News 12 at 6 o'clock / Tuesday, February 8, 2011

AIKEN, S.C.---Aiken is best known for horse racing and other sports like polo. Right now, Olympic training is taking the spotlight. The top riders in the country are in town and they're training with the top U.S. Olympic coach to prepare for the 2012 games.

Many riders dream of the Olympics, and, for some, it will soon be a reality. But for Coach Mark Phillips, this will be his last Olympics on the Eventing Team. He's helping riders strive for the best and he's making sure the best riders remain on top.

"What we're trying to do here is help the riders polish up the last 10% of their performance," Phillips told News 12.

Coach Phillips looks at the rider and horse as a team. He works to strengthen their weaknesses and then he focuses on what they do best. Phillips is the man that riders want to impress. The coach says, "I'm looking for perfection."

The beauty of Three Day Eventing is the grace in Dressage, the speed and athleticism in cross country, and the precision in jumping. Many riders on Tuesday focused on Dressage--the fancy footwork is the foundation of everything else.

Laine Ashker has been competing on this level for nine years. It's her first time in Aiken and she's excited. "This is the first training, so it's good for him to see where these horses' bases are--not only fitness but where they are in their training right now," Ashker said.

Kim Severson is an Elite A Squad Rider and she says what she loves most in this whole competition is her horse. But she also looks forward to different things. "I love the excitement of it. I love watching the horses get more and more educated as they go through the levels and the ages...and obviously when you do well, you can't beat that."

The top riders already know the art, but it's perfecting it that brings them to Aiken. "It's cool to be competing with these people that are legends in the sport and idols in my eyes," Ashker said.

After coaching for 20 years and winning Olympic medals himself, Coach Phillips says his approach is what sets him apart. "I'm brutally honest. What's good is good, what's bad is bad, better is better. And I think people respect that," he said.

So as the coach helps these riders work hard to perfect their form, they all have their eyes on the same prize. "Would it be nice to go out with all the medals? Absolutely," he said.

There's another training session on February 9 at Three Runs Plantation in Aiken. This training is all part of a long process that will help make the riders better. So that in the end, the coach will have the strongest U.S. team to compete in next summer's Olympics in London.