Twelve years after his first team experience, our columnist thanks the individuals who made that medal bid and every one since then possible.

Here we are again, getting ready for a team trip to Mexico; the Pan American Games are right around the corner.

I rode on my first team at the 1999 Pan Ams in Winnipeg with Pajama Game, and wow, how the times have changed since then! Twelve years ago, I was “the young guy”—only 22—and I had absolutely no clue that I was going to represent my country until the day before we left for Canada.

Our columnist addresses the new business realities of 21st century eventing and whether they are “fair.” 

Our columnist recalls the cyclical journey that the selection process has taken over the past few decades.

Jumping, like all equestrian sports, is a fickle game. With an endless variety of variables at play, not even the very best horse-and-rider combination is infallible on any given day. This situation means that selecting a team for an event such as the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games comes to as much art as science.