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Tuesday, March 05 2013 / Published in Sidelines Spotlight, Weekly Feature

My Story: Weathering The Perfect Storm

By David Marcus

David and Chrevi’s Capital compete during a downpour at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Photo by SusanJStickle.com

 

For those who aren’t aware, I was eliminated in my Olympic debut in London this past year. Chrevi’s Capital and I were performing our grand prix test in the Olympic stadium during a horrific downpour. Unfortunately, Capital spooked and I was eliminated when we were not able to continue our test within in the 20-second time allowed. As there are only three riders per team and all three scores counted for a team result, my individual elimination meant that the Canadian Team was automatically eliminated as well.

 

To give you an understanding of what happened, I’ll start by saying that it was a “perfect storm” of many things, starting with the weather. When I watched the video play back, I realized how extreme the weather was that we had to ride in. Rain, wind, hail. It was weather that I would not hand walk my horse in, or even allow him to go out in a paddock, let alone ask him to perform at his best at the Olympic Games!

 

I also can’t stress enough how noisy it was in that 23,000-spectator stadium. The stadium seating was so vertical; it had to be built almost straight up with temporary seating and all of the scaffolding that was necessary to build the structure and stairs created noise in the arena unlike anything I have ever heard. Add that to the fact that it had started pouring rain and people were trying to get in and out of the seating areas, putting up umbrellas, pulling out jackets and hats, trying to get some shelter from the heavy rain . . . it was just stimulus overload!

David and Chrevi’s Capital won both the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Freestyle at the 2013 CDI-W Wellington Dressage in Wellington, Florida.
Photo by SusanJStickle.com

Capital couldn’t concentrate and when he lost concentration, he went into ‘panic mode’ and was petrified beyond reason. By the time he came back to me, I had exceeded the 20-second time limit you are allowed for disobedience in the ring. He is such a trusting horse that I could have gotten him to concentrate on his job again, but not in the allotted time of 20 seconds.

 

Facing the media in the mixed zone immediately afterwards wasn’t as difficult as you might think, mainly because I hadn’t processed all of the emotions yet. I wasn’t angry or upset with my horse. I was just shocked and disappointed. “Did this really just happen?” was what I was thinking to myself. I really felt like it was out of my control. I’m not sure if or what I could have done differently.

 

I felt extreme disappointment for my owners, my sponsors, my team and my country more than I was feeling disappointment for myself. I felt that I had let everyone down, including all the people who had flown in to watch and cheer us on. My teammates were very supportive and helped me to accept that there was nothing I could have done to change things in that moment.

 

It had happened and now it was time to figure out how to move forward. We spent that evening in London surrounded by family and friends and supporters and we all commiserated together about what an unfortunate turn of events it had been.

 

While grieving is an important part of the process, it’s also important not to dwell. While it was difficult, I tried to be positive and concentrate on moving forward. The next day, I started to ask myself, “What’s next?” I spent time thinking about what would be the next step in this horse’s career. How would we go forward and what would our goals be? Being a very goal-oriented person, that was an important step for me. To do that, I needed to have a goal. So, I got on my horse and started training again for the future with my eyes set on the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France.

 

The next stage was very important for me. Upon my return home, after Capital had a short break, I began to concentrate on Dressage at Devon at the end of September. I felt that Devon would be an important step in Capital’s career. It is a big show in one of the largest stadiums we have in North America with a lot of atmosphere. I felt it would be important for him to have a positive experience there, having had such a fright at the Olympics.

 

With Devon as my goal, we began to work backwards. Building his confidence was my focus. We went to the CDI-W NEDA Fall Festival in Saugerties, New York, which I felt would be good preparation for Devon. It was the first time I had competed Capital after the Olympics and I was nervous. I didn’t know what he would do in there. I wanted to give him a positive experience. I felt I owed him that after what happened in London and I didn’t know what his reaction would be. I think it’s normal to feel that way after what we had gone through.

 

When he went into the ring in Saugerties for the first time after London, he didn’t put a foot wrong. It was a huge relief to know that he hadn’t lost his confidence. He went in there and listened to me on his first time back and I thought, “Okay, we have something to work with here. All is not lost.”

 

David and Chrevi’s Capital were the only Canadian combination to advance to the Freestyle at the 2013 World Dressage Masters Palm Beach.
Photo by SusanJStickle.com

Having worked on building his confidence back up, we got to Devon and we won the Grand Prix test! I thought to myself, “We are not only talking about moving forward, now we ARE moving forward!”

