Photos courtesy of the USEF.
Try harder next year, eventers!
We kid, we kid.
The USEF has announced its 2017 Equestrian and Horse of the Year candidates, and indeed there are no eventers on the list of 13 total rider and horse candidates. Maybe because eventers won ALL the things last year — to recall, Phillip Dutton was named the 2016 USEF Equestrian of the Year while his Olympic bronze medal winning partner Mighty Nice was crowned the 2016 International Horse of the Year.
And we probably deserve to win all the things every year, but it’s nice to give somebody else a chance sometimes, too. Here are this year’s nominees:
National Horses of Honor
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- Winding Oaks Tom Foolery, national pair pony combined driving champion. Photo by Picsofyou, courtesy of the USEF.
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- Cuba, highest-grossing hunter derby horse of the year with rider Victoria Colvin. Photo by Shawn McMillen, courtesy of USEF.
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- Co Fan S, champion Friesian show horse. Photo by SS Billings, courtesy of USEF.
International Horses of Honor
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- HH Azur, 2017 winner of the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final and 2016 Olympic team silver medalist with rider McLain Ward. Photo by Shannon Brinkman, courtesy of the USEF.
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- Verdades, silver medalst at the 2017 FEI World Cup Dressage Final and FEI Nations Cup winner with rider Laura Graves. Photo by Shannon Brinkman, courtesy of the USEF.
Equestrian of the Year Nominees
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- Andrew Sellman, Arabian exhibitor. Photo by Howard Schatzberg, courtesy of the USEF.
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- McLain Ward, show jumping. Photo by Shannon Brinkman, courtesy of the USEF.
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- Laura Graves, dressage. Photo by Shannon Brinkman, courtesy of the USEF.
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- Gareth Selwood, Friesian exhibitor. Photo by Michelle Walters, courtesy of the USEF.
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- Josh Quintus, Arabian exhibitor. Photo by Jeff Janson, courtesy of the USEF.
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- Dale Pitcock, Friesian exhibitor. Photo by Avalon Photography, courtesy of the USEF.
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- Jenny Karazissis, hunter. Photo by Shawn McMillen, courtesy of USEF.
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- Nancy Leigh Fisher, Saddlebred exhibitor. Photo by Howard Schatzberg, courtesy of the USEF.
No offense to Arabians and Friesians, they have many laudable qualities including but not limited to great hair, but it seems like they could have squeezed one or two eventers in there somewhere too, amiright?
Having said that, nobody got shafted by the USEF harder than Winding Oaks Tom Tanacious, pairs partner to USEF National Horse of the Year nominee Winding Oaks Tom Foolery. They’re full brothers! They look basically alike! They won the pair pony national championship with their bodies literally strapped together! So why did Tom Foolery get the nomination and not Tanacious?! Talk about a sibling squabble … I would love to be a fly on the wall at THEIR family Christmas this year. Woof!
Winding Oaks Tom Foolery and Winding Oaks Tanacious. Photo by Picsofyou, courtesy of the USEF.
Whatever. If you feel so inclined to weigh in these clearly bunk USEF superlatives, click here to submit your vote.
Thankfully, there are other opportunities for deserving eventers to win very important year-end awards. Like EquiRatings’ Horse of the Year showdown, for which the first round of voting is underway as we speak. Donner and Foxwood High are our North America representatives so click here to go show them your support with a vote! And, of course, EN will be posting our nominees for the coveted Golden Chinchilla at the beginning of January — it doesn’t get more prestigious than that!
Go home, USEF, you’re drunk.
Go Eventing.
