After 20 years in eventing, with an Olympic gold medal to hang on his mantle, Leslie Law has no remorse about missing a spot on this year’s British team for the World Equestrian Games.

With his 2004 Olympic partner, Shear L’Eau, on rest, he has new goals–including a business based in Bluemont, Va., and Ocala, Fla., where he lives with fianc�e and Canadian international eventer Lesley Grant.

Not too many eventers head west across the Atlantic from eventing’s heartland in Great Britain, but Law had a compelling reason after meeting Grant at the 2005 Rolex Kentucky CCI. They had met briefly at a national coaching symposium in Canada the year before and “re-met” in Kentucky. Now they hope to marry on an island next winter.

Based out of Denise Rath’s property in northern Virginia, Law and Grant run a sales and training business, Law Eventing. “We try to deal in quality rather than quantity,” said Law. “We’d rather have fewer horses and have each one a bit special. We’re not interested in having 20 or 30 horses.”

With connections in England, Canada and the Netherlands, as well as the United States, they aren’t prejudiced about where to find a talented horse.

“You’re always looking for a four-star horse,” said Law. “Through all my years of riding, I’ve probably had eight of them; a top four-star horse is a rare horse.”

In addition to their horse sales, riders come from all over the country to train with Law, who also conducts clinics around the country once or twice a month. Grant travels home to Canada to give clinics, and working student Sarah Mobius helps at the farm.

“They just run a class act all the way,” said Pat Tackett, who owns Top Sail Farm, where they are based over the winter in Ocala, Fla. “I had great confidence in their skills and ability and work ethic and integrity.”

Tackett, a realtor licensed in Maryland and Virginia, has had Grant and Law compete her horses. “They care deeply about their animals, and I like their whole routine,” she said. “They’re very thorough and meticulous in their care. They don’t use a lot of gadgets–it’s just good riding. I’ve had experience with other high-caliber riders, and [Law and Grant] teach the horse without all the gimmicks. They don’t overuse the horses, and they do a lot of flatwork and basic skills before they ever jump. They don’t take shortcuts at all.”

Different Worlds
They grew up in different parts of the world, but Law and Grant have much more than geography separating their backgrounds. While Law grew up in a horsey family in England, Grant was raised in a suburban Toronto household with no equestrian interests.

“Pony Club is huge in England, and I got the [eventing] bug that way,” said Law, who shared his passion for eventing with brother Graham. Law spent two summers working in the United States for show jumper Ian Silitch, who was based in Sperryville, Va., not far from his new home in Bluemont. Then, after a few riding jobs in England, he went to work for Sam Barr, breeder of the legendary Welton horses. Law’s partnership with Welton Apollo, who was already competing at the advanced level, launched his career.

“We went to Badminton and Burghley very quickly,” recalled Law, who set up his own sales barn after that.

“I met owners and bought horses,” he said of his initial foray into his own business. “I got lucky sometimes and unlucky sometimes.”

One of those unlucky times came at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where Law arrived with Sebastian Coe’s New Flavour only to have the horse contract a stone bruise right before the competition. “That was quite a good education,” he said wryly.

But then came sponsorship from Shear-water Insurance, which paid for a 5-year-old from Ireland. The gray Shear H2O put Law on the next Olympic team, earning a team silver medal in Sydney in 2000. They also earned European Championship medals and a team bronze at the 2002 World Equestrian Games.

Meanwhile, Law was producing Shear H2O’s full brother, Shear L’Eau, another gray who would help Law earn the individual gold medal in the 2004 Olympics.

“The sport’s been very good to me; I’ve been on the British team for six or seven years,” he said. “Representing Great Britain is a privilege, and I’ve been on teams with three other members who are wonderfully talented, world-class riders. For five or six years it’s been the same four riders, and we’ve gotten to know each other extremely well, which is part of our success. To all have great horses at the same time–that’s luck, really.”

He’s hoping Shear L’Eau will be back in action to defend his title at the 2008 Bejing Olympics, and he’s grooming his next young prospect, Rainman, a 5-year-old owned by Tackett, for 2012.

For Grant, who’d hoped to represent Canada at this year’s WEG, having her horse contract a stone bruise at the selection trial at Rolex Kentucky wasn’t quite as easy to accept. As a 31-year-old rider still working to break into the international scene, she’d put years of effort into this year’s WEG. She’s now back in training, hoping to land a spot on the Canadian team for next year’s Pan Am Games.

“I was supposed to be a lawyer, vet, or doctor,” said Grant, originally from North York, Ont. “I just fell in love with horses, and I did the weekly lesson that city kids do.”

She’d spent her teenage years as a working student for Canadian eventer Garry Roque on weekends and summers. “I got a horribly unsuitable 4-year-old off the track that I thought I’d make into my Olympic horse,” she said with a laugh. “I kept riding cheap track horses that I kept selling on.”

She eventually reached the preliminary and intermediate levels and competed at the North American Young Riders Championships.

After graduating summa cum laude with an undergraduate and masters’ degree from York University (Ont.), she worked in an office–for a week. Then she did everything she could to support herself–tutoring, writing for magazine and websites–while finding her way straight back to the horses. She spent three years riding for Canadian show jump stables King Ridge and Millcreek and then spent a year working for Bruce Davidson and riding his young homebreds.

