Prue and her youngest son Jesper
Last year after spending a couple of hours around Prue Barrett’s kitchen table talking about her thoughts and plans for the new job she had, as Performance Director of the Australian Eventing Program, I came away impressed. At the time she hadn’t even started the new job it had just been announced. There was a bit of controversy at the time, the decision to appoint Prue was done, somewhat unusually for Equestrian Australia, decisively. We were at a crucial point in the preparation for London, less than 18 months out and with no head of the Eventing performance program.
Today, we are almost a year on, Prue has taken the bull by the horns and refocused the Australian Eventing High Performance Program. While some results may not have gone to plan, most notably Blenheim, Prue is happy with the progress this year and excited for the future of Australian Eventing. As we look down the barrel of 6 months to the games the Aussie team is looking strong.
The introduction of the National Futures squad is something Prue has driven. This long squad of promising combinations contains a good mix in green horses showing real talent with elite riders, and some less experienced riders on their top mount that are all Normandy 2014 or Rio 2016 potential material. This squad has a number of goals. Firstly, it provides access for the combinations to squad schools, similar to the US Developing Rider list. What is also an interesting point is that this squad provides an introduction to the High Performance Program for the owners of these younger horses. Engaging owners early and involving them in the program is a valuable lesson learned by the Aussie program and will hopefully pay big dividends in the future.
Each of the combinations on the Futures squad has a brief vet check with one of the team vets, is expected to participate in squad training, and has access to sports medicine and sports science support. Also, importantly, these combinations are from around the whole of Australia and our UK based youngsters. Unfortunately there are no US based combinations on the futures squad, although Peter Atkins and Henny are just a good Rolex finish away from making it back onto one of the senior squad lists. Also making waves for Australia in the US is Kadi Eykamp and Double Rivers Dillon who have made it onto the National A Squad (which is similar to the US B squad, confusing I know, we have an Elite and A squad here).
With the Games so close, there is still much competition for the spots on the team. Eight combinations will make it into camp in the UK just a couple of weeks out from London and it is expected that four combinations from back home will make the trip to the UK camp. Personally I see only one guaranteed spot on that plane – Stuart Tinney and Panamera, barring any fitness issues, proved their mettle in Adelaide and almost certainly won’t be asked to run again before the games.
Stuart Tinney and Panamera, winners of the 2011 Adelaide CCI4*
Otherwise there are no standouts and seven remaining camp spots to be filled with great results in the coming months. The competition for spots heats up in late April with Rolex and the Sydney CCI*** running on the same weekend. I expect to see Kadi and Peter making a play for a camp birth by tackling Rolex and a top ten finish. Local combinations back home will tackle the new Mike ES Sydney track which will probably be the toughest three star many of these combinations have seen in years.
The following weekend is Badminton and almost the final roll of the dice for UK based riders. Some will take a no guts no glory approach to team selection by tackling the big four star with a top ten finish almost guaranteeing a camp selection. UK based riders needing a good outing without the four star sting will head to Saumur a couple of weeks after Badminton. No doubt it will be exciting no matter where in the world you are this year and which flag you hoist, there is going to be some great eventing.
Tell you what, I don’t envy the Aussie selectors. Now that is an interesting group. With the resignation from the selection panel last year of Seumas Marwood, due to the fact he is going for selection himself, there was a reshuffle of the Aussie selectors. The new panel consists of a couple of old blokes, Jim Dunn and Barry Roycroft, two men that have been on the Aussie eventing scene more years than anyone cares to count and are well into their sixties. At the other end of the panel table sits two ladies: Prue (just tipping 40) and Georgia Clifford, a current rider in her mid-30s. I can imagine the interesting perspectives and challenges faced by such a dynamic.
The current job at head of the Eventing Performance Program takes Prue only through until London, but that hasn’t stopped her making plans and preparations that will directly influence results in both Normandy and Rio. One of the key initiatives I learned to my surprise was Mike Etherington-Smith. Prue believes very strongly that riders that choose to stay in Australia and compete for their spot on a National team should not be disadvantaged. We have proven time and time again that we breed some of the best horses and riders in the world here in Australia, just look at Boyd and Neville, both Aussie bred.
Boyd and Nev at Burghley last year
One of the challenges of the physical isolation Australia and New Zealand have in remaining competitive back home is that we have a small number of course designers and cost usually prohibits us from bringing overseas designers downunder. With the support of the Australian Government Green and Gold funding program Mike ES has been brought over pre-London for the Sydney event with the goal of increasing our medal prospects in 2012. Longer term it is being negotiated to have Mike involved in Sydney for a few years and use his skills and experience to develop a course designers development program.
The goal of this program is to identify Aussie course designers or potential new recruits (including current elite riders) who will benefit from working closely with Mike ES to hone their craft. This will help to ensure that Australia not only has depth in riders and horses but in course designers so that the tracks in Australia match those from around the world in their toughness and preparation for winning gold. I really love the foresight and long term view that comes with a program like this.
These long term strategies are what I believe make Prue perfect for this role, she can see the forest from the trees and know how hard and how long it takes to develop a combination. She is not fazed by setbacks but sees the whole picture. I asked her about the disastrous show jumping round that Brook Staples and Ever So Clever had at Blenheim, personally I found it a hard mistake to get past, and was amazed they made it on the Futures Squad. Prue had a different opinion, firstly she said Brook has proven in the past he can produce an Olympic four star horse and has a long track record. Very few combinations on any of the lists had a faultless career, certainly show jumping may be a focus for Brook in the future but this one bad day does not define a career.
Far more level headed and strategic in her thinking than most, this balance is great and for me bodes well for Aussie Eventing. That said, the long term role is still on the table, it will be advertised soon and a group of candidates will emerge, Prue will certainly be on that list and in my mind at least is the best candidate for the future of Aussie Eventing.
Will we will bring home gold in London? I hope so, but I know the Kiwis, Poms, Frogs, Krauts, Canucks and Yanks may have something to say about that. Most certainly, the next 6 months of Eventing will be exciting.
Yours in Eventing
ESJ
