An introduction of Jacky is hardly necessary by now, but a ‘thank you’ is always necessary. So, thanks for writing this Jacky and thank you for reading.

Le Lion D’Angers 
 

Set in the beautiful Loire valley at one of France’s premier National Stud farms the venue for the 6 and 7 year old young horse Championships could not be more beautiful.  You do get to see a lot of the venue as everything is incredibly spread out with the main arena being a good 20 minute walk from the stables and the start and finish of the cross country set in the middle of the racetrack which is just behind the main arena so there will be plenty of fit grooms hiking backwards and forwards over the next few days.  Le Lion can be wet and muddy but this year the event has been blessed with sunshine by day and near freezing temps at night which is much the preferred option! 

Walking the cross country track yesterday is an amazing experience as fence decorations and ingenius use of the natural surroundings makes it quite a visual tour.  Both tracks are big and bold with yellow numbers denoting the 6 year old track and red the 7 year olds and the waters in particular are very grown up for both classes.  Le Lion has been crtitised in the last few years for being something of a dressage competition and this year they certainly seem set to change that with two great tracks that are refreshingly not technical but just big and bold and will encourage forward positive riding which is really what young horse championships should be about.   

At the trot up yesterday afternoon a succession of simply beautiful horses appeared one after another which is also such a hallmark of Le Lion….at Badminton they seem to come in all shapes and sizes as so much about 4 star is heart and courage whereas these young horse classes seem to be about great conformation and stunning-looking horses.  Whilst the TB excels at top level the young warmbloods step up to one and 2 star so much quicker and there a only a few of the TB’s here amongst the Holsteiners, Sport horses, Anglo Arabs and Selle Francais. 

Dressage began this morning at 9 am which is quite tough on the early starters as it does not get light in France until 8am at this time of year!  At this early stage the concensus is that they are marking really hard which is fine if they stay that way…..fingers crossed they do and don’t penalize the morning horses after a good lunch on Friday. 
 

Check out  www.mondialdulion.com   for live scoring.  6 year olds run Thurs moring and Fri morning, 7 year olds Thurs afternoon and Fri afternoon then the 6 year olds run xc first on Saturday and the same for the sj on Sunday.

This article was originally published back in May.  However, I think it’s worth another read.  Sometimes we all get caught up in the moment and that’s when disappointment seems to hit the hardest.  But when you step back, things take on a greater perspective.  Jon Holling didn’t make it to the Pan Ams this year, but I have no doubt in his future success.

When I started speaking with Jon Holling about being a guest blogger for Eventing Nation, I knew that he would be absolutely perfect and this first post doesn’t disappoint–Jon writes about a message today that I consider one of the most important we have ever published on Eventing Nation.  Jon has served eventing in a variety of capacities, including as a four-star rider, a well respected coach, an event organizer, and a leader on various committees and organizations including as Chair of the USEA’s Professional Horsemans Council.  Jon is known quite appropriately in such committees for putting the interests of eventing above his own personal goals and convenience.  I have personally trained under Jon with great satisfaction and he has been a good friend of mine and Eventing Nation for many years.  Jon along with his wife Jenn and their son Caiden operate Holling Eventing out of beautiful Willow Run Farm in Ocala, FL.  If you could only read one article on Eventing Nation all year, this post by Jon would be the one to read.
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Jenn and Caiden

 

From Jon:

    When I started to think about writing for Eventing Nation I went through the obvious list of topics.  Those included things involving horsemanship, equitation, competition schedules and even a review of what is going on with my personal string of horses.  While I probably will touch on those topics at some point (I do love to talk about my horses!) the topic that really jumped out at me was finding a balance in life.  I am not talking about a balance while riding but instead a balance between your family, horses and business.  I placed those three groups in that order specifically to remind myself what the order of priority should be.  Too often I watch young professionals in this sport getting the order of priorities in their lives mixed up.  I suppose early on in life it’s ok and even necessary to occasionally put the horses or business ahead of family, but at some point you do have to get back to what is truly important. 

