Chasing the Elusive Olympic Dream – But at What Cost?

I can’t remember a time when it wasn’t something I wanted. The Olympics was, and is, the pinnacle for achievement and I wanted to be at the place where so few would be able to go.

The problem? Well the cost, of course. What is that cost?

I was informed by so many helpful people that a great deal of talent was needed to get there, and I might lack that (it probably didn’t help I was built more like a football player than a rider, but there’s not a lot you can do about that!).

Other equally helpful people let me know that apparently a good deal of money was needed to achieve the goal of riding in front of the Olympic flag. That was easier to measure and it took very little time to count those assets.

Luck? It appears you need that as well and I had that in huge amounts – most of it bad – but I had it. Knowledge? Probably best to have some of that, but that’s available everywhere if you are open to it.

Now what else? Oh right, a horse. There I was very fortunate as I had horses, so many horses. So let’s try and find the formula that can make the Olympic dream into reality.

Talent + Work Ethic

In my years in the horse industry, I’ve found that talent is so often analyzed and discussed by parents, coaches and owners. Often this is the most looked-at aspect for being successful as a rider and competitor. Personally, I think it’s probably the least important trait needed to become a top rider.

The number of talented people in any field who truly become successful due just to talent is far smaller than it would look at the onset – and maybe more so in riding. Why? Because it is a knowledge game and knowledge doesn’t come from talent. It gives a head start to success, but there comes a tipping point where work ethic and tenacity pass just talent.

Don’t get me wrong; talent in the right area combined with work ethic will create superstars like Michael Jung or Mark Todd, but I think that’s a different article all together. I’ve seen so many talented riders not live up to the promise they showed. When you look at the results list, the winning Young Riders at NAYC rarely have made a senior team. In over 30 years of the competition it showcases the most talented riders before the work really took effect. What happens is the unsuccessful dig-in to get better and the field is levelled or even tilted to favour the more driven. In equestrian competition it matters more what you do in the 20s and 30s, which can be shown by the majority of medals won at an average age over 35. So much for talent. Nice to have, but it won’t take you all the way there.

Money Money Money

Money, ahh there’s no way around it. Money is absolutely necessary. Winning lotto ticket? Family fortune? If you have these things available the path can be much easier, but easy doesn’t always work and rarely works well for long.

I won’t spend time on the costs for the family with money because that’s not your cost for this goal. You don’t have a blank cheque? Well get to work, ’cause you are going to struggle without it. You will struggle, but you don’t need to fail. How can you possibly do this? It will take time to build, but as long as you’re not trying to create a big retirement fund all you really have to do is spend what you make in horses on the horses and their upkeep – entries, shoeing, shipping, everything.

I personally sold my horses and dreams for about 18 years before being able to keep one for the Olympics. More than a few went to the advanced level. But it paid off, and if it hadn’t I wouldn’t regret all the riding I got to do in the meantime, because all the horses I rode also were part of making the dream come true.

The down side? There were a lot of horses that I wanted to keep but couldn’t, so you have to sell your love a bit. Then there are more than a few that you won’t want to ride, but they will teach you as well and help pay the way.

Hours of teaching and working all sorts of menial jobs also helps. Spend little on yourself and live in crappy places. Sounds wonderful! Spend your money on the fanciest boots and jackets? That means less money available for the things that matter to a horse. A word of caution: never show up with a rig that’s worth more than the horse on it; for some reason this is constantly going on. People can justify trucks and trailers, but the horse is far more important.

Attracting Supporters

Now if spending all your money on this endeavour isn’t appealing to you, there is always the hope that you can bring supporters to your cause. This is a really poplar way to move things along without your own money. It comes with drawbacks for sure; there is usually a lot of asking before help shows up, so you had better be good with rejection and then be able to keep the people interested in supporting you on your quest.

That means finding people you like being with, because they are going to give more than money to this partnership. They will share in the joy of the experience and feel the success with as much satisfaction as you, but you will also have be the one to explain the disappointments. The best owners are able to roll with both the highs and lows for the experiences and stay with you long-term. Everyone needs a support team – a good one. Sometimes a supporter is just there to help you by believing in you when you are doubting yourself.

As with the owners, sponsors can help get tack, clothing feed, etc. into the barn. Think about it before you take on the responsibility of a sponsor, though. I know many people that have tons of stickers on the trailer and get some products for this, but make sure you actually believe in the products. If you don’t use or believe in what you are putting out there, you have to ask yourself why you have them along. If that feeds your ego and nothing else, I doubt that you will make a team just because you have the most stickers on your trailer. Keep it honest; that will go a long way.

Luck, Good and Bad

Luck comes and goes. I’ve been very lucky for the last 15 years, far more so than the first 15. Mostly the luck is how you feel about certain things. If having a rail down that costs you a win seems like bad luck, you are going to find this journey very trying!

I recently was having a lot of rails on a very nice advanced horse I am producing and when we turned around and started being successful in the show jumping I didn’t think I was lucky, nor did I think it unlucky when things were going badly; it was just something that we were working on. Now if someone crashes into your trailer and it injures your horse, that’s bad luck. Maybe it leads to something good though if you stick it out and it strengthens your resolve. It’s really how you react that counts.

Speaking of luck, mine improved immensely when I became more educated. It’s a knowledge game and knowledge isn’t just a riding lesson, but how everything works together to create enough success over time to be a viable option for a team. Knowing when you are doing the right thing, but being willing to learn from others at the same time. For example, someone else might be galloping a completely different schedule from you; it doesn’t mean yours is wrong, but take a look nonetheless. I’ve seen so many being stubborn or too indecisive ‒both can lead to disappointment. Confidence is important but maybe tempered with education. This knowledge thing is a big one because there’s always something to learn and it’s your responsibility to find that knowledge.

