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“It’s challenging to find the right support,” Callie Schott tells WoSJ. “I have worked very hard my whole life, in every aspect of the sport – from cleaning stalls to grooming horses – putting in very long hours. In the end, it has paid off; people have seen my hard work. I believe that the long hours in the barn and my love for the horses have gotten me to where I am now.” 

With the 13-year-old Garant (Warrant x Verdi TN), Callie is one of the ten athletes on the short-list for the US jumping team ahead of this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris. Currently 167th on the Longines Ranking, the 38-year-old recently placed third in the CSIO5* 1.60m Lugano Diamonds Grand Prix at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala – stepping on to the podium next to Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs and Steve Guerdat. “I wish I had a little bit more experience, but so far, we have handled it well,” Callie says about her quick ascent to the top of the sport. “I love watching what everybody does and learning how the best people work. It's a really good opportunity to be able to watch the best people ride and I feel like it only makes me try to be better.” 

Callie grew up surrounded by horses in Versailles, Kentucky, with both of her parents working in the equestrian field. “My mum Elaine was originally an eventer and my father Trey played polo as well as being an equine vet,” she explains. “My mum had a local business as a riding teacher and I learned about horse care that way. I grew up with horses and hard work; I never knew anything different.” 

Around the age of ten, Callie got into hunters and jumpers and trained with David Wright in Tennessee during her junior years. She also rode on the equestrian team during her time in college in Kentucky. “My first year of college, I actually got into thoroughbreds just to see different aspect of horses,” she tells. “However, after taking a break from riding for about six months, I realised this is what I wanted to do – I missed it.” 

“Out of college, I got a job with John and Beezie Madden as an assistant rider,” Callie tells about the next big turn in her career, working for someone she looked up to in her childhood and still has huge respect for. When Callie first called John about the job, he told her that if she didn’t work out as a rider, she could have a grooming job. “I ended up working there for quite a while though,” she recalls with a smile. “It was a pretty intense position; it is a busy barn.”

“I learned a lot about the importance of daily routines. The Maddens put a lot of thought into every single detail of every day. I think that's what I took away the most from being there – and very true horsemanship. I feel like many places these days kind of just go through the motions of horse care, whereas the Maddens really take every detail of every single horse's care very seriously. I worked for them nearly five years. I learned a lot during this time and we built a very good relationship.”

After nearly five years with the Maddens, Callie returned home to run a business with her family. “I wanted to go and pursue some of my own goals,” she tells about the choice of leaving the Maddens. Callie also worked privately for a family in Tennessee before an opportunity with Southern Arches – a farm based out of Ballwin, MO and Wellington, FL – came up in 2020. “In my job interview for Southern Arches, I was asked what my passion was. I remember saying how I aim to be at the top of the sport of showjumping – and over the years we have been working on developing a string of horses to do just that. As part of the interview, I also showed one of their hunters.” 

After about a year with Southern Arches, Callie got the Maddens to help her train their string of horses. When Beezie another year later decided to step down from top level competition herself, John suggested to Callie to take over the reins on Beezie’s top horse Garant. “Through the previous horses I had ridden for them in the past, John thought that I could possibly get along with Garant,” Callie explains. “Before presenting him to anybody else, he asked if we would be interested. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to, but I said I would love to give it a try. From the first day I rode Garant, I knew it was a match.” 

“I try not to think about it like that,” Callie says when asked how she deals with the obvious pressure and expectations that come with riding an exceptional horse like Garant. “I just try to enjoy him and the process of getting to know him. I still feel like every competition we do, we seem to improve. Every day, I really enjoy his company in the barn. I think spending a lot of time with him helps us form a close relationship, which then helps us when we compete. We are still getting to know each other better.”

“I mean, he's a lot,” Callie continues to speak about Garant. “Every day at home, he's very normal to ride; he's calm and chill on the day-to-day. He's fun to be around, he loves his life. I don't think I have ever met a happier horse. However, as soon as you start to jump, he just wants to go to the jump so much. It's such a great feeling, but it has taken time for me to learn how to deal with his eagerness. He's an extremely careful horse and the more positive I can ride him, the more confident he gets. If I can be extremely confident in how I approach the course, that makes him better. In Ocala, I felt like he went into a whole other gear of jumping. The time allowed was very tight and you had to ride quite bold. I think there are horses that are careful and want it, but Garant is next level – he is incredible.”

“I think Garant is about as good of a horse as you can have,” Callie says. “He gets better and better as you compete and he comes out each day better than the day before, which makes him an ideal championship horse.” 

Callie’s long-term goals with the Southern Arches include bringing their group of horses up to the highest level and seeing where that takes them. “Our working philosophy is not so much about buying and selling horses, but really developing them and seeing how far we can go together,” she explains. “I have an amazing group of people around me. We are very well staffed and the horses are very well taken care of. Now that we have a few more horses and I travel back and forth between shows, I have gotten an assistant rider as well. It is a nice opportunity to bring another young professional up in the sport like Beezie did with me.” 

“As trainers, they are quite involved in our day-to-day life,” Callie tells about the role the Maddens play at Southern Arches. “John checks in often to see how all the horses are going and Beezie helps me on the flat. Sometimes she rides the horses to see how they are feeling and we make the planning of our competition year together. We make an individual plan for all of the horses based on what's best for each of them and then go from there. John normally comes to all the shows and it's nice when Beezie gets to be there as well. However, she also has her own horses to bring along and compete so she's not always available.” 

“In one year, I went from not really being ranked at all to the top 250,” Callie tells about her quick progress. “The Major League Show Jumping really helped me, because it gave me the opportunity to compete at five-star shows without travelling around the world. Luckily, I have managed to maintain my ranking and I have been able to get into other high-level shows. To get into most of the shows, you have to be ranked high enough and therefore our goal has been to stay up there in order to get invited. We are working on our string of horses to have more support around Garant.” 

While being ranked high enough is important in terms of access to shows, Callie is not driven by numbers. Instead, what motivates her more is seeing her horses’ progress. “I enjoy seeing the small improvements that the horses make every day,” she concludes. “Even competing, I think about it more in terms of improving. And that's where John is good for me; to make me a little bit more competitive. I just want the horse to have the best round possible, while John tries to encourage me to be a little bit more competitive and try to win more.” 

“The most important is waking up and loving what you do,” Callie concludes. “And not letting anything that gets in your way turn you down; you just have to keep trying and keep doing what you love. I think you have to look at everything as a learning experience; instead of dwelling on what went bad, try to get better from it.” 

23.4.2024 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission, all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com. If copyright violations occur, a penalty fee will apply.