“Now I need a gold. I had had silver individually at the world championships and silver at the Olympics. I need a gold. I have devoted my whole life to this.”

In a candid interview with Clayton carried by The Australian newspaper,  he reveals he will be bringing Ben Along Time (pictured right) after a two-year injury break to contend the four-star Kentucky event to qualify him for the Olympics. The article also reveals Headley Britannia, now 19, is being prepared for one last shot at Olympic glory.

“Lucinda and her latest mare Prada ( below  have been listed in the secondary “A” squad for the Olympics, a judgment Clayton describes as a “kick up the arse” for his wife because Prada’s dressage score is not yet of Olympic class. Almost 20 years in England may have rubbed off some of his rough edges, but Clayton still has the frankness of his native land.

“They have now installed a wall of mirrors along the edge of their equestrian arena so that Lucinda can work intensively on Prada’s dressage. The pair has worked on it “every day of the winter”, she said.

“There’s no doubting her bond with the horse she regards as her once-in-a-lifetime find. Her face lights up when she talks about “Brit”, just as it does when she talks about her daughter Ellie, 8.

“She has rested the mare from competition for the past two years, while keeping up her fitness and skills, in a bid to nurse her through to one more Games in the twilight of her career. They will do three competitions in the next five months in a late bid to qualify for the Olympics.

“I felt I went into the last Games 100 per cent fit and prepared and so did my horse but when it came down to it things were taken out of my hands and I couldn’t quite perform as strongly as I would have liked,” Lucinda said. “If I have the chance to go to London, I will be very strong.”

Clayton is quite clear what he’s looking for in the competition – nothing but the top prize.

“”Not many people get to stand on the medal dais with their wife (it is only possible in equestrian at the Olympics), but you don’t go to the Olympics to win silver, you go to win gold and we had a chance of that,” Clayton recalls.

“Now I need a gold. I had had silver individually at the world championships and silver at the Olympics. I need a gold. I have devoted my whole life to this.”

The full article can be seen on the website of  The Australian.

Clayton is back in Texas, USA and will be at Denton Creek Farms this weekend to teach a full programme of clinics.

Lori Calame, owner of Denton Creek Farms, said the clinics will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

The auditing fee is $30 for one day or $50 for the weekend. Visitors 12 and younger will be admitted free when accompanied by a parent, she said.

Lori said Clayton enjoys working with young people and is a gifted teacher. “It’s pretty exciting having him here,” she said. “This is his third year to come to our farm. It’s great to watch; he’s incredible.”

Last year’s sessions were delayed by bad weather, so fingers crossed for the local participants this time.

Lucinda and Clayton are outstanding trainers, regularly teaching in Europe, the US and Hong Kong. See our training section for more information on how to arrange local training sessions with Clayton and Lucinda.

Denton Creek Farms is at 6337 U.S. Highway 380 East in Decatur, about 14 miles west of Denton. For more information about the Farm or the weekend clinics, visit www.dentoncreekfarms.com or call 940-393-3720.

Mr Big Cat (Rio) will be appearing in the Hartpury Stallion Parade at Hartpury College, Gloucester this coming Saturday 28^th January.  Mr Big Cat will be on show at 4.30 pm and is number 34.  Mr. Big Cat is an exciting new stallion displaying the classical thoroughbred attributes of speed stamina and athleticism.  This combined with exceptional good looks and a superb temperament makes Mr Big Cat the ideal breeding stallion for eventing or showjumping.

Mr. Big Cat is a seven year old, 17.0hh Brazilian thoroughbred stallion by Tamango, co- owned by Clayton with Deborah Clarke.  Displaying the classical Thoroughbred attributes of speed, stamina and athleticism combined with exceptional good looks, he was imported from Brazil in 2009 and began his international eventing career in 2010. In his short competition career he has been placed internationally, qualifying for the World Championships for young event horses at Le Lion D’Angers in 2011.   His most recent results include finishing 8^th in the CCI1* at Fontainebleau and 3^rd in the CNC2** at Pontispool.  Mr. Big Cat possesses all the desirable characteristics of the modern event horse. Amazing paces, careful jumping technique and an exceptional ability to gallop cross country. This combined with his superb temperament and trainability makes him the ideal breeding stallion for eventing.  Mr. Big Cat is a very popular horse at Team Fredericks, and despite being a working stallion, his good-natured temperament make him an easy and uncomplicated horse to handle.

