English
French
Photo: Cealy Tetley 2023
It was a moment of reckoning for Canada’s Eventing Team. After failing to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, Canada’s best Eventers were at risk of missing out on a team spot for Paris 2024.
Missing the chance to compete on the world stage was a heavy blow for the Canadian Eventing Team. But instead of giving up, the nation’s top Eventers saw this moment as an opportunity for change, embracing novel science-driven training strategies, advanced nutrition protocols and improved team management.
Overhauling the Canadian Eventing Team (CET) was a multi-year journey, requiring extensive commitment from the athletes, their support team and outside experts. But this persistence paid off with a gold medal Team Eventing victory at the 2023 Pan-Am Games in Santiago, Chile.
This victory secured Team Canada’s spot at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, with Karl Slezak, Mike Winter, Jessica Phoenix, and Colleen Loach (Sub.) selected to compete.
Mad Barn is proud to have played a part in the Eventing Team’s transformation, partnering with Equestrian Canada to provide the athletes and their horses with the latest training technology, personalized nutrition support, and continuing education on the best management practices for the nation’s most decorated horses.
The Need for Change
In 2022, Team Canada’s Eventing High Performance Advisory Group (HPAG) was rebuilt to ensure the Eventing Team had a strong structure and the guidance to compete effectively at the international level.
Calls for change were initially driven by athlete representatives Shandiss McDonald and Mike Winter. Both athletes knew a fresh start was required for the Canadian Eventing Team to grow and thrive.
Since then, the Advisory Group has worked tirelessly to modernize elite levels of the Eventing discipline in Canada, giving these high performance athletes a competitive edge on the world stage. The team embraced a strategy of marginal gains, meticulously focusing on the tiny details that make all the difference during a competition.
If the results from 2023 are any indication, it’s clear this new approach is starting to move the needle.
The new Technical Advisor and Chef D’Équipe, Rebecca Howard — a two-time Olympian and one of Canada’s top Eventing athletes — is a huge driver behind the ethos of this program. Her expertise has been pivotal to the current team’s successes.
“Our goal has really been to get these athletes thinking about elevating their competitiveness on the world stage,” Howard explains. “Rather than thinking about being the ‘Best in Canada’ or competing with the goal of having sufficient results to be named to the team, we really want our athletes to think about growing their global competitiveness.”
In addition, Dr. Emily Gilbert, the head of Performance Science at Mad Barn and the chair of the Canadian Eventing HP Advisory group, has been instrumental in driving forward progress. Under her leadership, the program has updated policies and procedures, improving communication pathways for athletes, owners and supporters.
As Mike Winter puts it, “With Emily as the connection between Mad Barn and the team, she brings the performance science piece to our attention and has helped focus our training and management so we all gain the benefits of technology and science. This and support from the Mad Barn nutrition team have all helped with marginal gains.”
Change Meets Innovation
Karl Slezak’s introduction to Scott Cieslar, founder of Mad Barn, marked a key point in the history of Mad Barn’s relationship with the Canadian Eventing team. Cieslar started Mad Barn over 10 years ago with a mission to formulate the best nutrition-based solutions for horses and use revenue from product sales to fund research.
Scott Cieslar, CEO of Mad Barn (left)Karl Slezak, Canadian Eventing Team Athlete (right)
Slezak first encountered Mad Barn products when a student of his had their horse on Visceral+, a gut supplement popular among competition horses. According to Slezak, “We saw a crazy difference. The horse happened to come off of it for a very short period of time and just could not cope… The second we put him back on it, it made a world of difference.”
Ever since, Slezak has been working with Mad Barn to ensure his performance horses get the very best nutrition. Now, Mad Barn’s nutritionists support the entire Eventing team, conducting forage analysis, balancing diets, and implementing nutrition protocols that support enhanced performance.
In addition to ongoing personalized support for each horse, Mad Barn provides the team with heart rate monitor equipment and data analysis, lactate testing, and glucose monitoring to optimize training.
“It’s that last 1% that we’re working on with the Canadian Eventing Team,” Cieslar says. “My passion and expertise is in exercise physiology and equine nutrition. When we talk about that last percent, it is about getting the most out of these horses, but doing it in a manner that supports and improves their well-being and welfare. Recovery post work-out or post competition is a big focus for us.”
Cieslar continues, “It’s not earth shattering, but these marginal improvements become additive. It’s about doing 100 little things right that ultimately makes the difference. There is no silver bullet.”
