Janna Bankston
Scan contact card
USPC National Examiner, Eventing & Dressage Coach and Clinician
Available for training, lessons, coaching, clinics, certification prep, and USPC certifications
My Mission
I believe that riding should be fun but that it should also be as safe as possible and we should do it in a way that helps develop the horse as an athlete. I believe that as riders and horse owners we owe it to our equine partners to do our due diligence to make sure that they are comfortable and sound enough to do the job we are asking them to do. I consider myself to be a “professor” of the USPC curriculum and as such, believe that the basic balanced position is the foundational element that allows riders to eventually be able to gain a secure and independent seat to give the aids in a way that allows them to develop the horse in alignment with the USDF Dressage Training Scale.
Experience
General Background/Competition & Coaching Experience
United States Pony Club Membership
- Greenville Foothills Pony Club member 1995-1998
- Western North Carolina Pony Club 1999-2001
- Lifetime USPC membership 2001-present
- Achieved B & HA certification in 2001 when the age limit for USPC was 21
- Co-chair of the Examiner’s Committee which is responsible for USPC National Certifications (2025)
USPC Experience
- Graduate HA.
- USPC National Examiner since 2008.
- Qualified to be an examiner for the HB & HA, Eventing C3, B, and A, Dressage C3, B, and A, and Show Jumping C3 (in addition to local levels).
- Prepped multiple candidates through the HA and A level.
- Served as a joint Carolina Region Regional Instructional Coordinator (RIC) 2013-2023, in charge of organizing the USPC national certifications for the Carolina Region in this role.
- Currently serving on the USPC D-A Curriculum Committee and helped write the 2024 edition of the USPC Standards of Proficiency.
- Extensive involvement with the USPC Interpacific Exchange:
- Coach for the USPC IPE Team: Hong Kong 2010, New Zealand 2011, Australia 2013, Canada 2015
- Co-organizer for IPE when USPC hosted it in the Carolinas in 2017
- Team Manager for USPC IPE Team in Hong Kong 2019 when USPC won the Nation’s Cup
- Personal students represented IPE in 2010, 2017, and Nation’s Cup winning team in 2023
Competition Experience
- Preliminary level Eventing
- Second level Dressage
- 1.10 meter Jumpers
- Local level Hunter/Equitation
- Fox Hunting experience: Live and drag hunts with foxhunts in South Carolina, North Carolina, and California.
Training
Developed multiple young horses through Training level eventing, lower level dressage, foxhunting, and H/J. Experience restarting/reschooling, troubleshooting, and tuning up horses of all levels in multiple disciplines.
Coaching Experience
Eventing Coaching
- National levels: Starter level through Intermediate level
- FEI level: Two star level
Dressage Coaching
- USDF Intro through Third level
- Coached the Furman University Intercollegiate Dressage Team in 2011-2012.
Teaching Experience
I began teaching riding lessons in 2000 while in college. My students have ranged from children as young as five years old to adults in their 70’s, and have been a mix of recreational/pleasure riders as well as riders competing in dressage, eventing, show jumping, hunters, equitation, fox hunting, mounted archery, mounted games, tetrathlon, western dressage, and working equitation. Have had riders qualify and compete at USEA Area Championships, American Eventing Championships, USDF Regional Championships, USPC Championships, Interpacific Exchange teams, International Mounted Games Exchange teams, International Foxhunting Exchange teams, and International Tetrathlon Exchange teams.
- Conducted required staff training for horseback staff at Falling Creek Camp, an American Camp Association accredited boys camp in Zirconia, NC to be sure that staff were adequately prepared to teach horseback riding lessons and horsemanship training for campers.
Farm Management Experience
Barn Manager for Riverbend Equestrian Park in Greenville, SC 2011-2022. Ran day to day operations of the 15 horse, 70 acre facility. Had a 30+ lesson/week lesson program. Had boarders and school horses. Hosted Pony Club activities, horse shows, clinics, non horse related events.
