Samantha Clark

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Claire Lomas, part 1

By Samantha Clark on Oct 10, 2011 2:35 pm -

Claire competing at Pau

Everything seemed to be going brilliantly for Claire Lomas in the spring of 2007; she had competed at Burghley the year before despite doing eventing in what she describes as a very amateurish way, combining it with her job as a chiropractor. A freak accident at Osberton though, changed her life forever. In our conversation about the following four years, she laughs, giggles, swears and almost moves me to tears, but never once blames anyone, “just unlucky really, he was a lovely horse, it wasn’t his fault.” (Roland, her horse who collided with a tree on cross country at Osberton that fateful day) or feels sorry for herself. Instead, we chat at length about everything she has going on,

“It’s gone so quickly, I can’t tell you quickly it’s gone, I must be having too much fun! Four and a half years isn’t long, but those first couple of years dragged by. Everything stopped so suddenly and it felt like every door was slammed in my face. It was hard, very hard going to the events, especially in the first year after my accident. I’d bought a couple of young horses probably about six months before my accident, so a friend of mine ended up riding them for me that year until we sold them. I can’t say I loved going to watch them eventing, it was painful, really horrible. Going to Burghley Horse Trials about four months after my accident and just sitting there watching the horse I’d ridden there the year before competing there again. I knew I should have been there riding, and instead I found myself in this situation, I couldn’t quite believe it. That was probably the worst day of my life. Since then life has moved on. I didn’t go to as many events to watch until this year when I went to a few, but as my life has built back up I don’t miss the eventing so much and can enjoy watching some of my friends compete. I don’t regret eventing at all because I’ve had so much fun through it. I met a lot of my friends eventing, and I’ve got some of the best friends in the world, I can’t really grumble. The support I’ve had from the equestrian world kept me going on the down days. My friends, old and new, have been incredibly supportive, not only raising money for me to have the equipment and physio I need, but just knowing that all these people are behind me has helped me beyond belief. It’s been very comforting, and I actually feel very lucky.”

Claire is a complete T4, which means that she’s paralysed from about her bra strap down. Although she’s been diagnosed as completely paralysed, “through the years since then I’ve definitely got feeling and movement below my injury level, and I can feel right down to my hips now. It’s very slow progress, but nerves take a long time to heal, and I just keep trying.”

Ten months after her accident, Claire and her boyfriend of four years standing separated,

“He just couldn’t deal with the accident and made me feel about fifty times worse and totally rejected. That first year was such a horrible time, you feel pretty awful anyway; your body changes, I went from being a fit, toned event rider to feeling weak and flabby, my muscles didn’t work, it was horrible. I didn’t think I’d meet anyone again, and I wondered if anyone would ever want me, but this wasn’t a reason to stay with the guy I was with. I had to end the relationship, one of the best moves I have ever made, I felt a huge relief straight away!”

Claire though, was not single for long. As part of her physical therapy she spends a lot of time in a standing frame, and passes the time on her laptop. One of her friends had happened to click on this particular dating website on her computer before her, so she decided to fill in the form…

“I met Dan on the internet, paid twenty quid! I was very lucky, I was only on the website for three days before he messaged me. I met him about two weeks after that; I was really nervous, I’d have been nervous anyway, without the accident but being in a wheelchair just made it worse. I took two friends with me and we met about halfway in a pub in Oxford. I was nervous but I told myself that’s never stopped me from doing anything before! It was nerve-wracking embarking on a new relationship in this situation because I was worried, and there were new things for me, and him to get used to, but he’s never seen my injury as a problem at all, it just doesn’t bother him. I am still the same person, I wasn’t going to settle with anyone just because he could cope with my injury, but Dan was very fanciable! He’s a research scientist, has his pilot licence, is amazing on the piano, and he’s very sporty and good-looking too! I felt like the accident had done me a favour – I found out what the ex was like, and got an upgrade! He proposed to me after about ten months, we got married last year, and had Maisy this year.”

Claire and Dan

Maisy is now 8 months old, the love of Claire’s life, and something of a miracle,

“I thought the pregnancy would be horrible, apart from feeling sick, but anyone can get that!

I felt so bloody ill; at least she’s worth it because I did feel really ill! Other than that it was much easier than I thought. I was worried it would be a real struggle at the end, things like transferring – getting in and out of the car, and my shower chair, but it was all fairly easy. I didn’t get huge, I was skiing until about 30 weeks, and it was all fine. I could have had a natural birth, but she was the wrong way and I had to have an emergency C-section. It’s quite extraordinary because with a spinal injury nothing below your level of injury works, so in my case my bowel, bladder, sensation and movement etc, none of that works below about chest level, but I was able to do the most amazing thing in the world, grow a baby with perfect nails, eyelashes and everything!”

Maisy

It’s not out of the realm of possibility to imagine that Maisy might have a brother or sister at some point, but Claire acknowledges that as Maisy gets heavier, she does rely on help, from her own mother amongst others, a bit more to just to lift her in and out of her cot, or off the floor, the simple things she physically can’t do, “my family are brilliant”.

“I would love possibly another one, one day, but I’ve got this marathon and other things to do first. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my life, she’s the coolest thing. I never thought I’d ever be as happy again as I was the year I competed at Burghley; after I had my accident I’d look back on that time and think I would never be that happy again, but this is like a billion times better than that! It’s the most amazing thing.”

Check back for Part 2 of my conversation with Claire; she talks about her love of skiing, her marathon plans, why she felt she needed to do another Riders Revealed calendar, and we give you a chance to win one of five copies we’re giving away.

Many many thanks to Claire, thanks for reading, and go eventing.

A Driving Weekend at the Kentucky Horse Park

By Samantha Clark on Oct 10, 2011 12:50 pm -

It’s been a huge weekend for driving here at the Kentucky Horse Park, with The National Drive taking place all week, and the Kentucky Classic CDE over the last three days.

Even to a rank amateur like myself, it’s obvious who the good drivers are; much like dressage or jumping they go through smoothly and efficiently, while a few others definitely banged into the fences a few times, and seemed on the verge of losing control. The crowd was admittedly small today, perhaps because Lexington has an embarrassment of riches on offer this weekend – Keeneland, The Bourbon Chase, Second Sunday, Oktoberfest…and gorgeous weather to boot.

Wet bum!

Missdee Wrigley Miller has been training in Europe all summer, and had a rather special guest navigator today on her pairs carriage – none other than 2008 Dutch National Champion and a member of last year’s Dutch gold medal winning WEG team, Koos de Ronde.

At the end of the competition Koos treated everyone to a demonstration of the final marathon phase (the obstacles, not the endurance) on a team of four horses.

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Debriefing the riders – literally!

By Samantha Clark on Oct 10, 2011 12:32 pm -

The Incomparable Nico Morgan at Badminton this year

If you haven’t got your mitts on a copy of the 2012 Riders Revealed Calendar to support Claire Lomas’ quest to walk in the London Marathon and Spinal Research, then probably all you’ve seen so far is a couple of sneak previews courtesy of EN and Nico Morgan. Be sure to enter the competition on Part 2 of our chat with Claire to be one of five winners of the Calendar, and otherwise, order one, or a couple, or four or five here!

2012 is the second calendar and features some very comely show-jumpers for a change, as well as some of the leading Event Riders in the world – this year’s Badminton and Rolex winners are amongst them.

Show-jumpers Claire Robertson, Nathalie Phillips, Vicky Young and Jackson Reed Stephenson

I spoke to Nico Morgan, who usually spends his time traipsing around all manner of horsey events in all kinds of weather, with the odd wedding and society “do” thrown in, about his special assignment….

Having been involved in the first edition, Claire asked for his support this year, and Nico immediately agreed to not only sponsor the Calendar, but also to take pictures. Claire allotted photographers to riders by region, and funnily enough, Nico somehow ended up with rather more than his fair share of pretty girls?

“Complete fluke!” he assures me, “It was noticeable when you looked at the rest of the Calendar, it has to be said, but yes I did manage that somehow!”

One of my favourites, of Piggy French, a member of the British squad here in Kentucky for WEG last year, and on the European Team in Luhmuhlen earlier this autumn, was carefully planned beforehand, and in fact Piggy had specifically requested Nico after he’d done some website and PR work for her,

“We had to do Piggy’s quite quickly; we’d discussed it in advance, how she was going to sit on the wall and things like that basically, and we decided to add Jaffa (Jakarta, 2nd at Badminton this year) as an afterthought. To start with we weren’t going to use the Union Jack because we thought it was a bit naff, but it ended up being a useful addition.”

