The Slower Road

All of Florida’s late-winter / early-spring events are over now, and all that remains for the four-in-hand drivers is to continue working, training, and competing (perhaps in Europe for some drivers) and then awaiting the selectors’ decision. At stake: the chance to represent the United States at this year’s Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games — three spots on the U.S. team and (we hope) several individual spots. 

One of the drivers hoping to represent the U.S. at this year’s WEG is Mike McLennan of Texas. For the past year, we’ve been reporting on his training, competing, and general progress toward his goal. These reports have been featured in our magazine, The Carriage Journal, since March of last year. As we get closer and closer to the WEG (now fewer than 140 days away!), it’s become impossible to provide timely updates in a printed magazine that’s published five times a year. And so we’ve moved our “Road to the WEG” series here to the blog.

In the late winter, Mike and his wife, Jerry, loaded up the horses and drove the 1,200 miles from Brenham, Texas, for the first of the Florida events. By the time all three events were over, Mike and Jerry had driven back and forth all three times, for a total of nearly 7,500 miles. Mike says the truck and trailer “are fine, but the humans and horses were worn out” by the long trips. All that driving is a chore, for sure, but it is still less expensive than finding accommodations for people and horses in Florida for all that time. And there are all those chores to do at home, because they unfortunately don’t do themselves. And, last but certainly not least, the horses are able to spend most of their days turned out at home, so they get a bit of a restful break between trailer rides and competitions.

One goal at these first events of the year was to qualify Anton, the seventh and final member of their four-in-hand team. At Little Everglades (January 28–31), Anton was, quite frankly, a “detriment” in the dressage, but the team nonetheless finished the dressage phase in third place out of twelve competitors. In the marathon, Anton ran out of gas, with devastating effect. Mike was in either first or second place in each of the first three marathon obstacles, and dropped to eighth, eighth, and then twelfth in each of the final obstacles. They finished the marathon (and the overall event) in tenth place. This after having finished the marathon in third behind only Chester Weber and Boyd Exell at last October’s Lexington Combined Driving Classic (the official test event for the driving portion of the WEG) with their “A” marathon team. 

Mike McLennan and his "A" team of marathon horses at the 2009 Lexington Combined Driving Classic, where they finished the marathon in third place (after this turn, Mike guided his team out of the obstacle saying, "Come on boys, let's get out of here!")

But Anton completed all three phases at Little Everglades, and the team earned a high enough dressage score that all seven McLennan horses (five of their own and two borrowed) are now officially qualified to compete for a spot on the U.S. team.

Things improved for Team McLennan at Sunshine State (February 26–28), where they finished in fifth place overall, out of a field of thirteen, but Anton had been “put on waivers,” as Mike says (in other words, dropped from the “A-level” team), because of his dressage score.

As we get closer to the WEG, the developing drivers are able to train with both Peter Tischer and with the U.S. team’s coach, Michael Freund (both are German drivers and trainers). Mike was one of the surprisingly few drivers who took advantage of Michael’s coaching in Florida, and Mike says it was invaluable in helping him see and fix his problems in the moment, rather than while reviewing video several hours later. One of Michael’s concerns for Mike: that he needs to slow down, in the cones especially, so that he can drive more accurately and less, as Mike says, like a stagecoach driver.

When I spoke to Mike in early March, his goal for Live Oak (March 25–28) was to finish either first or second in the marathon. In the end, out of fourteen in the four-in-hand class, Mike and his horses (Ruff, Tuff, Fabulous Fred, and Donovan) finished the marathon in fourth place. That plus a sixth-place finish in dressage put the team in third place overall heading into Sunday’s cones phase. And then the rains came. Apparently, the storm was so bad (downpours, lightning, the works) that several classes meant to go after the four-in-hand teams had to be cancelled. I can only imagine how bad the mud must’ve been. Mike and his horses got thoroughly soaked on their way to a clear cones round (their first in a long time), but they were really slow. The time penalties and resulting tenth-place finish in the cones phase dropped them to fourth overall in the 2010 USEF National Championship.