    Because I am a selfish event rider, and I am very focused on my own goals, I will use my experiences as an example.  I started out in the Event world as a very self motivated 19 year old working for Peter Gray in Canada.  I left my family, friends and girlfriend at the time back in Wisconsin so that I could chase my dream of being a professional in this sport.  If I had to do it over again I would not change a thing about those first five years of my career.  It was during that time that I met my wife, learned the program I have based my entire career upon, and met some of my closest friends. Under Peter’s eye I was able to move up from preliminary to advanced in a year and a half.  In 2004 I had two horses entered at Rolex Kentucky.  I somewhat naively had expectations of competing in Athens at the Olympics.  After a slightly less than average dressage, I set out on cross country intent to show the selectors, and the world, that I was the real deal.  However, a disappointing stop at the coffin at fence 7a put all those dreams to rest.  On the walk of shame back to the barn I was overcome with the realization that everything I had worked for was lost.  I had let down a list of people who had supported me.  That list included my wife, my parents, my owners and my friends.  Later that day, after taking care of the horses, I sat in my car with Jenn.  She was great, but what could she say really?  It was over for at least the next four years.

    That’s when it hit me.  I had been so focused on “the dream” that I had missed the real point. The Olympics is my goal and I work daily in my quest to achieve that goal, BUT there has to be balance in order to be successful.  It is that balance that motivates you to work a little harder on the good days, and persevere on the tough days.  As I said to Jenn in the car that day, “This can’t be all that there is.  One bad day cannot be the end of everything”.  From that moment on I reorganized my list of priorities and put them in a proper order – family, horses, and business.   Creating a family is the single greatest achievement that anyone can accomplish.  For some that means kids.  For others that means working to maintain close ties to parents or siblings .  Three years ago our son Caiden was born.  That day was the single greatest day of my life and I cannot imagine anything being as special or rewarding.

     Now, let me be clear.  I am not suggesting that if you’re stressed out or depressed to go and have a kid.  I promise they will only add to the stress.  I am after all writing this while I am waiting for Caiden at the dentist’s office.  Not exactly the most relaxing day.  What I am saying is, don’t allow yourself to get so caught up in the moment or the dreams that you have, that you forget to enjoy where you are and the people around you.  I heard a great quote on TV the other day “sometimes you have a dream for so long it becomes a fantasy”.  Go ahead and dream, in fact dream big, but don’t forget what made you get into this crazy sport in the first place.  For me it was the ability to be around my family, friends, and horses all while still being able to run a business.  What a great life we all lead.  How many people in this world can honestly say they get to do what they love while being surrounded by the people they love?  While I work daily for the goal I am actually living the dream.

UPDATE on Downtown Harrison, from Jon’s blog:

Lisa Marie Fergusson and Smart Move, winners of the Jersey Fresh CCI2* this spring, were aiming towards the Fair Hill CCI3* and the Bit of Britain Challenge.  Unfortunately, they had to withdraw just hours before the competition due to a foot abscess.  Their season is not yet over, however.  The pair is now headed West for the Galway Downs CCI3*.  Lisa’s unsinkable spirit shines through in her latest blog entry:

A CHANCE FOR SMARTIE TO TOTALLY REDEEM HIMSELF

We’re Back!  Well technically we never left but the nature of our blog is a little different. Lisa and Smart Move back at you now getting ready for a  coast to coast blog,more a Bill and Ted’s excellent Adventure type road  trip to the Galway Downs CCI3* Nov 3-6.  Smartie was down for the count at Fair Hill after coming up with an abscess 3 hours before jog but in the words of another great road trip movie, Dumb and Dumber, he now has a chance to “Totally Redeem Himself”.  Smartie’s bad timing left us with one CCI3* option for 2011 …Temecula California and yes we are just about crazy enough to do this. 

Planes, Trains and…..Horse Trailers?????

Now when I say “Road Trip” and “crazy” I should be clear.  Smartie did not rack up enough credit card air miles to fly first class like several other East Coast horse and rider combinations  so he/we will be slumming it, 3000 miles and 3 days, trailer park style….nothing could go wrong here….right?  Smartie however, will not be alone, he will have a side kick for this excellent adventure.   Laurel had Hardy, Abbott had Costello, Harold had Kumar and Smartie will have Calon doing the 1* and if anyone would like to come with us or just fill up the last two spots in the trailer, you also can partake (yes I said partake) in what surely will be a classic road trip.

SMARTIE’S GOING TO HOLLYWOOD …ERR TEMECULA…WEST COAST BABY!

