The Q&A Round Table: David O'Connor, Will Coleman, Densey Juvonen and Annie Jones
Last night I attended the High Performance Owner’s Day at Fernanda Kellog’s Fox Frolic Farm in Aiken, SC. The event was generously hosted and organized by Annie Jones, Evie Dutton, Ron & Densey Juvonen, Fernanda Kellog, Nanki Doubleday and of course the amazing Joanie Morris of the USEF. It was beautifully catered and held in a heated tent in the courtyard of the lovely barn. The party was well attended by many upper level riders, as well as owners and long time supporters of the sport all dressed nattily in their “muggle” clothing. Our friends at SmartPak were the headlining sponsor, and generously donated a swag bag for each attendant.
David started out the meeting by sharing his enthusiasm for the level of talent he has seen this spring in his training sessions throughout the US and the UK. He was adamant that our team will see the podium in the near future, and he says he’s sure that our problem does not lie in lack of talented riders or horses. He explained that he sees great times in our future, but inevitably he says along with that will be some not so great times, and some times where we are just so close to getting it that our dreams will be haunted by our near misses. I think this is a great point, and part of the allure of the sport; the fact that Eventing is such a roller coaster of highs and lows, of near misses and last minute saves, is really what keeps us coming back for more year after year.
Our own Samantha Clark then took over as hostess and questionner of the panel, which included David, Will Coleman, Densey Juvonen and Annie Jones. Densey is best known for owning Remington for Boyd, and Annie has been involved deeply with the sport and Phillip Dutton in specific for over two decades. Samantha questioned both Annie and Densey about how they became involved in Eventing, and what their favorite part of being an owner has become.
Densey told the story of buying Remi as a Foxhunter, and subsequently having a tumble that required her to stay away from riding for a while. She got a charming young man down the road to ride the horse to keep him fit, and eventually decided to sell him as an Eventer, but had little luck with that due to the fact that he wouldn’t pass a vet inspection. She said she just kind of fell into it, as she and Boyd kept competing the little black horse until he reached his limit, which just happened to be the four star level. Then, through her partnership with Boyd and Remi, Densey and her husband were able to become involved in the Otis Barbotiere syndicate, which took them to the Olympics, which she said was enthralling and unbelievable at once. “Our first syndicate went all the way to the Olympics, that never happens!” she laughed. And although the travel opportunities are great, the one of the best parts of her involvement with Boyd and with Eventing in general is the team and the friends that she gets to share the journey and the passion with. In addition to that, the ability to live vicariously through her experiences is what really clinches the deal, “In life, you can’t do everything that you want, you might really want it, but you just can’t do it, so in a way it is my vicarious experience of being able to go to the Olympics myself. I watch every jump, and say, ‘Ah, I could have done that just a little different.'”
Annie Jones got into the sport through another avenue, by virtue of having Phillip “camp out down the hill, straight out of Australia.” She found him at a time where he had a horse, but needed a little bit of sponsorship, and they became partners. She stressed that “it really is all about the friendships, the travel, and the journey… having a young horse, knowing there is some talent, and being able to watch it fulfill it’s potential is just, magic.” Annie mentioned that not only is watching the horse flourish a benefit of ownership, but seeing a partnership between horse and rider grow and bloom is even better. She also said that a big part of her position with the Event Owner’s Task Force is to encourage people to get involved at the ground level, with younger riders who really need help and aren’t necessarily able to get out and sell themselves. In the spirit of improving the US Team, it is essential that horses and riders are being scoped for talent and supported in a way that can benefit the community as a whole, and not just one person.
High Performance Owners Day underway in Aiken! Pierre Colin, George Wintersteen, Will Coleman and Boyd Martin: ready to tee off. (photo from the USEF FB)
As the debate continued between finding either horse or rider first, Will Coleman was asked to put his two cents in on how he has found owners, or owners have found him. He says that he’s had luck both ways, through referral, happenstance, or horse. He has had the best results by allowing his program with horses and owners to be flexible, for both low level competition and higher goals such as the Olympics. “Don’t make it be such a pressurized situation setting out, I think allowing things to take their natural course sometimes is the best recipe. See what someone’s interest level is, where do they want to take it? It becomes much more enjoyable that way, and if your goals change and become higher along the way, so much the better.”
I thought a really good question was about the entry level for ownership. Where do you start as an owner, should you start at the beginning with a nondescript horse and a low level rider? Should you leap right in and buy an upper level talent and send it to the best of the best? David stressed that there is no right answer to this, and it depends purely on your personal comfort level. “It’s important to decide what somebody’s in it for, because there are a lot of people who like the four year olds all the way up and get a huge kick out of winning Pine Top Training level. Some people will get as much of a kick out of that as they will travelling the world. Then there are owners who want to buy up the ladder, and then it becomes about whether you need a partnership or simple a personal relationship with your rider.” He firmly believes in the ownership ladder, and you decide where you step in. At the bottom? At the top? In the middle? With a bunch of friends? You decide where your goals lie.
My favorite comment of the night came from Will, who was speaking to the benefits as a rider of having a close knit group of friends who share the same exact passion as yourself. Doug Payne once told me that he loved having owners because they never get tired of hearing details and updates about your horses, whereas your friends will eventually want to talk about something else. Will also agreed that this is fun for the rider, and he says that as an owner, your involvement in the sport is so much greater than sponsoring any other type of athletic endeavor.
“If you’re supporting Nascar teams, or other types of high level sports, you’re generally not called and asked about putting new tires on the car, or putting a new carburetor in the engine. When you’re actually at the events, there is no other sport in the world where you are actually given access to the field of play, during the actual competition. You are literally standing next to the ring, watching your horse compete. You get to walk the course that your horse is going to run. That is a really cool and unique experience at something like the Olympics or the World Games that you just can’t get anywhere else.”
The night was a huge success, and I was excited to see the gathering of such an influential and talented group of people all in one tent. I think that Coach O’Connor has brought a great wind of enthusiasm and hope for change into our sport, and it is great to see it affecting everyone. Many thanks to the EOTF and the USEF for putting the event together, and to the hosts for creating this opportunity to drum up support for Eventing.
