As we all know, Chelan Kozak is a four-star rider, a former WEG and Olympic rider for Canada, and an Eventing Nation guest writer extraordinaire. In this post, Chelan writes about the Canadian and US team selections and of course much more, including proper pronunciation of her name and a special WEG announcement. Be sure to check out Chelan’s blog for much more fun. Thanks for writing this Chelan and thank you for reading.
Thoughts on the Canadian Team:
Without further ado, let’s look at the Canucks. The sport of eventing is unusually cruel. On the way to making the WEG squad for every sport in every country there are countless casualties along the way. Bad luck, unsoundness, and just plain old Ê»donʼt cut the mustardʼ cull the numbers to this point. My Rolex performance this spring unfortunately put me in the latter category; riding a tough cookie on the flat left me far outside of the rest of my Canadian counterparts post Rolex. While that was a bitter personal pill to swallow, it was frankly exciting for our country. Two years ago, a similar performance could have gotten me on the team but this year it left me well off the list. The Canadian squad lists three BC girls: Hawley, Rebecca, and Steph. Over the years I have taught each of those ladies at BC young rider camps and clinics. Yes, i am that old…Jessie, Selena and Kyle round out the six.
The interesting thing about our Canadian selection process that differs from the US is that this year there are two horses (and one rider) who have not yet done a four star. We have fewer number to pick from than the US so this is not necessarily and unusual scenario. Our two riders as alternates are Diana and Ian, both on horses with four star experience. This circumstance is clearly stated (in bold italics actually) in the 2010 Canadian selection criteria. It gives the selectors freedom to choose the horse/rider combinations that they and the technical advisor (in this case David O’Connor) feel are the best combinations for the task at hand. I support this idea, and it works for our country. Simply Ê»doingʼ a four star isnʼt always enough. The other difference is that we have not yet named the Ê»Teamʼ and Ê»Individualsʼ. The Canadians will do that later, namely after training camp. This allows the selectors to take into account any little soundness stuff, for example. I also think that waiting helps the team atmosphere over the next couple of weeks. While this is not summer camp, the cohesiveness of the riders and support of management makes a tremendous difference in performance at this time and through the Games.
In no particular order:
Hawley and Gin & Juice–Hawley has done great things with her long time former partner Livingstone, and now Ginny is poised to eclipse Livingstone in helping Hawley continue her four star career. This pair is an obvious choice. Ginny is a spectacular horse, and they have been steadily raising the bar in dressage all season. On a personal note, I spent a great deal of time with Hawley in the early years driving up and down the west coast, and across the country and back. Our little girl has grown up and I am so incredibly proud of the horseman she has become.
Selena and Colombo–Rolex, check. Richland, check. AECʼs, check. Columbo is in the twilight of his career and he seems to only get better. Interesting sidenote–Kyle used to ride this horse. Selena is on a roll, keep it going girlfriend.
Steph and Port Authority–Okay, Iʼm going to come clean. When I saw the horse in the early days, out here in BC, going training I thought, Ê»what a nice young riderʼs horse that will make for Steph.ʼ Port Authority did not start to look like the freakishly good jumper he is until he was pretty much going Intermediate. Even now, he is not the natural mover you think of to get good dressage scores. Honestly, left to his own devices, “Ollie” trots like a pony. It is Stephʼs unwavering work ethic and attention to detail that has gotten her this far, and will continue to serve her well. Not to mention, Ollie shows up for work every day, and gives 110%.
Kyle and Madison Park–Kyle is old, like me. And if you ask John, well fed. We have been buddies forever, and we of course all love his fantastic wife and child. Kyle has spent his career riding many many horses. John made a comment that Phillip could ride a llama around the XC and still make time. Truthfully, Kyle can ride anything. And by anything, I mean an-y- thing. Parker is a little like Arthur, in that he is a good enough horse to win a medal, but anything can happen at any time, and you just never know. Parker hears voices, and Kyle has yet to completely get to the bottom of that horse. Kyle brings a wealth of team experience to the team. Plus, heʼll look great in the gold jog dress.
Rebecca and Riddle Master–Rebecca gave us all quite a scare this spring. It took everything I had not to squeeze her far too tight when I saw her at The Fork for the ï¬rst time after her accident. We out here in the sticks in BC are a tight group and Rebec is like family to me. She has had crap luck on more than one occasion the past few years and now itʼs finally her turn to get a red coat. I will shed a tear when I see that live in Kentucky. Go Rupert!
Jessie and Exponential–Once you get over being insanely jealous at what a great rider Jessie is at a young age, one can be truly happy for her success. Although she or her horse have not yet done a four star, have you seen him jump?!? Jessica will not disappoint.
The Canadian alternates are Diana on Manny and Ian on Napalm. Diana is a great rider, with plenty of miles to get the job done. However, Manny is a challenge to get to show jump clean, and it is tough for her to make time on him. Diana did not make the cut because the other horses are better right now. Donʼt count her out though, we will see her again. Ian is even older than I am. With that comes a wealth of experience on a variety of horses. I was not exactly sure what would happen with Ian and the team, as his horse is a great consistent jumper and his dressage has been getting better and better.
Kudos need to go to Graeme Thom, and the entire support staff, and of course to Canada’s fearless leader, David. He has had a vision for our country and what we could achieve if we just got our head in the game. Even though I am not going to WEG as a rider, I am profoundly grateful to everyone involved in our Canadian Team. It feels like a few days before Christmas, and you just canʼt STAND to wait until the big day.
