Don't miss this article from FEI.org featuring Tad Coffin's story: https://www.fei.org/stories/100-years/golden-greats-2-tad-coffin
Article Summary:
In 1976 21-year-old Tad Coffin became a double gold medallist at the Olympics in Montreal. His success won the United States their first ever Individual Eventing gold as well as the Team Event against experienced competitors including German Karl Schultz and Britain’s Princess Anne.
In a well-organized program spear-headed by Jack le Goff and Bert de Némethy the competition was fierce, whittling down a potential 20 competitors to just four. Among those four was Tad Coffin and his unlikely mount Bally Cor who was a training horse that was never intended to make it to the Olympics.
Tad Coffin rode a perfect, clean ride and took gold in Individual Eventing. He and his teammates Bruce Davidson and Mary Anne Tauskey took gold in the Team Event making him a double gold medalist at 21.
Tad recounts the amount of focus in training for this event required. He says, “There isn’t a single, clear path to Olympic success. Ultimately it will be a test of character, and that is something that champions have in common. How do you react to the failures – because, be assured, there will be many. Maybe they’ll be in competition, or training or an injury. You develop specific capabilities in rebounding and reframing and problem-solving. Being an Olympian is more about who you are than what you’ve done.”
After the Olympics Tad gifted his medals to his parents and Jack le Goff. The role others had in his success as an athlete was so clear that he felt they should have been the true recipients of the medals. Tad competed in one more National competition but ultimately devoted himself fully to training and innovation by the age of 25.
The Start of Life After the Olympics
Coaching was his way of putting something back into the sport that had helped to form his life. He started Tad Coffin Saddles in Virginia, looking to enhance the most important part of a rider’s equipment. “We’ve made upwards of 4,500 experiments – more tests than ever in the history of saddle-making. I’ve always been the rider in the saddle during experiments so I’ve kept my weight exactly the same as it was in 1976! It has been my second Olympic effort, you might say.”
The saddle is a piece of equipment that had not really evolved for centuries and yet saddles are an integral interface between the two complex machines of human and horse. In an olympian effort to change this oversight, for the last three decades Tad has worked to improve and develop technology in saddles.
A recent article in the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) is testament to the contributions he has made to the industry. The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) is the international governing body for all equestrian sports, including Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines. With the help of a great community and extraordinary efforts of self-mastery Tad Coffin has contributed greatly not only to the sport of Equestrianism but to the nation’s proud Olympic history.
If you enjoyed this recap, and want to keep reading, visit the full article Golden Greats #2: Tad Coffin at FEI.org.
