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Cesar Hirsch and the Pan American Games: Building Pathways and Leaving a Legacy

Venezuela’s Cesar Hirsch, President of the Pan American Equestrian Confederation and the driving force behind the equestrian events at the Pan American Games 2023 in Quillota, Chile. Photo by Shannon Brinkman/FEI.

There’s a saying that goes, “if you want something done, then ask a busy man.”

Cesar Hirsch is the dynamic driving force behind the equestrian events at the Pan American Games 2023. The Venezuelan-born businessman, family-man and passionate horseman is President of the Pan American Equestrian Confederation (PAEC), and making these Games the best they can be means everything to him.

He’s been involved in every Pan American Games since 1999 in a variety of roles, and he’s using all that experience along with his business acumen, his communication skills, his enormous energy and his powerful personality to make it happen.

After PanAm Dressage drew to a close last week he talked about what he brings to these Games, what they mean to the region, and the legacy they will leave. In his words…

Important

”After the Olympics, the Pan American Games is one of the most important multi-sport Games in the world. Being an Olympic qualifier in equestrian, the level of sport we are going to have here is amazing and I think we already saw that in Dressage. Having Ecuador winning the individual gold medal and Chile getting the second individual slot for Paris 2024 shows that the sport is developing in the right direction, and Team Chile finished fourth and just over eight points behind the bronze medallists from Canada.

We went through the hybrid system this year to promote the Big Tour (Dressage) because the idea is to keep developing and improving the level. In Jumping we are up there already with the world standard, and in Eventing we have the hybrid 4* Dressage, 3*-L Cross-Country, 4* Jumping system in place.

In the region we have nine individual athletes already with MERs for the Paris Olympic Games, and now with US already qualified in Dressage and Brazil and Canada joining them the level compared to previous PanAm Games has increased.”

Proud

“I feel very proud of Chile and the organising team. PAEC has been very involved from day one, I’ve been here ten times to oversee things and came here 14 days before the horses arrived to be sure we have all the standards in place. The stables are good, the veterinary clinic is set up and fully operational and the airport transportation worked very well. The Chilean authorities are really committed to the Games.

Chile has won 27 Pan American Games medals and two Olympic medals. Here they developed the Master of Equestrianism qualification and they have exchange programmes with different countries in Latin America. There has always been a cross-country course in Quillota, and the army has been the biggest promoter of Eventing. The Director of the Equitation School here at Escuela de Equitación Regimiento Granaderos, Carlos Lobos, competed at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Eventing.

Organising these Games there needs to be a lot of good communication, and the resources have to be allocated very effectively. It’s more of a “must-have” than “nice-to-have” situation. We were able to do that here even though the cost was significant.

It’s a very compact venue with super structures. We changed all the footings in the arenas, did underwater irrigation, the stables were completely renovated, the vet clinic was refurbished and we added a recovery and operating room. It was a huge investment and there were times when we had to work 24/7, but it’s all about legacy and providing the best conditions for the athletes and horses to have great sport.”

Passion

“I was born under a horse, all my family were involved and I have a passion for the sport!

I competed in Young Riders and jumped internationally and did a bit of Dressage because we had Chilean instructors from this school here in Quillota who were my teachers in Venezuela. In the 80s we moved to the US and I went to school and university there, and when I came back I became more involved with developing the sport.

I brought international riders to run clinics in Venezuela, the first was Greg Best (USA, double silver medallist in Jumping at the Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea in 1988). I was also involved in the Organising Committee of an international show in the late 80s which turned into a World Cup and World Games qualifier.

In 1995 I got my first Judges licence, and the following year I did a Stewarding course. My first Games was the 1997 Bolivarian Games in Peru as Chief Steward. Then in 1998 I was Chief Steward for the Central American & Caribbean Games and 1999 was my first PanAms where I was a Foreign member of the Appeals Committee. I’ve been involved in every Pan American Games since then in different roles.

In 2003 in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) I was overall Chief Steward, and I was Chief Steward in Rio de Janeiro (BRA) in 2007 and again in Guadalajara (MEX) in 2011. In 2015 I was a member of the Ground Jury for Jumping, in 2019 I was Competition Director, and at these Games – my seventh Pan Ams back-to-back – I’m President of PAEC. For the Paris 2024 Olympic Games I will be overall Chief Steward again.

But my title here is I’m everything really. I clean the rest-rooms and I give the medals, so you can call me whatever you want!”

Olympic cycle

“The Olympic cycle is different depending on our regions here. The Bolivarian Games is for Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru. The Central American Games is only for Central America – from Guatemala down to Panama – and those two happen in the same year. The following year you have the Central American and Caribbean Games which involves Mexico, all Central America, Colombia, Venezuela and the Caribbean islands.

These regional Games are all a big undertaking, but it’s always been a tradition.

They are different organisations with different standards of competition but they are stepping stones on the way to the Pan Americans, building a path for them year after year to improve the level of the sport.

So the Bolivarian Games has certain technical requirements, the Central Americans is a bit higher, then you go to Central American & Caribbean and then Pan Americans.

In the southern region you have the South American Games for countries from Venezuela and Colombia all the way to Argentina and those are qualifiers for the Pan American Games. The Pan Ams is for all the Americas, and from here we go to the Olympics and then we start the cycle all over again.

This year was a bit more difficult. Because of Covid the Central American and Caribbean Games were postponed by a year so they took place in July and only a few months later we have the PanAms.”

Left

”I live in the US and in Paris. I’m married for 26 years, have four kids and they are my number one priority. I have a couple of business interests in the US including a logistics company with 120 employees and 60 trucks so there’s a lot going on. I have a very good structure – it’s all about team, and you see the result here.

My experience with the different businesses and having good communication and good leadership, understanding who has the capacity to do what, I think that makes a key difference. In Wellington (Florida, USA) I also own a small chain of stores selling very high-end horse equipment call Equis.

I can’t tell you how many nights I haven’t slept here, when you start early in the morning and horses are coming in at midnight and early in the next morning you just have to get through it. But I made it clear from day one that this is our job, if its 24 hours it’s 24 hours….

I’m all about legacy. Improving the level of the sport is our key goal and we have said this to the community, the National Federations and the athletes, and they are all committed to it. If we can have the next Pan American Games all at Big Tour I’ll feel very proud. Eventing is more difficult because the cross-country 4* is a big step up, but now having already the 4* in the Dressage and Jumping phases we only need to improve the level of the cross-country.

The visibility at these Games is better than ever. Ingmar (de Vos, FEI President) made it a must to have live-streaming of all three disciplines in every competition. Initially the cross-country wasn’t within the scope of the production, but with his support and the FEI production team we were able to have live-streaming on cross-country which is fantastic for the sport and for the region.”

Raise the bar

“When you you raise the bar you raise it for everyone.”

“You can see how the athletes celebrate when they are competing here no matter how it goes for them. They fly their flags with pride, they have the passion, they stick together and when they get a medal they become rockstars in their home country. It means so much….

The atmosphere here has been so positive and I’m sure we will carry that through to the last day. Having the opportunity to work within the sport wearing so many different hats makes my life so much easier when you are organising.

I’m a Level 4 Judge and a Level 4 Steward and there are only two of us in the world – Frances Trulzi and me. I use all that experience to do the best I can here and I don’t have any conflict of interest, I don’t make money out of the sport, I don’t have family or horses or anything in the sport. It’s just me – and what you see is what you get!“

Pan American Eventing and the Colombian Connection

Juan Carlos Tafur Eisenmayer and his home-bred mare Blue Moon will line out for Colombia when the Eventing action gets underway with dressage tomorrow at the Pan American Games equestrian venue in Quillota, Chile. (FEI/Shannon Brinkman)

There was a whole new buzz around the Escuela de Equitación Regimiento Granaderos equestrian venue in Quillota, Chile Thursday, with horses coming forward for the first veterinary inspection and then going to arena familiarization ahead of Friday’s opening dressage phase of eventing at the Pan American Games 2023.

All equines got the nod of approval, and a total of 34 combinations from nine countries – Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay and USA – will come before Ground Jury members Sandy Phillips (GBR), Robert Stevenson (USA) and Marina Sciocchetti Campello (ITA) when the action gets underway, with USA’s Sydney Elliott and QC Diamantaire first through the gate at 11.00am local time.

There are eight nations fielding teams, and following yesterday’s draw the order-of-go will be: 1, USA; 2, Brazil; 3, Uruguay; 4, Mexico; 5, Chile; 6, Colombia; 7, Argentina; 8, Canada.

At the last Pan Americans in Lima, Peru in 2019 the USA took team and individual gold along with individual silver while Brazil’s Carlos Parro took individual bronze. Parro is back in the Brazilian side again this year, but the US line-up is completely different.

There are two qualifying spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on offer this week. The Americans have already booked their place, so the countries in contention for those two coveted slots are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay.

The dynamic of the PanAms is unique, and everyone knows the favorites when it comes to medal potential. But these Games are about participation above all else, and already enjoying his fourth Pan American adventure in the sport of eventing is the inimitable Colombian Juan Carlos Tafur Eisenmayer.

An architect by trade, he has designed everything from sporting venues to housing projects, office buildings and hardware stores in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Colombia and elsewhere. However the real loves of his life are his horses and his competition riding.

“I don’t know how I find the time to do it, but it happens!”, says the man from Bogotá who will trot into the arena tomorrow afternoon with his much-loved 14-year-old Blue Moon.

Together with his wife he runs a sport horse breeding enterprise, and he is understandably proud that the mare is a home-bred Holsteiner. With his original top ride, aptly named Quinto because he was the fifth son in a precious breeding line going back to the legendary Irish jumping stallion King of Diamonds, he says that he had a chance of making Olympic qualification earlier in his riding career but family life got in the way.

“Now it’s easier for me to develop the sport more intensively”, says the distinguished looking gentleman who clearly hasn’t lost sight of his ambitions as he turns 70 this year.

His father was instrumental in establishing the Bacata Equestrian Club in 1953. “That is 70 years old in November this year, and I was born 20 days later!”, says Juan Carlos. Juan Carlos’ early life centered around the club which has nurtured generations of Colombian equestrians, including his nephew Roberto Terán Tafur who represented the country in jumping at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and Rene Lopez who is on the Colombian jumping team next week in Quillota.

Juan Carlos is also a jumping course designer, working in South Africa, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Venezuela and Canada and creating the tracks for the US Young Riders championship on three occasions.

He has seen many changes in the sport over the years, and has been impressed by the increased professionalism he is seeing this week at the Pan American Games, but he says some of the nations in the region have a lot of ground to make up to be truly competitive.

“The standard of horsemanship is much higher but we still have too many differences between Europe and the US and what we are doing in South America. That is because here it is difficult to travel and bring people together, it’s so difficult to move horses around and so expensive”, he points out. The topography doesn’t help, negotiating the Andes mountains for instance is not a small challenge.

But he’s a great believer in positivity. “I try to encourage people by saying if I can do it then you have to try! Be focused, try to progress, anything is possible – although I’m not sure about a medal!” he adds with a laugh.

His first Pan American Games were in Guadalajara, Mexico in 2011, “and then Toronto in 2015 where I had a wonderful time. I was first to go cross-country and completed it with Quinto. It’s great to be able to accomplish things that you feel are difficult but then you just go for it and it turns out fantastic!”, he says.

He explains the cycle of progress that athletes in the region go through.

“We start with the Bolivarian Games, then the Central American and Caribbean Games and then the Pan American Games, and that can take you to the Olympics. I’ve had three team and one individual bronze medal in Bolivarian Games with Quinto and in the Central American Games I won one silver team medal. I feel very honored to have done this”, he explains.

Needless to say the cross-country phase of eventing is his favorite part. “Blue Moon loves it. We walked the course yesterday – it’s tough, we’ve never had these mountains and hills so she will be a little surprised but we will enjoy it!”, he says. He is filled with praise for the facilities at the venue, loves the stables which have been upgraded for the Games but with great respect for the integrity of the old buildings, and says the organization is exceptional.

“It’s the first time for me to be able to go in the arena for jumping familiarization and again today we had familiarization for dressage, and we could go hacking for the last few days which is so good for the horses. We had a bit of galloping too, not seeing the (cross-country) fences but the horses loved it, and there is a very nice grazing area also so they are much more happy and relaxed. It’s a really friendly environment for everyone!”, he says.

He says riding keeps him fit, and Blue Moon is the perfect partner for him right now.

“When you have a horse that’s light, capable, willing and careful it’s fantastic. I work for my horses and they are everything to me!”

He is joined on the Colombian team this week by Lucero Desrochers S – “a professional rider and coach, she is from Cali in Colombia”, Andres Felipe Gomez Sanabria – “a young man studying medicine” and Mauricio Benmudez – “a lawyer who just bought an Irish horse!”

Together they will be flying the Colombian flag high, and with enormous pride.

#Santiago2023: [Website] [Eventing Timing & Scoring] [Entries] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]

Pan American Games 2023 Promise Super Sport

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Miks Master C. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The build-up to the 19th Pan American Games is at boiling point this week, and for Chile it is a very special moment as the country which is renowned for its stunning natural beauty, unique cultural traditions and rich history welcomes athletes from all across the Americas for the very first time.

From 20 October to 5 November the capital city of Santiago will take centre stage as more than 6,000 of the best athletes on the continent compete across 38 sports, with qualification for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games adding an extra edge to the tension and excitement.

The countries that have previously hosted the Pan American Games are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, the United States of America and Venezuela. The Games always take place the year ahead of the Olympics, and in equestrian sport there are three Olympic qualifying spots on offer in Jumping and two each in Dressage and Eventing, all of which will be hotly contested again this time around.

The participating nations this year include Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, USA, Uruguay and Venezuela while the two athletes from Guatemala will compete under a Neutral PS Flag.

The 2023 equestrian venue is at the Escuela de Equitación Regimiento Granaderos in Quillota, a traditional army compound in the Valparaiso region that lies in the foothills of Chile’s coastal mountain range. Quillota is located 126 km from Santiago city, and the action gets underway with Dressage next Sunday, 22 October.

Dressage

A total of 11 nations, eight with teams, three with individual athletes and a maximum of 36 starters will line out in Dressage.

Team Canada came out on top at the last Pan Americans in Lima, Peru in 2019 pinning USA into silver medal spot and Brazil into bronze, the Canadians and Brazilians earning the two spots on offer for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Canada’s Moreira Laliberté won both the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special with her Sandro Hit gelding Statesman, and she was joined by Jill Irving, Tina Irwin and Lindsay Kellock to take the team title.

But it was the USA’s Sarah Tubman and First Apple who claimed individual gold with a single percentage point advantage over Canada’s Irwin and Laurencio in silver while Tubman’s team-mate Jennifer Baumert took the bronze with Handsome. The American record in the history of Dressage at the PanAms, which dates right back to the first edition staged in Buenos Aires (ARG) in 1951, includes eight team and 10 individual titles, and Tubman made it three-in-a-row individual victories for USA following a back-to-back double from compatriot Steffen Peters in 2011 and 2015.

Both Small Tour and Big Tour combinations compete at the PanAms, and the Small Tour riders were first to battle it out in the individual gold-medal-deciding Intermediate I Freestyle/Grand Prix Freestyle on the final day in Lima. Just four horse-and-rider partnerships contested the higher-level Big Tour class, but the medals were decided by the biggest scores on the day regardless of the category, so it was Small Tour contenders Lockman, Irwin and Baumert who posted those to claim the medals.

Chasing down the Olympic qualification spots this time around will be Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico.

The competition timetable for Dressage is:
21 October – Horse Inspection and Draw for Starting Order
22 October – Prix St Georges / Grand Prix (Team and Individual Qualifier)
23 October – Intermediate I / Grand Prix Special (Team Final and Individual   Qualifier) Team Medal Ceremony
24 October – Second Horse Inspection and Draw for Individual Final
25 October – Intermediate I Freestyle / Grand Prix Freestyle (Individual Final) Individual Medal Ceremony

Check out the full list of Dressage entries here.

Eventing

A total of nine nations, eight with a team, one with an individual athlete and a maximum of 34 starters will line out in Eventing.

The Americans are the defending team champions here following the success of Lynn Symansky (RF Cool Play), Tamie Smith (Mai Baum), Doug Payne (Star Witness) and Boyd Martin (Tsetserleg) who reigned supreme in 2019 ahead of Brazil in silver and Canada in bronze.

USA has long been the dominant force in Pan American Eventing, with a total of 10 team and 11 individual titles.

Martin and Symansky took individual gold and silver respectively in 2019, and bronze went to Brazil’s Carlos Parro (Quaikin Qurious). USA and Brazil took the two qualifying spots for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The cross-country test is always the thriller in the sport of Eventing, and appointed to design the track in Quillota is Pierre Le Goupil from France, the man who will also create the cross-country challenge for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Versailles (FRA) next summer, so there is huge interest in his ideas.

USA is already qualified in Eventing for Paris 2024. Teams seeking one of the two Olympic qualifying spots on offer at the Pan American Games 2023 are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay.

The competition timetable for Eventing is:
25 October – Draw of nations, Cross-Country course open to athletes
26 October – First Horse Inspection
27 October – Dressage
28 October – Cross-Country
29 October – Second Horse Inspection and Jumping test (Final Individual
and Team) Team and Individual Medal Ceremony

Check out the full list of Eventing entries here

Jumping

A total of 18 nations, nine with teams and nine with individuals, and a maximum of 47 starters will line out in Jumping.

