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Monday, October 02 2017 / Published in Sidelines Spotlight

An Unlikely Fairy Tale: How Olympic Medalist Gina Miles Realized Her Dreams   

Gina competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and would love another Olympic performance

By Dani Moritz-Long

It was 1984 in Los Angeles when then-10-year-old Gina Miles found herself pressed against the ropes, jaw-dropped as she watched the Olympic eventing teams fly by on the cross-country course. She had never seen anything like it in her life — the speed of their gallop, the scope of their jump — but, in those minutes of sheer awe, she knew she had found her calling. She knew that someday, somehow, she too would have her ride on an Olympic cross-country course.

Remarkably and against all odds, she was right. In 2008, her dreams came true when — 24 years later — she returned to an Olympic course — this time as a rider.

Gina and Greenfort Othello

Small Beginnings
When the young Gina set her sights on her Olympic debut, she had only been riding for three years. A self-described “typical horse crazy girl who begged and begged for riding lessons,” Gina’s mom found a local riding school for Gina to ride at in Davis, California, where she could learn the ropes.

The moment her feet touched the stirrups, she fell in love. But pursuing her passion for horses and her Olympic-sized dreams wouldn’t be an easy feat.

She lived with a single mom who was raising two kids and who certainly wasn’t hemorrhaging money. While her parents encouraged her to chase her dreams, it would be up to her to make it happen. So, the young Gina saddled up (figuratively), kicked on and prepared for the ride of her life.

Her dad bought her first pony at an auction for $175 and Gina spent many miles on her bike riding to the stables after school each day to feed the pony and clean the stall. She lacked a trainer and even tack, but the vision of soaring around cross-country like 1984 Olympians Karen Stives and Ben Arthur fueled her feverish dedication. She turned to equestrian magazines for guidance and taught herself to ride and to jump page by page.

Eventually, Pony Club also came into her life, and became an instrumental tool in building her foundation as an eventer. Pony Club-sanctioned activities and rallies gave Gina her first taste of the adrenaline rush of competition and served as a catalyst for her transition from a backyard rider to a force to be reckoned with.

Gina and Greenfort Othello at Rebecca Farm in the FEI CCI 2*. Syndicated shares are available on Greenfot Othello.

Uncertain Rise to Fame

Many equestrian legends also played a role in that crucial transition. Learning from the likes of George Morris, Hubertus Schmidt, David and Karen O’Connor and Laura Kraut, Gina developed a deep appreciation and understanding of each of the three eventing phases.

“Cross-country is what makes eventing unique, but, the way the sport has evolved over the last 20 years, dressage has also become so important and show jumping has become so technical,” she said.

On her rise to Olympic fame, Gina developed another key relationship with McKinlaigh, a 17.3-hand liver-chestnut Irish Sport Horse owned by Thom Schulz and Laura Coats.

Gina and Greenfort Othello on course with the beautiful Montana backdrop

“I started riding him when he was 5 and newly imported from Ireland,” Gina explained. “He had the quality of a horse who is so teachable. What made him great was his ability to be a partner. He wasn’t always the easiest horse; he was very big and had a difficult canter to work with. He was definitely much larger than a typical event horse, so he had challenges, but what made him great was how willing he was to be a partner, take direction and take training.”

Aboard McKinlaigh, who was inducted into the 2015 Eventing Hall of Fame, Gina enjoyed a series of career highlights — from earning the 2003 World Cup Final bronze medal to contributing to team gold during the 2007 Pan American Games. All signs pointed to the 2004 Olympics being the culmination of her hard work and dreams. But life seldom happens how you plan it and wind surgery in 2004 just after the Rolex left the duo out of the running for the Athens Olympics.

“You get pretty wrapped up in going; your horse has a physical thing come up and you don’t make the list — it was brutal,” she recalled. “It was a crushing time. I couldn’t even watch the Olympics that year because it was so devastating.”

Luckily, Gina had quality advice from Karen O’Connor to lean on: “Don’t let the highs get too high and don’t let the lows get too low or you’ll never survive.”

With that in mind, Gina refocused, began preparing for the next Olympics and gained a new perspective.

“Going forward, I wasn’t any less optimistic or focused on the goal. You just have more perspective and come at it with a little more maturity,” she said.