Nico turned up at the Kyles’ yard where Lauren Shannon is based with a completely open mind, and after a quick look around, improvised with what was available,

“Lauren was all ready to go, but she didn’t realise she had to be naked so that was a bit of a shock! Her groom was actually there in that one with her because we decided that a horse, a lunge rein and whip, a cast on one arm and clothes that she had to take off at the last minute were all going to be a bit of a challenge without an extra pair of hands. So Jenny had to stand in there too, and she was really embarrassed about seeing her boss naked, so she kept her eyes shut and was just groping around for the clothes! Lauren had to work out how to keep the horse going round in a circle without actually turning round herself, which she mastered pretty quickly!”

Luckily there’s been no awkwardness between him and the riders since their photo-shoots, “they’ve all been very cool about it, it was just the thing to do really. Piggy’s probably the most high-profile of all of them and she hasn’t had any issues with it at all.”

Almost unbelievably, none of the riders batted an eyelid at the prospect of disrobing, “they arrived with that in mind, they were all really gee-d up for it, the girls had a bottle of wine and Jackson had had a fake tan; they’d obviously decided between themselves that it was going to be done properly!”

Maybe he’s just being a gentleman, but I’m inclined to believe Nico, tactful as he is, when he tells me he didn’t really ‘see anything’!,

“That was the funny thing, I didn’t actually learn anything about anybody’s, er, privacy (very delicately put!) more than I did beforehand, it was all quite tastefully done. We’d get everyone in position, then I would turn around, they would sort themselves out (strip naked!), I would turn around again and start snapping away.”

One of Nico’s more serious pieces: Todd about to head out on cross country this year at Burghley on Major Milestone. Browse his galleries for more stunning shots.

For the legions of fans of Nico’s bona fide equestrian work, there’s no need to be anxious – he laughs off any suggestion that he might now branch out into the world of glamour photography. In fact since returning from the Horse of the Year Show, Nico’s been busy putting the finishing touches on his new website, organising his archives, and trying to reply to Horse and Hound, and other big clients before the hunting season begins in earnest.

Be sure to enter our competition in Part 2 of Claire’s interview, and buy a few extra copies of the calendar for your nearest and dearest too. Don’t forget to check out Nico’s website and archives too, if you’re looking for something slightly less controversial to give – everyone loves beautiful photos!

Thank you to Claire, to Nico and to you for reading – it’s such an enormous privilege to talk to such wonderful people, all touched in horses by some way, and all amazing in one way or another, and I’m very aware every day of how incredibly lucky I am, and thrilled to share with you. Thank you, and go Eventing Nation!

Claire Lomas, part 2

By Samantha Clark on Oct 9, 2011 10:10 pm -

One of the things that’s kept Claire Lomas busy has been the second edition of her extremely popular RIders Revealed Calendar. The first calendar was a roaring success, raising twenty-five thousand GB pounds. The idea was conceived by Rachel Robinson, who was parked next to Claire in the lorry park at Osberton when she had her accident. They became fast friends, and in a brainwave she suggested the idea to Claire at Burghley the following year when she learnt Claire was trying to raise money for treatment.

“I thought it was a wicked idea! I immediately began thinking of who I’d like to see with their kit off! It kept me busy for a few weeks anyway!”

Back then the money raised was used to send Claire to San Diego for intense rehab, as there was nowhere comparable in the UK. This year, Claire has arranged another calendar, “I thought I’d better get in touch with these riders, and start pestering them again!” and has exciting plans for the proceeds. Claire is trying to raise enough money to pay for a ground breaking robotic suit, or exoskeleton. In fact, she’ll be the first person in the UK to receive one.

“I got an email from them last week which said it should be here quite soon, it’s all moving in the right direction, which means my marathon aims are looking quite hopeful.”

Cough, cough, splutter splutter! Come again? I thought I had misheard Claire the first time , but did she really just say Marathon?!

“I really want to do the London Marathon so I’m hopeful that I’ll get the robot suit in time. I’ve got a place in next year’s race, (April 22nd), I’ve got my running vest and everything! I’m ready to go except I just can’t walk! I’ll be doing the marathon in aid of Spinal Research, that’s what the robot is all about. If the calendar raises any more money than I need then it will all roll over directly to the Spinal Research Fund. I’m hoping that all the publicity that will go along with being the first person to get one of these suits will help raise a lot of money.”

Of course, it goes beyond the race too,

“I can’t wait. Some people have realised the magnitude of what the suit will mean to me, but unless you put yourself in this situation it’s hard to imagine just how good the suit is. Just being able to stand, at something like a wedding. I went to a wedding this year and at the drinks reception everyone was standing, and I felt like a complete outsider. So just being able to stand when everyone else is, will be a massive thing for me, as well as all the health benefits of standing.”

Having been a chiropractor and an eventer before her accident, Claire struggled for a little while to find something she could do, and to motivate her again. A part-time job at a local ski-company turned out to be the perfect solution, as the added bonus was free ski-ing holidays,

“I started about 18 months after my accident, and it was the first thing I found that I really loved since Eventing. Having said that, I didn’t love it straight away, I kept falling and falling at first, I had some crashing falls, and it was awful! Once I learnt though, it’s been so much fun; I have one normal ski with a bucket seat on it, then two outriggers. In some ways it’s harder than ski-ing because you’re balancing on one ski, and it takes quite a long time to learn, probably a bit more like boarding. It’s brilliant fun, and I don’t feel at any disadvantage. I have ridden a horse since my accident but I didn’t really enjoy it, it just felt so slow and boring after Eventing. It was hard for me to get excited about doing a walk/trot dressage test, and to me it just wasn’t worth the risk of injuring myself again if I wasn’t enjoying it that much. The ski-ing is great though – I can go really fast and it’s much more similar to Eventing for me! Of course there is risk involved, but if you’re enjoying it you don’t really mind so much, the Para-Skiers Team go like the clappers, they get up to speeds of about 80 mph!”

Claire on the slopes

Rachel was selected on to the British Development Paralympic Ski Squad, but has never raced. She lets slip that at the first and only training session she attended she was 12 weeks pregnant, “but I thought I’d go and see what it’s all about!”, and now her priorities have changed,

“I’m not that bothered about doing it now in a serious way. When I went to the training session it reminded me so much of eventing, and I’ve moved away from that now. I can’t have more fun than I’m having, ski-ing with my friends and being a wife and mother. I want to improve my technique a bit maybe and have a few lessons, but the commitment it would take is too much. I know that if you do a sport to that level you have to be selfish, it’s all about you and your training, in all weather and conditions, and being away from your family for long periods of time. The professionals have to train regardless of whether it’s icy, freezing, sleeting, whatever – whereas I can go and have a hot chocolate and enjoy it! It’s so much more fun being here with Maisy and Dan than I could ever get out of ski-ing at that level, I don’t feel like I need to do it.

However, ski-ing will hopefully be something that she’ll enjoy for the rest of her life, either with friends or family,

“I went ski-ing the year before last with 8 friends for my hen do; I love it because I can do it with all my usual friends, I can ski as well as anyone else really now that I’ve learnt, I can go on the chairlifts and everything, it’s all fine. It’s that feeling of being free, you get to the top of the mountain then whoosh off, it’s the most amazing thing. I’m really quite independent once I’m out there, it’s great. I’ve been with my husband too who’d never skied before, but he took to it really well – he’s pretty sporty and he looks good. He’s better than me; I fall a lot more, but when I go, I go pretty fast! I’m trying to learn control – after all, I don’t want to collide with another tree!”

Claire has started her own jewellery line, and as well as selling it through her website she’s just received her first two orders from shops. She tells me that her life now is quite similar to the life she used to live, in that she gets up early and doesn’t stop all day, and I believe her.

We have five copies of her calendar to give away; all you have to do is send in a caption via the comments section for the picture of the show-jumpers below, and Claire has kindly agreed to judge the five winners. The closing date will be midnight (US Eastern Time) on Monday 17th October. If you’re not one of the lucky ones, please consider ordering a couple, one for a friend and one for yourself. They make terrific Christmas/Birthday/Thank-you/Whatever Presents, you’re supporting a great cause, and you get to ogle your favourite riders with very little protecting their modesty – what more could you possibly want?! Including shipping to the US, a calendar will still only set you back about $20 – complete bargain.

Show-jumpers Claire Robertson, Nathalie Phillips, Vicky Young and Jackson Reed Stephenson

Photo by Nico Morgan

“When I had my accident I tried to stay positive, I had a lot of help, and people have just kept me going, but of course I had down days. You can’t have an injury like this and not feel like crap at times. Now, though, I rarely have those down days anymore, I don’t really, I haven’t got time to feel miserable! Obviously I’d rather not be like this, but I am happy with life. At least I don’t have to worry about knocking all the bloody show-jumps down anymore! My life’s very different now, but it’s certainly not any worse.”

