Going into the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event last April, the 2024 Paris Olympics were far from Boyd Martin’s mind. His primary goal was to ensure his string of top horses were healthy, strong and continuing to build up their fitness.
“When you start thinking about the Olympics, it’s more about having an informed horse who’s healthy and performing well in April and May,” he said. “I usually don’t even start thinking about the Olympics until after Kentucky. If you start agonizing over it ahead of time, you’re missing a critical part of the preparation.”
The three-time Olympian and U.S. Eventing Team member is well regarded for producing incredibly talented, fit horses who are successful at the highest-level of the sport, but he also prioritizes keeping them healthy and happy.
Martin competed with his Olympic mount Fedarman B in the CCI4* at Kentucky this year, which was a strategic decision in preparation for the Olympics and selection process. He also piloted his direct reserve Olympic mount Commando 3 in the CCI4* at Kentucky this past April.
“In the world of horse showing, the Olympics fall on an unusual date in late July, which actually isn’t very far off from Kentucky,” Martin said. “One of our biggest challenges heading into the Kentucky Three Day was determining if the more seasoned, older horses should do the four or five star. But I ended up in a wonderful position with the horses coming out of Kentucky and think we made the right decision.”
Consistency, Individualized Training Are Key
Following Kentucky, Martin ever so slightly started to shift his focus toward Paris. He continued building up his horses’ fitness in between weekend competitions, paying careful attention to not allow them to peak too early. As his seasoned eventing mounts get older, he drills them less often.
“My older horses usually do the same amount of fitness work, but they usually do less dressage days. They have more hacking and recovery days,” he said. “My younger, greener ones do a little more because they usually need a lot of improvement in the dressage. They don’t get as many easy days just because they haven’t reached their pinnacle yet.”
Establishing a clear gameplan for each of his top mounts was crucial for the Martin team’s Paris aspirations. He also noted the importance of treating every horse as an individual and carefully considering what each needs on any particular day.
“Some horses are more like Thoroughbreds; some are more Warmbloody. Others, you really have to watch their soundness,” he noted. “There’s a real art to it. It’s a balancing act to make sure they’re prepared, but not doing too much so that they’re stiff and sour.”
Consistency, Martin said, is another key factor in his horses’ fitness and overall success. “I’m lucky in that I’ve been riding five stars since I was 19 years old. So I have a good understanding of what it takes to get them to that high level and to make sure they’re fit, sound and happy—all while performing well,” he said. “Consistency is really important in their training. And you have to know exactly how hard to push them in the lead-up event and when not to push them.”
Team Mindset
In the sport of eventing, Martin has observed a unique dynamic among the U.S. eventers and how they approach rivalries. He said there is a lot of competitiveness between each other while showing throughout the year. “Everyone is extremely friendly with each other,” Martin said. “We just all have our own programs and tend to be highly competitive people.”
Close, personal friendships may not be commonplace in the sport, but Martin admits he has an unusual friendship with seven-time Olympian Phillip Dutton, who he considers a mentor and father figure. “Philip and I are probably best friends,” he said.
While the top U.S. eventers maintain a healthy competitive spirit among each other in individual competitions, Martin said team competition dramatically changes things.
“We put all that rivalry behind us,” he said. “This remarkable change happens where everyone puts their differences aside and comes together for this one incredible competition.”
Due to the logistics of the Paris Games, the equestrian athletes and their equine partners won’t lodge at the Olympic Village. They will stay together at a separate venue in Versailles where the equestrian events will be held.
“Suddenly, we’re all living together. We only have one or two horses a day to ride, so a lot of times we’ll play tennis or go to the gym together,” Martin said. “And once competition starts you’re absolutely cheering and rooting for each other like there’s no tomorrow. It’s funny. At the Olympics, you hope like anything that the person you’ve been desperately trying to beat at every other show goes in there and has the best performance of their career.”
Specialized Coaching
U.S. Eventing Team Chef d’Equipe Bobby Costello explained that to be successful on the world stage in eventing, both horse and rider must be extremely versatile, all-around athletes, who can seamlessly adjust their strategy and technique to tackle each phase of the sport.
“Especially in the Olympics, the days of having a fantastic cross-country horse who can climb the ranks even if they’re down after dressage have passed,” Costello said. “You really need a horse who excels in all three phases to be successful.
Martin agrees that the sport has become highly specialized. Therefore, he’s found it beneficial to have dedicated coaches for each eventing phase. For dressage expertise, he naturally seeks guidance from his wife, grand-prix dressage rider Silva Martin, and going into Paris this year, he brought in Bettina Hoy from Germany for additional coaching.
“The good thing with dressage is that she can train me virtually, too,” Martin said. “It’s pretty amazing that she can be sitting in her lounge room in Germany and coach me while I’m riding in Pennsylvania.”
For show jumping, his go-to trainer is Peter Wylde, who Martin described as unbelievably brilliant in his coaching style. He relies on Erik Duvander for cross-country and overall training.
“Erik is a master of cross country, but he’s also very good on the dressage and jumping, so I really appreciate all the guidance and support and advice he’s given me along the way,” Martin said. “I also rely heavily on my incredible staff at home. My head groom Stephanie Simpson is an essential member of the team and helps with the overall plan. It’s like a traveling circus.”
Contingency Plans Are Key
Leading up to the Olympics, Martin regularly checked in with Costello about strategy, timing and any challenges he or his horses were experiencing. Costello also talked to Martin’s individual coaches and sometimes would drop by to watch his jumping sessions.
“Bobby is a great coach and was a top competitor himself, so he comes with loads of experience. His primary role is to oversee the big picture,” Martin said. “As long as Bobby feels like things are heading in the right direction, he encourages everyone to follow their own programs, depending on what both horse and rider need at any given point in their training.”
But despite months if not years of careful planning and preparation, contingency plans are crucial in eventing due to the unpredictable nature of the sport and competing with living, breathing animals.
“With horses you can have a perfect gameplan, but you always have to plan for something different. If plan A doesn’t work, you go to plan B. Then, I also have plan C as another backup,” Martin laughed. “In our sport, you can make a plan and then the universe laughs at you. It’s a simple as that.”