It was Brazil, Mexico and USA that clinched team gold, silver and bronze in Lima four years ago, Marlon Zanotelli (Sirene de la Motte), Eduardo Menezes (HS Chaganus), Rodrigo Lambre (Chacciama) and Pedro Veniss (Quabri de l’Isle) bringing it home for the Brazilian champions. It was a really close contest for silver and bronze.

Zanotelli went on to take the Individual title for Brazil ahead of Argentina’s Jose Maria Larocca (Finn Lente) in silver and America’s Beezie Madden (Breitling LS) in bronze while Brazil, Mexico and Argentina claimed the three Jumping qualification spots on offer for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

USA has won the Pan American Jumping team title on seven occasions and Brazil has won it six times, while Americans have also racked up six individual victories. Chile made its mark in these Games at the inaugural event in 1951 when Alberto Larraguibel, César Mendoza, Ricardo Echeverria and Joaquin Larrain claimed the team title and Capt Larraguibel steered Julepe to take individual gold.

At the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games the countries chasing qualification for Paris 2024 will be Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay and USA.

The competition timetable for Jumping is:
29 October –  Horse Inspection
30 October –  Training
31 October –  First Individual and Team competition
1 November – Second Competition Round 1, Second Competition Round 2
(Team Final and Individual qualifier). Team medal ceremony.
2 November – Second Horse Inspection
3 November – Third Competition Round 1, Third Competition Round 2 (Individual Final). Individual medal ceremony.

Check out the full list of Jumping entries here

You can follow the action across all three disciplines on FEI.TV, so don’t miss a hoofbeat…..

More about the equestrian events at the Pan American Games 2023 in Santiago (CHI) here 

European Titles and Olympic Tickets Up for Grabs at Haras du Pin

It was a British all-girl affair at the FEI Eventing European Championship in Avenches (SUI) in 2021 where they won team gold and all the individual medals. (L to R) Piggy March (individual silver), Nicola Wilson (individual gold) and Sarah Bullimore (individual bronze). Photo courtesy of the FEI/Richard Juilliart.

They swept all before them at the 2021 edition in Avenches (SUI), and once again, Team Great Britain sends a world-class squad of riders and horses to the 36th edition of the FEI Eventing European Championship, which kicks off at Haras du Pin in Normandy (FRA) next Wednesday, 9 August.

However, this event won’t all be about places on the podium. There are also two Olympic qualifying spots on offer to countries that have not already booked their tickets to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and the battle between the four nations competing for those two places is expected to be intense.

A total of 58 athletes from 14 countries will line out at the French venue including teams from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland along with individuals from Denmark, Finland, Hungary and Poland. In the race for the two Olympic team slots are Austria, Belgium, Italy and The Netherlands.

This will be the 70th anniversary of this championships, which date all the way back to Badminton (GBR) in 1953, where the hosts took individual gold and silver and fielded the only side to finish the team competition.

The sport has come a long way since then, but British dominance has remained a constant theme, with 19 individual and 23 European team titles under their belts. And the defending champions are back out in force once more this time around.

For Germany, the dream of a seventh team victory didn’t come true last time around as they had to settle for silver. German riders have taken the individual title six times and three of those victories were posted back-to-back by Michael Jung in 2011, 2013 and 2015. The only other three-in-a-row individual champion is Great Britain’s Ginny Elliott who reigned supreme in 1985, 1987 and 1989.

The phenomenal Jung is back on the German side again this year with Fischerchipmunk FRH along with longtime team-mate and 2014 double World Champion Sandra Auffarth (Viamant du Matz), Christoph Wahler (Carjatan S), Jerome Robine (Black Ice) and Nicolai Aldinger (Timmo).

Sweden’s Lina Forsberg and Kaizen. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Sweden took bronze in 2021, and, partnering Dynamite Jack, four-time Olympian Sara Algotsson Ostholt heads this year’s Swedish contingent which includes Frida Andersen (Box Leo), Lina Forsberg (Kaizen), Sofia Sjöborg (Bryjamolga vh Marienshof Z) and Amanda Staam (Corpoubet At).

After six of the eight legs of the FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ 2023 series, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands hold the top three placings and Austria lies seventh of the 14 competing countries. The stage is set for a right royal battle between these four nations for the two tickets to Paris next summer as the week progresses.

The French have never won the team title but have taken team silver eight times. And on the last four occasions when they stood on the second step of the podium — in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2011 — Nicolas Touzaint was a team member each time. The 43-year-old five-time Olympian is one of just two French riders to win individual European gold in eventing. Jean-Lou Bigot and Twist La Beige came out on top in 1993 and Touzaint steered Galan de Sauvagère to victory in both in 2003 and 2007. This year he competes Absolut Gold HDC with which he helped claim team bronze at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games two years ago.

The quality host nation squad also includes Karim Florent Laghouag (Triton Fontaine), Stephane Landois (Ride for Thais Chaman Dumontceau), Gaspard Maksud (Zaragoza), Gireg Le Coz (Aisprit de la Loge) and Heloise Le Guern (Canakine du Sudre Z). They’ll have their eyes firmly focused on the podium, especially ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games on their home soil.

The beautiful ‘bowl’ of Haras du Pin. Photo by Christophe Tanière.

The Haras National du Pin is located in Le Pin-au-Haras district in the Orne department of the southern Normandy region. It is the oldest of the French national studs and, known as the “Versailles for horses”, it was established by King Louis XIV in 1715 and stretches over more than 2,471 acres. Many major events have been staged at the stud including the Grand Complet which was established 25 years ago by the family of Pierre Le Goupil who is cross-country course designer for the European Championship, and who has also been chosen to fill the same role at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. However it has only played host to the FEI Eventing European Championship on one previous occasion, in 1969 when Great Britain claimed all-gold and individual silver.

The British are throwing everything they have at retaining the European titles and look like tough nuts to crack. Ros Canter is listed with her sensational Badminton 2023 winner Lordships Graffalo, while Kitty King will line out again with Vendredi Biats, better known as Froggy, who finished second at CCI5*-L in Luhmühlen (GER) in June. In fact, the six-strong British selection includes four of the top eleven and six of the top 25 in the current World Athlete Rankings as well as the reigning world championship partnership of Yasmin Ingham and Banzai du Loir. Tom McEwen (JL Dublin) holds the world number two slot, Canter is number three, Ingham is number six and Tom Jackson (Capels Hollow Drift) is number 11. Laura Collett (London 52) lies 20th in the rankings and King holds 25th place. They are a formidable bunch.

The action will get underway on 9 August with the draw, first horse inspection and the opening ceremony, followed by two days of Dressage on 10 and 11, the thrilling cross-country on Saturday 12 and the deciding jumping phase on Sunday 13.

#Euros2023 </strong: Website | Live Stream | Entries | Live Scores | EN’s Ultimate Guide | EN’s Coverage

Be Not Afraid: Jimmy Wofford Recalls Great Horses & Magical Moments from His Career

This article was first published in June of 2020.

Jim Wofford and Kilkenny on their way to clinching team silver and individual sixth place at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico. Photo copyright Werner Ernst.

An interview with James Cunningham Wofford is not something to be taken lightly. Any attempt at leading the conversation fails miserably, because you are talking with a man with the most exceptional communications skills and extraordinary stories to tell. There’s a sense of riding the tide of equestrian history as the double-Olympian and world-famous American coach recalls sporting highlights, great horses and magical moments from his stellar career.

But it’s a bit like sitting on a runaway train, and even when you get to the end it feels like you’ve only half-halted. Because you just know that there are many more tales to be told and lots more wisdom to be shared by this raconteur par excellence.

I begin by asking him if he always had Olympic ambitions, and he admits it was “in my crosshairs from a very early age.” Not surprising really considering his father, Col John W. Wofford who later became first President of the United States Equestrian Team (USET), competed in Jumping at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles (USA) and his older brother, Jeb, helped claim bronze for Team USA in Eventing at the Helsinki (FIN) Games in 1952. Another brother, Warren, went to the top of the sport in both Jumping and Eventing and was reserve for the US Eventing team at the Olympic Games in Stockholm (SWE) in 1956. That’s quite some pedigree just there.

When Jim was growing up, Jeb and his Helsinki team-mates Champ Hough — father of American Jumping star Lauren Hough — and Wally Staley were his childhood heroes. “Then along came Mike Plumb and Michael Page — I looked up to them for years so when I joined them on the US team that was a real thrill!,” Jim says.

Did he ever have any doubts about his ability to make it to the top in sport? “I had terrific doubts, and at first I didn’t have a suitable horse, I was riding around on a 15.3hh roan Appaloosa. However Warren lived in England, and in spring 1967 he went to Ireland looking for horses and saw Kilkenny who was for sale because he’d been to the Olympics, the World Championships and Badminton and they reckoned he was pretty much done.”

Kilkenny

“Warren called my mother and said what a cool schoolmaster the horse would be, so they sent him to me and suddenly I was the hottest kid on the block! We had an unusual partnership, we really shot to the top, from him being thought to be over the hill with all his mileage and me having never been anywhere of any repute — they put us together and it just worked. So we won the National Championships at my first try, and now I’m standing on the podium with Mike Page and Mike Plumb!”

Kilkenny had previously been ridden by Irishman Tommy Brennan who, following a stellar jumping and eventing career, became a world-renowned horse agent and cross-country course designer. Did Jim have a preference for what discipline he would compete in with the horse? “I was intrigued by showjumping, but I was a moth to a flame when it came to eventing!,” he says.

Kilkenny had already enjoyed a successful career in both disciplines. “In late summer ’64 he went to Tokyo (Olympic Games where he finished individually 16th in eventing), in ’65 he went showjumping with Tommy, and in ’66 he was back on the Irish gold medal eventing team at the World Championships in Burghley,” Jim explains.

I ask him to describe Kilkenny.

“He was a 17hh dark bay gelding by Water Serpent with a mealy nose, a tiny star on his forehead and the look of eagles. When he trotted by you in hand he had all four feet off the ground! He had seen every sort of situation which was handy for me because I’d seen none of them. So I could just drop my hands and tell him to get on with the job which he was happy to do!”

That US National Championships victory was in 1967, and the following year they competed at Badminton (GBR) in preparation for, arguably, the most memorable eventing Olympic Games of all time in Mexico in 1968.

In the heyday of the “classic format,” the toughness and versatility of horse and rider were fully tested. Dressage was followed by Speed and Endurance day which consisted of two sessions of Roads and Tracks interspersed by a steeplechase phase, and then a vet check before heading out on the cross-country course. The final day’s showjumping decided the result.

Mexico

Talking about selection for Mexico, Jim says, “Plumb and Page would never be left off the team if their horse was sound, and Kevin Freeman was such a marvellous horseman, maybe the best rider of all of us. So there was really one slot left, and fortunately I filled that.” However the Americans were steeped in good fortune when drawn early to go on Speed and Endurance day, because an afternoon deluge created monstrous conditions that nearly claimed the life of Kilkenny’s former rider.

“I went early and was first out of the box for us. We were on top of the ground so I had the fastest round of the day and I think Michael may have had the second-fastest. When you look back at the scores it’s two different competitions, but it could all have been completed in sunshine!,” Jim recalls.

Despite knowing that a monsoon would descend around 1 p.m. as it did every day, the start-time was not adjusted and those that set out later in the competition met with a nightmare. “Once the heavy rain began the volcanic soil became a morass immediately. It was a golf course, there was a shell of grass over this powdery substance that turned to soup under wet conditions and we got the biggest monsoon of the five weeks we were up there!,” Jim explains.

Tommy Brennan was only called into action at the last minute with the reserve Irish horse, March Hawk. Second-last to go, he faced inches of water on the steeplechase track where he took a fall on the flat, and by the time he headed out cross-country a stream that had to be crossed several times had become a dangerous flood in full spate. Only the top few inches of Fence 5 were visible and Fence 6 was almost fully submerged. Horse and rider were swept away and disappeared underwater, both in danger of drowning. But somehow they struggled ashore and continued a little further before March Hawk decided he’d had more than enough.

Great Britain claimed team gold, USA silver and West Germany bronze. Jim’s compatriot Michael Page (Foster) took individual bronze and Jim and Kilkenny slotted into sixth place.

Punchestown

The World Championship in Punchestown (IRL) two years later was another dramatic affair, but Kilkenny’s class saw Jim take individual bronze this time around.

Once again there was controversy on cross-country day with a big number of fallers late on the track. “The Irish knew they had to lead with their strength and that was the quality of their horses, so they designed a course that was maximum in every aspect — distance, speed, dimension of obstacles, number of obstacles. This was always going to be a big test, and that suited me because I had a horse purpose-built for it!,” he points out.

“But no-one knew there was a bogey fence at the 29th. You came through the woods above the old sheep tank and you galloped on a trail and then there was a guard rail and the ground fell away precipitously, and six feet out there was an oxer rail stuffed with gorse. You were supposed to gallop and jump out over the oxer and take a 6ft 6ins drop — it’s what Americans call a ‘gut-check,’ a test of courage, scope and balance. But what the course designer didn’t take into account was a few fences before that there was a double-bank, and it rehearsed the horses to step on the gorse which they did again and again. As they built up the brush every time they kept stuffing the fence with more green branches so it was even more inviting for the horses to step on it.

“Something like 27 horses got that far and 24 of them fell including Kilkenny, and including Richard Meade (GBR) who got the silver medal. But Mary Gordon-Watson’s (GBR who took individual gold) horse jumped it neat as a pin. Nowadays if there were two falls like that the jump would be removed from the course and adjustments made in the scores. But in 1968 this was still a sport run by cavalry generals!,” Jim says.

Munich

The Olympic Games in Munich in 1972 brought his partnership with this faithful steed to an end. The US side that also included Mike Plumb with Free and Easy, Kevin Freeman riding Good Mixture and Bruce Davidson with Plain Sailing claimed team silver, but for Jim and Kilkenny it wasn’t their finest hour.

“I rode according to orders instead of the way I should have, and we finished well down the list. But he didn’t get the ride he needed so that’s nothing to say about him. At our silver medal victory bash I said that Kilkenny would retire now and come home. He was property of my mother, but my brother (Warren) who was a Master of Foxhounds in England was dropping heavy hints about what a wonderful Fieldmaster’s horse he would be, so I had to have a little palace revolution there to make sure he did come home!”

Kilkenny’s cross-country days were still not quite over however because he hunted another few seasons with Jim and his wife Gail back in the US even though he wasn’t the ideal candidate because he was a bit over-keen. “He couldn’t bear to have another horse in front of him, and Gail was too brave with him!,” Jim points out.

There was a lean period after Munich. “I was ‘on the bench’ and I knew part of it was because I’d ridden badly in Munich, but also because I didn’t have a horse of Olympic capability,” he says.

Carawich

All that would change however when he met Carawich. Jim insists he doesn’t believe in anthropomorphism — attributing human traits and emotions to non-humans — but then tells the story of how they first met….

He hadn’t won a competition above Preliminary level since 1972 when, at Badminton in the Spring of 1977, he experienced a moment of connection during the vet-check when a horse stopped and turned to look at him. “The hair stood up on the back of my neck — he picked me out of the crowd and stared at me. His groom tugged on the lead but he didn’t listen — it took about 30 seconds but it seemed like an hour!”, Jim recalls, with excitement still in his voice after all these years.

The horse wasn’t for sale at the time but came on the market a few months later. “He arrived in late December 1977 untried. I took out a loan on my life insurance policy to pay for him and it was the best investment I ever made!,” says Jim.

“Carawich suited me as the rider I was after two Olympics and one World Championship. We went to Lexington World Championships (Kentucky, USA) in ’78 where we finished 10th and were on the bronze medal team, and then we were fifth at Badminton the following spring and then second at the alternate Olympics in Fontainebleau (FRA) in 1980. We were second in the Kentucky event that spring and won Kentucky the following year. He was quite some horse too!”

More great horses

An injury sustained at Luhmühlen (GER) in 1981 put an end to Carawich’s career, but Jim still had more great horses to ride. There was Castlewellan who came his way when British rider Judy Bradwell, in recovery following a nasty accident, asked him if he knew of a suitable new US owner for the horse.

“I said don’t go away, and in about 30 minutes we had a deal! He came over that summer, again untried, and we won a big Intermediate event. Then in Spring ’84 we were well-placed at Kentucky and then we were non-riding reserves at the LA Olympic Games”.

Jim retired after that, but two years later came out of retirement for one more moment of glory. Offered the ride on The Optimist, normally competed by America’s Karen Lende (now O’Connor) who was riding in Australia that year, he jumped at the chance.

“He was a big bull of a horse, Irish-bred, 16.3hh and a bit big-eared and small-eyed, with massive shoulders like a bullock. He’d run away with everyone who got on him, but he had a wonderful attitude going down to jumps,” Jim recalls. It wouldn’t be all plain sailing, but again a moment of connection would turn everything around.

“For about a week or 10 days I thought I’d painted myself in a corner because we were not getting along at all,” he explains. However he accidentally caught the horse unawares in the stable one day, and The Optimist didn’t have time to put on his normal sullen expression. Instead Jim got a fleeting glimpse of a bright, intelligent, focused horse. “I laughed and shook my finger at him and said ‘it’s too late, I saw you!'”, Jim says. “I suddenly realised he didn’t want to be told what to do, he already knew his job so the next time I threw my leg over him I did it with that in mind and we got along famously. He won a couple of prep events and then he won Kentucky. And then I quickly retired again!,” Jim says.

Talent

Asked to compare the talent of riders from his own era with those of today he replies, “this stuff about ‘Oh we were better in the good old days’ – don’t you believe it! I lived through the good old days — these people today would beat us like a carpet!,” he insists. There have been many changes in the sport of course. “Riders are in a much more predictable situation these days. When they are pacing distances between cross-country obstacles you know it’s a different sport.”

