When David was announced as the next US eventing coach, there was a part of me that wondered if Canada’s newfound role as an international force would fade as quickly as it had arrived in the autumn of 2010. It was clear to me that David was going to be very hard to replace because, whether or not you agree with his technical beliefs, there is never a doubt that successfully leading a program is at the very core of David’s mission in life. Canadian high performance faced the daunting challenge of replacing David’s incredible dedication and focus, and I wasn’t sure they could pull it off.
Success for Equine Canada wasn’t just about finding the right person for the job, it was about conducting the search in the right way. In my article this morning, I mentioned the massive difference between the ways the USEF and Equine Canada approached finding a new coach. The USEF favored transparency. They publicly released information about the timing, held an open forum about the process at the 2010 USEA convention, released a short list, held another open forum, and then sent out more press releases before announcing a final decision. It was convoluted, divisive, and exhausting, and it was made all the more so by the fact that the process was, in large part, public.
In contrast, Canadian high performance kept their process downright secretive. Equine Canada treated the process more like a traditional business hiring than a public coaching search. The powers that be in Canada sent out a press release announcing when applications were being accepted and then said nothing else publicly until the press release this morning that announced Clayton had been chosen. There was no public mention of a short list, and there wasn’t even a time published for when a decision would be announced. Equine Canada regarded Clayton’s application as secret even as the Canadian Royal Winter Fair sent out a press release casually mentioning that Clayton had applied for the position. When I wrote this morning that Clayton’s application was the worst kept secret over the past few months, my point wasn’t that Equine Canada had a leak, it was that they were the only people in the eventing world who weren’t even acknowledging the rumor. Equine Canada accomplished their goal of keeping the process quiet and a big part of me respects that. They completely protected the applicants and the people in charge of selection were able to make the choice free from public scrutiny.
There were some major *facepalm* moments during the US coaching search and the US eventing public got to painfully participate in what often times felt like a three ring circus, one press release at a time. On the other hand, both the USEF and Eventing Canada are organizations that are supported by equestrians at all levels of sport. Their members should and do want to have input input in the high performance programs that they support with their membership dollars. Weighing transparent mayhem vs secretive order is a policy question without an answer, but it’s clear to me that, for better or worse, the US eventing public was much more involved in selecting David than Canada was in selecting Clayton.
All that being said, I think Canada made a fantastic hire by picking Clayton as their next coach. Only time will tell if Clayton will succeed, but he is an internationally respected rider and coach and he has everything you would want on his resume except, perhaps, the experience of leading a large national program. I can’t say enough about the awesomeness of the Canadian program, from their horses and riders all the way down to their fans. During his tenure, David added structure and momentum to the raw Canuck talent and enthusiasm. Clayton’s role will be that of taking a high functioning organization to the next level, rather than rebuilding a program from the ground up. I think Clayton can and will be very good at that and and I can’t wait for the resulting epic duels between Canada and the US on an international stage.
Go Canada.
