Chad Cunningham’s student, Hamza Minty, has just won the prestigious Philip Smith Memorial Equitation Championship. This is a huge achievement, not only for the rider, but also for the coach, who must prepare their rider to face the most ‘all-encompassing’ challenge our sport has to offer.
HQ Magazine were fortunate enough to catch up with Chad and find out more about his coaching philosophy, his method for preparing students for the Philip Smith and his own background in the industry.
HQ: In terms of your background in the sport, can you tell our readers how you came to be involved in equestrian?
Chad: I came to equestrian through my grandfather. My grandfather was always in love with horses. He never had the opportunity to ride horses, but he and his best friend from school decided at some point in their lives that they were going to buy some racehorses and own them in syndicates.
And from the earliest days I can remember, my grandfather would take me to the racing stables, where I would sit for hours, watching the horses return from their work sessions.
Unfortunately, however, when I was younger, I was highly allergic to horses. It took years for me to outgrow it, but I was determined to do so. I mean, there’s just nothing like a horse; I just was absolutely in love with horses.
So that’s really how it all came about for me.
HQ: What led you to coaching? Has it always been a huge passion for you?
Chad: Yeah, what led me to coaching was that when I was 15 or 16, there were a couple of kids looking for jump lessons and doing little jumps, and I stepped in to help. I didn’t work in the riding school, but I helped a couple of little kids ride, and I really enjoyed it.
Since then, I’ve always had a passion for teaching and sharing the knowledge I’ve learned. And even to this day, I always say that none of the things I have or pass on to my students are made up. Yes, they are my own interpretation, but I have been very fortunate in that I have been surrounded by outstanding coaches throughout my career and have learnt a lot. I always feel like I want to share what I know.
But really, my biggest thing is not even about that – it’s about enabling the rider to do things better for the horse. If we can do things better as a rider, I’m doing my job by always helping the horse and making his life as easy as possible, from training on the flat to gymnastic work, to jumping the course or competing at a show.
HQ: So if you had to choose between coaching or competing, what would you choose?
My first love is coaching. I love riding and competing myself. However, in my case, my priority is always my students. I put a lot of time into each and every one of them. And I’m hugely passionate about their goals and about them and about their horses and where we’re going in the sport.
HQ: What can your students expect from lessons with you? And what do you expect from your students?
Chad: What my students can expect from me is that I’m like a mirror. If they put in 100%, I’ll be putting in 120% back. I appreciate any student who is open-minded, willing to learn, and eager to try new things, and then I go the extra mile.
There are enough coaches, especially in the area where I live, in Kyalami, that no one is forced to ride with anyone; it’s a choice. So, if you choose to ride with me, I expect you to learn my system and follow it. It’s not for everyone. It’s a system that’s disciplined, it’s structured. I have a plan – a weekly plan. We are aware of the goals we’ve set. We’ve looked at a long-term goal for the year. For sure, sometimes goals aren’t achieved due to certain factors – horses may go lame or get sick, or riders may lose a bit of confidence, whatever the reason may be, but we always try to stay on plan.
HQ: How would you describe your coaching philosophy? Are there particular schools of thought/coaches you follow?
Chad: My philosophy when it comes to coaching is that I firmly believe in the fundamentals and the basics of riding. If our basics of riding are in place and well established, it’s easier when things go wrong to fall back on them and rebuild going forward. I’ve always been a stickler for the rider’s position because I believe that if the rider sits on the horse correctly, they will be able to give the aids correctly and extract more from the horse, and the horse will be able to understand the rider more effectively. Again, the coaches I’ve worked with in the past, who have also coached me, have always been that way inclined about the basics of riding and understanding the mechanics of how a horse works, as well as how to make it easier for the horse.
Then, in terms of broader philosophy, it’s all about the discipline and developing some grit, which comes along the way, because whatever you put in, you’re going to get out.
HQ: How does coaching for the Philip Smith Memorial Equitation Championship differ? What goes into preparing a student for the PSM?
