Adrian Rodriguez, 42, is at the pinnacle of his profession as a hunter groom, but it was a very different story when he arrived in the States 23 years ago. “I didn’t know anything about horses,” he said. “I literally came with no experience. I didn’t know how to use a pitchfork.”

Photos (© Catie Staszak Media)

Working for John and Stephanie Ingram, he is now entrusted with some of the best hunters in the country, including Golden Road, who won the $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby with Victoria Colvin during WEF Premiere.

Lunging Is A Science

Rodriguez learned from his peers and acquired an appreciation for the nuances of the job. His attention to detail is apparent in his approach to one of the core components of preparing hunters for competition: lunging. He spends anywhere from eight to twenty minutes, depending on how the horse is feeling. It is a science if done right, and it is reflected in the level of the horses’ performance in the ring.

Last week, preparation for Friday’s derby began in earnest on Tuesday. “You can’t just do the same thing every day,” Rodriguez explained. “You have to have a feel for the horse. On Tuesday in the warm-up he felt fresh, good. He was jumping super, with a little bit of energy,” he said of Golden Road, who he refers to as ‘Grant’ and also ‘my best friend.’ “The second day he showed in the High Performance, and I lunged him a little more that morning—he was super and perfect in the class.

“We started to get ‘a feeling’,” he said, referring to the team surrounding the horse, including Colvin and the trainer Tom Wright.

The morning of derby day saw temperatures drop, bringing a new set of challenges. “I knew it was a big class, and I knew it was important to get the lunging time right,” Rodriguez said. Twenty minutes proved to be the magic timeframe that day. “When the lunge line is loose, that means the horse is fresh. When the lunge line is heavy, it means the horse is getting quiet.”

Rodriguez can also read the many more subtle signs from years of experience. “I look at the eyes all the time,” he said. “He’s going to tell you what you have to do.”

Appearance Matters

As much as feeling good, a hunter needs to look good—appearance matters. “You have to like grooming and your grooming has to be perfect,” said Rodriguez. “Judges see everything, and your attention has to be perfect because one little detail can cost you the class—especially when it’s a derby. When things don’t go well, the next day I know I have to do something different.”

Rodriguez takes his role seriously. “There is a lot of time spent waiting at the ring, but when I get to the ring, I don’t chat with my friends,” he said. “I want to see everything. That is how you learn.”

His owners entrust him with decision-making based on what he feels from the horse. “When they trust you, the horse feels that too,” he said. “I want to be perfect for my team.”

Contributed by Sarah Eakin/Paper Horse Media  & brought to you by HorseGrooms