Craig Thompson Part II: A Real PRO

In Part II Craig Thompson talks about:

• Professional Rider's Organization, how it got started and keeping the band marching. At least in the same direction.
• What Bull Riders and NASCAR have on eventers.
• How to make eventing an even better sport, and
• How you can be involved!

Q. What is PRO?

A. A very cool acronym, first and foremost. We got the cool acronym. It’s the Professional Riders Organization. There are five people on the Executive Committee and twenty on the Board. I started to sense from a bunch of us that we could do more. It felt like things had ground to a halt. There was a lot of talk about raising the profile of sport and putting it on par with tennis and golf, also the professional bull riders and NASCAR. I’m happy just getting it on par with show jumping and getting purses. We’ve got great and talented horses and riders but making a living is very hard. To me, when I am said and done I want an eighteen-year-old to say, “I want to event” and their parents don’t say, “Oh my god my kid is going to starve”.

The first step is to organize event riders, which is like herding cats. There are twenty five on the list who have made a financial commitment and a commitment of their time and energy. More spectators and prize money is on the top of everyone’s list. Then there are more mundane things—like benefits for members and retirement and insurance. We want a Pro Tour linking the best events. At the end of the day there’s a gap between the USEA and the USEF. The USEA does an excellent job promoting sports, the USEF does an excellent job of fielding teams and administering rules. But neither has an office of eventing development. Nobody is sitting around trying to raise money or link events in a series or figuring out how to get spectators to come and learn our sport and understand. That’s where most of us fall. There’s a demand for an organization to try to fill that gap.

Riders are great at hacking around the warm-up and talking about what’s wrong. Trying to do something about it is an effort to get people to put their money and time where their mouth is. Complaining is one thing; coming up with an actionable plan is another.

Q. What’s the story behind PRO? How did it get started?

A. I am a member of the Professional Horseman’s Council at the USEA, which tries to provide an organize and unified voice for riders. I got frustrated quickly. It’s very clunky in decision making and slow to react to events as they unfold. I didn’t feel like that was the answer. Several of us talked shop and had a few drinks and talked about what we should do. It’s easy to get people talking and thinking together in Ocala or Aiken in the winter. You’ll see the bull riders on TV and that came from twenty guys sitting around talking about it. Now the PBR has a pro tour and minimum prize money.

In 2007 I wrote an article for The Chronicle [of the Horse] laying out ideas, one of them being to create an independent think tank to develop and promote good ideas. PRO is a little of that—to incubate ideas and foster plans. Then, more specifically, I remember being in a local bar talking with Phillip Dutton and Mara Dean. We’re 3 very different people but we left thinking, yeah, we can do this. In 2008, when Darren fell on his head, a lot went wrong. As professionals we didn’t have the opportunity to say what did happen, what went wrong. We saw public and media finger pointing and didn’t have a way to respond to that. Mara, Laura, Boyd, Will Coleman, and I sat down and tried to answer questions on the Chronicle chat room--which was a disaster. We were shocked by level of anger and lack education on behalf those who were asking questions. There’s a big disconnect between public opinion and what we as riders know to be true. At the Fork Horse Trials last year we had a riders meeting. Fifty or 60 riders showed up, and we sat around and talked. I asked, “Do we need a professional riders organization to represent our interest?” The answer was unanimous—Yes.

photo by Emily Daily

We spent the summer game planning how to get this thing off the ground. I pitched it first at a hotel bar in New Orleans during the USEA Annual Meeting. People kept coming and by time I did the pitch in a big conference room in front of a couple hundred people, we walked away with an organization. There is the executive committee, a board, and members (anyone riding at preliminary and above) and also a participating membership (any fan). Monday night football has taught everyone about football. We need to do a better job of bringing fans to the sport, a better job of getting fans to know that it’s not just Kentucky. No other organization is trying to do that. That’s where we’re at now. That’s how it started.

Q. What is your role?

A. I guess my official title is president. That’s because at one of our very early meetings Phillip and Buck were going to the Olympics, Allison was headed to Europe, and Laura was stuck in traffic. My role is to be the public face and spokesman. Doing things like this interview, press conferences. Conduct the orchestra a little bit. That’s how I think of it. I keep everyone marching, if not in a straight line then in some formation.