I believe it takes time and you can check a lot of boxes and still miss the one thing that costs you your spot. It happens every Olympic cycle. It’s happened in this one several times already and these are seasoned pros. Someone misses out because of something preventable and because it’s only once every four years, that’s a hard lesson to learn. The little thing that keeps you aside might keep you from ever achieving that goal.

Twice that has happened to me, costing me spots on the team, each time something different as I continued to learn the hard way. One year I felt everything was going the right way for a first Olympics, but a major injury prevented a spot. From that I learned so many things about being at the top level and honestly, I’m a better horseman for it. The other time I entered the wrong event for my horse and followed it up with another failure at one more and gone was the dream. I lost the horse to another rider and started over. I learned a couple more really important lessons that serve me still with both my students and horses.

The Coaching, The Program and The Horses

Having the right people on your coaching staff is huge, not just for the riding lessons but the horsemanship that can help you avoid the pitfalls that you might not see coming. There are lots of people who think they can do that for you, but a good rule of thumb is if they haven’t been successful getting other riders to that level, they probably won’t be able to guide you.

I was told by one team coach that I needed to be more selfish with my time and not let family and students distract me from my objective. Everyone functions differently, but I felt I gave up enough without giving up any more of my person as well. It will warp your point of view and have you missing family vacations and life events. I didn’t think I wanted to sacrifice any more of my personal life than I already had, but many do.

Find a program with longevity and make it the cornerstone of your future. If you want to learn on 20 or more horses, go somewhere they manage lots of horses and start making the mistakes on those. Usually that’s a working student position and the time in the barn seeing how plans are made short- and long-term are invaluable. It’s something many top riders I know have done for years, creating a system that works for them. Remember that you probably are going to see the results of your efforts when you’re 30-plus, so go for the long game.

I always find myself talking to riders about what they are doing at home, looking for small bits of info that I can use and learn from even if it’s trying to figure out why they might be failing. It’s amazing how accessible people are in this sport. Be a fan, immerse yourself into the sport learn everything so you always have an answer to the question in front of you – just in case it is the question that you need to know for that one moment when you are on a plane to the Olympics.

The horse – or more accurately, the horses: You have to ride everything to be able to fix anything. I don’t want to ever ride some of the horses I’ve had come through my barn again (I have issues, because most of those I truly believed were going to be the one!) but I can honestly say it gave me the information I needed when I got the horse I took to the Olympics.

I know a girl who is 14 and since she was 10 years old she would wear her helmet at all the shows in case someone asked her to ride. She doesn’t disappoint when given the opportunity because she also rides everything that comes her way. If she keeps that up for the next 20 years, maybe being more selective as she gets older, she will be at least in the hunt for a spot as long as the other boxes are checked. You don’t have to ride everything, but you should, because that’s part of the struggle and it might be the solution for success.

Many I rode for free because I wanted to participate badly, or I wanted to see if I could turn them around. If I did, then they would usually walk out the door because if your financial situation is tied to the horses, there’s always someone ready to buy your dream and bypass the work. It becomes easier with the more you sell, but you can’t sell all of them and make that ultimate Olympic goal.

There is no horse that can’t be taken from you when you’re self-funded, but with an owner the horses are always at risk as well for different reasons. The first couple of horses I had long-listed for the team had to be sold to pay for food and bills. The riding was the purpose and became the hours that made up my preparations for when it would finally happen.

The right horse at the right time managed to a high standard will give you a chance to change the dream into a goal. Then the final hurdle is being chosen. I tell people in clinics all the time that you can say you are going to ride at the top level but only ride at the Olympics if people choose you. Hopes are often dashed for reasons that the athletes can’t see because they see themselves as the most likely option. That doesn’t always make it so.

Keeping the horses sound is also huge. Winning and then not being able to show up due to unsoundness or a loss of confidence when it matters is very limiting, frustrating and ends many quests for glory. It’s soul-killing to say the least, but it’s also hard to find the right answers while failing in that way.

Keep Chasing the Dream

So all those hours of work to be at the Olympics; all that disappointment and success. Better get good at finding a reason to try harder and be motivated by failure because if you are motivated by winning this is a tough sport. It plays with your head, but it will teach you who you are if you’re going to be good. That is the mental cost, leaving you achieving a goal that at the end of the competition can have you running into a wall of “what do I do now”?

Luckily, we don’t easily age out of our sport, so you can always keep at it and chase the next one if you can get through the struggle again. It can leave a broken mind, body and bank account. How do you rationalize all that effort? It’s something that everyone has to answer differently and you just hope that you actually answer it. Many don’t. Thankfully this sport has people who often check in when you need it, sometimes when you least expect it, so there’s that.

In any sport there is lots of work to be successful, but in horses people often hide behind reasons for not succeeding that can’t be used in other sports. Treat it like a sport and take it seriously every day for a really long time and maybe you will be one of three or four people in your country that can represent it.

I moved around the world and now live in a different country because of that goal. It has changed so much about me, not all for the better. I recognize some of the changes but it’s a slow process so it isn’t always something you can control because you are busy pushing for something more. The constant push can drain your soul and leave you missing something that is hard to replace. Then you have to remember there will a much larger crowd to answer to. Like the whole country. No pressure right?

Good luck, it’s worth it, but it’s a hard enough road that many quit even after achieving it because they know something you don’t – what it will take out of you. When you are sitting in the nursing home and looking back on your life, you will have memories of being close to greatness and maybe even have achieved greatness, and you probably will be the only one there who can say that!