This year’s U.S. Olympic eventing team is one of the strongest ever, and Chef d’Equipe David O’Connor believes the group of fun, independent, but professional riders will give their all.
“This is a great group—there’s a great morale, and they respect each other’s riding,” he told the Chronicle in the July 25 issue. “It’s really kind of easy if you don’t try to create something that’s unnatural. They have the tools, they know they have the tools, and we know each other really, really well.”
The team looks quite similar to 2015’s gold medal-winning Pan American Games (Toronto) team, with rising star Lauren Kieffer, and team veterans Boyd Martin and Phillip Dutton bringing their experience. Clark Montgomery will bring his experience being based in England for the last four years to the table on his first U.S. team.
O’Connor stressed that four clear cross-country rounds will be key. “Everybody spends a lot of time talking about the dressage or the show jumping or this, that and the other, but it’s four clear cross-country rounds, because we haven’t had four clear cross-country rounds in this country for quite a long time,” he said. “Even back in my day it was hard to get the third rider. That’s our main goal. With a couple of the dressage performances that we know we have, and they’re very good show jumpers, you’re in for a shot at a medal, and I’m excited about that.”
 Mighty Nice: b. g., 12 years, Irish-bred Irish Sport Horse (Ard Ohio—Sarazen), bred by William Kells, owned by The HDN Group.
Barn Name: Happy Phillip Dutton: age 52, West Grove, Pa. The anchor of the team, Dutton is heading to his sixth Olympics, and his third as a U.S. citizen. He had originally planned to ride Fernhill Cubalawn, but the gelding sustained a minor injury during his last gallop at training camp in Ocala, Fla., so Mighty Nice got the call up. Happy is an incredibly consistent cross-country horse, and placed fourth this spring at the Rolex Kentucky CCI****. He averages in the mid-40s in dressage and tends to have between 0 and two rails down in show jumping and less than 10 time penalties on cross-country. Did You Know? • Phillip is the oldest U.S. Olympian competing in Rio. • Happy only has two cross-country jumping penalties on his FEI record, and the last one was in 2013 |
 Veronica: b. m., 14 years, Dutch-bred Dutch Warmblood (Pacific—Kimbel, Ferro), bred by Meijel J. Basten, owned by Team Rebecca LLC.
Barn Name: Troll Lauren Kieffer: age 29, Ocala, Fla., and Middleburg, Va. Kieffer is fast cementing herself as a solid four-star rider, and she and Veronica have a strong partnership. ADVERTISEMENTThe opinionated mare averages in the mid-40s in dressage and tends to have no more than 10 time faults on cross-country. She’s an excellent show jumper and hasn’t had a rail down in FEI competition since the Pau CCI**** (France) in 2014. She and Kieffer were the USEF National Four-Star champions this spring by placing second at the Rolex Kentucky CCI****. She also picked up second at The Fork CIC*** (N.C.) before Rolex. Did You Know? • Veronica earned her nickname because she’s tough, small, and not into cuddling or being fussed over. • Karen O’Connor started Veronica’s FEI career in 2011 before handing the reins over to Kieffer in 2013. |
 Blackfoot Mystery: ch. g., 12 years, U.S.-bred Thoroughbred (Out Of Place—True Mystery, Proud Truth), bred by John O’Meara, owned by The Blackfoot Mystery Syndicate LLC.
Barn Name: Big Red or Red Boyd Martin: age 36, Cochranville, Pa. Martin and Red are a relatively new partnership, just joining forces last year, but they’ve done well together, placing sixth in the gelding’s first CCI**** this spring at Rolex. Martin is proud to ride an off-the-track Thoroughbred and hopes to bring more attention to them at the highest levels of the sport. The pair have jumped clear and fast on cross-country in four of the five FEI events they’ve done, but at their last outing at the Land Rover Great Meadow CICO*** (Va.) they picked up two refusals at a pair of brush corners. Martin admitted he was a bit casual to the combination after having jumped it well on his first horse, and he vowed to practice brush corners at home to make sure Red was feeling confident. Did You Know? • This was Red’s first plane trip. • The “Blackfoot” part of his name comes from Blackfoot, Idaho, where his former owner Christopher Drakos has a farm. He raced three times as a 2-year-old before he went to the Thoroughbred Rehab Center in Los Angeles, Calif., to be retired. ADVERTISEMENT• Red will be one of three known OTTBs to compete in Rio. Brazil’s Carlos Parro rides Summon Up The Blood and New Zealand’s Jock Paget rides Clifton Lush. • Lisa Peecook gave Red his start in eventing and Kelly Prather took over at the two-star level. She competed him to the CCI*** level before Martin bought him in 2015. |
 Loughan Glen: b. g., 13 years, Irish-bred Irish Sport Horse (Limerick—Tattymacall Mustard, Cut The Mustard), owned by Jessica Montgomery, Kathryn Kraft and Holly and William Becker.
Barn Name: Glen or Beastie Clark Montgomery: age 35, Tetbury, England. As the only U.S. pair capable of consistently scoring in the 30s in dressage, Montgomery and Loughan Glen bring several years of experience training in England to the table, which has obviously upped their competitiveness. Montgomery noted that he’s competed against nearly all of the Olympic eventers while competing overseas, so he’s feeling confident in Glen. Glen has only scored out of the 30s in dressage once since 2013, which is a huge asset to the team. Since 2015, he’s averaged 2.6 time penalties on cross-country, making him one of the fastest on the team, and he show jumps clear the majority of the time. Montgomery and Glen are coming off a win at Great Meadow and a second place at the Bramham CIC*** (England). They could be individual medal contenders if they can finish close to their dressage score. Did You Know? • Glen is a bit of a spook, and you have to be on your guard while hacking or he could get you off. • His new nickname this season is Beastie, because he heads out onto cross-country in “beast mode.” |
| Make sure to follow along with Phillip, Lauren, Boyd and Clark as they tackle the Olympic Games in Rio. The Chronicle will be there with coverage at COTH’s dedicated Olympic page and the COTH Olympic Eventing page.
Also keep up with COTH’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Check out the team in action in this USEF video. |