Thank you to Claire for chatting to me for so long, I feel lucky enough to have made a new friend. In fact, I’m hoping to persuade her to do a US version of the calendar, and will happily volunteer to help with “the lighting”, or other odd jobs! I’m mentally making my list of riders already…! Thank you for reading, please order a calendar, and go eventing!

A Driving Weekend at the Kentucky Horse Park

By Samantha Clark on Oct 9, 2011 4:13 pm -

It’s been a huge weekend for driving here at the Kentucky Horse Park, with The National Drive taking place all week, and the Kentucky Classic CDE over the last three days.

Wet bum!

At the end of the competition Koos treated everyone to a demonstration of the final marathon phase (the obstacles, not the endurance) on a team of four horses.

Missdee Miller

Not in the driver’s seat for a change: Koos as navigator

Helmet-cam alert!

All the various judges, volunteers and officials converging on the last two obstacles to watch Koos de Ronde go through them. As my friend Maureen described it, it was like something out of Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome seeing them all come over the hill!

Koos de Ronde

Here’s what I gathered about the marathon competition: after an endurance phase very similar to roads and tracks on the long format three day event, the final phase is the obstacles. Each obstacle is defined in an area, and you are timed once you enter and until you leave, and that is how long it takes you to negotiate that obstacle. Each one may have four or five flagged gates to go through in alphabetical order, but you can decide on your own options – some drivers like to pick a shorter, handier course with tight turns, others a wider, longer swooping one if they think they can go faster.

In between the obstacles you are NOT allowed to canter, and there are officials on course to check. The time it takes to complete the entire marathon course is calculated along with the time at each obstacle, and of course the endurance, and somehow the winner comes out the winner! I do remember taking one look at the score sheets at last year’s WEG and handing them straight over to Glennyglenn the Geek,my co-host, as it all looked like double dutch to me!

Leo letting off steam AFTER the competition had finished

The crowd may have been small, but it was enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Drivers like lots of whooping and hollering as they go through the obstacles, and all the dogs were getting into it at the sidelines too, lots of whining, yelping and barking! Koos’s navigator cupped his hand to his ear during one obstacle to encourage the crowd to cheer more loudly. We saw single ponies, pairs and of course the four-in-hand, and it was a really nice change of pace.

Could this be in my future?!

Two weeks to go until the Hagyard MidSouth Three Day Event and Team Challenge. Thanks for reading, and go ~~driving~~ eventing!

Jessica Hampf – on being an owner, not a rider. Temporarily!

By Samantha Clark on Oct 8, 2011 3:06 pm -

Although Morven Park was the official “coming out” party for Doug Payne and High Society, the horse’s owners – Jess Hampf and her parents, had come to the decision to give Doug the ride quite a bit earlier, at the AEC’s in Georgia in fact. Jess was kind enough to spare time out of her allotted hour to ride, in between a packed schedule of classes (biochem, organic chemistry, a test on friday…) and studying at Auburn, to explain the details.

Going back to school had always been the plan for Jess but what with competing her lovely Australian Thoroughbred High Society at the top tier of eventing, garnering a Blenheim and two Rolex completions, as well as finishing 11th at Jersey Fresh CCI***, her academic career kept being pushed further onto the back burner. Four years later, Jess is back at Auburn getting her prerequisites completed so she can apply for Pharmacy school next fall,

“I graduated from undergraduate with a degree in Animal Science with the intention of going to vet school, then I realized that vet school wasn’t the best path for me. When I was re-evaluating my future after Rolex this year, I realized that I was only 4 or 5 classes away from having all the pre-requisites needed to apply to Pharmacy School. So that’s why I came back to take the Biochem, Organic and Physics this semester. I wasn’t putting off college, I just wasn’t sure what my career path was going to be at that time and really wanted to give a shot at riding the horses at the upper levels.”

Pharmacy school is a four year programme, and as yet Jess is undecided on the exact path she’ll take on completion,

“I’ve thought about doing the pharmacy with humans, and maybe even opening up a little store or something, but I’ve also thought about maybe going into the equine pharmaceuticals and compounding it, because that’s another path that I think would be very interesting. It was actually Dr Chris Newton who recommended I look into that. There are so many different options which is partly why I’ve chosen to try and go to pharmacy school.”

Following a nice 5th in the advanced last weekend at Morven Park, one could hardly blame Doug for having high hopes for his relationship with his girlfriend’s horse. Before Doug gets too excited about Jess being locked in a lab though, swapping her helmet and spurs for a Bunsen burner and microscope, Jess tells me she fully intends to take the ride on High Society, fondly known as Trevor, back in January, when her course load will be lighter, and she’ll be aiming for a third (time lucky) crack at Rolex in the spring.

Before that, Doug will be a double threat at Fair Hill next weekend, riding both Jess’ High Society and Patti Springsteen’s Running Order. Although Jess and her parents did consider other riders for Trevor, Jess told me Doug had something of an unfair advantage!

“Doug had ridden and jumped him before I sent him to him after the AEC’s. We were up in New Jersey this summer and we played Switch Advanced Horses, so I’d seen him ride Trevor and was very comfortable in sending him my horse. He’s done a great job with him already, and I got to see him run him at Morven with him and he did a phenomenal job with the horse, I was very pleased.”

I asked Jess the difference between the two horses,

“R.O is a phenomenal horse, but they’re both quite different. Mine is very quick off the ground, he lands and just wants to keep going, and he feels a bit more like a thoroughbred. It was interesting, we both got to help each other and get a different perspective after riding each other’s horses. We communicate really well, so it was easy to compare notes and give each other tips, we both respect each other’s opinions.

Although the old adage says you should never look a gift horse in the mouth, Doug gave it some thought, and Jess laughs when she tells me she might be exaggerating when she said she had to beg him to take the ride,

“I think he was nervous when I first asked him, because he realised it’s a big responsibility, I’m probably a bit of a pain and very meticulous about that horse, but it’s very easy now. We’re very much alike, surprisingly so. Our programmes and such barely even skipped a beat going from me to him for that horse, he gets along with him really well.

Strangely in the small community that is Eventing, Doug and Jess only met earlier this year,

“We met in Aiken in March. We didn’t even know each other before then, we’d never even met. I don’t know how that had never happened, we joke about it now because Ashley Adams who’s one of Doug’s best friends works for Will Coleman who’s one of my best friends, so that’s how we eventually met in Aiken, but we had no idea who each other were!”

Although they’ve been together less than a year, Jess and Doug’s relationship seems pretty established, even in a potentially high stress environment, for instance, like Jess watching Doug competing Trevor at advanced level….!

“We’re very easygoing with each other, amazingly enough. We communicate very well, it’s never the case of me feeling like I have to bite my tongue, and Doug asks whatever he wants to about him, like lines on cross-country. He understands that I’ve ridden the horse for so long so he wants the input just as much. I was really excited to see them go. Obviously it was hard because I love that horse and I wish I was riding him, but no part of me wanted to come in and just jump on him, because I hadn’t ridden but twice in maybe the last week and a half before Morven so I knew I wasn’t prepared, and it wouldn’t have been fair for my horse to try and take me round. Yes, I wish I could do it all, but I’m not Superwoman, I can’t do school and ride advanced right now. It wasn’t at all disappointing though to go and watch the horse and not ride, it was fun to see him still going, and have the opportunity. It’s a little different being an owner, but it was nice.”

Jess will definitely be at Fair Hill watching, and will probably be her usual sunny, relaxed self; she can’t (won’t?!) tell me which one of them she loves more, or gets more nervous for, laughing off my question,

“I’m actually not nervous watching them cross country. I know Trevor will take care of Doug, he’s a phenomenal horse, and Doug’s a very good rider so I don’t get nervous for either of them.”

In the spring, Jess will re-locate to Aiken, (“all I’ll have will be Ethics and Physics”!) where she’ll pick up her training with Trevor, and with Jan Bynny, her long-time coach. Until then, Jess stays sane by squeezing in some riding to balance her academic studies as often as she can. She has a mare at college with her, a Holsteiner that her sister bought as a 2 year old that’s a jumper, and that she “plays around with; it’s nice if I have an hour in the middle of the day to be able to come out to the barn and not be on campus at all times.”

I’d like to thank Jess profusely for sparing me some of her precious barn time, albeit to talk about two of her favourite people! Wishing Doug and Trevor a safe and successful Fair Hill, and looking forward to seeing Jess and Trevor back at Rolex in the spring. Thank you for reading, and go eventing!

Jessica Hampf – on being an owner, not a rider. Temporarily!

By Samantha Clark on Oct 8, 2011 2:56 pm -

Pharmacy school is a four year progra, and as yet Jess is undecided on the exact path she’ll take on completion,

“Doug had ridden and jumped him before I sent him to him after the AEC’s. We were up in New Jersey this summer and we played Switch Advanced Horses, so I’d seen him ride Trevor and was very comfortable in sending him my horse. He’s done a great job with him already, and I got to see Doug run him at Morven and he did a phenomenal job with the horse, I was very pleased.”

