O Canada - A Letter To WEG Hopefuls
Dear World Equestrian Games Hopefuls, Now that I have traveled across Canada and seen most of you and your horses with which you hope to try out for Kentucky, I have given strong consideration to our present status and what I believe in my heart is required for us to build a squad of riders and horses which truly have the possibility of contending for a medal. I must say that I have been very impressed by how enthusiastic and determined you all have been to achieve your goals. That being said, even the best of intentions does not necessarily a medal team make. Here is the good news - Canada has more excellent riders with world-class horses than I initially thought. I feel quite confident that there will be, shortly, even more top combinations coming out at the Grand Prix level. Our challenge is to be certain that both the daily training programs as well as the competition strategies leave no stone unturned in producing a squad of extremely confident and brilliant horses and riders who march down every centre-line believing in their ability to win with scores never below a 70%. My personal goal is to have a minimum of 7 combinations doing just that by mid-April. To that end I am making this promise. I will be at your qualifiers during the winter/spring season 2 days before and throughout the competition at your and your personal trainer’s (where applicable) service to support your effort. I will always be positive but I will never lie to you. If I feel that your training system is showing a weakness which is preventing you from attaining the 70% threshold which I mentioned earlier, I will meet with you and your trainer to discuss this and how to improve your scores. It is not my intention to usurp anyone’s client or undermine a rider’s confidence in their training system, but the scores will, for the most part, speak for themselves, and I am here to help in every way I know to bring them up as high as possible. After 30 years doing this and 12 consecutive Olympic and World Championship teams, while I freely admit to knowing very little about almost everything else in life, producing medal winning Dressage teams is the one thing about which I am very secure and confident. Creating a winning team requires more than just having individuals going out and becoming stronger competitors with their horses. It also requires that the players start acting like a focused, cohesive, and confident TEAM, and I am truly hoping that with time you will all trust me that I will go to the last mile to ensure you have every asset needed to get you to that podium. This is why I also want you to know that, only for Canada’s WEG’s declared hopefuls, I will make myself available privately at either Tuny Page’s or Ashley’s farms in Wellington as much or as little as you would request of me when I am in town during my work week from Tuesdays through Saturdays. I believe in the talent of Canada’s riders and horses, but to be very honest, most of you need stronger training systems which not only bring up your game on a daily basis but also bring about a far higher confidence level as you go down the centre-line. By making this commitment I am truly hoping to help riders achieve far greater things than they even believed themselves capable of realizing. If this means helping by riding and showing you ways of improving your horse’s training, presenting a movement in a slightly different way, or simply teaching from the ground and giving both encouragement and, yes, sometimes even a kick in the butt, I will be there for you to do this. I also want you to know that you can always talk directly to me and never be afraid to tell me what you are thinking, even if it is that you are unhappy with me. We need to help each other, push each other, and support each other in our common goal of making Canada a top world power in the sport of Dressage again, and I absolutely know that, provided we all work together, we will do it!
Best Regards.
Robert
In follow up to the below e-mail please find a list of WEG qualifiers scheduled for Florida and California between January and May 2010.
West Palm Beach FL USA 22/01/201024/01/2010
CDI-W, CDIY
Wellington FL (D )USA 04/02/201006/02/2010
CDI5*, CSI2*
Indio CA USA 11/02/201014/02/2010
CDI3*, CDIJ, CDIY
West Palm Beach FL USA 12/02/201014/02/2010
CDI-W, CDIY
Burbank CA USA 26/02/201028/02/2010
CDI3*, CDIJ, CDIY
Loxahatchee FL USA 04/03/201007/03/2010
CDI-W, CDIY
Del Mar CA USA 12/03/201014/03/2010
CDI3*, CDIJ, CDIY, CPEDI3*
Wellington FL USA 18/03/201021/03/2010
CDI3*, CDIJ, CDIP, CDIY
Burbank CA USA 31/03/201003/04/2010
CDI3*, CDIJ, CDIY
Rancho Murieta CA USA 08/04/201011/04/2010
CDI3*, CDIJ, CDIY Lexington KY USA 20/04/201025/04/2010 [CCI4*-HSBC] (21/04 - 25/04),
CDI3* (20/04 - 22/04) Del Mar CA USA 30/04/2010 02/05/2010
CDI3*, CDIJ, CDIY
