Unofficial WEG Team

["Carlos Crespo" <ccrespo@nigma.com>]

 

Joe:

 

Perhaps you can better recall the performance of the

USA Team in the previous World Championships . As I remember,

with the exception of Kansas where we were allowed to field

twice as many riders as everyone else as the host country, and

where most of the horses competing were US horse anyway, our past

individual performance has been superb but the team results have

fallen short of expectation. It would be interesting to compare net results

as a percentage team participants as many countries do not compete

with a full team and are greatly handicapped  in the team competition.

 

I looked up the team rosters for the World Championships in Kansas.

Out of 16 countries competing only 6 countries had a full 6 member

team (USA, Australia, Canada, Chile, Sweden, and UAE). Even France

who won the silver medal competed with only 5 team members. The real 

copetition here was in the individual placings, the team competition

was already stacked in our favor. 

 

When Bobby Knight was named Olympic Coach for the US Basketball Team

one of the first things he was asked, given that we lost the previous Olympic

Gold medal by a dubious call at the buzzer, was what he would do to avoid

that problem. He simply answered , " Ï will not allow myself to be up by just one

point in the last second.

 

As I see it, our goal should be to take the first six places in the World

Championships. Then there is no doubt  about  who is the best. Let the

other guy worry about the consistant  finishers in the 7-25 place.

 

 

Regards,

 

Carlos

Florida

 

<<No.  The point you and Truman are missing is that critical requirement
that to have any chance whatsoever of winning a medal, at least three
of the four horse/rider teams must finish ... and they must all finish
well to win the Gold.  This means the strongest team is not the four
riders who finish Top Four on some qualifying ride, but the four who
have demonstrated *consistent* success and savvy pacing.   So if the
goal is to field the team with the best chance of winning, a
qualifying ride will not give us that.

Our experience to date has born this out very well.>>