Photo courtesy of Robert Dovert at DoversWorld.com
President of the USPEA Hope Hand expressed, "I am personally thrilled and excited to hear that Robert Dover was awarded the position of Chef d' Equipe of the United States Equestrian Team. Robert is a great technician but more importantly, Robert knows what it takes to be a Team Player and I feel his philosophies and his coaching skills will produce winning results for the Team. Para Dressage has always appreciated and valued what we have learned from Robert and thank him for his positive influence and contributions he has made on our riders. I look forward to collaborating with Robert to lead our Teams back on the podium.
Robert Dover responded on DoversWorld.com in reference to his new position,
"I am honored to have been selected for the job of Technical Advisor/ Chef d'Equipe for the U.S. Dressage Team! Earlier this evening, my friend, Michelle, who has worked at Gladstone for many years, told me that Fiona Baan, past Director of Dressage and one of the most influential people in America for our sport and me, personally, "would be very proud". I fully intend to do my very best to live up to the expectations of Fiona, Col. Bengt Ljungquist, and so many others who helped me so much in my career and put their faith in me."
He continued. "My desire is to work with the riders, their personal trainers, and our National Coaches, to create an incredibly strong pipeline - a true machine - from our juniors on ponies through our young riders and horses and developing combinations, up to our elite international athletes, so that Americans may stand atop the medal podiums around the world at all divisions. This goal will not only require great strategies, dedication, and hard work by all of us involved, but naturally, it is going to hinge greatly upon the funding necessary to train and field the finest teams of athletes, both 2 and 4-legged. Your donations to our USET Foundation are key in financing our High Performance athletes. World-class riders and horses training and competing at the very highest standards means world-class programs, starting with our kids. Our elite international riders know their jobs and while ensuring they have EVERYTHING they need to excel with confidence, I can tell you from having been on and coached great teams, that is still the easy part. The game changer will be making sure we have superbly trained and prepared riders and horses, constantly coming up through the pipeline in greater numbers every year. Only then will we see an "American Machine" which will outlast all of us individually and continue indefinitely into the future, the Solid Gold future we dream of!"
Robert Dover's appointment is currently pending successful negotiation of a contract with John Long, USEF CEO and James Wolf, USEF Executive Director of Sport Programs.