Equestrian: Swede holds NZ Olympic reins

New Zealand equestrian coach Erik Duvander recalls his Olympic experience: "I fell off". Picture / Richard Robinson

The man charged with guiding New Zealand's bid for renewed equestrian cheer at Beijing in 2008 grins ruefully about his own Olympic experience.

Swede Erik Duvander, a lean and young-looking 43-year-old, has a smile at the ready as he relaxes on the deck of his home at Glenbrook, South Auckland, surrounded by scenes not unlike those this son of a restaurateur grew up with on the outskirts of Malmo.

Barcelona, 1992, was Duvander's biggest moment on the sports stage and nothing to laugh about at the time. As he recalls succinctly: "I fell off."

He continues to recount the story, without a trace of regret.

"I was first to go for our team, and there was a big water fence," says Duvander. "There was a slight misjudgment from me, and the horse didn't react well to the situation either.

"I've always had two fears as a rider. One was to land underneath a horse in water, because being stuck in water under a horse that weighs half a tonne is scary. And the second fear was getting a foot stuck in a stirrup. The horse can get scared and you get dragged behind.

"Both of these things happened to me that day at the Olympics. It has never happened before or since.

"We completed, but you get heavily penalised. Just about every rider will have a dramatic fall in their life and you come back and forget about it. But the timing wasn't good.

"A friend was travelling to the Olympics through New York and rang to say that basically all the world's newspapers at the airport had me on the front pages - a photo of me underneath the horse with a hand sticking up. Dramatic."

This is a vastly different Olympic three-day eventing experience to the man who has guided Duvander's career and promoted him as his successor as national coach.

Mark Todd, the double Olympic champion, steered Duvander into the job. Duvander - who has lived here since early 2003 - had previously used a Prime Minister's scholarship to follow the Todd-coached national team on its Athens Olympics mission.

It might be a surprise to some to find a Swede in charge of New Zealand's search for a return to triumphant days.

Sweden though has a proud three-day event history. It won the first Olympic gold medals, team and individually, at Stockholm in 1912 and eight years later at Antwerp. There was another Olympic gold medal burst in the 1950s, although success since has been sporadic.

Sweden has a popular and highly organised riding club system, but budding stars usually base themselves in England.

Duvander worked for Todd at his Wiltshire base, and it was Todd's wedding nearly 20 years ago that brought Duvander to this country for the first time.

Duvander not only admires the man he rates as the most gifted of horse riders for his talent, but also for his extraordinary dedication, love of winning, and the way he deals with people, from fans to his workers.

"Mark Todd has been the most influential person in my life," he says.

The New Zealand connection goes much further. Duvander is married to a Kiwi, Stephanie, an event co-ordinator. They have two wee boys, Luca and Finn.

The couple met when she travelled to the 1994 world championships in Holland to watch her friend Vaughn Jefferis.

"It was such an exciting time," remembers Duvander. "Vaughn won, I finished 13th I think on a young horse, and I was madly in love."

Whereas competing was his priority then, coaching grew from being a meal ticket into his main focus. He has coached the Swedish and the Japanese teams.

Elevating the Japanese to respectable world placings and guiding his former charge and double World Cup winner Linda Algotsson rank among his finest achievements.

"I've been so busy I haven't had time to discover if people are surprised to find a Swede as New Zealand's coach," says Duvander, who was appointed early this year. "But sure, I'm better known in Europe."

Thanks to SPARC funding, Duvander hopes he can dedicate more time to the role than has been possible previously, although he will still run private clinics.

Duvander is on an initial one-year contract, with the intention of guiding the team for next year's world championships in Aachen, Germany - his 13th as competitor or coach - and through to Beijing.

He plans to work with New Zealand team members and prospects in their existing environments rather than relying on national camps. Among the problems to deal with is the selling of top horses overseas.

New Zealand equestrian is in a state of transition, Duvander says, but has proven it produces world champions and there are encouraging signs.

Duvander nominates the Europe-based Caroline Powell and Taranaki's Matthew Grayling as the potential cornerstones of a successful national team.

As for predictions though, a man who knows all too well about Olympic fate goes no further than that.