Eleven years ago today, a beautiful September morning was overshadowed by the horrific news of a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. As you begin your day, be sure to take a moment to remember those whose lives were lost and their families, and to honor our nation’s service men and women, law enforcement and fire personnel.
9/11 Tribute: The Horses in the Morning radio show has prepared a special 9/11 tribute sharing various horse people’s experiences on Sept. 11, 2001. Listen live from 9-10:30 a.m. ET or catch a recording of the broadcast later in the day. [HITM]
A Gift: Since Sept. 11, 2001, Gerry Hoover, Field Master for Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds, has hunted with a small flag on the front of his helmet cover. Upon returning from the Olympics, Boyd Martin gifted the saddle pad he used during the Games to Mr. Hoover, age 82, who responded, “I am humbled.” [Sidelines]
AEC Paparazzi: If you didn’t get a chance to view your photos before you left, you can check them online via the two official event photographers’ websites. Mark Lehner of Hoofclix has already got about two-thirds of his photos uploaded; see if yours are among them here. Shannon Brinkman Photography will begin uploading its photos on Sept. 12, with all photos expected to be up by Sept. 20. Keep an eye on the website here and watch for updates on Shannon’s Facebook page. In addition to the event photographers, the USEA has some great photo galleries and videos posted as well–have a look if you haven’t already here.
Plantation Field’s New and Improved Jog-up Strip: Horses at this year’s event, to be held Sept. 21-23, may find that they have a little extra spring in their step thanks to the event’s being-installed-as-we-speak jog-up strip, made of red rubber brick PaveSafe Equine Pavers. The upgrade is courtesy of ECORE International. [Boyd & Silva Martin]
2015 Pan Ams: When it comes to international competition venues, there’s no rest for the weary–someone is always working on something somewhere. And while the 2015 Pan Am Games may seem like they’re in the distant future, work is already set to begin on the equestrian venue at Caledon Equestrian Park in Ontario early next month. [Horse Talk NZ]
West Nile is on the Rise: The number of West Nile cases in the U.S. has increased dramatically this year, with cases having been diagnosed in 33 states. The best strategy for avoiding this mosquito-born virus in your horse is to vaccinate, eliminate standing water around the barn, and adjust turnout to decrease exposure to mosquitoes. [COTH]
Best of the Blogs: Talking Horse was on site cross-country day at Blenheim and posted some thoughtful commentary. His observations with regard to the U.S. contingent: “The American’s have been creeping up on us over here in the last few year’s and not just because of any prep for the Olympics. Two pretty fresh names to appear in the UK this year are Marilyn Little-Meredith & Emily Beshear. Marilyn sadly didn’t finish on either of her rides, despite some impressive results on home turf earlier in the year, but Emily produced a credible 24th jumping double clear in her first CCI*** in Europe.” Yep! [Talking Horse]
Everyone I know who’s heading to the American Eventing Championships this weekend is in a world of anxiety right about now, freaking out about training and soundness issues both real and imagined.
I think he looks a little off behind. Does he look a little off to you? No? Look harder!!!
My horse won’t go on the bit anymore! Why won’t it go on the bit?!?!
I’ve already had the farrier out twice this week, and it’s only Tuesday.
Et cetera, et cetera.
So we thought this would be a good time to send out a great big dose of EN karma to all AEC competitors. Good luck everybody, take deep breaths, and two words: Bubble. Wrap.
BTW, the 2013 USEA event calendar has been posted here.
Because eventing isn’t exciting enough, Plantation Field is giving spectators even more reasons to attend its autumn event, to be held September 21-23. Like… cross-country tailgating, a wine tasting area, a jousting demonstration, new shops and food booths, games and activities for the kids and–wait for it–a moonbounce and mechanical bull rides! Best. Event. Ever? [Website]
Horse Husband of the Week: Zara Phillips’ clear Olympic cross-country ride happened to take place on the one-year anniversary of her marriage to Mike Tindall, who said her Olympic silver medal was the best wedding anniversary present they could have received. Awww. [Express.co.uk]
What’s Next for Phillip: The Phillip Dutton Eventing August newsletter is a good read, including a play-by-play from Phillip about what happened in the show jumping in London; a statement about the continuation of Mystery Whisper’s career with owner Arden Wildasin in the tack; and the Dutton Eventing team’s plans for the fall season. [Phillip Dutton Eventing]
The Over 80-Percent Club’s Newest Member: Natasha Baker picked up two gold medals for Great Britain at the Paralympics. Her score of 82.80 percent in the Grade II Freestyle was a personal best and a Paralympic record. [Telegraph]
Best of the Blogs: It’s comforting to know that I’m not the only one who lies awake at night fretting about the counter-canter in Prelim Test B. [Tales from a Bad Eventer]
Found on Facebook: From Tamarack Hill Farm, “Dangerous, depressing and defeating MYTH Number One, currently in vogue: ‘In order to do well, you need a string of high class horses.’ I read all these articles about these riders with their herds of owners and horses and farms and grooms and ‘stuff.’ NOT TRUE. You need ONE super horse. One Zenyatta, one Biosthetique Sam, one Manoir de Carneville. You do need to RIDE other horses, to stay sharp, but they can be just horses. Go sifting and sifting to find that RIGHT one, then you can fly.”