I asked Jess the difference between the two horses,

“R.O is a phenomenal horse, but they’re both quite different. Mine is very quick off the ground, he lands and just wants to keep going, and he feels a bit more like a thoroughbred. It was interesting, we both got to help each other and get a different perspective after riding each others horse. We communicate really well, so it was easy to compare notes and give one another tips, we both respect each others opinions.”

“I think he was nervous when I first asked him, because he realized it’s a big responsibility, I’m probably a bit of a pain and very meticulous about that horse, but it’s so easy now. We’re very much alike, surprisingly so. Our programs and such barely even skipped a beat going from me to him for that horse, he gets along with him really well.”

Strangely in the small community that is Eventing, Doug and Jess only met earlier this year,

Although they’ve been together less than a year, Jess and Doug’s relationship seems well established, even in a potentially high stress environment, such as, Jess watching Doug competing Trevor at advanced level….!

In the spring, Jess will re-locate to Aiken, (“all I’ll have will be Ethics and Physics”!) where she’ll pick up her training with Trevor, and with Jan Bynny, her long-time coach. Until then, Jess stays sane by squeezing in some riding to balance her academic studies as often as she can. She has a mare at college with her, a Holsteiner that her sister bought as a 2 year old that’s a jumper, and she “plays around with; it’s nice if I have an hour in the middle of the day to be able to come out to the barn and not be on campus at all times.”

I’d like to thank Jess profusely for sparing me some of her precious barn time, albeit to talk about two of her favorite people! Wishing Doug and Trevor a safe and successful Fair Hill, and looking forward to seeing Jess and Trevor back at Rolex in the spring. Thank you for reading, and go eventing!

Taking Stock with David Ingordo – Part 2

By Samantha Clark on Oct 3, 2011 5:47 pm -

As a follow up to my interview with David at Keeneland last week at the September Yearling Sales, he very kindly agreed to take me along with him one morning to assess some of his purchases before they ship out to California and Florida to be broken. Between juggling calls and texts on two phones, David will look at every single horse he bought, now dispersed to various farms, as well as some home-breds and foals for his clients, making notes on all of them, and decisions on where they should go. Most will go to his training center in Ocala to be broken, just a couple will go to California if certain owners express a preference, and even fewer will stay here in Kentucky. When I admired one in particular and told David I could definitely see myself eventing on him (actually, I wouldn’t mind taking any one of them competing!) he laughed, but grimaced at the same time, and said if I ended up showing them, he hasn’t done his job properly!

As many horses as we look at, David recalls every single detail about each one from the Sale, up to two weeks ago depending on when it went through, and notices even minute changes. My head is spinning by the time we sit down for lunch, but David will go on to more appointments in the afternoon, and he’s booked solid for the next few days until he’s seen each and every one.

This is a Latent Heat colt David bought, and described as ” a nice, scopey horse; plenty of size to him. He’s a little immature still, but he’s going to be a magnificent looking horse next year when he strengthens up and fills out.”

Here’s a Candy Ride colt he bought for clients. “I’m really pleased with this horse, I like him a lot. He was a good buy, and he just looks like a racehorse. Good-footed, good bone, correct. Plenty of substance, he just has a good outlook about him to be a racehorse.”

The Candy Ride colt with his good outlook

This is an Indian Charlie colt, “a pretty nice, strong horse. A typical Indian Charlie – they’re big, strong, rugged-looking horses, but he had a little more scope and a little better angles to him than a lot of the Indian Charlies do, a little smoother. For a big, strong horse he wasn’t as coarse as some of them can be.”

The Bernadini colt: “He’s beautiful. He also cost a lot of money so he should be! That’s the kind of horse you’re looking at to be a Derby horse one day, a two-turn Classic individual.”

“The individual horse has to be there, I don’t care what it is because if they aren’t athletic it doesn’t matter what their pedigrees are. A lot of horses can make their own pedigree if things go right for them. You might be able to pick out some faults in the pedigrees of the fillies that we looked at but there’s not much wrong with the physical horses, and that’s what runs. I was happy that the market overlooked a lot of them.”

“The Pleasantly Perfect/Antoinette filly (above) – her sister is a Grade 1 winner. If she was by a different sire she would have brought more money just because Pleasantly Perfect isn’t the most fashionable horse in the world. She’s a little light in the hip but really well-balanced; she was a good buy – the stallion gets runners, the pedigree’s there and she’s got the physical so for what we’re doing she was a great purchase because she’ll have residual value of probably half that even if she never ran a race, so when you figure her sister will probably bring two or three million dollars in November…to replace her with this filly is a terrific deal.”

With one of the best fillies currently racing in America, Switch, to his credit, who will run a couple more times before heading to the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, and of course the legend that is Zenyatta happily in foal at Lane’s End to Bernadini, I ask David if he prefers buying colts or fillies?

Zenyatta – “being in foal agrees with her”

“Well, of course I’ve done really well buying fillies. It’s balanced out colts and fillies on my resume, but overall I’d say I like buying fillies better for some reason. You can get a little more horse for a little less money. Everybody wants a Derby horse so they cost more. A colt can be a stallion, but if a colt and a filly win the same Grade 3 race with an identical pedigree, the colt probably won’t be worth as much as the filly for their residual value. Lots of colts can win a Grade 3. If you get a big, pedigreed filly that wins a Grade 3 she’s always going to have value as a broodmare, but if you have a big, pedigreed colt that wins that race he’s going to be standing in a regional market as a stallion. Trying to spend the client’s money in the best way I tend to focus on the fillies a lot of the times because you can get out of them a bit easier, but mainly people just want good horses.”

Although David has no ambition whatsoever to manage a farm, “I leave that to the professionals”, he originally intended to go into training,

“I was set up to be a trainer. Training is no more difficult than what I do now – the lifestyle, the travel, the expenses and the disappointments, it’s all the same as training except in training you’d get more of a fuss made of you when you win, but I like buying and selling horses. I like the pre-training, and then handing them off to trainers.”

David has experienced the highs and lows of racehorse ownership, partnering on three Graded Stakes winners and briefly thinking he might have a legitimate shot at the Kentucky Derby until an injury ended that horse’s career. It’s definitely a huge thrill for him, and although the disappointment must have been just as crushing, he approaches the lifestyle philosophically,

“With horses, if I get bad news in the morning I might be down all that day, but the next day you’ve just to get up, put it behind you and go back to work. I try not to get too excited when things are going well, and I try not to get too depressed when they aren’t.”

When one of the fillies we look at comes out, David laughs ruefully, and tells me he must be getting old because he remembers buying and racing her mother (successfully, of course).

Still in his early thirties, this is hardly the case but he started his career effectively in his teens, and success has come early. I wonder if the quest to find another Zenyatta is what motivates David now, and with barely a moment’s hesitation he replies that there’ll never be another one like her. He tells me hopes he’ll find lots more great horses, even Kentucky Derby winners but he compares finding another Zenyatta to having to find the next Triple Crown winner. Maybe he might just do that.

Many thanks to David again for his time and patience; we’ll be sure to keep an eye on these graduates and keep you informed on their progress. Thanks for reading, Go Thoroughbreds, racing and eventing!

Jump Start Wrap-up

By Samantha Clark on Oct 3, 2011 11:55 am -

Combining two of my favourite things this weekend: Junior Training Rider Aisling Carroll on her beautiful OTTB Fluff.

Emma Smith waiting to jump on Clifton Sentor

I’m afraid I don’t know many of the names of these Beginner Novice cross country riders, I do apologise. It was too cold to write and my hands were full.

The weather improved and it was almost warm and definitely sunny by the time I left (!) at 4pm. Novice show-jumping was still ongoing, but cross-country had wrapped up for the day, and the schooling was almost finished too. I got to watch a little of the schooling and really enjoyed seeing some of the riders out with their trainers putting their mistakes right. I also enjoy the rapport and respect between the local trainers here in Kentucky, maybe it’s a southern thing but it’s all very friendly! The course was open and about 15 riders took advantage of the variety of jumps, the on-site medics, and their trainers.

Everyone schooling had to wear a yellow bib to make sure it was obvious they’d checked in

Introduction to ditches

Really?

No thanks!

I took advantage of a spare five minutes to catch up with Leah Snowden, a local rider who knows all about OTTB’s. She kindly agreed to talk to us her two lovely established eventers, and what else she has coming up the ranks.

Congratulations on another win this weekend, Leah, and thanks for chatting to us.

Jump Start Wrap-up

By Samantha Clark on Oct 3, 2011 11:53 am -

Combining two of my favourite things this weekend: Junior Training Rider Aisling Carroll on her beautiful OTTB Fluff.

