Compton’s career working with horses began at the esteemed Spruce Meadows, where she was hired to act as both a rider and a groom. This experience led her to other important roles, including her work with Canadian Olympic athlete Brian Anderson, and a teaching position at Painted Trak Farms. She has extensive experience in judging, teaching, and riding in Canada and the United States.
Now based at the EPIC Horse-Riding School in Foothills, Alberta, EC caught up with Compton to talk to her about her coaching and to congratulate her on being named Coach of the Year for 2022!
How did you get involved with horses?
I’ve always been a lover of all animals. I begged my parents at eight years old to take lessons at Geary Hills Stables in New Brunswick. Not being horse people, they bought me a package of lessons and that’s how it all started.
What was your experience working at Spruce Meadows?
Working at Spruce Meadows was both challenging and rewarding. When you work at one of the top show jumping facilities in the world, there are high expectations. The days were long, and we worked very hard, but there were a lot of wonderful memories too. You have to remember that 30 years ago, we did not have a lot of the same technology or even the knowledge that we have today. Everything took a lot longer and we were required to be versatile and adapt to the challenges we were faced with. Spruce Meadows taught me a lot about horses and reaffirmed my desire to make horses part of my career.
Are you currently riding?
Yes! Of course. I ride a combination of my own horses and client horses. I am based out of EPIC Stables, which is a beautiful facility in the Foothills at the edge of Calgary. It keeps me busy because I train client horses on a daily basis. It’s common for me to ride up to six horses a day. It’s been a busy year already, we went down to the Desert International Horse Park in California in February and I had horses in both the 1.10 jumpers and the 3’3 hunters as well as all my students. Switching back and forth between hunters and jumpers has become commonplace, but it’s important for me to be involved in both since I have both hunter and jumper riders in my program.
When did you know you wanted to coach?
I have been a coach for a long time and have worked with some really great mentors over the years. I’m not sure that when I first started out working at Spruce Meadows that I thought I would get into coaching, but opportunities outside of coaching in the Equestrian community can be somewhat limited, so I started teaching lessons. I quickly discovered that I was good at it, and it was something that I enjoyed, so it was a win-win. Much of the first part of my coaching career was at a single facility where I spent more than 20 years, and during that time I was able to carve out my own niche coaching students from a range of different backgrounds with a style that focused on rider-centred learning.
What is your favourite part of coaching?
I love celebrating the successes with my riders, and this is important because success looks different to everyone. For some of my riders, success is felt at home when completing an exercise or having that ‘a-ha’ moment. For others, success is a super round in a show. I’m constantly working with my students to ensure that they achieve success and that involves goal setting. It’s really important to me that riders have clear and realistic goals that they can work towards. This allows us to look back at the progress they have made. For many years, coaching for me only focused on the riders in my program, but more recently I have become involved with the wider equestrian community, working my way up through the various coaching levels to becoming a coach developer. Now, I not only get to celebrate success with my riders, but with novice coaches coming through the program, and this has also been very rewarding.
What have you learned in the role with your students/athletes?
Patience. Not every rider advances at the same pace, and that is okay. Also, progress is not linear. Both horse and rider can have bad days, that’s okay too as long as there is progress in the longer term.
What is a key saying that they might remember from you or you are known for saying?
I think rather than a key phrase, I’m known for my rider-centred approach to teaching. My priority is that my students are able to analyze their own performance. I ask them questions, based on their level of ability, and ask them to provide feedback on what they think they did well and how they can improve. I think that this question-based approach is incredibly helpful for students as they are learning to reflect on themselves rather than just having me tell them what they could improve on.
What has been a treasured achievement as a coach? One of your biggest challenges?
I was very comfortable working at the same facility for over 20 years of my life, but I knew that I was ready for more. So, I started my own business called Compton Equestrian and set out to work with riders who were working at slightly higher rider levels and who were participating in more Gold level shows. The transition was initially daunting, but I quickly found my feet and have been thriving ever since. Now, I have a wonderful group of dedicated and enthusiastic athletes who are committed to excellence. When I first started out, I never imagined that I would be the head coach at a breathtaking facility or that I would be teaching others how to coach through the coach developer program, so while the transition to being the sole business owner was super challenging at first, it has also been one of my most treasured achievements.
What are your thoughts about the future of equestrian coaching in Canada?
I am excited about the future! I think for a long time there was an expectation that coaches were qualified if they were teaching, but there was no real set of benchmarks available. The streamlined process that EC has put into place allows for more recognition of all the great work that coaches across Canada are doing. In thinking about a rider that is just starting out, that rider, or their parent, is not going to know what to look for, so making sure that everyone in the sport has some background training and opportunities for professional development is really important.
What prompted you to become a coach developer? What other development are you doing for your own coaching and the support of other coaches?
Becoming a coach developer was a logical next step for me. I’ve had the experience working with students and have significant expertise in the field, so working with other coaches who are learning to develop their own teaching style is a really valuable way that I can give back to our community. Plus, I see the value in the program and I want other coaches to experience success. In terms of my own development, I’m heading out to Ontario soon to participate in an (EC) coaching symposium. I also have my own coach that supports my development as a rider, so I am always looking to practice what I teach my students and analyze my own performance in the same way I ask my students to.
What are your thoughts about Coach Status and Certification?
I think that having set protocols relating to the different levels of coaching is very important and I like that it goes beyond instruction. In our sport, concussion protocols and basic first aid obviously should be mandatory. While we try to maintain safety at all times, this sport can be dangerous. The various supplemental courses offer really helpful information to both beginner instructors and to those who might need a refresher. I also really like that there is a goal to sustain a learning environment where coaches need to keep up to date on the latest information through professional development opportunities. It’s rigorous, yet flexible, which is very appealing.
How does it feel to be named Coach of the Year?
Wow! I am shocked, honoured and humbled to receive this award. It means a lot to me that I would be considered.