On the USEF ranking list that came out around the third week of April, Mike was right about in the middle of the pack (seventh out of twelve hopefuls). A few selection trials remain before the selectors must make their decision about who will represent the U.S. at the WEG.

Until then, Mike plans to continue working at home and to travel to one more (the final) selection trial: the Iron Horse CDE in Illinois (July 30–August 1), which is a more reasonable drive from Texas — only 1,157 miles each way — than some of the other events taking place between now and then. We’ll keep you up to date!

Chester Weber of Florida is currently the top-ranked four-in-hand driver in the United States. He has, in fact, been ranked number one since the ranking lists have been kept, as part of the process to select the three team members (and several individuals) who will represent the U.S. at this year’s World Equestrian Games. He’s won the U.S. national driving championship a record eight consecutive years. And at the previous (2008) FEI World Driving Championship, he finished with an individual silver medal.

Some of his success can no doubt be attributed to his frequent European campaigns, where he’s able to compete regularly against the best European drivers. I’m sure that everyone expected he would go back to Europe again this summer to prepare for the WEG, but the following press release (below the photo) was sent out earlier this week. Will this perhaps leave room for another U.S. driver to travel to Europe for some valuable competition experience?

Chester Weber on the cones course at the 2009 Lexington Combined Driving Classic, the official driving test event for this year's Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games

Chester Weber, the reigning U.S. national champion four-in-hand driver, announced that he will train and compete in North America this summer (rather than competing in Europe) in preparation for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, to be held this fall in Lexington, Kentucky. “It was a tough decision,” said Weber, the nation’s top-ranked driver. He continued, “I love competing in Europe, but I feel that training and competing here is the smart decision.” Weber’s previous competition season in Europe, in 2008, culminated with his winning the individual silver medal at the 2008 FEI World Driving Championship in The Netherlands. He said he will miss the excitement of Europe but is glad he had the opportunity to show successfully under several European judges this year. “This summer, we plan to fine tune the horses at Garden State (CAI Allentown), CAI Bromont (Canada), and Iron Horse CDE in Illinois. The competition will keep the team sharp and give us a chance to compete without the stress of traveling back and forth to Europe before the World Equestrian Games,” said Weber.

The chef d’equipe for the U.S. driving team, Ed Young, agrees with Weber’s decision. He said, “I believe that there is no reason for Chester to take his team to Europe. He came out very strong this spring and he has proven himself to be a solid competitor. There is simply no sense in stressing his horses with the extra wear and tear of traveling to Europe.”

Michael Freund, former world champion and coach of the U.S. team, also applauded Weber’s decision. “Chester’s team has demonstrated that they are prepared to compete on an international stage. In February and March of this year they showed under European judges and proved again that they are up to European standards. They have a long competition season in the U.S., and it is important to keep the horses fresh and at the top of their game.” Freund said that he had competed his top team of horses only three or four times a year and compared combined driving horses to three-day event horses that need to be fresh to excel in all three phases of the sport. He continued, “Chester’s top team is experienced, and he is wise not to over-compete them. It is my clear recommendation that this seasoned team of horses needs to stay fresh so they can peak in October at the World Equestrian Games.” Freund, who has trained Weber previously, will no doubt have an opportunity to coach him again at the World Equestrian Games. He added, “The objective is to be at the top of our game for the World Equestrian Games, and I am confident that Chester Weber and his team are well prepared.”

Many of Europe’s top drivers would undoubtedly like the opportunity to see where their horses stack up against Weber’s team, known around the driving world for its dominating dressage scores. But unless European competitors want to come to North America and compete this summer, they will have to wait until the World Equestrian Games for an opportunity to drive their teams against Weber’s. This fact may make the World Equestrian Games combined driving competition even more exciting for spectators.