Riding for the Team. United States Equestrian Team Foundation

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      Despite running into all kinds of problems on the day of the final selection trial in the United States for the 2008 Olympic team, Will Simpson was able to keep smiling.

      After that, the announcer yelled, “Gold for the United States!” What a feeling.

      It was a lifetime body of work that came down to a successful moment right then. Both McLain and George were on the kiss-and-cry podium. There was a debate about how fast I was going—some people thought it was way too fast; George thought it was just right. I felt it was the horse’s natural pace, and I wanted his body and his mind working at the same rate. It was a really fun debate…although it would have been a terrible debate if I hadn’t jumped that clean round! But it worked out perfectly, and our anchor rider, Beezie Madden, didn’t even have to jump again.

      It was a thrill. Then I was in a little bit of a panic. Ever since we had a double clear in Rome, when my son, Ty, was there, I would tip my hat to him after I crossed the finish. My kids had seats in different sections every day. It took me about an hour to get back and forth from the security area to the public area.

      I hadn’t had the time to go see my kids that night, so I had no idea where they were. I had to tip my hat as I went by each individual section and know that somewhere along the line, I would connect. That became my trademark—-the whole thing was a like a surreal dream, I was so preoccupied making sure I tipped my hat to Ty as I brought the horse down to a walk and headed toward the out gate.

      We rode back in the ring for the awards ceremony. It was great being with my teammates, Beezie and Laura Kraut, as well as McLain, all walking out there. It had been a long journey, about 13 months from the time we bought Carlsson and nine months since we left California, tried out for the team, made the team, and went to Europe.

      I started riding Carlsson in 2007 for the Gonda family’s El Campeon Farm. Eva Gonda and I saw this 11-year-old Holsteiner when I was showing in Europe. The horse was quick, light, brave, careful, and a little bit hard to ride. We knew he’d be a superstar in California. Trainer Gilbert Boeckmann had recommended the horse, who was ridden by Christian Seimer. Christian treated Carlsson like a pet. As we were vetting the horse, we didn’t need a lead rope; he followed Christian around as if he was a dog.

      Carlsson was a little aggressive to the jumps; you had to finesse this horse. You couldn’t make him do anything. If you kind of let him do it his way, he was a beautiful jumper. I rode him in a loose ring snaffle because I didn’t want to discourage him with too much bit. We kept on going up through the ranks and were pointing toward the 2008 Olympics. While the main body of the Olympics was in Beijing, the equestrian competition was in Hong Kong because of quarantine issues on the mainland.

      We had a conversation with the whole Gonda family about whether it would be worth it to go to Florida for the Olympic trials. In the end, the Gondas as usual were, like, “Hey, if you want to give it a try, let’s give it a try.”

      We decided our program at the beginning of 2008 would mean staying right at home at El Campeon, where we knew the footing. It wasn’t worth taking a chance on new footing in Thermal, where the winter circuit had just moved from Indio.

      At the same time, I didn’t want to show up in Florida too early and peak too early. So we trained for three or four weeks in the indoor ring at El Campeon, doing gymnastics, then we went to the outdoor sand ring and jumped little courses. After that, we headed for what we called the grass field, which was like a sand ring with grass coming out of it.

      I set the jumps there bigger than I had ever jumped at home; I set the oxers wider than they ever were before, knowing that’s how they would be in Florida. Then we made the trek east.

      I spent one week doing little classes in the de Némethy ring at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, rather than going into the big International Arena right away.

      The first trial was on a Sunday night. It was very hot during the day in Wellington, and I wasn’t used to the humidity. Carlsson would lather everywhere where his skin made contact with his tack. I thought, “Wow, I’m over-cooking this horse.”

      So on the day of the first trial, I hand-walked Carlsson, then put him away and came back for the class at night. But meanwhile, a cold front came in and it became freezing. Carlsson was going around the first Olympic trial with his tail over his back, snorting, and really running away, so we had three down.