Video: The USEA put to together some really neat footage from last year’s AECs, with ride videos and interviews with winners. Check it out: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4.
Sinead is way too mature to be anything other than a class-act when representing the United States in international competition. We, on the other hand, aren’t.
One more jewel in Queen Becky’s crown: Her CIC3* win at Richland Park boosted her to the top of the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Leaderboard with Can’t Fire Me and into the #3 slot with Courageous Comet, with whom she placed second. The final Gold Cup series events of 2012 are the AECs and the Twin Rivers Advanced Horse Trials. [US Eventing]
Speaking of Leaderboards and the Ladies Who Dominate Them: Karin Donckers of Belgium is the 2012 FEI World Cup Eventing champion, clinching the title at Haras du Pin (FRA) over the weekend. Swiss rider Felix Vogg was runner-up in the rankings with Sandra Auffarth of Germany rounding out the top three. [Eventing Worldwide]
That Explains a Lot: Colleen Rutledge had an off weekend on Shiraz at Richland and suspected that a reemergence of Lyme Disease, with which he was diagnosed a couple years ago, might be the cause. They have since confirmed that this is, in fact, the case, and he is being treated. Here’s wishing Shiraz a speedy recovery!
Post-Olympic Boom: English riding schools are reporting a surge of interest following Britain’s gold-medal sweep of the Olympic games. In addition to new clients, centers are reporting that the Games have had an invigorating effect on experienced equestrians as well. “…Many are telling us they’ve been inspired and have a renewed enthusiasm for the sport,” said one instructor. [Horse & Hound]
An Ounce of Prevention: Gulf Coast horse owners are being urged to make preparations for the arrival of the strengthening tropical storm Isaac, which is expected to make landfall Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. Check out these suggestions from the Louisiana State Animal Response Team and the Equine Health Studies Program at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. [Horse Talk NZ]
Found on Facebook: Several eventers pulled near all-nighters Sunday thanks to long drives home from Richland. From Hannah Sue Burnett, “Pulled into the farm around 2:30 last night and after putting the ponies to bed and scrubbing all the Michigan dirt off of myself rolled into bed around 4:30!! Feeling a bit whooped today!”
Best of the Blogs: Clark Montgomery is back in the states and trying “feverishly” to catch up on all he’s missed. “Glen is back on American soil and will be released from quarantine tomorrow morning. I would be lying to say that I was not disappointed to miss this year’s selection to the Olympic Games but I am pleased to have been a part of the selection process. While there, I made it a point to take full advantage of all of the instruction available over the six weeks stay and as a result, Glen is happy and healthy and going better than ever. We have our sights set on the Nations Cup at Boekelo in Holland in mid October and I am looking forward to showcasing all that we have learned.” [Montgomery Equestrian]
Video: Check out the winning entry of the British Eventing Cinema Competition, announced yesterday. [Horse & Country]
If you’ve been on the fence about whether or not to enter the 2012 AECs, you only have a few hours left to make the big decision because the closing date is TODAY. Here, we’ve made you a pros and cons list:
PROS
-$70,000 in cash and $100,000 in prizes are up for grabs.
-This is the last year the AECs will be held at Chattahoochee Hills, as it’s heading to Texas in 2013.
-Amazing facility and awesome trade fair.
-Bragging rights–Win, lose or draw, just competing at the AECs is a big deal.
