He wasn’t talking about young riders, rather, riders who had been on teams and successful at the upper levels but didn’t have consistent strings of horses.
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But that usually has been young riders. There are many like Allison Springer, Maya Black, etc. that got there with one horse and have not returned. I’ve always said that I hate the direct substitution idea on teams. Take Paris. Boyd and Will took four horses. We finished well down the list. Imagine the exposure for some younger riders if we had sent two of them instead of doing direct substitution. It might have helped propel some younger riders up the list.
your point is valid, but consider it was the least experienced rider that had the stop.
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Not like we were winning medals before. We always talk about developing depth and then do things that actually retard the development.
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This is a great point. It always surprises me how “poorly” we perform at the Olympics and this could very well be a reason why. I do understand that the logistics of eventing at least seem to be a little more reasonable over in Europe but still
but if I remember correctly, we would have medaled without the stop. The Pam Am games are for bringing up new talent-when we have already got a pass to the Olympics. Then you send the best to the Olympics. It is very difficult to win going up against the onslaught of the Brits, Germans and Kiwis. And I believe we DID medal at the World championships in Italy.
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I will add, I’m a huge Allison fan. From horsemanship, training, I think she’s one of the best trainers we have. While she may not have frequented a team place, she has been one to utilize syndicates very well. I wish she would be asked to share her secrets. Her owners encompass friends from hometowns, breeders, etc. I have no idea the ins and outs of the financial situation. But, I do know every horse competing is owned by a syndicate. So I think she encompasses not only skill/ability but also has the ability to sell the dream of a syndicate in a long-term way. Maybe this took time. She would be a great person to pick her brain.
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I was talking to my trainer about this today and she said she spent roughly a quarter of a million dollars in total getting her horse (which she started and brought up all the levels herself) to Kentucky almost ten years ago. She has no owners or sponsors, just a bunch of us in the barn who are more than happy to buy “team” gear to help offset some entry fees or to do the work at home when she’s away.
She’s vowed that she isn’t done yet and she’ll be back at the top but there’s no chance that she’ll ever have a full string of horses running constantly unless my very eccentric childless aunt leaves me an excessive amount of money in the next ten years and I can afford to be the owner for her (which I would gladly do, but those odds aren’t high).
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I have to say after just spending the entire day today being jump crew for Boyd at a clinic, it’s clear to me why he has so many owners. He’s a very impressive, and charming guy. Not to mention kind and inspiring to a level I wouldn’t have thought. Extremely impressed today and it’s easy to see why people want him to work with their horses.
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Yep, and there are others who have had quite a few top horses yet still struggle to maintain their foothold in the team ladder. I think there’s still a bit of misogyny out there despite this being a sport that has more female than male riders…
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Yep, but he’s only one guy. At some point I think owners need to realize that oversaturating one rider with all the horses isn’t going to improve our team performance, especially when we have many many other riders who have been successful abroad, ridden on teams, don’t have the backing of Mrs. Mars, and we only sporadically see them at the top level when they have one, maybe two horses when the boys have strings 5+ deep and a waiting list. I’m talking Lynn S, Kim (especially Kim, I don’t think people realize how good she is), Ariel, Sharon W, etc. etc.
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Yea I’d like to see some other riders get some already-UL horses purchased from others who start them. That is the key to success I think at this level—you can’t keep bringing up all your horses from scratch. It takes too long, costs too much, and many don’t pan out.
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I would argue that purchasing already UL horses doesn’t always work either. Shamwari, Mr Medicott, Trading Aces were all supposed to be The Next Big Thing but never achieved expected success.
I think bringing them up from Training or Prelim is a fair compromise if younger is too much risk or takes too long.
Then again I breed mine so I’m used to taking a long time.
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Given that one is dealing with a commodity that attempts to commit suicide on a daily basis it’s amazing any of them make it to top levels.
Signed, starting over for the fourth time. . . Sigh.
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@punchy Even buying a ready made UL horse still often takes time and shows to establish the partnership that is needed for the top level of Eventing. It may be 12 months or more, even if the riders share a common system. Horses have their own opinions and views which need to be heard and considered by the human.
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That’s what the riders with consistent strings seem to do. For example, Boyd, Phillip, etc. always seem to have a few at the 1 and 2 star levels that either move up or move along.
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I agree he was so nice. What a great day!
As to why he and a handful of others get so many I think owners don’t care how the team as a whole does. I think they care about their horse being marketed now, not every 4 years.
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Maybe the other riders aren’t making their program/ personality attractive enough?
1000% and I don’t want to fault the owners of the male riders at all. I don’t think it’s wise or even feasible to say that we should pull those owners from those riders, but the key is to bring new owners into the sport rather than recycle what we already have.
While one owner may enjoy being wined and dined and attend parties, another may enjoy being part of the process and want to help with a bucket of ice in the vet box. (Not that another may want both). Rider A may be able to provide the former and Rider B the latter. As a rider, I think you have to recognize where those skills and capabilities lie if the method of funding is to be from horse ownership, or there are organizations like EHOA in the UK which help subsidize that skill for riders.
I say this as someone trying to syndicate their own horse and doing so currently with interest but unsuccess. It’s been a good learn process and self-reflection at what I can provide and who would enjoy that service.
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my own tiny thought about this, (flame suit on,) is maybe take a marketing class or two. Look, I do not know anything about sponsorships, but Boyd has a ton of natural advantages. He is phenominally talented, his accent is intriguing, he is super good looking, he is funny, self depreciating, and from what I hear, a terrific guy. And never forget luck.
Maybe some of the women need to figure out how to market themselves.
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