Equestrian Canada (EC) is looking to set up Canada’s high-performance athletes for success in the lead up to Paris 2024 by hiring its next Technical Advisor (TA), Jumping. EC has released its newly developed job description for the role, which includes the responsibility as Chef d’Equipe for Team Canada’s celebrated show jumpers.
“Riding for your country is the greatest honour in equestrian sport,” said EC’s Manager of Jumping, Karen Hendry-Ouellette. A former national team show jumper herself; she knows what it takes to compete at the highest levels of the sport. “We have worked really hard to begin planning for Paris and Los Angeles. In keeping with best practices of the quadrennial cycle, we began a positional review process to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics.”
The review of the position was completed by an external specialist firm that conducted technical interviews and gathered input from jumping discipline experts, high performance committee members, National Team athletes, owners, and the team’s former Chef d’Equipe, Mark Laskin. Fully informed, EC developed a robust job description that is now open for candidates to apply.
“This position is pivotal as we build our program and podium pathways over the next three years,” said James Hood, EC’s Director, High Performance. “We want to develop the sport of Jumping in Canada, but we also want to win.” With an objective of winning major-games medals, EC and its jumping committee expects the new Technical Advisor to work closely with athletes, coaches, officials, and EC staff and volunteers to ensure that team needs are met in respect to horse welfare, training, and competitions.
The position that was posted this week, closes on December 31. All applications will be put forward for consideration and evaluation by a six-member hiring panel. Preliminary interviews will begin to be scheduled in early January. Following initial interviews, a short list of candidates will be identified for a second interview, after which the hiring panel will make their final selection.
“Having such a strong hiring panel to select our next TA for the jumping discipline is so encouraging,” said Hendry-Ouellette “Each of them have been there, done that. They know what it takes to be at the top level of sport and see dreams become reality.” EC is optimistic they can find the person to build a team of human and equine athletes that can reach the podium in three years’ time.
The six-member hiring panel consists of:
- Chair of the EC Jumping Committee, Executive Director of the Wesley Clover Parks and grand prix show jumper Karen Sparks;
- The most decorated Canadian equestrian, two-time winner of the Show Jumping World Cup and an Olympic silver medalist Ian “Captain Canada” Millar;
- The first woman, the first Canadian, and the youngest rider to win gold at the Show Jumping World Championships, World Champion and High-Performance Committee member Gail Greenough;
- Canadian biathlete and Own the Podium Advisor Chris Lindsay;
- Former Canadian team jumper and EC’s Manager of Jumping, Karen Hendry-Ouellette; and
- 1992 Barcelona Paralympics Head Coach, Chef d’Equipe for the 2012 London Olympics, Team Leader for the 2016 Rio Paralympics, EC’s Team Leader 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games and EC Director, High Performance and FEI Relations, James Hood.
The TA is a unique, challenging but exciting role in the equestrian world. The hiring panel is looking for someone with a high level of knowledge of the sport of jumping on the international stage. They need to be a forward thinker with an attitude of fairness, and they need to be able to work with a variety of individuals, committees, the FEI and our funding partners — Own the Podium, Canadian Olympic Committee and Sport Canada.
“Finding a passionate, committed equestrian won’t be an issue,” said Hood. “We do need to find a leader that is highly team-oriented, can cope with stressful situations and make tough decisions. Someone that is willing to do what it takes to help our athletes and coaches be successful while helping to plan for our next generation. An individual that can inspire our athletes to perform in a large pool of high performers that continually challenge each other to be better every time they are in the ring.”
EC is looking for the person that the Canadian Jumping team needs at all levels. Someone that can help the maple leaf succeed at Nations Cup events, the World Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympics.
To review the job description, please visit here.
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