And the horses — are there big differences in them too? “In the classic format they had to be brave as a lion because we jumped some formidable stuff. We don’t test now for strength of character in the horse — today it’s a test of technique,” he points out.

For many years now he’s been a dedicated and hugely successful coach, and he enjoys training pupils at all levels. He’s looking forward to getting back to working with his students again very soon and seeing how “profitably” they’ve used this time during the pandemic shutdown. “Will they have improved their horse’s training, or will they have worn them out by endlessly practicing competitive details?,” he wonders.

I ask what advice he has for riders concerned about returning to competition in the shadow of the virus still sweeping across the world, and he replies, “Event riders are already bio-mechanically engineered not to be afraid, so don’t be afraid! Know the risks and the safeguards, and go from there.”

Life, he concludes, is like the wording on a famous painting “The Bullfinch” by English artist, Snaffles — “glorious uncertainty” is what awaits us all on the landing side. And, for James Cunningham Wofford, that’s all part of the thrill of the ride …..

We thank Louise Parkes and the FEI for sharing this story. 

Ingrid Klimke Clinches Spectacular Victory at Stuttgart German Masters

Ingrid Klimke (GER) riding Franziskus FRH – winner at the FEI Dressage World Cup 2022/23 – Stuttgart (GER) Photo: ©FEI/Leanjo de Koster

German riders simply swamped the opposition on home ground at the third leg of the FEI Dressage World Cup™ 2022/2023 Western European League in Stuttgart today led by horsewoman extraordinaire, Ingrid Klimke.

The daughter of Dressage legend Reiner Klimke is best known as a five-time Olympian and multiple championship medallist in the sport of Eventing. But the 54-year-old athlete who competes in all three equestrian Olympic disciplines demonstrated her exceptional talent when pinning her compatriot and five-time FEI Dressage World Cup™ champion, Isabell Werth, into second place while the remainder of the German contingent lined up behind them.

Having dominated in yesterday’s Grand Prix, the last five starters in today’s Freestyle were all from the host nation and Frederic Wandres went into the lead when putting 81.580 on the board with a lovely performance from the 12-year-old Bluetooth OLD when fifth-last to go. But Klimke immediately demoted him when next in with the fabulous Franziskus FRH.

On fire

The 14-year-old stallion was on fire from the outset, his entrance already racking up big scores, and the pair who competed on Germany’s bronze-medal-winning team at this summer’s ECCO FEI World Championships at Herning in Denmark put 83.440 on the board to go way out in front.

“Franziskus is 14 years old now but is still improving. Since Herning he seems to be enjoying himself even more and making more progress. He was so calm and listening to me today and his two-tempi changes on the centreline were amazing as well as the last piaffe on the turn and the extended trot at the very end”, Klimke said.

That extended trot was executed with just one hand on the reins and the crowd loved every moment of it.

“I’m so happy and the spectators were fantastic! They were cheering like we won before we even went in!” she said with a laugh afterwards.

She was followed by Tokyo 2020 team gold medallist Dorothee Schneider riding the 14-year-old gelding Faustus who put 80.290 on the board, and then compatriot Benjamin Werndl partnering Daily Mirror whose minor error in the two-tempis was followed by wonderful one-tempi changes for the second-best score to date of 81.885.

Frenzy

But the crowd were in a frenzy of excitement as the last pair took their turn. Isabell Werth is such a showgirl and is adored by dressage fans wherever she goes. At home that adoration reaches a whole new level, and the atmosphere in the packed Stuttgart stadium as she began her test with DSP Quantaz was electrifying.

To the sound of Bonnie Tyler the 53-year-old superstar threw down a great performance despite a blip in a canter pirouette and the two-tempi changes. The tension as her score was being calculated was palpable, and although 82.030 would leave her behind Klimke in pole position she was quite happy.

“My horse was electric tonight but was still very much focused and gave his best. The music makes me happy and I think it works for the public as well”.

“Ingrid rode a beautiful mistake-free test tonight and I did not. This makes the difference and I am not disappointed at all. I should have ridden better with no mistakes to win. This is the sport,” said the lady who looks well set to chase down her sixth title at the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final in Omaha (USA) next April and who has qualifying legs in Basel (SUI) and Amsterdam (NED) in January in her sights.

The top nine finishers in the Western European League will make the cut to the 2023 Final.

No expectations

Delighted with her result, Klimke said this evening, “I drove here with no expectations, I would have been happy being fifth!” With additional points for a win at the qualifier in Zakrzow in Poland two weeks ago she has now rocketed up to second place on the Western European League leaderboard, just ahead of Werth who is just three points behind in third but 10 points adrift of Benjamin Werndl at the head of affairs.

Klimke now plans to compete at the qualifying legs in London (GBR) in December and then Amsterdam (NED), Neumunster (GER) and possibly ’s-Hertogenbosch (NED) in the new year.

Asked how tonight’s victory compares to the many successes she has enjoyed in the sport of Eventing she said “of course if you win at Aachen (GER) or Luhmuehlen (GER) it’s also very, very exciting. I finished fifth in Burghley (GBR) and have done lots of other wonderful things but competing indoors is different and I like it a lot. When I was younger I watched my father doing it and tonight brought memories of him back for me. This was very special night…..”, she said.

Watch the whole test:

[Click here to view full results]

Team America Takes Gold in FEI Youth Equestrian Games

Team North America won gold at the FEI Youth Equestrian Games 2022 in Aachen (GER) today. (L to R) Mimi Gochman (USA), Shannon Grubba, (CRC), Carlos Andrés Meany Morataya (GUA), Xaviera Maurer Buch (MEX), Gabriela Maradiaga (HON) and Chef d’Equipe DiAnn Langer. (FEI/Richard Julliart)

It took a thrilling three-way jump-off to decide the result of the team competition at the FEI Youth Equestrian Games 2022 in Aachen, Germany Thursday afternoon. And it was the North American quintet of Mimi Gochman (USA), Carlos Andres Meany Morataya (GUA), Gabriela Maradiaga (HON), Shannon Grubba (CRC) and Xaviera Maurer Buch (MEX) who clinched gold ahead of Team Europe in silver and Team Africa in bronze.

First to set out in the third and final round, Gochman set the standard when flying through the finish with the lovely grey gelding Merino van de Achterhoek in 32.26 seconds and couldn’t be caught. But the sheer delight on the faces of Great Britain’s Claudia Moore who scooped silver medal spot for Europe and Morocco’s Jad Guerraoui who earned bronze for Africa told the story of this super-exciting youth tournament that will come to a close on Saturday when the individual medals will be decided.

It has already been a wonderful opportunity for young people who would otherwise be unlikely to meet to come together in the most iconic arena in the world of equestrian sport. And the riders, all aged between 15 and 18, have truly risen to the occasion.

Saad Ahmed AL SAAD QAT rides DSP CESSY during team competition 1st round in Aachen Germany on 29 June 2022
© FEI/ Richard Juilliart

Phenomenal

The standard of competition has been phenomenal all week. Divided into six continental teams, the 30 contenders from 30 different countries had only a few days to get to know their borrowed horses before yesterday’s first round in which Africa, Europe, Asia and North America finished on a zero scoreline when the best three results from each group was taken into account.

Despite brilliant double-clears from Qatar’s Saad Ahmed Al Saad (DSP Cessy) and Iran’s Marilya Manavikherad (Cornelia Marie), Team Asia had to count four faults so slipped off the radar along with Australasia who completed with eight and South America who finished up with a total of 20 over the two days.

The Australasian result however belied fantastic performances from Syria’s Aya Hamcho (Campari 329) and New Zealand’s Dylan Bibby (Chasseur Ask Z) who were amongst the 14 riders to post double-clears by the end of the day.

Mimi Gochman rides Merino Van de Achterhoek.
© FEI/ Richard Juilliart

Looked threatening

With four more of those coming from the North American team they always looked threatening.

Gochman’s lovely quiet ride with the 12-year-old Darco gelding got them off to the perfect second-day start before Meany Morataya, also clear yesterday, followed suit with the mare Annelie which was formerly competed by German international rider Mario Stevens. Maradiaga (DSP Goldquelle) had a fence down on both days but both Grubba (Volk D’Ermng) and Maurer Buch (Lawita 3) were foot-perfect so, third team into the ring, they already had the podium in their sights. But it was still far from over.

Team Europe also added nothing to their zero score when Belgium’s Bart Jay Junior Vandecastelle (Haya), Germany’s Charlotte Hoing (Andy’sBoy Bretoniere) and Britain’s Claudia Moore (Largo van de Molenhoek) produced double-clears while Greek rider Annie Mayo Vatidis (Despacita) picked up their second four-fault result of the week and Jeanne Hirel from France (Galliano LW) followed yesterday’s four-fault effort with a clear. Now for sure there would be a jump-off.

And then Team Africa joined in. Tunisia’s Elyes Chaouachi (Maestro v. Donkhoeve) and Zimbabwe’s Amy Hay (Ypaejae Jeremy) were both clear yesterday but collected eight and four faults apiece in the final on Thursday. But when Egypt’s Haya Osama El Borai (Jadzia), Morocco’s Jad Guerraoui (Lady Angeles) and Thomas van Rijckevorsel (Lucy 781) all racked up double-clears it was game on – a three-way battle for the podium places would have to decide it.

Mimi Gochman rides Merino Van de Achterhoek.
© FEI/ Richard Juilliart

First

First against the clock, USA’s Gochman put Team North America on the map in 32.26 seconds and Great Britain’s Moore was just 0.33 slower over the new track when next to go for Team Europe. This left all the pressure on Jad Guerraoui whose lively mare, Lady Angeles, cleared the line in 33.33 seconds to take the bronze for Africa.

Britain’s Claudia Moore is a multiple medallist at European Pony and Junior level but she still felt the pressure. “I knew Mimi had an incredible round and I wanted to match that. I kept quite cool, calm and collected and went in and I had so much fun and I had my entire team behind me and I think that was the thing that drove me the most!”, she said. And like all the young riders this week she thoroughly enjoyed competing in the world-famous Soers arena. “The crowd, the atmosphere, the ground, the jumps, it’s such an amazing thing for the youth. Some people in their professional career never get to jump at Aachen and for us to be able to do it at this age, and have this type of experience early on, is amazing!”, she said.

Newly-crowned team gold medallist, Gochman, said, “going first is a bit challenging sometimes but I gave it my all and it paid off! I’m very proud of the way it went!” She talked about creating a bond with the Belgian-bred Merino van de Achterhoek with whom she has clearly struck up a great relationship already.

Podium – Team North America 1st place team Europe 2nd place and team Africa 3rd place in
Aachen Germany on 30 June 2022
© FEI/ Richard Juilliart

Growth period

“The first thing I tried to do was not to be too defensive…I don’t know him and he doesn’t know me so of course there’s going to be a little bit of a growth period.

The spirit of these FEI Youth Equestrian Games is infectious and the winning team’s Chef d’Equipe, DiAnn Langer, spoke about the positivity it has already engendered.

“The earlier they start this type of competition – the younger they are the better for our future. It’s about more than just producing a winner, a second and third, it brings the young riders together to meet so many new people and make great friendships”, she said.

So what does she think about Team North America’s chances for more glory in Saturday’s individual medal-decider? “We have our hopes and today Mimi, Claudia and Thomas showed what they are made of, but all the riders on all the teams have the same capabilities. On Saturday the fences will be a bit higher and it’s a whole new competition but one thing is for sure – it’s going to be great sport!”

The FEI Youth Equestrian Games Get Underway as Participants Draw Horses in Aachen

Let’s get the YEG party started! Photo ©FEI/Liz Gregg.

It’s going to be an extraordinary 11 days packed with a whole range of experiences for the 30 athletes taking part in the FEI Youth Equestrian Games 2022 which got underway in Aachen, Germany this weekend with the draw for horses. Competing with your peers on a horse with which you are familiar is challenging enough, but building a whole new partnership over the six days in the lead-up to the first round of the Team competition next Wednesday, June 29, takes it to another level.

To compete in the hallowed Soers Arena in Aachen is a lifetime ambition for athletes in every equestrian discipline, and one that this group of young Jumping riders, who are all aged between 15 and 18, are unlikely ever to forget.

The borrowed horses have been carefully selected for their jumping ability and temperament, and a training day tomorrow includes a session in the iconic Main Arena. That will be followed by a warm-up competition on Sunday and further training sessions during which the new horse/rider relationships will become well established over the next few days.

These Games, which will conclude with the battle for Individual medals on Saturday 2 July, have been devised to replace the Dakar 2022 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) which were postponed to 2026. The YOG has featured Equestrian Jumping every four years since the inaugural edition in 2010.

For Team USA, Mimi Gochman takes a moment with her drawn horse. Photo ©FEI/Liz Gregg

Qualification

The qualification for the Youth Equestrian Games 2022 mirrored that for the YOG, with most quota places filled through the 2021 Challenge Qualifiers while Belgium, France and Great Britain qualified at the 2021 FEI European Jumping Championship for Juniors and Children. As host country Germany is automatically entitled to a single quota spot and the home representative is 17-year-old Charlotte Höing, team gold medallist in the Children’s Championship in Fontainebleau (FRA) four years ago.

The selected athletes will compete in six continental teams, and Charlotte will ride for Team Europe alongside representatives from Belgium, France, Great Britain and Greece with Germany’s Peter Teeuwen in the role of Chef d’Equipe for this group.

The USA’s DiAnn Langer will manage Team North America whose five-member side includes riders from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and America while Ecuador’s Jaime Morillo will guide the South American selection that includes one rider from his own country along with individuals from Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Senegal’s Papa Seck is Chef d’Equipe for Team Africa whose athletes hail from Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia and Zimbabwe while Tunisia’s Ahmed Bedoui will lead Team Asia, with athletes from Iran, Jordan, Palestine, Qatar and Uzbekistan.

The sixth and final continental side is a mixed group running under the heading of Team Australasia. Led by Australia’s Todd Hinde and with representatives from Australia and New Zealand, it also includes individuals from Saudi Arabia, Syria and the UAE.

Photo ©FEI/Liz Gregg

Multi-Cultural

It is a superb multi-cultural line-up of competitors and the young athletes are also being provided with a Culture and Education programme throughout their visit, with a number of sessions designed to encourage their development in both a personal and sporting capacity in line with Olympic values.

Dr Alan Currie, a member of the IOC Mental Health Working Group, will give a lecture on mental fitness while David Übis from the Uniklinikum RWTH Aachen will talk about physical fitness. Professor Christopher J. Newman and Doctor Stéphane G. Tercier from Lausanne University Hospital will discuss the risk and management of concussion, Olya Abasolo from the International Testing Agency and the FEI’s Catherine Bollon will address the topic of Human Anti-Doping and German influencer Harriet Charlotte Schulz will share her knowledge of effective use of social media.

There will be an interactive workshop on Equine Anti-Doping and Equine Welfare with FEI Legal Counsel Anna Thorstenson, a career advice session and a team-building session with JustWorld’s Estelle Navet.

Layan Al Mommani (JOR). Photo ©FEI/Liz Gregg

After the draw for horses some of the riders spoke about their feelings and the challenges that lie ahead over the next week and more ….

America’s Mimi Gochman, Team North America – “I’m very excited and I feel confident that all the horses are going to be amazing. I think it’s going to be a really great learning experience and we’ll get to learn from a lot of professionals and watch a lot of the best junior riders in the world compete so it’s all about learning from each other and doing the best you can. The biggest challenge will be focusing on the courses and not getting distracted by the atmosphere – it’s a very big ring, there’s a lot to look at, a lot of people, a lot of cheering – so just focusing and remembering what I’ve been taught, remembering the basics and keep my horse comfortable and my team comfortable”.

Qatar’s Saad Ahmed Al Saad, Team Asia – “Before the draw we were all nervous but I have hope because I trained hard over the last few months to get ready for any horse, and I hope I can do something good in this competition because it’s a great opportunity for me as a youth rider. And it’s also great for me to get to know these other people and to get to know my horse. The biggest challenge for me will be controlling the pressure in this big arena in front of this huge crowd!”

Saad Ahmed Al Saad (QAT) enjoys a first day of training. Photo ©FEI/Liz Gregg

Mimi Gochman chats about her FEI Youth Equestrian Games experience from CHIO Aachen

18-year-old Mimi Gochman is the U.S. representative on the North American Team at the FEI Youth Equestrian Games at CHIO Aachen!

Tune in as she chats about the experience and what she's been up to in Germany… 🇺🇸🇩🇪

Posted by US Equestrian on Sunday, June 26, 2022

LINKS: 

Youth Equestrian Games 2022

Athlete Profiles
 
Education programme 

Live Broadcast: ClipMyHorse.TV

Enjoy a few more photo highlights from training with the drawn horses. While we may not see these kids taking on any eventing this week, it’s really cool to see the opportunity presented and we enjoy following along! Maybe we’ll see eventing added in the future…

Ingrid Klimke & Bobby Chase a Three-Peat in Avenches

The German partnership of Ingrid Klimke and SAP Hale Bob will be chasing a record third consecutive Individual title at the FEI Eventing European Championships 2021 in Avenches, Switzerland this week where Germany are also defending champions. Photo by FEI/Oliver Hardt/Getty Images.

All eyes in the sport of eventing turn to Avenches in Switzerland this week where the FEI Eventing European Championships 2021 get underway on Wednesday, Sept. 22.