“I gained a lot of good experience with Bruce Davidson and Millcreek, and I learned the business from some of the best,” she said. “Being able to watch Bruce ride–especially cross-country–day in and day out was very inspirational. He’s got to be one of the foremost cross-country riders ever, and I know it had a big impact on me mentally with regards to my riding even if I haven’t got it quite physically yet.”

She made Snappy, a Thoroughbred mare, into her first advanced horse, twice completing the Foxhall CCI*** (Ga.) and the Fair Hill CCI*** (Md.). With her current horse, Timber Spirit, Grant completed the last two Rolex Kentucky events and had hoped to add this year’s WEG to her resume. “There’s still a lot I want to accomplish,” she admitted.

For Law, the disappointment he experienced in Atlanta has taught him not to take the ups and downs of horses too seriously. “It makes you pretty strong and tough and realistic,” he said. “Twenty-four hours is a long time in horses. You have to take it day by day, and when it’s good, and you’re there, enjoy it. Life is too short to get upset about these things. There are worse things in the world, and if that’s my biggest problem, I’ll be happy. You have to keep moving forward, stay optimistic.”

Of course, that’s easy to say when you’ve already won the Olympics. “I’ve been fortunate to have the experiences that I have; I think I’ve had most of what you can get,” he said. “Every time I’ve ridden on a team, I’ve come away with a medal. And if a good horse comes along again, which I’m sure there will be, then bingo. You have to be realistic; otherwise [the disappointment] would kill you.”

Complimentary Perspectives
And when Grant looks back on what she’s accomplished, she finds her own milestones. “My parents weren’t happy for a long time [with my career path],” she said. “But once I got to the four-star level, my Dad came to Rolex, and that was a big turning point for him. They realized it was a big accomplishment, not just playing with horses. They’ve accepted that I’m happy doing what I do.”

Sharing that lifestyle with someone who understands makes it even better. “I used to be with the horses 24/7, and I’ve definitely broken it up more now,” said Law, who’s a big fan of watching other sports, including soccer, tennis and cricket.

“We try to treat ourselves–to go out to dinner or a movie,” said Grant. “Just simple things to dissociate from the horses for a while. For instance, in England one afternoon, we went to Stratford for lunch. We try to do little things.”

That trip to England–meant to be a horse-shopping venture–didn’t turn out quite as planned. “The horses were too expensive, so we came home with a dog,” said Grant with a laugh. Dillon, their new Lurcher puppy, quickly acclimated with their 13-year-old Schatzie, a Border Collie.

And like any true horsemen, riding at the major championships doesn’t always define their most meaningful moments. “Seeing the owners excited means the most to me,” said

Law. “Even if it’s a 5-year-old going training level. The biggest satisfaction is producing horses, when you produce a horse through the grades and it turns into what you hoped, and helping other riders and seeing the joy on their faces.”

Rath enjoys training with Law largely because of his personality.

“I find his approach very refreshing and upbeat and positive,” she said. “He has a different program with each horse–he doesn’t have one system he has to teach people by. He really enjoys teaching, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a three-star rider like myself or an amateur training or preliminary rider. He takes the time with everybody, and he wants them to succeed. He’s very supportive in a quiet way, and he’s pleasant to be around.”

“I just think they’re wonderful people as well as the epitome of horsemen,” said Tackett.

In addition to the time he spent Stateside with Silitch, Law had been to the United States many times to teach clinics and to compete at Rolex Kentucky. And while he may miss some aspects of life in Great Britain, he’s settled happily into his new locale.

“I was ready for a new chapter and different opportunities,” he said. “The teaching [business] is much better here, although finding owners is more difficult here. I’d taught at home and really enjoyed it, but everyone is so enthusiastic about it here. It’s something I can do to give back and enjoy it at the same time.”

No Regrets
Two years after the scoring incident at the 2004 Olympics, there’s one question that keeps coming up for Leslie Law: How does he feel about missing his time on the Olympic gold-medal podium, watching his flag rise in front of the world and hearing “God Save The Queen”?

With the confusion surrounding the scoring in Greece–when Bettina Hoy was awarded the gold medal, then later had the decision surrounding her technical show jumping error remove her from the medals–Law received the silver medal and only later, after Federation Equestre Internationale court hearings, did he learn that he was the Olympic champion.

“I was on the podium, maybe there instead of there, but I was still on the podium,” he said. “There’s no point having regrets.”

Law said an experience that took place in England after the event, parading the entire British team through Trafalgar Square in a tour bus, was extremely meaningful.

“We were taken out one by one, and it was packed with people on the streets. Everyone was out with their flags, and it was televised. That was a great moment,” he said. “The national anthem played that day, and I was among my teammates and a zillion people, and it was pretty moving.”

As the reigning Olympic gold medalist in Britain, where eventing is a much more popular sport, Law has been invited to the Royal box at Wimbledon, but in the United States, he’s a little less of a name so far.

“I don’t mind being more anonymous here,” he said. “Getting invited for things like Wimbledon is great, but it’s nice to get back close to the horses.”