And then there were two. Nearly four weeks ago, we started this little game with 32 of the best event horses we could think of, and now we are down to the last ones standing: WINSOME ADANTE and CHARISMA.
Charisma knocked out Murphy Himself yesterday; by Podge's standards, it was a real nailbiter! Murphy made a strong showing, with over 30% of the vote, but Charisma was simply too much to overcome. We'll see today if Charisma can dominate one final matchup...
THE FINAL Winsome Adante or Charisma? It's so hard to choose. From two different eras, with two very different riders. Dan doesn't have an individual gold to his credit, but his presence at a three-day almost meant everyone else was competing for "also-ran." And Charisma...what more can we say? Double gold-medallist, Badminton runner-up, and inspiration to all.
Such a tough decision...maybe I can convince John to let us vote twice!
That time in March with lots of basketball insanity but whose name is copyrighted by the NCAA March Madness is well underway at Eventing Nation and we continue our Final Four (also trademarked by the NCAA) matchups today. Yesterday, Dan's three Rolex victories were just too much for the extraordinary Tailor, but the USA couldn't have a better horse in the finals than Dan.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: "Kim" had yet another great story, this time about Tailor:
Eight years ago, when my children were 4 and 7, we went to Rolex for cross country day. Custom Made had been retired, and he was there at Rolex to meet his fan. (I believe the O'Connors were signing autographs also, but not when we were there). Tailor was in a portable corral with a tent over it--probably 20 x 25 feet. His fans were allowed to come up to one side of the fence. My children, wildly excited, reached down and pulled up handfuls of grass, and held them out to him. He walked over, looked my son straight in the eye, and gently ate the grass from my son's hand. Then he stepped sideways, looked my daughter in the eye, and ate the grass from her hand. Then he paused and looked me in the eye. I had the oddest sense that if he could have, he would have shook my hand. The people beside me, imitating my children, offered him grass, and Tailor did the same thing for each of them--stopped, looked, ate the grass--all down the row. Which was when I realized he was standing on grass--he could have been grazing with his butt towards us, but instead he was acknowledging his fans.
As an aside, it started raining hard at lunchtime, but my son was an enormous fan of Bruce Davidson's and refused to leave until he'd seen Little Tricky ride. We were therefore 3 of the 7 people still at the Head of the Lake to see Bruce and Tricky come through like it was some kind of equitation class, easy-peasy and Bruce grinning from ear to ear.
For the record Kim, I was another one of the 7 watching Bruce ride through that hurricane. I doubt I will ever see a more incredible ride in my entire life. I should also mention that, while some people did leave because of the weather (dressage folks come to Rolex too, you know), I remember a lot more than 7 people sticking around to cheer Bruce on. And, despite the wind and rain, those of us remaining made one of the loudest cheers the Head of the Lake has ever heard.
TODAY'S MATCHUP: Best of the World
On the other side of the bracket we have (1) Charisma facing (6) Murphy Himself. Charisma has absolutely steamrolled through this Bracket Battle, winning his first three matchups by 98%, 86%, and 84% of the votes. The tiny, part-Percheron, two time Olympic champion who was nicknamed 'Podge' for his love of food is going to be tough to stop. Charisma's opponent, Murphy Himself has had an impressive tournament with wins over higher seeds in two previous matchups, and the horse, who succeeded under both Ginny Leng and Ian Stark, has become a fan favorite. Can Murphy Himself keep up his upsets, or will Charisma defeat yet another opponent?
1. Charisma 6. Murphy Himself
VISIONAIRE EDITED TO ADD VIDEO: Murphy starts at about 1:50 in the video; he's shuffled in with Glenburnie, and it's hard to tell the two grays apart! Murphy is the slightly darker one, often doing outrageously bold things (as usual). Charisma starts around 3:00. He really does look like a pony under Mark Todd!
Well, the end of March draws near and our Bracket Challenge is down to the very best, as voted by you. Our Final Four has been determined: CUSTOM MADE, WINSOME ADANTE, MURPHY HIMSELF, and CHARISMA. A truly deserving group of horses, each of whom really showed us what eventing is all about. From here out, we will present only one matchup each day, as I'm sure it will be tough to decide!
COMMENT OF THE DAY: "Kim" had a wonderful story about Charisma from last Friday's post. It's amazing how these horses impact our lives, despite the fact that we may never even meet them in person.
The first time I ever even saw eventing was in 1984. I was 17, had longed for
years to someday learn to ride a horse (I was still a few years away from it).
On a summer afternoon I flipped on the tv to whatever the coverage was from the
LA Olympics, and saw the most wonderful thing--gorgeous acres of green, huge
solid jumps, horses galloping over things I'd never dreamed existed. It was
cross country, and I was mesmerized, hooked from that moment on. A few days
later I sat with my boyfriend and parents to watch the closing ceremonies, and
into the LA Colisseum came two big horses and one little. Then the riders
dismounted--two little and one big. Mark Todd and Charisma had won their first
Olympic medal.
I started riding a little over a year later, but it wasn't until almost
twenty years after that that I finally began to event. Charisma's photo hangs in
my guest bathroom (my husband--that boyfriend of 25 years ago--won't let me hang
it above our bed). I'll vote for Charisma first, last, and always. What a
horse!
TODAY'S MATCHUP: Best of the US
Who will earn the right to represent the Stars and Stripes in the final showdown? Both (2) CUSTOM MADE and (1) WINSOME ADANTE proved their competitive greatness on the biggest of stages. Tailor has an Individual Olympic Gold; Dan has an Individual Silver, Team Bronze, and WEG Team Gold. Tailor won Badminton; Dan won Rolex three times. Both excelled in all three phases, in the long format. I would give a slight edge to Winsome Adante; David O'Connor was a very big name aside from Custom Made, but Dan really pushed Kim Severson to the top of the world scene. I don't think you can go wrong selecting either horse!
Wow, what an exciting night of basketball! I'm writing this post at 12:46am after watching the end of UK-Cornell (suck it Big Red!) and Xavier-Kansas State (2OT, wow what a finish!). As the Tournament rolls on, the matchups just get better. And the same is true for the ENCAA Bracket!
In the battle of O'Connors, (2) CUSTOM MADE prevailed over (1) BIKO. I'm sure David will be bragging to Karen forever about this one...but gold medals do the talking. MURPHY HIMSELF won the right to represent the British Isles region, and his battle with RINGWOOD COCKATOO was never really close. Somewhere, a Scottsman is smiling.
The Elite Eight finishes today to determine the winners of the Davidson Region and Aussie/Kiwi Region. Get your voting trigger fingers ready, it's another big day!
[John's note: For our readers who have noticed some slight order to the madness that is Eventing Nation's posting schedule, we are working today's schedule slightly differently than normal. Friday N&N will happen around lunch time, with Competitions this Weekend and probably something else this evening.]
