Shannon Lilley deserves a team spot after winning the selection trials, Samantha Clark photo
The US short list vet inspections concluded earlier today and by this time tomorrow we will know the US squad and alternates for the Pan American Games. Between now and then the USEF will hold various selector and committee meetings to determine the selections. The results of the vet inspections are private and the committees will use those results and all of the other information at their disposal as well as the official USEF magic 8 ball signed by George Morris to reach a decision.
Earlier today we asked you our readers to pick who you think should get selected for the team. That question is sometimes very different than who will get selected and both are interesting to consider, but in this post I will focus largely on my thoughts about the former.
The results of the EN poll are as follows so far–Hannah Burnett and Harbour Pilot (16%), Boyd Martin and Cold Harbor (13%), Michael Pollard and Schoensgreen Hanni (12%), Buck Davidson and Absolute Liberty (12%), Shannon Lilley and Ballingowan Pizazz (11%), and Jon Holling and Downtown Harrison (9%) with the rest of the field considerably back from those 6. I only disagree with one of the top five selections, which I will get to shortly.
Remember that 5 riders from the US will compete, with the three lowest scores counting for the team score. Also, the Olympic format means that there will be two show jumping rounds, meaning that selecting good show jumpers is especially critical.
When I look at selecting a team for the Pan American Games I think there are two important goals. The first is obvious: to win. The second, which is equally important, is to utilize this opportunity to invest in our talent for the future both in terms of horses and riders.
I have said all along that I hope the US sends one veteran team rider to anchor the team and then four other developing riders for the future. The veteran comes down to either Buck or Boyd and I think the team should send Buck. Boyd is already getting to go to Burghley and will likely take two horses to Boekelo. Both of these trips are valuable for giving Boyd team experience and it seems to make more sense to me to invest in a first 2011 horse trip for Buck than a 4th for Boyd. Boekelo is also before the Pan American and might disrupt Boyd’s preparation. Buck’s horse Absolute Liberty placed 4th at the Bromont CCI3* and I think she is a sure bet to get around the Pan Ams with a solid score. Cold Harbor is a very nice horse, but Boyd has only been riding him since this spring and they have yet to blow me out of the water with an impressive performance.
Shannon Lilley and Ballingowan Pizazz clearly deserve to make the squad after winning the selection trials. You can tell me that the selection trials are just one weekend all you want, but that performance was no fluke. Ballingowan Pizazz jumped really nice all weekend and Shannon put together a good show jumping ride under pressure. I had never seen this pair before Richalnd but I left the event feeling like they definitely deserve a team spot and they get my second pick.
I think the next two in should be Michael Pollard with Schoensgreen Hanni and Hannah Burnett with Harbour Pilot. Michael Pollard placed second with Schoensgreen Hanni at the selection trials. They still have a lot of upside in the dressage and Hanni knows how to leave the rails up. Michael is assembling a small fleet of potential Olympic horses and this is just the time to give him his first team experience.
Hannah raised some question marks with a bad show jumping round, but after watching them jump multiple of clean rounds under pressure the last two years, I’m willing to write that off as just a bad day for Harbour Pilot. Hannah is another clear rider of the future for the US so sending her to Mexico is a good investment.
The fifth and final member of the team is where things get really hard. Donner had a good performance at the selection trials and he got around the advanced at Millbrook a few weeks ago. Mar De Amor is probably the best pure jumper on the short list, but he has had several shaky show jumping rounds this year including on Sunday.
When I look at the rest of the short list I feel like the best investment for the future is sending Jon Holling and Downtown Harrison. Jon is 6th in the EN voting and I think for good reason. Jon has put in the miles I think he has finally found a consistent horse for the US squad in Downtown Harrison. I wasn’t terribly impressed with any one of Downtown Harrison’s three phases this weekend and he finished in 8th, but he has delivered consistent top 3 performances this year. You can call me biased since Jon is a guest blogger for EN and an old friend, and perhaps I am, but anyone knows I like other members of the short list and most everyone not on the short list considerably more than Jon.
Everyone on the short list has had a great year and deserves a chance to represent the United States. One way or another, we will know who will get that chance on Tuesday.
