I've been lucky to ride 10 different horses at the Olympics. I'd like to think that of all of them, Big Ben - who was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame - would still be competitive in the contemporary sport.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I'm actually an equestrian, and I showed in the American Paint Horse Association and competed for top 20 in the nation.
I've always loved horses. When I was younger, I competed in horse shows and did quite well.
Going back in time, the best sportsmen ever have been Olympians.
My favorite athlete of all time would have to be Jim Thorpe.
I've seen a lot of great players that couldn't get to the top because of horses, and I've seen a lot of normal players that got higher and higher because of horses.
I think I'm the only professional horse rider from the movie industry. Strangely, I've seen no men from the industry at equestrian events. Though I've seen some ladies like Diya Mirza and Lara Dutta at the race course. Women, by the way, make superior horse riders.
My first Olympics was Munich in 1972. I am better now than I was then, in knowledge and experience. The age of top riders generally tends to be older than in other sports because it takes a lot of time to be consistent.
As we know, all sports evolve tremendously, and our sport is no different. It's really not the same thing at all as it was in 1972. It's a different type of horse we're using. The style of riding is quite evolved, the way the courses are built, the materials used... it's virtually unrecognizable.
I wouldn't swap the era I competed in for anything, not a day of it. I started out as an amateur, and people like myself, Seb Coe, Steve Ovett, Steve Cram, Tessa Sanderson and the rest did it for the glory of winning medals for our country.
I think a lot of Jim Thorpe, the Olympian, and his accomplishments.