In many sports, “Keep your eye on the ball!” is absolutely critical advice. But in horse sports, sometimes the problem is deciding which “ball” to keep your eye on.

There are just so many ways of participating in equestrian sports that it can become very hard to choose one particular goal and not be distracted by appealing distractions along the road.

U.S. competitors had their most successful World Equestrian Games ever last month. We took home eight medals, plus, four different individuals came within a whisker of adding more to that total by finishing in either fourth or fifth place. I’m not familiar with the stories of each one of our WEG stars, but I can assure you that achieving this kind of success at this level is not an overnight process, even for the most talented or fortunate.

Each of these competitors set goals, made (often-difficult) choices, and persevered through the inevitable setbacks and discouragements’and kept their eye on the ball.

David O’Connor, the reigning Olympic gold medalist and the rider who produced the faultless show jumping round that secured the three-day team’s gold medal this year, attended his first World Championship in 1978 in Lexington, Ky. While still many years shy of being old enough to compete in a three-day event anywhere near this level, he was there watching and learning.

Twenty-four years later, his dedication to “doing things right”‘in every aspect of the care and preparation of his horses, as well as his riding’has his whole program polished to a high sheen. David’s brand of horsemanship is the kind that had him driving his own van to bring his partners home to Virginia when they were released from quarantine in New York following the WEG. It’s not surprising that he has two top international horses (Giltedge and Custom Made) that have remained in their prime well into their teens.

Our show jumping bronze medalist, Peter Wylde, has demonstrated the same sort of single-minded dedication to achieving his goal. I don’t know exactly when Peter decided that he would become the kind of horseman and rider who could produce the “best horse” at the World Championships, but every step he’s taken, every decision he’s made, has led to this achievement.

Peter spent his junior years under the tutelage of Fran and Joe Dotoli, the professionals who conceived the New Eng-land Medal Finals’ and included the prestigious horsemanship portion. Don’t forget that Joe is the same professional who took on the junior safety helmet issue and saw it through. Joe was in Jerez, continuing to support his protégé throughout the week’s competition. The Dotolis must take great pride in the way that their former student has put the classic style they taught him (which made Peter an ASPCA Maclay Finals winner) to use over international courses with jumps nearly two feet higher, 20 years later.

After leaving his junior years behind, Peter took his equestrian education to the next level by availing himself of the opportunity to work for several years in the stable of Gerhard Edder in Switzerland. This type of riding job means plenty of horses to ride’horses of every type, character and level of ability. It also means hard work in and out of the saddle, no glamour, and no special opportunities until you’ve earned them.

Peter’s next stop on his way to a World Championship medal meant a return to the United States. He ran a very successful and beautifully managed operation at Chestnut Ridge in New York’selecting horses, training, competing and coaching’for several years. In his understated manner, he qualified for the 1999 Pan Am Games and came home with an individual silver medal and a team silver on Macanudo De Niro.

Following those games, his sponsors decided not to continue in show jumping, so Peter decided to return to Europe. He took this step well aware of the pressure he would be under to qualify for the major events. He also knew that his international aspirations would benefit from the pressure of competing day in and day out on the European tour. Macanudo De Niro came with him’to be sold’and impressive wins in difficult competition led to a successful sale.

Meanwhile, he gained the ride on the young mare Fein Cera, owned and ridden by Alison Firestone. The 2000 Sydney Olympics came just a bit too early in this mare’s career, but she thrived on Wylde’s carefully structured plan of competition that completed her thorough education during 2001 and into 2002.

Coming all the way from Holland to California for the U.S. Equestrian Team’s WEG selection trials was a leap of faith for Peter. It meant a big outlay in shipping and quarantine costs to bring the mare so far, and, it also meant passing up competitions in Europe that would be his only way of qualifying for the indoor shows should his calculated risk of making the WEG team not be successful.

But he knew he had a mare with the ability, attitude, and mileage to be successful in Jerez, so, without fanfare, he made the trip. Toughing it out throughout the trials’enduring two or three heartbreaking “cheap rails”‘ he stayed focused, rode beautifully, and pulled out the clear final round that put him securely on the team.

Qualifying for the team was important, but Peter’s main goal was the championship itself. He carried his plan and his deadly consistency into the Samsung Nations Cup Final a month before the WEG, producing our only double-clear performance.

With everything seeming right on target, Peter arrived in Jerez to be faced with a not-so-infrequent occurrence in our sport: a freak shipping injury during Fein Cera’s trip to Spain. Imagine coming so far only to be threatened with the possibility of not even being able to start. Chiropractic therapy, together with the mare’s top physical condition, not only got her to the ring, but saw her jump consistently through a total of nine rounds of competition to emerge with the “best horse” title. She dropped only two rails during those nine rounds!

I believe that Peter Wylde demonstrates just what talented, hard-working, and smart horsemen determined to reach their goals can accomplish. Peter took the time and made the effort that it takes to become a horseman, as well as a rider. He developed his own complete program’one based on the best of classical horsemanship’and used it to nurture and develop a quality horse like Fein Cera.

Yet, he had the wisdom to include Conrad Homfeld as a part of his team for the WEG. Conrad is a consummate horseman who shares Peter’s attention to detail. Peter made good use of Conrad’s knowledge and his experience in the pressure cooker of a World Championship.

Peter demonstrated that he is one show jumping athlete who really knows how to “keep his eye on the ball.”