Emma Smith waiting to jump on Clifton Sentor

I’m afraid I don’t know many of the names of these Beginner Novice cross country riders, I do apologise. It was too cold to write and my hands were full.

Everyone schooling had to wear a yellow bib to make sure it was obvious they’d checked in

Introduction to ditches

Really?

No thanks!

Congratulations on another win this weekend, Leah, and thanks for chatting to us.

Sunday photos from Jump Start

By Samantha Clark on Oct 3, 2011 10:16 am -

Jesslyn Woodall for the win in Open Prelim Division 3

Jesslyn prevented Robin Walker from taking a clean sweep since he won both of the other prelim divisions, but actually local rider Elissa Gibbs was second on her nice horse I’ve Got A Star

The prelim show-jumping seemed to ride quite well on the whole, but the ring is big and spacious so you have to be aware to not make full use of it and take wide sweeping turns, but instead be more economical with your track in order to save time. The treble going away from the in-gate at the last caused problems for a few, but there was no real bogey fence.

Dorothy Crowell and Three Star General

Amanda Miller and Podge

Podge again. (love his name, and his style. I had a horse called Squidge once, which led to lots of comments about this poem which was very popular at the time)

Andrea Glazer and Deputy Commander

Anne Kaufman on Broadway Finale

Bailey Neher on Allegra

Cathy Weischoff on Ready for April

Chris Newton on Antebellum Jewel

Irene Lampton on Daisy

Hurray! There’s a new food joint at the Horse Park, and although “High Horizons” sounds like a medical marijuana establishment out of California, they actually hail from Franklin, Tennessee and sell all sorts of delicious hot and cold goodies, popular with everyone!

Florenz – runaway winner of Open Prelim Division 1 with Robin Walker. I spoke to Robin’s wife in the summer, and she told me that Florenz was the one horse who wouldn’t be sold, but I hear chatter that there’s an astronomical price on her; however as talented as she unarguably is, it would also take an almost equally talented jockey to ride her.

Gus checking on the courses between divisions

Lara Nickles on Trill Me Love Me

Madison Foote on Adamo, my daughter’s favourite. She may have something, he’s a lovely horse, he looked big and green to me, but very extravagant and with tons of potential. I have no idea how old or how experienced he may or may not be, but I was impressed that Lily liked him. She did let me down at the prize-giving by going straight for the palomino with long flowing mane though. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

Robin on Some Day Never Comes

Robin on Rowdy Friend (almost identical position, I promise I didn’t photoshop)

Sally Holman on Wright Wing

Sharlee Lowe on Committed Saint

Grand Prix Dressage Rider Susan Posner, actually riding in the Dressage Show but I caught her up by the show-jumping, perhaps watching one of her students eventing. One of the most down to earth dressage riders I know, brilliant teacher, she used to event herself, breeds,shows Thoroughbreds at the Keeneland Sales,and used to ride the Rolex Guinea Pig Test. About the only thing I haven’t seen her do is Western, although…!

I have a few more pictures to go up later, but we’re already very late returning a certain blonde labrador – tired, dirty and with a tummy full of things that probably don’t agree with her.

Until then here are the last scores that were posted when I left at about 4pm.

Again a huge thank you to the organisers, volunteers, riders, grooms, mums and dads, and everyone who made it possible. The crews in the office, out on course and in the stadium were unfailingly friendly, not to mention incredibly efficient of course. I chatted briefly to one of the medics this afternoon who was also manning the Arabian show, and didn’t leave the showgrouds until 11pm Friday night, and midnight Saturday. Go the Keeneland Pony Club Jump Start Horse Trials, and go eventing!

Sunday photos from Jump Start

By Samantha Clark on Oct 2, 2011 5:12 pm -

Jesslyn Woodall for the win in Open Prelim Division 3

Jesslyn prevented Robin Walker from taking a clean sweep since he won both of the other prelim divisions, but actually local rider Elissa Gibbs was second on her nice horse I’ve Got A Star

Dorothy Crowell and Three Star General

Amanda Miller and Podge

Podge again. (love his name, and his style. I had a horse called Squidge once, which led to lots of comments about this poem which was very popular at the time)

Andrea Glazer and Deputy Commander

Anne Kaufman on Broadway Finale

Bailey Neher on Allegra

Cathy Weischoff on Ready for April

Chris Newton on Antebellum Jewel

Irene Lampton on Daisy

Gus checking on the courses between divisions

Lara Nickles on Trill Me Love Me

Robin on Some Day Never Comes

Robin on Rowdy Friend (almost identical position, I promise I didn’t photoshop)

Sally Holman on Wright Wing

Sharlee Lowe on Committed Saint

I have a few more pictures to go up later, but we’re already very late returning a certain blonde labrador – tired, dirty and with a tummy full of things that probably don’t agree with her.

Until then here are the last scores that were posted when I left at about 4pm.

Again a huge thank you to the organisers, volunteers, riders, grooms, mums and dads, and everyone who made it possible. The crews in the office, out on course and in the stadium were unfailingly friendly, not to mention incredibly efficient of course. I chatted briefly to one of the medics this afternoon who was also manning the Arabian show, and didn’t leave the showgrouds until 11pm friday night, and midnight saturday. Go the Keeneland Pony Club Jump Start Horse Trials, and go eventing!

Quick Sunday Update from Jump Start

By Samantha Clark on Oct 2, 2011 1:23 pm -

Still cold today, but the sun is out, and most people seem better prepared for it today, bundled up as if it’s November! Some fresh horses out jumping, but from what I saw of the beginner novice cross country that looked to be riding really well, lots of vocal praise and pats from the riders that I watched and I only saw one problem on course. I did hear reports of perhaps the low, bright sun maybe causing a stop or two this morning in the novice, and I saw a lot of riders wearing sunglasses in the stadium in prelim which started bang on time at 8am.

More photos coming, but for now here are the scores from the sections that were finished so far.

Snuggled for warmth: Leo and Topper!

Live scoring! One of the running jokes all weekend has been to gently tease Robin Walker how many rides it took him to learn the course, and after how many horses he could have ridden it blindfolded. He duly won two of the three prelim sections, but Jesslyn Woodall was a very popular winner of the third, finishing on her dressage score. I’ve given up on the video today, it’s too demoralising. I’ll be back with more photos of the jumping later, and scores from the other divisions. Thanks for checking, and go eventing!

Quick Sunday Update from Jump Start

By Samantha Clark on Oct 2, 2011 1:05 pm -

More photos coming, but for now here are the scores from the sections that were finished so far.

Snuggled for warmth: Leo and Topper!

Keeneland Pony Club Jump Start Horse Trials Saturday

By Samantha Clark on Oct 1, 2011 11:33 pm -

Elissa Gibbs on the very nice I’ve Got A Star, currently lying 3rd in Open Prelim Div 3. She also leads the Training Horse Division on Predestined.

It’s hard to know where to start with this year’s Keeneland Pony Club Jump Start Horse Trials. With the fantastic organisation that had cross country running bang on time, if not five to ten minutes early from 8 o clock this morning until 5 o clock this afternoon? With the ridiculously unseasonal cold? With how impressed I was by some of the junior and young riders, and what a pleasure it was to see them out in force, so well mounted, and well-turned out? Well that’s my first paragraph, so far so good!

Two of the Junior Beginner Novice Riders waiting to show-jump

Woods Baughman on Truckee Bash, Jr Novice

In what’s becoming a trademark move, I’ve captured tons of great cross country on video, but can’t seem to transfer it onto my computer. In one of the first signs of madness, I’ve spent the last hour repeating the same steps over and over again in the vain hope it might work, but until I have the mental strength to tackle it again later, I’m going to post the few photos I took and give you some scores.

Robin Walker managed to ride six horses round the prelim xc this morning, all clear, and leads in two of the three divisions. Jesslyn Woodall, daughter of course-builder Wes prevails in the third section, after a fantastic clear cross country within the time, adding nothing to her first placed dressage score. EN Galloping vet Chris Newton is busy with two rides as well as working the show in an official capacity,and currently sits in 8th place after cross country on Antebellum Jewel in the prelim. However Dr Newton is no longer the only vet holding the esteemed EN title, Dr Laura Werner, who I spoke to about stem cell therapy for my article on Jessie Phoenix’s Exploring, has discovered a cure for Silver Spring’s allergies to bluegrass, (Platinum Performance Skin and Allergy) and she now sits handily in 5th place after cross country in the training division.

The MickCostellomobile of choice for today. Sadly you’re unable to see the leopardskin print steering wheel cover, or the driver, who as usual was busy attending to a jump. We did chat for a little while, one of the highlights of my day, and Mick filled me in on some of the details on the driving that’s going to take place next week here at the park which sounds like a lot of fun if you can make it. Also, condolences to Mick’s wife Sheila who wasn’t feeling well today, EN hopes she feels better soon but Mick told me his dog Nelly was at home looking after her!

