Also just want to add that I think the saddest part about of all this is how divided Eventing is in Canada and that program is such absolute garbage and non existent that riders are left to resort to the courts to get clarification.
The problem starts long before the riders have to make that choice. Maybe if they were supported in this country and had clear guidelines and selection information these things wouldn’t be happening.
We don’t even have a National Championship in Canada.
That is useful to know. It possibly explains why neither Mike Winter nor Rebecca Howard were mentioned as team possibles, dispite their previous Olympic participation and current 4* experience. Out of sight, out of mind, both based in the UK.
Of course, they might not want to be involved.
Well, Rebecca Howard’s last 3* was in 2017 & the rest are 1 & 2*’s so there is that…
I don’t know about Mike Winter. He’s only run 2x this year with a 20 on XC. Was he qualified? Was his horse suited to the expected temps & course? Did he declare?
I think the beef is also that Karl doesn’t get to travel to Japan. So if neither horse starts he doesn’t get a chance.
Mike Winter has run Bicton, Houghton, Burnham Market 4* this year, though with not especially stellar results.
My bad: Rebbecca Howard has no form since 2019. Doesn’t time fly? I recall seeing her busy riding at many events but I’ve just looked up her BE page and realise that was 18 or more months ago.
Apologies! Bin my suggestion that people are overlooked by selectors.
Mike ran Burnham with a 20 on XC then clean with a fair amount of time at Houghton. He was entered but does not appear to have run at Bicton.
I’m guessing no traveling reserve with no team. It is such a shame!
oh geez, now i am curious and will start googling to try to figure out who this involved, assuming it was not prior to when google became everyone’s best friend.
You might add Don Good to your search. May he RIP! He sued EC a few times with more than one rider, as I recall. He was the owner/part owner. Were the riders on board or stuck in an ugly situation hoping for the best?!?
Here’s the link to Jessica Phoenix’s Olympic selection appeal in 2016 (the link to the actual report is broken). I mean, the error that EC committed there was to not list any of the events as mandatory. If they had made events mandatory, JP would not have been selected for an Olympic team after withdrawing from cross-country from virtually every major event of the season. But I digress!
I don’t have the inside scoop, so I have no idea why so many coaches have come and gone. Maybe someone here can enlighten me. My old eventing coach, who is my only source of “gossip,” said the riders complained about every one of them. In any case, it is completely absurd that there is no coach, no funding for selectors, no process to re-evaluate selection after a rider falls off twice at preparatory events, etc. Add this year’s clandestine Bromont to the mix and you have fodder for a ridiculous conspiracy plot-twisting screenplay about a niche sport most people pay no attention to.
I hope that one of our two riders kicks butt in a miraculous way - it is just so unfortunate to have had such a promising group of riders 10 years ago be reduced to this.
From Nancy Tapleys run on Katlyns FB Post, it seems there was only one selector, Penny. One other quit and one other was fired? So we had one selector? Still no coach this whole time.
Leslie I think nails it all on the head in the posts on Katlyns page.
Riders have been fighting for awhile for a better selection process, but I really think EC is still in the 1800’s with their processes at this point.
Wait what? Only one selector??? Whose partner is obsessed with one of the horses and riders. Makes sense now. How we get away with one selector is beyond me.
Team Canada Coaches - I was told a few years back when a BNR wanted to be Canada’s coach they won’t let the coaches make money elsewhere while being team coach or show and compete. So many who want the job turn it away because of that.
I’m sure there are other reasons too, I’m kind of surprised our high performance athletes aren’t fighting for a coach.
It seemed that when DOC was coach and G. Thom was the manager things went much more smoothly. CF did not seem to be much of a team builder and under him there were 18 team decision appeals.
It is kind of tough to know anything about the selectors - do we actually know there was only 1?
@Jealoushe is correct if the named current selector is accurate they were involved in a dispute about being named to a team - they lost their spot but seem to be supporting the person they lost their spot to, if that makes any sense.
I do wonder why they wouldn’t offer the option to a non-traveling reserve to pay their own way to travel ‘just in case’. Those actually going have to fund quite a bit of this themselves.
Like @LadyB, Olympics or no, I wonder if going is really worth it. They will be just staying in the village or training, no traveling, no spectating.
I assume this also means that Jess and Colleen will have no coaching whatsoever at the Games…
Wouldn’t be surprised…after all, it the lack of coaching that wins medals…
I’m loving all the sharing of videos from the Ladies though!
Wow - this is a great post. So thorough and honest. EC is a dumpster fire and this selection process was a farce.
The whole of EC, top to bottom, is a shit show & has been for 20 years. There is no plan, no budget & no hope if you don’t start by shit canning Fleur & funding them!
And also relates to the secret Bromont running…
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