I am originally from the West Coast and have competed at Galway several times, in fact I did my first CIC 3* there but have not been there since they added the CCI 3* so I am really excited to see the changes.    This event has always stuck out in my mind as one of the events that you get the feeling, as a rider, that you really matter…no matter the level.  This was re-enforced when we called the Event Director Robert Kellerhouse to ask if a late entry might be possible, he asked what level and who the rider was.  When he found out it was me he said “I remember  you guys, you used to come down with your Dad in the Motor Home,” it’s been 5 years since my last visit and he still remembers me and my Dad….maybe that’s a bad thing…but point is, they really seem to care.

Where The Rubber Meets The Road

I am sure everybody has a tall tale to tell.  Smartie and Calon’s first road trip was from Vancouver B.C to Minnesota where we saw the temperature in Montana change from 50 degrees during the afternoon to minus 50 the next morning we got up.  It was the first time in Montana’s recorded history that there was a 100 degree shift in less than 24 hours and the minus 50 was without the wind chill… winds were 30-40 MPH…of course we were prepared with all the right blankets and everything we needed for a 100 degree shift….right, of course we did….did I mention that it was so cold the truck wouldn’t start….fortunately we were too cold to feel any pain…I think we thawed out around Bismarck, ND.  So what does the drive from West Grove, PA to Temecula, CA have in store…nothing but smooth sailing I am sure and perhaps a tale or two.

 Field of Dreams

“If you build it, they will come”Apparently Robert watched the movie and it is true.  Competitors will come if you build a world class venue.  Galway will have two horses from as far away as Holland and a wack load from the East Coast.  Check out the entry list but it is a “Competitor Field of Dreams” stacked with great riders and horses.  Coming from the East, Buck will ride three, including  Ballynoe Castle, Michael Pollard 2, Nina Ligon 2, Nate Chambers 1,  Ronald Zabala has three and we haven’t begun to list the already great contingent of west coast horses entered.  The field is stacked and as competitive as any.  Really excited to have one more kick at the cat (why are people kicking cats and if you miss, why is it phrased as a good thing to attempt to kick the cat again), the cat being a CCI3* and the kick being what I am sure will amount to a great 3 day event. They say everything happens for a reason.  Not entirely sure the reason Smartie came up lame with an abscess 3 hours before jog and is back to 100% 2 days later or why it is in my stars to travel 6000 miles round trip to do a CCI3* but I will trust it is for a good reason and I will be sure to keep you up to speed on all our wild adventures.

Till then GO EVENTING….Lisa Marie Fergusson

Be sure to check out Holly’s new website and fun blog.  Thanks for writing this Holly and thank you for reading.

“When you call upon a Thoroughbred, he gives you all the speed, strength of heart and sinew in him. When you call on a jackass, he kicks…” Patricia Neal 1926
 
As a rider who has jumped around Fair Hill on multiple horses, I know how secretly taxing the cross country can be. So when I saw the top 3 finishers were OTTB’s, I was not surprised. Fair Hill is known to be a proper endurance course, with it’s gradual, yet long hills, that many underestimate. Then on Sunday, the horses are required to bounce back, and show jump a tough track. Fair Hill is one event that does not allow for half hearted thinking or an empty gas tank. It is obvious from the weekend, the Tb’s prevailed.
 
It is no secret my favorite breed is the Thoroughbred. My first advanced horse, Waj Mirage, who went on to a top 20 finish at The Rolex *** in 1999, was a $1000 horse off the Canterbury racetrack in Minnesota. My dressage stunk, mostly because I was not accurate, and could not come close to doing a half pass let alone a flying lead change. But what was amazing was Waz’s ability to coast around the cross country, allowing me to make one mistake after another and NEVER losing one ounce of heart. He allowed me to miss in the the show jumping, always looking for the next jump. Looking back now, I had no idea how lucky I was to be sitting on such an honest and brave horse, with the greatest work ethic. That year at Rolex I had 3 rails down after a double clear on the cross country, and know now it was because I never conditioned him properly. Yet he kept jumping, giving me the weekend of a lifetime. At that point in my life, I only knew Rolex through pictures in magazines!
 
