As his career at the top of the sport has progressed and evolved, six-time Olympic show jumper McLain Ward has also become known as a mentor for younger riders, and the list he’s helped includes Lillie Keenan, Katie Dinan, Adrienne Sternlicht, Lucy Deslauriers, Richie Vogel, Brian Moggre and several others. Here Ward shares some words of wisdom that he’s gleaned over years of shaping his own career and advising younger riders.
I’m helping people at a stage in their career where, in theory, they know how to ride. The technical basics of riding have been perhaps not mastered but definitely taught. I want to help them refine those skillsets to the highest levels that a particular rider can achieve. They also have to combine those technical skills with learning how to manage a competitive career, which are two quite different things.
The biggest challenge I see for riders making the leap from their young rider career to the top levels is in putting it all together. In all sports, it’s one thing to be talented; it’s another thing to be less talented and hardworking, gritty and determined. Those are all valuable qualities that will carry you so far, but now you have to combine those skillsets with abilities outside of riding that will help connect the dots to get you where you want to be. How do you create opportunities? How do you get mounted on good horses? How do you sell yourself to people so that they feel engaged and want to support your journey?
Those are the things that have a lot to do with who makes it to the top. I get frustrated when I hear a lot of rhetoric about the idea that if you’re not a billionaire, you can’t make it. And then I look at the top 10 riders in the FEI Longines World Rankings, and none of them come from that background. If you go down the world rankings, there are a few very wealthy people. I’ve had enough experience with people who come from very affluent backgrounds to know that that comes with a whole different set of challenges, which aren’t always that easy.
I get frustrated when I hear a lot of rhetoric about the idea that if you’re not a billionaire, you can’t make it. And then I look at the top 10 riders in the FEI Longines World Rankings, and none of them come from that background.
Riding well, being a better horseperson, and learning how to compete are all givens for getting to the next level. But there’s also the aspect of managing a career—finding sponsorship, finding owners, creating opportunities—that’s so essential.
Take Chances
Kent Farrington and I talk all the time about how for many years we never missed a five-star grand prix. That’s not because we always had the biggest sponsors or best horses of our lives in those moments. We made it a priority to be in those classes. At times, we bought horses ourselves to keep us at the top level, or we’ve talked to people and said, “Can you send me that horse, or let me work on that horse? I think I can make it better.” We scrapped to find a mount. A lot of people sit back and think, “I’m talented; people will give me horses to ride.” That’s not how it happens.
I can’t tell you how many riders I’ve had come to work for me whose main concern is their living accommodations and what brand of car they’ll be driving. I’ve been lucky enough that things have worked out very well for me, but that’s been 35-plus years of grinding at it and thanks to a lot of opportunities along the way from a lot of people. I never chased the economics of it. That comes with success, and that’s a nice perk. But the focus shouldn’t be on financial success; it should be on getting the opportunity to ride top horses.
You can’t have success if you’re not competing. I always wanted to know, “How am I going to be in the grand prix next week with a competitive horse?”
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When you take a job as a second or third rider at a big stable, flatting horses, you get a nice paycheck every week, and that’s very safe. But people who take the risks are the ones who are going to create good opportunities for themselves. Sometimes that feels really unsafe, and it’s uneasy territory, right? But you need to be willing to take educated, smart risks if you want to really succeed. Some people say, “Oh, I’ll do anything for it,” but then actually find out they won’t really do anything for it.
Be Resilient
Our sport can be very difficult, challenging and heartbreaking, with horses getting injured or not performing, or getting injured yourself. But, to some degree, if this is going to be your career, you need to accept that the challenges are part of it. Sometimes it feels like the bad luck comes in runs, but you have to keep putting one foot in front of the other, looking for the next opportunity.
Frustration can come from anything, if you allow it to dominate your outlook. I happen to focus on thinking that one step sideways will maybe lead to three steps forward, and they’ll be steps that I probably wouldn’t have taken otherwise. Maybe that’s something that’s just a little bit internal in me. Maybe it’s a confidence that’s been built because things, to some degree, have worked out for me. But that mentality also probably played a role in things working out. When I missed getting a horse or a horse was injured or an opportunity didn’t come to fruition, I believe something else positive came about in its place.