Chad: There is nothing different from my side, because my lessons, in general, are very structured, and we cover many of these basics in our regular training every day. We have lessons at the beginning of the week where we often do a lot of work on the flat. Part of my system is that we often work without stirrups, and working without stirrups really develops and cements the feeling of being one with the horses. I know there’s often some negativity surrounding no-stirrup work, with people saying that the horses are sore or the riders are stiff. And, absolutely, if you’re not doing this work regularly, the rider and horse are going to be stiff. But if you do a little bit every day or twice a week, you get better at this.
Then, the lead-up to Philip Smith involves two additional things we add in. One is getting the test and familiarising ourselves within the dressage arena. It’s not quite a full dressage test where we have to do something between X, Y, and Z, so we can make it our own, have our own flair, or our own take on the test to a certain degree. So, yeah, it’s running through that test and becoming familiar with the movements, as some parts have no stirrups, reins in one hand, etc. Knowing exactly where to do all those things is crucial because those mistakes can result in minus marks, so we want to avoid them.
The second aspect is that if a rider only has one horse, I will ensure that they sit on several other horses before the competition and give them the opportunity to train on different horses. If a rider is a rider who, like in my case with Hamza Minty, has ridden a lot of horses and has quite a big string of horses, it does make it a lot easier because his versatility on different horses is much greater. He does ride a lot of other horses from time to time as well. He’s been overseas on trips with me, for example, to Spain, where he’s also had the opportunity to ride other horses. So that does give you a huge advantage. But in my case if I had a student that qualified who wasn’t in the same situation I would definitely organise for other horses for them to practice their flat work and their jumping and get familiar and become confident with different types of horses – hotter horses, slower horses, cold horses, whatever it may be.
“But I can tell you the one very good thing for anyone’s riding is working without stirrups and jumping without stirrups” – Chad Cunningham
HQ: What is the most rewarding aspect of coaching young riders? And what would you say is the biggest challenge?
Chad: The most rewarding thing is seeing riders accomplish not just the big things – I mean not just the wins – but the small things of learning to get things right with their horse. And then once they learn to get things right with their horse, they appreciate the process of how they’ve got to that. You know, I’ve said this so many times, but I fell in love with the sport because of my love for the horse. I mean, the feeling of that animal and being in that animal’s presence. I never fell in love with doing the shoulder-in, learning the counter canter, or sitting trot for hours at 12 years old. I mean that’s certainly not what I fell in love with, but I knew that was part of the process of making one better and improving our horse and horsemanship skills, while also developing the horse along the way. So, I think that seeing my students excel in the small things and appreciating what their horse is able to give back is the main reward.
The biggest challenge for some students is that they become frustrated with the horse and seek instant gratification from the sport or the horse. Most of the time, it’s not that the horse doesn’t get it, but that the rider hasn’t given the correct aids. Ultimately, horses are also living animals, and they have their off days and their on days; they can also have a day where they just hit a pole, no matter how good they are. They can have a pole down, a time fault or maybe stop or whatever the case may be. That can be a bit frustrating to manage, but it’s not just from a coaching perspective. That’s likely the case from every aspect of the sport, from the rider to the parent to the coach.
HQ: What fundamental skills do you believe every young rider should master?
Chad: I think the biggest skill that a young rider needs to master is patience. In today’s age, instant gratification is a big issue. You know, you shop online, you expect it to arrive within 24 hours, and there’s a lot of that thinking around achieving stuff. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that with horses. There are no shortcuts. Sometimes you have to back off, sometimes you have to take a bit more time, sometimes you have to repeat it. This also applies to the rider. One of the most important things is to be patient and take your time, learn a technique, develop a skill, and let it take the time it needs. Sometimes it happens a little quicker, and sometimes it happens a little slower, depending on the horse or rider. So, it’s about staying on their journey, not constantly comparing themselves to others. It isn’t easy when they’re amongst their peers and possibly their peers are a bit ahead of them – maybe they’re jumping more clears or they’re winning more classes – but at the end of the day it’s their journey and if they stick to their journey and don’t compare themselves to others, I almost guarantee there’ll be a lot of success. It might just be at a different time, but everyone will have their day.