For more information on Mr. Big Cat please email info@teamfredericks.com or ring 01380 816636.  

Entry tickets for the show are £10 and can be bought in advance by email bbsh@bbsh.org.uk or ringing 07751 499041 or on the door. (www.bbsh.org.uk)

The Australian team front-runners for the Olympics have been announced – Clayton and three horses , Be My Guest, Dunge’s Laurent Rosé and Bendigo III are in the team, while Lucinda and Prada are part of the Australian national “A” squad, the shadow team.

On the Equestrian Australia website Brett Mace, EA’s High Performance Manager, explained the composition of the Shadow Teams. “The “Elite” listed combinations are presently the front-runners for the Olympic and Paralympic teams. However, I am sure our “A” Squad members will make the most of every opportunity to claim a place on the team through exceptional performances in the lead up to London.” he said.

Clayton commented: “I am thrilled at the news of the three horses in the Olympic Squad and it also looks likely I will be the first Australian eventer to qualify for the London Olympics for 2012 due to being the highest ranked individual in the Olympic Rankings.   My prospects for the next Olympics with the strength of my team look solid and I also have some other horses to qualify this year including Ben Along Time and Brookleigh ( owned by Nikki Brooks). I would like to thank all the support that has been given from special Individuals, EA,WAIS, ASC and the AOC and reassure all my supporters I am working hard to do my part in turning the Silver team medal from 2008 into double Gold in London.”

Several owners have commented on the good news. Edwin and Peta McAuley, who own Bendigo III, told us: “”We are delighted that Clayton has made the cut into the Australian team front runners and that he has a strong string of qualified horses including Bendigo. We hope Clayton can help bring home gold for Australia in July.”

Tim and Alice Page, Rosie’s owners, said: “Very many congratulations to Clayton on getting three horses onto the Australian Elite Squad. There cannot be many riders anywhere in the world with three Olympic prospects. We are equally proud of Rosie [Dunge's Laurent Rosé] who had a most sensational 2011 season; 5th in her first 4* (Luhmühlen), 9th at Pau 4* and winning the World Cup event at Haras du Pin. She really is ‘Little Miss Consistent’ at all three disciplines of eventing time and time again.”

Andrew and Stacey Quarles, who share the ownership of Be My Guest : “We are very pleased for Clayton, Lucinda and all their owners to have the news of Clayton’s Elite squad nominations and that of Lucinda for the “A” Squad. 

“Moving here to the UK from The US has been made all the more enjoyable in the run-up to the Olympics by being able to take an ownership share for the year in Be My Guest.  Clayton and Lucinda are fantastic at drawing support for the sport of eventing by sharing the excitement with all their owners and supporters included in Team Fredericks.  Medals for Australia will be medals shared with an internationally diverse group of owners, horses and supporters no matter which horse earns them.”Having MacArthur on the 2012 National Eventing Futures Squad with Clayton puts the frosting on the cupcake.” they added.

Vicki Miller, part-owner of Prada, commented: “I’m delighted for Lucinda and Clayton that their hard work, talent and ability to get the best out of their horses has been recognized and am thrilled for the other Team Fredericks owners. With Prada rather less experienced than other horses on the squad, we need a good performance at Badminton for promotion but it’s certainly not impossible particularly with Lucinda at the helm!”

Meanwhile, the eventing schedules for both Clayton and Lucinda for the 2012 season have been released by the team. More details can be seen on the Event Schedule 2012 page.

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas break. Clayton Ellie and I had 6 days wonderful skiing in Carezza, Italy over new year. We went with Clayton’s brother Kelvin , his wife Anita and their 2 young children and our good friends from Stuttgart, the Siewerts.

We have been home a week working all the horses who have been very well trained by our loyal team of staff while we were working hard keeping trim on the slopes.

Clayton heads off to Munich to do a 3 day clinic while I am hoping to take most of my horses xc schooling at Rosamund Green farm over the weekend. Ellie’s new pony, Mindy, is also arriving this weekend from ex yard manager, Georgie Murgatroyd so Ellie’s new years resolution is to muck her pony out every day before school- I may need report how many days that will last!!

Take care

Cinda x