On a sad note, British-based Chinese rider Alex Hua Tian’s four-star horse Magenta was put down over the weekend, due to complications associated with colitis and lymphangitis. The mare was 13 years old and had numerous upper-level notches on her belt, with results to include an 11th at Saumur in 2008, 12th at Blenheim CCI*** in 2009, an advanced win at Aston-le-Walls in 2010 and seventh at Hartpury CIC*** that year. She also carried Alex around his first four-star, finishing 26th at Badminton in 2010 with a clear cross-country. [H&H]
Thirteen-year-old Hannah Jessica Wiley died in a riding accident in Northern Ireland on Friday evening while taking part in an equestrian club event. Reports indicate that her mount fell on her after a jump. [Horse Talk NZ]
Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials is coming up soon, September 6-9, and the entry list is posted. Among the star-studded entry list, the British Olympic team in its entirety will be represented. For the United States, Emily Beshear is riding Here’s To You in the CCI***; Sharon White with Rafferty’s Rules is on the wait list. [Entries]
How fearsome is Burghley’s cross-country course this year? Take a tour with Alice Plunkett and Captain Mark Phillips. [Eventing Worldwide]
Entries are now being accepted for the Thoroughbred Horse Show Association’s Fall Show on October 6-7 at the Kentucky Horse Park. The show is TBHS’s second event following its successful inaugural show in April. Forty-five dressage, hunter, jumper, showmanship, English/western pleasure and combined training classes will be offered, along with up to $3,000 in prize money. [TBHS]
A man on his stag party jumped a fence at a New Zealand racetrack and ran alongside the horses for a few meters before falling on his face. The severely inebriated man was wearing a blonde wig, black skirt and no underwear. He has been banned from three racetracks and awaits further punishment. [Stuff.co.nz]
Found on Facebook: “Enter to win a premium dressage evaluation from Judge My Ride, exclusively for SmartPak fans! This week’s winner will receive an evaluation from our guest judge, USDF Gold Medalist and Grand Prix dressage rider, Heather Beachum. We will open our premium evaluation contest on Wednesday, 8/22, so watch our wall for details and get your dressage photos ready!”–SmartPak
Video: Leslie Threlkeld chats with Chattahoochee Hills cross-country course designer Hugh Lochore and event organizer JJ Johnson about advancements to the venue in preparation for the 2012 American Eventing Championships.
The USEF has special-ordered eight pairs of extra-strength adult diapers for the riders who’ll be representing the U.S. at this year’s Burghley Horse Trials, to be held August 31 – September 2. On the list:
A few other names on the 120-deep entry list you might recognize: Kristina Cook, Mary King, William Fox-Pitt, Mark Todd, Andrew Nicholson, Jonathan Paget, Caroline Powell, Christopher Burton, Dirk Schrade and Mark Kyle. [Burghley]
If some of Burghley’s cross-country jumps look strikingly similar to ones used at Greenwich Park, it’s not just a case of Olympic déjà vu. Three of the course’s most distinctive obstacles–“The Planet,” “The Sundials” and “The Olympic Horses” (the one shaped like a horseshoe, flanked by rearing horses made of horseshoes–hope you packed your big spurs, Allison!) will make an encore performance at Burghley. (Horse Talk NZ)
Elsewhere in Europe:
Ain’t no rest for the wicked… or Olympic team gold medalists. Just two weeks after London, Germany’s Ingrid Klimke bested the field in the third leg of the FEI World Eventing Cup held in Malmö, Sweden over the weekend, riding her Luhmühlen CIC*** winner Tabasco 70. Germany’s Dirk Schrade finished second aboard Hop And Skip, with Sweden’s Sara Algotsson-Ostholt rounding out the top three with Mrs. Medicott. Germany also claimed team and individual gold in the European Young Riders Eventing Championship, held in conjunction with the World Cup. [Horse Talk NZ]
The Belgian show jumper London, ridden by Gerco Schroeder in the 2012 Olympics to both individual and team silver medals, has been seized due to bankruptcy proceedings by the owners. Sources say the horse is being held at the stables of Team Great Britain gold medalist Ben Mahar until the situation is sorted out. [Examiner]
Back in the states:
Because eventing isn’t exciting enough, Plantation Field is giving spectators even more reasons to attend its autumn event, to be held September 21-23. Like… cross-country tailgating, a wine tasting area, a jousting demonstration, new shops and food booths, games and activities for the kids and–wait for it–a moonbounce and mechanical bull rides! Best. Event. Ever? [Website]
Hot on Horse Nation: Does pentathlon still have a place in the Olympics? Is it a relevant test of skill or an outdated, overly dangerous deathtrap? [Let’s Discuss]
Found on Facebook: From Tamarak Hill Farm, “Volker Bromman went through that rigorous German riding academic system that instills dressage basics and proficiency so thoroughly they almost CAN`T ride incorrectly. If I were a 20-25 year old aspiring US eventer, and could swing it somehow, I`d be on a plane to a German dressage facility and hope to, as Volker once told me, ‘Get infected with the dressage virus.'”