Kara Andrew’s connection taking a picture.

I am partial to a good-looking coloured horse. This pair were warming up for prelim cross-country this morning, and Mary Fike and I agreed that the turquoise looked really good with the black and white. The prelim time was hard to get, and so time faults were influential in teh final shake-up. Incidentally, Mary is of course the organiser of the Hagyard Midsouth Three Day coming up in a few weeks time, and has had to turn people away. Many of the helpers and volunteers who help Jump Start run so smoothly will be back to do double duty,it’s impossible to thank them enough, especially on long, cold windy days like today! I’m very glad to report though, that the rumours were confirmed (Thanks, Leigh-Anne!), lunch was indeed provided by DeSha’s and was much appreciated, I did overhear one jump judge exclaim it far outdid Rolex!

More black in cross country warm-up. I saw several really nice combinations in the prelim this morning, very encouraging.

Spotted outside the announcer’s booth – Giles Rowsell did a fantastic job all day!

At first I thought this rider had perhaps forgotten her show jacket, or was so cold that she’d asked permission to ride in a tracksuit top (?), but then I realised this IS her show jacket

This is her show jacket – what do you think?

How the Stadium ran to time all day – best entry gate crew evah!

Not a good ~~day~~ season for Wildcat football

Love that feeling, walking back from cross country comparing rides after a good round

Not an eventer, not the Derby winner, perhaps an Arab? We’re sharing the Horse Park this weekend with all sorts of shapes and sizes, and mostly doing a good job. Sunday starts bright and early with Novice and Beginner Novice cross-country at 8am, and the Prelim and Training Show-jumping also starting at 8am. I’m not sure if it’s the Keeneland connection but I was definitely noticing lots of racing paraphernalia on the eventing connections today – a Coolmore Jacket, an Awesome Again cap, a Breeders Cup cap and more, but apart from the actual Keeneland/Jump Start planks jump on the stadium course, funnily enough nothing from Keeneland itself! I did see quite a few OTTB’s, and had an interesting conversation with Lauren Lambert about how horses seem to take to eventing more easily after they’ve sometimes soured on other things – is it because as eventers we take more time, are better all round horsemen (!), and just more sympathetic to what our horses need, or is eventing a better life? Lauren has a nice warmblood mare that she’s selling that didn’t enjoy the jumper world, and while talking about her and watching some lovely TB’s jump stadium, that’s how we got started!

Also, while we’re discussing things – another friend of mine brought up something else I’ve been meaning to write about. Small dressage arenas: I know they save time, space and therefore money, but personally I would love to do all my tests from training onwards in a big arena.

For me, it’s a moot point, I can’t see myself doing any dressage tests in the near future; in fact this is the closest thing to an “ears photo” I can post today. Leo training Topper, who we’re looking after this weekend. It’s going well, although if I can’t upload the video before midnight I will cast the blame entirely on her slight, blonde shoulders!

Here are the scores that were posted before I left and I hope to bring you some video later. Thanks for reading. Go Keeneland (opening next week, yesss!), pony club, Jump Start, and eventing!

Keeneland Pony Club Jump Start Horse Trials Saturday

By Samantha Clark on Oct 1, 2011 7:08 pm -

Elissa Gibbs on the very nice I’ve Got A Star, currently lying 3rd in Open Prelim Div 3. She also leads the Training Horse Division on Predestined.

Two of the Junior Beginner Novice Riders waiting to show-jump

Woods Baughman on Truckee Bash, Jr Novice

Kara Andrew’s connection taking a picture.

More black in cross country warm-up. I saw several really nice combinations in the prelim this morning, very encouraging.

Spotted outside the announcer’s booth – Giles Rowsell did a fantastic job all day!

At first I thought this rider had perhaps forgotten her show jacket, or was so cold that she’d asked permission to ride in a tracksuit top (?), but then I realised this IS her show jacket

This is her show jacket – what do you think?

How the Stadium ran to time all day – best entry gate crew evah!

Not a good ~~day~~ season for Wildcat football

Love that feeling, walking back from cross country comparing rides after a good round

Here are the scores that were posted before I left and I hope to bring you some video later. Thanks for reading. Go Keeneland (opening next week, yesss!), pony club, Jump Start, and eventing!

Course Walk app – the proof of the pudding…

By Samantha Clark on Oct 1, 2011 6:37 pm -

I noticed Erin Sheets walking the course this morning for a number of reasons: her two dogs sensibly outfitted in waterproof blankets, her waterproof boots – only just long enough, the water jump is deep this weekend! and the fact that she was peering at her phone, and taking pictures of each jump which could only mean one thing – she was using the brand new Course walk app. Competing in the Training Horse Jr Division on Save the Shield, I caught up with her at the end to ask her what she thinks of it,

The jerking of the camera is my second dog, borrowed for the weekend and although lovely, she’s not nearly as well-behaved as Leo (naturally!) Also, for the record neither of my dogs had raincoats on, and Erin, sure enough, jumped a double clear cross country, no time, and moved up three places (we call that EN karma!) Many thanks for talking to us Erin, see you tomorrow and Go Eventing!

Clark Montgomery – an enviable position

By Samantha Clark on Sep 30, 2011 12:25 pm -

When Clark Montgomery and his lovely wife Jess spent six months in England a few years ago they returned to the States with more than just valuable lessons learned, priceless memories and experiences, and an energetic companion (a gorgeous German wire-haired pointer called Brodie). They also imported two wonderful horses, one of which, Loughan Glen, ably piloted by Clark, can’t seem to lose and has cemented last year’s good form with a stunning advanced debut in 2011, winning at Bromont CCI***, winning at Millbrook Advanced and culminating in a 5th place finish at the Blenheim International CCI***. Clark was kind enough to review his year for us, explaining that along with the enormous privilege, also comes a huge responsibility to nurture Glen’s talent and be careful not to exploit his precocity. I’d like to thank Clark for taking the time to write for Eventing Nation, congratulate him on a terrific job, and thank you for reading.

Clark and Loughan Glen trotting up at the Blenheim Palace CCI***. (Photo with kind permission of ESJ)

I couldn’t have asked or expected more from Holly Becker and Kathryn Kraft’s Loughan Glen this year. We bought him as a five year old in ’08 and decided to take it quite slow with him at first. In the late spring of ’09 he did his first event. Now almost two and a half years later he has completed his first international trip to the UK finishing 5 th out of 97 starters at Blenheim Palace CCI***. From the outside it may look like I’ve pushed him a little fast when in fact I’ve always allowed him to tell me what he is ready for. From the very beginning, each time I’ve decided to move up a level I’ve gone into it with the mind set that if he tells me isn’t ready I’ll back off and go back to my homework. I think it’s been that approach that has allowed him so much success. I try to go into every competition believing I’m only there to have the best result I can have based on where he is in his training. For example…If at home I’m having the occasional rail when practicing my show jumping I don’t expect him to suddenly jump clear at the event. If he does jump clear then I’m very happy that he is progressing but if he has one rail down, I’m not disappointed as that is just where he is in his training. I use that exact same philosophy in all 3 phases and I think any horse will compete consistently when you are willing to compete them at the level they are prepared for at home.

Clark and Loughan Glen after winning the dressage phase at the Bromont CCI*** earlier this year

I went into the dressage at Blenheim with the goal of doing the best test that Glen’s training had prepared him to do. My one foolish mistake was in the extended trot when about half way across the long diagonal, I decided to ask for more. I completely went against everything I do with him and needless to say it bit me in the ass when he broke into the canter. We were in an atmosphere he’s never seen and I asked him to give me something I had never been able to achieve in my everyday training at home, how disappointing. It’s something I so rarely do that I lost my train of thought and forgot the next movement, the halt/ reign back. After those two movements I gathered my thoughts and rode the level of training Glen was prepared for the rest of the test and he preformed exactly to those standards. I couldn’t have been happier with him and more confused with myself about why I would have asked him to do something he wasn’t ready for, but there was no need to dwell on it. I knew what I had done wrong and I wouldn’t do it again for the rest of the weekend. Our judges marked us 45.4 which put us 7 th place over night.