Dreams Come True

Four years later, years of dreaming and training finally gave way to the manifestation of Gina’s long-held dream. She earned her spot on the U.S. Olympic team aboard McKinlaigh, and she showed up at the Beijing Games ready to give her all.

“I had a lot of confidence and focused on delivering my personal best performance,” she recalled. “I wasn’t worrying about what the competition was doing; I was just focused on getting the personal best performance out of me and my horse.”

This mentality paid off and before she knew it, Gina found herself poised for show jumping among the top 10 riders — an Olympic medal in her sights.

“When it was all said and done and we were in the silver medal position, standing on the podium and watching the American flag go up, then all of a sudden you feel the flood of emotions,” she said. “You think about all the journeys, the people who helped you out, the high times and the low times, the times things fell apart and every single person who contributed to make it happen. It’s hard to describe how emotional that is.”

Adding to the sheer joy of Olympic fame was another lifelong dream come true for the self-described Disney fanatic as her silver medal also became her ticket into Club 33, an exclusive Disneyland club that features a members-only dining area and jazz lounge above Disneyland’s New Orleans Square, reserved for celebrity fans. Other celebrities to have visited the club include John F. Kennedy, the Dalai Lama, Julie Andrews, John Stamos and many other well-known celebrities.

Giving Back

After the Olympics, Gina found herself focused on giving back to the equestrian community by training others to reach their equestrian goals through Gold Medal Equestrian, Gina’s training facility in Danville, California, which offers training for all ages in eventing, show jumping and dressage. “I recognize that a lot of people sacrificed and gave me their time and resources so I could participate, so it makes sense to pay that forward,” Gina said.

Gina and Greenfort Othello show off their success at Rebecca Farm

In particular, Gina finds a special joy in giving back to the Pony Club. Previously a Pony Club examiner, Gina now operates a Pony Club riding center. “I try to use horses as a vehicle because of the lessons you learn due to horses — whether you go on to be a professional or not,” she said. “I try to teach all my students to be good humans, using equestrianism and riding to help them become more responsible citizens and confident individuals. Pony Club gave me so much of that.”

An Olympic Return
While Gina continues to enjoy training others, she’s also finding time to return to her status as an international competitor. With her two kids (Austin, 18, and Taylor, 11) now older and Taylor an up-and-coming eventer herself, Gina says she feels ready for another Olympic performance and, with any luck, another medal.

While Gina says she could be ready as early as 2020, returning to the Olympics in 2028, when the Olympics return to Los Angeles, would bring her equestrian career full-circle.

“It would be so cool to do it in L.A. where the dream began,” she said. “That has really become the big motivator to bring up a string of horses again and get a group of owners.”

For now, she says, “We’re seeking out those few unicorns that have both natural talent and trainability.”

If the stars align, she hopes to this time be on the other side of the ropes as young Californian onlookers gape in awe, like she once did. Who knows — she just might inspire the next Olympic fairy tale.

For more information on Gina and Gold Medal Equestrian, visit ginamilesequestrian.com/training/.

Photos by Shannon Brinkman Photo Team

 

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Tagged under: dani moritz-long, eventing, gina miles

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It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is. It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is...

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Diarado-Diamant de Semilly- Chacco Blue
17.0hh, Oldenburg International Hunter Derby/ Jumper Stallion
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WBFSH/ Rolex top ranking Jumping Sires 2017 thru 2022
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You can find ALL of the stallions featured towards the back of the magazine in the equestrian gallery. Keep a look out EVERY Sunday for a new handsome STUD muffin🧁 and don't forget to subscribe to get your very own edition of Sidelines Magazine, the magazine for horse people, about horse people 🦄

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Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses—in a way, she was born into her career. She grew up in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where her parents ran a farm. Her mother taught, and her father had a jump business and then created one of the first horse show software programs: Ryegate Show Services, Inc.

Riding all her life, Annette spent many years as a groom and loved it, but knew it wasn’t what she wanted to do as a career. After she finished college, Annette’s father recruited her to help process entries at Ryegate. Since her father, Lloyd Longenecker, founded it in 1981, Ryegate has provided show management and office staff for some of the largest shows in the country. Now, Annette has taken over from her father and directed the company as it focuses on managing memberships and rankings for organizations such as the North American League, WIHS Championships and Equitation, Rolex/USEF Computer Ranking and National Medal Series (THIS NCM and Ariat NAM). Ryegate also provides scoring software for use with video walls, and production teams for hunter and jumper shows.