This will be only the third time for Switzerland to host these Championships since they were first staged in Badminton (GBR) in 1953. The second edition was held in Basel, Switzerland in 1954 when Great Britain’s Frank Weldon (Kilbarry), Bertie Hill (Crispin), Laurence Rook (Starlight) and Diana Mason (Tramella) took the team title as well as all the individual medals.

When they revisited Switzerland in 1983 it was Sweden’s Christian Persson (Joel), Göran Breisner (Ultimus), Sven Ingvarsson (Doledo) and Jeanette Ullsten (Noir) who were team champions, while Persson claimed individual bronze behind Britain’s Rachel Bayliss (Mystic Minstrel) in gold and Lucinda Prior-Palmer (Regal Realm) in silver medal spot.

This time around it will be Germany’s Ingrid Klimke who will be under the microscope as she hunts down a new record. Only two other riders have won the Individual title three times in succession. Great Britain’s Ginny Elliott in 1985, 1987, and 1989 and Klimke’s compatriot, Michael Jung in 2011, 2013 and 2015.

Three-in-a-row

Klimke is going for three-in-a-row after standing top of the podium in Strzegom (POL) in 2017 and on home ground at Luhmuehlen (GER) in 2019. However what sets her apart from the rest is the fact that the defending Team and Individual champion will be partnering the same horse that has already brought her double Individual European glory – the awesome SAP Hale Bob. The 17-year-old gelding’s extraordinary career record also includes European team gold at Blair Castle (GBR) in 2015 and Olympic team silver in Rio de Janeiro (BRA) a year later.

Success again this time around will be all the more special for the 53-year-old rider because she’s had a very difficult year. She was on target for her sixth Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer before a nasty fall from her mare, Cascamara, while competing at Baborowko (POL) in May, left her with a broken sternum and smashed collarbone.

However she immediately reset her focus on this week’s European Championships, partnering her great old friend “Bobby” who was the first horse she sat on during her recovery. She joins the crack side of Jung (Fischerwild Wave), Andreas Dibowski (FRH Corrida), Dirk Schrade (Casino), Anna Siemer (FRH Butt’s Avondale) and Christoph Wahler (Carjatan S) in defence of the Team title.

Phenomenal record

Great Britain has a phenomenal record at these Championships, with 18 Individual gold medals and 22 team victories under their belt. In total, British riders have claimed 40 gold medals during the 68-year history of the event, and reigning world champions, Ros Canter and Allstar B, headline their strong contingent.

The pair claimed double-gold at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018 in Tryon, USA and although Canter says the 16-year-old gelding “hasn’t done anything of real significance” since then, she hopes that he’ll just “click into gear”, when he arrives at the Championship.

Speaking at Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials where she finished second in the CCI4-L* yesterday, Canter pointed out that the British team of Sarah Bullimore (Corouet), Kitty King (Vendredi Biats), Piggy March (Brookfield Innocent), Izzy Taylor (Monkeying Around) and Nicola Wilson (JL Dublin) is a strong one. “I’m delighted to have all these girls out there with me. We’ll be a great support to each other and hopefully we’ll come back with the gold medal!”, she said.

Teams

A total of 13 nations — Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland — are fielding teams for the Championship and there will also be Individuals in action from Denmark, Finland, Lithuania and Poland.

The Swedish side will be led by 2012 Olympic Individual silver medallist Sarah Algotsson Ostholt (Chicuelo), the Belgian selection includes Karin Donckers (Leipheimer van’t Verahof) and Lara de Liedekerke-Meier (Ducati d’Arville) while the Dutch side includes Merel Blom (The Quizmaster) and Sanne de Jong (Enjoy). Amongst the listed Irish runners are 2019 Individual bronze medallist Cathal Daniels (LEG Lias Jewel) and WEG 2018 double-silver medallist Padraig McCarthy who will compete Leonidas ll, the 17-year-old former ride of Kiwi legend Sir Mark Todd.

Meanwhile the Swiss squad of Eveline Bodenmuller (Violine de la Brasserie), Beat Danner (London Blue), Robin Godel (Grandeur de Lully CH), Patrick Ruegg (Fifty Fifty) and Felix Vogg (Cartania) have been benefiting from the expertise of Todd’s former team-mate and their new cross-country trainer, Olympic champion and five-time Burghley winner Andrew Nicholson.

Venue

The venue at IENA — the Institut Equestre National d’Avenches — which embraces a racecourse and lies on more than 142 hectares, has staged a wide variety of equestrian events down the years including the FEI European Pony Championships for Dressage, Eventing and Jumping in 2008. Avenches, the former capital of Roman Helvetia, lies on top of a hill just over 3 kilometres away, and is considered one of the most beautiful villages in Switzerland. It’s likely to attract plenty of equestrian visitors over the coming week.

However the business of European medals will be the athlete’s main priority, and the horses and riders will be on their toes when the first horse inspection gets underway on Wednesday (Sept. 22) followed by dressage on Thursday and Friday, cross country on Saturday and the final jumping phase on Sunday (26 September).

FEI Eventing European Championships Avenches 2021: WebsiteEntries, Schedule

All Gold for Germany at Super Segarsjö FEI Eventing European Championships for Juniors and Young Riders

One team, six medals and an Olympic champion! Germany’s Nane Nikolaus Dehn, Kaya Thomsen, Viktoria Weyers and Sophia Rossel pictured with Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Eventing individual gold medallist Julia Krajewski after winning Junior team gold at the FEI Eventing European Championships for Juniors and Young Riders 2021 in Segersjö, Sweden today. Nane Nikolaus Dehn was also crowned individual champion and Kaya Thomsen took individual bronze. (FEI/Roland Thunholm)

German athletes were unstoppable for gold when clinching the team and individual titles in both categories at the FEI Eventing European Championships for Juniors and Young Riders 2021 in Segersjö, Sweden yesterday.

The venue, originally a royal estate that now belongs to the ninth generation of the Montgomery-Cederhielm family, provided the perfect backdrop to a brilliant weekend of sport in which Spain and Ireland took Junior and Young Rider team silver respectively while Italy took double team bronze.

And the closing stages of both competitions was nail-biting to the very end.

Juniors

A total of 67 competitors lined out before the judging panel of Seppo Laine (FIN), Laure Eslan (FRA) and Tim Downes (GBR) in the Junior dressage phase in which Germany established the advantage when Viktoria Weyers and Lariostea H posted a brilliant 22.2 for the leading score ahead of team-mate Nane Nikolaus Dehn and Zilia D who put 23.6 on the board.

On a mark of 27.7, French team member Lisa Gualtieri (A d’Aunis) was lying third while Spain’s Marçal Piro Patau (Kira HDB 20 88) was next in line on 28.0. In the team rankings Germany had the clear lead ahead of France in silver medal position, Ireland in third and Poland in fourth going into yesterday’s cross-country phase which proved very influential.

The 21-fence course, designed by Great Britain’s Eric Winters, saw 13 of the 67 starters eliminated and riders racking up a total of 31 refusals. However 35 horse/athlete combinations came home without fence penalties and 17 were clear within the time of 7 minutes 05 seconds. The bogey fence of the day was the combination at fence 11 where a total of 17 refusals were recorded, and amongst them was one for the German team anchor partnership of Sophia Rossel with Exclusive.

It proved no problem at all for the two leading Germans however, and when Gualtieri missed a flag at fence 19 to drop down the leaderboard then individual competitor Nicoletta Massmann bolstered the German position even further when moving into third after a great tour of the track with Painters Igor.

Alina Dibowski, GER and Barbados 26, during the cross country test for Young Riders. Photo Copyright © FEI/Roland Thunholm

Rocketed up

Piro Patau remained individually fourth when adding just 1.6 time penalties, and the Spanish side that also included Pau Catala Sanuy (Batec), Daniel Sala Aloso (Myatn de Remella) and Arkaitz Arana Delgado (Arvoleda FM) rocketed up from overnight eighth into silver medal position going into today’s final Jumping phase.

Team Italy’s Camilla Luciani (Athina Quandolyn), Ginevra Grizzetti (Junco CP), Ludovica Vincenti (Herminia) and Cecilia Magni (Piano Star) also enjoyed a big bounce from sixth place into potential bronze medal spot thanks to solid cross-country runs. And those team positions remained unchanged this afternoon, despite plenty of drama over the coloured poles.

Four of the top five individuals were flying the German flag as jumping began, because team-member Kaya Thomsen (Da Bin Ich C) moved up from tenth after dressage to fifth after cross-country and was lying just 0.4 penalties behind Piro Patau. As the final stage played out less than two fences separated the top 10, and there was less than a fence between the top two.

Fifth-last to go, Thomsen kept a clean sheet to stay on her dressage score of 30.0 and then fourth-placed Piro Patau followed suit to hold on to his running total of 29.6. But, first of the final three, Massmann had two down to slip out of contention.

Dehn’s single error when the penultimate rider into the ring seemed to suggest he would scoop the silver with 29.2 now on the board. But, last to go, Weyers double-faulted and her final total of 30.2 left her an agonising 0.2 behind team-mate Thomsen who bagged the bronze, while Piro Patau stood on the second step of the podium and 17-year-old Dehn was crowned the 2021 FEI Eventing European Junior champion.

Anna Lena Schaaf , GER and Fairytale 39 , during the cross country test for Young Riders. Photo: Roland Thunholm

Young Riders

A total of 41 contenders rode their dressage tests before judges Anne-Mette Binder (DEN), Dr. Joachim Dimmek (GER) and Joanne Jarden (IRL) in the Young Riders category in which Team Germany once again established the lead from the outset.

Anna Lena Schaaf and Fairytale 39 posted the best score of 21.5, and when team-mates Greta Busacker and Scrabble OLD slotted into third with 24.1, Libussa Lubbeke and Darcy F filled fourth with 28.3 and Alina Dibowski and Barbados 26 slotted into sixth, then the German running score was 73.9 going into the second phase.

However Team France were close behind on 84.4, boosted by Anouk Canteloup’s mark of 23.8 with Daniel del Impermeable which left this pair in overnight second. The three-strong Belgian side held third on 96.2 ahead of The Netherlands in fourth on 96.6, but cross-country day would bring changes.

An impressive 20 horse/athlete combinations jumped clear over the solid timber and five made it home inside the time of 8 minutes, with two retirements, nine eliminations and 16 refusals around the 24-fence track.

Dibowski scorched home in 7 minutes 53 seconds to move up three places to third at end of the day, behind Canteloup and Schaaf who held on to the leading two spots when adding just 4.0 and 1.6 time penalties respectively. Busacker’s 5.2 time penalties dropped her one place to fourth ahead of Zazie Gardeau (Udine Jolimon Beam) and Julie Simonet (Sursumcord’Or) in fifth and sixth for France.

Dashed

The team leaderboard showed Germany still out in front and France in silver medal spot after yesterday’s cross-country, but Belgian chances were dashed when Seppe Vilain (Lamparo V) missed fence 16 and Jarno Verwimp’s Mahalia had a fall at fence 20. And the French had no luck either.

Chiara Autin and Urban Legend Blues had been eliminated for three cross-country refusals so when Gardeau’s Udine Jolimon Beam was withdrawn before this morning’s second Horse Inspection and Canteloup’s Daniel del Impermeable wasn’t accepted, then their chances were also gone.

So it was Ireland’s Jim Tyrrell (Rock Gift), Alannah Kelly (Cooley Bounce) and brother and sister Brian (Tullibards Now or Never) and Jennifer Kuehnle (Polly Blue Eyes) who were lying in silver medal spot as the final action got underway today. The departure of the French saw Italy’s Matilde Piovani (Born West), Leonardo Maria Fraticelli (Belamie DHI), Carolina Silvestri (Dutchdaleo Z) and Maria de Angelis Corvi (Bungowla Diamond Time) move from fourth up into bronze, and, like the Irish, they held firm in the final analysis.

A total of 28 lined out over the showjumping course set by Sweden’s Lars Erik Jakobsson, but only four managed to keep a completely clean sheet. It looked like it might be an all-German individual podium with Schaaf, Dibowski and Busacker holding the top three places ahead of the sole remaining French team member, Simonet, sitting in fourth place as the action resumed for the final time.

Adding four faults to her score of 31.2, the French rider then had to sit back and watch the final three take their turn and when Busacker went clear then all the pressure was piled onto the remaining two. Dibowski had no room for error with only a 0.3 advantage over Busacker, but with three fences down her medal hopes were gone. So when, last to go, Schaaf left two on the floor then she would drop to silver medal spot and it would be Busacker who would grab the gold with Simonet taking bronze.

FEI Eventing European Championships for Juniors and Young Riders: [Results]

Today in Tokyo: Stage Set for Olympic Team Jumping Battle

Jessica Springsteen (USA) & Don Juan van de Donkhoeve. Photo Copyright © FEI/Christophe Taniére.

Following last night’s thrilling Individual Jumping Final in which Great Britain’s Ben Maher and Explosion W claimed gold, all of the horses presented at this evening’s second Jumping Horse Inspection were accepted, and the stage is now set for the Team competition to begin tomorrow night.

Further changes may be made up to two hours before the competition begins, but to date the confirmed pre-competition changes are as follows:

  • For Argentina, Fabian Sejanes is out and Matias Albarracin comes in
  • For Belgium, Niels Bruynseels is out and Pieter Devos comes in
  • For Brazil, Yuri Mansur is out and Pedro Veniss comes in
  • For China, You Zhang is out and Yaofeng Li comes in
  • For Czech Republic, Kamil Papousek is out and Ondrej Zvara comes in
  • For Egypt, Abdel Said is out and Mohamed Talaat comes in
  • For France, Mathieu Billot is out and Simon Delestre comes in
  • For Great Britain, Scott Brash is out, his horse was withdrawn and therefore not presented, Holly Smith comes in
  • For Germany, Christian Kukuk is out and Maurice Tebbel comes in
  • For Ireland, Cian O’Connor is out, his horse was withdrawn and therefore not presented, Shane Sweetnam comes in
  • For Morocco, Ali Ahrach’s horse USA de Riverland is out and will be replaced by Golden Lady
  • For Mexico, Manuel Gonzalez Dufrane is out and Patricia Pasquel comes in
  • For New Zealand, Uma O’Neill is out and Tom Tarver-Priebe comes in
  • For Switzerland, Beat Mandli is out and Bryan Balsiger comes in
  • For USA, Kent Farrington is out and McLain Ward comes in.

A total of 19 teams will compete in the first Team competition and the order of go is as follows:

1, Czech Republic; 2, China; 3, Japan; 4, Israel; 5, Mexico; 6, Argentina; 7, Morocco; 8, New Zealand; 9, Ireland; 10, Egypt; 11, France; 12, Sweden; 13, USA; 14, Great Britain; 15, Brazil; 16, Switzerland; 17, Belgium; 18, Germany; 19, Netherlands.

The competition will begin at 19.00 local time and the best 10 teams will qualify for Saturday evening’s Jumping Team Final.

More details here.

Ashlee Bond (ISR) & Donatello 141. Photo Copyright © FEI/Christophe Taniére

Update on Cian O’Connor’s horse Kilkenny

Clearly the images of Cian O’Connor’s horse Kilkenny are distressing to see, but the gelding was immediately checked by veterinarians straight after last night’s Jumping Individual Final at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The vets established that this was a nosebleed (epistaxis) and, as a precaution, the horse was sent to the onsite Veterinary Clinic for further examination.

The horse was treated and returned to its own stable last night. Following consultation with the onsite veterinary treatment team, the Irish team veterinarian, the athlete and chef d’equipe, it was agreed that the horse would not be presented at today’s horse inspection and will therefore take no further part in the Games.

In addition to ongoing monitoring by the Irish team veterinarian, one of the onsite Veterinary Clinic Team Leaders re-examined the horse this morning and reported that the horse had improved considerably overnight.

Under the FEI Jumping Rules, blood on the flanks or in the horse’s mouth results in elimination, however, equine epistaxis is not a cause for elimination. As a result, Cian O’Connor and the nine-year-old Irish-bred gelding were ranked seventh in the Jumping Individual Final after completing the course clear of jumping penalties and with just a single time fault.

Tokyo 2020 Olympics: WebsiteEN’s Ultimate Guide to Tokyo 2020Latest NewsEventing Final Scores EN’s CoverageEN’s InstagramEN’s Twitter

Today in Tokyo: Individual Jumping Gold for Wedding-Bell-Bound Ben Maher

Ben Maher, gold medalist. Photo Copyright © FEI/EFE/Kai Försterling.

“I don’t know what was more pressure, this or getting married in two weeks!”, said Great Britain’s Ben Maher as he clutched the Individual Jumping gold medal he just won at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Baji Koen tonight.

“It doesn’t seem real. I think it will sink in tonight or tomorrow when I wake up. It’s been a lot of pressure the last couple of weeks. I may be biased but I believe I am on the best horse, he’s incredible and I’m very fortunate to be able to ride him”, said the 38-year-old athlete. Few of the other riders would argue about that.

With the 12-year-old Explosion W he was already leading the posse after yesterday’s qualifying competition, so he had the best of the draw when last to go in tonight’s first round. And having made the cut into the six-horse jump-off he simply out-ran all the rest, Sweden’s Peder Fredricson having to settle for silver with All In at their second Olympic Games in a row, while The Netherlands’ Maikel van der Vleuten and Beauville Z took the bronze.

Ben Maher (GBR) & Explosion W. Photo Copyright © FEI/Christophe Taniére.

Jump-Off

Course designer, Spain’s Santiago Varela, outdid himself once again with a first-round track that tested courage, scope and speed, and six of the 30 starters, including a staggering three from Sweden, qualified for the jump-off.

