Michael Pollard, 34, of Dalton, Ga., has his sights set on making the U.S. Equestrian Eventing Olympics team.Michael Pollard, 34, might be the best area athlete you’ve never heard of.
His sport, equestrian eventing, doesn’t make ESPN’s Top 10 plays lists, and Pollard will likely never have his face on a Wheaties box.
But like any athlete with a ferocious desire to be the best in the world, the Dalton, Ga., father and horseman is hyperfocused on upping his game.
It’s easy to stereotype equestrian sports as being the domain of the wealthy and privileged, but Pollard comes from humble beginnings in South Carolina. Growing up, Pollard lived with his father; his parents were divorced.
“My father was a baseball guy, a strength coach at Clemson,” Pollard says. “He was not expecting his son to want to be an English equestrian.”