[RC] Why the French Win--From an Insider - Dabney Finch
A very old friend of mine (who was a
very successful endurance rider) has been working in the UAE as
a trainer for quite a few years now. This is "cut and pasted" (with
permission) from a recent email from this friend about why the French seem to do
so well in "our" sport:
I have
heard so much about and read so much about send them over and we'll kick their
asses, etc. Impossible--they are the best by far because of their system,
passion for learning and they are just damn good riders. You know there is
an ad on TV that the only way to improve your game is go up against better
competition--well their competition is the best. I have spent parts of
3 summers over the last 5 years racing in France and every year it gets
better. Here's why:
1. The government supports breeders in a big
way--several ride camp emails say that the riders get paid, etc. Not. They
just have a great system to support the breeders and they promote the better
lines. Also they do not get into pretty horse blood like we do--there is so much
show stuff in in US horses that rarely holds up. 2. They have an
advantage that to drive from one side to the other in France and through
mountains, longest time that takes is about 14 hours--with speed limits
enforced for horse boxes and trailers. 3. Plus their neighbors like
Spain, Italy, Belgium etc have rides that they join up with. 4. France has an
FEI ride schedule of about 30 rides plus their neighbors add in about another 20
or more. FEI rides are important in that the rules are not so
much that different, but the horses have to stay in smallish stalls
overnight by rules and they get used to them.. In the US horses very
rarely are boxed and thus get nervous, tieup, etc. This is a big issue people
rarely talk about. Generally in Europe they are boxed a lot just
at the farm. 5.Every FEI race in France has 80-120 racers/riders. When
you start you had better go hard--30 or so always do--this creates a competitive
environment and of course raises the level of all--horses, crew, riders,
etc. 6. Their junior program is so advanced-they make a big deal out of the
junior riders with big banquet ceremonys, etc. 7. The endurance group pays a
full time person to be the chef d' equipe--Pierre Cass, who alone decides who is
on the team and usually a year or so in advance and they really work as a team
even though their riders are strong individuals. They mess with Pierre
and they do not make the team--dictators are sometimes necessary. 8.There is
a real industry of endurance trainers, horse sales bring top money from the
Dubai and Abu Dhabi buyers---the French girl who won for instance turned down
last summer 850,000 euros, about over 1 million dollars and now the horse will
sell for more. Several horses recently have sold for 400-600,000
dollars. Just good solid horses sell for 100-200,000 dollars.
So you see everyone is getting in the act Then more people leave
their regular jobs and just train and develop horses. It is a circle of
success. We, the USA, are too far apart and most people really do not care
about international racing. 9. Yes we pick good riders and horse combinations
but we do not go to those regions that have terrain comparable to up coming
races. Their chef, team coach, does that--we should. We should
encourage local racers to consider racing and if they agree encourage them to
adjust their schedules, etc with the hopes of being selected. 10 If you are
on the french team selected list and sell your horse there is a 50% penalty that
goes to the endurance group--buyers just raise their offers. 11. For all the
FEI races there are stables, finish line systems, announcers, hospitality tents
etc. It is just like the Race of Champions every race. It simply is
a cut or 2 above everything else.
