In our first coaching poll, Jimmy Wofford destroyed the other candidates, by capturing 53% of the nearly 900 votes, David was second with 27%, followed by the Hoys with 12%, and Phillip/Bobby received just 8%. As I have been saying all along, public support is critically important to sponsorship and funding for the USEF, and by leaving Jimmy off the short list today they ignored 53% of the eventing public–and that 53% is making their voices heard today, although anyone with any sense would have expected this kind of a reaction.
I refrained from voting in the original poll because I honestly couldn’t make up my mind. Jimmy brings old school horsemanship that we desperately need, Leslie brings a mix of independence and experience, Andrew and Bettina would have brought excellent independent coaching, David had great success with the Canadians, and Phillip and Bobby are a great team–I’d be proud to take lessons from all of them. The first poll came out a few days before Leslie announced his candidacy so I think another poll is in order today.
I should also point out that the USEF has not officially ruled out the possibility of adding more names to the short list. I would guess that they left that option open in case there is a contractual impasse with finalizing a deal with one of the remaining candidates. Furthermore, if you read Samantha’s interview with Leslie you can see why he impressed the Search Committee so much. I’d suggest looking that over before making your vote.
Go eventing.