Q. How do you know when you’re successful?

A. The British Professional Event Riders Organization was successful in the 1990’s. When funding withdrew it collapsed. PRO has to be self-supporting. Simply sustaining is a huge first step.

We are working with very closely with the Plantation Field CIC ** and *** in September. We wanted an event we could use as lab to see what PRO could do well. We want to work with the best events and make them better events. At Plantation we are trying to do things better. Better commentary: the NFL's John Madden idea; a concierge where owners and riders can hang out with good food and have a good time. We’re holding a silent auction leading up to Plantation with prizes from inexpensive riding lessons and course walks to a beach house in on the Gulf of Mexico and a tour of the Muppet factory in Manhatten. There’s also the $15,000 in prize money, which is huge. Next year we’d like to see a tour and give spectators and fans a reason to follow us from one event to the next. If we can pull all that off I’d say we were successful.

photo by Emily Daily

Q. How can amateur riders or eventing enthusiasts provide support or be involved?

A. The Participating Membership is a $35.00 and includes a quarterly newsletter. You can do things fans wouldn’t be able to do—get behind scenes tours and course walks. Fans need to feel like they’re part of the action. Need to know the horses and riders. Need to figure out which ones they like. Fans can be cheering at the water jump or a minority owner in syndicate, that’s great too.

Q. Anything you want to add or wish that I’d asked?

A. Come to Plantation Field and watch!

Sharon White: "You Can't Beat Something that Makes Your Heart Pound".

We're lucky that fate would bring Sharon White from Alaska to horse-country Virginia.  Lucky because who knows if she would have ridden had she stayed in America's last frontier?  And if she had never ridden maybe she never would have evented.  Which would have been a pity as we never would have seen her win the 2008 Bromont Concours Complet  CCI***, or place 21st out of the Top 50 2008 Leading Riders, or take her mare, The King's Spirit, in 2008 to the Top 10 Leading Mares.  Sharon White has been selected for the USET Developing Rider Program six different times.  She has trained with the top talent in eventing including Bruce Davidson, Torrance Watkins, and Jimmy Wofford.  She's sweet, smart, quick to laugh and wholly devoted to her students and her horses.  Not to mention a gifted eventer.  Yes, it's a good thing that fate is on our side. 

photo credit to Mike McNally

Q.  How did you start riding?

A.  I started riding as one of the many things your mom made you do when you're trying to find out what your kid wants to do.  Ballet, piano, flute lessons.  And then came riding lessons and that was it.  My mom had always wanted a horse and never had one.  I started at the Great Falls Horse Center when I was twelve.

Q.  Where are you from originally?

A.  I actually grew up in Alaska.  I did not ride in Alaska and I didn't really know it existed.  It's not a good place to be an active event rider!  I came to Virginia when I was ten or eleven.

photo courtesy of Last Frontier Farm

Q.  What was the name of your first horse?

A.  The first horse I owned was Sprite--the epitome of the wrong horse!  Green horse and green rider combination.  She was a four-year-old horse off the track and I knew nothing.  I think I fell off her every day but I loved her to death.  I think in our first event we had about 300 penalties because it was before you got eliminated for having four stops.  For everyone out there struggling through some phase in eventing--I've struggled through all of them, with Sprite.  I remember when she first moved up to Training:  I couldn't get her through a triple to save my life.  Like I would fall down, pull her over...It was a complete nightmare!

Q.  What's your favorite thing about being an eventer?

A.  That would have to be cross-country!  That's definitely why you do it but then it becomes so much more than that.  You end up learning so much about your horse and I think that's so special.

Q.  How did you decide on orange and white as your colors?

A.  I decided on orange because it was a happy color.

photo courtesy of Kendall Church

Q. Tell me about your farm.

A.  I love my farm.  I feel very lucky every day.  It's called Last Frontier Farm, named after the State of Alaska which is the last frontier.  Not after Star Trek which some people think!

