Interviewed by Sonja Smaldone
Horse training and handling is a tough profession for a man or a woman. But Chandler Pace Kozikowski is undaunted. His love for horses is overwhelming to the extent of spending twenty-four hours with the most elegant animal in the world. Kozikowski lives in Poland where he trains and looks after many of the Arabian Horses standing at JP Training Centre. Hello Chandler. Just to set the scene with our readers, will you please give us some background to you, your family and education? I’m a middle-aged guy who works with horses every day, I like what I do and it makes me very happy. Before I started to work with horses, I graduated in Economics at University, and I have always been a very active person. I did a lot of training during my life, maybe that’s why I’m not so bad at running with horses...
How did this passion you have for Arabian horses begin? To what extent has this love you have acquired for the Arabian horse affected your life? The beginning is simple and her name is Joanna. All started when I met her, and she showed me how special horses can be. My life changed totally, I knew it from the beginning that she would bring mess into my life, but I must say that I like this mess and it’s the best thing that could ever happened to me. For sure, in the very beginning, I didn’t expect to become a handler, but I knew that horses were getting more and more important to me. When she was only a little girl, Joanna used to spend all of her free time in the stable, so it was obvious that if I wanted to be with her, I needed to like what she loved in the first place. After a couple of months, we started to work together. Now it’s been 14 years and we own our JP Training Centre so I can say that Arabian horses have changed my life completely and I’m really happy about it. Chandler, have you developed a systematic program for handling Arabian horses. Can you describe this program? How have your handling techniques evolved over the years? I think every trainer has his/her own way of training horses. For me the most important thing is the horse, I know it may sound banal to you but it’s the basic of our training program. I like when a horse feels free and comfortable when I’m standing next to him. We try to build self-confidence in horses
Is there a limit to what an Arabian horse can be taught through handling? For sure there is a limit but every horse is a different one. What I mean by that is not every horse is born to be a super star in the show ring. For sure, we can develop horses’ skills by rigorous training, but, the final result depends a lot more on a horse and his/ her mind.
during the training. Our horses work really hard every day but they also have their own time in the pastures with friends, when they can clear their heads and have normal horse life. We try to keep them in a good mood and not to put much pressure on them.
What, in your opinion, really defines a good Handler? What do you need to become a successful one? For me, a good handler is a person who loves and understands horses without any mental reservation. There’s got to be a connection between a handler and his/her horse. It’s easy to say that, but it’s not easy to see it in the show ring. To beca-
me a successful one, I think you need a lot of hard work, talent and lots of luck and, of course, you got to have a great horse at the end of your lead. Chandler, how do you feel about the showing environment? Do the most deserving horses in terms of today’s standards really win at shows? I think that as long as many people are involved in it, there will always be there as many different opinions and points of view. As a handler, I can only hope that my horse will do the best performance he/she can do, and the rest is in judges’ hands. As long as my horses do their best, I’ll be very happy anyway. What are your favourite bloodlines? The answer is simple. I’m Polish and this is what I love. For
sure, I especially like the famous P-line from Janow Podlaski’s. Everybody knows that Pinga is the Love of my life! I guess you can feel something like that just once in your life. And I felt this with her. She represents everything I love in Arabian horses: not only does she carry so much “beauty” and Ara-
bian “type”, Pinga also has an “extraordinary personality”. And, then those beautiful black eyes...Every time she looked at me before entering the show ring, I would feel we were just unbeatable... Which Training Centre are you working for at the moment? How did it all start? We opened our own Training Centre in 2016 after we left Janow Podlaski State Stud where we had been working for six years. You can say that JP Training Centre is our little baby that started to grow really fast. Share with us most exciting moments at the 2019 All Nations Cup in Aachen. For me the highlights of all the Show were the Senior Mares Classes and their Championship. Just by standing between all those stunning mares, it made me feel so special! I need to mention Atius O and his Bronze medal though. He is an amazing show horse which never refuses to give me back all I have taught him, and I ask for when we are in the arena. Atius O always shows himself 120%, he is a great horse but also an incredible daily partner. How important are the Fairs of Arabian horses? I think they are really important. It’s your opportunity to promote your own Arabian horses, but also to meet up and attract new people. It’s time when people from all over the world can meet each other and compare their horses or breeding programs, and, of course have fun with it! How and where do you see yourself in ten years? I hope I will still be doing what I love and always be surrounded by beautiful Arabian horses. I hope that my life will bring me joy, happiness and as much satisfaction as I have now. Chandler, will you please leave a final message for the readers of AHM? I wish you all the best and have fun with Arabian horses. May this journey continue for all of us! Thank you so much Chandler. This was truly inspiring. On behalf of the entire AHM Team, I wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavours!