Warmblood By Michael Barisone Stick With It A
s we go through the qualification process to deter- mine our Olympic teams, we’re starting to see how
it’s going to shake out and who steps away from the pack. In dressage, it’s interesting this year to find that Laura Graves, who we expect to see in this position after her rise in the past couple of years; Alison Brock, who’s been doing this for a long time for her rather young age; and Kasey Perry, who’s a relative newcomer, have all shown themselves to be particularly strong competitors. And then there’s Steffen Peters. He is the master. With all of his experience and his will and his brain and his skills, there’s simply no one like him here in the United States. He’s as unique as Isabell Werth is to Germany or Anky van Grunsven is to Holland.
MAKING THE TEAM We don’t have formal selection trials, and the rankings don’t factor in everything, but basically we have these four riders scoring over 74% in the Grand Prix and the Special as of yesterday [April 1]: Steffen, along with Laura, Ali and Kasey. Those three young women seem to be separating themselves from the pack, and it’s inspiring. It’s so good for the country to watch these three hunger for success and truly look like Olympians when they ride. We are all aware, of course, that there are no guaran-
tees. Anybody can break a leg or get appendicitis; we know the risks. And some people’s luck changes—some- times we see a combination that has been successful one year but faces an unforeseen training or health challenge the next. In dressage, we tend to be part of a big dysfunctional
family. In contrast, let’s take a look at eventers: they have a lot of camaraderie because so much of what they do is a fair fight—there are no politics on cross country. What they do is so dangerous that they’re all supportive of each other because they don’t want to see each other get hurt. Yet I see that same kind of camaraderie with Laura, Ali and Kasey: they support each other, they cheer each other on, they go out to dinner and they talk about their rides. They’re already a team. It’s reminiscent of the way the USET was years ago. Each one has traveled a very different path to get
where they are today. Laura had a few horses, then bought a foal and he grew up to be a champion. Kasey
Warmbloods Today 73
is a young woman whose family is able to help her and she’s making good on that through hard work and her eagerness to soak up information. Ali was a kid from Ha- waii, who became a groom and working student for Sue Blinks; she’s lived with Kyra Kyrklund, Jan Brink and the Balkenhols, and all this exposure has led her to this mo- ment in time. Verdades is Laura’s first Grand Prix horse. Kasey has
two Grand Prix horses, Dublet and Scarlet, and Alison has had many different horses come into her life to get to this point.
COMMON THREAD What is the common factor in their rise to success? They all have somebody who’s really experienced bringing them along, even though their paths have been differ- ent. Each one has had very good bonds with their coach- es. Anne Gribbons had a huge impact on Laura’s life— obviously she did an enormous amount of work, steering the ship, for things to get to where they are now. Debbie McDonald coaches Laura and Kasey now, and I coach Ali. Robert [Dover] as chef is very involved with the training of all three of them. They are like sponges soaking up our knowledge and advice. They’ve teamed up and con- nected with people who have decades of experience and it’s working. In fact, it’s great.
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