Exclusive Interview: How Jenni McAllister of Team McAllister Picks her Next Top Horse?

Team McAllister: Our goal is to help you achieve your personal best. Our combined experience and extensive knowledge encompass Team McAllister Training, which has proven to be successful for horses and riders at all levels. We offer Private or semi-private training sessions, clinics and coaching at horse shows. We also run a comprehensive horse training business, producing and selling show horses of the highest caliber.

Jenni McAllister and Escada VS in the AIG $1 Million Dollar Grand Prix at Thermal. Photo Credit: Treena Hall Equine Photography

PE - What characteristics must the horse have in order for you to consider purchasing? 

JM - We work directly with breeders of top sport horses, so we are interested first in the personality and characteristics of the people who are the owners and breeders of any horse. Second, we want to know where the horse came from and it’s bloodlines, specifically what was the plan when the breeder picked the stallion and mare. We want to go to the breeder's facility and it is very important to never have a preconceived notion of what you will see when you visit. Regarding the horse itself, we want to see how it jumps according to its pedigree and review it’s current training program. We also inspect the overall physical condition of the horse, including his eye and coat. We are very interested in his character and observing how he fits in with other horses as well.

PE - Do you have a specific type of horse that you prefer or that you've found to have the most success with? Perhaps they don't move as well but have an incredible jump or vice versa. 

JM - We have never had the perfect budget to buy the perfect horse. When we are shopping we are on a budget which makes it harder to compete. We look for a pedigree that includes bloodlines from a very successful horse people would have paid top dollar for maybe 2 Olympics ago. That is a very good indication the horse will jump double clean rounds consistently and will have a lot of chances to be in the victory gallop.

Jenni McAllister and Colvados in the FEI World Cup Qualifier in Del Mar. Photo Credit: Treena Hall Equine Photography

PE - Do you try to stay within a specific age range when trying horses? 

JM - No, we look for horses that can make money. Whether that is to resell or jump at the top of the sport. Our top goal is to qualify for the FEI World Cup and the age does not make a difference. A very big mistake people make is choosing too young of a horse versus going with an older horse. 

PE - Do you think the horse's physical capability or mental attitude are more important?

JM - A horses mental attitude is the most important because he will accept training and have the right mindset to execute it Likewise, a quality training program for the horse makes all the difference to enhance his physical capabilities. 

Jenni McAllister and Sanita PJ in the Portuguese Bend Charity Horse Show. Photo Credit: James Sabel

PE - What are some of the questions that you ask the horses previous owners or whoever you are purchasing the horse from?

JM - Because we tend to work with the same breeders every year, they will tell us everything up front. Whatever questions you do ask, take the answers with a grain of salt. Our favorite question to ask about any horse is “What is the best thing about this horse and what is the worst and describe each with only one word." 

PE - Do you prefer to bring along a green horse yourself or a horse that already has experience and training? 

JM - The answer depends specifically upon who I am buying from. One of our favorite breeders has phenomenal experience and a top training program so we are always happy to take horses from her. However, we have discovered that rushing through the starting and training of young horses has become entirely too common practice both here and abroad. Therefore, we do end up starting many green horses from other sources ourselves more than we would like.

Jenni McAllister and Legis Venice winning the $40,000 Grand Prix De Santa Fe. Photo Credit: Sharon McElvain

PE - What do you like the most about ProEquest? 

JM - What we like the most about ProEquest is how easy it is to list our sale horses. We like the attention to detail in the format for the sale horse descriptions along with the ease with which we can upload their photos and video links.

A special thank you to Jenni McAllister of Team McAllister for taking the time to answer our questions and share some of her insights into the equestrian world. To see the current horses that Team McAllister has listed for sale be sure to visit their ProEquest profile!