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Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID |
2013.55.63 B |
Object Name |
Video Recording |
Title |
James 'Jim' Day |
Scope & Content |
James Day interview, 21 April 2009. Digitized MP4 from Sony Advanced ME 40 DVCAM. Two videos with a total viewing time of 00:51:07 1 of 2: 01:08Most profound memory of career: the Olympic Games, pinnacle of his career 01:53Childhood: parents in the horse business, had no interest until 12 or 13, wanted to be a forest ranger, when he "got the bug", once interested his parents helped him 03:20Was it a leap becoming an equestrian: talks about difference between wanting to be a forest ranger, which was a individual, solitary life to being an equestrian who is an athlete who has to deal with people 04:00What was it that gave you the bug: went to local horse shows with his parents, went to the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto and saw Tom Gayford win the Canadian Nationals and realized it was exciting and "maybe I can do this"; that sparked him to get inspired to learn how to ride, was behind other kids in his class, family encouraged him, dropped out of school at age 16 because he wanted to concentrate on being a rider 06:30When did it get serious: once started he practised and trained hard, had ample opportunity because of his parents connections, neighbour was Jim Elder who supported and encourage him, gave him tips and instruction, great motivator for him 08:00Dad's business: ran a boarding and training stable, bought, sold & trained horses, had been a top professional rider 08:33Family support: his parents were disappointed when he dropped out of school 09:03Discipline: describes the 3 disciplines of dressage, 3 day eventing and show jumping, noting that show jumping is the elite of equestrian sports and the best recognized 09:43Did you do show jumping exclusively: did some eventing, desire and interest in show jumping, rode a lot of hunters; talks about riding 20-30 horses in a day at a show 10:30Talks about one day horse shows, at 14-16 became more experienced and "could be of some use to the horse other than being a passenger", got to ride his parents horses and horses belonging to other owners and get paid for it 11:41Why this sport: once he started it was instinctive; did play other sport but connections in the equestrian scene, the scene was comfortable, familiar, like a big family, was accepted in the group; once he became a decent rider got more recognition 12:55What do you have to do to be tops in the sport: because there is a horse involved it is crucial to have a top class horse, need to develop and train it to compete on the top level; his mentors generated his instinct and equine background, had a good education in the equine world 14:47On communicating with the horse: can be a good horse but can't always communicate with it, talks about how some riders bond with one horse and then drop out, a truly top rider develops many horses; talks about how a horse has its own personality and there are certain personalities and traits that as a rider you want and can deal with, a top rider is adjustable and can adjust their programme and training to suit the horse; talks about getting spoiled horses as a young rider and bringing them up to top competition level 16:48Were you a natural rider: had some decent natural ability and had a good background, education and support system in equestrian show jumping world that allowed him to pursue his career; has humble outlook and learning outlook "You never know it all and today I am learning something that I didn't know yesterday about horse, and developing and training horses. It's just a never ending learning process and if you have an open mind there's a lot to gain and to be learned." 18:15On evolving to be a member of the National Team: can't ride on the team until you are 18, first eligible in 1964; talks about the show jumping circuit in the US and Canada; as a young rider the dream was to ride in these shows, after that the Pan American Games and then the Olympics; first big target was to qualify for the circuit shows, ended up being a top rider on his first year on the circuit 20:54Mindset on being on the team: once a rider does well he gets encouragement from the other riders 21:341964 had older horses and hand some success on the circuit, 1965 got a young horse called Canadian Club which turned out to be one of the top horses, rode him to the individual Gold at the 1967 Pan American Games and Gold in the Prix de Nations at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City and the 1970 World Championships Mexico City was a difficult course and the number of faults for all the riders was exceptionally high; the Europeans had never seen the Canadians ride before and they did not consider them to be serious contenders, did not consider they should have won; went to the World Championships in 1970 in France and won the Gold, more satisfying to win in "their own backyard", it was fun 24:54On the age profile of riders: he was in his 20's and Gayford and Elder were in their 30's in 1968; talks about Ian Millar, who was a spare in 1968 and has been in 10 Olympic Games, now in his 60's and rider better now, Ian is as keen to train and practise now as he was 30 years ago; talks about how when he (Day) reached his 30's he was ready to move on 27:031968 was the first time Canada had a show jumping team, had an eventing team before that, he competed individually and in the team event 28:06On the Olympic experience: that day was the last day of the Olympics; it was an all day event, a long drawn out event, expected the course to be difficult with big jumps, it became an impossible course to ride, talks about the high number of faults by all the riders, after the first round they had a chance at a medal, in the second round Tom jumped steady, Day followed and did the same and Jim Elder did a good round and they won the Gold medal, it was a shocker to our system and one we didn't appreciate until later 30:38Talks about 3 riders per nation and all 3 rides counting, where normally there are 4 riders and the worst score is thrown out; most riders could not put 2 good rides together 32:06Did the team get along: both Elder and Gayford were tough contenders to be against in any competition, he used to watch them compete and their intensity rubbed off on him, they set the bar for the next generation of riders, influenced riders like Ian Millar and Eric Lamaze 33:57As a team they got along well, Elder always had been supportive of young riders but Gayford did not cut them any slack, as a team they were great team guys, coordinated their lives as team members and gelled as a team 35:05Did you ever tell Tom he inspired you: yes. He is a tough and intense as ever, when competition on the line 35:31 & 38:12Talks about the story of meeting Prince Philip 40:03What were you thinking on the podium: nice to hear the anthem when so far away from home, pretty star-struck, we pulled off the Gold 40:42Did it change your life: didn't change thing too much 2 of 2: 00:01Talks about how he renamed his horse, which was called 'Done Workin' to Canadian Club 02:38How did your training business start: talks about how Ernie Samuel had been his sponsor through the 1972 and 1976 Olympics; Jim had some racing contacts and together they started Sam-Son Farms under Samuel's racing silks and developed it into a world class racing stable over the next 10-12 years; talks about how in racing you need top horses to win while an equestrian rider can develop a lesser horse to top levels 05:01Talks about Sandy Hawley, he was in the prime of his career when they were starting their stable; he was a phenom in the race horse world 06:01What are you most proud of: my family, talks about his children, better appreciation and understanding of kids now than when he was competing 07:22What message would you pass on to your kids: Honesty and integrity is a huge thing in my life and it doesn't matter what you are dealing with, business or sports. I'm a big believer in honesty and integrity, to be honest and humble, to conduct themselves with some class and pursue whatever interests inspires them. 08:00Does intro for web site |
Date |
2009/04/21 |
People |
Day, James Gayford, Tom Elder, Jim Millar, Ian Lamaze, Eric Hawley, Sandy |
Search Terms |
Equestrian Show jumping James Day Jim Day 1968 Olympic Games Mexico City 1972 Olympic Games Munich 1976 Olympic Games Montreal 1967 Pan American Games Sovereign Award Training |