Top Line Sporthorse International,LLC

10/15/2026

We are going to put both reins in the outside hand ( the hand that is facing the outside of the ring ) and just try to ride a straight ( quarter ) line by using just one hand and and a firm inside ( lower) leg , see where it gets you. If you use both reins just with one ( the outside) arm you can not pull, yank on the inside rein anymore but have to use the inside leg more instead and you get the feel for getting out of that habit.

If there is one habit that shows up consistently across every level of developing rider it is the overuse of the inside rein. The horse falls in so the rider picks up the inside rein. The turn is not coming quickly enough so they add more inside rein. The circle is drifting so they hold the inside rein tighter. Before long, the rider is carrying the horse around every corner and every circle with their inside hand doing the majority of the work while everything else - the outside rein, both legs, the seat - has quietly become secondary.

The inside rein is a useful aid. It asks for flexion but it cannot steer a horse correctly on its own. When riders rely on it as their primary tool for bend and direction, the problems it creates are often worse than the ones it was trying to solve.

Here is what actually happens when the inside rein becomes the default answer. The horse may bend through the neck without the rest of the body following. The head and neck go where the rider wants them and the outside shoulder drifts out completely unchecked because nothing was ever addressing it. Or the opposite happens - the horse falls further inward, loses balance through the shoulder, and becomes more and more dependent on the rider holding the inside rein just to stay vaguely on the line. In both cases, the rider thinks they are steering the horse but what they are actually doing is controlling the head while the horse goes wherever it wants with the rest of its body.

The turn does not come from bending the neck. It comes from organizing the whole horse through the movement of your inside leg creating energy and maintaining bend, outside rein controlling the shoulder and regulating the pace, outside leg supporting the haunches, inside rein asking softly for flexion and then giving. That is the conversation. The inside rein is one small part of it and it is specifically the part that needs to ask and then release rather than hold continuously.

A simple exercise that makes this immediately visible is to ask the rider to ride their circle and then deliberately soften the inside rein for a few strides. Not drop it but to soften it. What happens next tells you everything about where the rider actually is with their outside aids. If the circle holds and the horse stays organized, the outside rein and inside leg are doing their jobs. If the circle immediately falls apart, the horse drifts inward, or the rider panics and grabs the rein back within two strides the horse is not actually being ridden through the outside aids yet. The inside rein has been compensating for that gap and the softening simply made it visible.

Another exercise worth building into your lessons regularly is to ask the rider to think specifically about the outside shoulder as they ride each corner and circle. Where is it going? Is it staying between the reins or drifting out? Is the outside rein in contact and doing anything or is it slack while the inside rein does all the work? Placing cones or poles along the outside track of a circle makes the outside shoulder drift immediately obvious because the horse runs out of room to escape through it and the rider has a concrete visual reference for whether they are actually containing the movement or just bending the neck.

The goal is not to stop using the inside rein but it is to stop asking it to do jobs it cannot do well on its own. A correct turn is not produced by pulling the head to the inside. It is produced by the whole horse staying balanced and organized through the bend with every aid playing its appropriate role. When the inside rein takes over the other aids stop being used and the horse stops being ridden correctly regardless of how the head and neck look from the rail.

Teach your riders to think of the inside rein as the aid that opens a conversation and then steps back. The outside rein is what holds the conversation together.

How do you teach your riders to stop relying on the inside rein? I want to hear what works in your arena.

10/13/2026

If you do not enjoy just being with the horse ( when e.g. grooming, riding or handling/caring ) you do not have the sense of it, it is that simple.
We here at Top Line generally enjoy working with horses for what it is : the passion and love for being with the horse on a daily basis in training and/or also in competition. Success in the show ring comes by itself if you and the horse enjoy being together as a team, ribbons are simply a by-product of passion, good riding, fundamental horsemanship, love and respect of the creature horse ( yes , they have a soul too) .

10/07/2026

*Why we're not seeing diversity and small breeders/operations competing and winning end/of-year classes*

We've made the sad choice not to compete Crouton in the 4 year old Young Jumper finals.

The Young Jumper Championships has been our goal all year. We have some amazing homebreds coming up that we couldn't wait to show off. They've had a great summer and we're ready and able to do the Young Jumper Championships at Woodside this year. The location made it one of the only opportunities we will get to do this.

However, having horses that are ready and able is such a small part of the game.

