sadly, was not Mike—still a remarkable person, but not the man I knew. Eventually I realized that the neuro-rehabilitationist’s
declaration of 100% recovery did not mean that I would ever see the real Mike that I loved. Saddened, I returned to my Canadian home town of Callander with my ten-month- old son Zack to recuperate and start a new life. As a single mother, raising her son in northern Ontario and renovating a farm to host camps, I couldn’t afford to take risks. I sought safety. The pendulum swung. Three years later, what I ended up with was some strange
version of myself that I didn’t recognize. I had made a safe choice in men. He didn’t like my old friends and I would hazard a guess the feeling was mutual! I hung around with people who had no idea what made me tick. I went back to school to become a teacher—a sensible career. Zack started school. Eventually, a moment of disillusionment lead to the inevitable breakup and in the period of vulnerability that followed, the pendulum swung once again.
Back to My True Love: Eventing Much was made of my subsequent comeback: local TV interviews, sponsorships and a Practical Horseman cover after a successful run around Fair Hill International CCI 3-star in 2001. I had three horses—two up-
Left: top to bottom: 1) Paige returns to eventing and competed at Bromont in Quebec in 2002 riding Speed Axcel. 2) The author and Jack LeGoff, coach and mentor. 3) Wilde Ridge Farm. Below: Paige’s husband Alex B. Wilde with her three sons.
and-comers and a 13-year-old mare with a reputation for being hotter than a jalapeno. I was surrounded by like-minded friends and supported by a great group of people. Three very exciting years later, after logging thousands of kilometres around the U.S. with my young son back and forth between my winter base in the states and my parent’s home in Canada, I announced my retirement. I was so close to the level of success I was aiming for, but pursuing this sport I loved so much was taking a toll. My son Zack was paying the price. My retirement announcement took all of my supporters
by surprise. My sponsors and owners were not happy. My mom was devastated—this was her life too! Zack, however, had been getting more and more out of control. He leapt onto an unsuspecting Michael J. Plumb’s back from atop my horse trailer at the Southern Pines Horse Trials. Another time he was lost at Pine Top Horse Trials, which caused my Mom so much grief she broke out in hives while looking after him. His school work was also suffering as I dragged him to the southern U.S. for the winters. Zack needed more time and attention and deserved stability. As a workaholic event rider, I had to work hard to achieve some semblance of balance in my life—I can tell you it did not come naturally! I am more of a pendulum type, swinging from one extreme to the other. Not a big surprise, I suppose, for someone whose father’s most often quoted truism remains, “I believe in moderation. I just don’t practice it.” I am my daddy’s girl, no doubt about it!
Priorities Take Hold I spent the next ten years focused on my family, raising two more wild and wilful boys with my husband Alex and saying no to business if it meant that my weekends and evenings would be busy. It is pretty difficult to stay in the horse business and not work evenings and weekends! Since my retirement from competition, I have been basically on the fringe of the industry; renovating our new farm, running summer camps, training horses and watching students progress to other coaches who were available full time. To make up for the meagre income of a rider/ coach ‘on–the-fringe’ in northern Ontario, I trained for a new career in home inspection and became a certified energy advisor. No horses of my own, no riding for myself and no nice horses in the barn for ten years. Sounds like a very sensible life, all in all. What
no one ever tells you, however, is how hard that life really is. I thought I understood stress. I had learned to function under pressure, deal with gruelling workloads, deal with performance anxiety, cope with the legendary pressure exerted on a daily basis by our famous coach Jack Le Goff. I really thought I was retiring to an easier life. What I learned was that while the beautiful and noble pursuit of an Olympic dream is endorsed
34 March/April 2013
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