Five words I didn’t think I would be saying this afternoon: I agree with the selectors. I don’t just like the US squad, I really like it. If you are just tuning in, the team is Hannah, Buck, Jon, Michael, and Shannon. Let’s jump right in:
–The US team is the best of both worlds–it has a lot of experience but at the same time each of the riders will benefit a great deal from going to the Pan American Games. Every one of these riders has a chance to make those few days at the end of October the most important few days of their careers thus far.
–This team has a lot of chemistry. One thing that doesn’t get mentioned a whole lot is that the US Team hasn’t exactly been known for having the best possible team chemistry of late. I blame some of that on coaching and some of that on the riders. I am not as familiar with Shannon, but Buck, Hannah, Michael, and Jon are all really good people to have around in high pressure situations. They take their riding very seriously but they don’t take themselves too seriously. They also all get along well already, and from chatting with them over the weekend I know they are happy with the picks.
—The best rider on the short list got left off the team and I think that is a good decision. There’s not enough I can say about Boyd as a rider and we’re big Boyd fans here at Eventing Nation, but, as I wrote yesterday, Boyd is already competing 3 horses overseas this year for the US and he is almost a lock to make the Olympics next year as long as he has a horse that can get around. I felt the team should send one veteran team rider and Buck was the better choice because Absolute Liberty gives him a chance to place well and Buck is certainly worth the investment of one funded trip this year.
–This team will be considerably better in two months than it is right now. Hanni can shave at least 5 points off of her dressage score, Harbour Pilot will be a bit tighter up front to keep those rails up, and Absolute Liberty should get a better dressage score. Downtown Harrison will score considerably better if Jon relaxes a bit and lets the competition come to him; I felt like he was forcing things a bit at the test event.
—USA vs Canada, who will win? Although we haven’t seen the final Canadian selections yet, my individual pick to win right now is either Hanni or Roquefort. I think Canada’s top 3 match up very well with the US top 3, but the US team has more depth across the 5 riders.
–The sad reality is that there is at least a decent chance that this won’t be the team in two months. Injuries to horses are part of eventing and horses are never at more risk than the last month before three-days. As my mother tells me every Valentine’s Day morning, we should be prepared for heartbreak.
–The only sure thing going into today is that with only 5 spots available not everyone who deserved to would make the team. The list of alternates is filled with people who deserve to ride on the team and if one of the alternates has to be moved up to the team then it will not be a big setback.
Go eventing.