With a shift in Eventing the past few years, people seem to be moving away from the full Thoroughbred. What makes the Tb so brilliant on the cross country and in show jumping, makes them tough in dressage. Liza Horan and I were talking recently about what our ideal 3 or 4 star event horse would be. We both agreed that hands down, a full Tb was the way to go on the cross country for many reasons. But we also agreed that the dressage was much tougher! We then were thinking about all the amazing full Thoroughbred horses that gave many riders their first experience at the advanced level. And what is so thrilling, is that not only did these horses pilot their riders around advanced, many went on to compete at Rolex, Badminton, Burghley, World Equestrian Games, the Olympics, and more. It is clear that these horses stepped up to the plate, even if their riders were a bit green.
 
So what is the answer to the perfect event horse? Everyone is still working on it. Movement and ride ability in the dressage are a must, no one discredits that. But so is generosity, heart, and stamina. I think the trick is to find a Tb with all of it’s natural amazing qualities, and a good brain and movement in the dressage. I have compiled a list of all the fabulous full Tb horses who gave their jockeys rides of a lifetime, and helped to launch their careers. Without these true and honest athletes who allowed us to make mistakes without punishing in return, who knows where we would all be today.
 
So thank you to the Thoroughbred horse, we could not have done it without you!
Buck Davidson-Trans Am A Flirt
Kim Severson-Over The Limit
Lainey Ashker-Eight St. James Place
Karen O’Connor-March Brown
Hawley Bennett-Livingstone
Phillip Dutton-True Blue Girdwood
Liza Horan-Baystreet
Holly Hudspeth-Waj Mirage
Dorothy Trapp-Molokai
Boyd Martin-True Blue Toozac
Sharon White-Ready About
Becky Holder-Highland Hogan
Jessica Hampf-High Society
Lynn Symansky-No It Tissant
Bobby Costello-Class Action
Will Faudree-Antigua
Hanna Sue Barnett-Keep The Faith
Mark Weissbecker-Best Seller
Jan Byyny-Out Of The Park

Here at EN, we’ve always enjoyed the emails, updates, and “heads-up” you send us, and we publish some of them on the site whenever possible.  If you have a well-written, interesting article, send it to [email protected] and it may end up on the site!  

This submission was authored by former Blogger Contestant Holly Ratcliff.  Holly caught up with Mary Bess Sigman and her super ponies Cooper and Coda, the famous Teddy brothers.   

Cooper and Coda

Mary Bess and Cooper, photo by Mark Lehner, used with permission

At the beginning of August, I was at River Glen Horse Trials here in Tennessee volunteering as the cross-country warm-up steward. The warm-up ring had emptied out as the preliminary division finished up and the training riders were slowly trickling down from the stables to hack around the arena. One of the first horse/rider pairs in the ring was a small, blonde girl on a chestnut pony. As I looked at her number, I noted it was Mary Bess Sigman and checked her off the rider list. Since there was a 30-minute lag between the end of prelim and the start of training, the riders were relaxing and chatting contentedly, and I kept noticing Mary Bess on the adorable pony. She was the first rider to go in the division, so she made her way over to where I was standing and she stopped to chat with my friend Kelsey, Colin Fraser (waiting nearby to start on his horse), and several other people gathered at the in-gate. I hadn’t been listening to everything she said, but I heard her describing how her pony was very smart, opinionated (as ponies are wont to be), and that she honestly thought he was “as talented as his brothers” and could “go as far as he wanted to go.” At that moment, she circled and I got a good look at her pony’s little face. I was struck by the familiar, perky chestnut ears, the small white dot in the center of his forehead, and the sparkling cleverness in his big brown eyes. “He looks a lot like Teddy,” I thought. Sure enough, Theodore al Coda is a full brother to the late Theodore O’Connor. As Mary Bess trotted over to the start box, I made a mental note to catch up to her at some point and ask her more about Coda. Later that afternoon, I found out she has been competing another member of the family, Foster’s Bold Favorite (aka “Cooper”), who is also a full brother to both Teddy and Coda. After hearing this, I was convinced there was an interesting story to be told here. And, an interesting story it is….