DAVIDSON REGION
Bruce's steady teammate (2) EAGLE LION has nothing left to prove; a win at Badminton, and countless clean cross-country rounds made him a model of consistency. His statue will stand forever at the Kentucky Horse Park, dropping into the Head of the Lake. But then there's (1) WINSOME ADANTE. Simply the most dominant event horse of the 2000s, winning Rolex each time he entered. How can you beat that? Your vote decides!
1. WINSOME ADANTE 2. EAGLE LION photo by Anthony Trollope
AUSSIE/KIWI REGION
It's Kiwi vs. Kiwi in what could turn into an epic matchup. Two double gold medallists who remained at the top of the sport for years, (1) READY TEDDY could have the upper hand simply because he stands out a bit more in recent memory. But (2) CHARISMA has blitzed through the tournament like a buzz saw, winning 90% of the vote in his victories. Two amazing horses, and a very difficult decision to choose one over the other.
1. READY TEDDY 2. CHARISMA Photo by Bernie Saunders
Mark Todd's CHARISMA continues to turn back foes with utter disdain as he amassed 90% of the votes yesterday against TRUE BLUE GIRDWOOD. Will his momentum carry him past READY TEDDY? In the battle of Bruce's horses, EAGLE LION was clearly the best, sending HEYDAY back to retirement.
The bracket is really taking shape now as the field of 32 is down to the Elite Eight. Today and tomorrow will determine the regional winners, with the Final Four beginning on Monday. All these horses are great athletes and champions...but there can only be one winner in the end! Who will it be?
O'CONNOR REGION FINAL
In a dream matchup, we find (arguably) Karen's best-known horse against David's best-known horse. An individual gold-medal winner, versus a stalwart US team anchor. They've both been honored by Breyer models (Biko, Tailor). Which should move on to the Final Four?
This could be known as the "upset region," as neither the one nor the two seeded horses made it to this point. Instead, it is a battle between two fan-favorite grays, who could not be more different. Bettina Hoy's RINGWOOD COCKATOO set new standards in eventing dressage, though he could be a bit tentative on cross-country at times. MURPHY HIMSELF? Not so! Exuberant and bold, Murphy attacked cross-country with sheer reckless abandon. Both horses could make you hold your breath, though perhaps for different reasons. Which gray will move on? You decide!
Results: In one of the tightest and most passionate contests yet, Tailor and his Olympic Gold narrowly defeated Teddy, his OCET PIC [that's Partner in Crime for our private school readers]. Ally commented that she was surprised the race was so close, but I'm not. I have never seen fan fanaticism like that displayed by all of us cheering for Teddy at Rolex '08. Watching him showjump was insane; he cantered down to oxers that stood taller than his head, jumped a mile in the air, and the crowd gasped/cheered every time. When we do a Bracked Buster challenge for biggest heart in eventing, Teddy will run away with it. That said, no one is more deserving to move onto the next round than Tailor. Murphy Himself beat out Supreme Rock in our other contest from yesterday.
----
A few notes from the first round and early second round matchups:
(i) PlayerHater and several other EN regulars have been vocal about Biko being overrated, and I agree. I obviously have tremendous respect for Biko (we made him a 1-seed after all), and no one questions that Biko is one of the most popular horses of all time. When Biko retired at Rolex I spent an hour and a half in line to have my picture taken with him. But, Biko's lack of a major international victory makes it hard for me to think of him as one of the top 10 greatest horses ever, or even of the past 20 years. I also take into consideration that Biko was ridden by one of the greatest riders of all time, which gave him every possible chance to collect that 4* 'dubya.'
(ii) It's really hard to compare long format to short format horses. Anonymous made a comment today that Tailor's achievements are even more impressive considering he was a long format horse. Undoubtedly, some successful horses today with their huge trots, big jumps, and warmblood heritage couldn't make it past the 4th minute on D of a long format. Like any sport, we should look at the athletes within their own era and evaluate how they succeeded against the particular challenges they faced.
Eagle Lion wasn't the flashiest of horses, and he may
not have earned the most blue ribbons, but he has an incredibly solid, if not
stellar, record. With him, Bruce Davidson became the first American to win
Badminton, in 1995. The bay gelding backs this up with other top-5 finishes at
Burghley (1993), Badminton (1994 and 1998), and a win at Fair Hill CCI***
(1992). He completed Badminton four times with double-clear cross-country
rounds; he placed in the top 15 in ten three- or four-star events in all.
vs.
(3) HEYDAY
Heyday enjoyed a long, prosperous career, first competing at
Advanced when he was six years old, and finishing 13 long-format three-day
events in the top 20. He was yet another plain, average bay with above-average
talent for Bruce Davidson. In 1995 they won the PanAms, and earned the team
silver medal at the 1996 Olympics (9th individually). The next year, he earned
second at Blenheim CCI***. An 8th place finish at Rolex in 1998 sent him to the
WEG, as part of the bronze medal winning US team. From 2000-2003, Heyday
partnered with Young Rider Maisy Grassie. Heyday's success continued as he
showed her the ropes from prelim to advanced, winning the NAYRC CCI*
championship along the way.
AUSSIE/KIWI REGION
2.
CHARISMA
Charisma, ridden by Mark Todd, stood just 15.3 hh but towered over his
competitors during his illustrious career. Charisma was mostly thoroughbred
(1/64th Percheron), and was nicknamed "Podge" because of his love of food. As
the story goes, Charisma had to have newspaper strips for bedding because he
would eat anything else. The pair first met while Mark Todd was working at a
dairy farm and Todd felt pity because the horse was was so small. Just a few
years later, Charisma and Todd stormed onto the eventing scene with a second
place finish at Badminton and then a shocking victory at the 1984 LA Olymics.
Charisma placed second again at Badminton ('85), second at Burghley ('87), and
then dominated the 1988 Olympics, winning Gold by 10 points. Charisma was the
second event horse in history to win back-to-back individual Olympic Gold, after
Charles de Mortanges and Marcroix (NED) in 1928 and 1932. After Charisma
retired, Mark Todd said "he is so tiny, I wonder how he achieved so much."
vs.
(3) TRUE BLUE GIRDWOOD
True
Blue Girdwood "Jug head" or just "Jug" was the only horse Phillip brought with
him when he moved to the US in 1991. Phillip says Jug the horse who really
brought him onto the world stage. True Blue Girdwood represented Australia in
1996 Olympics, winning team Gold in Atlanta, and also competed with Phillip at
the '94 & '98 WEGs, Rolex, and Badminton (placing 6th in 1995). After his
career with Phillip, Jug mentored several of Phillip's students as a
schoolmaster.
No big surprises yesterday, as Winsome Adante and Ready Teddy move on to the Elite Eight. They proved they're #1 seeds for a reason!
COMMENT OF THE DAY: Anon in Australia continues to bring it, and we appreciate her contributions.
I loved Ready Teddy and saw him in the flesh once - the epitome of a sparking,
intense international eventer. But I suspect Bounce taught Vaughn as much as the
other way round...and ya have to love Vaughn. So Bounce gets my vote.
