The Australian Team: (L-R) Travelling Reserve: Samantha Birch (HUNTER VALLEY II); Stuart Tinney (PLUTO MIO); Sam Griffiths (PAULANK BROCKAGH); Shane Rose (CP QUALIFIED); Christopher Burton (SANTANO II)
Come behind the scenes and find out more about the Australian team heading to Rio as we capture them on camera at the Australian Eventing Team Training Camp at Unicorn Trust Equestrian Center, Stow-on-the-Wold in Goucestershire
The team fly from the UK to Rio on 29th July
Stuart Tinney and Pluto Mio
Stuart Tinney
Born: Mundubbrea, Queensland, Australia
Resides: Maraylya, NSW, Australia
Date of birth: 7th December 1964
Horse: Pluto Mio (Pluto)
Owners: John and Jane Pittard
Family: Wife Karen and two daughters, Jaymee and Gemma
Olympic Record:
- Team medallist Sydney 2000 (Team gold, 1st in team competition)
- Team member Athens 2004 (team 6th, individual 38th)
Did you know?
Stuart may be used to flying horses around the world but the travel all started with one of his first ponies, a Shetland pony called Nugget, who used to take to be taken to pony club in the back of a station wagon
Stuart was long listed for Seoul, short listed for the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, long listed for Atlanta and won team gold at Sydney 2000. Short listed for Barcelona on Erimbula Bright Beacon (BB) Stuart they competed at Saumur in the lead-up and came second, just 0.2 penalties behind the winner. Looking a certainty for team selection, on the first day of team training in the UK afterwards, BB went lame due to corns and the Olympic dream was over
Despite living only 40 minutes from the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games equestrian venue at Horsley Park, Stuart was subject to all the normal Olympic requirements so stayed in the Olympic athletes’ village
Stuart’s took over the ride on his Rio horse Pluto Mio in 2011. Pluto was notorious for getting stressed in the dressage arena, especially during applause at the end of a test, and it has taken years of patient work to help the grey horse remain calm in big environments. At the World Equestrian Games in Normandy, the pair finished the best of the Australian riders in eighth place
Just prior to the recent team selection, one of Pluto Mio’s owners John Pittard was given a Brazilian coin as change in a very small, quite remote town in Australia. John thought it a good omen and will be wearing it on a chain around his neck as he watches his horse compete in Rio
Stuart’s daughter Gemma, now in the family business and a successful young eventing rider herself, would love to ride in an Olympic team with her father – she was not quite three years old when her dad won gold in Sydney
Shane Rose's 'Against All Odds' story has captured the media imagination
Shane Rose
Born: Sydney, Australia
Resides: Werombi, NSW, Australia
Date of birth: 24th April 1973
Horse: CP Qualified (Darcy)
Owner: Elizabeth Wischer and Shane Rose
Family: Wife Niki, Olivia (3), Harry (2), twins Lachlan and Zara (born 2016)
Olympic Record:
Team medallist Beijing 2008 (Team silver, individual 27th)
Did you know?
Shane is one of the most positive people you will ever meet, an essential factor in his recovery from various traumatic events in his life;
- 2001 – diagnosed with thyroid cancer and treated
- 2005 – kicked in the face by a horse and suffered a broken jaw, shattered both mandible joints and now has seven plates in his face holding everything together
- June 2015 – A fall from a young horse caused serious injury involving broken ribs, a punctured lung and damaged liver when the horse kicked Shane as he fell (hear our interview with Shane here)
1996 Shane was selected as a part of the 10-person squad that travelled to team training in South Carolina in preparation for the Atlanta Games with his horse Joe Cool. Halfway through team training Joe Cool started to suffer with an underlying tendon injury and was no longer eligible for team selection. In 2012 when selected for the London Olympic Games, he had to withdraw just days before the event started due to injury to his horse Taurus
However at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, after a disappointing start in the dressage, Shane was the fastest rider on cross country in Hong Kong
As well being one of the busiest riders on the Australia eventing circuit, often with 12 rides at an event, Shane runs two of the biggest eventing competitions at Equestriad in Camden, NSW. He is also President of Eventing NSW and runs Bimbadeen Park, a successful pre-training facility for the racing industry
World Number 2 - Chris Burton and Santano II
Chris Burton
Born: Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
Resides: Surrey, UK
Date of birth: November 22, 1981
Horse: Santano II (Santa)
Horse owners: The Black Run Syndicate
Family: Wife Rebekah (Bek)
Olympic Record:
Team member London 2012 (team 6th, individual 16th)
Did you know?
