No one taught Rodney Jenkins to ride. The man who would become one of the greatest hunter and jumper riders of all time never had a formal lesson from anyone.

Instead, Jenkins learned by listening to the horses and watching. “I learned a lot by the seat of my pants,” he said.

“We had woods behind the barn, and I’d build courses of old logs and branches and play horse show. Then, when I went to horse shows, I watched the people who won. I’d see their style and try to integrate it into the way I rode.”