There are some exciting new changes to the ESNZ jumping performance pathway, putting in place some of the successful measures learned from the eventing high performance programme.

The announcement comes on the back of a substantial investment in the sport from Mitch and Kate Plaw. ESNZ high performance general manager Jock Paget says the restructure and constant improvement simply wouldn’t be possible without their very targeted support.

“We are extremely grateful for this and I am confident it will certainly lead to a huge amount of support and opportunity for our riders, which in turn will lead to success.”

The High Performance and High Performance Futures Squads are selected as combinations whilst the Talent ID, Talent Development and High Performance Potential squads are rider focussed.

Jock says those on the development squads (TID and TD) will be supported to ensure they have the opportunity to go on to bigger things. “Normally riders at that level are not on horses who are going to represent New Zealand at championships, so it is our job to help them through that pathway and onto suitable horsepower,” he says.

One of the biggest changes for the jumping pathway is the introduction of calling for applications for the Talent Identification Squad. “We are moving from a results-based selection to one that looks at attributes and characteristics of riders. It is going to be about who are the right people to have in that squad. By doing it this way we are trying to go wider in sourcing riders – we want to be able to find those who are out the back of nowhere and provide opportunities for them.

“When you look at the profile of champions in the jumping world, there is a list of attributes which are consistent among them. Some of those are harder to teach and develop than others,” says Jock. “These are the attributes we will select on in the TID and TD space. Then there is a list of skills which they will need to acquire to become champions, and it is the job of the programme to educate the riders and develop those skills to the highest standard.

“If the riders stepping into the programme are rich in the right attributes, the programme delivers the right stuff in the right way, the development and transition through the various phases of the pathway will be possible.”

The support would be needs based. It will be up to the programme to determine what the needs are for each group along the pathway, all of which will be done through the IPP (Individual Performance Programme) process. This will be led by the newly-appointed high performance manager Oliver Edgecombe as the and delivered by a team of coaches and providers. Jock says Oliver is perfect for the role and gives the wider team a lot of confidence that the programme will succeed.

“In a nutshell, the TID is about exploration, the TD is about , commitment and development, the HPP is about cementing their system and moving to a more individualised approach in regard to programme support, the HPF is about results and finishing and the HP squad is execution, succeeding and repeating.”
Applications will shortly be called for the TID with the successful riders announced in late October/early November. The remaining squads will be announced within the month.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PERFORMANCE PATHWAY & SQUAD CRITERIA

By Diana Dobson – HP Media Liaison