“Besides running Ryegate Show Services and its various organizations, I can be found in the show office, running a scoreboard or judging jumpers at most shows,” Annette said. “I love getting to wear a few different hats at the show.”

When she’s not busy at a show, Annette lives in Annville, Pennsylvania, with her “fur-baby,” Maggie Mae, and enjoys spending time with her many godchildren. Though she doesn’t currently own any horses, Annette rides when she can at Rolling Acres Farm with Patty Foster, Ashley Foster-Worthington and Mary Lisa Leffler.

Read this month unbridled with Annette Longenecker by clicking the link in our bio. Never miss a story by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine! 🦄
📸Photo by Sheryl Sutherby

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A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself The spor A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself 
The sport of eventing is a demanding and mentally challenging discipline that requires a combination of physical and mental fortitude from both the rider and horse. While having a coach can be incredibly beneficial, self-coaching can also play a crucial role in a rider’s success.

I think that given the opportunity, most riders would like to be coached every day. The reality of life in the horse world, however, is that the majority of us need to absorb as much from the lessons we have on a limited basis and then practice those skills at home to improve.

When I am riding, I try to have a plan for the horses each day and focus on what I’m looking to achieve. It’s important to be aware of the steady improvements rather than trying to solve everything all at once. This is especially important when teaching horses new movements or exercises that they might struggle with, and we need to give them time to learn and understand what we are asking for.

I have a couple of quotes that I use regularly when I’m teaching, and these are mottos that I hold myself to in my daily work as well.

The first is, “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.” This is a quote that was said to me many years ago when I was still motor racing and I keep it in the back of my mind each day. It’s easy to get stuck doing the same thing every day with your horse and bad habits are hard to break, from both riders and horses!

This leads me to my next quote, which is, “If what you are doing isn’t working, try something else.” It really is as simple as that! Many riders I see keep asking a horse to do something the same way over and over with an ongoing negative response and they wonder why things don’t get better. In these circumstances, I recommend that the rider change something, even if it’s wrong.

Read the full article by clicking the link in our bio! Don’t forget to keep your eye out for our April subscription!
📸Photo by Alex Banks Photography
The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here and we are so excited to feature three-day eventer Liz Halliday on the cover! Big thanks to photographer Melissa Fuller for the beautiful photo of Liz and Cooley Nutcracker- Liz Halliday-Sharp - HS Eventing. Liz and her horses have taken the eventing world by storm - and find out how Liz is at the top of the sport as a female eventer! As the horse world gears up for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event 2023, it's the perfect time to enjoy our eventing issue!! We also feature eventer and woman entrepreneur Frankie Thieriot Stutes, who is not only an eventer, but also runs Athletux and FRANKIE CAMERON handbags and accessories. And don't miss our eventing story on Robert "Bobby" Costello, who will be leading the US Eventing team to the 2024 Paris Olympics- and US Equestrian has named Bobby the eventing technical advisor/chef d'equipe!! Liz, Frankie and Bobby all have GREAT stories - don't miss any of them and don't forget to get your tickets for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day event! We are also excited to introduce you to hunter-jumper rider Casey Lorusso Smith, who is not only a talented rider but also a psychotherapist and incorporates horses into her career. If you are up for adventure, then read the story on dressage rider Priscilla Baldwin who certainly doesn't let any grass grow under her feet! We also head to the west coast to catch up with hunter-jumper trainer Jim Hagman of Elvenstar Farm, we feature beautiful art by equestrian artist Tammy Tappan, and we get to know Miranda Jones and her family. Miranda is not only an attorney who spends a lot of time in the courthouse, but she's a rider and spends lots of time riding, and is joined by her daughters also! We are excited to feature Stephanie Lightner in our Unbridled column, and don't miss our columnists George Williams, Robert R.L. Jacobs and Margie Sugarman! It's a great issue - and you can read it online, but don't forget to go to the website and order a subscription and get every issue delivered to your mailbox!! Enjoy this issue and enjoy the ride: Link in bio!!
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