Clayton Fredericks and Walterstown Don at Burghley. Samantha Clark photo.
Clayton Fredericks has taken the eventing community on a wild ride this year. First, he thrilled us with the news that he was setting up a U.S. base in Ocala, Fla., officially moving in over these last few weeks. Then, we started hearing rumors that Clayton had applied to be the next coach of the Canadian Eventing Team, which John wisely labeled “the worst kept secret in eventing for several months.” Equine Canada confirmed this morning that Clayton will in fact take over the job of International Technical Advisor starting on Jan. 1, 2013, when David O’Connor’s tenure ends.
He’s currently up in Toronto riding at the Royal Horse Show — already scoring street cred with the Cannucks; nicely done, Clayton — but I caught him for a few minutes on the phone this morning and was actually the person who informed him that the news was, indeed, official. I’m not entirely sure he believed me, but Clayton made it very clear that he’s thrilled. “It’s no surprise that I really wanted the job, so I’m very excited,” Clayton said. “But now the work starts. At the end of the day, we have the work to do to to get these guys on top. I’m ready for it.”
We all know the Canadian Eventing Team had a rough 2012, highlighted by a disappointing showing at the Olympics. Jessica Phoenix and Exponential were the only Canadian pair to complete at London, finishing in 22nd individually. Michele Mueller’s Amistad tore a tendon on cross country, ending the horse’s career. Hawley Bennett, Peter Barry and Rebecca Howard fell from Gin N’ Juice, Kilrodan Abbott and Riddle Master, respectively, on cross country. London cast a dark shadow over the triumph of a silver medal at the World Equestrian Games in 2010, leaving the Canadian team wondering what exactly went wrong.
While we could hem and haw all day about London, Clayton has made it clear that he’s ready to look to the future with a team that boasts an incredible amount of talent. Luckily for the Canadians, Clayton knows what it’s like to dominate on the international stage, with his team silver from the Olympics and individual silver from the WEG joining a slew of other top placings at the CCI4* level. Looking at his FEI profile page is like reading a Who’s Who of Eventing. I know success in the saddle doesn’t always translate to success as a coach, but if I were a betting woman — and I can be a bit of a poker shark — I’d go all in on Clayton.