Thoughts on the US team:
Phillip, Boyd, and Buck–DUH, of course. These three riders were obvious shoe-ins. Although, I bet even those boys all had a little easier time sleeping after the ofï¬cial selection was announced. There is the Ê»Reggie vs Bobbyʼ discussion, of course. It seems strange that Bobby was not named as an alternate for Buck. The selectors know more than I do, needless to say. Any event rider would be delighted to ride as well as Buck does on either of those horses.
Kim and Tippereary Liadhnan–Aside from being a nice person, Kim is a lovely rider. Clearly she has spent every waking moment since Rolex working on her show jumping. The last two outings have looked like a different horse and rider than Rolex. However, the last two outings are not the pressure cooker of the WEGs, and all that that entails. I would have put her as an individual for that reason. Iʼm not a US selector though. Sheʼs on the team and I wish her every ounce of luck and success.
Who would I have popped into Kimʼs spot? That brings us to Becky and Karen. Hmmm… Any sportʼs psychologist will tell you that consistency of performance is what we should strive for. HUH? I remember like it was yesterday the ï¬rst time that I heard that concept verbalized. I immediately thought that consistency was code for mediocrity. Not so! What happens is that the LEVEL of the performance ideally rises as time (and work and practice and experience) goes on. Thus, the level of the consistent performance gets better. We do not strive every time for the Ê»ride of a lifetimeʼ. That doesnʼt happen and it doesnʼt work. Instead, we pick away at each little facet of the performance to raise the level of the consistent performance.
Becky and Comet–Comet is spectacular (when in doubt state the obvious) and I am less concerned than some about what has happened prior to 2010 with the horseʼs records, including Comet. Like I said initially, last year and the year before brings experience, but is less reflective of consistency of current performance level. Experience brings with it the higher likelihood or performance under pressure, as that is a practiced response as well. Becky and Comet come with a boatload of experiences together.
Mandiba and Karen–First let me say, Ê»settle downʼ to the arm chair experts panicking about Karenʼs second XC fence at the AECʼs. It was a dumb-a%^ move, Karen would be the ï¬rst to tell you the same. I almost feel as a rider it is a bit of a positive to get that BS out of the way before the Games. Karen got a big wake up call (as did anyone else who had a run out, or stop or ay kind of blip at the AECʼs who is going on to the Games) That horse has been improving his dressage steadily all year (raising the consistent performance) and has had very few mistakes jumping. Karen has more experience on a variety of different horses in a variety of different team situations (aka sheʼs old…) and it is for that reason I would have had Karen on the Team.
US Alternates–Alison and Arthur will wipe the floor with just about anyone in the dressage and on a good day he could win a medal at the Games. But Arthur has been too risky recently in his performances to keep me calm as an alternate choice.
As for Amy and Leyland, my heart breaks for Amy. Itʼs bad enough when horses go lame, but when riders struggle with ʻsoundnessʼ issues, it just seems so unfair. No one would ever ask a horse to perform under the circumstances that Amy has performed under this year. I think she just did not have enough time in the saddle to satisfy the selectors that sheʼd be the wisest choice on the Team.
Not selected—
Stephen. Also a fantastic horseman and rider, on a lovely horse. Ditto the Amy sentiment of not enough time in front of the selectors, I suspect.
Will. When he was not listed as even and alternate, my response was WHAAAATTTT??? Then I read Johnʼs p.s. that his lovely Pawlow sustained a minor injury precluding him from being selected. While I am devastated for Will, it does restore my faith in the US selection process, as I thought initially that the US selectors were either blind or stupid.
Holly. Uh, fab horse see you in two years in London. Timing is everything as they say. WEGs just came a little too early for this talented pair.
About–To clear up a few things I have been asked about since I started writing for EN… The pronunciation of my name; Chelan is a place in Washington state, lake/resort town. It is a North American Indian (oh Gawd, Native?!? How un-PC…) name pronounced phonetically as Ê»shellʼ (as in sea shell) and then Ê»annʼ. For reasons unknown, many Americans like to call me Shuh-lawn. Not correct, but I have long since given up pointing it out. Ask any Canadian event rider, they can help you get it right. The other thing I get asked is Ê»what have you done?Ê» Okay, the questions are normally a little more polite. Answer: WEGs in 1994 and Olympics in 1996 for Canada. Since then, I have competed in numerous 3 and 4 stars but no team outings for a variety of reasons–no suitable horse at the right moment, suitable horse dies, suitable horse goes lame, suitable horse is sold to pay bills, etc. etc. etc. Yes, I am old, but happy to report the red coat from 1994 still ï¬ts. Enough about me, letʼs move on to what everyone is talking about–WEG selection.
Also, I have decided on an impromptu trip to the WEGs, conï¬rmed just today. I was not sure that I could bring myself to go because I am a terrible spectator. Frankly, I was still feeling a bit sorry for myself since Iʼm not riding. However, John has promised me an EN baseball hat if I come and write for EN. I have a free place to stay (THANK YOU DOROTHY CROWELL) and can fly there on points. So, God help each of the dedicated EN readers, youʼll have me to entertain/inform you during the eventing portion of the WEGs. Go eventing!