It’s clear when speaking with Scott that working with the Canadian Eventing Team is a prime example of why Mad Barn exists. He explains, “Our goal is to take the comprehensive knowledge that horse people already have, augment it with the latest scientific studies, and build long-lasting collaborations that are in the best interest of each and every horse we work with.”
This sentiment is a theme around the Canadian Eventing Team, which is a testament to how effective harnessing marginal gains can be.
“Teaming up with Mad Barn was perfect for bringing sports science to the Equestrian sphere because we are striving to build our competitiveness on the world stage, and that starts with ensuring the health and well-being of our horses,” notes James Hood, Director of High Performance for Equestrian Canada
Strategic Thinking and Data-Driven Performance
As Team Canada begins final preparations before heading to France for the Olympics, a team of experts is working behind the scenes, ensuring athletes and their horses have everything they need for success.
Among the many backstage players, the nation’s best Eventers are supported by logistics and technical staff in addition to the Team Veterinarian (Dr. Alan Manning), Farrier (Andy Vergut), and Physiotherapist (Antonio Inghilleri).
These support staff have always been critical to the team’s success, when it came to the science of it all though, “Two things needed to improve: we needed to ensure the horses’ diets were balanced and that data-driven fitness training was being utilized,” Gilbert says.
“To achieve this, Mad Barn provides on-demand, science-backed nutritional expertise and communicates what the data is saying about training outcomes to our athletes in an easily accessible way. This is where the heart-rate monitors and collaboration with Mad Barn nutritionists are so valuable.”
High Performance athletes using heart rate data note significant improvements in how they train. By adjusting training and competition strategies in response to HRM output, the team has better insight about when best to push or pull back.
This data-driven approach translates into better fitness, performance, and connection with their equine partners.
“It’s an advantage to provide data supporting how the riders feel about their horses’ performance because the rider’s perception is only half of the information,” says Gilbert. “Using the HRM and analysis of the data output substantiates and deepens our understanding of what we think is happening. The numbers can validate the feeling and inform adjustments to future training sessions.”
Feeding to Build a Champion Team
Karl Slezak is quick to praise the collaborative support he receives from the experts at Mad Barn. Karl holds up the consistency in his horses’ performance as a direct example of how effective Mad Barn’s products can be.
“Karl has been meticulous with maintaining the best balanced diet for his horses through Mad Barn support, and along with the other biometrics we use [like glucose monitoring and lactate testing], he is really seeing the benefits in his horses’ performance at big competitions,” says Cieslar.
Lindsay Traisnel, another Canadian Eventer, notes, “Mad Barn has provided me with new insights into how to ensure my horses are gaining the most from a nutritional perspective. They do regular blood work, hay analysis, electrolyte and hydration assessments, and food profiles based on workload. [The nutritionists and veterinarians] are there for us in many ways, taking the guesswork out of our horses’ more complex health aspects.”
By joining forces with the biggest name in Canadian equestrian sport, Mad Barn is forwarding its mission to share the latest in management and nutrition science with the wider equestrian community.
A Mission for All Horses
Cieslar hopes Mad Barn’s partnership with Equestrian Canada has a positive influence on all equestrians and horse owners, regardless of their competition focus.
“We hope this work sends a strong message about the importance of investing in quality nutrition,” Scott says. “Mad Barn believes that partnering formally with EC will educate the HP community, improve competitive longevity and well-being for horses, and have a significant impact on the equestrian community as a whole.”
The athletes certainly notice benefits from this systematic approach. As Karl Slezak puts it, Mad Barn is helping “reduce the pressure on each of us by supporting us and our horses in the best way possible.”
Mad Barn Nutrition Feeding Olympians
While competing at the Olympics is a lifelong dream for many equestrians, working with elite horses like those on the Canadian Eventing Team is also a dream come true for the nutritionists and veterinarians at Mad Barn.
“I’m a Canadian, so supporting the Canadian Equestrian Team is an absolute honor. It’s amazing to go out and see them compete,” says Scott. “While winning is great, watching athletes at this elite level is satisfying in its own right, no matter the result. Seeing constant, incremental improvement and knowing Mad Barn played a role in it is an incredible feeling.”
“It’s great to see a direct connection between nutrition and horse performance. It drives a lot of excitement for our staff,” Scott reflects. “There is no greater experience for them: to grow their confidence working with horses of this caliber and make recommendations that they can see tangible results from is huge.”
Dr. Ana Mesa, Equine NutritionistFor Dr. Ana Mesa of Mad Barn, an equine physiology and nutrition scientist based in Gainesville, Florida, working directly with Team Canada horses has given her immense pride and job satisfaction.
“Working with such a disciplined and enthusiastic group is incredibly rewarding,” she says. “Their dedication and passion for the sport is unmatched. One of my favorite aspects is I’ve become a complete fan. I follow their competitions closely and cheer for both the riders and horses. Seeing the direct impact of our work on their performance is what makes this part of my job so fulfilling.”
Dr. Mesa joined Mad Barn with experience working with Colombian Paso Finos, known for their short-burst stamina. Although their conditioning needs differ from eventing horses, both disciplines require meticulously balanced diets to optimize performance and recovery.
This foundation in exercise and nutrition has been invaluable as Mesa transitioned to working with high performance eventing horses. “We started collaborating with the CET in the winter of 2022 because many of the Canadian eventing athletes spend their winters in Ocala, Florida, to take advantage of the warmer weather for training. This provided a natural opportunity to connect with them,” Ana explains.
Mad Barn collected information from close to 50 eventing horses and provided a personalized diet analysis, including evaluating hay samples, feeds and balancing diets for each horse. Mad Barn also continuously monitors research to identify novel ingredients and protocols that can give their elite athletes an edge in competition.
“While we work now to fine-tune these diets, we’re always looking to improve and innovate how we support high performance athletes,” Ana explains. “We’ve started incorporating and monitoring variables beyond nutrition, and we’ve learned and continue to learn a lot from this approach. We aim to include different disciplines and offer more comprehensive support for all aspects of equine health and performance.”
Jessica Artman, MSc, Equine NutritionistWorking alongside Dr. Mesa is Jessica Artman, MSc. A passionate equestrian who has surrounded herself with horses since she was a child, Artman has dedicated her life to these animals. With degrees in animal science and equine physiology, Jessica focuses on muscle health and has experience running an advanced equine research facility.
“As a scientist, my passion is for how we can impact these high performance horses and how we can help them to become even more of an athlete than they already are,” Artman explains. “I love teaching the riders how their horse’s nutrition can impact their performance and as an eventer myself, working with these elite combinations means just that much more,” she says.
Jessica reflects on what it’s like to educate the Canadian eventing athletes, having come from a background in academia:
“It’s actually quite similar to the classroom. You have to be able to take these very complex scientific processes that we’re going through when we talk about feeding and training these horses and make sure the athletes can digest the information and apply the concepts. I want them to understand each and every recommendation I am making for their horse.”
Jessica is hopeful the Eventing Team members she works with become educators of equine nutrition and the power of sport science themselves. “Each of these riders has a huge network of people around them. My hope is that they spread what they have learned from working with us. And that’s just one way we want to see the industry change,” she explains.
She also reflects on the ongoing collaboration with the Canadian Eventing Team. “There is always new research coming out, there are new and innovative ways that we can help support these horses. We want to start bringing in more exercise physiology components so we are fueling with the best nutrition and training in the most optimized ways.”
Nutrition and Sport Science on the World Stage
In speaking to the Mad Barn Nutrition team, their excitement for the Canadians headed to Paris is palpable. “To put it simply, it’s a dream come true… These horses are some of the most impressive athletes in the world,” says Jessica.
“To help these riders, educate them, and be someone they seek out as a resource for advice when they have a plethora of other people reaching out to them, means so much to me,” remarks Artman.
Ana’s excitement is contagious. She sends this message to our Canadian Eventers: “Best wishes! Your hard work and dedication have brought you to this once-in-a-lifetime event. Cherish every moment and remember that we are here to support you.”
Jessica’s message is filled with emotion, “First and foremost, congratulations. You have worked so hard to get here. I have seen so many of you and your horses work tirelessly to prepare for this moment. Leave no stone unturned in Paris, Team Canada. I am beyond excited to support you all.”
Scott closes his remarks with a sentiment shared by everyone at Mad Barn, Equestrian Canada, and Canadian equestrians from coast to coast: “Enjoy the moment, it is a huge accomplishment to be there. Revel in that accomplishment and appreciate every second. We are rooting for you.”
The cumulative effects of a revamped program and the integration of Mad Barn’s expertise have all come together in a recipe for success for the Canadian Eventing Team. Now it’s time for these athletes to show the world what they’re capable of at the Olympic Games in France.
Leave A Comment