Back in early 2010, Mary Bess received a phone call from a Hamilton, GA eventer asking to schedule a few lessons with her. Mary Bess agreed and the rider took a few lessons on a cute, little white horse. A short while later, the same rider – Mary Carol Harsch – rode in a clinic with Mary Bess in Newnan, GA. This time, she was riding a nice, talented, dark bay pony, and they were poised to take off together on a successful, adult-amateur eventing career. However, as so often happens, fate threw a wrench in Mary Carol’s plans when her pony slipped on some uneven terrain and she took a tumble, badly injuring her shoulder. As she would be out-of-commission for a good while until her shoulder completely healed, Mary Carol approached Mary Bess about riding her bay pony for a while. When Mary Bess agreed, she took on the pony because she liked Mary Carol and her husband, John, and because she really liked what little she had seen of the athletic and talented pony. She knew nothing beyond any of this initial introduction to the Harschs and Cooper, but she would soon be taken on a journey that completely changed her life.

It wasn’t until she had been riding and training Cooper for a while before Mary Carol even thought to mention to her that Cooper was the full brother of the wonderful Theodore O’Connor (John and Mary Carol had also been part owners of Teddy). Not that it particularly mattered to Mary Bess, but it was an interesting side note that she filed away mentally and didn’t think too much about on a daily basis. As she started to forge a bond with Cooper, their partnership clicked and fell into place rather quickly, and the connection they had became apparent to John and Mary Carol. They decided to completely place Cooper in Mary Bess’s hands and they have created an arrangement that will allow the pair to go as far as they can or want. At this point, Cooper’s future is in his own hands, or…um…hooves. Mary Bess mentioned to me that as she really started to get to know Cooper and they began running horse trials together, she was struck by how much he really loved his job. The energy, intelligence, and enthusiasm he has for cross-country seems to be a family characteristic that started with Teddy, runs through Cooper, and continues on with Coda. When I asked Mary Bess what it was like to ride Cooper, I could hear her smiling through the phone and she said that the first time she took him cross-country, he was so fun to ride that she found herself “grinning from ear-to-ear, galloping around like a little kid again, which is really why I do this [eventing] in the first place.”

As the special partnership between Mary Bess and Cooper continued to grow, fate had another surprise in store for her. In mid-2010, Christan Trainor – knowing Mary Bess had Cooper in her barn – called her up to talk to her about another horse that she thought she should have: Coda. Christan had made the momentous decision to leave the U.S. and set-up in Australia, and she couldn’t take all of her horses with her. As she started the difficult process of selling the rides she couldn’t keep, she instantly thought of Mary Bess as a good match for her pony. Although Mary Bess was thrilled at the offer and wanted to have Coda in her barn, she just couldn’t come up with the funds to make an offer. Things fluctuated for a short period of time thereafter, when John Harsch stepped in and, just as he had done with Cooper, bought Coda for Mary Carol. In true Harsch spirit, they immediately turned him over to Mary Bess and she then had a matched set of super ponies in her program.

According to Mary Bess, the string of events that has placed the ponies in her barn has been like a dream come true. From that first phone call from Mary Carol asking for a lesson, to agreeing to ride Cooper until Mary Carol was mended, until the day Coda walked off the trailer at her farm, she has been blessed time-and-again by not just the chance to ride and compete Cooper and Coda, but also by the generosity of the Harsch’s. To hear the gratitude in Mary Bess’s voice when she talks about the Harschs and their two ponies brought tears to my eyes to think that a “homegrown” eventer from Georgia – who had suffered a debilitating freak accident (another incredible story, for another day) and had retired her much-loved advanced horse – would emerge on the other side of those set-backs at the center of a heart-warming story such as this one with Cooper and Coda is….well, extraordinary. In Mary Bess’s own words, it was the realization of the old saying: “When one door closes, another one opens.”