TODAY'S MATCHUPS
The toughest pairings of the whole tournament could happen today. The deserving 2-seed CUSTOM MADE faces fan-favorite (6) THEODORE O'CONNOR, in what could be a voting war. Also not to be taken lightly, (6) MURPHY HIMSELF and (7) SUPREME ROCK will duke it out in the British Region. Don't let your favorite horse get knocked out, make sure you vote and tell others to do so!
O'CONNOR REGION
2.
CUSTOM MADE
Tailor teamed up with David O'Connor to make one of the best pairs in US
eventing history. David and Tailor placed 5th individually in Atlanta, 3rd at
the '96 Badminton, won Badminton CCI4* in 1997, and then won the individual
Olympic Gold at Sydney in 2000. David has a habit when he rides of focusing so
intensely on his horses that he can forget about his course, and, despite that
infamous moment of hesitation that brought all of American eventing screaming to
our feet, Tailor broke the Olympic score record in Sydney and ended a 25 year US
eventing Olympic Gold medal drought. Tailor is renown for being calm on the
flat, and chilly in person, but turning into what David describes as a "Saturn V
rocket" (think NASA) when the cross-country starts. The 17.2 hh Tailor now
lives in retirement at Stonehall Farm in Virginia with his stablemate Giltedge.
Inspiring pint-sized athletes
everywhere, the "Super Pony" took the event world by storm during his
tragically-brief career. Eventually paired with Karen O'Connor, Teddy finished
9th at his first three-star in 2006 at Jersey Fresh. The next year would see
him dominate the US scene, winning the Fork CIC***, finishing 3rd at Rolex, and
winning individual and team gold at the 2007 PanAms. The Pony ended up 6th at
Rolex in '08, was short-listed for the Olympic team, when an unfortunate
accident resulted in fatal injury. His short glimpse of greatness proved to all
that "pony power" was a force to be reckoned with.
BRITISH ISLES REGION
6. MURPHY HIMSELF
The athletic Murphy Himself began his eventing career with Ginny Leng,
and the pair won Burghley in 1986. Due to the gelding's strength on XC, Ginny
decided to trade horses with Ian Stark in 1988 (for the horse Griffin), and Ian
Rode Murphy Himself for the remainder of the horse's career. With Ian, Murphy
Himself delivered countless extraordinary XC rounds, completed Badminton
multiple times including second in 1991, placed second at the Stockholm WEGs in
1990, and competed for the British Team in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympics.
Click here for a video including Murphy Himself.
vs.
7. SUPREME ROCK
Supreme Rock, ridden by Pippa Funnel, won back-to-back European
Champtionships in 1999 and 2001, as well as team silver at Sydney. Supreme Rock
is one of only a couple horses in history to win Badminton twice (2002, 2003).
Supreme Rock was also part of Pippa's team that won the 2003 Rolex Grand Slam
of Eventing, which, depending on how you divide up the winnings, makes Supreme
Rock the largest money winner in the history of eventing.
The Sweet Sixteen headline: NUMBER 1 GOES DOWN! Northern Iowa (who?) took out number 1 Kansas, just as (4) RINGWOOD COCKATOO rose above (1) TOYTOWN. On the other side of the bracket, (1) BIKO walked over (4) PRINCE PANACHE into the Elite Eight.
COMMENT OF THE DAY:
Despite Cockatoo's resounding victory, Toytown still had his (anonymous) fans.
Hard one between Ringwood Cockatoo and Toytown but Toytown was the most
generous horse I have ever seen go xc. Look at his WEG round how much he dragged
his rider out of serious trouble when other horses said no. RC was not so
generous and I have seen some cracking refusals by him (Euros)and Bettina always
went slowly xc to try and not make a silly mistakes because it did not take much
for him to throw the towel in. Luckily Bettina always had an amazing dressage to
cushion it all a bit.
TODAY'S MATCHUPS:
The (1) vs (4) continues with the Davidson Region and the Aussie/Kiwi Region. Will WINSOME ADANTE walk to the finals? Will BOUNCE be bounced by READY TEDDY? Your vote decides!
If Biko was the American horse of the 90's, Dan is
certainly the horse of the 00's. Partnered with Kim Severson, he kicked off his
domination with a win at Blenheim CCI***, then went on to win Rolex CCI**** a
remarkable three times ('02, '04, and '05). Winsome Adante was a member of the
Gold Medal team at the 2002 WEG (6th individually), and won Individual
Silver/Team Bronze at the Athens Olympics in 2004. Once again he represented
the U.S. in the 2006 WEG, and closed out his career with a third place finish at
Badminton CCI**** in 2007.
Like something out of a Disney movie, Pogi worked in the
mines as a trail horse in the Cascade Mountains before he was
rescued discovered by a friend of Amy Tryon. The bay
Throroughbred was notoriously difficult to ride, but he and Amy managed to form
a partnership that took them to two Olympics (2004 and 2008) and two WEG teams
(2002, 2006). There, they earned a Team Gold, Individual Bronze (WEG), plus
Team Bronze from the Olympics (where I believe he was one of the very few horses
to showjump double clear in *both* rounds). Poggio was 3rd at Rolex in 2002, in
awful wet conditions, where he was also named "Best Conditioned Horse." Pogi
was always a fan favorite to watch, even if his "RUN RUN RUN-chip-JUMP!!!!"
style made you gasp a few times.
AUSSIE/KIWI REGION
1. READY TEDDY
Photo by Bernie Saunders
Ridden by Blyth Tait, Ready Teddy represented New Zealand in the
1996 Olympics at the age of 8...and won Individual Gold, Team Bronze. In 1998,
Teddy did it again, winning Individual Gold and Team Gold at the WEG in Rome.
He also won Burghley CCI*** in 2001.
vs.
4. BOUNCE
Partnered with Vaughn Jefferis in 1994, Bounce would become a top competitor
for New Zealand. He won the Individual Gold medal at the 1994 WEG at the Hague,
Team Bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and Team Gold at the 1998 WEG in
Rome. Bounce was third at Badminton in '94 (behind fellow NZ competitors Mark
Todd and Blyth Tait).
Well I don't know about you, but I'm feeling a bit giddy. Partly because I'm done researching Bracket Battle horses-- which has been an incredibly educational but a very tedious process-- and partly (ok, mostly) because I my beloved 'Cats made a statement in their first NCAA Tournament game. It was a Charisma / Kibah Tic Toc style beatdown against ETSU, and I loved every second of it. My sympathies to East TN State, and thanks for being the sacrificial lamb to a deserving #1 seed team.
Moving on, the ENCAA challenge is down to the top 16 horses. The Round 2 matchup today features Karen's best horses against each other: (1) Biko vs (4) Prince Panache. From the British Isles, (1) Toytown takes on (4) Ringwood Cockatoo.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: From Anon in Australia
I had to vote for Bounce. Love love love Vaughn - great horseman and trainer.
