Dateline: Sydney, 1st March, 2005

Equestrian sport is struggling in many parts of the world in different disciplines - latest news is that Punchestown Horse Trials (Ireland) have been cancelled due to lack of sponsorship while in Australia the showjumping fraternity are still trying to work out what went wrong in the leadup to Athens leaving such slim pickings for the selectors and what can be done to get things "up to speed" for the World Equestrian Games which are just 18 months away.

This letter from Australia's best performed showjumper and a lady who commands respect for her talent on a horse and for her total dedication to a sport which has been her life probaby since before she could walk - Vicki Rycroft writes.....................

"We are six months down the track from the worst show jumping performance ever by an Australian representative at an Olympic Games, which was partially caused by the worst show jumping selection ever made by our Selectors, and where are we now?

A brief review. The Selectors ended up with the choice of two riders, Andrew Inglis, an experienced, winning international rider on a scopey horse, MR BURNS, and Tim Armitrano, a rider of limited experience, on his first European campaign, on a horse MR INNOCENT, that was well known amongst most high level riders, to be limited by ability and technique at the highest level.

However, the Selectors chose Tim, who competed at one show between selection and the Olympics, and then recorded our worst performance ever. Andrew and MR BURNS, on the other hand, in the same time frame, went and did what no other Australian has done for the last 10 years, and won a 3 Star Grand Prix in Europe, all of which indicates that despite only having a choice of 2, the Selectors picked the wrong one. And I don't even want to go down the track of the pending doping charges against Tim from Rotterdam CSIO, and how that situation came about.

So what has happened? Very little discussion from where I sit, and not much attempt to remedy the situation. We have 3 of the same Selectors (Cooke, Sirrett and Watts), with the addition of ANOTHER Course Designer, John Wilsher, and poor Jamie Coman as National Coach, who has the unenviable position of trying to talk some sense into these guys whose recent history of listening to anyone else's opinion is severely limited.

So why, in the Eligibility to be Selectors Criteria, were professional coaches prohibited? Do you think that happens in Germany, the US, or France? Kurt Gravemeir and Herbert Meyer were Team coaches and Selectors, George Morris has always been involved in the Selection process, and Jean-Maurice Bonneau has been pretty much the sole Selector for the current World Cup and World Champions, the French. So why do we think here in Australia, we can do it differently to the rest of the world, especially when their last bit of decision making was so badly flawed?

There must be a BALANCE of Selectors. The 'professional coach' clause prevented people such as Gavin Chester, Colleen Brook or Rod Brown from being involved in a job where we now desperately need some expertise. Surely if there is a perceived 'conflict of interest' then that person could step down and be replaced by an alternate, as was the case when Rod Brown was National Coach advising the Selectors, and the horse he part owned, ZAZU, was up for selection. Rod stood down, as may well be the case if Rod was there now, and his partnership with MR BURNS continues to be successful.

We now at last have more than a few people who are prepared to put money into the sport and the purchase of nice horses, but these people must be reassured then the system of selection that their horses will be subjected to is a fair one overseen by experts. People who can draw on current European experience, where the sport is constantly evolving, and not just those who rarely leave their own state.

We had a very promising result at the last World Championships, and with a bit of luck and good planning, the chance to improve upon that result at the next World Championships, and subsequently Beijing, but not unless there is some open discussion and an attitude for change in the current situation.

Despite having a very successful competition record in the sport, neither I or any of my contemporaries seem to be consulted much by the administartion. Again this is not the case in the major European nations, where the leading riders are very much a part of decision making processes.

I await with interest a reply to my queries, and fervently hope that there may soon be an end to the apathy that currently abounds.

Yours faithfully,

Vicki Roycroft"