Stuart Tinney Heads to Kentucky 
Equestrian Australia has sent three athletes, Megan Jones, Stuart Tinney and Sam Griffiths as a part of the Australian delegation to the World Equestrian Games test event in Kentucky 20-25 April. One of these riders, Stuart Tinney is a seasoned Australian team member and an Olympic Gold medallist but this will be his first trip to the famous Kentucky Four Star event. I caught up with him for a quick chat as he headed out for a final gallop on his horses before he finished his packing and he has promised to try and send through “snippets” about the event whilst he’s there, so stay tuned.....
You seem to have competed at most of the big events in Europe – how come this is your first trip to Kentucky? Kentucky is an event that I have always wanted to compete at – and now I am going without a horse - but hopefully, I’ll be going as a part of a team and with a horse later in the year! Taking horses overseas is always an expensive exercise and we usually plan an overseas campaign based around a series of events leading up to a major international competition or championship such as the Olympics or WEG. We have a lot of contacts in the UK and it is a relatively easy trip, flight wise to get the horses there (relatively being the operative word!) whereas the flights to Kentucky from Australia are not great for the horses and involve several legs of transport. So it is an event that has never really been easy for us to attend but it is one that I have always wanted to do.
What are you expecting to achieve during the trip? I think that I will really benefit from being at the test event. It will enable me to check out the terrain, the type of course and the facilities. For me personally, it really helps if I can have a lot of the logistics organised in advance of a major championship – an event like the WEG can be very stressful for everyone involved and the more advance knowledge you have, the better equipped you are. I like to know about the facilities for the horses so that I can brief Amy, my head girl, which helps her prepare for the event. Once you’re selected for a team there is an awful lot to think about in terms of your horse’s welfare and your own performance, not to mention the team requirements, so this gives us the chance to soak up a lot of information about the event environment and logistics before the pressure is on.
Is it valuable as a Team Building exercise? Obviously, the selectors are a long way off naming a team but I think that it will be a valuable exercise for Megan, Sam and I. Megan is an experienced campaigner now but, apart from the Trans Tasman team, she and I have never been on a team together and it will be good to spend some time together at Kentucky. Sam is the “rookie” I guess and it will be great for him to be in the “Aussie team” environment – especially as we don’t often get to see each other compete as he is based in England. Again, the familiarity with your colleagues and an understanding of each other’s situation helps to build confidence and prepares you mentally which could be really important if we are selected for the WEG.
Is it strange to attend an event you’re not riding at? In some ways, it’s going to be great because I’m going to be able to go out in the evening, enjoy a good dinner and a few glasses of wine without having to worry about riding the next day! Karen (Stuart’s wife) is very jealous of me having such an ‘easy trip’ but I think that it makes up for all the times I’ve been overseas when it’s been tough slog and a lot of pressure! When I am competing at an event, I tend to be very much focussed on the job so I don’t tend to ‘enjoy’ it – this is a chance to be a bit more relaxed at a major event and view it differently. On the other hand, I wouldn’t mind riding there this year! I think that the actual competition will be a little less tough than usual as many riders who are competing are not taking their top horses. It would actually be a great event to compete at with a second string horse that you wanted to expose to top competition. I think the results of this year’s competition could be interesting.
What happens when you get back? I’m back on the 28th April – so it’s not a long trip, which is good as there is plenty on the agenda for when I get back. Karen is entrusted with keeping seven horses in work while I’m away (maybe another reason she’s jealous of me having an easy time in Kentucky!) so that they’re ready for competition when I get back.Vettori will be competing in the World Cup class at the Sydney Three Day Event in early May and I’ll have a couple of horses in the lower classes, then Panamera and Watermark Grayson will head to Melbourne Three Day Event in June. We’ve been doing a lot of work with all of the horses in dressage and showjumping as well as eventing so it’s a hectic competition schedule in such a big year but hopefully it will all pay off. I’d love to have a medal from a World Equestrian Games to go with the gold one from Sydney!
