2028 Olympic Talent Watch: William Slater, Age 6

The 2028 U.S. Eventing Team is already out there somewhere, and it’s up to us all to nurture their talent and their big dreams. “2028 Olympic Talent Watch” is an (adorable) new series in which we identify junior eventers who are already exhibiting the heart and the guts to lead American eventing to glory in the (distant) future. Any short-stirrup riders you know come to mind? Email us their story at [email protected]. Let’s meet William Slater! 

William and Mark Twain. Photo by Ellie Ellis Glaccum.

Being born into a horsey family meant 6-year-old William Slater would spend a huge chunk of his life in a barn, and now he’s followed right in his parent’s footsteps with a love of horses.

“My husband and I grew up eventing, but now we do racehorses, so he’s kind of just been born into it. He was on a horse about a soon as he was born. He grew up with them,” said mom, Brianne Slater. 

William first made it on EN’s Talent Watch radar via Facebook where we were enamored by his natural talent and his cute pony, Mark Twain. William began schooling cross country this spring before taking on his first competition at Elementary level, all under the watchful eye of his coach, Jennie Brannigan.

William with coach Jennie. Photo courtesy of Brianne Slater.

“Jennie is such a great coach and teacher and a good person. She came to get on a racehorse for us at our barn, and she offered to help Will out. He’s been going every week now for a lesson with her,” Brianne said. 

Riding with Jennie has given William riders to look up to and emulate, Brianne says. “He takes a lesson with Alexa (Lapp) on Cambalda. He’s doing the same kind of things these horses are doing. Not the same height, but in the grid work he’s doing all the combinations. I think it helps him too to watch better riders ride, Jennie, Alexa, Steph (Cauffman) and see how they do it.”

William and Mark Twain jumping a keyhole at Windurra. Photo by Ellie Ellis Glaccum.

William has been practicing over the summer too, and he enjoyed the chance at taking a clinic with  one of his riding idols, Boyd Martin.

“He was by far the youngest there, and I though it might be a bit much for him. They went to Boyd Martin’s the first day and had a big group lesson with Boyd. He was jumping keyhole jumps and going through the water and he jumped a training level ditch. It was insane,” Brianne said. 

“Later in the week they went to Bruce Davidson’s. He was jumping massive fences there it was insane the stuff he was doing. Me growing up, I did Pony Club, and I never jumped that kind of stuff until I was a lot older. I definitely wasn’t as brave I know that, but he rises up. He doesn’t really have fear it’s really crazy especially in a group situation like that if the bigger kids are doing it he’s going to want to do it.” 

Brianne’s goal is for William to have fun riding, but even at age six, she’s seen her son’s competitive side, which has already earned him two blue ribbons. “He’s really really competitive—sometimes a little bit too much. He likes to win. He wants to go clean when he jumps. He’s all about that. There’s not a nervous bone in the kid’s body. He just really really enjoys it,” she said. 

Here’s a winning cross country round at Plantation Field (Make sure you pay attention for a mid-course thumbs up to dad, James Slater, 56 seconds in!):

Even more than being a good rider, William is a great horseman. From Brianne: “If he messes up over he fence he’ll say, “That’s my fault. That wasn’t my pony’s fault that was my fault. He always blames himself. He never says, ‘My pony was bad.'”

Standing at 12.2 hands, the 14-year-old Welsh Pony has been a perfect match for William, but the young rider had to work hard to get as far as he’s come. “This pony can be a bit of a handful. You have to ride him. You can’t just sit there and he’s going to do it for you. He was bucking him off this winter. He wasn’t confident because the pony kept running off with him, but its crazy in six months time he’s cantering all the way around the course,” Brianne said. 

The sky’s the limit for this talented rider, and it sounds like William is ready to go for it.

“He said was ready for the Maryland Hunt Cup because my husband rode in it,” Brianne laughed. “I said, ‘Buddy do you realize how big those fences are?’ He said Mark and I are ready!”

Go William. Go Eventing.