Missy Clark and John Brennan announced today that United States Olympic Team Gold medalist Peter Wylde will be joining the team at their world-class show stable at North Run. Clark’s operations are based primarily in Wellington, Florida, during the winter show season and in Warren, Vermont, during the summer months.

Wylde, born in Boston, will be returning to the United States after spending much of the last decade in Europe. He is a graduate of Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.  

Early in his stellar career, under the guidance of trainers Fran and Joe Dotoli, Wylde scored an impressive victory, winning the 1982 ASPCA Maclay National Championship at Madison Square Garden.

Wylde was a member of the United States Gold Medal Olympic team in Athens, Greece, in 2004 aboard Fein Cera, owned by Sarah Willeman and Turnabout Farm. In 1999, piloting Macanudo DeNiro, Wylde rode to the Individual and Team Silver Medals at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada.

The former President’s Cup champion has won Grand prix and World Cup competitions around the world, including Paris, France, Mechelen, Belgium, Dortmund, Germany and many more.

He joins Missy Clark and John Brennan at North Run, arguably one of the nation’s most successful shows stables, one that has produced numerous national champions and top jumper riders in a span that exceeds over thirty years of excellence.

“I absolutely love how he rides, his beautiful American style, his effectiveness,” Missy Clark said of Wylde. “Everything I strive for in my teaching and what I do, he is the epitome of that. More importantly to me, he is just a great human being and has been a great, loyal friend over the years. At this point in my life, more than anything else, that means so much more to me, a person with good character,” she said. “It’s a tough game, and it’s nice to have someone you can count on. He’s the consummate gentleman; he’s a class act and very hard working.”

Clark’s relationship flourished with Wylde when she asked her clients, Sarah Willeman and Ann Meyer, if they would agree to purchase Fein Cera for Peter for the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. “I’m proud of my record of trying to participate in the sport of show jumping. A lot of people don’t know this, but I asked Hunter Harrison if he was interested in purchasing Sapphire for McLain Ward and I was part of that ownership team for the first Olympic Games.”

“After the purchase of Fein Cera, my relationship with Peter expanded and has continued over three decades. He is on my list of favorite riders in the world, a list by the way, that includes only three or four names,” she laughed.

The new affiliation with Wylde will help Clark expand her role in the world of international equestrian events. “I see myself becoming much more involved in show jumping. I’m already part of the ownership group of Sandor de la Pomme and Wannahave. I see this partnership with Peter opening up a lot of new avenues for North Run and particularly for our clients. It will especially open up the doors for competing in Europe and doing some more excursions over there. I really want our kids to get more of that European mileage. We’re doing that already, but having Peter onboard, just makes that all the more easy.”

Clark, who has trained countless national champions and winners of the Maclay, the USEF Hunt Seat Medal Finals and the USET Medal Finals, says that her dedication to that particular arena hasn’t changed, but it’s the focus on show jumping following their junior careers that will become more concentrated. “I love the equitation division, and I’m certainly not walking away from that, but my focus personally, at this stage of my life is a) good riding and b) the jumper ring. Those equitation kids, and what they do in those finals, is really just a tool. Those moments are when you learn about all of the details about riding, that’s what that’s all about. Win, lose or draw, at the end of the year, it’s just one class, but hopefully it has opened up the doors for a future in show jumping,” she detailed.

And ultimately, Clark has her eyes on the world’s biggest stage. “I hope, maybe with the horses we have, or with some new additions, we can find the perfect mounts for Peter as we look ahead to the World Equestrian Games in Normandy or the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016. Bottom line,” she concluded, “I’m so excited that Peter is joining us, and it’s here on American soil. I’m American and I support all of our efforts and with Peter here now, we can look to a bright future for the U.S. team’s effort for the next Olympic Games.”