Kerry Mack Interview with EA High Performance Manager Chris Webb

Chris Webb was appointed to the role of Equestrian Australia’s High Performance Manager in April 2013.

This is a very important role for all disciplines, and not only for our Olympic hopefuls.  The strategic decisions taken in High Performance filter down to the rest of us. A short term view sees a focus on already elite combinations, whereas a longer term view can help develop the base of the sport. The ADC and others have a view that the base must be strong to facilitate the highest peak performances. Many of us were eager to meet Chris and find out about him. He has come from Rugby and so has had a very steep learning curve on joining Equestrian Australia. So far he has impressed many of us with his people skills and diligence. Chris is someone who listens and thinks and can get things done. I thought that you would also be interested to hear from him too, so I interviewed him on behalf of the members. Chris was very willing to talk to us all, and I think you will find it refreshing to hear from such a genuine and thoughtful fellow.

Chris can you tell us a bit about your background and how you have come to be with us?

I was the son of a stock and station agent and upon advice became a practising real estate valuer as well. I practised in the central west town of Orange both with the government and private practice.  During that time I was also involved in the management of representative rugby union teams.  Rugby Union turned professional in 1996 and over the following years I was given an opportunity to go professional with it.

In 2000 I  moved to Sydney and became Academy Manager for NSW Rugby Union and the Waratahs. I moved to the Waratahs (NSWRU's professional rugby team in the Super Rugby competition) and in 2004 I obtained  an opportunity with the Wallabies. I was the Wallaby Team Manager during 2007 and attended Rugby World Cup 2007 in France. In 2008 I returned to the Waratahs as the Team Manager and graduated to General Manager of Rugby.

In 2012 I had a small break from the game before accepting an exciting opportunity in Perth as the High Performance Manager with the Western Force Rugby team in relaunching the team.

We had a change in personal circumstances in early 2013 and I needed to return to Sydney for family reasons and finished in Perth during March.  During that transit I was made aware of the opportunity at Equestrian Australia (EA) and became excited as I had not experienced an Olympic sport before and this was also a chance for me to combine my rural interests as well as make a difference from my knowledge of high performance sport.

Can you explain a bit about what your role is?

My role as High Performance Manager at Equestrian Australia is to coordinate the High Performance program and in particular address the connectivity with the stakeholders on high performance, manage the program financially and assist to deliver the medal outcomes at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) and Olympic Games jointly agreed upon by EA and the Australian Sports Commission (ASC).

You have come from a team sport (Rugby) to Equestrian, which in some ways is the ultimate team sport where horse and rider compete as a team, but we usually compete as individuals.  What are your impressions of what will help us forge a stronger team culture?   The need for this of course was highlighted by the ASC review post London.

When I was discussing the role it was made clear to me that driving a strong team culture and ethos as well encouraging a high degree of professionalism among our horse and rider combinations was something that was deemed important.  The recent ASC and EA reviews claimed this as one of our priorities for WEG and Rio preparation. Coming from an ultimate team environment and with the expertise from the EA members in equestrianism in Australia, I see a definite synergy where we can combine both experiences for a strong Australian Equestrian team to perform at the highest level when it matters.

In order to build this strong team culture I believe we need to engage our riders, seek their input and ultimately have them buy into what is essentially their program. Good coaches often refer to successful teams to  get the best our of their participants when they treat them as individuals.  We have been doing a lot of work lately across all disciplines in planning with the riders the preparation of the combination and working with them to tailor their training and competition to suit the specific needs of that pairing.

You have come from a team sport (Rugby) to Equestrian, which in some ways is the ultimate team sport where horse and rider compete as a team, but we usually compete as individuals.  What are your impressions of what will help us forge a stronger team culture?

The main differences I see in culture is that in rugby all staff and players are fully  contracted and the aim is to all work together in a regular week to week commercial sporting environment for one goal. In Equestrian we have individual combinations who predominantly prepare as rider and horse mainly as amateurs with their own plans and goals, and from time to time we expect them to come together to deliver a team outcome. 

Just as important, most of these riders work in many areas both in and outside the equine industry to support a livelihood and their aspirations as an elite equestrian athlete. The thing that impresses me the most about equestrian athletes is their passion and very strong work ethic. I think a lot of sports (including rugby) could learn a lot from our equestrian athletes.

In order to achieve better financial stability it is critical to have a collaborative short, medium and long term strategy that ensures a progression to success. Success in the arena,  in the ring or on course, is the main factor for financial stability. If we are successful Government funding is sustained, more interest is generated from  members, the media and commercial supporters and young riders want to be a part of it. From team success long term financial stability will naturally follow providing there is strong and effective leadership as well as community buy in. Commercial entities are a reality in sport and providing those monies are well managed and directed into areas that will generate success, we are heading in the right direction.

You have met some really expert horse people in your travels to date. What have your impressions been?

I have been extremely lucky to have met some key identities in the sport both domestically and internationally. Most important is they are all horse lovers and passionate about their horse/s  with a genuine intent responsible to the welfare of the animal as a priority. As mentioned above a very strong work ethic and commitment to the sport and the equine industry is something that has struck me as a common thread.

Picking up the terminology and understanding of a completely new sport must have brought to light some amusing moments, or did you find it plain sailing from the start?

I think I may have mentioned to Barry Roycroft in the first month of the job how much I enjoyed the “Sydney CDI  3 star three day event”. From memory I think he let it slide.

Have you developed some overriding principles which guide you in developing high performance sport?

In general from my experiences in high performance sport I believe that we need to create a specific environment where the talent can focus and perform on what they do best. In our case in equestrian it is allowing the rider to ride and the horse to perform. As a high performance department if we can remove the factors that defer the riders and horses from doing the above to the best of their ability, we will go a long way to good success. We have some very talented and experienced experts in Australia and it is important we tap into them.  We all have the same goal which is seeing Australia at the pinnacle of our sport.

I enjoy watching most sports and further enjoy water skiing and returning to my home town of Gloucester in NSW when we can.  Our little two year old boy takes up a lot of our time and he has had the opportunity to attend several equestrian events since I have started.  He has also had the opportunity to have several rides on one of my mother’s thoroughbred horses. He may end up being the next Shane Rose, a rugby playing eventer!

Thanks to Kerry Mack and Chris Webb for this story which first appeared in 'Public Arena'

ABOUT KERRY MACK

Kerry Mack is a grand prix dressage rider, producer of young horses and breeder. Kerry formerly showjumped to World Cup level and evented to three day event level.  She is also a coach and stud principal at Mayfield Farm. Kerry focuses on breeding sport horses with an emphasis on trainability, horses that people can have fun with, while pursuing their goals, whether this is to compete at an elite level or below.