IOC President Thomas Bach was one of a number of IOC dignitaries onsite at the Equestrian Park tonight, and was very happy to watch the jump-off from the athletes’ tribune.

All six jumped clear again, and when pathfinder Daisuke Fukushima crossed the line with Chanyon in 43.76 seconds to set the first target it was a huge moment for the sport in Japan. Sweden’s Malin Baryard-Johnsson was next to go with her feisty mare, Indiana, who broke the beam three seconds quicker but then compatriot Peder Fredricson raised the bar to a whole new level with a beautifully-executed run that saw him race across the line with All In in 38.02 seconds.

Peder Fredricson (SWE) & All In. Photo Copyright © FEI/EFE/Kai Försterling

All eyes were on Maher who was next to go. The four-time Olympian who won team gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games is a formidable competitor, and with Explosion W is in a class of his own. He knew the expectations were high but he handled it with grim determination and his brilliant 12-year-old gelding got him home in 37.85 seconds which never looked possible to beat.

Last of the Swedes, Henrik von Eckermann gave it his best shot with King Edward who stopped the clock in 39.71 seconds. That seemed plenty good enough for bronze, but Dutchman Maikel van der Vleuten set off with his jaw set square and steered Beauville Z home in 38.90 seconds to squeeze him off the podium.

Maikel van der Vleuten (NED) & Beauville Z. Photo Copyright © FEI/Christophe Taniére.

No expectations

“It’s amazing because I came here with no expectations!”, van der Vleuten said. “I have quite an inexperienced horse at championship level and as we all saw yesterday there is an extremely strong field here with many horses in good shape and how often in the past you do a good jump-off and you get fourth or fifth, and it was also not difficult today to get fourth or fifth. I was trying to go for it without overdoing him and it worked out well. I think the first two combinations (Maher and Fredricson) many people would have thought they had a big chance, they have so much experience and are fantastic riders so to be third with this horse at this level is a little bit like gold for me!”.

Fredricson was happy with silver, but it wasn’t the target. “All the top riders want to take the gold medal but today it was Ben’s day, he did a great round and that’s the way it goes, it’s really small margins”. Britain’s Nick Skelton pipped him for gold at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, but the following year All in won the Individual European title before an injury in December 2017 left the horse out of action for 18 months. He only came back into competition work in April this year.

“I always had it in mind to have him in top shape here but we were running a bit late with Covid and then the horse virus, and I was running out of time to get him the last bit of competition fit. I would say he just came into a peak when he came here. He jumped great yesterday and today when I took him out he was really good again”, he said of the 15-year-old horse whose track record also includes team silver at those European Championships four years ago.

Ben Maher (GBR) & Explosion W. Photo Copyright © FEI/Christophe Taniére.

Fifth equestrian medal

Maher’s gold is Great Britain’s fifth equestrian medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and only the second Individual gold his country has claimed since Jumping joined the Olympic Games in 1912. Compatriot Nick Skelton was the first Briton to win the Individual title when reigning supreme five years ago in Brazil. Only Britain and Germany have ever won back-to-back Individual Olympic Jumping titles, Ludger Beerbaum (Classic Touch, Barcelona 1992) and Ulrich Kirchhoff (Jus de Pommes, Atlanta 1996) posting Germany’s consecutive victories.

The new champion said tonight, “there are so many people I owe this to in the end, obviously Explosion is the main one but there are vets, farriers that have been with me for 15 years, my team back home, Cormac Kenny who is my groom. He came to me from Ireland when he was 16 and he grew up with me and he’s here to be a huge part of this moment. My family, my fiancee Sophie — we are getting married in two weeks time — so many people. I’m looking forward to getting home and having a great celebration!”, Maher said.

Facts and Figures:

Youngest athlete in tonight’s Olympic Individual Jumping Final was 22-year-old Harry Charles from Great Britain.

Oldest athlete in tonight’s competition was 61-year-old Geir Gulliksen from Norway.

14 fences, 17 jumping efforts.

Great Britain has now claimed a total of 5 equestrian medals so far at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The horse Kilkenny, ridden by Cian O’Connor (IRL), had a nosebleed (epistaxis) during the Jumping Individual Final today at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The nine-year-old Irish-bred gelding, which completed the course with just a single time fault, was checked by veterinarians immediately after the competition and, as a precaution, the horse will go to the onsite Veterinary Clinic for a further examination. Under the FEI Jumping Rules, blood on the flanks or in the horse’s mouth results in elimination, however, equine epistaxis is not a cause for elimination. The horse Kilkenny has been withdrawn from the Team competition which begins on Friday.

Results here.

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Michael Jung Aims to Make More History With a Hat-Trick of Gold in Tokyo

Germany’s Michael Jung rides his 2019 European Championship horse fischerChipmunk FRH in Luhmuhlen, (GER) and is aiming to make history with a hatric gold in Tokyo (JPN). FEI/ Oliver Hardt/Getty Images

After Germany’s Michael Jung won the second of his two consecutive Individual Olympic Equestrian Eventing titles at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games he was asked what he had next in his sights. “Tokyo 2020 of course, and the Europeans and maybe the world title along the way!”, he replied.

He wasn’t joking of course, because the 38-year-old who made Eventing history by becoming the first to hold the European, Olympic, and World Championship titles at the same time is one of the most formidable athletes in all of equestrian sport.

He didn’t make it to the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in 2018 when his horse had an injury, but at the FEI European Championships the following year he took team gold and was just pipped at the post for the individual title by team-mate Ingrid Klimke.

This is a man who sets the bar really high for everyone else, and if he can do the individual hat-trick in Tokyo then he will set a new Olympic record. Charles Pahud de Mortanges from The Netherlands came out on top in Amsterdam in 1928 and again at the following Olympics in Los Angeles in 1932, and New Zealand’s Mark Todd won in Los Angeles in 1984 and again in Seoul in 1988. Both riders partnered the same horse on each occasion, the Dutchman riding Marcroix and the Kiwi riding the legendary Charisma.

Jung was also riding the same horse, the mighty Sam, when coming out on top at London 2012 and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. This time around he will partner his 2019 European Championship horse Chipmunk, and the world waits to see what more magic he can bring.

Team silver

He’ll be joined on the German team by two of the three athletes who helped clinch team silver in Rio, Sandra Auffarth (Viamant du Matz) and Julia Krajewski (Armande de B’Neville). However it is the French who line out as defending team champions, with Thomas Carlile (Birmane), Nicolas Touzaint (Absolut Gold HDC) and Christopher Six (Totem de Brecey) flying the flag for Les Bleus.

The British arrive as reigning world champions with the world number one, Oliver Townend (Ballaghmore Class), number five Tom McEwen (Toledo de Kerser) and number 22, Laura Collet (London 52) in their side, backed up last-minute replacement reserve Ros Canter with Allstar B, the horse she rode to individual gold at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018. . There’s great strength in depth in this selection, while the Irish world silver medallists, and the Kiwi side that includes husband-and-wife Tim and Jonelle Price, also look highly competitive.

But there are further Olympic records hanging in the balance. Australia’s Andrew Hoy, Shane Rose and Stuart Tinney have 166 years of life-experience and eight Olympic medals between them. And 62-year-old Hoy could make Olympic history by becoming the first athlete to win gold medals an incredible 29 years apart. He won his first team gold in Barcelona in 1992 and if he could do it again he’d break the all-time record set by Hungarian fencer Aladár Gerevich, who triumphed in 1932 and 1960.

Hoy went on to win two more team golds, at Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000, and just by turning up in Tokyo he will set an Australian record with his eighth Olympic appearance since his debut in Los Angeles in 1984 at the age of 25.

From left: Sandra Auffarth, Michael Jung, Ingrid Klimke and Julia Krajewski. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Changes

The sport of Eventing has been subject to many changes down the years and at the Tokyo 2020 Games there will be a new and shorter Dressage test, which will take just under four minutes to complete. The Dressage and Jumping phases will be staged at Baji Koen Equestrian Centre in the city, while the Cross Country action will be held at Sea Forest Park in Tokyo Bay.

Following the Ready Steady Tokyo Equestrian Test event staged at Sea Forest in August 2019, during which an FEI official climate impact study and horse monitoring project took place, the Cross Country course was shortened to approximately eight minutes.

It’s all a long way from the first time Eventing was included in the Olympic programme back in 1912 in Stockholm when the competition began with Phase A, “an Endurance ride over 55km in four hours” and Phase B, “Cross-country over 5km in 15 minutes with 12 obstacles”.

After a rest day the all-military competitors then set out to tackle “Steeplechase over 3,500m in 5 minutes and 50 seconds with 10 obstacles”, while on day four there was “Jumping over 15 obstacles up to 1.30m high and 3.00m wide” before finally finishing up on day five with “Dressage”. From seven starting teams, four completed and Sweden took both Team and Individual gold.

Times have indeed moved on, but the partnership between horse and athlete remains at the heart of equestrian sport, and in Olympic Eventing that partnership is at its zenith.

What is Eventing?

Once known as “The Military” because it was a test for cavalrymen and their horses, Eventing is the most comprehensive test of horse and rider, combining the separate disciplines of Dressage, Cross Country and Jumping, with results from each phase totalled for a final score. It is the lowest score that wins, both for the team and individual medals.

It has been an Olympic sport since 1912.

Michael Jung and Sam at the first horse inspection in Rio. Photo by Jenni Autry.

How it will play out…

The Team and Individual competitions will run concurrently on consecutive days as follows: Dressage test (over two days, 30/31 July), Cross Country test (1 August) and First Jumping Competition (2 August) to determine the Team classification.

The Individual Final Jumping test will take place after the Team Jumping Final on the same day (2 August), with the top 25 battling it out for the medals.

Eventing Dressage and Jumping will both be staged at Baji Koen Equestrian Centre, with horses travelling to Sea Forest Park for Cross Country day.

To enable a finish by just after 11.00, the start time on Cross Country day will be 07.45 JST.

Horses can be substituted for the team competition, and a horse/athlete combination may be substituted by a reserve combination for medical/veterinarian reasons in any of the three tests after the start of the competition.

The top-25 horse/athlete combinations go through to the Individual Final.

The athlete rides the same horse throughout for the Individual classification.

There will be two horse inspections – on 29 July, the day before the Dressage phase begins, and on 2 August before the final Jumping phase takes place.

A drawn starting order will be used for the Dressage and Cross-Country tests but in the final Jumping test horse/athlete combinations will go in reverse order of merit.

Facts and Figures:

  • 29 countries
  • 15 teams
  • 65 horse/athlete combinations
  • 14 countries represented by individuals
  • Australia, Germany and USA share the biggest number of team victories in Olympic Eventing history with four each.
  • Australia, victors in Rome in 1960, has the unique record of winning three team titles in a row – at Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta in 1996 and on home ground in Sydney in 2000.
  • Team France are the defending Olympic champions.
  • The French have twice claimed the team title – in Athens in 2004 and at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
  • Germany’s Michael Jung is the defending double-champion having won the Individual title at London 2012 and again at the Rio 2016 Games.
  • Germany has won the Olympic Eventing Individual title on three occasions but Sweden holds the record for most wins with a total of four, the last recorded on home soil in Stockholm in 1956 by Petrus Kastenman riding Illuster.
  • When the Olympic Games were last staged in Tokyo in 1964, the Eventing it was held in Karuizawa, 150km north-west of Tokyo.
  • History was made when a woman competed in an Olympic three-day event for the very first time that year. The USA’s Lana du Pont, who 27 years later as Mrs Wright won team gold at the World Driving Championships in Paris (FRA), finished 33rd of the 34 horse-and-rider combinations that completed. A total of 48 riders from 12 nations participated, and 14 were eliminated in the Cross Country phase.
  • At Tokyo in 1964, Italy claimed Team gold and the Individual title went to team member Mauro Checcoli riding Surbean.

The Teams

Australia: Andrew Hoy (Vasilly de Lassos), Shane Rose (Virgil), Stuart Tinney (Leporis). Alternate: Kevin McNab (Don Quidam).

Brazil: Carlos Parro (Goliath), Marcelo Tosi (Glenfly), Rafael Mamprin Losano (Fuiloda G). Alternate: Marcio Appel Cheuiche (Iberon Jemen).

China: Alex Hua Tian (Don Geniro), Huadong Sun (Lady Chin V’T Moerven Z), Yingfeng Bao (Flandia 2). Alternate: Ruiji Liang (Agora de Bordenave).

France: Thomas Carlile (Birmane), Nicolas Touzaint (Absolut Gold), Christopher Six (Totem de Brecey). Alternate: Karim Laghouag (Triton Fontaine).

Germany: Sandra Auffarth (Viamant du Matz), Michael Jung (Chipmunk FRH), Julia Krajewski (Amande de B’Neville). Alternate: Andreas Dibowski (FRH Corrida).

Great Britain: Laura Collett (London 52), Tom McEwen (Toledo de Kerser), Oliver Townend (Ballaghmor Class). Alternate:Ros Canter (Allstar B).

Ireland: Cathal Daniels (Rioghan Rua), Sarah Ennis (Woodcourt Garrison), Sam Watson (Flamenco). Alternate: Austin O’Connor (Colorado Blue).

Italy: Susanna Bordone (Imperial van de Holtakkers), Victoria Panizzon (Super Cillious), Arianna Schivo (Quefire de l’Ormeau). Alternate: Stefano Brecciaroli (Bolivar Gio Granno).

Japan: Yoshiaki Oiwa (Tullyoran Cruise), Toshiyuki Tanaka (Taima d’Allou), Kazuma Tooto (Vinci de la Vigne).

New Zealand: Tim Price (Vitali), Jonelle Price (Grovine de Reve), Jesse Campbell (Diachello). Alternate: Bundy Philpott (Tresca).

Poland: Pawel Spisak (Banderas), Malgorzata Cybulska (Chenaro 2), Joanna Pawlak (Fantastic Frieda). Alternate: Mateusz Kiempa (Libertina).

Sweden: Ludwig Svennerstal (Balham Mist), Theese Viklund (Viscera), Louise Romeike (Cato S). Alternate: Sara Algotsson Ostholt (Chicuelo).

Switzerland: Robin Godel (Jet Set), Melody Johner (Toubleu dd Rueire), Felix Vogg (Cartania). Alternate: Eveline Bodenmuller (Bioline de la Brasserie).

Thailand: Arinadtha Chavatanont (Boleybawn Prince), Weerapat Pitakanonda (Carnival March), Korntawat Samran (Bonero K).

USA: Philip Dutton (Z), Boyd Martin (Tsetserleg TSF), Doug Payne (Vandiver). Alternate: Tamra Smith (Mai Baum).

The Individuals

Austria: Lea Siegl (DSP Fighting Line), Katrin Khoddam-Hazrati (DSP Comsa).

Belgium: Lara De Liederke-Meier (Alpaga d’Arville).

Belarus: Alexandre Zeleno (Carolo Grande JR), Aliaksandr Faminou (Martinie).

Canada: Colleen Loach (Qorry Blue d’Argouges), Jessica Phoenix (Pavarotti).

Czech Republic: Miloslav Prihoda Jr (Ferreolus Lat), Miroslav Trunda (Shutterflyke).

Denmark: Peter Flarup (Fascination).

Ecuador: Nicolas Wettstein (Altier d’Aurois).

Hong Kong: Thomas Heffernan Ho (Tayberry).

India: Fouaad Mirza (Seigneur).

Netherlands: Merel Bloom (The Quizmaster), Janneke Boonzaaijer (Champ de Tailleur).

Puerto Rico: Lauren Billys (Castle Larchfield Purdy).

ROC: Andrey Mitin (Gurza), Mikhail Natstenko (MP Imaging If).

Republic of South Africa: Victoria Scott-Legendre (Valtho Des Peupliers).

Spain: Francisco Gavino Bonzalez (Source de la Faye).

The Officials

Ground Jury President: Nick Burton GBR
Ground Jury Members: Christina Klingspor SWE and Jane Hamlin USA.
Technical Delegate: Philip Surl (GBR)
Course Designer: Derek Di Grazia USA
Chief Steward: Helen Christie NZL

The Nations:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Puerto Rico, Republic of South Africa, ROC, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, USA.

Today in Tokyo: Dressage Team USA All Clear at First Horse Inspection

From an FEI press release with additional information from a US Equestrian press release.

America’s Adrienne Lyle and Salvino at the Dressage horse inspection today in the stunning Baji Koen Equestrian Park where the equestrian events of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games get underway with the Dressage Grand Prix tomorrow morning. Photo by FEI/Christoph Taniere.

Brazil’s Joao Victor Marcari Oliva and his 12-year-old stallion Escorial will be first into the arena tomorrow morning when the Dressage Grand Prix gets equestrian action underway at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The Dressage horse inspection took place this morning at Baji Koen Equestrian Park, and from the 72 listed, a total of 70 horses were presented to the Ground Jury with two held over for further re-inspection tomorrow morning at 09.30 — the 14-year-old Hot Chocolat vd Kwaplas ridden by Isabelle Pinto for France and the 15-year-old grey gelding Sultao Menezes ridden by Portugal’s Carlos Pinto. Members of the Olympic Ground Jury included Susan Hoevenaars (AUS), Francis Verbeek (NED), Janet Foy (USA), Andrew Gardner (GBR), Hans-Christian Matthiesen (DEN), Magnus Ringmark (SWE), and President of the Ground Jury Katrina Wuest (GER).

The Grand Prix is the Team and Individual qualifier and will take place over two days, tomorrow 24 July and Sunday 25 July. A draw took place after today’s horse inspection, and the 15 teams will go in the following order: Denmark, Japan, Australia, Great Britain, Sweden, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Canada, ROC, Austria, Belgium, France, USA and Germany. Team Germany are defending champions and are chasing down their 14th Olympic team title.

