United States Eventing Association

Before the start of the Land Rover Great Meadow International, the U.S. Olympic Team took some time to sit down and give fans and press a closer look at themselves, their horses and their Road to Rio.

On Their Team Horses…

Phillip Dutton: “I’ll be riding Fernhill Cubalawn, who I’ve had for a couple years now. Brought on by a young girl named Alex Green, and owned by Tom Tierney, Simon Roosevelt and Caroline Moran. I’m really happy with the way he’s going and I think he’s really well suited to hopefully have a really great Games at Rio.”

Lauren Kieffer: “The horse I’m riding is Veronica. She’s owned by Team Rebecca. She was originally produced by Scott Keach, and then Team Rebecca owned her for Karen O’Connor before I took the ride in 2013. She is not friendly or loveable. Her nickname in the barn is actually The Troll. She does her job, so we’re okay with that.”

Boyd Martin: “My horse is Blackfoot Mystery. I’ve had him for about a year now. He was produced by Kelly Prather. She got him off the track thanks to a thoroughbred donation program. She produced him, and this time last year I rounded up a group of people to purchase him because I felt like he had all the makings of a top horse. I think he’s in good form. I think he’s ready to go and I’m really excited to be there.”

Clark Montgomery: “The horse I’m riding is Loughan Glen. I’ve had him since he was a 5-year-old. He’s got a new nickname this year. We call him Beastie at competitions because his personality has changed a little bit. He used to be kind of a teddy bear at the barn and at competitions, and he still is a teddy bear at home, but he’s figured out his job here recently and has turned into a bit of a beast at competitions. He understands all three phases and understands what he’s doing. We’ve worked hard on his fitness. He love to run and jump, especially on cross-country, so we like to say he’s a teddy bear in the stables and a lion at the show.”

On What It’s Like to Be Named to The Olympic Team…

PD: “I’m very fortunate, this will be my sixth Olympics and the third for the U.S. and I’ very pleased to say the excitement and the thrill of getting to the Olympics doesn’t diminish as you get older. I’m really excited and thrilled to be on a team with such talented riders and horses as we have. Being part of such an international world-wide sporting even such as the Olympic Games is a great, great asset for our sport. Anybody that’s not even in the horse world can relate to the Olympics and get to see you on T.V., so it’s really cool to be on such a cool world stage, for our relatively small sport compared to some of the other ones. It doesn’t get much better in our sport.”

LK: “This is my first Olympics, I’m looking forward to keeping these boys in line.”

BM: “Obviously very, very excited and pumped up for Rio. This is my second Olympic Games. I got to know the Olympics at London, so I sort of have a bit more of an idea what I’m in for. I think we’ve got an awesome team. We’ve got four really, really class horses and four super riders, so I think the selectors picked the right team and the right group of horses.”

CM: “The expectation to perform for a crowd that hasn’t seen me in a long time is kind of a funny feeling, I didn’t expect that. But at the same time it’s good because everybody is going to expect me to perform at Rio, so it’s good to deal a little with those nerves [at Great Meadow] on a smaller scale.” Hint, hint, Clark and Glen seemed to use the nerves to their advantage, winning individually.

On The Recent Movement for Eventing to Abandon the Olympics Due to Proposed Changes to the Sport…

PD: “I think that’s very short sighted to think like that. The Olympics is arguably the greatest sporting event in the world and to be a part of it is an incredible honor for our sport. If you look at sports like Tennis, Wimbledon is still very big in the players’ minds, but they still go and play in the Olympic Games. There’s plenty of sports that it’s a little bit of a different version of what their major title is, but it’s still an incredible honor for any athlete to be a part of it.”

On Acclimating to The Virginia Summer Heat Compared to England…

CM: “[Loughan Glen] seemed quite good. He’s been bright and even strong at times, but I’m hot as hell. It’s hot, it’s really hot. I was looking forward to getting in the sun, but this is a little extreme.”

On Performing on The Olympic Stage…

BM: “It’s a wonderful thing when you look back on it, but leading up to it is not that fun. Obviously every day, every night you’re thinking about your performance. You’re in a situation that you’ve never been in before where you basically get told when to ride and what arena in. It’s important not to get lost in the moment. It’s the biggest event of your life, but you’ve got a perform. We’re not going for the experience we’re going there to put in an unbelievable performance, and then when it’s all over you can look back and enjoy it. It is one of those moments that you look back on in your life and think, ‘wow.’”

The team heads to Ocala, Florida this week for a training camp with David O’Connor before heading to Rio. To catch up on all our coverage on The Games so far, visit our Olympics Page.