Missy Clark announced on Oct. 18 that Olympic team gold medalist Peter Wylde will be joining her team at North Run in Warren, Vt., and Wellington, Fla., for the 2013 season.
Wylde, who rode Fein Cera to individual bronze at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain, and team gold at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, has been based in Europe for 12 years and currently runs his business in Germany.
“Peter will be taking over the rides on the Wannahave Group’s Sandor de la Pomme, and Wannahave, in addition to several other horses that are in development,” Clark said. “Peter’s record speaks for itself, and we are greatly looking forward to the beginning of a new era.”
Australian rider Matt Williams, who also joined the North Run team after grand prix rider Darragh Kenny left in September, “will also remain on staff to help with the riding and teaching as he continues to show his 2012 Olympic partner, Watch Me, owned by Samantha Tuerk,” Clark continued.
“The time is right for many reasons, both personal and professional,” Wylde said. “Missy and I have been friends for a long time and she has asked me many times to come ride for her. It seems now we both have similar goals and that is to develop a super string of grand prix horses to compete at the highest level. We both feel that we can complement each other in that endeavor.
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“I am also extremely excited about the [USHJA’s Emerging Athletes Program] and as it grows, I would like to be able to be closer and have more access to that program. Together with Dover Saddlery, we all feel that this program is really something to celebrate as it is not only great for young riders, but also great for the sport and our country,” said Wylde, who has served as the lead clinician for the EAP National Training Session for four years.
“I must say that I am incredibly excited about this collaboration. Not only do I look forward to the work and it’s prospects, but also on a personal level, I am very excited to be able to spend more time with my family and friends, whom I have missed immensely over the past decade. That has, without question, been the hardest part of basing my operations in Europe,” Wylde continued.
Wylde plans to stay in Europe until mid-December, and Clark, her husband John Brennan, and a group of North Run students will travel to show with him at the Salzburg, Austria indoor show the first week of December. They will all then travel to North Run’s Wellington, Fla., winter base to prepare for the 2013 Winter Equestrian Festival.