Photo via US Equestrian.

Team USA 

All three team combinations of the U.S. Dressage Team passed the First Horse Inspection.

Sabine Schut-Kery (Napa, Calif.) and Sanceo will lead with the first ride for the team on Saturday, July 24, at 9:15 p.m. JST / 8:15 a.m. EDT. Adrienne Lyle (Wellington, Fla.) and Salvino will follow in the first group on Sunday, July 25, with their ride at 6:21 p.m. JST / 5:21 a.m. EDT, and Steffen Peters (San Diego, Calif.) and Suppenkasper will enter the ring at the end of Group F at 9:42 p.m. JST / 8:42 a.m. EDT. Traveling reserves Nick Wagman and Don John were withdrawn before the First Horse Inspection.

After arriving safely at the venue in Tokyo, Don John sustained a minor injury. He has continued to show improvement, but after further evaluation with the team veterinarian, the decision was made to withdraw him before the start of competition out of extraordinary precaution, and though it is believed he would have passed the horse inspection if presented, the team felt that he should not be considered to compete to ensure he has the proper time to fully heal.

U.S. Dressage Team Ride Times & Results

Saturday, July 24

  • 9:15 p.m. JST / 8:15 a.m. EDT – Sabine Schut-Kery & Sanceo

Sunday, July 25 

  • 6:21 p.m. JST / 5:21 a.m. EDT – Adrienne Lyle & Salvino
  • 9:42 p.m. JST / 8:43 a.m. EDT – Steffen Peters & Suppenkasper

Charlotte Dujardin (GBR) and Gio. Photo by FEI/Christoph Taniere.

Groups

Athletes are drawn in six groups, with three groups per evening. A total of nine athlete/horse combinations will go in the first group that includes Australia’s Mary Hanna with Calanta and Great Britain’s Charlotte Fry with Everdale, with competition starting at 17:00.

The Netherlands’ Edward Gal will be first to go when the second 10-strong group take their turn at 18:36, and Denmark’s Cathrine Dufour and Bohemian will conclude this session.

Rounding up the day will be another group of 10, with Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera last into the arena at 21.42.

Another three groups of 10 will compete on Sunday to identify the top eight teams that will go through to Tuesday’s team medals decider, with world number one Isabell Werth last to go on the mare Bella Rose. And, for the individuals, the top 18 will going through to next Wednesday’s Freestyle for the individual medals.

Japan’s Shingo Hayashi with Scolari 4. Photo by FEI/Christoph Taniere.

Great praise

The top-class facilities at the Japan Racing Association owned Baji Koen, which include air-conditioned stabling, a stunning competition arena and beautiful training areas for the horses, have drawn great praise from the athletes who are now looking forward to superb sport over the coming days.

There’s a mix of excitement and relief that these Games, which have been doubly-challenged by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1) outbreak in mainland Europe, are at last about to begin.

“We are so grateful to be here in Tokyo and owe a big debt of thanks to our hosts, the people of Japan, and of course to the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and the IOC for maintaining their belief in the Olympic Games and finding the route to deliver them in a safe and secure way”, FEI President Ingmar De Vos said. “Our athletes and our horses are ready, our venues are superb, we have amazing volunteers and we’re ready for top Olympic equestrian sport, starting with the Dressage Grand Prix tomorrow!”

Live results and start lists are available here.

Panoramic view of the Baji Koen Equestrian Park. Photo by FEI/Christoph Taniere.

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Horses and Courses: Behind the Scenes with the Tokyo Olympics Course Designers

Kazuma Tomoto & Tacoma D’Horset of Japan in the Cross Country during the READY STEADY TOKYO Equestrian test event
at the Sea forest Park on August 13, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan.
Photo: FEI/Yusuke Nakanishi

As the FEI celebrates its centenary this year, some of the biggest names in modern course design talk about the changes and challenges in the sports of Jumping and Eventing. They may have their very different styles and their own personal opinions, but they are all agreed on one thing. Their job is all about what is best for the horse….

Spain’s Santiago Varela had just returned from the hugely successful CHIO Rotterdam in The Netherlands and was turning his focus to the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. It’s a busy time for the man whose life is divided between his job as CEO of a company involved in the renewable energy sector and building tracks for the best Jumping horses and athletes in the world.

“I will fly to Tokyo on 21 July and arrive on the 22nd and will start work immediately”, he says. “The 1st of August is the Jumping phase of Eventing and the last day I will build will be 7 August. So in one month I’ll be free, and the happiest man in the world because I will have fulfilled a dream!”.

He made his name in the course design business through his connection with Madrid Horse Show where he was Assistant Course Designer until 1998. He should have taken over the Official role that year “but my wife had other ideas! We got married during the show and on the day of the wedding I worked in the arena until 3pm and then rushed home to change and go to the church. So for that year I had to remain as the Assistant!”.

He competed himself during his teenage years, and amongst his heroes was six-time Olympian Luis Alvarez Cervera. “Everyone came to the show in Madrid when I was young, the British team, Eddie Macken from Ireland and I remember Neco (Brazil’s Nelson Pessoa) too. All the horses he rode were the perfect ones because he made them perfect!”.

Philosophy

His philosophy for course design is simple. “The course always needs to be fair for the horses. The modern horse is very clever and they are super athletes, but they need to be protected so we must always build a course that they can jump well.”

He says good design is all about keeping the horse’s canter. “It is fundamental, it’s the only way to play with the balance of the horse. Arno Gego (legendary German course designer) defined it well – ‘you find your line and the horses need to flow’. It’s only when you understand that then you can progress to becoming a top course designer. If you don’t allow horses to keep their canter and rhythm and flow through the course then they cannot jump the big fences”, he explains.

And he reveals one secret. “The fences are only a relative issue, not a definitive issue. Distances are only numbers, and numbers alone don’t mean anything. A distance in a combination looks short or long depending on what happened before you arrived there. The riders need to interpret the course because it is a different test for every horse. They need to adjust their plan for a smaller or slower horse with a shorter or longer stride, but one thing they all have in common is that they need to keep the canter and keep the balance.”

So is it difficult for the course designer to find his own balance when, for instance, setting a track for the Olympic Games where riders with many different levels of experience will compete?

“No, it is exactly the same when you are building for a World Cup Final or European Championship or World Equestrian Games, you present the same course for the rider ranked 1,000 and the rider ranked number one and everyone in between. At the Nations Cup Final in Barcelona we have 19 teams, and not all of them are Germany!”, he quips, referring to the strength in depth of Germany in the sport.

So his expectations for how things will play out in Tokyo? “We know about the heat and humidity and have to take that into account. I built a course for Eventing riders at the Test Event and saw the venue being developed and it is truly unbelievable. I’ve been to Tokyo four times now and Baji Koen is a fantastic venue and the conditions for the horses are excellent”, he says.

Michael Jung and fischerWild Wave at the Ready Steady Tokyo test event in 2019. Photo: FEI/Yusuke Nakanishi.

Impression

Alan Wade was speaking from Tryon, North Carolina (USA), the venue where he made such a huge impression with his brilliant Jumping courses for the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018. The Irishman’s design-style is different to Varela’s, but his principles are much the same.

“Course design has improved immensely, and nowadays everything we do has the safety of the horse at the forefront. I make courses that are fair for the horse and testing for the riders”, he says.

He cut his course design teeth in the green fields of South-East Ireland, in particular at Holycross Show in Tipperary where his legendary father, the late great Tommy Wade, presented some of the most challenging tracks on the Irish circuit. And, like his dad, Alan builds courses that are not for the faint-hearted.

“When I started out there were no safety cups, the poles were heavy and a lot of the fences were filled in. Maybe you needed a braver horse back then, but the sport has moved on. Personally I’m still looking for that boldness, using trees or nice fillers but still looking for carefulness.”

Quality horsemen

He says it was easy for him to learn his trade because he had such quality horsemen competing over his tracks. “Francis Connors and Shane Breen – two of the best riders Ireland has ever produced – they weren’t shy about fillers and they set a standard that raised the bar for everyone else”. Great Britain’s David Broome was one of his childhood heroes. “Everything looked so smooth and if adjustment was needed it was done early. Against the clock he never seemed to be going flat out and he always had the horse balanced. The top riders make it look easy.”

He particularly enjoys building at Dublin Horse Show because he’s free to use fence material of his own choosing. “In some parts of the world you can have 50% sponsor fences and sometimes the same fences are sent from competition to competition and it’s the same visual test for a lot of the horses. I like to mix it up a bit.

“All top courses should have different tests all around the course, parts that might suit a smaller horse or one with a longer stride. The overall test should be a mixture of a whole lot of different tests, so when the rider walks the course he needs to work out what will and won’t suit his particular horse at various points around the track.”

And what about building Championship courses for riders with a range of experience? “It’s nearly easier to build a 5* track because 5* riders know what to expect. But when you’ve got 10 to 15 really good combinations, then a bunch of middling ones and 10 to 15 that are stepping up in the sport then that’s where I feel your judgement has to be just right if you are going to have good sport and a proper winner. That is the real test of the skill-set of a course designer.”.

Derek di Grazia. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Both sides

Eventing course designer, America’s Derek di Grazia, was speaking from his home in California, USA. It was 9 July, and he had just returned from his last pre-Games check in Tokyo. This is a man who knows his sport from both sides of fence. “I’ve always been a rider and still am to this day”, he says.

He started out doing design work in the 1980s, built his first track at Essex in New Jersey (USA) in the early 1990s, “and my first big break was at Fairhill (USA) in 1999 where I’ve been involved for 21 years!” Over the years he’s had a long association with many other high-profile events including Bromont in Canada and the Kentucky 5* since 2011.

Tokyo 2020 is his first Olympic contract. “Everyone wants to build at an Olympic Games and it’s probably always going to be a situation where you are presented with a new site and you have to develop it.

“It’s been a big project and we are into our fifth year now. From the beginning I knew it would be a challenge. The site was just a big open piece of ground with a lot of trees on it.”

But it’s not just about plotting a course and placing fences on it. “I don’t think people realise how much planning and thought goes into the infrastructure too. There’s a huge list of things to be put in place – stabling for the horses who will spend one night there, veterinary facilities, cooling areas, broadcast facilities, the list goes on and on.”

He says his biggest task was making the distance fit onto the piece of land he was presented with, and then finding a spot for everything else. “Sea Forest is basically an island with water all around and great views of the city. The transformation from the beginning to now is quite amazing. We are just doing the final preparations at the moment and I’ve been working with fence builder David Evans. This is his third Olympic Games.”

Wiggle room

From the outset, di Grazia left himself some wiggle-room when laying out the Cross Country track. “When I started out I designed it so that we could shorten the course if we needed to. I created loops and ways to connect parts of the track and after the Test Event that’s when we decided to reduce it from a 10-minute course to around eight minutes.”

There was a lot of groundwork involved. “There was a lot of flat ground and some ups and downs and it was a case of balancing them both out. We added mounds and rises to some of the flat areas and graded some of the steeper parts. We were basically dealing with a landfill that was covered up to four feet, and we had to lay in subsoil and top soil with sod on top of that. We finished sodding the whole track back in 2018, 18 months before the Test Event so it had time to grow in.

“There are four water-crossings, the main one utilising a catch-pond and when I saw it all last week it was in very good shape. After the Games it’s going to be a public park and I really hope the local people will come out and enjoy it!”

He returns to Tokyo on 23 July, “and when I get there I’ll just be checking everything over again, and then it’s all about decoration and final appearance.”

So is it nerve-wracking waiting for the competition to play itself out? “It’s exciting more than anything else because there will be so many different sets of eyes looking at what you’ve done and lots of different opinions about it. When the riders walk it they’ll be thinking about their own horse and about finding the best path for them. Everyone will see something different but I hope they all appreciate it!”

Onlookers watch during the show jumping portion of the Ready Steady Tokyo test event in 2019. Photo: FEI/Yusuke Nakanishi

All-rounders

It seems Eventing course designers are indeed all-rounders. Great Britain’s Mike Etherington-Smith has been a horse producer and competitor, a Technical Delegate, an event organiser, an administrator and one of the most sought-after creators of top Cross Country tracks of the modern era. In recent years he moved into the racing world, taking up the role of Equine Safety Advisor for the Horse Welfare Board, but he is still involved in course design and enjoys every moment of it.

Reflecting on the principles he applies to his design work he says that when he builds a fence he always asks himself if he would be prepared to jump it. “We have to be fair to horses while testing the rider’s ability over different terrain so that they show their skills, competence and ability to prepare and to compete well.

“We don’t have to be smart as course designers, we don’t need to over-complicate things. You put your test out there so that horses learn and grow from the experience of tackling it. No tricks, and no surprises…..fences need definition and contrast so the horse knows exactly what it is being asked to do”.

He says Eventing horses have not changed a lot down the years, but the sport is making different demands on them. “They still have to be athletic and nimble, but today’s courses are more intense and more technical because big, bold fences stopped being good enough to sort them out.”

Put his stamp

From his breakthrough when asked to organise Blenheim Horse Trials back in 1990 to multiple other venues and on to 5* Kentucky where he built the much-lauded track for the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in 2010, Etherington-Smith has put his stamp on many of the world’s greatest events and tracks, and set the bar very high.

A special memory is the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. “I loved that job, literally carving the course out of the bush. There was a massive amount of earthworks involved but I enjoyed every minute of it!” And he has a special affection for Kentucky where he was course designer for 18 fantastic years. “The terrain there is the best, it’s perfect for the sport”.

The only person ever to create two Olympic tracks – both Sydney and Beijing 2008 – he has cut back on his design work now, but Adelaide in Australia and Luhmühlen in Germany are still on his radar.

“Every course has different challenges. Adelaide is right in the middle of a big city so that’s fairly unique, and I’m excited for Luhmühlen because it’s developing a new parcel of land so that will change the style and feel of the course which will be great.”

Like di Grazia, Etherington-Smith has seen plenty of changes in the sport of Eventing over the last 30 years and more, including the transition from the old format to the new format and everything that brings. “Responsibilities have changed, and we can only put in place what we believe is the best system possible for our sport but we have to remain open to further change.”

For him, one simple principle is at the heart of it all.

“I’m 100% on the side of the horse, and their safety and welfare has to be top of the list!”

For more updates from the FEI, click here.

FEI Eventing Risk Management Committee’s David Vos on Drone Technology, Frangible Fences and Saving the Planet

What do you get when you combine an aviation engineer, a successful amateur rider and a galloping event horse? The answer, it seems, is the man who has made a massive contribution to the work of the FEI Eventing Risk Management Committee, and his name is David Vos. This article is made possible by the FEI and Louise Parkes.

David Vos competing at Carolina International. Brant Gamma photo.

David describes himself as “an airplane nut” who was fascinated from childhood by aviation dynamics and controls. He only started riding when he was 40 years old, but he has competed up to the CCI2* in Eventing and his contribution to the creation of an updated standard for frangible devices for cross-country fences has been pivotal.

He’s passionate about improving safety. “We have to use all the tools at our disposal, including the people with a world of experience who have been in this sport for a very long time. You can never keep everyone perfectly safe, but we can do what’s necessary to make things as safe as possible if we take a responsible and disciplined approach”, he says.

As an athlete who came so late to the game, his integration into the Eventing Risk Management Steering Group took some time. “When you enter a new community no-one is going to listen to you”, he points out. It was through friends of his wife, journalist and entrepeneur Patricia Vos, that he was introduced to USEA Cross-Country Safety Committee Chair Jonathan Holling and it kicked off from there.

“I took videos of 2* and 3* horses running at Fairhill and began monitoring what the trajectory looked like and how the horses jumped.

“It evolved pretty quickly because that’s my specialisation area. I was surprised how little of that existed in the dialogue which was much more driven by trial and error and experience, but very little by theoretical physics – the dynamics of systems.”

Talking with someone who knows how to use mathematical modelling to explain and predict natural phenonema could be a bit like swimming through soup for some of us. But David balances the conversation with stories of his groundbreaking inventions, his love of nature and his pioneering work through the Vos Foundation which aims to ensure the diversity of life by planting billions of trees. And he talks about his horses too of course.

It’s not just his intellectual energy that shines through, it’s also his altruism and humanity.

Free spirit

Born near Capetown in South Africa in 1961 he has always been something of a free spirit, hitch-hiking around the beautiful countryside from the age of 11. “When I was growing up my two big loves were nature and aviation. Animals have always been very special to me, and today it really hurts to know that when I was a kid there were half a million lions in sub-Saharan Africa but today there’s maybe 30,000 or some tiny number like that”, David says.

His parents and his sister remain in South Africa while his brother moved to London in 1987. “We grew up in the apartheid era and hated our Government. I discovered very early on that good ademic credentials would be my ticket out of the country – basically the world hated us all so it was pretty hard to find a home”, he explains.

He seemed destined for a life in the aviation business. “There’s something magical about flight – my father was always into it and his brothers were pilots who flew in the Korean war.” Instead of becoming a pilot himself however he set his sights on a place at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in Boston, USA and, at the age of 26, his wish came true. He made a big impact when, as part of his PhD project, he developed a unicycle robot in a laboratory that was also home to Marc Raibert and Robert Playter who went on to found the world-famous robotics company Boston Dynamics. It was the first step on the road to an extraordinary career.

