Striving for Simple Both Shannon and Steffen pursue a management style that is organized and disciplined, and they expect the same from those around them. The result has been a well-oiled machine run in a family atmosphere. Employee turnover is rare. Barn manager Kate Gillespie has been with Shannon for 14 years. Their newest employee has been with the Peters three years. “I oversee the barn, but it’s a group
effort,” Shannon says. “When we’re gone, we know everything is 100 percent. Everyone knows their role and is proud of what they do and what we have here.” “And we don’t take ourselves too
seriously,” says Steffen, who agrees that they laugh a lot. “Pretty much all day, at ourselves and at each other,” Shannon adds. “We’re always cracking jokes and love what we do—we love each other and that shows in what we do.” Because their lives include travel
often in separate directions, they make a concerted effort to schedule clinics so they are home on the same weekends.
Those weekends home together may include barbecuing for just the two of them, or with a few friends.
“We try to keep simple lives,”
explains Shannon. Ever since Steffen’s success at the 2006 World Equestrian Games when he and Ravel led the U.S. team to the bronze medal, there have been “temptations to make our lives bigger,” she adds. “That would be a mistake for us. When you make your life complicated, things can spiral out of control. We keep things simple and straightforward in our business and personal lives. “We so much enjoy our lives and the
way we do it, that it is not a temptation for us. We know how much that would change our lives, and we aren’t interested in that. We enjoy the simple life, and each other and we don’t need outside influences. It’s pretty simple.” If it was all that simple to make a 24/7
relationship successful, wouldn’t so many more couples be playing doubles tennis at Wimbledon?
38 January/February 2013
Carole MacDonald
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108