Sweet, wonderful, dedicated Liz Fletcher has been getting up at the crack of dawn like a champ for the last week. “I’m beginning to feel like I’m losing all sense of time,” she emailed me yesterday. “I started to write ‘Dressage Day 107, Still No Signs of Human Life’ but caught myself just in the nick of time.” She wraps up our coverage today with this report from the Individual Dressage Finals.
From Liz:
This morning saw the completion of all equestrian events of the London 2012 Olympics with the Dressage Individual Final.
Congratulations to Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro, GOLD MEDAL WINNERS with a 90.089%.!!! Adelinde Cornelissen and Parzival won silver with an 88.196%, and Laura Bechtolsheimer and Mistrel Hojris secured bronze with an 84.339%.
Did you miss this morning’s coverage? You can catch the replay here.
Freestyle is my favorite to watch because of the symmetry between the movements and the music, and I’m a sucker for dramatic movie music set to a horse galloping across the dressage ring. But that’s just me.
Steffen Peters and Ravel gave it a good shot, but they had many small, costly mistakes that earned them a 77.286%, just not good enough to medal with this year’s pairs.
Anky Van Grunsven on Salinero scored an 82% for their last games together. When she finished her test, she was absolutely beaming, and I’m sure she would have been thrilled no matter what the score was. It’s a testament to Salinero’s mental and physical capabilities that he competed on the Olympic stage until the age of 18!
Juan Manuel Munoz Diaz and Fuego had a decidedly Spanish theme to their music, making it not just a good show, but a patriotic one, too. The big grey stallion is really a thing of beauty, and if I could choose an Olympic dressage horse to catch a ride on, it would be him. They scored a 79.357%, which I thought was a bit low for such a consistent test on a flashy horse.
Kristina Sprehe came out on Desperado and IMMEDIATELY I had about 15 tweets from people about her music, a “Now That’s What I call the ’80s” soundtrack. It was really quite epic. “Shout,” “Tainted Love,” “Fade to Grey,” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” were some of the clips played during her freestyle. Sprehe and Desperado scored an 81.375%.
Carl Hester and Uthopia had a lovely test and finished in 5th behind his two teammates on an 82.857%. Their memorable moment? A final halt to “God Save the Queen.” His teammate Laura Bechtolsheimer rode immediately after him and put in an amazing test on Mistral Hojris to the sounds of The Lion King‘s “Circle of Life,” “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” and “Hakuna Matata.” At the final halt, she threw her arms up in the air, then immediately covered her face to hide her tears. It was a lovely, lovely moment and I was so thrilled that her hard work has paid off in such a memorable way.
Final individual results:
What is happening to these fantastic horses after the Olympics? It is quite likely that Ravel will be retired, as Peters says the horse owes him and Akiko Yamazaki (his owner) nothing, and he has nothing left to prove. Anky’s Salinero will definitely be retiring after the Olympic games, and Dujardin’s Valegro and Hester’s Uthopia are to be sold, which they say had always been the plan.
Thank you for tuning in to the marathon that is equestrian sports during the Olympics. While many jokes were made at the expense of the sport I hold so dear by co-workers and other unintitiated folks, the fact that they were having a discussion about it puts a smile on my face. The word is getting out, ladies and gentlemen. Equestrian is for the hardcore!
Eventing Nation salutes all the diehard freaks out there who have been getting up at 5 a.m. (or earlier!) almost every morning for the last week and a half to watch the Olympic equestrian live stream. Like Amy Vodraska, who posted the above image on her blog “A Work In Progress.” (Image originally created by http://www.coffeenate.com/late-night-olympic-2012-watching-lots-of-coffee/)
Dressage kicks back up today with the Grand Prix Special, bright and early at 5 a.m. ET. Jan Ebeling/Rafalca, Tina Konyot/Calecto V and Steffen Peters/Ravel will compete in this round. The schedule and results are posted here.
