Our good friend and Sinead’s groom, Meg Kep, posted the following for Sinead on the Halpin Eventing Facebook page today after Sinead and Manoir De Carneville “Tate” were left off the US Olympic Team today. Sinead was my third pair onto my predicted US Olympic team so I was obviously surprised and disappointed that they were left off. As always, Sinead is classy and selfless in her statement. Sinead mentions the possibility that a “slight” nosebleed from Tate at the end of their cross-country ride might have influenced the decision by the selectors. Tate will be back in action next weekend at Gatcombe and we’ll continue to cheer him, Sinead, and Meg on their path the rest of the season.
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From Sinead via Facebook:
I’m sitting here at an amazing oak table with a glass of wine watching Nat (Will’s groom) eat roman noodles, Meg look for hot sauce and Gracie Lou (Allison’s groom) play on Facebook… Team SHE in the last few hours have shed a tear or two but all of us around the table take turns telling a story that either inspires, inquires or at least makes us fall out of our chairs laughing. We are heartbroken but understand we have no choice but to keep going and should do that in camaraderie and laughing.
When I walked into the “round table” when all of the riders were told their fate, my heart was pounding through my chest. Despite my dressage score, my weekend at our final outing went according to plan. Next…one of the selectors read off the team in alphabetical order and my heart stopped.
Unfortunately they named the team in the first five minutes and then spent the next twenty minutes going through team “details”…I can tell you Allison, Clark, Will and I were not listening but I was desperate for the door at this point in time. I always want to be proud of how I carry myself but I was struggling and having some problems not getting up and running.
Tate has had a near flawless career, but does suffer from an allergy. We noticed it in 2009 when he had a nose bleed after a two star. Basically he is like a little kid that gets a nose bleed easily. We have always worked preventively with the issue by steaming his hay, keeping his bedding the same and the use of an inhaler if he has shown any allergenic signs. When we finished Barbury he had a SLIGHT nosebleed showing he might be having a bit of an allergic reaction to something. He did not bleed on course and we scoped him today and his lungs showed no signs of trauma.
I have complete confidence in my fitness program, especially with the management of Tate, and he has proven that his allergy has not kept him from tackling the biggest tracks in the world. I wish I had more of a conversation with the selectors so they understood my awareness and management of his situation. I do not envy the selectors and I understand the risk versus reward ratio.
I love my horse, I am very happy with his performance and in hind sight, my game of chess would still be the same.
I am devastated – more for the people that have followed and supported our dream. I do believe successes are built on the “bumps in the road”, and this feels like a 2×4 in the face, but maybe that will make us even tougher …. I cannot thank everyone enough and I am truly sorry we could not come through for you this time.