Safety Qualifications
- Maintains a commercial equine liability policy of which barns can be added as “additional insured”
- Yearly continuing education in the equine industry
- Current with First Aid & CPR certifications- renewed every 3 years
- Criminal background check performed every 3 years
- Current on Youth Protection Training through USPC
- Current on head injury/concussion protocol “Heads-Up Concussion Training” a training module developed in conjunction with the NFL and the CDC
- Current on SafeSport Training, required by USEF
- Current on heat illness training- “It’s Hot Outside” training module and testing designed by the Dept of Health & Human Services and the CDC
Publications
A collection of articles in which I have been featured in or contributed to
Regular contributor to The Plaid Horse, a national equestrian publication
“One of the skills that has served me well in my professional career is something that was drilled into me during my time in Pony Club: the ability to accurately take and interpret a horse’s vital signs. Temperature, pulse, respiration (TPR), gut sounds (all four quadrants), capillary refill time, etc. It is so important to be able to gather that data to see if your horse isn’t feeling 100% and to be able to effectively communicate that data to the vet so you can come up with a plan.
When I am hiring barn workers that is one of the first things I ask if they are capable of doing. If they do not know how to do it, it’s not a deal breaker but I teach them how to do it. I have had lifelong horse people and horse owners that I have hired that didn’t know how to take TPR’s and it was shocking. I was happy to teach them because not only did it help them care for my horses and the client horses better but it developed their personal horse management skills as well. One of the first things my employees were shown was where the well stocked equine first aid kit was located so it was easy for them to grab a thermometer, the stethoscope, etc. to be able to take TPR’s.
Now that I am freelance teaching, I have been shocked at the amount of times I have shown up to a barn to teach and some horse on the property is not quite right and there’s been no way to take a temperature because the barn doesn’t have a thermometer. I’ve almost been tempted to start carrying a rudimentary equine first aid kit in my car!” -Janna Bankston
“Overused: Any piece of equipment or gadget that is used to stop an undesired behavior without getting to the root cause of the behavior. For instance – just using a flash, figure eight, or drop noseband for a horse that opens its mouth without investigating the reason why the horse is opening its mouth or evading the bit.
Underused: Correctly fitting saddles. The more horses I meet and the more I learn, it seems that an alarming amount of horses are being ridden with saddles that do not fit. Use an independent saddle fitter (not a saddle seller or brand rep!) and have an ongoing relationship with them. Have them out every few months to evaluate the saddle fit. Bonus points if you choose a wool flocked saddle that can be tailored and fitted to your horse as its back changes. So many behaviors are physically rooted and it is up to us to do our due diligence and make sure the horses are comfortable!” -Janna Bankston
“Obviously it depends on the horse and rider pair, but I strive not to overdo it—which is tempting. I’d say that 99% of the jumps I have them jump in warmup are more for the rider than the horse! I am a fan of a few trot fences just to help the rider and horse stay patient and settle, and I find them more forgiving especially when nerves may be a factor.
When they are trotting a x-rail or small vertical quietly and softly cantering away, then I have them canter a small vertical off of both leads. Then, I like to have a little walk break on a long rein if time allows and let them settle. It is easy to have the rider feel hurried or pressured when you have a ring steward yelling in the background. If that is going well, and the rhythm and rideability is satisfactory, I’ll then put the vertical up to height and we will jump it off of both leads and work the oxer in (usually a few holes lower than height to start with then I’ll bring it up to height).
I try to have them mimic any particularly tricky turns that they may have on their course (a short approach or a quick turn after for instance). We are usually under 10 efforts at this point if I had to put a number to it. I like to have another quick walk break then pick up one more fence at height right before the rider heads to the ring. There is certainly a sweet spot for the ideal number of warmup fences—you need enough to be sure the horse is rideable and the rider’s eye is accurate but not so many that the horse starts to get dull or flat.” -Janna Bankston