The cross country walked fairly straight forward. There were a few big efforts but nothing that seemed to be too technical. It was 10 minutes 29 seconds and as a Blenheim course mainstay, there were two long canters through water of about 150 yards each followed by sharp pulls uphill. Having reminded myself about my training and competing principles on dressage day, I left the start box knowing he was very prepared for the exercises ahead and that the fitness would be the test for the day. I was up on my minute markers all the way until we crested the top of the hill following the second water just three minutes from the finish. He continued to jump beautifully and I let him coast home from there knowing that what we were really striving for was a positive experience for Glen. We finished 20 seconds over optimum time, thus adding 8 time faults to our score. He pulled up bright and very pleased with himself which is all I ever want at the end of every cross country experience. We over nighted on a 53.4 in 12 th place. The ground on the cross country was the best I’ve ever seen. In my mind it was the equivalent to doing the course on a pillow top mattress and the results of all of the grounds keepers hard work showed in Glen’s soundness and comfort on Sunday. The show jumping was set at maximum standard height and although I would consider Glen’s show jumping technique still quite green at times, he jumped a beautiful double clear round which bumped us back up the leader board to finish in fifth place.

Clark and Loughan Glen show-jumping at Blenheim Palace CCI***

(photo with kind permission of ESJ)

Many thanks to Clark for putting pen to paper for us, and many thanks for reading. We look forward to following your progress next year, and perhaps some more reports, hint hint! Go Team Loughan Glen and Go Eventing!

Clark Montgomery – an enviable position

By Samantha Clark on Sep 30, 2011 12:23 pm -

Clark and Loughan Glen trotting up at the Blenheim Palace CCI***. (Photo with kind permission of ESJ)

From Clark:

Clark and Loughan Glen after winning the dressage phase at the Bromont CCI*** earlier this year

Clark and Loughan Glen show-jumping at Blenheim Palace CCI***

(photo with kind permission of ESJ)

Taking Stock with David Ingordo – Part 1

By Samantha Clark on Sep 28, 2011 3:00 pm -

Although the Keeneland September Yearling Sale began a fortnight ago, it’s hardly surprising that David Ingordo, one of the most sought after and successful bloodstock agents in the business has not had time to see me until the penultimate day. Traditionally the latter days of the Sale are quiet, the emptier barns and seats reflecting the dip in quality and price of stock as the sale days go by, but today there’s still a healthy buzz which bodes well for the business, as David explains,

“It’s been a little bit of a pleasant surprise, but I think people want horses. I thought it would be a good sale, and I’m glad that the actual market followed through. I’m not sure if you can attribute it to the tax break this year or not, but people love this industry. We’re already seeing the effects of less foals being born which isn’t necessarily a bad thing; the proportion of the bad horses you lose is greater, but you do lose some of the quality too; you lose some from both ends of the spectrum. Just the fact that this sale is a day shorter this year as well, means that 600 or so lesser horses don’t come to market, or don’t get produced in the first place so those are all positives.”

David estimates he’s probably looked at hundreds of thousands of horses already in his lifetime, whether at Sales, on the track, or on farms, so I ask him how he evaluates them when looking to buy,

“Every horse is an individual; there are positives and negatives to each one. I’m not looking to criticize every horse, but at some price points a lot of horses have value, so it’s just a matter of deciding if they have value to me or my clients, or not.

You can’t put the saddle and bridle on a pedigree page, so the first thing I look at is the physical aspect. If the horse isn’t an athlete first and foremost then I’m not interested at any price, no matter what the pedigree. The second part is the pedigree though, and I’ll try to get as much as I can.

I look at a lot of horses, some of them I might not like and the guy next to me might – it doesn’t mean I’m right and he’s wrong or vice versa, but the horsemanship side comes into it – like a photographer, painter or chef. There’s a little bit of an art that goes into this. There’s the nuts and bolts – is he correct? From the side, what’s his confirmation? Does he walk well? Are his feet good? Then there’s the extra ten percent that I say is horsemanship and being around horses a lot.

X-ray’s and scopes are very important, they’re general tools to help you with the horse’s health but we’ve refined the process enough now that they’re fairly accurate. On the throat I’m pretty critical, but on the x-rays I’m very forgiving; if the horse is sound and looks okay, and the limbs are clean and the joints are tight, I’m a lot more forgiving than most people are.”

I admit I can’t pick a winner at the races to save my life, but David might have better luck spotting potential sport horses; we look at a few horses together and I’m glad to report we agree on a couple of points – neither of us are keen on white feet giving them a “yellow, buttery look”, and we’re both partial to a “beautiful-bodied” chestnut, although David puts the kibosh on her, “her body would have caught my eye, but no foot no horse”. When I remark that another horse might be a tiny bit short in the neck for me, David says he “could do that on a Storm Cat” – touche! Although my favourite comment and one that I might have to steal, “that one looks like a jelly bean on legs”!

David has been extremely active at this sale, spending millions of dollars on behalf of his clients and buying more than several dozen horses, but there were still horses he wanted that he didn’t manage to buy, and this rankles his competitive nature,

“I’ve been bidding for some very wealthy people, but at a certain stage you just have to say we’ve gone far enough and we’ll find another one. Being the underbidder is kind of like being second, and I don’t want to be second. If I don’t get the horse, I’m upset, but good luck to the guy who did.“

This is partly what drives David to be out here every single day, that and the fact that he genuinely loves and thrives on his work,

“We work all the way to the end, we’re always looking because you never know what horse is going to come up.”

David has been out at Keeneland every morning all day every day beginning at 7am since the Friday before the September Sales started; on saturday night two weeks later when it’s all over he tells me he’ll probably fall into bed, but on monday morning he’ll start organising the payment and transport of his purchases. Most of the horses he’s bought will go down to his training center in Ocala for the winter before shipping out to trainers in the spring. David and his team will make physical notes on the horses, gather up the pedigrees and enter everything into their inventory, before the next Sale, the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. For David, there’s no break,

“I buy a lot of weanlings. I’m one of the bigger weanling pinhookers. I don’t spend a lot of money but I’ve had a good year. You have to be able to project, and I’ve got a pretty good idea of what a foal will turn into. Every time I look at a horse I want to see something I can improve; even if it’s a million dollar horse it has to improve.”

David, although still young to be so established in the business, is old school in many ways. He refuses to carry an Ipad like so many of his colleagues do, (“I like the physical book, I bend it, we’re outside, we’re in the rain and snow, I drop it – if I drop that Ipad, there goes the whole Sale!”) but makes notes in his catalogues,

“Very simple; Usually I circle their name on the page, then an x if I don’t like them, a check if I do, and the best thing I give is a star! There’s a comment on this page, ‘ok body/ok confirmation’. I’m not trying to dazzle anybody, it works for me. I have a little book that my assistant makes for me that I keep inside the catalogue of horses that I’m interested in to follow each day. We run a very successful operation on a few pieces of paper.” Indeed!

Many thanks to David for sparing me time out of his hectic schedule to share some of the secrets of his genius with us. Check back in a few days for Part 2 of my interview at Lane’s End Farm, where he shows me a couple of his September Sale purchases and explains in more detail what attracted him to them. Go Thoroughbreds, racing or eventing!

Taking Stock with David Ingordo – Part 1

By Samantha Clark on Sep 28, 2011 3:00 pm -

Although the Keeneland September Yearling Sale began a fortnight ago, it’s hardly surprising that David Ingordo, one of the most sought after and successful bloodstock agents in the business did not have time to see me until the penultimate day. Traditionally the latter days of the Sale are quiet, the emptier barns and seats reflecting the dip in quality and price of stock as the sale days go by, but today there’s still a healthy buzz which bodes well for the business, as David explains,

David estimates he’s probably looked at hundreds of thousands of horses already in his lifetime, whether at Sales, on the track, or on farms, so I ask him how he evaluates them when looking to buy,

This is partly what drives David to be out here every single day, that and the fact that he genuinely loves and thrives on his work,

“We work all the way to the end, we’re always looking because you never know what horse is going to come up.”

Taking Stock with David Ingordo – Part 2

By Samantha Clark on Sep 27, 2011 4:19 pm -

The Candy Ride colt with his good outlook

The Bernadini colt: “He’s beautiful. He also cost a lot of money so he should be! That’s the kind of horse you’re looking at to be a Derby horse one day, a two-turn Classic individual.”

“The individual horse has to be there, I don’t care what it is because if they aren’t athletic it doesn’t matter what their pedigrees are. A lot of horses can make their own pedigree if things go right for them. You might be able to pick out some faults in the pedidgrees of the fillies that we looked at but there’s not much wrong with the physical horses, and that’s what runs. I was happy that the market overlooked a lot of them.”

Zenyatta – “being in foal agrees with her”

Although David has no ambition whatsoever to manage a farm, “I leave that to the professionals”, he originally intended to go into training,

When one of the fillies we look at comes out, David laughs ruefully, and tells me he must be getting old because he remembers buying and racing her mother (successfully, of course).

Alex Van Tuyll – Never a Dull Moment!