 

As I write this, we have now done six shows since the London Olympics. I believe in my horse and I believe that London really was an unfortunate one-time situation. Having said that, I do believe that Capital suffered from what we humans would refer to as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. As a result, we’ve carefully picked the shows that Capital goes to and when. I don’t want to avoid situations that might make him a little anxious. Instead, I want to take him into situations like that so that I can train him and build him up and let him know that he can handle those types of situations in the future.

 

My Olympic experience took some thought and time to recover from and there was great disappointment involved. But I think anyone involved with horses at any level, be it an amateur, a junior, a recreational rider or a professional, and has to be able to go through ups and downs in their riding career. It’s all part of the journey.

 

About the writer: David Marcus made his grand prix debut in January of 2012 and, six short months later, had earned a place on the Canadian Dressage Team for the 2012 London Olympic Games. He operates David Marcus Dressage, a full-service training facility, just west of Toronto. In the winter, he is based in Wellington, Florida. David, 32, currently campaigns Chrevi’s Capital and Don Kontes at the grand prix level for owner Deborah Kinzinger.

“My Story” is a first person account of life in the equestrian world. To have your story considered, send a brief description of your story to editor@sidelinesnews.com.

 

Double D Trailers Info

Tagged under: 2012 London Olympics, 2013 World Dressage Masters Palm Beach, 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy, Along for The Ride, Canadian Dressage Team, CDI-W NEDA Fall Festival in Saugerties, Chrevi's Capital, david marcus, David Marcus Dressage, Deborah Kinzinger, dressage, dressage-at-devon, dressage-championships, france, My Story, new york, sidelines-magazine, SusanJStickle.com

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7 Comments to “ My Story: Weathering The Perfect Storm”

  1. Cindy Mark says :
    March 21, 2013 at 5:27 pm

    Thank you so much for sharing your story, David. It was very interesting to read – I have often wondered what you and Chrevi went through. I truly felt for you and your horse on that day! By you sharing your story, you make me feel better about my own show ring mishaps and up and downs in riding. And, It is always nice to hear that the “big guys” in dressage are human too! All my best, Cindy. P.S.: What a great expression you have in the last photo that accompanies the story!

  2. Linda Kaye Hollingsworth-Jones says :
    March 21, 2013 at 5:44 pm

    There should be rules in place for extenuating circumstances beyond a rider’s control. This is a tragic story of rules before athletes. Many forums of athletics pause an activity and wait for the storm or other problem to pass. Why not dressage? Especially when you can’t explain to a horse why he’s performing in a horrible situation. I hope this is examined carefully because we should be giving every equine athlete and their human partner the best possible chance to show their hard work.

  3. Linda J says :
    March 21, 2013 at 6:27 pm

    Do they not allow a “rain delay” as is done in so many other sports? It sounds like this storm also put you and your horse in a dangerous situation. I am sorry this happened to both of you but glad you have managed to move forward.

  4. Hailey says :
    March 21, 2013 at 9:40 pm

    I just want to say the whole time through that ‘perfect storm’ I was very proud of you and Chevri, and so proud to say you were on our team! You both handled the storm beautifully and, when Chevri could no longer handle what I believe most horses wouldn’t have even started their test in, you both exited the arena with grace and dignity. The poor guy tried his best, you really could see that, and you were trying your best too! What more could we ask?

    And on a side note: Who brings small screaming children to a dressage test?!?! Those spectators were horrible!

  5. Nicola says :
    March 22, 2013 at 10:32 am

    Thank you for sharing your reflections. I will continue to see the footage of the Olympic ride as an exemplar of the most outstanding riding – your calmness and respect for your horse’s needs were extraordinary – and also of outstanding sportmanship. The unfortunate results regarding the competition in no way take away from your wonderful example in this regard. What a role model to the sport!

  6. Geri says :
    March 23, 2013 at 11:04 pm

    David, thank you for sharing your perspective! What stuck with me after watching your test was how supportive you were of Capital, how still and soft you stayed and how, once eliminated, your only concern seemed to be for your horse. As others have said before me, that is inspiring horsemanship. I can’t even begin to imagine the pressures and expectations that come with riding for a team at the Olympics. That you could park these to care for your horse makes me so proud that you represent Canada!

  7. Kim Sussman says :
    March 26, 2013 at 7:50 am

    Thank you for sharing your story, it has given me such a good insight, you have made me feel extremely positive about my own horse that is very sensitive to her surroundings, and that it is us the rider to help them through difficult experiences, and build their confidence up block by block if it is broken down.
    David you are an amazing athlete and certainly one we should all take a page from, you are a wonderful human being and it makes me proud to watch you even though I am British, your a very special man with such a great understanding of you horse, reading your story in my books makes you a gold medalist.
    Looking forward to seeing you in the arena.
    Your horse is very brave, I don’t know a horse that would try to get through that kind of weather.
    well done .

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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.”

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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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