Contracts

He started small, working out of his own basement for several years before forming a company that went on to win contracts all around the world. “The unmanned aviation market was just beginning in the late 90s so it was perfect timing”, he says. In one of many research projects, he blew off 80% of a wing and tail of an airplane in flight and demonstrated how the automation system would just keep adjusting the aircraft so it could land successfully. It was ground-breaking stuff in the early days of drone technology, and by 2008 his company, Athena Technologies, was a hot property that was eventually bought by avionics and IT giant Rockwell Collins.

“I worked for them for four years as part of the contract and then left in 2012 and tried to hide away because I wanted to spend more time on our lovely 200-acre farm in Virginia where I had always felt I was just visiting. I wanted to immerse myself in the countryside and the animals, and to spend real time with my wife. I managed to do that for two years, but then Google found me through Patricia’s horse business and I ended up incubating their business on drone delivery service for two years”, he says. It was a real hit. “We delivered 1,000 burritos by drone and they wanted me to take it further, but that’s when I decided I was retiring for real!”

Horses

It was in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 that David was first introduced to the sport of Eventing, and he was immediately hooked. He and Patricia were living in Cape Cod at the time, and on that infamous 9/11 morning David boarded the third of the 8am flights out of Boston. The first two were hijacked.

“It was a bizarre day and I ended up stuck in DC for several months because the aviation world shut down and we were busy with my business there. Patricia came to visit me after being stuck in Europe, and she dragged me out of my office to go to this thing called a Horse Trials in Fairhill and I immediately decided I wanted to do it. In six months we packed up our Cape Cod property and bought our farm in Virginia”.

The first thing Patricia, who has spent many years re-training off-the-track racehorses, put in place was David’s trainer, American rider Jennifer Simmons. “It was a synergistic partnership because we used to sponsor her and bought her a bunch of upper-level horses over the years. She was a great coach for me”. But he admits he hadn’t the first idea what he was letting himself in for.

“When I started I thought you take one lesson, buy a horse and off you go. I had no idea it was a lifelong process of always learning, and and going through all the ups and downs with different horses and how easily they get injured. Maybe if I knew that ahead of time I mightn’t have started!”, he says with a laugh.

First horse

His first horse was lame within six months but lived out a long and happy life on the farm until passing away last year at the age of 27. “After that I bought any old horse as long as it was sound!”, David laughs again. A wild Trakehener/TB mare was followed by off-the-track Thoroughbreds, but it was a telephone call from US rider Will Coleman that introduced him to his most successful horse to date.

“Will said he’d seen a great Irish Sport Horse in someone’s back yard in England and that I should come and try it. So we combined a visit to Burghley in 2012 with going to see the horse along with Jennifer Simmons and Chris Hunnable”. It wasn’t love at first sight “he was more bulky that I had in mind”, but once David sat on him “I took a deep breath, and that was it”. The pair of them went from strength to strength despite some drama along the way.

“His name is Pablo (Spring Centurion) and he took me from Training all the way to the old 2* (now 3*) level. He was eight when I got him so he’s now 17 and I’m hoping to have him back in work again soon”. Pablo has twice ripped off part of a hoof – once out in the field and then in his stable – and he’s still recovering from that second incident. “But I’m a person that never gives up, so I’m still hoping he’ll come back!”.

On a business-trip to Ireland in 2016 he bought another horse, Apollo, as a four-year-old. “His mother is Irish and his father is German and he’s a super-nice guy!”, David says. He started working with Apollo after retiring for the second and last time in 2017. “I always wanted to train a young horse. It’s been a bit like the blind leading the blind but a whole lot of fun!

Segues

Asked how his aviation systems expertise segues into advising on Risk Management in the sport he loves so much – especially since animals are not machines and therefore must be less predictable – David says “that’s the interesting part! You’d be surprised when a horse jumps how the physics really dominates. There’s a cross-domain convergence of really high-tech physiology, psychology and human-animal relationships and it’s really cool!

“At Burghley in 2019 for example I worked together with British Eventing and the FEI and we had up to 25 cameras around the course and I could show how the physics and the video aligned with each other within 5% of accuracy. It gave us confidence in the methodology and in simple tests such as putting a kettle bell on a chain and swinging it at a frangible fence. Depending on the release heights you can very accurately determine the energy of the impact”.

Then we segue into talking about David and Patricia’s work in the Vos Foundation and the Trillion Trees project. “Right now our main drive is to significantly increase the publicity about tree-planting. We launched together with the Eden Project back in 2018 in Mozambique and so far around 20 millions trees have been planted and are growing and we are working with them and others to scale up the message.

“When you think about it, tree planting is the only known solution to mankind today to resolve our carbon dioxide problem. And all we have to do is plant one more tree for every three out there on the planet today. If we do that by 2030 we will buy probably as many decades as we need to bring online all the sustainable energy solutions the world needs to be able to have humans easily survive on the planet without driving carbon dioxide and global warming nuts!

“It’s incredibly exciting doing this simple thing – pushing seeds into the ground and letting nature grow them. All we have to do is help nature here and we can resolve this monstrous problem that we, as humans, have created.”

Similarities

Back talking horses, David says there are strong similarities between people in the equestrian world and his academic and business colleagues. “There are always people who are really brave, people who are really scared and people who are really smart, and I believe that being clever about things is about being a fearless thinker more than anything else.

“To reach the top of anything you need fortitude and commitment along with solid doses of humility. There are awesome people everywhere and I’m a really big believer that most people are good people and want to do the right thing. The Eventing Risk Management Group is full of people like that.”

FEI Nations Cup Series Concludes at Montelibretti: Historic Win for Italy But Dutch Take 2020 Title

Italy’s Montelibretti is the third and final round of this year’s abridged FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ series, with legs having also taken place at Poland’s Strzegom and France’s Le Pin au Haras. Team Italy took the top podium spot: Juan Carlos Garcia, Arianna Schivo, Marco Cappai, Team Manager Giacomo Della Chiesa, Pietro Maiolino. Photo by FEI/Massimo Argenziano.

Team Italy posted a runaway win at the third and last leg of the FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ 2020 series on home ground at Montelibretti today, but the overall title goes to The Netherlands. In the lead after the first two legs at Le Pin au Haras (FRA) and Strzegom (POL) in August, the Dutch could only be threatened by Poland at this final competition.

A Polish victory would have left them on level pegging with the Dutch at the top of the leaderboard, but it wasn’t to be as they lined up third of the four competing nations who enjoyed a great weekend of sport in the autumn sunshine at the Montemaggiore Estate which is home to Italy’s Military Riding Centre.

Team Austria (2nd place), Team Italy (Winners), and Team Poland (3rd place). Photo by FEI/Massimo Argenziano.

Austria finished second while the three-member Swiss side lined up in fourth place this afternoon. For the Italians this was a really special day because it marked their first-ever FEI Nations Cup™ success according to veteran team member Juan Carlos Garcia: “We had a good lead after cross-country yesterday so we had a good feeling going into the showjumping today. But you never know the result until the horses and riders are over the last jump. We are very happy this evening!”

Juan Carlos Garcia (ITA) and Ugo Du Perron. Photo by FEI/Massimo Argenziano.

Held the lead

Poland held the lead after Dressage, buoyed up by a strong test from Mateusz Kiempa and Lassban Radovix who put 33.79 on the board. However their team total of 106.00 left them only 1.5 points ahead of Austria in second and just over two points ahead of the Italians in third at this stage, and cross-country day would change everything.

Arianna Schivo (ITA) and Quefira de L’Ormeau. Photo by FEI/Massimo Argenziano.

“It wasn’t a difficult course, but the time (6 mins 49 secs) was tight,” explained Garcia who galloped through the finish with Ugo du Perron in 7 mins 11 secs to add 8.8 time penalties to his scoreline. All four Italian team members stayed clear over the fences and they had a commanding lead going into today’s final phase on a score of 132.20. Austria lay second on 159.60 but less one rider following cross-country elimination for Lea Siegl and Van Helsing P, while Poland sat in third on 178.30 ahead of Switzerland in overnight fourth on 189.4.

Marco Cappai (ITA) and Santal du Halange. Photo by FEI/Massimo Argenziano.

The Italians sealed it confidently when both Garcia and Arianna Schivo riding Quefira de L’Ormeau were foot-perfect and within the time, while both Pietro Majolino riding Vita Louise DH Z and Marco Cappal partnering Santal Du Halage dropped only a single pole and added a few time faults.

Juan Carlos Garcia (ITA) and Ugo Du Perron. Photo by FEI/Massimo Argenziano.

Debut

At 23 years of age, and making his Nations Cup debut, Majolino was the baby of the winning side but his team-mates have a world of experience behind them. Garcia is a veteran of two Olympic Games and four FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG), competing in both Jumping and Eventing at the very top level. Schivo and her 16-year-old mare were on the Italian team at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and the WEG in Tryon, USA in 2018 while Cappal finished individually 14th at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA in 1996.

Arianna Schivo (ITA) and Quefira de L’Ormeau. Photo by FEI/Massimo Argenziano.

The final Italian team total of 138.60 left them well clear of the rest of the field and celebrating a big moment. They finished second in the final classification after lining out in all three legs of the series this season, and as Chef d’Equipe Giacomo Della Chiesa said this evening, “it’s been a very good competition for us and we finish the year in a very good way.”

Harald Ambros (AUT) and Lexikon 2. Photo by FEI/Massimo Argenziano.

Title

The Netherlands can also celebrate tonight after taking the title. Tim Lips (Eclips), Janneke Boonzaauer (ACSI Champ de Tailleur), Elaine Pen (Divali) and Laura Hoogeveen (Wicro Quibus NOP) flew the Dutch flag when runners-up behind French winners Thibaut Vallette, Thomas Carlile, Christopher Six and Karim Florent Laghouag at the opening leg at Le Pin au Haras.

Malgorzata Cybulska (POL) and Chernaro 2. Photo by FEI/Massimo Argenziano.

And when Germany’s Ingrid Klimke, Andreas Dibowski, Beeke Jankowski and Heike Jahncke came out on top in Strzegom later in August then Hoogeveen was joined by Merel Blom (Ceda NOP), Jordy Wilken (Burry Spirit) and Raf Kooremans (Dimitri NOP) to fill second spot.

Their total of 180 points couldn’t be bettered today, and the final standings at the end of the abbreviated FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ 2020 series are as follows:

1. Netherlands – 180 points
2. Italy – 170 points
3. Poland – 160 points
4. Austria – 150 points
5. France – 100 points
6. Germany – 100 points
7. Great Britain – 80 points
8. Switzerland – 70 points
9. Sweden – 70 points
10. New Zealand – 55 points
11. Australia – 50 points

View complete results from Montelibretti here. You can watch a replay of the event here.

Final Standings FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ 2020:
1. Netherlands – 180 points
2. Italy – 170 points
3. Poland – 160 points
FULL RESULTS

Ingrid Klimke: ‘Let’s Stay Optimistic and Be Thankful for What We Have’

Double European eventing champion and five-time Olympian Ingrid Klimke was on track to a historic 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, having qualified for not only eventing but dressage as well. Now that the Olympics, along with much of this season, has been wiped from the calendar, how is Ingrid coping? With a smile on her face and a positive attitude, as usual. We appreciate this update from Louise Parkes and the FEI — Ingrid, you’re an inspiration to us all!

“It’s alway more special when the horse is getting older. Now he is 16 and these are our last years together so I treasure it even more.” Ingrid Klimke talking about her partnership with SAP Hale Bob OLD, pictured here at Aachen in 2019. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Ingrid Klimke was cooking dinner while we chatted on Saturday evening. No surprises there, the German star is a born multi-tasker, so juggling an interview and an evening meal is a breeze for this lady.

In the sport of eventing she has five Olympic Games, four FEI WEGs  and 10 FEI European Championships under her belt. Her medal collection includes two Olympic team golds and one team silver, two WEG team golds and an individual bronze, and last summer’s double-gold in Luhmühlen brought her European Championships tally to six golds along with a silver and a bronze.

Her prowess as a dressage rider has been key to many of these successes, and just to prove the point she finished seventh in the FEI Dressage World Cup Final in ’s-Hertogenbosch in 2002. It’s a staggering record but far from complete. As we begin our chat she reminds me that she was selected for the German A squads in both eventing and dressage for the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, “with three horses in the two disciplines, so already a dream has come true! Now I’m very much hoping that they all stay healthy for next year!,” she says.

One of my dreams

So what prompted you to try to qualify in two Olympic disciplines this time around? “I watched Mark Todd (New Zealand superstar) compete in jumping and eventing in Barcelona, so it was one of my dreams to do the same some day! My father (the late, great German horseman Reiner Klimke) competed at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome in eventing and later changed to become a dressage rider.”

Apart from your father who were your heroes when you were growing up? “I really admired Lucinda Green and I read all her wonderful books. She was World and European Champion when she won here at Luhmühlen (team gold for Great Britain at the World Championships in 1992) — I ran around the course after her that day! She was so brave and horses did everything for her. I really liked the way she talked about her horses and the kindness of her — she was fun and open-hearted and had a lovely personality.

“And Mark Todd has always been a legend — when I was at my first Olympics in Sydney neither myself nor my horse (Sleep Late) had ever done a four-star. When I saw the cross-country I thought ‘Oh my God!’ and I followed behind Mark when he was walking the course hoping to learn something from him!”

Has it been a pressure for you being Reiner Klimke’s daughter? “When I was young people would say when I did well ‘Oh for a Klimke that’s a typical result’ and when I made a mistake they would say ‘a Klimke should be doing better than that.’ So I tell my girls (her two daughters Greta and Philippa) don’t worry, you can’t make everything right for other people, but you don’t do it for them you do it for yourself because you love the sport and you love the horse.”

Ingrid Klimke and SAP Hale Bob OLD claimed individual bronze at the FEI WEG 2018 in Tryon. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Ambitious

Are your daughters ambitious? “The oldest, Greta, is now 18 and will be in Young Riders next year and she’s very ambitious and very determined. The young one is almost 10 and she likes to play with the horses, to ride bareback. She comes into the arena and goes ‘OK I’ve done one round of dressage so now Bye Bye M’am!’ She’s having a lot of fun and she has a lovely pony but I’m not sure what she will do with herself!”

I realise Miss Philippa has inherited some of her mother’s characteristics when I ask my next question….

What do you like best about being around horses? “I’m starting a four-year-old again and a friend said to me why are you starting a four-year-old, let the girls do it! But this is what gives me such fun, to see how they discover the world, how they trust you, connect with you. And the other part I enjoy is the horsemanship, going bareback, riding with a neck-rein (see what I mean?), I feel like I’m playing with my ponies again!”

Is there anything you don’t like about being around horses? “No, although my father didn’t want me to become a professional rider when I was young. He thought it would change my attitude to the horses because I’d have to sell them. He wanted horses to be my hobby and it took me a while to persuade him that I could find another way, but I did and I love it.”

Ingrid created her own business model. “We don’t sell horses but keep them and compete them, and I’m really happy to have very good sponsors and try to take good care of them. Asha (her now nine-year-old star eventing mare), could have been sold for so much money but her owner said we don’t sell family members!”

Ingrid Klimke and FRH Escada JS at the 2014 WEG in Caen. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Pinot

The horse you liked most? “Pinot, my first horse, a little Trakehner stallion. I did my first dressage, my first jumping and my first eventing with him. I had no idea what I was doing, and on my first cross-country round I was looking around and thinking how wonderful it was so I was nearly two minutes too slow!

“He was small with so much heart and not much scope but he was a great schoolmaster and because of him I decided I wanted to do all three disciplines.”

The horse you liked least? Ingrid hesitates here, she doesn’t really want to be critical of any horse and doesn’t name him but…”there was one horse that wasn’t my favourite but I knew there was something in him that he wasn’t showing me. I said to myself, ‘Ingrid you are a Reitmeister (Riding Master) and you’ve got to be able to ride every horse so look for other ways with him!’ We got there in the end and he taught me a lot about having to be patient, and later he won my heart — but it certainly wasn’t love at first sight!”

The best horse you’ve ever ridden? “The mare Escada, she was in the winning team in the WEG at Caen (in 2014) and she had all the qualities you can imagine. She was a unique jumper, careful, powerful, so much scope with lovely gaits, and she could go forever cross-country. Unfortunately because she was always giving too much we couldn’t keep her sound. She and Hale Bob grew up together and Bobby was always no. 2 when she was at her most brilliant.”

How did you learn to master three tough disciplines? “Because of the chances my parents gave me, to feel different dressage horses and schoolmasters, and when I was with (Canadian Jumping legend) Ian Millar I had the chance to see the Canadian way of showjumping. And Fritz Ligges (German gold medallist, Munich Olympic Games 1972) was also competing in eventing and jumping and was a close friend of my father so when I was growing up I went on holidays and did a lot of jumping there, so I think from youth on I had a good chance to feel wonderful horses in the three disciplines.”

Your favourite discipline and why? Eventing cross-country — I’m really competitive when I’m out there. The buzz going into the start-box is what I love the most!

“And in top dressage when you ride the freestyle to music. My father always said try to have invisible aids so the spectators can’t see what you do and the horse seems to be doing it on its own … when you have that, and it’s not too often but when you have it, then I also really like dressage a lot!

“It depends on the horse too. In my next life I would maybe like to become a jumping star!”

Ingrid Klimke and Butts Abraxxas. Photo by Kit Houghton/FEI.

Memorable moments

Memorable cross-country moments? “At Sydney (2000 Olympic Games) the cross-country was so long — 13 minutes and five seconds — with steeplechase and roads and tracks, and it was so hot. I really wasn’t sure I was ready for it. I went at the very end, and so many people before me had falls and it didn’t go well for the German team either. When I came in the 10-minute box I heard someone say ‘I don’t think Ingrid will make it’….