Don't feel nearly as warm towards Gill - she runs a great event, though
(Adelaide 4****). Peppermint Grove was a nice horse, not a great horse. Bounce
was a great horse.
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS:
It was extremely close between (4) Poggio and (5) JJ Babu, but somehow Poggio managed to squeak out the win. Both great horses, it's a shame only one gets to move on to face the daunting Dan. In the Aussie/Kiwi side, (4) Bounce handled (5) Peppermint Grove with relative ease and will try to take down fellow Kiwi, Ready Teddy.
With 17.3 hands of
bright bayness, his splashy blazed face became the most recognizable feature of
American Eventing in the 1990s. Ridden by Karen O'Connor, Biko represented the
US at the 1994 WEG (finishing 11th) and was a member of the 1996 Silver medal
team at the Athens Olympics. Also among his numerous highlights are a third at
Badminton (1995), 8th at the European Championships (1995), and fifth at the
first Rolex CCI**** (1998). Along with being made into a Breyer model, Biko was
given the ultimate honor as being named the USCTA Horse of the Century in 2000.
vs.
4. PRINCE PANACHE
Karen's lovely Prince Panache always competed with a charisma and flair.
Prince Panache finished 5th at Burghley in '94, won team Bronze at the 1998
WEG's, delivered Karen a 4* win at Rolex 1999, placed third again at Kentucky in
2000, helped the US win team Bronze at Sydney later that year, and won the
Foxhall CCI*** in 2001. Prince Panache was named USCTA Horse of the Year in
2000.
4. RINGWOOD COCKATOO
Considered
by some to be the most successful German event horse of all time, "Cocky" was
certainly one of the most talented. When you combined one of the best eventing
dressage riders on the planet with the best eventing dressage horse on the
planet, the team regularly entered the weekends with leads exceeding five
points. Cocky won ten CCI and CIC 3*'s in his career, finished second at
Kentucky in 2009, and won the Pau CCI4* in 2008. Except for the controversial
start/finish line ruling at Athens, Ringwood Cockatoo would have won individual
and team Olympic gold.
Guess what? Round 1 is almost over! Tomorrow we will move on to the Sweet Sixteen, but first we have to close out the final pairings with (4) POGGIO vs (5) JJ BABU, and (4) BOUNCE vs (5) PEPPERMINT GROVE. We give you horses, you give us votes and comments, we all enjoy the discussion.
The comments were a little thin yesterday; perhaps everyone was busy filling out a REAL bracket on espn.com, yahoo.com, cnnsi.com, rivals.com, cbssports.com, nbcsports.com, ncaasux.com, and iluvbrackets.com in preparation for the beginning of some other tournament or something. Isn't there like a basketball thingy starting soon? Today? Really? I hadn't heard.
Comment of the day: our Duke fan reveals her(him?)self. A Maryland fan, I should have known...one of the most creative fanbases on the planet, at least when it comes to hating Duke. Terps, I salute you (though I think Michigan St will be tough to beat in the second round).
From OneMoreForTheRoad:
It was me who said Duke sucks. But I mainly hate their basketball team and
their funny looking coach AND their funny looking mascot (who my sister is still
convinced is an elf and not a devil). As a University of Maryland legacy and
student I find it extremely hard to be nice to anyone who has a Duke shirt
on. [Also my mom would like to agree with John in that mainly ugly people go
there]
Rat-face coach and ugly people. Indeed. [ed note: EN would like to apologize to our Duke readers. Visionaire still carries a grudge from 1992. For the record, EN recognizes Duke people as intelligent and well-educated members of society.]
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
(4) Prince Panache rolls on to face his longtime stablemate (1) Biko in the Sweet Sixteen. (4)Ringwood Cockatoo ran circles (even through the start flags) around (5) Get Smart, but will face more of a challenge in (1) Toytown. Are you ready for the Sweet 16? I am! But first...
Like something out of a Disney movie, Pogi worked in the mines as a trail horse in the Cascade Mountains before he was rescued discovered by a friend of Amy Tryon. The bay Throroughbred was notoriously difficult to ride, but he and Amy managed to form a partnership that took them to two Olympics (2004 and 2008) and two WEG teams (2002, 2006). There, they earned a Team Gold, Individual Bronze (WEG), plus Team Bronze from the Olympics (where I believe he was one of the very few horses to showjump double clear in *both* rounds). Poggio was 3rd at Rolex in 2002, in awful wet conditions, where he was also named "Best Conditioned Horse." Pogi was always a fan favorite to watch, even if his "RUN RUN RUN-chip-JUMP!!!!" style made you gasp a few times.
I couldn't find a photo of JJ Babu, but My Babu was his sire (and a very influential one at that). JJ looked much like his daddy.
JJ Babu was one of the many reasons Bruce Davidson dominated US eventing throughout the 1980s. Bruce bought him as a yearling, and developed him into a superstar. In 1982, JJ was 3rd at Badminton; he followed this by winning Rolex CCI***, and finishing 11th at Burghley the next year. He earned a spot on the 1984 Olympic team (Gold), finishing 13th individually. He completed Badminton two more times, finishing 11th and 6th in '85 and '86. He would also be second again at Burghley and Rolex, after winning a CCI*** in Stockholm in 1987. Sadly, JJ Babu was destroyed at age 15 when he fractured a pastern bone at Fair Hill Horse Trials. Nine seasons of advanced, and 12 CCIs was still a good, long, successful career.
AUSSIE/KIWI REGION
4. BOUNCE
Partnered with Vaughn Jefferis in 1994, Bounce would become a top competitor for New Zealand. He won the Individual Gold medal at the 1994 WEG at the Hague, Team Bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and Team Gold at the 1998 WEG in Rome. Bounce was third at Badminton in '94 (behind fellow NZ competitors Mark Todd and Blyth Tait).
With Gillian Rolton, Peppermint Grove ("Fred") was a member of two Australian gold medal Olympic teams (1992 and 1996), as well as the 1994 WEG. He earned a very solid international record, including 4th at a CCI*** in New Zealand, and twice 7th at Saumur CCI*** (France) in 1993 and 1994. Fred also finished first and second in '95 and '96 at the Australian Lochinvar CCI***.
OK, I think you get the hang of this bracket thing, and I'm running on fumes from foal-watching, so we'll keep it short. Today: (4) Prince Panache vs. (5) Mr. Maxwell, and (4) Ringwood Cockatoo vs. (5) Get Smart. Vote. Comment. Enjoy.
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS:
It was all chalk again, with both (3) seeds defeating the (6)s. Out and About fought bravely, but Heyday moves on to meet his stablemate Eagle Lion in the Sweet Sixteen. True Blue Girdwood dispatched Messiah, and will face a daunting challenge in Charisma next round.
Comment of the day:
From the valued poster "lec," who knows anything and everything from the International side of the bracket. Always insightful and worth reading her comments!
