Zacarias Salmeron Will Make You Rethink Your Relationship with Riding

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In the age of social media, high expectations and mounting performance pressure, Zacarias Salmeron is here to tell us that the ever-popular “slow living” concept could be the key to raising happier, healthier horses.

Listening to Horse Person’s conversation with the founder of Z&K Horsecare and co-creator of the digital platform Valore Equestrian about his horse training philosophy can feel like a therapy session on how to live a happier life. With simple suggestions like smiling during a competition and focusing on the energy you bring into the ring, Salmeron paints a beautiful picture of horses as partners, and challenges everything you thought you knew about how (and when) to develop them.

One of Salmeran’s most distinctive insights comes from his time working at ScanVet Stallions in Denmark.

ScanVet’s approach was to ride a horse until around age 4 or 5 and then to give them years off with no riding at all until they reach ages 8 to 11 before competing.

While counterintuitive to most commonly accepted practices, this method allows the horses to develop physically and mentally in a more sustainable way before facing the highest levels of competition, Salmeran says.

“He would work the horses for two years, and you wouldn’t see anything, no jumping, just flat work,” he says of his time at ScanVet Stallions. “And then 11 years old, maybe in a season, he would go from a meter to a 1.40m in a season.”

The result? Teenaged horses in their prime, who go on to compete in their 20s. Trusting in this approach, Salmeron says he plans to be competing on mature horses well into his mature riding years.

“After what I have learned, that the horses can compete until 20 and luckily, I can also compete until 70, 80. I don’t know. If I keep fit, like I’m trying to keep myself fit, there’s no limits,” he said.

The recurring theme in Salmeron’s conversation with the Horse Person podcast is simple: no pressure. It is how he approaches everything from a high-level jumping competition, to his work with new horses.

“I don’t do anything with a hurry,” he said. “That’s rule number one.”

When working with a new horse, he doesn’t even approach until the horse chooses to come to him. He focuses on fixing just one thing at a time, and is known for training sessions that last only ten minutes.

“That’s the clearest way of teaching the horse, this is what I want.”

He rides without gadgets, without force, and without trying to prove anything.

“I just have the reins, my seat,” he said. “And then I just talk to the horse and we have a good time.”

After a childhood riding alongside his siblings in Morocco, the now-celebrated trainer stepped away from horses for nearly a decade to work in hotel management. He returned at age 30—not to chase medals, but to follow something deeper.

“I was just following the rules, following what I was expected to do, which was work in a hotel, have an apartment, have a nice car,” he said. “I quickly realized that was not going to lead me anywhere and did not make me happy. And then when I was 30, I started thinking, okay, I’m only living once. Let me at least enjoy the time that I have here.”

At that point, he began traveling the world to compete and develop young horses. After his hiatus it would be understandable for Salmeron to feel “behind” in his competitive career. But once again, his measured outlook outweighs any self-doubt.

“I don’t feel I’m behind because I have nothing to prove,” he told Horse Person. “I have stopped wanting to prove things to people.”

To hear more about Salmeron’s unconventional training journey, how falling in love with his wife at a competition in Portugal changed his life, and why he often finds himself driving home with a riding helmet still atop his head, check out the latest episode of Horse Person podcast. This one is a must-listen for anyone rethinking their relationship with riding—or just with themselves!