With tie back surgery completed and McKinlaigh back in com- petition, Gina hoped the hard times were behind them. Unfortunately, a fall from long time part- ner Philippa left Gina on the sidelines again.
the dressage test, roughly equivalent to
“The next spring,” she continued. “I popped off one of my most reliable cross-country horses and landed on my feet. It should have been a ‘nothing’ fall, but I landed just wrong and broke my tibia and fibula.”
A double break in a leg
would deter most people from making big plans. Yet Gina, already a mother of a six year old son, found a silver lining in having to spend time away from the saddle: “It turned out to be a good excuse to have my second child!” With her leg healed and her new baby in tow, Gina packed up and head- ed to Florida in early 2006 to prepare for the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany. One final setback would see the US team leave for Germany without Gina and McKinlaigh.
“We came out, ready to go and aiming for the World Equestrian Games, but McKinlaigh had a pulmonary bleed at Rolex and we had to withdraw. We spent the summer get- ting that sorted out and came back strong that fall to win at Fair Hill. From there, he became better and better.”
Despite having her best horse sidelined for the better part of two seasons, and then being injured herself, Gina remained optimistic through those difficult times of recovery, and focused on getting McKinlaigh back in the start box.
“I’ve had lots of good role models for keeping a positive atti- tude,” she said. “I guess I have just followed their example. Even in the early days of my eventing career, I had plenty of setbacks with many of my horses, from tendon injuries to quarter cracks. It was never easy, but I sure learned a lot about horse care and wrapping! The sport was always something I loved, so the setbacks never outweighed the joys of success.”
Perfect Partnership
“Getting to the Olympics takes more than just talent and preparation,” Gina said. “It also takes timing.” For Gina and McKinlaigh, the timing was just about perfect for Hong Kong 2008.
After missing out on the Athens Olympics and the 2006 World Equestrian Games, the pair found themselves at the top as the Olympic selectors started evaluating riders for the 2008 Olympic teams. Gina and McKinlaigh were shortlisted and traveled to England to prepare for the Games with Captain Mark Phillips, the chef d’equipe of the US Eventing Squad, and his wife Sandy. When they finally made the announcement, Gina and McKinlaigh were thrilled to hear that they had made the Olympic team!
When the first day of the competition finally arrived, Gina was ready to go, and with the help of her longtime groom and friend Sara Williams, she had prepared McKinlaigh to shine. Another great asset to Gina was Laura Kraut who helped her walk the course and coach her in the warm-up. All the preparation paid off as McKinlaigh turned in his best dressage test to date. Sitting in tenth after the dressage, Gina took to the cross-country course with hopes of going double clear. Since the conditions were stressful, no com- petitors came in under time, but Gina’s quick and safe run boosted them into fifth place. In the final phase, Gina and McKinlaigh jumped two double clear show jumping rounds and, with the help of some dropped rails by the leaders, fin- ished their Olympic experience with the silver medal.
“To have everything fall into place on these three days is just amazing,” Gina said. “Representing your country is the dream of any athlete, and it is a great honor. It has been really spe- cial to be able to share that honor with so many people after returning home. People who may not know horses still know what it means to be in the Olympics, and they are thrilled to see the medal and meet someone who competed in the games.”
“MicKinlaigh and I couldn’t have done any of this without the support of McKinlaigh’s owners, Thom Schulz and Laura Coats, or the support of my family – my husband Morgan and kids Austin and Taylor, Mom and Dad, sister, friends, and everyone else who helped me look after the kids!” Gina smiled. “Also, we couldn’t have done it without the support of all my sponsors, students, clients, parents, vets, farriers, and everyone else who has contributed in any way over the years.”
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