Galway Downs’ international course designer Clayton Fredericks is down-to-earth, fun and funny. You wouldn’t know from a casual conversation that he’s juggling many roles in the equestrian world. They all come into play when he’s plotting routes for horses and riders.
“One of my strengths is my experience from all over the world,” he says. “I try to reflect that in my course design so that people and horses can experience a look they might see if they compete abroad or if West Coasters compete back East. They won’t be taken by surprise.”
Horsemanship and competition are the foundation of Clayton’s diverse resume. “Freddo” is a 2008 Olympic silver team medalist for his native Australia, a two-time FEI World Cup champion, two-time World Equestrian Games medalist and winner of the Kentucky Three Day CCI4* in 2007.
Ben Along Time was Clayton’s partner in many of those peak competitive accomplishments.
The year 2012 was a big year for Clayton. He hit #4 on the International Equestrian Federation’s (FEI) world rankings and represented Australia in the London Olympics. He moved to the United States that year when appointed technical advisor for the Canadian Equestrian team, a post he held through the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Serving on the FEI Eventing Committee and as Chairman of the Event Riders Association are additional roles that informed his broad and influential perspective on the sport.
A Rider’s Perspective
Clayton competed at the 4* level as recently as 2023, but he “gradually” decided to stop pursuing team spots last year. “That’s something you’ve got to be focused on 100%,” he reflects. “When you get to that stage where you can’t be totally focused on improving yourself and your horse on a daily basis, it’s time to step away.”
He still campaigns a few horses in high level show jumping classes. And he rides regularly at his Fredericks Equestrian International home base in Ocala, FL, where the city’s mayor recognized Clayton with keys to “The Horse Capital of the World®” in 2013. “I showed four at a schooling show recently and it nearly killed me!”
Clayton’s program finds, imports and develops young horses. Identified with an “FE” prefix, horses from Clayton’s program are competing successfully with amateurs and professionals throughout North America.
Clayton’s newest role is that of selector for the Australian eventing team. He attended CHIO Aachen in July to observe potential team riders. Naturally, that involved watching them navigate Giuseppe Della Chiesa’s tracks – one of many examples where Clayton’s work in one area contributes to his work in another.
“We’re training what we’re testing,” Clayton notes of his overlapping skills and experiences. “As a rider, I really have an appreciation for how tough this sport is. As a course designer, I actually do want everyone to have a good ride. I’m not trying to catch or trick anybody. It’s a tough job to get it right and the margins are very small.”
Another example of overlapping enterprises is FEI-Stabling, which Clayton started after experiencing subpar stabling at major competitions. Galway Downs was one of the first venues to embrace the innovative, modular stabling. Made of durable galvanized steel frames and double-walled HDPE partitions, the stabling offers wide aisleways, easily cleanable walls and ample power. It gets high praise from exhibitors for safety, ventilation and comfort.
“I could see there was an opportunity to have a high-quality stabling for shows,” he says. FEI-Stabling mainly rents the barns, but some customers keep them as permanent property additions.
On Course at Galway Downs
Hosting the American Eventing Championships, presented by Nutrena, is an exciting milestone for Galway Downs. Clayton is confident that horses and riders coming for the August 27-31 championship will be appropriately impressed with the venue and its cross-country tracks.
When he took over from the legendary Ian Stark in 2020, Clayton acknowledges the task was “a bit tricky” because of Southern California’s dry climate and ground conditions.
“We’ve got such a great team and we’ve had a few years behind us to experience how the ground reacts to different treatments. Our system of irrigation, watering, dragging and preparing is really producing consistent moisture content and consistent conditions throughout.”
“We are getting it right for the horses,” he continues. “You can see that in the way horses are feeling good, confident and happy for the final phase of show jumping. They look well and they’ve kept their jump.”
“Saying all that, we really do have a focus on the safety of the horses. We pay special attention to the ground lines, the way fences are dressed and how horses see the fences. Even in our most testing combinations, we make sure it’s very clear for the horse and rider what the tasks are.”
A Busy Life
In his busy life, Clayton counts on his wife Lisa to keep him organized. “I’m lucky to be married to a very organized, talented logistics person who manages my time,” he says. “She makes sure I’m in the right place at the right time and that allows me to focus on the task at hand.”
Clayton and Lisa also chase their 5-year-old son, Hunter. The handsome youngster has been to Galway a few times already, but not this past fall for the Galway Downs International. Hunter and Lisa stayed home during the competition’s Halloween weekend. Via video, Clayton kept track of Hunter’s adventures as he trick or treated as Chase, a character from Paw Patrol, Clayton reported.
Hunter is not riding yet, but during a recent holiday he was “eyeing a paddock of ponies picking out which one he wants.” Clayton jokes “We’re looking for a lame one so he won’t go too fast!”
If Hunter does get serious about riding, Clayton has horse dad mileage to call on for that parenting odyssey. His daughter with Lucinda Fredericks, Ellie Fredericks, is a 4* rider. “It is different to experience the sport as a dad,” he says. “It can be a little nerve wracking, but actually she’s pretty talented and I have a lot of confidence in her ability. The main thing is ensuring she’s on good horses.”
In-between 4* horses at the moment, Ellie recently decided to ride for Australia. “Once she has a horse in team contention, that would be an end to my career as an Equestrian Australia team selector, but that’s OK. It would be fun!”
In the meantime, he’s excited to see AEC contenders experience Galway Downs as the premiere equestrian venue it has become.
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