Here's a list of the factors that led us to our decision:

- We're a small program. Where and how we spend our money matters. There isn't an unlimited supply.

- to participate in the Young Jumper program we must pay an additional $300 ($750 if we wait until next week) to enroll each horse. This is unrelated to any show fees. Just another unjustifiable fee.

- Show cost - it's an expensive show. Example- $500 for a stall

- the 4yo Final is a $4,000 class. This means that if we win both the $400 qualifier and the $4,000 final we would win a whopping $1320. It would not cover even just the show bill (classes and fees only) if we WON.

- fuel is over $8/gallon in California. It's going to be about 11 hours each way to get the the show, and that's a relatively close show for us. Rough and conservative estimate puts us at $658 just for fuel.

- All our annual memberships are expiring next week. Since USEF and USHJA are separate we have to renew multiple memberships per person. Even though only one of us is riding, because we aren't going to pay a 3rd annual membership to have our horses listed under our business name (which is actually correct), both of us would have to renew our memberships for one of us to compete the horse. That's four memberships we'd have to renew this week to go.

- by the time breeding season was over and we went to start competing our horses and looking towards the championships, we found that no shows in Washington or Oregon were offering any Young Jumper qualifiers. That means that unless we took Seven all the way to southern California just to do a qualifier class, it was not possible for us to compete in the 5 year olds (4 year olds don't have to qualify before the championships). Despite taking to the woman who runs the program explaining the situation, they would not allow another class of equal height to count as a qualifier (an open class would be harder both in technicality and height than a qualifier). I spoke to show managers about offering the classes (it is only a $100 fee the show pays to run the classes), I was told we could "talk about it for next year".
Practically, this means that unless you're already in California, it's not realistic to be able to compete in the West Coast Young Jumper Championships. It's worth noting for those that don't live on the West Coast that even though we live in Southern Oregon, it is a 17-20 hour drive for us to get to Southern California.

I've spoken to two other accomplished breeders/developers of young jumpers that have decided not to attend the championships for a lot of the same reasons we did.

If you pay attention you'll notice that a lot of the same barns, trainers, and breeders compete and win the end of year classes. There's a reason for this, and it's not because smaller programs aren't producing and developing quality, able horses. It's just that the bigger programs have the access and ability to actually compete their horses.

It's not a test of who the best young horses are - and not a demonstration of the breeders and trainers on the west coast - not by a long shot. It's simply for those programs already living and competing in the thicket of California showing.

As of now there are only four horses entered (two riders total) in the 4-year-old championship and only two entered in the 5-year-olds. This is NOT because of a lack of ready and able horses.

Team Northwest Equestrian Sports United States Hunter Jumper Association - USHJA US Equestrian West Palms Events

09/21/2026

This dynamic duo keeps winning ribbons after ribbons: Striewes Candy Crush aka CANDY ( by ) with placings again in 1.40m and 1.45m last week end with our friend who carefully developed this talented 9y old mare for us the past 2 years in 🇩🇪 contact us or Thilo directly for more information

09/16/2026

UDJClub judges do not hide themselves anonymously in a judges booth.
Besides the required equestrian expertise as described in the link below UDJClub judges should be outgoing, communicative and encouraging, best paired with a certain portion of charisma , creativity and the ability to inspire others in a positive and encouraging way always following UDJClub rules and guidelines.

Being good with the microphone and not to be shy of public or one on one interaction with people to advocate one's position and/or scoring is definitely a plus when applying to become a UDJClub judge.

Applicants with high levels of work ethics , classical motivations paired with common sense and a good portion of sense of humor to make the UDJClub showing experience a fun one for all people involved are also preferred.
If you feel this applies to you or you like to get more information you can click on the link below or contact the UDJC website at www.udjc.org

09/08/2026

If you ride hunter/jumper and compete at rated horse shows come train and show with us at the prestigious Haras Equestrian Center, home of Top Line Sporthorse International with founder, owner, head trainer and coach CHRISTIAN ROGGE , German native and over 30 years in business in the Greater Houston area since 1995.
With the welfare of the horse and the safety of the rider in mind we prioritize old school fundamental riding techniques based on horsemanship and german influenced training methods and strict operational structures : commitment - discipline - reliability in a professional manner teamed up in a fun and exciting club type atmosphere in a first class facility with numerous amenities including two big indoor arenas , outdoor rings , a Derby Grass Field and many more.