HQ: You must be so proud of Hamza. What does it mean to you to win this competition as a coach?
Chad: I think it’s a massive accolade because it is the crème de la crème of equitation at the end of the day. We have a lot of classes, a lot of titles, a lot of provincial titles, and a national title as well. Yet they take the top four from those, and they bring them into this competition, so it’s impressive even to be there.
And, it’s a hugely strenuous competition in the fact that it’s two days and you’re riding your own horse and three other horses in a flatwork phase. You have three judges judging, you don’t know the scores, you have an idea in your head, but you’re not 100% sure. Then you have another day where you ride your own horse again through a gymnastic with no stirrups and reins in one hand, and then jump the course. You do the same thing with three other horses, and again, you have three new judges judging.
As the coach of the winning rider, I feel extremely privileged to be a part of that person’s journey and witness their development all the way to the end. It’s a very proud moment for any coach who has had a rider qualify for it, let alone win it. And the competition itself is a huge test of the coaching, as you’re not even with your students in the practice arena, so you can’t help them or give them any guidance. You have to hope that they will remember and apply what you have taught them over the years, so when they come out and do a good job, it’s a really great feeling because your students have done you proud.
HQ: With coaching so many young people, how do you see the future of riding in South Africa, and what changes would you like to see in the industry?
Chad: The future of South African showjumping is very bright at the moment. There’s a huge amount of talent coming through the divisions. The number of horses at horse shows is huge.
Young riders, juniors, and pony riders are still backed hugely by their parents, so there’s a huge advantage to that. Where it sometimes dies down a little is when they finish school and go off to study. There are many challenges involved at this stage, and hopefully, the riders stay involved in the sport, make their way back to it, and return to the high levels of competition.
In terms of the changes I’d like to see in the industry, there are two key areas. One, I’d like to see a better coaching system. We have a good model at the moment where you can become a qualified coach, but I think we need some extension from that. We have in the past had top international coaches come in to coach us. One being Rob Hoekstra, who came for quite a few days. I was also part of the FEI Level 1, 2, and 3 Coaches System, where we had Gerry Mullins, Jean Philippe Camboulives, and Lars Meyers zu Bexten come in. However, if I look at the lower levels, they definitely need a lot of attention. I can see a lot of things are maybe missed and not put in place by coaches for riders in the lower levels, and then sometimes riders come to you and they’re in 110s, 120s and the wheels are coming off and then you have to go back to basics for 8 to 10 months to try and get all of that in place. This is not ideal because it sometimes becomes a rushed job, as the Pony Riders and Juniors don’t have a very long career.
And then the second thing is that I’d like to see the riders gain more international exposure, across our borders or in Europe or America. I’ve made a huge effort over the last 15 to 17 years, taking riders every year and touring Europe or America, involving them, and allowing them to see what the system looks like or what the sport looks like on the other side of the world. And it’s a huge eye-opener for all of them, usually. I’ve been fortunate enough to have good contacts with coaching, so we haven’t got into a system that is just a German system or a Dutch system. I’ve been very aware of approaching coaches who tend to adopt a more universal style, covering everything from basics to style, correctness, and the correct management of horses, etc. And obviously, when there, finding the correct horses to learn and exposing them to some of the biggest shows. We’ve jumped at a Global Champions Tour in Berlin, we’ve been to shows in Aachen, we’ve jumped in Pilbergen, we’ve jumped at WEF, we’ve jumped in Calgary and at Spruce Meadows. So I think exposure is important and allowing riders to see what is out there and what the future of the sport is other than just in South Africa, but also giving them an idea of all the different aspects of our sport and all the various things that one could be involved with and still be involved with horses. I think those are probably my two biggest areas I’d like to see improve here.
Thank you, Chad, for taking the time to share your knowledge with us today. We wish you and your students all the best for the upcoming Toyota World Cup Qualifier and Western Shoppe South African Youth Championships.