A member of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) team since 2011, Hallye Griffin was appointed as the Director of FEI Sport in March 2023. With that role, she assumed position as Chef de Mission at the Olympic, Paralympic, and Pan American Games, as well as the FEI World Championships. In taking this post, Griffin has made history as the first female US Equestrian Chef de Mission.

Horse Illustrated had a quick chat with Griffin ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics to discuss this year’s Games and what her role as Chef de Mission entails.

Horse Illustrated: Congratulations on being the first female US Equestrian Chef de Mission. What does it mean to you?

Hallye Griffin: Being the first female US Equestrian Chef de Mission is very special, but really what it brings me is a lot of gratitude for all the people I’ve worked for. I’ve worked for a lot of people in my time here at USEF, as well as my time before USEF, and learned a bit from each one of them. So I really just have a lot of gratitude.

HI: How did you get started in high-performance equestrian sport?

Griffin: I grew up riding myself; I came from an eventing background. I was fortunate that when the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games came to Lexington, Ky., I worked as a competition department assistant. That was really eye-opening to me, to where the horse sport world could take me and my career. After the 2020 World Equestrian Games, I found myself at US Equestrian.

HI: What does a typical day at the Olympic Games look like for you?

Griffin: A typical day at the Games normally starts for me quite early. Luckily, I’m a morning bird, so I’m up quite early. I try to have a little bit of time to myself in the morning to first organize all my notes, my thoughts for the day, what’s on the agenda, go through any rules that I might need to freshen up on, and then we hit the road to venue pretty early.

My role at the Games is a lot of troubleshooting—making sure that our teams have everything they need to put in their best performances. And hopefully bring home some medals!

HI: What advice would you give to the first-time Olympic riders representing the U.S. in equestrian sports?

Griffin: The advice that I would give to any athletes representing the U.S. Olympic or Paralympic teams in equestrian for the first time would be to remember to trust what got you there. Remember to trust the training systems and all the work that these athletes have put in over the years, and that’s what got them to the Olympics. And then, ultimately, it’s about putting in the best performance they can and hopefully bringing home medals for the U.S.

HI: Tell us about your first horse.

Griffin: My horse—and I’ll say it was actually my first pony—was a pony named Coco. She was about 12 hands I wanna say. Bucked me off plenty of times; not the most well-behaved thing. But taught me quite a lot, and certainly didn’t stop me from riding.

HI: What is your favorite Olympic sport outside of equestrian?

Griffin: Favorite Olympic sport outside of equestrian: for sure, track and field.

For more news, visit our 2024 Paris Olympics main page.

Thanks to CareCredit for our spring and summer equestrian coverage.

The post 2024 Paris Olympics: Q&A with Hallye Griffin, US Equestrian Chef de Mission appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Making her third Olympic appearance for the U.S. Olympic Dressage Team, Adrienne Lyle will arrive in Paris with two new additions: her new mount, Helix, and her 9-month-old daughter, Bailey.

A 2012 Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Zen Elite Equestrian Center and cared for by Marina Lemay, Helix was purchased with the Olympics in mind for Lyle in late 2023. The horse and rider team competed together on just a handful of occasions in spring 2024, but quickly made it clear that they make for an impressive duo.

Horse Illustrated had a quick chat with Lyle ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics to discuss this year’s Games.

Horse Illustrated: What qualities do you look for in an Olympic horse?

Adrienne Lyle: When we’re searching for horses for the Olympics and high performance, we obviously need them to have the physical capabilities and the physical talent to do it. But a huge part of the equation is their heart, how hard they try for their rider, how intelligent they are, and how much they enjoy learning new things. Because to get to the Grand Prix level, they have to really be open to constantly learning new things and evolving. So their character is also very, very important.

HI: What has been the biggest challenge for you in your journey to the 2024 Olympics?

Lyle: This year, my journey to the Olympics was unique for two different reasons—one of which is that Helix and I are a new partnership. That’s not something I had done before in my career, so there’s a lot of new challenges and things to figure out with getting a horse in a shorter timeframe.

And the other thing that made it challenging, or at least different, was that I’m a new mother. I had a daughter at the end of September of last year (2023), so there’s been lots of new additions to my life this season.

HI: How does having previous Olympic experiences help you prepare for this year’s Olympics?

Lyle: This will be my third Olympic Games and for sure every time you go, you learn such an incredible amount. Not just about riding and competing, but also what it means to be a good teammate—to be there for other competitors and the honor of representing your country.

HI: What are you most looking forward to about this year’s Olympics?

Lyle: French pastries!

HI: What is your favorite Olympic sport outside of equestrian?

Lyle: Outside of equestrian, I love to watch the track and field and gymnastics. They are just, to me, the pinnacle of amazing things that the human body can do. And it’s pretty cool to get to see them train and compete in person.

HI: How has motherhood changed your preparation for the Olympics?

Well, besides the fact I can’t get anywhere on time ever again for the rest of my life, it’s added just a different element being in Europe here and having my daughter with me. So we’re not only focused on the training, but also obviously the role of being her mom and just figuring out how to delegate our time. It hasn’t taken away anything from the training; I’m still training just as hard and just as focused as before. It’s just kind of added another fun dimension to it.

For more news, visit our 2024 Paris Olympics main page.

Thanks to CareCredit for our spring and summer equestrian coverage.

The post 2024 Paris Olympics: Q&A with Adrienne Lyle of the U.S. Olympic Dressage Team appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.