Ronald Zabala-Goetschel is an Ecuadorian businessman turned four-star event rider who keeps his upper-level horses at Phillip Dutton’s True Prospect Farm in West Grove, Pa. He also dabbles in cloning horses and designing saddles. I caught up with him this week after he returned to the States following his first Olympic Games. This is my first post as a member of the EN team. In case you missed it, Abby announced Monday that I won the second annual EN Blogger Contest. Thanks for reading!
Ronald and Master Rose scored a 53.3 on their dressage test in London. Photo credit: Lee Lee Jones
Ronald Zabala-Goetschel made history when he became the first rider from his home country of Ecuador to compete in eventing at the Olympics. But the road to the Games proved rocky. Ronald shared his dramatic countdown to London Monday while he drove to pick up Master Rose from quarantine in New York. After Ronald and “Big Boy” completed their last qualifier at the Jersey Fresh CCI3* in May, Big Boy had two weeks off before starting work again. But right after his time off, Big Boy got loose from his groom and slipped on a paved road, leaving cuts and bruises all over his body.
“He had an eight-inch cut in his arm pit,” Ronald said. “For two days he couldn’t walk. I had to cancel his flight to Europe for June 1. We took the flight on June 5 to Holland and he just spent time recovering.” The next weeks were spent caring for Big Boy’s injuries. Ronald and his team of vets drained 300 to 500 CCs of fluid and blood from Big Boy’s cut every day, a ritual he described as a nightmare. “Every day he had massage therapy and wore a magnetic blanket. He also had visits with the chiropractor, a reiki specialist and a physical therapist,” Ronald said. By the time Big Boy’s recovery was complete, Ronald only had five weeks to get him event fit for the Olympics. Unfortunately, that just wasn’t enough time, and Ronald knows Big Boy wasn’t at his best.
Master Rose enjoying his vacation in Vermont.
“He had a very hard time bending to the left as a consequence of his muscle injuries on his right hip. He was able to do a decent dressage test, even though he wasn’t feeling his best,” Ronald said. Big Boy struggled on cross country, where Ronald could feel him tiring by the fourth minute. Showing a true display of horsemanship, Ronald slowed down to save Big Boy, incurring 36 time penalties but coming home with a sound horse. “I just wanted to give him a quiet ride and complete the course. I really wanted to finish the competition with a clear cross country round, so it was OK to get those time penalties,” Ronald said. Big Boy pulled one rail in show jumping the next day — “That was my fault,” Ronald said — to finish in 43rd individually.
Now Big Boy is on vacation at a farm in Vermont, where he’ll enjoy lush pastures and sunshine for the next two and a half months. Che Mr. Wiseguy, Ronald’s partner for Rolex in 2009, is also enjoying time off in Vermont, recovering from arthritis in his neck that causes pinched nerves. Ronald, however, doesn’t get a break. The Ecuadorian entrepreneur, who only took three days off last year, will head to Argentina, Ecuador and China over the next month and a half to check up on his businesses. Ronald hopes to bring Big Boy and Wiseguy back into work starting in January. “Next year is a year we need to qualify for the WEG. I’ll be doing the Rolex CCI4* with Master Rose in April and then Jersey Fresh CCI3* with Master Hill and Brer Fox,” he said.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kADBf-g5C3E
Check out this video of Wiseguy playing with Ronald in Florida.
I’m not sure what I love more: Wiseguy saying “hi” or the Enrique Iglesias background track.
