Olympic Showjumping - why is the team so old????

[cherryminx]

Am I the only person to think it is a bit odd that our Olympic showjumping team is composed mainly of people who were around when I was a teenager? (I am old - almost as old as most of the people in the team).

Surely there are some new young show jumping talents out there? Is some kind of show jumping cartel that means you can only be in the team if you are married into a show jumping royal family as in a Jilly Cooper book?

Plus they didn't even get a team medal.

Ben Mayer is in his 30s so not old. Skelton and the Whittaker brothers are old as sports people go but so much experience is an advantage that compensates for physical agility and they are pretty active for their age.

Skelton is 58 but not the oldest on the British showjumping team, his team mate John Whittaker is 61. And the Kiwis have Mark Todd who is 60 and a dressage rider who is 62!

There is young talent out there, in 2012 we had the 20 something Scott Brash on the Showjumping team but his top horses weren't sound enough this time.

We have other young and up coming talent too but selection is based on results in recent competition and whether both horse and rider are fit enough. The four best this year included three men over 50, I think that is brilliant not something to criticise.

It's not the olympics I know but I ran London marathon last year (age 46) and as we set off I remember looking round and thinking everyone was older than I'd thought!

Not many runners who I see at the same old events throughout the year are that young!

Age is less significant in the equestrian events, but I agree that our showjumping teams are lacking a bit of depth as far as age range goes at the moment. As fabulous as Nick and the Whitakers are, they don't have many years of competition left at this level.

As far as the Dressage team go, Carl Hester is almost 50 and GB spent years, nay decades, in the wilderness - it's only in the last 5/6 years that we've started winning again.

Age is irrelevant; it's about ability and it just so happens that Skelton and the Whittaker brothers are three of our best show jumpers.

Lots of athletes/sports people retire younger than those in an office job but you wouldn't expect a brilliant stockbroker to quit at a young age so someone younger could get ahead. Our show jumpers have consistently demonstrated that they have the capability, dedication and determination to justify their selection.

Maybe the Nations Cup would be a good place to start. From what I recall, they tend to have quite similar teams, year in year out - maybe a grassroots version would be suitable showpiece for younger riders to get experience on a larger scale?

Where's Harvey Smith these days? Surprised he's not there.

Harvey Smith is now in his late 70s!

There always used to be whispers that he wasn't very kind to his horses too.

Harvey's wife Sue is a top racehorse trainer, he helps her out. They had the Grand National winner Aurora's Encore in 2013.

Scott Brash is in his 20s and our top show jumper, but didn't have the right horses at the right time for the Olympics - he prioritised the Grand Slam, & who could blame him?

Harvey Smith does have a son, Robert, who hasn't done too badly

Youngsters are coming through. GB has a long established tradition in the Pony Club and at that stage it's not unusual for riders to switch between jumping, dressage and eventing depending on what most interests them. So I wouldn't worry about that stage.

Interesting though that the dressage riders as a team are doing better than the showjumpers at the moment. Hester allowed Dujardin the ride on Valegro - had he not been that generous as a mentor, events could have been very different. Maybe the show jumpers are nurturing young riders in the same way but I don't really follow it to that degree.

Nick Skelton has deliberately had a light competition year with that horse because he was prioritising the Olympics too - and I don't blame him for that. There are so many competitions nowadays, and the prize money is often pretty significant too - riders potentially have decades in which to compete at the Olympics, as this year's team have shown. And OP is correct - the team event wasn't great: but nor was the performance in the 3DE, where there is a wider spread of ages. Horses aren't machines at the end of the day.

The French team who won the team gold are 50, 53, 36 and 35, so not that much younger. In fact out of the twelve members of the medal-winning teams, only one is under 30.

he prioritised the Grand Slam, & who could blame him?

Hadn't thought of that but yes, I think the prize money is a lot better in show jumping than in dressage. So dressage riders might aim for the Olympics for the status whereas show jumpers are chasing the prize money. And given how expensive horses are, I don't blame them.

Wish I hadn't said old in the title but at least its attracting some comment.

My main point is about succession and encouraging the younger generation. Maybe all show jumpers are old. There is nothing wrong with old per se - I am old too!!!

My worry is that for equestrain events which are ££££s intensive - if you can't attract investors unless you are old and experienced - how's that gonna happen if you are young?

Harvey Smith - amazingly still going even though seemed super old when I was quite young - gone over to racing and helped train the 2013 grand national winner

If I remember rightly, Scott Brash's horse was injured.
Maher is only early thirties.
None of the younger Whitakers really have the experience (bar Robert, William and Ellen [who's not long had a baby, but not really been at top level for a while])
We have affair few very young riders coming up through the ranks, who at the moment just don't have the experience needed right now, but will probably be starting to shine in time for 2020.

And most importantly, team selection goes on results from the top competitions over the season. Sometimes it's the old boys on form.

And personally, I'm bloody chuffed for Nick. He's had some serious injuries and retired at one point. You can't buy the partnership he has with the big man.

I've heard people say the Eventing Team was badly put together by the selectors - they assumed the x-country phase would be relatively easy (3 star level) as it has been at the last few Olympics, so they prioritised riders/horses who had performed well in the dressage and showjumping phases. We came unstuck in the x-country, though arguably William Fox-Pitt was unlucky/a bit silly to cross his tracks.

From a quick Google, GB's best show jumper (the best in the world in 2015) is Scott Brash aged 30. His top two rides are injured and so he couldn't compete.

It's called "experience" and being damn good and dedicated at what you do. Surely ?

OK - X posted with lots there but very useful to get the picture. Maybe money is the key a bit like golf - why go for Olympic gold when you could earn more in other competitions

Agree re Harvey S - he and Eddie Macken did some bad public beatings of horses which weren't jusitfied. But maybe times have changed.

Charlotte Dujardin comes from a wealthy family. Scott Brash doesn't. The grand slam will have set him up to be able to keep competing, he has years to get his medal.

Charlotte's family were not massively wealthy, her dad went out of business and they lost their house and had to sell their ponies when she was young. It was only an inheritance that allowed her to buy her first dressage horse.

Article about Charlotte's background

Show jumping is all about horse power. It doesn't matter how talented a rider is, if the horse lacks scope or carefulness, she has no chance of winning.

Established riders have the reputation and credibility to secure rides on the best horses, and the experience and expertise to train them. As long as they are physically fit enough to ride, riders' age isn't a big issue, as we saw today.

It's not just an old git's sport, however. Scott Brash is in his 20s, and would have been in Team GB in Rio if his top horse, Hello Sanctos, had been fit.

Cavemum that's not a fair assessment of our eventing team. Pippa and Will are two of our most experienced, eventers who have been on many, many teams. Kitty King is good, and has good results. Gem is also a good up and coming young rider.
What you have to remember is that the dressage and showjumpers will be used to being flown all over the world, and competing in all sorts of climates. The eventers just aren't. Unless they've previously done something like WEG, or an Olympics, most of them won't be used to competing in a climate like Rio, (or flown either, for that matter) and cross country takes a lot out of the horses.

Coming from a wealthy back ground has fuck all to do with it. You have to be damn talented to get to Olympic level and coming from a rich family doesn't guarantee you that. Gemma and Kitty don't come from rich backgrounds. Scott Brash doesn't.

All riders rely on prize money and sponsorship money (especially in eventing because the prize money is pennies compared to other disciplines) but none will ever turn down the chance to represent their countries. *Although I could name an owner or two who refused to allow their horse to compete at a Olympics.