Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 24, 1993 TAG: 9306240057
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The faraway look in the eyes, the constant diversions of conversation to matters equestrian and the frequent requests to visit the barn are among the symptoms.
Flynn recognizes all the signs of budding horse passion. He lived it many years ago when he was a child.
Now he sees it in his 4-year-old daughter, Ashley. She has been gazing at ponies of late with that certain gleam in her eye.
"Which has me horrified," Flynn said. "Any prospect for financial security for our family is going to go right out the window."
Of course, Flynn is speaking partly in jest. Nobody knows better than he that there are worse fates than a life in the saddle.
If Flynn hasn't in fact spent a life in the saddle, he rarely has been far from one. Flynn is a 45-year-old judge of hunter and jumper events, show manager, television commentator, course designer, event announcer and general authority on show horses. He discussed these and other subjects this week during a break in the Roanoke Valley Horse Show.
Flynn, a Massachusetts native who recently moved to the horse country around Camden, S.C., is in Roanoke judging one of the 12-15 shows he does per year.
"Brian is one of the top judges in the country," said Bill Munford, the general manager of the show, which continues through Sunday at the Salem Civic Center.
A judge's life is not as glamorous as it may seem at first glance. There are the long periods away from home and the even longer days - sometimes 12 hours or more at the show ring.
"It's not for everybody," Flynn said. "But I like it very much. It is a very long day, though. The hours are hell and you'd better love it "
A professional rider until about three years ago, Flynn eased himself into a judge's seat in preparation for the day when he would dismount for good.
"I judged some very small shows, and a mentator among other titles lot of them, for about five or six years before I ever did a show of this size," he said. "I'm glad I did it that way."
As Flynn remained close to the sport, other opportunities developed. One of them led to his work in show management. He'll manage on the order of 12 or more shows per year.
Somehow, he still finds the time to squeeze into the broadcast booth for stints on cable networks ESPN and SportsChannel America.
"The TV stuff is just an offshoot of the other stuff I do," he said. "I just stumbled into it, but I enjoy it very much."
Flynn is on the move almost constantly. Whenever possible he reduces the strain of travel by taking along Ashley and his wife, Nancy, who also has been in the business.
Flynn literally grew up in a barn. His father was a doctor who kept horses, and his mother, Alice Stuart Flynn, was one of the most celebrated horsewomen of her time. During the 1920's, Alice Flynn probably was the country's top rider. Among other accomplishments, she was credited with pioneering the "forward seat" technique of jumping.
Brian Flynn was riding by age 5 and showing professionally by the time he was 16. Quite an all-around sportsman, he didn't ride all that much after enrolling at Boston College. Instead, he devoted most of his time to playing hockey and baseball.
Flynn's real dream was to play professional baseball, but a tryout camp showed him that he didn't have quite what it took as a pitcher and first baseman. Hockey was out of the question.
"In those days, all the [pro] players were Canadian, and rightly so," he said.
Flynn had made a halfhearted stab at a pre-med curriculum at Boston College before abandoning it, and when his school days were over he faced uncertain prospects. Thus, he did what came naturally by returning to horseback.
And that has been his happy fate since.
"I love the horses and I love the life," he said. "I've been very lucky."
by CNB