my mom/trainer Nadine Pestana and my
trainer-away-from-home, Jeremy Steinberg.
Winny came into my life at the perfect time
that I was able to do the Junior and Young
Rider programs, make the move into the open
division, and hopefully in the next year can
compete in the Under 25 Grand Prix division.
He has truly been my horse of a lifetime.”
Whilst their achievements are impressive you
could be forgiven for thinking they have had
a dream run but their victories have no come
without huge challenges to overcome. Jamie
isn’t one to just give up when times are hard
and always is looking to improve and train hard.
In 2012 the pair had their toughest season yet,
but it was also one that brought tremendous
pride to Jamie. In 2011, 10 days before leaving
for Kentucky to compete at NAJYRC where they
had qualified for the Young Rider team, Winny
had to undergo emergency colic surgery.
“Due to his many allergies and sensitivities, he
suffered complications from the surgery and
had to have two subsequent surgeries in the
following months,” she says. “There were many
times when we weren’t sure if he would survive
and even more when we weren’t sure if he
would be able to go back to competition. But
he is a fighter and he had some of the best vets
in the country at Pioneer Equine Hospital, and
through their hard work and perseverance,
he recovered by wearing a belly band rather
than stitches.” Because of the belly band, Jamie
rehabbed him in a bareback pad and got him
fully ready for the next show season without
a saddle. “The first ride in a saddle was only
a month before our first show, and yet we
qualified to ride on the 2012 Young Riders
team. While it was by far our worst showing at
NAJYRC, I was so proud how far he had made
it in his recovery, to be able to make the team,
and in 2013 he returned to take home three
medals.”
Recently Jamie has also taken to bareback after
she was offered a sponsorship with Equipe
Saddles. “I knew that it was the right fit for
Winny and me; I felt so strongly about it that
I accepted the sponsorship even though it
meant that I would be without a saddle until my
new saddle was made. Because Winny has an
extremely sensitive back, it is really important
for him to be in a custom fit saddle, so in the
meantime I decided to ride bareback rather
than borrow someone else’s saddle and risk
making him sore. One of my friends, Debbie
Enander, loaned me her Baretek bareback pad,
which has a slight knee block support, to use
on more rigorous training days. It has been
about two months of riding without a saddle,
and I am really enjoying it!” It is no secret that
riding bareback has a great spin off effect and
Jamie certainly has felt that it has allowed her
to improve her seat and get a close connection
with Winny. “It has definitely helped me
develop a firmer seat with a proper strong leg
position without relying on the saddle to hold
me in place. It has allowed me to develop my
core such that I can use my aids independent
from my balance, and has helped to make
sure that I am sitting straight and distributing
my weight evenly on my horse’s back. It has
also allowed me to really connect with the
movement of Winny’s back. While I have always
been fortunate to have amazing saddles to ride
in, being in such close contact with Winny’s
spine has allowed me to feel every intricate
movement that he makes and get in tune with
exactly how he is using himself throughout his
work. It has also really helped me with training
the piaffe and passage because the aids of
these movements come so much from the seat
that it has allowed him to understand what I’m
asking for off of just my seat aids.”
Future focused
Jamie’s goal for the upcoming season is to
compete in the Under 25 Grand Prix division.
“It would be incredible to get to compete in
the Brentina Cup division at USEF Festival of
Champions if we qualify and if it works with
my school schedule,” she explains. “Whether
or not we make it to championships, I would
love to complete my USDF Gold Medal this
year by getting the necessary scores in the
Intermediaire II and Grand Prix. After that, I
would love to put together a really fun Grand
Prix Freestyle as the freestyle is always my
favourite division to compete in. I love designing