I think that across the board, when you see people who have been successful in any walk of life, you notice that they don’t get overwhelmed by the setbacks. They just accept them as redirections. You have to digest them. You have to learn from them. And then you have to wake up the next day and go after the next opportunity.
Build A Village
There are some realities that have evolved as the sport has grown. I think a top rider has to have a knowledgeable, strong team in the barn backing them—barn manager, veterinarian, farrier, grooms and more. I look at other sports teams, and there was a time when the coach also played, in addition to being the strength trainer and the infield trainer and the first base coach and all the other different roles. And that’s evolved, right? Now there are experts supporting the team, from medical personnel to strength training to game logistics. Our sport is no different.
“When you see people who have been successful in any walk of life, you notice that they don’t get overwhelmed by the setbacks.”
The growth of the sport at the highest level has made it somewhat impossible to be the well-rounded horsepeople that the generation before were. I cannot shoe my horses, feed my horses, groom my horses, train my horses, fundraise the sponsorship dollars, interact with the clientele and compete at the Olympic level. Something has to give. What you see in the very successful big operations now is riders who have a thorough understanding of horse care, but who then surround themselves with the best people for each expertise. The riders are engaged and involved with all the decisions, but they allow those experts to do what they know best.
The idea that the only way to be successful is if you start in the morning mucking stalls and drive the truck to the show and braid your horse isn’t realistic. There’s nothing wrong with any of that, but when riders are aiming for the very top level, they have to prioritize their time wisely. They need to manage their responsibilities, and, in turn, manage people around them. That’s what leadership is. I have often said that the generations that I learned from were better all-around horsemen than I am. They knew horses better.
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That knowledge is enormously important and to be respected, but I choose to trust the experts on my team to have that expertise, leaving me the time to focus on other priorities.
Develop As A Human Being
I continue to learn through these experiences with young riders, as well as from my own experiences in the sport and in life. Being a successful rider is definitely one part of it, but living a rewarding life as a human also has a lot to do with success.
I’ve been privileged to work with young riders at an incredible time in their life. They can really focus on the sport, but they also should be really focused on developing who they are as a person. I very much respect that I get to be a large influence on a pretty influential period in their life. At the end of the day, most of these young riders are pretty exceptional. I’ve grown tremendously as a person by being around them, and probably also as a competitor.
Anybody that I’ve had influence over, I always push them to work on every single possible asset that could improve them as a competitor and as a person. As I push them to go after all of these things, I share with them very openly what my journey has been. I think most of them are very surprised that it’s not what they think it is from watching from the outside.
I am checkered by vulnerabilities, insecurities, missteps and mistakes, but yet I found a way to try to overcome most of them and live a successful life and have a successful career. I think that sharing that experience allows them to open up and say, “I’m in a tough spot here,” when they need to.
Vulnerability is really where you grow. I also try to open people’s eyes to the different tools that will help, like sports psychology, physical training, and finding some balance in your life.
A stalwart of the U.S. jumping team for decades, McLain Ward, 49, won team gold medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games and team silver at the 2016, 2021 and 2024 Games. He also earned team gold at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games (North Carolina), team silver at the 2006 WEG (Germany) and team bronze at the 2014 Alltech WEG (France). Ward also won the 2017 Longines FEI World Cup Final (Nebraska) and has spent time atop the Longines FEI World Show Jumping Rankings. He operates his family’s Castle Hill Farm in Brewster, New York.
This article originally appeared in the July 2025 issue of The Chronicle of the Horse. You can subscribe and get online access to a digital version and then enjoy a year of The Chronicle of the Horse. If you’re just following COTH online, you’re missing so much great unique content. Each print issue of the Chronicle is full of in-depth competition news, fascinating features, probing looks at issues within the sports of hunter/jumper, eventing and dressage, and stunning photography.
