The Horse Magazine

Home > Latest Additions > Where to from here (You Are Here)

Stephen Lamb, showjumping chef d’equipe at the Sydney Games ponders the future of the sport...

With Vanessa Amorosi’s ‘Absolutely Everybody’ still ringing in our ears, it is timely to review our Olympic showjumping performance, and glean what we can from the experience as a whole.
Whilst our top ten team placing was not earth shattering, it was definitely a target that we set ourselves and achieved. Were it not for the brilliance of Ian Millar we would have finished 9th, the Canadians beating us by only one point. Of course at ‘half time’ we were sitting eighth, but the second round proved to be the true business end of the teams competition.
Consider the following statistics:
Of the top five teams in the Nations Cup, three had three riders who were able to maintain or improve on their first round score in the second round, (Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands), whilst the other two, Brazil and France, had two riders who improved or maintained their round. Once you move down the rankings, there are less and less combinations that were able to do this. For us, we had only one, Ronnie on Rolly (Ron Easey and Rolling Thunder).
So what does it mean?
Co-Course Designer John Vallance perhaps summed it up well: “For our blokes to get themselves up (mentally) for Monday (the first individual qualifier) and then again for Thursday morning (first round of the Nations Cup) was a huge effort, but they did it. I think it’s just a question of being able to maintain the intensity for the afternoon, it started to take its toll.”
It seems a valid point, the powerhouse Nations do seem to have the attitude of ‘just another day at the office’ when it comes to Nations Cups, quite simply because for them, that’s exactly what it is. For our team of Olympic ‘virgins’ as they were referred to in an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, the millions of miles they had racked up criss crossing the sunburnt country, and even their varying levels of international competition, still pale by comparison to the rough and tumble of Nations Cup competitions.
There is the physical, mental and emotional strain, of not only jumping two difficult and demanding tracks yourself, but also sharing in the highs and lows of the rounds of your team mates. Literally, working through each other’s preparation and warm up, keeping tabs on how the course is riding, offering advice, being on the emotional roller coaster of the joy of a good round or the disappointment of an ordinary one and all the while trying to focus on your own job at hand. It’s all very different to the dog-eat-dog mentality of competing in World Cup qualifiers, where it is a case of looking out for yourself.
It is perhaps a similar scenario to State of Origin Rugby League, whereby no matter how many club games a player has under his belt, there can be nothing that can prepare them for the all-out war that is State Of Origin. The increased pressure, the intensity of the crowd, the honour of wearing that elite guernsey to excel in this environment, is the mark of a true champion.
There are also parallels between Australian Showjumping and Australian Soccer. Both sports have produced some superstar individuals, Jox, Eros, Mr. Currency - Harry Kewell, Mark Bosnich, Mark Viduka. The domestic competition here in Australia is inferior to the European equivalent and therefore the superstars invariably end up overseas, purely on the basis of financial reality, and the opportunity to fulfil their potential. The result is, despite our nation producing some true greats in both sports, our national teams have struggled on the international stage, seemingly hamstrung by our geographic isolation from top class Teams competition.
So what is the answer?
A lack of horsepower has been the standard response to queries regarding our poor showings in the past. But perhaps the Sydney results pointed more towards competition experience, rather than being out-gunned. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting we necessarily have the horses to win gold medals, but there must be an argument that we could be a lot more competitive with the horses we have, given sustained exposure to international level competition.
It was interesting to note that based on performances in the first individual qualifier, many big names seemed to struggle with a quarantine and travel-enforced lay off. However in the style of a true Nike slogan, most proved that ‘form is temporary, class is permanent’ and by the team’s event, we saw Calvaro V, Calvaro Z, Lando, and Cento co living up to expectations.
It is quite foreseeable that our team could have performed even better. We were five rails from sixth place, that’s five rails over six rounds, certainly not out of the question.
If we break down the gap between ourselves and the rest of the world, and attack it in stages, rather than just trying to leapfrog straight to the top, having a progressive plan of action. As former National Coach, Rod Brown said in Sydney, our team has got us back to the level we were at about twelve years ago, which is true, we were 10th at Seoul, 9th in Los Angeles. Now it is vitally important that we continue to improve on our world standing, and make sound decisions about how we do so.
Whilst not advocating we dwell on the past, we must critically analyse our lead up to Sydney and decide what worked and what didn’t. It is too easy to simply say we must look ahead now and plan for the future, glossing over our previous mistakes (often just making them over and over again.)
For example, surely all future Selection events should be conducted over two rounds, with a jump off if required, like we did for the 1999 & 2000 Australian Championships at SIEC and Mt. Pleasant respectively, rather than simply having AM3s like Brisbane and Newcastle. Give our Selectors the opportunity to see our combinations jump twice in one day, and give our horses and riders the opportunity to become physically and mentally adjusted to producing the two huge efforts.
By continuing to make inroads to our world standings, we can then position ourselves to tackle some of the bigger issues, like improving our horsepower. If through proper management and training, coupled with the dedication and professionalism shown by both our riders and grooms in Sydney, we can break into, and consolidate ourselves in the top six nations, we then have something to hang our hats on when seeking funding and sponsorship.
We can’t at this stage, expect some corporate good fairy is going to come along and purchase six jumping machines for us. We have to earn back the support of the sponsors and the public, and we have certainly turned the corner and begun that task.
Some time ago Heath Ryan wrote that our showjumpers were the, ‘coolest looking losers around’. Well I’m sure Heath noticed, and I hope a lot of other people did as well; we lost the sunnies, we lost the prima donna attitude, we lost the ‘we can’t mix it with the Germans, so we might as well look nice’ way of thinking.
Instead, we had four blokes who made up one team, four blokes who had a job to do, and that job was to give our equestrian community something to cheer about when the showjumping was on. The job was to be professional, and to be a Team - and the results they achieved were because they did just that.
I for one, was damned proud of them!

Return to Top of Page