In the U.S., we talk a lot about developing our equestrian team from the ground up–developing young riders, developing young horses, developing our breeding program, etc. Saudi Arabia, yesterday’s winner of the team bronze in show jumping, believes in a different sort of program. Here’s the backstory behind their rapid rise from international equestrian nobodies to the Olympic medal podium: First, the country chose six riders they believed capable of being competitive in the international show jumping ring. Next, they combed the world for the best horses possible, money being no object, fueled by funds from an undisclosed source. And not just any horses. “The policy is not to buy young horses and to hopefully have them develop to a good level, because then you have a lot of disappointments. The target is to buy proven quality,” said Chef d’equipe Rogier van Iersel. Step three, win Olympic bronze. Well, that’s one way to do it. Anybody have a few million dollars they’d like to donate to the USET? [Reuters]
For British show jumpers Nick Skelton, 54, and Peter Charles, 54,the path to the podium hasn’t always been paved with gold. Both of the team gold medalists have overcome traumatic injuries in recent years. For Skelton, it was a broken neck in the build-up to the Sydney Olympics; for Charles, it was a ruptured spinal sheath, broken vertebrae and cracked ribs in 2006. Talk about a come-back. [BBC Sport]
Have you entered the AECs yet? The last day to take advantage of the early bird special entry fee ends today! After today, the entry fee increases by $100. Not sure if you’re qualified? Be sure to check out the list of Qualified Riders and list of and list of Qualified Horses. Omnibus listing and entry information available here. [USEA]
NPR’s “All Things Considered” program weighed in on Rafalcagate yesterday. The reporter, who discloses that she is a dressage enthusiast herself, explains that all the attention visited upon her sport of late has been a mixed blessing. On one hand, it’s raised awareness of the fact that dressage exists. On the other hand, comments about dressage being an elitist sport “have started to irritate the thousands of Americans… who actually do participate in the sport of dressage without being independently wealthy.” [NPR]
The Olympics do crazy things to people, including addicting normally un-horsey viewers to equestrian sports. Here’s a funny narrative written by Scott Feschuk, who suddenly finds himself compelled to wake up at 5:30 a.m. to watching eventing. “Why am I watching horses jump over fences and rails?,” he writes. “I’m not sure. To this point in my life, I’ve had no enthusiasm for horses and only a passing interest in poles. Yet I can’t pull myself away.” [Macleans]
Our friends at SmartPak are living it up in London, blogging, tweeting, videoing, picture-taking, interviewing and even managing to squeeze in a visit to “a proper British club.” Here’s how to stay in the SmartPak loop: (1) Like SmartPak on Facebook – the post updated blogs and new photos and videos every day. (2) Follow them on Twitter @SmartPakerSarah and @SmartPakerColby. (3) Tune into the USEF Network for their nightly broadcast on the USEF Network. (5) Check them out and like them on Facebook to stay up to date on all things Team USA. [SmartPak]
Quotable: “This horse that I ended up liking very much brought me to the four-star level at Rolex and brought me to represent our team. There really are no words for it,” said Mueller. “It’s just a really emotional feeling that this horse has done this for me, and [I’m] sad that he’s not going to do it again. He owes me nothing, and I owe him everything.” — Canadian event rider Michele Mueller on the retirement of her 2012 Olympic partner, Amistad, in the Chronicle [COTH]
Heard on Horse Nation: HN’s in-house historian Lorraine Jackson tells the larger-than-life story of a Hungarian countess and her horse who transcended extraordinary odds not only to survive, but to find one another after being torn apart during WWI. [HN]
Found on Facebook: Rocky Mountain Horse Trials in Longmont, CO, took place over the weekend–you couldn’t ask for a more gorgeous backdrop for photos! “Like” RMHT on their Facebook page to stay up to date on the event’s latest happenings!
No pressure: In this video, Team GBR endures a tense moment as they wait to see if their final team member, Peter Charles, can clinch the gold medal with a fault-free performance.
Olympic dressage eye-on-the-scene Liz Fletcher fills us in on all the happenings in Greenwich Park today.
From Liz:
Welcome to day two of OLYMPIC DRESSAGE….
After today’s performances, the top seven teams were decided by averaging their scores and will now move on to the Grand Prix Special to compete for gold. The Special will be held on the 7th of August, so horses and riders have a fairly long break, at least compared to eventing. The top 11 individuals who are not already qualified with a team will also move on to the Special. Then, after the Special, the top 18 individuals move on to the Freestyle where the individual medals are decided. The freestyle competition is on the 9th of August.
Tina Konyot rode Calecto V to a 70.465%, but it was Steffen Peters and Ravel who pulled the U.S. average score up enough for them to qualify for the Special. Before Peters rode, the U.S. was behind Sweden by .524%, but Peters scored a 77.948% to help the U.S. secure 5th. In order to medal, the American team is going to have to pull out everything they’ve got in the arsenal. Even then, that might not be enough.
Great Britain continued to live up to expectations and Charlotte Dujardin scored an 83.784% this morning!!!!!! She absolutely rocked it. Carl Hester, Charlotte’s coach, mentor, and teammate, says that this is an Olympic record. While I don’t like making medaling predictions because I’m almost always wrong, I will say that Great Britain will be on the podium barring any accidents both in and out of the ring.