Messiah was an incredible horse. He was last after the dressage on 78.8 at Barcelona Olympics as he was lame and only had a shoe on mins before. A fantastic xc round and clear showjumping catapulted him into bronze medal and team silver. Messiah was terrified of water and it was only patience that sorted out this issue. Helso influence Blyth's style in water jumps of very exagerated sitting back. The horse photographed is Ricochet. Click here, Messiah is top left.
And, I just had to include this one from Anonymous:
By the way... DUKE really does suck.
(Anonymous, if you reveal yourself and are sincere in your agreement, I hereby award 50 votes to any horse of your choice!!) [Ed note: I'm not sure we can do this legally, is that fair???] [John's note: Sorry, Vis., but seeing as how Duke pumps out legions of highly ugly trained lawyers and investment bankers each year, I'm afraid of EN making too many enemies in high places. Also, Duke really has nothing to do with horses, unless we are back to talking about the coeds... Ok, but really, Duke is a great school, I encourage all of our young readers to get good grades and join the chess club so that you can apply to Duke someday, and I might even apply to the Duke law school eventually, so I don't really hate Duke. Just their basketball team and their funny looking coach.] [Ed note: John, that's horrible and completely irrelevant to eventing] [John's note: get your own website Ed]
O'CONNOR REGION
4. PRINCE PANACHE
Karen's lovely Prince Panache always competed with a charisma and flair. Prince Panache finished 5th at Burghley in '94, won team Bronze at the 1998 WEG's, delivered Karen a 4* win at Rolex 1999, placed third again at Kentucky in 2000, helped the US win team Bronze at Sydney later that year, and won the Foxhall CCI*** in 2001. Prince Panache was named USCTA Horse of the Year in 2000.
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5. MR. MAXWELL Mr. Maxwell was one of the early horses that put Karen O'Connor (then Lende) on top of the US eventing world. Together, they won Rolex CCI*** in 1991, were 3rd Burghley CCI*** 1991. Tragedy struck at Badminton in 1992 when the pair missed their line at the Vicarage Vee, causing a fatal fall for the chestnut gelding. Karen remembers him as a senstive horse with a huge heart, and "such a great friend." [via Visions of Eventing by Elisabeth Furth, p. 8]
BRITISH ISLES REGION
4. RINGWOOD COCKATOO
Considered by some to be the most successful German event horse of all time, "Cocky" was certainly one of the most talented. When you combined one of the best eventing dressage riders on the planet with the best eventing dressage horse on the planet, the team regularly entered the weekends with leads exceeding five points. Cocky won ten CCI and CIC 3*'s in his career, finished second at Kentucky in 2009, and won the Pau CCI4* in 2008. Except for the controversial start/finish line ruling at Athens, Ringwood Cockatoo would have won individual and team Olympic gold.
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5. GET SMART
[Photo coming soon to a browser near you]
Karen Dixon bought Get Smart as a four year old, and just three years later Get Smart placed 12th at Burghley as a seven year old in 1987. Get Smart then competed at the Seoul Olympics, winning silver as part of team GBR. Get Smart finished 6th individually four years later at Barcelona, and won individual Bronze and team Gold at the 1994 Hague WEGs. Get Smart did 14 long format 4-star events, and retired when he was 18.
Today we bring you the Davidson Region (3) Heyday against (6) Out and About, with another classic Aussie/Kiwi battle between (3) True Blue Girdwood and (6) Messiah. Virginia Tech is still complaining about being excluded from our tournament, but the selection committee is satisfied with the participants they have chosen; VT simply didn't have the FEI record to justify their inclusion.
You know the deal. Vote for your favorite, then discuss your pick in the comment section, we love hearing stories! Or complaints and whining, if you so choose. By the way, Duke Sucks. [Ed. note: sorry for that comment, it was entirely unnecessary.] [Writer note: but it's true!]
Highlighted comments from Monday:
From Jo: I voted for Teddy for all the reasons Amanda and Kim gave, but I have to admit
to more than a twinge of disappointment for Tex.....he, once again, has the bad
luck to be the bridesmaid and overshadowed by his flashier competition. Hardly
fair to a good horse.
From the Anonymous:
I HAD to vote for Giltedge. 6 medals for the US team? How many horses
win even one? It is not his fault that he was overshadowed and ended up
on 2 Olympic teams with no chance of individual glory.
The pony will probably win because he was memorable and had a fan club,
but as another poster noted above, Giltedge had an AMAZING career which
few will equal.
Anonymous also had more to say....
Murphy Himself needs to win this entire bracket. Best. Event Horse. Ever.
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS:
As the bracketologists predicted, poor (3)Giltedge once again faded into the background as the (6)Super Pony stole the spotlight and advances on to the Sweet Sixteen to face (2) Custom Made. On the other side, (6) Murphy Himself bested (3) King William, proving that the legacy of a dazzling cross-country horse will always live on. Murphy will face (7) Supreme Rock in the next round; the experts say Murphy will leave a two strides out on his way past Supreme Rock into the Elite 8.
DAVIDSON REGION
(3) HEYDAY
Heyday enjoyed a long, prosperous career, first competing at Advanced when he was six years old, and finishing 13 long-format three-day events in the top 20. He was yet another plain, average bay with above-average talent for Bruce Davidson. In 1995 they won the PanAms, and earned the team silver medal at the 1996 Olympics (9th individually). The next year, he earned second at Blenheim CCI***. An 8th place finish at Rolex in 1998 sent him to the WEG, as part of the bronze medal winning US team. From 2000-2003, Heyday partnered with Young Rider Maisy Grassie. Heyday's success continued as he showed her the ropes from prelim to advanced, winning the NAYRC CCI* championship along the way.
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(6) OUT AND ABOUT
At only 8 years old, "Outie" won the individual bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta with Kerry Milliken. A classic American thoroughbred, running and jumping was definitely his forte. In 1997, the pair placed 7th at Burghley and won team bronze in the 1998 WEG as the highest-placed Americans on the team. Finishing up his career, Out and About was 3rd at Badminton in 1999.
AUSSIE/KIWI REGION
(3) TRUE BLUE GIRDWOOD True Blue Girdwood "Jug head" or just "Jug" was the only horse Phillip brought with him when he moved to the US in 1991. Phillip says Jug the horse who really brought him onto the world stage. True Blue Girdwood represented Australia in 1996 Olympics, winning team Gold in Atlanta, and also competed with Phillip at the '94 & '98 WEGs, Rolex, and Badminton (placing 6th in 1995). After his career with Phillip, Jug mentored several of Phillip's students as a schoolmaster.
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(6) MESSIAH
Note: I'm not %100 this is Messiah, but it's an older pic of Blyth and the best we could find.
Blyth Tait converted Messiah from a show jumper in the late 1980's. By 1992, the pair won the individual and team Gold at the WEGs in Stockholm. Tait and Messiah won the Bronze at Barcelona, moving up from 69th after the dressage and helping the New Zealand team win Silver as well. Blyth described Messiah as having a 'fragile' temperment and said that the horse got harder to ride at competitions as he got older.
