Joe Giannamore ’84 (written in 2013)
Imagine competing at Wimbledon, one of the most prestigious and competitive tennis tournaments in the world. Imagine playing Borg, Sampras, and Federer – all in the same day. And then, imagine besting them all. It is almost unimaginable – but it is a feat that Joe Giannamore ’84 likens to the recent victory of his sponsored horse, Clifton Promise, at the 2013 Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, the most significant horse eventing competition in the United Kingdom.
“It was an amazing victory,” he says, recalling the 175,000 people in attendance on the final day. The Badminton Horse Trials is the second largest one-day sporting spectator event in the world behind the Indianapolis 500. Horse eventing places a single horse and rider in competition against others in three disciplines: dressage, a test of movement, obedience, and accuracy; cross country, a test of endurance, trust, speed, and pure athletic prowess for four and a half miles; and show jumping, a series of high jumps requiring trust and respect on the part of both horse and rider. Participants are scored in each phase and given penalty points for errors; the winner is the horse and rider team with the fewest cumulative penalties.
“These animals are elite equine athletes,” he continues. “They effectively do a triathlon,” he says of the horse eventing competition, noting that the typical career of a show horse begins at at around age six, after four to five years of training; horses reach their peak around 10, and maintain until 15 or 16 when they retire.
Joe, a former member of Avon’s Board of Directors, resides in London and Surrey, England; Clifton Promise, who Joe sponsors, stays in Surrey where he trains with his rider, Jock Paget, who Joe also sponsors. The yard in Surrey is home to many horses, young and old; Joe’s fleet of equine companions, including those who have retired, is large, and includes the five who are currently in competition.
“I call it the Hall of Fame paddock,” he says. “When they retire, they don’t move on, they stay with me,” he explains, a testament to what he describes as an immensely intimate relationship with the animals, both as owner and rider.
“The relationship with the animal - the nonverbal communication - is incredibly important,” he notes. “They are spectacular, intimate friends that you deal with on a day-to-day basis.” They are treated with extraordinary care, in order to preserve their trust, their mental state, and the sense of mutual respect necessary in order to find success in competition.
Joe’s passion for the sport began at age 28; after taking three horse-jumping lessons, he was hooked, and has since achieved great success. He has competed as a rider himself - at the advanced international level, and, at the peak of his career, with the United States National Team - but retired when the demands of his professional life became too much.
“You can’t ride at a top level part time,” he notes. “I chose business because I’m better at it than riding!”
His renowned former trainer, Blyth Tait, recommended rider Jock Paget, now ranked third in the world. Jock, supported by a team of coaches and veterinarians, trains and rides all of Joe’s horses, as well as those he has sponsored.
“I am there to support Jock,” says Joe. “He’s the reason for all our success.”
Joe has continued to enjoy the accomplishments of his own horses, such as Enzed, who represented New Zealand in the 2000 Olympics, and those he has sponsored, such as Clifton Promise and also Ready Teddy, who was world champion in 2000 and Olympic gold medalist in 1998.
After Clifton Promise’s triumph at Badminton, Joe hopes to see his passion continue to pay off. “Our stable is currently filled with world-class animals, the best we have ever had,” he says, “so hopefully more victories to come!”
When he’s not busy at the stables, Joe focuses on his ‘day job’ – as founder and co-managing partner of AnaCap Financial Partners, a specialist private equity firm focused on investing in the European financial services sector. After graduating from Avon Old Farms, where Joe was treasurer of the Student Council his senior year and played football, hockey, and baseball, Joe attended American University, where he earned a B.A., and the London Business School, where he earned his M.B.A. Joe began his financial career with Citicorp, followed by stints with Salomon Brothers and Goldman Sachs in Europe. In 1996, he co-founded and served as CEO of the auto finance company, On:line Finance, which was the first investment grade rated start-up in Europe and the first lender over the internet in Europe. On:line was one of the Top 10 fastest growing companies in the UK during its first five years. In 1999, On:line Finance was acquired by GMAC UK, the UK finance arm of General Motors; Joe served as CEO of GMAC UK until 2003.
Joe and his wife, Karine, live in England with their two sons, Alex and Louis. Even from afar, Joe has remained passionately dedicated to Avon, and not only with his tenure on the Board. He has hosted alumni receptions in England, both in London and Surrey, and once hosted and helped plan the Riddlers' English tour.
"I would not have achieved half of what I have without Avon,” notes Joe, who jokes that he might come back to train an Avon horse team, given the amount of land the school owns.
“It could be my next career!”
Pictured Above: Joe Giannamore and Clifton Promise with rider Jock Paget.
