying their horses and their time in the saddle. Some non pros want to be competitive every time out and add to their collection of bronzes; some non pros might just want the experience and don’t concern themselves with the “winning is everything” mentality.
Because of the vast difference in experience and passion for competition in the non pro ranks, you’ll probably run into a few different personas of the non pro in your professional career. And how you deal with the multiple personalities of a non pro can make or break your own career.
In this series, we’ll cover six common types of non pros, and the best advice for giving them a memorable, positive experience at the Futurity and any horse show, provided by veteran NRHA Professionals Carol Metcalf, Sam Smith, and Robin Schoeller.
PART 2: FATHER/MOTHER/SPOUSE WITH GOOD INTENTIONS
PART 5: WAY-TOO-BIG-DREAMS DARCY
BIG-DREAMS DARCY
Darcy has been dreaming about a major event since she did her first stop on a reiner. She’s worked hard all year with Dreamin Wimpy, and feels she’s ready to go compete and win. However, in your professional opinion, you feel the young horse just might not be mature enough, mentally, for the big dance, and you have to break it to your client.
SOLUTION: “I’m honest with my customers,” says Schoeller. “Their horse might be strong enough for some shows but not others. I’m looking for a long-lasting horse, and if I explain to my customer that I just don’t want to burn this horse out and put him in a situation that I don’t think he can handle well, generally they understand.”
Schoeller believes his customers appreciate that more than trying to take the horse to the major event and attempting to make something work that’s most likely to fail. They give the horse time to mature and prepare . While it might be a bummer to your non pro at first, they’ll understand that their investment is worth more than one year of showing—like a healthy, long-lasting career with their horse.
Learn about the many other personality types and how to help them get the most out of their show by clicking the links at the beginning of this article.