After a weekend break, the Bracket Battle resumes today with the 3 vs 6 seeds from the
O'Connor Region and the British Isles Region. A major popularity contest is expected between Giltedge and Theodore O'Connor, though I would encourage you to judge them on their merit not just rabid fanaticism. Across the pond, the successful stoic King William faces Murphy Himself and his crazy athleticism. Vote for your favorite to send them on! Sing your praises or
grunt your grumbles in the comment section...noteworthy comments may be rewarded
with extra votes toward a horse of your choice.
An anonymous commenter left a lovely note about Molokai, earning him an additional 10 votes.
Having had the luck to work a bit with Dorothy when I was a young rider,
Molokai has to be one of the hungriest cross country horses I've ever seen go
round -- just watching him gallop by, you could tell he just wanted to eat that
course up. We used to walk courses and joke that something was a steady three
stride, "or a Molokai two." Definitely gets my vote! Mo is one of a kind.
We kind of felt sorry for Kibah Tic Toc, so despite this insightful comment from retreadeventer, we decided not to award extra points to Charisma. However, we'll publish it on the front page anyway:
I was up close to Charisma at the 1984 Olympics in LA and we, by we I mean
the Australian chef, and his groom, and a few other Aussies standing around in
the barn area shedrow, LAUGHED out loud at the denotation of 15.3 hands in the
press handout. Why, he's not a lick over 15.2 and that with high heeled shoes
on, someone said. Standing up next to him that was the truth and most of that
withers. He had to have the stall guard reset lower for his stall. I do remember
that. What a horse.
We really enjoy your stories and memories of these great horses, so please keep sharing them!
RESULTS FROM FRIDAY:
Despite the 10 bonus votes, (7) Molokai could not overcome the greatness of
(2)Eagle Lion, falling by the score of 154-75. (2) Charisma completely smashed (7) Kibah Tic Toc in by far the most lopsided battle of the tournament, 226-5.
For most of his stellar career with David O'Connor, Giltedge suffered from the "always a bridesmaid, never the bride" syndrome. He was a steady, successful horse in his own right, but "Tex" was a bit overshadowed by the glory of Custom Made and his flashy victories. Finally, Tex achieved that elusive Big Win at Rolex in 2001. Aside from that crowning moment, he was a constant presence on the US eventing team: Olympics in 1996 (team silver) and 2000 (team gold), WEG 1998 (team bronze) and 2002 (team gold). He also won team gold and individual silver in the PanAm Games in 1999. In 2002, he was named Horse of the Year by Chronicle of the Horse.
Inspiring pint-sized athletes everywhere, the "Super Pony" took the event world by storm during his tragically-brief career. Eventually paired with Karen O'Connor, Teddy finished 9th at his first three-star in 2006 at Jersey Fresh. The next year would see him dominate the US scene, winning the Fork CIC***, finishing 3rd at Rolex, and winning individual and team gold at the 2007 PanAms. The Pony ended up 6th at Rolex in '08, was short-listed for the Olympic team, when an unfortunate accident resulted in fatal injury. His short glimpse of greatness proved to all that "pony power" was a force to be reckoned with.
BRITISH ISLES REGION
3. KING WILLIAM
King William delivered Mary King her first of two Badminton wins in 1992. That win sparked an run of 5 years that included 9th at the Barcelona Olympics, two British Open Championships, individual 4th at the '94 WEGs, 12th at the Atlanta Olympics, and during this stretch King William broke the record for the highest ever British Eventing points total. As the story goes, King William was such a popular horse that a fan once addressed a letter to just "King William, Devon" and it reached the farm just fine. King William was put down in 2002 due to a laceration on his hoof and pastern.
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6. MURPHY HIMSELF
The athletic Murphy Himself began his eventing career with Ginny Leng, and the pair won Burghley in 1986. Due to the gelding's strength on XC, Ginny decided to trade horses with Ian Stark in 1988 (for the horse Griffin), and Ian Rode Murphy Himself for the remainder of the horse's career. With Ian, Murphy Himself delivered countless extraordinary XC rounds, completed Badminton multiple times including second in 1991, placed second at the Stockholm WEGs in 1990, and competed for the British Team in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympics. Click here for a video including Murphy Himself.
The ENCAA Bracket Battle gallops on with the 2 vs 7 seeds from the Davidson Region and the Aussie/Kiwi Region. Eagle Lion meets his 1994 WEG teammate Molokai, in what could be a challenging duel. On the other side, little powerhouse Charisma takes on Kibah Tic Toc. The
battles will be getting a little tougher as we work into the bracket, so choose
wisely. Vote for your favorite to send them on! Sing your praises or
grunt your grumbles in the comment section...noteworthy comments may be rewarded
with extra votes toward a horse of your choice.
RESULTS FROM YESTERDAY:
The Bracket met its first huge upset with (7) Supreme Rock knocking off (2) Tamarillo in a supreme beat-down. We'll see if he can keep this momentum when he meets the winner of (3) King William / (6) Murphy Himself. On the American side, it was another ho-hum blow-out win for (2) Custom Made over (7) The Optimist. Tailor will face (3) Giltege or (6) The Super Pony in the next round.
Eagle Lion wasn't the flashiest of horses, and he may not have earned the most blue ribbons, but he has an incredibly solid, if not stellar, record. With him, Bruce Davidson became the first American to win Badminton, in 1995. The bay gelding backs this up with other top-5 finishes at Burghley (1993), Badminton (1994 and 1998), and a win at Fair Hill CCI*** (1992). He completed Badminton four times with double-clear cross-country rounds; he placed in the top 15 in ten three- or four-star events in all.
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7. MOLOKAI
A classic American Thoroughbred, Molokai was a force to be reckoned with on cross-country. With Dorothy (Trapp) Crowell, he finished 4th at Radnor, was an alternate in the 1992 Olympics, and was selected for the 1996 team (but did not compete). Mo's biggest achievement is probably the Individual Silver medal at the 1994 WEG, where unfortunate time penalties on steeplechase (due to a sprung shoe) cost him the gold. Mo closed out his career with a second-place finish in the first Rolex CCI**** in 1998; not a bad showing in front of his hometown crowd.
AUSSIE/KIWI REGION
2. CHARISMA
Charisma, ridden by Mark Todd, stood just 15.3 hh but towered over his competitors during his illustrious career. Charisma was mostly thoroughbred (1/64th Percheron), and was nicknamed "Podge" because of his love of food. As the story goes, Charisma had to have newspaper strips for bedding because he would eat anything else. The pair first met while Mark Todd was working at a dairy farm and Todd felt pity because the horse was was so small. Just a few years later, Charisma and Todd stormed onto the eventing scene with a second place finish at Badminton and then a shocking victory at the 1984 LA Olymics. Charisma placed second again at Badminton ('85), second at Burghley ('87), and then dominated the 1988 Olympics, winning Gold by 10 points. Charisma was the second event horse in history to win back-to-back individual Olympic Gold, after Charles de Mortanges and Marcroix (NED) in 1928 and 1932. After Charisma retired, Mark Todd said "he is so tiny, I wonder how he achieved so much."
