Biography
By Stephanie Stephens
Year 2000 Olympic alternate Todd Minikus is an All-American guy. He watches Monday night football and he used to ride bulls, but truth be told, he's at his best while guiding horses expertly over huge grand prix fences, which definitely does not fall under the "All American" category.
This year, Minikus has won, among other competitions, the $100,000 USET Show Jumping Championship and the $175,000 Cargill Grand Prix, and was third in the $1,000,000 Nortel Networks Grand Prix. His "Oh Star" is the number one-ranked horse on the American Horse Show Association (AHSA) computer ranking of top point earners.
Minikus rode bulls with champions Donnie Gay and Terry Holland and admits that he was "pretty good at it. Riding is riding. Everything a bull does, so does a horse, and in fact, the bull's buck is similar to a horse's jump, but a bull has a lot more power. You control a horse's jump, but a bull, he controls you."
Minikus, who grew up outside of Des Moines, Iowa, now lives in Loxahatchee, Florida, near the horse mecca of Palm Beach.
"When you make commitments and put that kind of dedication towards achieving something, there's a lot of satisfaction. I started working toward it seven years ago. I bought my own horse, Oh Star, as a four-year-old, and started running my mouth off about 'what a world-class horse' he was.
"I was right."
Thoughts on the Selection Process
His individuality permeates his opinions on issues that matter to him.
"Without being too specific, I'll have to say that, hopefully, our team spirit and organization will be a little better next time around for the World Championships and the Olympics. We need a strong-hearted and minded leader. And I believe we could fine-tune our selection procedure.
"For example, once we have a team, no matter what, the coach needs to be in a position to be able to insert players that are going to be playing the best at the time," explains Minikus. "I feel that our coaches, Frank Chapot and George Morris, were somewhat afraid, trying to protect themselves, not making the black-and-white, clean-cut decisions because of possible legal ramifications. Perhaps they felt as though their hands were slightly tied. Any other coach in any other sport is hired to put the team together and make the team win."
But, sadly, Minikus feels that the power was lacking. "If you needed to substitute the quarterback coming into the fourth quarter, you'd have enough rein to do it.
It's embarrassing for us, when lesser countries beat us, but it's no one's fault but our own." The champion jumper believes that America has all the talent and the resources, but adds that "what makes us so strong also ultimately weakens our system. I mean, we could field a team from the West, the East, the Midwest...we could have five powerful Olympic teams due to the breadth of our country and the quality of the riders."
Part of Minikus' frustration can be attributed to the enormity of the United States, where we "end up shooting ourselves in the foot, because there seems to be no way to get the players organized."
And yet, while many top American show-jumpers eschew the system here, for various reasons, in favor of tutelage under European trainers, Minikus isn't following suit, not even for a minute.
"I've been there to buy horses, and to show, and I don't care what anyone says. They don't do it as well as we do. The care is sub par, and their horsemanship skills aren't up to ours. There are a few shows that are nice, but most are awful."
Minikus thinks the bloom is off the rose for European competitions, citing stabling in parking lots, and just a tent over very small schooling areas. And, he notes, the inner workings - the system - isn't really better, either.
"What is better is that the sport is promoted in a bigger way, and carries a longer lasting tradition. It's simply more recognizable to everyone. And let's not forget the successes that Americans have had there.
He sums it all up with, "Any time they (the Europeans) want to have a riding contest, I'll pick five contestants and they can pick theirs. We'll go at it."
Minikus found his star mount, aptly named, "Oh Star," in Germany, a Belgian
Warmblood. He's ten now, and described by his owner as "a very cooperative horse. We've never really had any discussions. He's definitely a show horse, knows his calling, and appears to know the difference - when we're serious and when we're not. He's a class act all the way."
The near-Olympian played all sports growing up, but had what can only be described as very early prodding when his grandfather bought him a pony. Minikus was only one year old. "After that, I always had them. I rode Western until I was 10." He describes coming up through the equestrian ranks as "the school of hard knocks."
Minikus is a Good and Popular Teacher
His empathy makes him a sought-after teacher. "Coaching was extremely frustrating until I realized that it was actually more important to me than it was to my students. I actually expected them to have the same desires I had, and the reality is that not everybody is cut out of the same mold. I have this insatiable desire to win." Minikus hasn't stopped teaching, and has really enjoyed hosting clinics.
In those clinics, Minikus works on "getting the horses balanced as well as they can be, so that they become the best athletes they can be. I want riders to understand why a horse does what it does or doesn't do. I believe the most difficult part of riding is the turn. Get that right, and the rest of the jumps go right."
When asked, one might expect him to have specific ideas about the state of equitation in this country. "I'm confused about that. They've allowed good horsemanship and thoughtful riding to be substituted for posing. I don't know the answer, and realize that styles created over the past 20 years aren't going to disappear overnight."
Minikus, who did not come up through equitation, does acknowledge that "proper position aids in good communication with the horse." He also sees merit in bringing along a horse that doesn't know it all, versus "finding some horse that has been around for a long time, for sure the veteran, and just guiding him around. All that equitation stuff is supposed to lead up to being a grand prix rider, but just watch, and you'll see that the way folks walk an equitation course doesn't apply to real show jumping."
He elaborates on this philosophy. "When you're on course, maybe you have to leave out a stride, or add one, as it might be the safer way to jump a line. When it measures 75 feet, I'm definitely not going to leave out a stride to the last jump - a plank. I watch some equitation trainers, and they have kids come flying off the turn to leave out a stride, and that's where I get confused. As far as good horsemanship, it's often a lot easier, requiring less skill, to run down the line than to add and make it look like it all fits together."
Equitation fan or not, Minikus methodology has taken him far and will not doubt set the tone for the next few years as he puts more major wins under his belt. No doubt, there will be that lingering thought of a 2004 Olympics, of the opportunity to really show his stuff as an active member of the next team, quite possibly, the winning team.
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