Right behind her sits Adelinde Cornelissen for the Netherlands with an 81.687% and Helen Langehanenberg of Germany with an 81.140%. This is some of the best dressage I think we have seen at an Olympics, which the scores have reflected.
Again, Canada could not compete as a team because of Daniel Marcus’s elimination, but Ashley Holzer had a lovely round on Breaking Dawn and scored a 71.849%, which has qualified her for the Special. Unfortunately her team member Jacqui Brooks on D’Niro did not qualify.
Four riders competed in helmets today: Ashley Holzer for Canada, Adrienne Lyle the American individual, Goncalo Carvalho of Portugal, and Charlotte Dujardin of Great Britain.
Here are the qualified teams, plus average scores:
Here is how the top 30 individuals scored:
The Q stands for qualified.
That is all for Olympic dressage until the 7th, but show jumping starts tomorrow and we’ll be back then for more coverage on that front. Stay tuned to hear how the American team and all others fared after day one of competition.
Go dressage, go Olympics, go Stephen Colbert piaffing!
As the rest of the EN team is holed up nursing “a gigantic three-day hangover,” to quote Kate, Liz Fletcher has stepped up to the plate with this recap of today’s happenings in Greenwich Park. Thanks, Liz!
From Liz:
Hello, Eventing Nation! I hope you’re not too Olympics-ed out. This morning concluded the first round of the Grand Prix. Twenty-five riders competed today, and 25 riders will compete tomorrow.
Two riders chose to ride the Olympics with helmets: Emma Kanerva on Spirit from Finland, and Jacquie Brooks on D’Niro from Canada. This is the first time anyone has ridden with a helmet in a dressage competition in the Olympics.
Sadly, David Marcus and Capital were eliminated and so the Canadians cannot compete as a team. Marcus said that Capital was spooked by the TV cameras and the audience shifting in their seats from the torrential downpour over Greenwich Park. There are no dropped scores in dressage and three riders are needed to compete as a team.
Anky Van Grunsven rode this morning on Salinero. This is her 7th and the horse’s 3rd Olympic games. Salinero is 18 years old, and is a gorgeous black stallion. Anky is trying for her 4th consecutive Olympic gold in the same event. Salinero tried so hard today but I thought showed his age a bit with some tightness in his hind legs. Anky was very happy after their performance, giving the black stallion a big hug after they finished. The judges also rewarded them for their very accurate test with a 73.343%. They finished in 5th place after day one.
Rafalca was the only U.S. horse to compete today. The sweet mare looked like she tried her heart out for her rider, Jan Ebeling. Jan looked like he knew exactly how much he could ask of her for her to respond without becoming overwhelmed. They did not post the best score of the day, but I think they should be very proud of all they have accomplished together. They looked like a true team. They had an excellent halt and rein back, something Jan said he had been working on. The rest of the American team, as well as the American Individual rider, Adrienne Lyle will ride tomorrow. Rafalca and Ebeling scored a 70.243% putting them in 13th after day one of competition.
Great Britain is attempting to win its first medal in dressage. In just a few years, GB has had an overhaul of its dressage program and really re-made themselves into a team to be reckoned with. They proved this again today with Carl Hester going to the top of the leader board on Uthopia with a 77.720%. Laura Bechtolsheimer also competed today on Mistrel Hojris, a huge chestnut gelding with four white stockings. They make a lovely picture in the ring, and have lots of power. She was extremely pleased when she finished to the test and was rewarded with a 76.839%. Tomorrow, Charlotte Dujardin will compete on Valegro, a horse with whom she scored a 90.65% at Hartpury College in July.
The youngest rider is Spain’s Morgan Barbancon Mestres, 19, who is a student of Anky’s and is riding a horse of Anky’s, Painted Black. They had a couple of small mistakes during the transitions, but nothing that more time together won’t help. She looked absolutely thrilled after she finished, lying on her horse’s neck giving him a huge hug and lots of pats. At 19, she is one to watch for the future. They scored a fabulous 72.751%, putting them in 6th place.
On the other end of the spectrum, 71-year-old Hiroshi Hoketsu also competed this morning on his horse Whisper. A fact I did not know about Hiroshi is that he was educated at Duke University, right down the street from where I live in North Carolina. Hiroshi had a great showing this morning with Whisper and scored 68.739%. This is the part of horses that I absolutely adore: You can ride your entire life and still be successful at the top levels as you get older.
The Danes also had a great showing today and had two riders that posted scores in the top ten. So far, Great Britain is miles ahead with their riders one-two, but it looks like the Danes are in a great position for Silver. But you never know with horses, so there can certainly be an upset or two after tomorrow. Even though the Germans also had two riders in the top 10, only one was riding for the team: Anabel Balkenhol is riding as an Individual for Germany. The same is true for the Netherlands. Anky is riding for the team, but Patrick van der Meer is an Individual.
