Horses are a lot like humans, in that very few have what it takes to compete at the Olympics. Five or six out of every few thousand might make the cut. Steffen Peters is riding two of them.
The 47-year-old dressage rider is bringing two steeds to the 2012 Summer Games for his third Olympiad. Ravel is the old pro at 14 and a top competitor; he qualified for the Games based a pair of bronze medals in the World Championships and a World Cup title in 2009. And then there's Legolas, a 10-year-old upstart who so impressed Peters that he flew to Germany on a moment's notice just to check him out in person. Legolas won a national championship earlier this year, securing his berth at the Games.
Both horses are owned by Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang and his wife, Akiko Yamazaki. Peters hit it off with Yamazaki while giving her a dressage lesson six years ago, and they worked together to send Ravel to Beijing. High-profile owners aren't uncommon in dressage: Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, is the co-owner of another Olympic horse, Rafalca.
The sport favors older riders, in part because it can take seven years to train a horse for the Games. Peters is among the oldest members of the U.S. team — fellow equestrian Karen O'Connor is the oldest at 54 — but both are young guns compared to Hiroshi Hoketsu, the 71-year-old Olympian who will ride for Japan. He first competed in the Olympics in 1964.
We caught up to Peters to talk about his love of animals, how to spot a horse with Olympic aspirations and the game he's never won.
Wired: How did you get started in equestrian?
Peters: I was 9 years old. My sister was joining a pony club and she kept bugging me for about six weeks to come with her. I finally said, "Yeah, OK, I'll give it a try." Mom and Dad supported our hobby. Then we went into a young riders program, did some international competitions when we were 15, 16. I was very lucky in 1991 when a sponsor said, "Look, we believe in you. We'd like you to find a horse for us that can take us to the top."
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Video: Archer Brady Ellison Shows Some Serious GearWired: What drew you to the sport?
Peters: It's always been the love for animals. I'd always had the urge to be near animals. I find it so fascinating that we can communicate with our horse, get them to enjoy what they're doing at this level and perform with them.
Wired: Some might question whether the horse enjoys it, or say, "The horse is doing all the work, you’re just along for the ride…”
Peters: That's a good sign if people think the animal does all the work, because our sport is supposed to look effortless. We actually get scored on how effortless it looks. A horse that doesn’t enjoy it, especially at the Olympic level, will not perform for you. You can't force a horse to do this.
Wired: What's required in an Olympic-caliber horse?
Peters: It is not that different from a human athlete. They must have the athleticism to do this. They have to have the mental capacity to understand all this, and they have to be your best buddy.
Wired: Is that a relationship that clicks immediately, or does it develop over time?
Peters: It develops over time. For instance, I used to play soccer in Germany and I have a slight ankle injury that keeps cracking. My horses know that. When I walk into the barn and the horses hear my ankles crack — it's something most humans won't even hear — they greet me, they talk to me, they start nickering. It’s extremely rewarding.
Wired: It's unusual to bring two horses to the Games. Why?
Peters: There's a gigantic demand because everybody wants a horse that could compete at the Olympic level, and the supply is very, very limited. Each year you might have 2,000 to 3,000 foals that are born. Maybe five or six horses out of those 3,000 might make it to the Olympic games, and we're not even talking about winning a medal.
Wired: Wow. How did you find Legolas?
Peters: Our national coach, Anne Gribbins, sent me a video. You develop an eye. You can look at a horse and say, "You know what? This one might make it." There is a look, a certain move, certain gait. This horse made me book a flight to Germany ten minutes after I saw the video.
Wired: What do you look for?
Peters: You can see a lot in the horse's attitude. Simple things like the ear position. If they always keep their ears forward they're attentive, they're willing to learn, they're willing to work with you. When you see horses with their ears a little bit back, that's their defensive mode. They do what you want but most likely they don't enjoy it that much. That's the very first thing that you look for. You also look how long is their stride, can they extend their stride. And there's a certain look. We like to see uphill horses; our horses have a higher neck position and a well-shaped back and hind legs.
Wired: What's the training regimen like?
Peters: It's about six days a week. Most of the time we train an hour in the morning, but there's a lot of walk breaks in between where we bring the heart rate down and we allow their muscles to gain enough oxygen again. And then the horses usually go for a walk in the afternoon. When we get closer to the Olympic Games they go on a treadmill as well. The treadmill is set between five and seven degrees of an incline. We can monitor their heart rate and their respiratory rate. They do that for another 20 minutes, half an hour in the afternoon.
Wired: And your training?
Peters: I train with a personal trainer three times a week, usually for an hour. There's a lot of core training involved, cardiovascular training. I like to get on the bike with my wife, do additional cardio training. And I play some tennis with her, but I've been married for 8 years and so far I've never won a game against her.
