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Allison Springer wanted a pony so badly she gave up a childhood comfort habit for it.
That led to a love of horses that helped comfort her through a family tragedy.
And it has taken the Barrington High School graduate down a trail that is getting closer and closer to the London Summer Games, even if Springer's federation did not give her much of an Olympic chance at the end of last year.
"From losing my brother, I realize more than most people that tomorrow is not promised, and that today is great," she said.
Few days have been better than when Springer was the top U.S. finisher and second overall April 29, 2011, in the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, the most prestigious eventing competition in the United States. That earned her use of a 2012 Range Rover for 18 months and $37,000.
Just as rewarding was the renewed confidence that Springer and her horse, Arthur, were doing the right things training for eventing, the "equestrian triathlon," where men and women compete against each other in dressage, cross-country and show jumping. They once again had become solid contenders for the 2012 Olympic team.
Springer, 37, and Arthur, 13, had not been selected for the U.S. Equestrian Federation's 2012 high performance training list announced last November. It included 16 riders and 23 horses being groomed for success at the upcoming London Olympics by USEF technical advisor Mark Phillips, a British Olympic eventing champion (and Princess Anne's ex-husband.)
It was the first time since 2007 that Springer and her horse were not chosen for the high performance group. That gave her motivation to get better and time to figure out on her own how to do it.
"Gaining experience is critical for both the horse and rider, and experience unfortunately doesn't only come from good things happening," Springer said.
The USEF will choose its five-member Olympic eventing team July 2, a day after the major competition at Barbary Castle in England. There will be a first cut, selecting the 10 horses (and probably eight riders) who will go to England, after the competition that begins Friday in Bromont, Quebec, where Springer will do only dressage and jumping.
"It's a wise man's game," said Boyd Martin, an almost certain U.S. Olympian. "It's a sport where you get better as you get older. Allison is such a student, and she has a lot of ability, especially for dressage, which is becoming more and more important."
Dressage is the eventing equivalent of what compulsory figures once were in skating. It is the only subjectively judged phase, establishes the base score and uses skills fundamental to the other phases.
"What we do in dressage directly corresponds to what we ask of the horses in cross-country and jumping," Springer said. "It's up to me to produce the appropriate type of canter — speed, stride length, balance — for each different jump.
"Arthur is known for his dressage, but these horses all love cross-country so much."
But probably not as much as their riders love horses.
Ponying up
This adventure all began when Springer's father, William, asked 5-year-old Allison what it would take for her to stop sucking her thumb.
"A pony," she replied.
"That kind of threw me off," William Springer recalled. "My first thought was, 'What do I do now?'"
That led to a love of horses that helped comfort her through a family tragedy.
"From losing my brother, I realize more than most people that tomorrow is not promised, and that today is great," she said.
Few days have been better than when Springer was the top U.S. finisher and second overall April 29, 2011, in the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, the most prestigious eventing competition in the United States. That earned her use of a 2012 Range Rover for 18 months and $37,000.
Just as rewarding was the renewed confidence that Springer and her horse, Arthur, were doing the right things training for eventing, the "equestrian triathlon," where men and women compete against each other in dressage, cross-country and show jumping. They once again had become solid contenders for the 2012 Olympic team.
Springer, 37, and Arthur, 13, had not been selected for the U.S. Equestrian Federation's 2012 high performance training list announced last November. It included 16 riders and 23 horses being groomed for success at the upcoming London Olympics by USEF technical advisor Mark Phillips, a British Olympic eventing champion (and Princess Anne's ex-husband.)
It was the first time since 2007 that Springer and her horse were not chosen for the high performance group. That gave her motivation to get better and time to figure out on her own how to do it.
"Gaining experience is critical for both the horse and rider, and experience unfortunately doesn't only come from good things happening," Springer said.
The USEF will choose its five-member Olympic eventing team July 2, a day after the major competition at Barbary Castle in England. There will be a first cut, selecting the 10 horses (and probably eight riders) who will go to England, after the competition that begins Friday in Bromont, Quebec, where Springer will do only dressage and jumping.
"It's a wise man's game," said Boyd Martin, an almost certain U.S. Olympian. "It's a sport where you get better as you get older. Allison is such a student, and she has a lot of ability, especially for dressage, which is becoming more and more important."
Dressage is the eventing equivalent of what compulsory figures once were in skating. It is the only subjectively judged phase, establishes the base score and uses skills fundamental to the other phases.
"What we do in dressage directly corresponds to what we ask of the horses in cross-country and jumping," Springer said. "It's up to me to produce the appropriate type of canter — speed, stride length, balance — for each different jump.
"Arthur is known for his dressage, but these horses all love cross-country so much."
But probably not as much as their riders love horses.
Ponying up
This adventure all began when Springer's father, William, asked 5-year-old Allison what it would take for her to stop sucking her thumb.
"A pony," she replied.
"That kind of threw me off," William Springer recalled. "My first thought was, 'What do I do now?'"