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7. KIBAH TIC TOC
Ridden by Matt Ryan, Kibah Tic Toc had a long and prosperous career competing for Australia, and saved the best for last. Kibah Tic Toc placed 8th at Badminton in 1992 after knocking down 5 rails, but still earned a trip to the Olympics later that year in Barcelona. With a rail in hand, Kibah Tic Toc left up every fence but the last, and won the individual and team Gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. This is especially impressive since Kibah Tic Toc was 17 years old at the time.
The ENCAA Bracket Battle gallops on with the 2 vs 7 seeds from the O'Connor Region and the British Isles Region. Custom Made seems confident in his match-up with The Optimist, while the spunky Anglo-Arab Tamarillo takes on Pippa Funnell's Supreme Rock. The battles will be getting a little tougher as we work into the bracket, so choose wisely. Vote for
your favorite to send them on! Sing your praises or grunt your grumbles in
the comment section...noteworthy comments may be rewarded with extra votes
toward a horse of your choice.
Here's a great comment from Polly about Bally Mar, the daughter of yesterday's challenger, Bally Cor:
Lest we forget, Bally Mar came from Massachusetts. Bred by the
Pingree family, owned by Dierdre Pirie (mother of Amanda) and started by our old
friend from Area 1, Jim Stamets. Jim and "Amber" competed successfully through
Advanced, including a great run around the full format Blenheim. She was a
quirky girl and they were perfect for each other. She was the 2001 USCTA Mare of
the year. It wasn't until the late Fall of 2001, when Jim died, that the mare
was sent to the O'Connor camp.
EN Officials Committee decided to award 10 extra votes to Bally Cor for inspiring Polly's comment. Do you have anything special to say about today's horses? Speak up to earn some extra votes for your favorites!
RESULTS FROM YESTERDAY:
Despite the 10 bonus votes, (8) Bally Cor still fell victim to (1)Dan Domination by the score of 177-103 (as of 12:00 PM). (1) Ready Teddy handled (8) Darien Powers fairly easily, winning 177-74 . Winsome Adante will face either (4) Poggio or (5) JJ Babu in the Sweet Sixteen. Ready Teddy moves on to meet (4) Bounce or (5) Peppermint Grove.
O'CONNOR REGION
2. CUSTOM MADE
Tailor teamed up with David O'Connor to make one of the best pairs in US eventing history. David and Tailor placed 5th individually in Atlanta, 3rd at the '96 Badminton, won Badminton CCI4* in 1997, and then won the individual Olympic Gold at Sydney in 2000. David has a habit when he rides of focusing so intensely on his horses that he can forget about his course, and, despite that infamous moment of hesitation that brought all of American eventing screaming to our feet, Tailor broke the Olympic score record in Sydney and ended a 25 year US eventing Olympic Gold medal drought. Tailor is renown for being calm on the flat, and chilly in person, but turning into what David describes as a "Saturn V rocket" (think NASA) when the cross-country starts. The 17.2 hh Tailor now lives in retirement at Stonehall Farm in Virginia with his stablemate Giltedge.
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7. THE OPTIMIST
KM was kind enough to send us this photo from Jimmy Wofford's flickr account. Jimmy writes: "Bill was not Karen's sort of horse, but she gave him a good ride anyway. Here she is in her dressage test at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. He is secretly pulling her brains out, but she is keeping an arch in the small of her back, and letting him pull her deeper into the saddle."
The Optimist [Bill] helped to launch Karen's incredible eventing career, being the first horse to bring her a major three-day victory, and her first ride to get named as part of an Olympic squad. In 1984, The Optimist and Karen were the first American pair to win the Boekelo CCI3* in Holland. Karen and The Optimist competed for US Olympic squad at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. As an interesting twist, Jimmy came out of retirement to ride The Optimist for Karen at Rolex in 1986 and won that three-day.
BRITISH ISLES REGION
2. TAMARILLO
The Anglo-Arab Tamarillo "Tam" got his start as a show horse (go figure) and actually won Part Bred Championship at the National Arabian Horse Show in 1995 at age 3. Fortunately for us all, the insanely athletic Tam found his way to Wiliiam Fox-Pitt and the pair had a successful career, including 2nd at Badminton twice, a victory at Badminton in 2004, a victory at Burghley in 2008, and 2nd at the European Championships in 2005. Tamarillo had several untimely injuries that prevented him from fulfilling William's Olympic goals, including having to withdraw from Athens after a stifle injury.
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7. SUPREME ROCK
Supreme Rock, ridden by Pippa Funnel, won back-to-back European Champtionships in 1999 and 2001, as well as team silver at Sydney. Supreme Rock is one of only a couple horses in history to win Badminton twice (2002, 2003). Supreme Rock was also part of Pippa's team that won the 2003 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing, which, depending on how you divide up the winnings, makes Supreme Rock the largest money winner in the history of eventing.
-I want to give a special thanks to Visionaire for starting the Bracket Battle. While she has continued the community mentality of eventing nation by saying that "we" developed this Bracket Battle, the format was her idea and her creation.
-One of the comments yesterday suggested that someone thought they could vote twice. However, the poll is designed to only register one vote per computer, but it can seem as though it is registering multiple voted because each time you hit submit it take you to the results display. But, as long as it says "Thank you, we have already counted your vote" then your vote is not being counted twice.
The ENCAA Bracket Battle continues today with the 1 vs 8 seeds from the Davidson Region and the Aussie/Kiwi Region. Winsome Adante seems nearly unbeatable, as dominant as he was during his career. Ready Teddy stands to have a tough challenge as well if he makes it to the Elite 8. Vote for your favorite to send them on! Sing
your praises or grunt your grumbles in the comment section...noteworthy comments
may be rewarded with extra votes toward a horse of your choice.
RESULTS FROM YESTERDAY: No surprise, (1) Biko rolled over (8) Wilton Fair 192-37. Commenters had a good point, that Biko's legacy may be overrated...but the USCTA named him "Horse of the Century" for a reason, and most EN voters agreed. Biko advances to face the winner of (4) Prince Panache vs. (5) Mr. Maxwell. It's not going to be easy!
(1) Toytown survived a strong rally from (8) Glenburnie to escape the first round 122-104. There must be some loyal Ian Stark fans on here! Good to see Glenburnie get some support he deserves, even if it came up a bit short. Toytown moves on to meet either (4) Ringwood Cockatoo or (5) Get Smart.
If Biko was the American horse of the 90's, Dan is certainly the horse of the 00's. Partnered with Kim Severson, he kicked off his domination with a win at Blenheim CCI***, then went on to win Rolex CCI**** a remarkable three times ('02, '04, and '05). Winsome Adante was a member of the Gold Medal team at the 2002 WEG (6th individually), and won Individual Silver/Team Bronze at the Athens Olympics in 2004. Once again he represented the U.S. in the 2006 WEG, and closed out his career with a third place finish at Badminton CCI**** in 2007.
