Olympics: NZ dream team far cry from park footy

Jock Paget and his Olympic pairing Clifton Promise finished sixth at the Kentucky four-star event in April. Picture / Diana Dobson

You hear all sorts of stories about sports people and how life has turned out rather differently for them than they might have imagined 10 years ago.

Take Jock Paget. If you'd told him a decade ago he'd be riding in the Olympic Games as part of a strong New Zealand team with genuine medal potential, he'd probably have had a good laugh, laced up his boots and run out for another game of league for his Toongabbie club in Parramatta.

Paget, now 28, is proof that life can take curious turns. They don't always work out for the best, but in Wellsford-born, Sydney-raised, English-based Paget's case, the eventing world is his oyster.

He will ride his talented Clifton Promise in London, alongside his heroes, Mark Todd and Andrew Nicholson, with Caroline Powell and fellow Games first-timer Jonelle Richards completing the lineup. It's not just patriotic sorts who reckon this could be a return to the bright lights for New Zealand eventing after a Games lull since the late 1990s.

Captain Mark Phillips, now coaching a strong United States team, believes New Zealand is back among the best nations going to London. The Daily Telegraph wrote that "the Kiwi menace is the one to see off".

Preparation hasn't been ideal.

"A lot of events have been cancelled because of all the rain. Things have been stop-start pretty much the whole season. But the horses are going well in all three phases and it's just a matter of getting it all together on the day," Paget said.

The selectors opted to pair Paget with Clifton Promise ahead of his other fine mount, Clifton Lush. The difference? Lush is highly regarded, reliable and sound, but doesn't have what Paget calls "the same expression" as Promise.

"Lush is a legend, he'll give you everything he's got and try his arse off. Promise is not as easy to get a performance out of as Lush is."

However, think risk and reward. Clifton Promise is rated a better dressage horse and is capable of a brilliant performance, if he's on song.

Paget and Promise were sixth at the Kentucky four-star event in April, the rider has a string of strong results and is No6 on the International Equestrian Federation world rankings.

Nicholson, who has seen the best riders of the past 30 years, rates Paget as world class. Not bad for a bloke who didn't get into a saddle until he was 18.

He took a bricklaying apprenticeship in Sydney before moving to Queensland. He did a stint at rodeo school, although the easygoing Paget recalls it more as a chance to "go away with the boys for a weekend, have a few beers and buck out a few horses".

"I never got much pleasure out of doing it. The horses weren't having a nice time and I soon realised I got a lot more pleasure out of working with a horse than trying to stay on him."

Enter Kevin McNab, Queensland trainer and unquestionably one of the pivotal figures in Paget's riding career.

"If it wasn't for him, there'd be none of this, that's for sure," Paget said of the man who now works with Paget at his stables in Dunsfold, Surrey. So McNab got him going; getting work with the Clifton Events back in New Zealand proved highly beneficial; and New Zealand team coach Eric Duvander has been a strong presence in the past few years.

Paget's education moved on in leaps with time spent at Nicholson and Todd's stables upon arriving in England in 2009. Paget calls them his heroes, which makes for an interesting team dynamic.

He expects a difficult cross-country test at Greenwich, with awkward fence placements allied to steep terrain designed to make life tough. Completing the course within the time limit will be testing.

So what about New Zealand's chances? Paget likes them, but adds a caveat.

"If everything goes right and we get it done, I think we can easily pull off a medal. But everything has to go right, and we'll need a bit of luck."