To add to the emotional nature of the tale of Teddy’s two brothers finding a home together, competing with the same rider, and rising up the levels to follow in the hoofsteps of their legendary sibling, it is important to recognize another prominent figure in this equation: Karen O’Connor. Earlier this year, Mary Bess contacted Karen to set up some winter training sessions in Virginia. Mary Bess had ridden with Karen on other occasions with her previous upper-level horses, so they know each other well and Karen has been a positive influence in Mary Bess’s career thus far. But, to have the chance to train a rider on Teddy’s full brother must be an opportunity that Karen couldn’t let pass her by. In regards to this scenario, my inevitable question to Mary Bess was: “So, what was Karen’s initial reaction, seeing Cooper for the first time?” Mary Bess said that Karen was touched, obviously, because she loved Teddy so very much and to get to work with his sibling must prove cathartic, to some extent. I asked the same thing regarding Coda, and she said it was actually Max (Corcoran) who saw Coda first. They were at Chattahoochee Hills earlier this year and Max approached Mary Bess and said, “Who is this cute pony?” Mary Bess grinned and said, “It’s funny you should ask that….” When she told Max he was Teddy’s brother, Max ran across the barn to get Karen and they came back full of excitement. Mary Bess said Karen was smiling and she immediately went for his little ears, which are “just like Teddy’s.” They also noted that all 3 ponies – Teddy, Cooper, and Coda – have the same distinct double-whorls on their foreheads.

Mary Bess said Karen has been incredibly invaluable, not just in the capacity of a knowledgeable rider/trainer, but because she herself learned so much about the physical nature of riding a pony at the upper levels and that a rider must handle her body differently while in the saddle. Mary Bess has learned that all of the ponies have a very distinctive hind-end clearance over fences that seriously runs the risk of their over-rotating in the air and landing on their nose on the other side. This is wonderful in show jumping, when their exuberance typically results in clear rounds, but it does make it harder to ride that kind of scopey jump. She has been working on opening up slightly at the top of the jump in order to have Cooper and Coda flatten slightly in the air, while not impeding their natural bascule. She has also learned to ride with a longer rein, so they have their full neck length free in order to jump better and more powerfully, particularly on cross-country. Although the ponies are physically a different ride than an average-sized horse, Mary Bess stated it is imperative that she mentally “ride them just like a horse.” This includes strategizing in a way that pays attention to their small stature, but trusts that they will find the right spots, make the striding, and more importantly that she “believe that they can do it.” And, “believe” is something Mary Bess has down to a science. She is amazed at the way that these aren’t just ponies, but they are true athletes. She continually praised their unique talent and intelligence, saying over and over that they are “smart, brave……they just get it.”

As my conversation with Mary Bess came to an end, I asked her “What would you say has been your favorite moment with each of the ponies, so far?” She thought about that for a second and then she said, “My moment with Cooper had to be cross-country at Richland at the end of August. I was worried about riding him somewhere that the crowds were actually large enough to be noticeable.” She wasn’t sure if he would be spooky, jittery, or backed-off, but in true pony style, he galloped out of the start box, saw the crowds around the fences, and “he just galloped around as if saying, ‘Hey, look at me!’ He loved the attention. They [the ponies] are such show-offs.” She also mentioned that the day she spent at Karen’s riding Cooper, with Mary Carol and Wynn Norman (the phenomenal breeder of these wonderful ponies) there as well, was a day she’ll never forget. When it came to defining a moment with Coda, Mary Bess got a bit more introspective and she said, “You know, there isn’t just one moment with him. My partnership with Coda is still new enough that we haven’t had that one perfect instant and we’re still getting to know one another. But, every time I ride him, or jump him, or take him cross-country, and I feel him try for me more and more each time; those are the moments that really stand out. It’s been an emotional journey with him – to gain his trust – and every day with him is special.”

The obvious thought on everyone’s mind has to be, “So, what are your plans for the ponies?” When I posed this question to Mary Bess, she said that the only thing that she, and Mary Carol and John, want for them is to let them go as far as they want to, for however long they want to. The day that they aren’t happy, that they aren’t having fun, is the day they come home and do something different. There is no aggressive plan, no ambitious agenda, no pre-defined end result on the horizon. I find that must be a satisfying and rewarding prospect for Mary Bess. Imagine getting the rare opportunity to ride not one, but two amazing ponies, and to get to go out every day and just do it for the love of the sport. What is it they say? If you love what you do, then you will never really work a day in your life? It sounds to me like for everyone involved in the breeding, ownership, and riding of these ponies that they will get to love what they do by doing what they love for a long time to come.

If you enjoyed Holly’s writing, please visit her blog at http://4stargazing.blogspot.com/.