Ridden by Tad Coffin, the extraordinary mare Bally Cor was a key piece in the USET's eventing success in the 1970s. She won Team and Individual gold at the 1975 PanAms, Team and Individual gold at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, and Team bronze at the 1978 World Championships at Lexington. As if her own record weren't enough, Bally Cor produced Jim Stamets' Bally Mar, the 2001 USEA Mare of the Year (later ridden by Karen O'Connor). In 2004 Bally Mar was inducted into USEA's Hall of Fame.
AUSSIE/KIWI REGION
1. READY TEDDY Photo by Bernie Saunders
Ridden by Blyth Tait, Ready Teddy represented New Zealand in the 1996 Olympics at the age of 8...and won Individual Gold, Team Bronze. In 1998, Teddy did it again, winning Individual Gold and Team Gold at the WEG in Rome. He also won Burghley CCI*** in 2001.
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8. DARIEN POWERS Photo from www.theage.com.au A beautiful gray who always seemed to go round with his ears up, Darien Powers was a powerhouse on the Australian Olympic Team. Darien won two Olympic gold medals as part of the Australian teams in 1996 and 2000, and broke the Olympic eventing dressage score record at Sydney.
The ENCAA Bracket Battle kicks off today with the 1 vs 8 seeds from the O'Connor Region and the British Isles Region. Biko is a heavy favorite to win the whole thing, but he has a tough OCET challenge ahead to make it to the Final Four. The road isn't much easier across the pond, either, but Toytown has some momentum. Vote for your favorite to send them on! Sing your praises or grunt your grumbles in the comment section...noteworthy comments may be rewarded with extra votes toward a horse of your choice.
With 17.3 hands of bright bayness, his splashy blazed face became the most recognizable feature of American Eventing in the 1990s. Ridden by Karen O'Connor, Biko represented the US at the 1994 WEG (finishing 11th) and was a member of the 1996 Silver medal team at the Athens Olympics. Also among his numerous highlights are a third at Badminton (1995), 8th at the European Championships (1995), and fifth at the first Rolex CCI**** (1998). Along with being made into a Breyer model, Biko was given the ultimate honor as being named the USCTA Horse of the Century in 2000.
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8. WILTON FAIR (I searched for hours but couldn't locate a photo...if you find one, please post it!)
Originally ridden by Mark Todd, Wilton Fair won Burghley in 1987. Later partnered with David O'Connor, the chestnut gelding won the 1990 Advanced 3-Day (World Championships Selection Trial), making the US team for the 1990 World Championships. He and David finished 7th at Badminton in 1992, and won the Fair Hill CCI*** in 1993.
Catapulting Zara Phillips into the international spotlight, Toytown burst onto the eventing scene in the early 2000s. The flashy chestnut finished 2nd at Burghley in 2003 (the pair's first attempt!), 2nd at Luhmuhlen CCI****, and won Individual and Team Gold at the 2005 European Championships. It only got better from there: Individual Gold and Team Silver at the 2006 WEG, and another Team Gold at the 2007 Europeans. Talk about a full trophy case!
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8. GLENBURNIE
Somewhat overshadowed by Ian Stark's other magnificent gray Murphy Himself, Glenburnie nonetheless left his own mark on the world of eventing. He was 2nd at Badminton in 1988, and won the Team and Individual Gold at the 1991 European Championships. Bred to be a steeplechaser, he his speed and stamina served him well as a world-class eventer.
John's Note: I just want to mention how much we appreciated the comments on our Bracket Busters intro post. Andrea, lec, and Anonymous had some great suggestions. Visionaire and I researched every single suggestion late last night and made a few changes to our original bracket, including taking out Primmores Pride (who was competing late last fall) and adding Toytown. As of yesterday, Zara would not officially say that Toytown was retired, but he is officially out of the WEG hunt.
The 'retirement question' is always tough with event horses. With so much pressure on riders these days to keep horses competing until the vets absolutely can't keep them sound, many top horses take a long time to officially retire. This made it challenging for us to select only the horses who have finished writing their legacy. Heck, even the USET has to deal with these types of issues when they make the training lists each year.
I characterize our final bracket as: retired horses from the 'recent past.' We decided to stick with more recent horses with the idea that hopefully most of our readers would have had the chance to watch them as they were still eventing. Admittedly, I wasn't born when some of these horses were competing, and it looks like we should have just had commenter 'lec' write the British aisles regional, but, overall, I am really excited that EN will get a chance to remember and honor some of eventing's greatest athletes in an entertaining format.I have already already voted, have you?
Well, it's March. That can only mean one thing: the entire American office world is consumed by the madness of brackets, seeds, Cinderella upsets and cutting down nets. Office pools and corporate lunches rest in the delicate balance of obscure schools like Northern Iowa vs. Sam Houston State. Yes, it is time for that grand spectacle of NCAA Tournament basketball, and life is looking really good from my (blue) part of the world.
Not to be outdone, the "ENCAA" has created it's own bracket busting challenge. Our selection committee has sorted through many of the sport's great horses, considering their SOS, RPI, and FEI numbers. We have chosen the top 32 event horses and pitted them against each other to determine who is the best. I hesitate to name the winner the "GOAT" --greatest of all time-- so we'll just call him the 2010 EN Champion (a "Helms Title" if you will; I'm sure UNC will hang a banner for it). The winner will be selected by YOU, as readers will have the opportunity to vote the most-deserving horse on to the next round. We decided to include only retired horses, *not* those currently competing, as their legacy is not yet finalized.
As with NCAA fans, you are free to quibble and whine about the seeding of this bracket, who was left out of "the dance," and brag about who you believe is better. Witty, amusing, nostalgic, or clever comments regarding the horses in question may receive additional votes at EN's discretion (like NCAA referees, we take bribes). So please vote, offer your opinions or smacktalk, and boost your favorite horse to the top.
You will notice there are two sides to the bracket: US and International, who will meet in the finals. (Also note that the O'Connors were able to fill an entire region by themselves...now that's dominance!) We will provide a brief biography for each horse, to refresh your memory on some of these great competitors and assist you in your selection. Good luck, and may the best horse win!
ROUND 1 VOTING will begin tomorrow, Tuesday March 8, with the 1 vs 8 seed match-ups. New match-ups will be posted every day through March, except weekends. Get to it, EN!
*note: reflecting the insights in the comment section, the bracket has been updated as of 11:55pm 3/8/10
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Messiah was an incredible horse. He was last after the dressage on 78.8 at Barcelona Olympics as he was lame and only had a shoe on mins before. A fantastic xc round and clear showjumping catapulted him into bronze medal and team silver. Messiah was terrified of water and it was only patience that sorted out this issue. Helso influence Blyth's style in water jumps of very exagerated sitting back. The horse photographed is Ricochet. Click here, Messiah is top left.