“I said to Blue (Sleep Late) we have to do something we’ve never done before and that we’ll never forget, you have to show you are a thoroughbred and run forever! The second water was jumping onto a bank and into a deep drop followed by a brush fence and I was leaning too far forward at the drop. But he just jumped everything totally straight without any attention to me trying to hang on. He galloped the last minute uphill and kept this incredible rhythm and I was in time and I couldn’t believe it!

“And then there was my last ride with Braxxi (Butts Abraxxas, two-time Olympic team gold medallist) when he was 16. It was at Burghley (2013) and I couldn’t believe how huge the fences were! He gave me his everything — twice on that cross-country round I wondered if I should stop, but when we finished it was so emotional. I said to Braxxi this is our last competition together, you can’t give me any more! He showed more ability than he had, more scope than he had. I hadn’t planned it but I retired him then”.

Where did he retire to? “Greta was 11 at the time and he was a great schoolmaster for her. He’s now 23 and still in my barn. I did send him to a retirement home with other horses but he decided he didn’t want to stay there and kept jumping out. He wanted to be with us, so I took him back and I love it every day when I see him out with the ponies. He’s still in Stable No. 1 which he deserves!”

Ingrid Klimke wins double-gold at the 2019 FEI European Eventing Championships at Luhmühlen. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Philosophy

What’s your philosophy when things go wrong? “Get back on your feet and look for the positive things even though sometimes you don’t see them right away. A good example was me and Braxxi, he was not a good show jumper and all his life I tried everything with him but finally I had to accept that there are some things you cannot change. When I did that then I could appreciate our wonderful dressage and cross-country rounds even though I knew I was never going to win an individual medal because he would never jump clear. But I was always a good team member.”

Was European double-gold in Luhmühlen last summer particularly special for you? “Yes I was so thrilled for Bobby (Hale Bob) because in Strezegom (POL in 2017) it was a close battle between Michael Jung and me, and it was very close this time again. Bobby did such a wonderful cross-country round, it felt so easy, I looked at my watch and we were so much ahead of time we could canter home! He did a brilliant show jumping round. In Tryon (WEG 2018) we had the last  showjumping fence down and lost the medal, but this time we showed we really could do it when the pressure was on.

“And it’s alway more special when the horse is getting older. Now he is 16 and these are our last years together so I treasure it even more.”

Smiling through the rain: Ingrid Klimke and the 7-y/o Equistros Siena Just Do It making the most of it during a soggy first horse inspection at the FEI World Championships for Young Horses at Le Lion D’Angers last fall. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Three mothers

The important people in your life? “My family of course, and I have three mothers (two along with her mother Ruth). There is also Faith Berghuis (Canadian patron of equestrian sport) who supported me with great advice and gave me the chance to work with Ian Millar, and Aunt. She’s not my real aunt but she owns a little farm behind my parents house and I spent a lot of my childhood there learning about animals and farming and nature.

“After my father died (aged 63 in 1999) his advisor, friend and teacher when he was young, the old cavalryman Paul Stecken, became my mentor and just four years ago he passed away aged 100. He was a lovely man.

“And my friends, some who have nothing to do with horses who were in my school here in Münster (GER) and we have many things in common. And then there are my ‘culture’ friends who take me out to cultural events so my life is not all about horses!”

What makes you laugh? “Kids, and young horses … the way they see the world can be really funny!”

What makes you cry? “Seeing the refugees sitting in those camps in Greece and nobody willing to take them. When people are poor and born into hopeless situations, that makes me very sad. I’m a member of PLAN International, an organisation that works to improve children’s rights and equality for girls who live in poverty. We have to help as much as we can.

“And also the animals, when you see the rhinos and other beautiful animals being slaughtered by poachers it makes me so angry — that really makes me cry.”

Finally how are you coping with life during this pandemic? “If you listen to the news it’s very easy to lose your positive attitude, because there is so much uncertainty. But I tell myself I’m privileged, I’m healthy and so are my family so we must stay patient. We don’t know when the vaccination will come but until then we must stay optimistic and be thankful for what we have.”

Team USA’s Sarah Lockman Unlocks Individual Dressage Gold at Pan Am Games

On the 2019 Pan American Games individual dressage podium: L to R – silver medallist Tina Irwin (CAN), gold medallist Sarah Lockman (USA) and bronze medallist Jennifer Baumert (USA). Photo: FEI/Daniel Apuy, Getty images.

It was Team USA on the top step of the Pan American Games podium today when Sarah Lockman steered the lovely chestnut stallion First Apple to clinch individual dressage gold. A superb score of 78.98 in the Intermediate l Freestyle clinched it for the 30-year-old who pipped Canada’s Tina Irwin and Laurencio by just over a single percentage point, while Lockman’s teammate Jennifer Baumert claimed the bronze with her gelding Handsome.

This was America’s ninth individual dressage title in the history of equestrian sport at the Pan Am Games, which dates back to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1951. And Lockman made it a U.S. three-in-a-row as compatriot Steffen Peters posted a consecutive double at Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2011 and Toronto, Canada, in 2015.

Photo by Vidal Tarqui / Lima 2019.

Both Small Tour and Big Tour combinations compete at the Pan Ams, and the Small Tour riders were first to battle it out in the Intermediate l Freestyle today. Just four horse-and-rider partnerships contested the higher-level Big Tour class that followed, but the medals were decided by the biggest scores on the day, regardless of the category, and it was Small Tour contenders Lockman, Irwin and Baumert who posted those to claim the top three steps of the podium.

Team USA’s Jennifer Baumert claimed the bronze with Handsome. Photo by Vidal Tarqui / Lima 2019.

The USA was never eligible for one of the two Olympic team qualifying spots on offer because they sent just three Small Tour riders to Lima. They already had their Tokyo ticket in the bag after claiming silver at last year’s FEI World Equestrian Games on home soil in Tryon and were quite happy to settle for silver in the team competition won by Canada on Monday.

But today they were gunning for the gold and they got it, thanks to a stunning performance from team debutante Lockman and her sensational nine-year-old Dutch stallion which is owned by Gerry Ibanez. Judges Thomas Kessler (GER), Mary Seefried (AUS), Eduard De Wolff Van Westerrode (NED) and Janet Lee Foy (USA) all put the American first, while Canada’s Brenda Minor placed her second, and the winner achieved high marks for Degree of Difficulty from all five judges, including a nine from Kessler.

Jennifer Baumert and Handsome. Photo by Vidal Tarqui / Lima 2019.

“I’m over the moon excited about it!” Lockman said. “It’s everything I ever dreamed of and wanted, and I’m so proud of my horse and grateful to everybody who helped me get here and the whole support staff that have been here helping me at my first ever Games experience — it’s been truly unforgettable!”

Irwin and Laurencio, members of Canada’s gold-medal-winning team on Monday, put a strong 77.78 on the board to hold second spot, and when Baumert and Handsome slotted into third on 75.755 then all three medal contenders had an anxious wait while the Big Tour foursome strutted their stuff in the Grand Prix Freestyle. And Dominican Republic’s Yvonne Losos De Muñiz put in a strong challenge here with her 14-year-old mare, Aquamarijn, but when the scoreboard showed 75.43 she just missed out on the podium and the top three wouldn’t change.

Yvonne Losos De Muñiz and Aquamarijn. Photo by Vidal Tarqui / Lima 2019.

US Chef d’Equipe Debbie McDonald, who with the great mare Brentina was double-gold medallist at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1999, couldn’t hold back her tears of delight. Lockman described the motivation her team leader has been providing throughout these Games.

“Debbie has been sending us some really amazing quotes and I think I’m going to have to have one put up in my barn and on my mirror … she told us ‘you are what you believe, and preparation is everything and you can really do it, and to work to the very last moment for it.’ I’m so thankful to her for the leadership, and to my coach Scott Hassler for his encouraging words leading up to this which have helped me handle the pressure and figure my way through my first Games!” said the new Pan American individual dressage champion.

View complete results here.

[Pan American Games Lima 2019: Americans turn the tables to take Dressage Individual gold and bronze]

2019 Pan American Games: WebsiteEventing EntriesTechnical ManualLive ScoresEN’s Coverage

It’s Dressage Team Gold and a Tokyo Ticket for Canada at Pan Am Games

Canada claimed dressage team gold for the third time in the history of the event, and the first time in 28 years, at the Pan American Games in Lima 2019 yesterday. Photo: FEI/Raul Sifuentes/Getty Images.

Canada came out on top in a tight battle with the USA when the Team Dressage medals were decided yesterday at the 2019 Pan American Games taking place at the Army Equitation School at La Molina in Lima, Peru. The three-member U.S. side had a fractional advantage after Sunday’s opening competitions, but consistently strong performances from the Canadian crew on Monday saw the defending champions having to settle for silver in the final analysis, while Brazil stood on the third step of the medal podium.

This was Canada’s third time to take the team title in the 68-year history of equestrian sport at the Pan Americans. Their first victory posted in Cali, Colombia, in 1971 and their second in Havana, Cuba, in 1991.

The Pan Am format sees team members compete at both Small Tour and Big Tour level, and Team USA, already qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games following their silver-medal-winning performance at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games on home ground in Tryon, sent an all-Small-Tour side of just three horse-and-rider combinations. Canada fielded two Small Tour and two Big Tour partnerships, and when Lindsay Kellock with Floratina, Tina Irwin with Laurencio, and Naima Moreira Laliberté with Statesman all posted scores of 73 percent, their final tally of 440.111 left them 2.32 points ahead of USA in silver and over 31 points clear of the Brazilians in bronze. Fourth team member Jill Irving with Degas 12 provided Canada’s discard score when the top three results for each team were counted.

Canada’s star performer was 22-year-old Moreira Laliberté, daughter of Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté, who won both Sunday’s Grand Prix and Monday’s Grand Prix Special with her 12-year-old Sandro Hit gelding, Statesman. “This is my first year of Grand Prix, my sixth competition at this level and my first major Games,” said the talented rider. Irving is also a Big Tour contender, and the 56-year-old steered her WEG 2018 ride, the 17-year-old Hanoverian gelding Degas 12, into third behind her team-mate.

In the Small Tour Intermediate 1 today, Irwin and Kellock finished second and third. This is Irwin’s second Pan Am Games, having helped her country to team silver in Guadalajara (MEX) in 2011. The 38-year-old rider and her 12-year-old gelding Laurencio are Small Tour stars, setting a world record at that level in 2017 before moving up to Big Tour. However they moved back down to Small Tour this year with the specific goal of helping Canada earn their spot at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and it has worked a treat. “The whole team gave it our all today. Yesterday it was close behind the Americans, and today we were on our ‘A’ game!” Irwin said.

Kellock and her 11-year-old Hanoverian, Floratina, are a relatively new combination who clicked from the moment they came together. The mare was bought as a schoolmaster for a friend who couldn’t find the time to ride her as much as she would like, so loaned her to Kellock who got a really high score with her on their first outing and they have blossomed from there. “The next goal in our minds is Tokyo, we all three have horses that are aimed at that,” said the ambitious 29-year-old.

Irwin and Kellock finished second and third on the Individual leaderboard ahead of Wednesday’s Individual Final in which the top 50% in the rankings from both the Big and Small Tour competitions will battle it out in the Grand Prix Freestyle and Intermediate 1 Freestyle for the Individual Pan American Dressage title, and in which everyone starts from scratch.

Team USA’s Sarah Lockman topped the individual leaderboard tonight with her lovely nine-year-old Dutch-bred stallion, First Apple, who won both Sunday’s Prix St Georges and Monday’s Intermediate 1. After accepting her team silver medal alongside compatriots Nora Batchelder with Faro SQF and Jennifer Baumert with Handsome, Lockman said her Pan Am experience so far has given her “a feeling like no other! It’s my first time to represent the U.S. and it’s such a different feeling for us, as sport is for the most part an individual sport. This (the team competition) has brought a different element and I love it, it’s amazing seeing our flag raised, it’s definitely a rush and something I will never forget!” she added proudly.

And the experienced bronze-medal-winning Brazilian side of Joao Paulo Dos Santos with Carthago Comando SN, Joao Victor Marcari Oliva with Biso das Lezirias, Leandro Aparecide Da Silva with Dicaprio, and Pedro Manuel Tavares de Almeida with Aoleo also have every reason to be pleased as they, like the winning Canadians, are now Tokyo-bound. Oliva said “we are very happy with this qualification, we came here for this, we trained for this, so thank you to my teammates and to everybody who is behind us. Now we have to celebrate!”

View team dressage results here. View complete results here.

 

[Pan American Games Lima 2019: It’s Dressage team gold and a Tokyo ticket for Canada]

Three-time Gold for Germany, Britain takes YR Team Title at European Junior/YR Championships

On the Young Riders Individual podium at the 2019 FEI European Eventing Championships for Juniors and Young Riders at Maarsbergen (NED). L to R: Great Britain’s Isabelle Upton (Silver), Germany’s Emma Brüssau (Gold) and Great Britain’s Heidi Coy (Bronze). Photo by FEI/Victor Krijt.

Germany dominated the 2019 FEI Eventing European Championships for Juniors and Young Riders at Maarsbergen in The Netherlands (July 10-14), taking Junior Team and Individual Gold along with the Young Riders Individual title. A total of 22 countries were represented, and Great Britain reigned supreme in the Young Riders team event.

Young Riders

Germany’s Jerome Robine and Guccimo R OLD led the Young Riders leaderboard after dressage with a super score of 22.1 ahead of Morgane Euriat and Baccarat d’Argonne who posted 23.4 for France. But it would be Robine’s teammate, 20-year-old Emma Brüssau, who would rise from third spot after the first phase to the top step of the medal podium when adding nothing to her mark of 25.3 at the end of the tough contest.

Robine disappeared from the reckoning on cross country day when Guccimo fell at fence 15, and when Anais Neumann also took a tumble from Pumeckel E at the same fence German team chances were dashed. In total 56 of the 66 starters ran into problems around the track, with 21 eliminations and two retirements on course. The combination water fence at seven proved particularly influential, and only four horse-and-rider partnerships made it home inside the time.

Euriat picked up just 0.4 time faults so was out in front on the final day, but 12 jumping penalties saw her drop to sixth in the final standings. Lying second overnight after a foot-perfect and on-time cross country run, Brüssau stood firm once again to finish on her dressage mark and claim the coveted Individual title.

“I’m a bit shocked and can’t believe it!, said the psychology student afterwards. However success is nothing new to Brüssau, who has an impressive CV that includes Team Gold and individual fourth at the Junior European Championships at Montelibretti (ITA) in 2016, Junior European Team Gold and Individual Bronze at Millstreet (IRL) in 2017 and Individual Silver in the European Young Riders Championship at Fontainebleau (FRA) last summer — on that occasion also with her 10-year-old Hannoverian mare Dark Desire GS.

Britain’s Isabelle Upton and the 11-year-old gelding Cola claimed the silver. Lying fourth on 25.9 after dressage they completed one of those rare cross county clears to move into third going into the final day, and a foot-perfect run over the colored poles saw them settle into silver medal spot, just 0.6 penalty points behind Brüssau’s gold-medal-winning score. This was a big boost to British team chances, and together with Felicity Collins on RSH Contend OR, Phoebe Locke on Union Fortunus, and Richard Coney on Kananaskis, Upton stood on the top step of the team podium.

Britain also claimed Individual Bronze thanks to an extraordinary performance from Heidi Coy and the nine-year-old Royal Fury who rocketed up from 26th after dressage to fifth with a superb cross country round, and then added nothing more on the final day to complete on a score of 32.6.

The British team score of 111.0 left them just over three penalty points ahead of France in Silver, while The Netherlands claimed Team Bronze on a final tally of 171.1.

Juniors

It was a runaway win for Germany’s Anna Lena Schaaf and the aptly-named mare, Fairytale, in the Junior Individual Championship. The 17-year-old rider threw down the gauntlet with the leading dressage score of 24.1 and stood firm to add nothing more.

And backed up by an Individual Bronze-medal-winning performance from Ann-Catrin Bierlein with Auf Feht’s Fraeulein Hummel, a ninth-place finish for Calvin Bockmann and Altair de la Cense and 11th spot for Joelle Celina Selenkowitsch with Akeby’s Zum Glueck, Schaaf helped Germany to grasp the golden double in this division. The final German team tally was just 87.0, while Great Britain took Team Silver on a score of 97.2 and France claimed Team Bronze with 99.7.

It was British team member Saffron Osborne who was Schaaf’s closest rival after the first phase having posted a mark of 24.8 with her nine-year-old gelding Lakantus. However a stop at fence seven proved costly, and the addition of 5.6 in the jumping phase saw them eventually line up in 28th place.

Of the 75 starters on cross country day there were 15 eliminations and one retirement, and three more were eliminated in the final jumping phase. A total of 54 completed and once again fence seven was highly influential.

Britain’s Leilia Paske moved up from sixth after dressage to fifth after cross country, and when third-placed French rider Jeanne Cauvel with Iggy Pop was eliminated in the jumping arena and fourth-placed Irish contender Lilly Keogh with Master Tredstep withdrew, then Paske’s clear round with Billy McFee took the silver.

Like her Young Riders Gold-medal-winning compatriot, Schaaf is also an experienced athlete having taken Team and Individual Gold at the European Pony Championships in Aarhus (DEN) in 2016 and Team Bronze at Junior level in Fontainebleau last year. She was delighted with the performance of her home-bred Rheinlander mare who never put a foot wrong all week.

“She was so clever, and she did everything for me!” said the new Junior champion.

View full results here.

This report has been edited from a press release

Re-watch the Young Rider competition in full: