From the age of six, Tom McDermott has been riding horses with the aim of competing in at the Olympic Games.

McDermott who hails from Wagga Wagga in the New South Wales Riverina region is today one step closer, having been selected to compete for Australia in the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.

The sport of equestrian was a rite of passage for the talented teenager, as his father Greg competed in jumping for Australia at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

McDermott won his first Australian title in 2006 at just 12 years of age and went on to secure the showjumping crown again in 2008.

In Singapore, McDermott will be Australia’s only equestrian competitor but his coaches have high hopes for his campaign.

“Tom will be in a new environment and will be under pressure,” said Alison Rowland who will accompany McDermott as an official.

“He’ll be riding on an unknown horse which will be tough. He rode an unknown horse at the 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival, but he hasn’t done it often.”

Jumping will be the only discipline contested at the Games and there will be a field of 30 competitors from North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia with one competitor only from each country.

The horses, which have all been procured and trained in Australia, will be new to the riders. They will be allocated to the competitors by a draw held after the horse inspection. The drawn rider/horse combination will remain the same for both the Individual and Team events.

“It will be a great experience for him,” Rowland said. “I don’t know much about the competitors he will face and of course he won’t know the horse but he will just use his knowledge and ability to get the best out of what he has on the day.

 “He’ll really have to step up to the competition but he is an extremely talented young rider and absolutely has a shot at a medal.”

Equestrian will take place at the Singapore Turf Club from Wednesday 18 to Monday 24 August. Competition will consist of an individual jumping and team jumping event. The team event will be made up of a maximum of six teams, one per continent.

Alice Wheeler
AOC