By Samantha Clark on Sep 27, 2011 1:10 pm -

Alex with Tamarillo

After a decade working for William Fox-Pitt, arguably the most successful eventer in recent times, Alex Van Tuyll has struck out on her own and has been working as a freelance groom for almost three years. As is so often the case in life, especially with people at the top of their game, Alex’s career path wasn’t so much a chosen one, as much as it seemed to just happen to her. Living close to William when he was based in Oxfordshire, and eventing herself led to lessons with William, which led to her helping out at weekends, then meeting him at the gallops to ride, and eventually a job for a year, which turned into running the yard with head girl Jackie Potts for nine more…!

Somehow Alex found a spare half hour in her manic schedule* to chat with me from her base down in Dorset, for which I’m extremely grateful, and explain how she manages her life. (*manic schedule = “I’m going up to Duarte Seabra’s in Cheshire tomorrow to clip, pull manes and tails, go galloping, and then we’re eventing friday, saturday and sunday, three days, three different venues, then I go to Sally Johnson’s just outside Lambourn and I’m driving her and her two horses to Lignieres in France on Monday to do the one star.”) Being a freelance groom means being incredibly busy, organised, and lots of travel,

“I do it because I enjoy it. I could give this up and get a “proper job” but I’d miss being outside and I’d miss doing the horses, and the satisfaction of seeing them going well. I do a lot now for Duarte Seabra, the Portugese rider. I came to WEG with him last year, and any time he goes eventing, even one days, I go with him and try and fit in other people around that. Duarte’s based with Catherine Witt up in Cheshire, so Catherine and I sat down with the diary at the beginning of the year and decided which events we wanted to go to. Of course, nearer the time it sometimes changes, but I’m lucky in that I usually have a waiting list of people calling me up wanting me to work for them if I’m not busy with Duarte. I have a group of about 8 to 10 people that I work for regularly; for example next week I’m going to Les Lignieres, then I’m at Osberton, then Pau then Le Lion D’Angers.”

The last four events Alex just mentioned are all three day events, “I live out of my suitcase”, she laughs, but when not working mid-week one day events and eventing on weekends, she enjoys hunting on Mondays and Tuesdays with her local pack, the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale. Alex keeps four horses at home to feed her habit, including one rather special ex-eventer who just started a hunting career this year,

“I LOVED Idalgo, and of course he’s now retired and his owners, the Apters, have very kindly given him to me, so he’s residing in my yard at the moment. He’d never seen hounds until about a month ago, and he’s now done nine days cubbing. He’s been amazing, really good. Everyone wants to follow me over the hedges! He’s great – he loves it and he’s taken to it really well, so I’m a very, very lucky girl!”

Alex on her smart new hunter, Idalgo (chesutnut in the middle) – 2nd at Badminton & 4th at the European Championships at Fontainebleu in 2009 with William Fox-Pitt

When I remark that the hunting alone, which she does for fun sounds like a full time job, (four horses up and hunting fit all winter) and I ask her what she does to relax, Alex laughs,

“Relax? Errr…?! I’m not very good at staying still. Cooking? I do cooking locally for various people, freezer filling, chutnies and things like that. This winter I’m hoping to get a break; last winter I did the Asian Games for the first time and I loved it. I wanted to come to the PanAms this year but it starts while I’m still at Le Lion d’Angers so sadly I can’t do it. I like to catch up with my friends in the winter because I don’t see them all summer.”

Alex says she notices more people going down the freelance route now, and more demand for it, especially at three day events, from either the one horse rider, or one groom competitor who needs to leave a groom at home to look after the horses left behind. Alex requests food at an event, and a “dry place to sleep”. She usually brings her own duvet and pillow, “just because I like it”, and is happy to sleep in the lorry on site as is customary in the UK.

“It is a lot of fun, but when I first started free-lance there were quite a few people who expected that because I’d been with William for ten years, that as soon as I came to brush their horse or tack it up or anything like that, then their marks were immediately going to improve tenfold and they were going to start winning! People just expected because I was there I was going to perform miracles and I wanted to tell them that no, they still had to learn their dressage test, and they still had to ride their horses! I will help with fitting tack, and warm-up techniques and advise them with things like that to help them as much as possible with their overall performance but I try and follow the normal routine as much as possible.”

Alex will also watch Duarte’s lessons on the flat this week with Pammy Hutton so that she’ll be able to give him some insights from the ground when he warms up for the dressage at the three day events later this season. As well as her vast experience with varying horses, Alex has probably been to more competitions than most of us spend in dollars on vets, blacksmiths, entry fees and petrol – ie masses, and enjoys each for it’s separate quirks,

“I went to Malmo in Sweden years ago with William and Ballincoola; we had temporary stables in the airport in a hangar on the edge of an airfield. We had to walk our horses through the town, through the traffic lights, over the mini-roundabouts, got on to the venue, and then sit there all day dreading the way back again, but I’m thrilled I went. The Test Event in Greenwich this summer was awesome; it’s going to be an incredible event, I’m just sad there’ll be no physical legacy left behind. To see all those school kids shouting “horsey horsey horsey” on cross-country day, and seeing their faces light up was really amazing. I think it’s going to be an awesome experience.”

Burghley has always been a happy hunting ground for Alex, having won there several times with William’s horses, and it was the first three day she ever groomed at, age 16. If pushed, she would say it was her favourite three day event. She returned last year with the youngest rider Laura Collett and Ginger May Killinghurst, and came back this year with Tom McEwan, also the youngest rider, and took home the ‘Mountain Horse’ Horse Care Prize. Polly Lochore judged the groom’s competition at Burghley on the overall presentation and well-being of the horse throughout the competition,

“I’ve been a runner-up there once before, and I also won the equivalent at Rolex the first year I came there; it’s a huge honour when you’re there among your contemporaries and you’re judged to be the best.”

Burgie, Britain’s northern most three day event was the first three day event Alex competed in herself, and she likes Bramham for the social scene, but she told me she really enjoys the experience at all the different three days,

“I suppose I’m trying to get the opportunity to go everywhere before I hang up my boots. The freelance work suits me now for where I am but I miss the continuity of the horses in work, and the little niggles, and even the looking out for the things that can go wrong with them. However now I’ve got a bit more flexibility to do a few other things that I want to, because I don’t envisage doing this when I’m forty. I want to go on and do something else, and now I have the opportunity to meet other people; for the last six years I’ve helped in the Press Office at Olympia, in charge of the awards and rosettes, just to get the opportunity to do as much as I can. I haven’t got a clue what I will do eventually, but it will be equine based.”

Alex at Burghley, her favourite event, with Balincoola, Burghley winner and one of her all-time favourite horses.

Although she described ‘Max’ as very tricky, she said she always had a real soft spot for him; “I started when he arrived and when William first bought him Judy and Jeremy Skinner hadn’t even seen him, and I remember Judy’s words, ‘Oh My God, that ugly duckling, is that mine?!’

Still on Alex’s bucket list are surprisingly, the Olympics, and the Adelaide CCI**** in Australia. She explained how despite working for a multiple Olympian for so long, she has yet to make it to the Games herself,

“Jackie and I basically split the four-star horses at William’s between us; I did Parkmore Ed, Ballincoola and Highland Lad, and Jackie did Moon Man, Tamarillo and Cool Mountain, and we tried to go to the three days that each of us had our horses going to. At the one day events it varied; I did a bit more riding and galloping on the yard than Jackie did, although I also liked driving a lot and Jackie didn’t like it as much, so it really just depended on what else was going on at the time. I never went to an Olympics with William though because the first time William went with Cosmopolitan, Alison was still there and she went with him, and then Tamarillo went in 2004 with Jackie but did not complete due to a stifle injury, and when Parkmore Ed went to Hong Kong in 2008, Jackie had not completed an Olympics and William asked if she could go. I would have loved to have gone but sadly is was not to be. William and I continue to be friends, I brought Neuf de Coeurs to Rolex this year and I help him out whenever I am asked, but I just thought if I wasn’t going to get to the Olympics there after ten years, then it was time to go out and start freelancing, and try and find an opportunity to get to the Olympics somewhere else.”

Alex and Neuf des Coeurs in quarantine at Newburg en route to Rolex this year

Hopefully Alex’s dream will come true next year in London,

“All being well Plan A is Team Portugal with Duarte Seabra. Other possibilities are assisting Team Thailand because I helped Nina (Ligon) this year when she came to England and took her horses to Pardubice. An alternative option would be word of mouth advertising to find another horse/nation to aid my quest to London 2012.”

and she’s hoping to fufill her Adelaide ambition next winter too, while I’m just looking forward to catching up with Alex again, hopefully at Rolex in the spring – by which time she’ll have logged many more miles in the lorry, on the hunting field, and speeding up and down the length of England – and living vicariously through her, more than enough action for both of us! Many thanks again to her for finding the time to stay still and chat, and many thanks for reading. Go the Grooms, and Go Eventing!

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