 Holling Family Halloween (2010)

The EN mailbox is like a never-ending Christmas tree.  Each day there are new presents from our loyal friends and readers.  Sometimes it’s just more socks and underwear, or scooby-snax for the Chinchillas, but more often it’s a shiny new bike, the latest Saddle Club book, or that jumping Breyer horse we always wanted.  Recently, Katie Lindsay sent us a link to a fabulous Area IV Newsletter article, with permission to reprint it here.  Many thanks to Katie, Area IV, and Jenn Holling.

An Inside Look at Preparing for the Pan American Games

This month, Jenn Holling kindly agreed to write an article about her role(s) in preparing for the upcoming Pan American Games. Jenn is the wife of Jon Holling who is making his debut as a United States Team member at the Games in Mexico on his horse, Downtown Harrison. Jon is also the coach of our Area IV young rider team.
Thank you for writing Jenn. May the best person win!
 
 
“So after a request from my good friend and resident black mailer, Katie Lindsay I sat down to try and give insight into the Pam Am path from my perspective.  I will add at the onset that we are still 7 days out from the horses actually flying from Ocala, Florida and into Guadalajara, Mexico so I am all too aware of how much can go wrong between now and then. My perspective on this journey is particularly convoluted as I see the path from so many perspectives.

I am a selector for the Canadian team so my job for the past few year has been to follow and analyze an unmentionable number of CCI** horses in an effort to try and give my opinion on who would make a good team member for the Pan Ams. I take this job very seriously. There is a fantastic group of people who make up the Canadian Selection committee.  We have very constructive relationships where we respect each other’s opinions and use our varying strengths to hopefully end up choosing the most prepared and competitive horses and riders for each international competition. After this it is up to the riders to make us look like geniuses.

From here I then step into the position of horse “manager” where I am on the other end of the selection process.  Jon is the rider and obviously bears the brunt of the stress when it comes to the day to day training and competing of his horses.  I organize and maintain control over the day to day activities of Downtown Harrison.  I help to make sure that the farrier schedule, the swim schedule, the vet schedule and the supplement schedule are adhered to for fear of death.   And anyone who knows me knows that this is not an idle threat.  This aspect of my life is the least affected by the “team” influence.  We care for all of our horses to the utmost of our ability and so my job now is to check and double check that everything is going as planned and of course to assure Jon multiple times a day that this is actually the case.  
 I am also a wife.  This is the aspect of my job that has changed the most with the Pan Am date quickly approaching.  I find that I am doing quite a bit of pseudo psychiatric assessing. Normally Jon is a very stable creature.  He has a normal home life to return to at the end of the day.  He has a relatively stable business (we ARE talking horses).  Even Jon is affected by the magnitude that something that he has worked for since…… before he can remember is within his grasp.  His pinque coat is hanging on the wall; the American flags are sewn to the pocket.  To Jon it is like being on a roller coaster that has started and he is just being pulled along by the momentum.  That momentum is not always smooth and it is my job to work out the rough patches and problem solve where I can.  Otherwise I am just an attentive ear whose job is to minimize collateral damage.

Finally there is the conflicting national patriotism that is a part of my house hold on a daily basis but that has become far more intense in the past few weeks.  I am a patriotic Canadian.  This might seem like a contradiction in terms but I do not see the two conditions as being mutually exclusive.  My husband is American.  About as apple pie as Apple Pie can be.   So we have a healthy competitive nagging that is occurring.  It is good for us.  It is good for the sport but it could suggest a very conflicted household.  Funny enough this is not the case.  I am a believer in good sport.
 
Competition between competitive entities makes for good sport.  The fact that my country has started consistently fielding teams that are competitive makes me proud.  The fact that my husband is riding for his country on a very competitive team makes me very proud.  These two facts are not mutually exclusive and I have no problem reconciling the two emotions. It is often joked about that our house hold is the hot spot for Eventing in the south as we have a little bit of everything going on .  Canadian Selection, American team rider, young rider coach, recognized event organizer.  Even with all of this it is easy to remain clear when you realize that the best horse and rider will win on the day.  This is the nature of our sport and it is the one aspect of eventing that will not ever change.

There are 7 days until the plane flies.  I don’t think that anyone other than my husband has asked me who I want to win.  This question proves Jon’s bravery.  I hope that he brings that bravery and all of his other skill to the Pan Ams.  It is going to be a good competition.”