Groom to Grand Prix: Show Jumper Mavis Spencer
Puts Horses First as a TheraPlate Brand Ambassador
Wellington, FL (April 5, 2017) — Mavis Spencer was just five years old when she declared that she would someday make horses her profession. As she grew up, she realized she would need a way to support her aspirations financially, so Spencer signed on as a groom for top-ranked American show jumper Kent Farrington. Now, justeight years later, the 25-year-old California native is a world-class rider who holds her own in the Grand Prix ring while managing the sport horse sales for Neil Jones Equestrian as well as her own Gallop Apace, LLC.
Spencer was given the chance to get back in the saddle in 2014 when she took over for Neil Jones Equestrian’s top rider, who sustained an injury. A few weeks later she began to show the sale horses, and a few months later she was taking a group of horses to Wellington for the 2015 Winter Equestrian Festival season. The temporary riding arrangement evolved into a permanent one. Quickly rising through the ranks, Spencer competed and ribboned in her first Grand Prix events in 2016 and jumped her first World Cup qualifier later that year. She burst into the limelight this year during her first Saturday Night Lights WEF Grand Prix at the famed Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, jumping a clear round and placing eighth in the $86,000 Marshall & Sterling Grand Prix with her own 11-year-old Westfalian Cornetiero.
Spencer believes that much of her success is due to her hands-on approach and her attentiveness to the physical health and fitness of her horses – a direct result of the unique experience she accumulated by starting out as a groom. “I like to be very involved with all of the horses, because for me, just getting to work with each of the horses every day really allows me to notice if one is a little more sore one day to the next,” she said. “It helps me as a rider to know how a horse feels that day and how I might help get them back to performing their best, and that’s where the TheraPlate becomes a big part of my program.”
To keep all 20 of the horses she is currently training in peak condition, Spencer relies on TheraPlate Revolution Therapy Platforms, the Official Therapy Plate of the US Equestrian. Regular use of the TheraPlate offers a wealth of physical benefits for high-performance show jumpers, countering the effects of chronic inflammation, speeding healing, and aiding in the prevention of injury. Spencer was introduced to the TheraPlate in 2011 while working for Kent Farrington, and, after returning from several years in Europe to the United States, she immediately made arrangements to obtain a demo TheraPlate for Neil Jones Equestrian. On the heels of her immensely successful 2017 winter season, TheraPlate congratulated Spencer for her recent accomplishments and welcomed her to its team of elite riders who share her enthusiasm for these innovative therapy platforms by naming her an Official TheraPlate Brand Ambassador.
Since making TheraPlate part of her team’s daily routine, Spencer has noticed a significant difference in the health and happiness of her horses. “There are so many specific issues that you can target and treat with the TheraPlate,” she said. “I have the TheraPlate App on my phone that I can go through and set up a program that is tailored specifically to each horse – for example, if I think one horse is a little back sore or foot sore or even has a bit of an upset stomach, there’s a TheraPlate program for that.”
Spencer’s core group of horses use the TheraPlate multiple times a day, and she uses it for her sales horses, as well. “We ask so much of these horses, it’s good to help keep them happy and comfortable,” she explained.
She has especially noticed a difference in Cornetiero, with whom she has been working for the past three years. “Cornetiero is not a necessarily a body-sore horse, but because he jumps so hard he is prone to soreness when we are showing a lot,” she said. “Using the TheraPlate has not only helped to prevent this, it has helped his overall demeanor — he is a lot happier and more comfortable because of it, so his personality has improved.”
In addition to the changes they have seen in their horses, Spencer and her team have experienced the benefits of using the TheraPlate first-hand. “At the end of the day, we all sit on the TheraPlate and have group meetings about what our plan is going to be for the next day,” she said. “I think we benefit from it as much as the horses do. I have a bad lower back and a lot of chronic pain from older injuries, and riding as many horses as I do every day definitely takes a toll on my body. Even if I only stand on the TheraPlate for ten minutes, I notice a difference immediately when I get off.”
Neil Jones Equestrian operates out of Wellington from November through April, and Spencer and her team are currently making plans to travel to Kentucky and California for the spring, summer and fall show circuits. Next stop is Lexington for the Kentucky Spring Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park, followed by the Split Rock Jumping Tour. Beyond that, their itinerary is not yet set in stone. “Working with a sales program means that it is difficult to plan too far in advance, because I never know what horses I’m going to have in two months time,” said Spencer. “Going with the flow and doing the best with what I have is my day-to-day goal.”
One thing Spencer does know for certain is that wherever she ends up and whatever horses she ends up working with, the TheraPlate will continue to be a fundamental part of her fitness routine. “The TheraPlate will travel everywhere I go,” she said.
Based in Weatherford, Texas, TheraPlate Revolution offers therapy platforms for both horses and their human teammates. To learn more about how the innovative TheraPlate can improve horses’ health, or to arrange a no-obligation demo, visit www.theraplate.com or call toll-free (800) 922-3685 or direct (817) 629-5171.