Here are the top 15 horse and rider pairs after day one:
Here are the ride times for Day 2:
Remember, these times are in Greenwich Mean Time, so if you are on the East Coast, subtract five hours from the ride time and you will have the competition in EST.
In case you missed this morning’s coverage, you can watch the replay here.
One discipline down, two to go! Are you feeling the dressage spirit? (Stephen Colbert is feeling the dressage spirit.)
Olympic dressage officially kicked off today with a jog of horse and rider before the ground jury. All the horses passed inspection, although we can’t say the same for rider outfits. Before reading further, please check out this photo gallery from Dressage-News.com–did you have a look?–and now join me in my freak-out: Edward Gal! Who let you out of the Olympic Village dressed like that?!? Orange trousers! Red tie! Nooooo!!!!!
Edward, they’re coming for you.
OK, now that we’ve got that out of our system…
Team Grand Prix dressage begins tomorrow (Thursday) at 11 a.m. through 3:30 p.m. local time (that’s 6 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. ET). This is the order of go.
Update: Both the Grand Prix and the Special count for the team medal. Then the top 18 move on to the freestyle to decide the individual medals. Team medals will be decided by the combined scores of the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special. The top 18 pairs will move on to the freestyle final to determine the individual champion.
Ten teams and 20 individuals will be representing their countries. The U.S. has drawn sixth in the order of go. If you need a refresher course on U.S. team members replete with video and fun facts, click here. If you need a refresher on how to watch it, although you’re probably a pro by now, and who to turn to for the best coverage, click here.
In the meantime…
Dressage #1! Dressage #1! (Yeah, yeah… of course eventing is #1. But let’s just play along with them for a couple days.)
40.6: # of penalties earned by Michael Jung over the course of the event; also, his dressage score
33: % of competitors who were female (there were 49 men and 25 women)
30: # of years Michael Jung has been living on this earth
28: # of obstacles on cross-country course
25: # of competitors allowed to move on from team to individual show jumping round
22: # of “o”s in a Tweet from Zara Phillip’s husband, England rugby player Mike Tindall, when he learned that Britain had won team silver (“Woooooooooooooooooooooo”)
21: # of letters in the longest horse name (Appolo WD Wendi Kurt Hoev, ridden by Italy’s Stefano Brecciaroli)
21: # of countries represented
20: age of youngest competitor (Nina Ligon of Thailand)
19: age of oldest competing horse (Lenamore, ridden by Caroline Powell of NZ)
15: # of riders disqualified on cross-country (one for having three refusals, three for fall of horse, 11 for fall of rider)
14: # of mares competed
13: # of Irish Sport Horses competed
12.4: average age of horses competed
12: # of team medals won by the U.S. since 1912 (5 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze)
11: # of team medals won by Germany since 1912 (5 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze)
10:03: optimum time for XC
10: # of minutes in dressage rain delay that seriously ticked off Andrew Nicholson
9: # of competitors over the age 50 (Belgium’s Carl Bouckaert was the eldest at age 58)
9: # of competitors who went double-clear cross-country
7: the U.S.’s final team placing
7: # of royals in attendance as spectators (William, Kate, Harry, Camilla, Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice and Princess Anne)
6’5″: height of the tallest competitor, William Fox-Pitt
6: # of horses withdrawn at or before the Sunday jog
5’1″: height of the shortest competitor, Caroline Powell
3.54: # of miles on XC course
3: # of competing horses sired by Heraldik xx, Sam’s grandsire (FRH Butts Abraxxas, ridden by Germany’s Ingrid Klimke; Butts Leon, ridden by Thailand’s Nina Ligon; and Happy Times, ridden by Sam Griffiths of Australia)
2: # of riders who wore helmets in dressage
2: # of horses in top 10 with the same sire (Zara Phillip’s High Kingdom and Aoife Clark’s Master Crusoe, by by Master Imp)
2: # of rails separating the top 12 horses heading into show jumping day
2: # of gold medals won by Michael Jung
1.5: length of Mary King’s hind XC studs, in inches
1: # of competitors with awesome mustaches (Russia’s Andrei Korshunov)
Good morning Eventing Nation! By the time you read this, show jumping will be underway. Here are a few links to catch you up on what you missed while you were sleeping.
