69 days ago the US eventing team added 17 show jumping penalties to finish the World Equestrian Games in 4th place. Tonight, members of that team and the support staff came together to explain what went wrong from their perspective. Coach Mark Phillips, Karen O’Connor, Phillip Dutton, and Becky Holder spoke about the WEG weekend. Sara Ike of the USEF and WEG Ground Jury member Marilyn Payne were also on the podium for their perspectives during the Q&A. I was incredibly impressed with how the riders united together and took accountability for the WEGs, and I left the forum with a great deal of excitement about our team moving forward, which is something I haven’t said in a while.
Mark spoke first and I think he started the discussion on the wrong note by telling a story about how Jimmy Wofford once told him that when you are the coach of the US and the riders succeed everyone will want to talk to the riders, but when the riders fail everyone will want the coach to speak, and then Mark said “so here I am.” It’s absurd to simplify the WEG analysis so much as to just put all the responsibility on the riders. But, the discussion was quite fair from that point forward.
Mark spoke for some time about how the US team did not have a home-field advantage in the preparation for the WEGs. He said that Chattahoochee Hills was extremely hot and that the riders were so close to home that they were surrounded by distractions leading up until the WEGs from their personal lives, businesses, and the media. Frankly, I agree with this and I think that riders tend to be more focused on the competition when they have to travel to a foreign country.
Another point that Mark addressed is that he wanted to make sure everyone knew that Tipperary Liadhnan was completely sound leading up to the WEGs and that a substitution was not made once “Paddy” went unsound because FEI rules stipulate that substitutions cannot be made after 48 hours before the first inspection, all of which we wrote about on EN that Wednesday afternoon.
Then Phillip spoke about his disappointment and that it had taken him a long time to get over the pain. He talked about what a fabulous horse Woodburn is and what an honor it was for him to be part of such a tremendous event like the World Equestrian Games in Lexington. He also mentioned that despite the rail in show jumping, it was one of Woodburns best Sunday performances.
Fittingly, Karen was next and started by saying that she wished she could say the same about Mandiba’s Sunday performance. Karen talked about how she had never expected to be riding on the team with Mandiba until Paddy was withdrawn. She said she was disappointed with the dressage and thrilled with the cross-country. She then described how she arrived too long to the infamous gate and the incredible heartbreak that she felt after the stop. Karen even apologized to the audience for the pain that she caused the US fans. It was an incredible moment for one of the best US riders in history and a reminder of how everything in eventing can come down to one tiny moment in time. At the end of her speech, Karen talked about how she looked forward to 2012 and she even guaranteed a podium finish for the US by saying “this country will stand on the podium in two years time.” Amen.
But, the most incredible speech was saved for last. Becky was very emotional from the beginning of her speech and spoke about how wonderful it was to ride cross-country at Rolex earlier this year. She spoke about how the roar of the crowed drowned out the beeping of her watch at the minute markers and she was nearly drawn to tears. Becky then made it very clear that it was her decision and her decision alone to run fast at the AECs and that she took full accountibility for the fact that that decision weakened Comet’s ability to deal with losing a shoe early on the WEG course. Becky explained that Comet is at a rehab facility in Florida right now still recovering and that she “hopes to see him back” in 2011. She plans to do a light year and see if he wants to be part of anything in 2012. I can’t capture her emotion or the influence that it had on the crowd effectively in writing, but it was an incredibly moving speech. From what I know of the situation, Becky took more responsibility than she deserved, which just gives me more respect for her.
I’ll never forget those speeches and I will respect Mark, Phillip, Karen, and Becky for the rest of their careers for getting up and taking accountability like that. After the speeches, the floor was opened up to any and all questions but only a few supportive comments were made. Hopefully the USET learned a lesson today that Roger Clemons still hasn’t–when something goes wrong, just own it and people will move on. Eventers are by nature an extraordinarily supportive group and there was no one in that room who could feel upset after watching those riders speak. Go eventing.
