As of the end of November, Clayton Fredericks will no longer be technical advisor to the Canadian eventing team.
Fredericks announced on his website that he is looking forward to continuing to coach up-and-coming Canadian riders and re-establishing himself as a top-level competitor. He’s spent four years at the helm of Canada’s program, culminating in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“With the post Games review in full swing, it is clear that high performance eventing in Canada will require some change to continue and build upon its success,” he wrote. “The challenge of a relatively small pool of high performance riders spread across North America and Europe is one that cannot be underestimated, and a rethink of the traditional program and the role of a head coach is required, not just to support the riders at the top level of the sport, but also to support the development of the up-and-coming combinations to increase this pool of riders.”
Fredericks, a two-time Olympian for Australia, decided to step back from competing when he took over the Canadian eventing job from David O’Connor in 2013. But recently he’s been inspired to focus on competing again, as several horses he’s developed are reaching the upper levels. He was also excited by the recent announcement that Tryon, N.C., will host the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2018.
Colleen Loach, who competed on the Canadian team at the 2016 Games, is Fredericks’ new assistant trainer.
“I really want to start getting myself back into top-level competition, and I want to spend a bit more time with my family and doing things that revolve around what we’re doing with Fredericks Equestrian,” he said. “At the time I had a lull in horses, and this sport goes a little bit like that in peaks and troughs. I didn’t have much in the way of top-level horses coming through.”
Fredericks now has mounts like FE Bowman and FE Money Made—owned jointly by Fredericks, Diana Crawford and Amanda Bernhard, wife of Equestrian Canada President Jorge Bernhard—competing at intermediate and advanced.
“When you compete in the sport for a long period of time, sometimes you can lose a little bit of the drive and the motivation, and I wanted to explore a different side of things while still remaining a part of the sport,” he said. “I didn’t want to give up completely, and that’s what I did. I think over these last four years it’s sort of rekindled an interest to be competitive again myself.”
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Fredericks, 49, Anthony, Fla., is proud of what he accomplished with the Canadian team, including a team bronze and individual silver medal, earned by Jessica Phoenix and Pavarotti, at the 2015 Pan American Games (Ontario), and team completions at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (France) and the 2016 Olympic Games.
“We had the highest-placed female in the individuals at Rio [Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master in 10th],” he said. “If you think of the Pan American Games and the Rio Games, it’s the first time really that there’s been strength in numbers, where selection has had to happen, and I think it’s great that we had a strong group of riders from which to select. It’s not just a matter of selecting the ones that are left anymore. The selectors really had to do a job, and that job isn’t always agreed with, but I think the good thing to come out of that is that there were so many qualified. We had 12 combinations eligible for selection, and that’s exciting.”
But Fredericks’ tenure wasn’t without controversy. In July, Phoenix appealed being left off the team for the Olympics and won. Equestrian Canada was also forced to pay her legal costs of $35,000. Phoenix testified that Fredericks had approached her in the barns at a competition and said she’d ruined her chances at making the team by not running Pavarotti cross-country.
Fredericks, also a selector for the team, said at the time, “As a selector, I had to consider both the soundness and performance information that was available to me, and that, ultimately, is what I based my decision on. While I respect the appeal process and eventual outcome, I stand by my statements and the process that was followed.”
When reached for comment, an Equestrian Canada spokesperson said: “Equestrian Canada wishes to thank Clayton Fredericks for his service to Canadian Eventing over the past four years.”
With his contract coming to an end, Fredericks is also branching out to course design. He designed the CCI** and CCI* courses at the inaugural Ocala Jockey Club International, which will be held over Thanksgiving weekend in Ocala, Fla. He’s also been helping to develop an event at Grand Oaks Resort in Weirsdale, Fla.
“I’ve always wanted to put back into the sport, and I’ve enjoyed the course design side of things,” he said. “I really enjoy being able to create a test for riders. Hopefully others agree that I have a good feel for it. The proof is in the doing, so we’ll see what the reaction is to the course next week.”
