26 SIDELINES FEBRUARY 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
E
V
E
N
T
I
N
G
Five Questions for Michael Pollard
By Lauren R. Giannini
Michael Pollard and Schoensgreen Hanni, owned by his
wife Nathalie Bouckaert Pollard, fnished second overall
and harvested team gold at the 2011 Guadalajara Pan
American Games. The US three-day riders made history
by fnishing on their dressage scores with fve double clear
rounds to claim all but frst place.
Michael and Nathalie had been friends since their
teens, but it took many years for their courses to merge in
marriage. They have a son and twins, with their fourth child
expected in January. Nathalie admitted: “It isn’t always
easy. It’s a bit hard for me to watch and sometimes I would
prefer to be at the barn, not at home with the kids, but we’re
at a different place in our riding careers. I’ve given Michael
my horses to ride. I expect a lot and tell him what he needs
to do. He’s a good rider. It helped him a lot to have the
support of the team. He deserves success. Guadalajara
was an amazing experience.”
Sidelines:
How diffcult was it to manifest your dream and
ride for the USA?
MP:
In hindsight, it never seems diffcult. You do the best
you can everyday and you make realistic goals. I’m really
happy to be where I am. I still have a lot of goals that are a
long way away. I have a lot of work to do. You have to be
cognizant of the fact that to achieve your goals you have
to be consistent about them every day and work hard. It
takes consistency and drive: that’s what has gotten me
here.
Sidelines:
You held second place from dressage onward
and fnished in front of Hannah Sue Burnett and Buck
Davidson: in the individual jumping round, two rails
dropped you to fourth. What was the lesson that cost your
individual medal?
MP:
I’ve been surprised how everyone was so nice to
me about that. Hanni [pronounced Honey] was jumping
fantastic. I felt it was important to be up on the clock and
make the time. I wanted to stay on my score. We did the
frst three fences quickly and I was probably fve or six
seconds up on the clock and would have been fne, but
I let my concentration slip a little to the combination. The
other thing is you don’t change your mind three times to
one fence.
Sidelines:
Is Hanni really a honey?
MP:
Bettina Hoy found her for us at a Young Horse
championship. I’d taken all of Nathalie’s horses and we
wanted to fnd something suitable that she could enjoy.
We went over and she came home with us. Hanni’s
been absolutely fantastic. She’s wonderful to ride every
day. She’s great on the fat, wonderful cross-country and
a fantastic show jumper. The two rails for the Pan Ams
were the only ones she had all year. Nathalie’s been really
gracious, but she’s also the most demanding owner I’ve
ever had. If I make a mistake, she lets me know.
Nathalie:
My mom’s the strong, silent presence. She
helped us to purchase the mare that took Michael to the
Pan Ams.
Sidelines:
How do you balance business and riding?
MP:
I do the best I can. I work hard for a year or two to get a
business established, and then I’m there to oversee. For the Pan
Ams, I talked to the partners and they felt it would be okay for me
to take the time off. We make the products that go into carpet
manufacturing – stain blocker, etc. We re-process and sell a lot
of things that come out of the carpet industry: a million pounds of
stuff that would have gone into a landfll. There are so many new
applications for recycled materials.
Sidelines:
Who were your mentors?
MP:
Casino Sam was a small horse, bought off the racetrack. He
was the frst horse I competed at a high level, the horse I took with
me when I went to Denny Emerson. I rode him for three years
and Sam got me from Beginner Novice to Intermediate. He was
honest and bold and would do whatever I asked.
My dad, Jack Pollard, bent over backwards to do everything he
could to make sure I had horses to ride. He held sponsor parties.
When we didn’t have money, he found ways to help with the bills
at competitions. He makes me crazy, he’s a terrible nag, but he’s
generally right. He saw my passion for horses and always helped
me.
Denny Emerson took me from being a ‘back-yard rider who
wants to have fun’ and taught me about real horsemanship. He’s
a great horseman, classically trained and really smart. I learned
as much from listening to him as I did riding with him. He’s a real
Renaissance man.
I had talked with Carl Bouckaert many times over the years and
I asked him to help me get dressage training. He invited me to
come to his facility and he’s been a fantastic supporter. He’s a
great sounding board and so upbeat.
Nathalie:
Daddy’s the ultimate optimist. If there’s a problem or
an issue, he’s always there to talk to you. He picks us up when
we’re down.
Michael
Pollard and
Schoensgreen
Hanni cruised
double-clear
on the cross-
country in
Guadalajara for
second overall
to help secure
Pan Am team
gold for the US
Photo by Allen
McMillan/McMillan
Photography