Each year Chris and his wife Bek support the Australian charity ‘Dry July’ by giving up alcohol for the month of July and raising funds for those affected by cancer. Hopefully they will reap the rewards by celebrating in August!
Advice he will never forget “After Shane returned back to the training camp from the brutal media conference where he had to announce his withdrawal from the (London 2012) Olympic team, he acted so admirably and showed what a true sports person he is. After a couple of beers he got quite nostalgic and gave me some advice I will never forget. Two simple sentences; "roll with the punches" and "enjoy it". If it wasn't for the advice of Shane Rose I could have found myself struck with stage fright.”
Chris was the first rider out on the cross country course at London 2012 and came home clear and under time, making it look easy. However it soon became apparent that it wasn’t (only 9 horse-and-rider combinations completed the track inside the optimum time of 10mins 03 seconds) “I was delighted to have the mare storm around inside the time. And took equally as much delight in telling our Kiwi competitors that the time was easy to make and not to worry about it. They got their own back for that one by picking up the bronze medal. Well played”
Chris’ Olympic horse, Santano II, although only nine years old, has become a bit of a legend in the dressage phase. In 2015 the pair took out the World Record for the lowest ever finishing score at a three day event in the CCI2*at Camphire, finishing on their dressage score of 24.5. Santano II has great dressage bloodlines with his sire being Sandro Hit and dam sire Brentano II
The only mare on the team! 2014 Badminton winners Sam Griffiths and his mare Paulank Brockagh (pictured far left)
Sam Griffiths
Born: Melbourne, Australia
Resides: Dorset, UK
Date of birth: 27th May 1972
Horse: Paulank Brockagh (Brocks)
Owners: Mr & Mrs S Posford, Mrs J Carter and Sam Griffiths
Family: Wife Lucy, children Ollie and Eliza Alice
Olympic Record:
Team member London 2012 (Team 6th, individual - eliminated)
Did you know?
Sam is not just a pretty face – he also holds a degree in Geography from Monash University
Sam was called up to join the Australian eventing team at the 2012 Olympic Games in London as a replacement after two of his teammates' horses were injured. Shane Rose's mount Taurus withdrew with a leg problem, and then just one day before the opening ceremony Megan Jones' horse Allofasudden failed a veterinary check and was also forced to withdraw
Sam climbed the leader board from 25th after the dressage to win the 2014 Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials on Paulank Brockagh
He was voted 2014 Eventing Rider of the Year by his peers in the International Riders Club
His groom Imogen Mercer was runner up for 2015 FEI Groom of the Year
He left Australia in 1995 in order to pursue his dream of a professional eventing career. He trained and worked with double Olympic gold medallist Matt Ryan for three years before leaving to set up his own stables at Symphony Farm in Dorset
Sammi is all set to go!
Sammi Birch (nee McLeod)
Resides: Gloucestershire, UK
Date of birth: 01/08/1977
Horse: Hunter Valley II
Owners: Lyndon McLeod and Sammi Birch
Family: Husband Ed and son Charlie (born 2015)
Olympic Record:
Yet to compete at an Olympic Games
Did you know?
Sammi may be heading to her first Olympic Games as a member of an Australian team but she competed for Australia at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez on Frederick Hunter, finishing 15th individually
Hailing from the Hunter Valley in NSW, Australia Sammi uses the Hunter name for several of her top horses including Frederick Hunter (once described by someone as ‘a death machine’), Hunter Red and now Hunter Valley II
In 1999, when Sammi was just 21, she finished seventh at Badminton Horse Trials on Hunter Red and says “I have spent the rest of my life, thus far, trying to repeat that performance”
In 2004 Sammi was the Australian reserve for Athens Olympics and went to England for the summer to prepare. She loved it so much she decided to move there for a couple of years in 2005 and is still based there
In 2015 Sammi had her first child Charlie and during this time Hunter Valley II was competed by young British rider Tom McEwan
Sammi will be accompanied to Rio by her best friend and head girl Helen Tagg (below) who has been with her for 10 years
Australian supergrooms at the ready!
Chef d'Equipe and National Eventing High Performance Manager Prue Barrett
Team bonding going on here? Shane Rose is either giving Burto a massage or trying to push him off the seat!
Above: The grooms and their horses (L-R) Imogen Mercer (Paulank Brockagh), Jade Rudman (Santano II), Rachel Watts (CP Qualified), Robyn Carter (Pluto Mio) and Helen Tagg (Hunter Valley II) and the whole team (below)
Equestrian Australia's Michelle Cook briefs the media
Next stop Rio!
