It was not a good day for the USA team but a great day for Canada. These were the two extremes at the top end of the WEG scoreboard yesterday, with the USA team slipping out of contention and the Canadian team winning the silver medal.

The British won gold, but they are used to this level of success. To Canada, the team silver medal felt like gold. Their success also cast a huge shadow over the USA team who failed to capitalize on home advantage and win either a team or individual medal.

Of course it could easily have been so very different. Send Philip Dutton and Karen O’Connor in to jump the course another 10 times, and there would have been more double clears than rounds with faults. This is what the U.S. team members have to remember as they plan ahead for future championships and strive for a better result at the 2012 Olympics.

They need to be objective and constructive as they examine if anything could have been done differently to gain that winning edge. When doing this it will not be helpful to focus solely on the negative. That would be destructive and delay progress. It would eat away at the confidence and enthusiasm of the riders and coaches and leave the team in a worst state. As Willy Wonka says “Everything in this room is eatable. Even I’m eatable. But that is called cannibalism, my dear children, and is in fact frowned upon in most societies.” The U.S. event team needs to build, not tear down.

As they make their plans for 2012, it is almost certain that progress will come from many small changes rather than a clean start approach. When Clive Woodward took over the English rugby team six years before winning the World Cup, he based his plan on a document called “100 Small Changes For Greatness.” It fits well with the fact that all elite athletes know that improvement comes “inch by inch” not “yard by yard.”

What is certain is that over the coming days the riders from both the Canadian and U.S. team will not be waiting to be told what to do. As Yehuda Shinar (the Israeli life coach involved in the English World Cup victory) said: “A warrior doesn’t need you to tell him to give 100 percent. Warriors are never satisfied. They are the kind of people that when they finish a game where they did well, five minutes later they will be sitting down thinking: “What could I have done better?” They are always improving.”

It is important that the management from both teams recognize this and involve the riders in team plans. Otherwise they will not show their riders the respect that is vital.

A Strategy Of Respect

It is a noticeable strategy within Yogi Breisner’s management of the British eventing team that each rider is respected. Yogi visits each rider is visited at home and encourages each rider to keep using the methods that suit him or her as riders and suit their individual horses. Then the coaching team tweaks their performance.

This immediately puts the riders at ease and makes their transition from an individual to a team focus so much easier. Yogi is also happy, as he knows well that many little tweaks can make a huge improvement. Yes, the majority of riders he works with are already very successful at a high level, but this same philosophy is carried down to the development squads as well and to Gill Watson’s Junior and Young Rider teams. Ultimately it is a matter of mutual respect and good communication driven by a vision of success.

David O’Connor, the Canadian coach, now has a solid launch pad for 2012. His riders and the whole Canadian eventing world will be able to move forward with renewed motivation and confidence towards 2012. This by itself will be a catalyst for progress as David will find there an increased support and enthusiasm for his training—his small steps. And each rider on the squad will find it easier to be more energized as they put in the hours of hard work even when the weather is bad and they are far from the excitement of competition.

For the USA squad it will be more difficult, but the negatives can be turned into a positive if they cherish their failures rather than go in for the easy option of blame and recriminations.

For example the mental foundation of Roger Bannister’s famous breaking of the 4-minute mile barrier in 1954 took place at the 1952 Olympics when he failed to win a medal in the 1,500-meter despite running a personal best. For others he was simply an Olympic failure after four years of preparation, but to Roger Bannister it was the launch pad for change and renewed effort—a launch pad that produced the plan and motivation for breaking that 4-minute barrier in two years time. There is no reason why the U.S. team cannot do exactly the same thing.

The first great trick of a competition philosophy is to not be afraid of failure. Indeed it is vital that elite performers make mistakes if they are to stretch themselves and stay at the cutting edge of training methods and technology.

The second great trick is to not keep making the same mistakes! As I watched Andrew Nicholson accept his individual bronze medal I saw a man who is the epitome of this philosophy. Yes he has had an amazing career as a member of the New Zealand team and has been to the Olympics six times, but he would be the first to admit that he has been overshadowed by the individual successes of his team mates, especially World Champion Blyth Tait and double Olympic champion Mark Todd. In fact he is remembered more for his ride on Spinning Rhombus in the show jumping at the Barcelona Olympics. With the New Zealand team having eight rails in hand to win the gold medal, he knocked down nine rails to drop New Zealand to second behind arch-rivals Australia.

However this has spurred Andrew on to improve his standards and gain that individual success. He cherishes his failures and relishes each new high-level competition as a chance to create a new personal best. Who would now bet against him winning an individual medal in London?

Negativity Is Not The Answer

Yes, the U.S. team came away with nothing on the medals table, but it is vital that the personal bests of each team member are recognized. For example Becky Holder achieved a new personal best by being in third place after cross-country at a World Championship. Boyd Martin achieved a new personal best with his great performance finishing on his dressage score in 10^th place. Karen O’Connor was only one mistake away from sixth place, and Philip Dutton and Kim Severson remain riders of the highest quality. And let’s not forget that the USA was less than 7 marks off the bronze medal and less than 20 marks off the team gold medal. This is a gap that can be bridged, and this is the first thought that should remain uppermost in minds as the WEG performance is assessed and plans made for 2012.

The second and most important thought is that success at a high level in all areas of sport and performance is determined by opportunities, encouragement, training, motivation and self-confidence. Negativity is not part of the recipe for success, and the USA management and supporters need to show maturity and self-discipline if negativity is to be avoided.

William Micklem is an international coach and educational and motivational speaker. He is a Fellow of the British Horse Society and author of The DK Complete Horse Riding Manual, the world’s top-selling training manual. He found Karen and David O’Connor’s three Olympic medalists Biko, Giltedge and Custom Made and breeds event horses, including Karen O’Connor’s Olympic horse Mandiba and Zara Phillips’ High Kingdom. He is also the inventor of the Micklem Bridle, which is now approved for use in dressage by the FEI. www.WilliamMicklem.com