Q.  Do you have any pets?

A.  Oh yes.  I have two dogs: Butter and Theodore.  Butter is a Lurcher who I got from the Davidson's and Theodore is a hairy terrier who I got from the Murray's.  The Murray's event as well, so they're eventing-bred dogs.  And I have numerous stray cats that sort of move into the house because I'm not home often and I leave the door open and animals just move in. It cracks me up.

Q.  Do you have a favorite horse?

A.  Oh, my favorite horse would definitely, well, the most special one would be my first Advanced horse.  She was my first Advanced horse, first 4-star horse.  Ready About was her name.  She just taught me a lot.  She taught me a lot and there's something about your first Advanced horse.  I made lots and lots of mistakes on her and she always came through for me.  We were atrocious in the dressage!  It was before you had to get a qualifying score.  I had to retire her when you had to get a qualifying dressage score even though we had already gone around Rolex!

Sharon White on Ready About

Q.  How would your friends describe you?

A.  I don't know.  My best guess would be some version of out of her mind for how much she tries to do.  But I would hope, also, hope they would think very willing to help everybody.

Q.  Are you in a relationship?

A.  I am.  I have a fabulous, Swedish boyfriend.  It's been almost two years together.  And he does nothing with horses.  And, in fact, I think I scared him off of it completely.  He wanted to ride a little bit and he had done a little riding in Sweden.  I had this fancy six-year old that was so tall and beautiful.  I figured I'll put Henrik on him since they're both so tall and beautiful.  But it was a green rider and a six-year old horse...not my best idea!  I think he said he was never going to ride again!

photo credit to Mike McNally

Q.  Have you ever had any challenging moments that made you reconsider eventing?

A.  Every day.  It's a labor intensive sport.  It's a labor of love.  You're certainly not doing it for the money!

Q.  How did you know you were going to be good enough to make this your career path?

A.  Oh, I don't know.  I always thought I would be a great groom.  And it turned out that I could do more than that.  Another super thing I feel lucky about.

Q.  What would you have done if you didn't event?

A.  I did have other plans because my mother is very successful and I always thought I would follow in her footsteps--like a doctor or lawyer or something like that.

Q.  What are you proud of in your riding?

A.  I am proud of the hard work I've put into it and what I have managed to achieve.  I hope I'm a long way from being as good as I could be.  That's what I think is such a special thing, too, that it's a process and I feel like I get better every day.  I never stop working at it.  The longer you do it the better you get.  That's really nice.  You have a moment where you learn something new.  You can't beat that.  You can't beat that, and you can't beat the competition.  You can't beat something that makes your heart pound.

Q.  What is your schedule like?

A.  (Laughter).  Oh.  We've got about twenty-five horses in work.  We compete pretty much every weekend and I teach a lot, which I enjoy immensely.

Q.  Where do you compete?

A.  Everywhere on the East Coast.

Q.  What are your career hopes?

A.  Oh, I would like to have done Burghley and Badminton a bunch of times before I die.  I would really like to produce lots of nice advanced horses. I breed horses and also train young horses.  I bred Ready About, my mare, and she has had two foals.  I've bred a couple other three-star mares.  I've home bred five.  And I also produce the young horses; people will send me horses or I'll find a young horse.  I have some wonderful owners who are more friends in my life who have a passion for the horses like I do.

Sharon White fans show their support

Q.  Tell me about the Professional Rider's Organization (PRO).

PRO is an organization that we're starting to give more of a voice to the riders in eventing and to get the passion for the sport and the love of the sport out there, especially when there has been negative publicity.  People have focused more on the negative than the positive.  We have a fabulous sport.  I don't think there's a more well-cared for horse than the event horse.  The sport is fun and there's a great group of people that do it.  We'd just like the world to know and, in particular, the United States.

Q.  Is there anything you would like to add?

A.  The owners are what makes it possible.  The owners are so important, my staff is so important. I have the world's best groom now.  My owners are my friends and it takes a lot of synergy to give it the time to get the horses to the advanced level and stick with it because it is a labor of love for everybody involved.