U.S. based riders want to come over as well, so that helps my case. We have a
Dropbox.com account and we share videos so he can see how things are going. We’re as plugged in as we can be.
WBT: Tell us about your two four-star horses, Universe and Loughan Glen. CM: Universe—known as “Buzz” around the barn because he’s quite “buzzy”—is small, maybe 15.3, and is constantly spooky and very energetic. All our work is trying to settle him and make him quieter and more relaxed. He’s a kind of go- getter; I have to hang on and point him toward whatever is next on course. Glen is the one you have to emotionally prepare for a
competition—you can’t just jump on him and expect him to be ready to go. He’s a slow- er horse; he’s more supple compared to Buzz, which is nice, but we’re trying to get him quicker in his thought process. But if you put too much pressure on him, he kind of shuts down. You have to sort of “fluff” him in a way, and you have to make him feel like he’s on the top of the world before you get to a competition—whereas Buzz always thinks he’s on top of the world. Buzz is the world! You have to make sure Glen feels comfortable.
the Netherlands], and some nice youngsters coming up to get the string going. We came to England with horses we thought were worthy of the trip abroad and now we’re build- ing our business over here. We hope to establish ourselves and be ready if some am-
bitious young riders want to come over for six months—you can stay that long in the U.K. without a visa and experience this level of atmosphere and competition. I think it’s impor- tant to experience British eventing before there’s a lot of pressure on you, or the team is expecting something of you, like if the USEF gives you a grant. Then by the time they do expect something, you know what you’re getting into. I’d love to have a couple kids in their late teens/early twenties to come over and get that experience.
We’re at Christian
Landholt’s who’s evented to the 4* level. It’s a beautiful facility, very quiet and private and not overly large. There’s an indoor—thank god—and a wonderful outdoor, tons of turnout and a gallop track for fitness. We’re ten minutes from Badminton and we live in Tetbury, also just ten minutes down the road.
Clark and Loughan Glen competing at Rolex Kentucky in 2012.
WBT: Have you always ridden Warmbloods? CM: Early on I rode Thoroughbreds but the funny thing is there’s really a lot of TB in the Warmbloods. There’s still a lot of blood in there. I have no doubt in my mind they have to have blood enough to go the four-star distance but you can sometimes decide as they go up the levels. Four-star courses are so different; some are Burghley horses and some aren’t. Universe jumps high and hangs in the air a bit and I think he might get tired around that course but he’s a proven four-star horse.
I think it depends on what level you’re aiming for, and
which course particularly…unless you’re [six-time Olympian] Andrew Nicholson and you can ride any horse you want! But that’s about his fitness and his rhythm; he can ride in such a beautiful rhythm where his horses don’t get very taxed as they go around. All of us can learn something from watching him. You have to make it as easy as you can.
WBT: What about the other horses in your barn? CM: We also have some young horses. Garrison Flash was injured all last year but he’s coming back. We have big plans for him through the summer and fall, hopefully Boekelo [in
WBT: What was the most difficult horse you’ve ever ridden and why? CM: Falcon Flight was an
Australian Thoroughbred—he was a brilliant horse and I did my first four-star on him at Kentucky the last year it was long format. He was very talented but mentally he could not handle the pressure. It was disappointing that he’d have a meltdown in the dressage. I think we were seventy-fourth after dressage, but at home he was really talented—he was a good mover and could do all the movements, but he could not handle the atmosphere. You just felt sorry for him. He could run like the wind and loved the cross-country, but in the show jumping the atmosphere could be difficult again, although if it was a bigger, open arena where he could flow to the fences it was better. I took him to Fair Hill after Kentucky and he just couldn’t take it. I didn’t feel it was ap- propriate to sell him and I felt like I’d done all I could with him, so I retired him out to pasture.
WBT: Which was the most memorable event you’ve ever competed at and why? CM: I’d say it was Badminton—we just did it on our little horse [Universe] that we thought had all the talent in the world. Through past experiences he couldn’t quite get there, so it was quite emotional for him to finish that event double clear. He’s just continued to thrive.
Warmbloods Today 21
Sarah Miller/MacMillan Photography
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