Jack Hertzberg, a seventh-grader at Rancho Solano Preparatory School, won the Scottsdale First at the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show last weekend! This event is the largest Arabian Horse Show in the world and is a multi-day event sponsored by the Arabian Horse Association of Arizona.
Q. How long have you been working with horses?
A. I’ve been riding for eight years and showing for three years. On average, I practice two to three times a week at a training barn.
Q. And what does the average practice session look like?
A. From the second I get to the barn to the moment I leave, almost all of it could be considered practice! I get the horse out of the stall then prep and saddle him before practicing on in-ring showing. That can include trotting, walking, cantor, and loose rein walking. And once we’ve finished in-ring riding, then it’s back to unsaddling and prepping the horse for the stall.
Q. So practice really includes everything from your first contact with the horse, to the last! And you recently won an award at the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show- can you tell me what that show entailed and what was expected of you?
A. So I ride saddle seat, and show country English pleasure and country English equitation. Equitation is where I’d get judged on how I handle the horse and my related posture. I won the Scottsdale First during Kids’ Weekend in country English pleasure where the horse and how he shows is judged.
Q. Congratulations on your win! What horse did you show at the competition?
A. His show name is Spirit Afire but his birth name is Spirit. He’s a seventeen-year-old horse and known to be rather temperamental. I happen to be the one able to ride him so I did! He knows how to handle himself in the ring, too. Spirit has won ten national champions!