Boyd and Silva were thrilled with Otis’ cross-country performance. “He is still a young horse and he tried his heart out for Boyd today!” [Boyd’s blog] Update: Otis is withdrawn before show jumping. [EN]
Dr. David Marlin penned a fascinating article about glycogen stores and why the Greenwich cross-country course likely took more out of the horses that tackled it than a normal Olympic cross-country course. [Discover Horses]
Q: In the event that Ingrid Klimke and Sara Algotsson Ostholt are still tied for the lead at the end of show jumping tomorrow, who wins? A: Sara, as she was closest to the optimum time on XC. [Eventing NZ]
The USEA gives a wrap-up of the cross-country and sounds optimistic about the opportunity to make up for lost ground in show jumping. “The current standings are so close that it will be down to the top four making mistakes to leave the door open for the Americans to return some clear rounds in the stadium tomorrow for a change of fortunes.” [US Eventing]
Run-outs, stops, thrills, spills…The Chronicle gives a rundown of “what happened where” on the cross-country course. [COTH]
The USEF recaps Olympic cross-country, with comments from the U.S. riders. [USEF Network]
Leave the song that best suits your horse’s personality as a comment on the KPP blog for a chance to win a Theodore O’Connor Breyer, autographed by David and Karen O’Connor.
Kentucky Performance Products sponsored event rider Megan Lynn explains the idea behind the contest in her latest blog entry:
Hey, I hope everybody is doing well and I also hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was fantastic. I was able to give the ponies the weekend off and spend time with family and friends at the lake.
I thought this week would be a great time to get some reader participation and I’m hopeful that I get some interesting feedback from you all.
One of the things that I love most about my horses is that they all have strikingly different personalities. For example, the love of my life is a handsome gray Thoroughbred named I’ve Got the Rhythm. He could best be described as the preppy, all-American, over-achieving stud—no pun intended. He knew he was the boss of the field and had no problem letting everyone who came into his vicinity know it also. Wherever Rhythm went, he thought he owned the place.
Hoosier Daddy could best be described as the extremely buff jock who, while excelling on the playing field, also kept up a 4.0 in the classroom.
You may be asking yourself, What does Megan’s description of her horses’ personalities have to do with reader participation? The answer is simple (and maybe a little strange), but I have a feeling that I’m not alone in my strangeness. What I do is pick out songs for my horses that happen to describe their particular characteristics. Rhythm’s songs are “Run Me in the Dirt,” by Joseph Flythe and “Shake up the World” by Stevie Butler.
Hoosier’s song is “The Fighter,” by Gym Class Heroes. Hoosier has had several issues he’s had to overcome the last few months, but no matter the issues he always tries his hardest and comes back fighting. I finally found a song that fits him!
I’m eager to find out if other people out there do the same as me, and if you all haven’t done this before I would love to hear what song you would choose as a soundtrack for your horse.
Until next week, safe rides.
Megan
The contest’s gold medal winner will be selected on August 13. Go here to enter today!
There are exactly three days, 14 hours, 10 minutes and 13 seconds between this instant and the beginning of the Olympic Games. By the time you read this, the Games will be even nearer! Keep yourself entertained while annoying the crap out of everyone around you with this online Olympic countdown.
Here’s your latest news, the majority of which is of the Olympic variety, yay:
Strange but true Olympic trivia: “Horse long jump” is among the extinctions listed in Time‘s “9 Really Strange Sports That Are No Longer in the Olympics.” The event only lasted one go-round, the Paris Games of 1900. The winning leap of 6.10 meters was taken by Belgium’s Constant vs Langendonck riding the horse Extra Dry–a length that pales in comparison to the world record for long jump by a human: 8.95 meters. Other discarded sports on the list include distance plunging, live pigeon shooting, tug-of-war, rope climb, solo synchronized swimming, croquet, roque, and dueling pistols.
Tiana Coudray used to be a successful competitive Irish dancer. No kidding. What other dark secrets fun facts could be lurking in Tiana’s past? Check out this article on the soon-to-be-Olympian from her local paper, the Ventura County Star.
Last-minute South African Olympic eventing shake-up: South Africa has one Olympic eventing spot, and it’s still up in the air. After Paul Hart was selected to represent South Africa in Olympic Eventing, an appeal was filed by Alexander Peternell on the grounds that he was more qualified for the position as he is ranked significantly higher on the FEI rider rankings. The world’s top court for sporting disputes, the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, over-ruled South Africa’s selection of Hart, leaving South Africa to revisit its selection and nomination procedures just days before the Games begin. [Horse Talk NZ]
Get your Olympics here: The USEF’s “Live from London” webpage is up and running, featuring interviews with riders and U.S. team personnel.
Intrigue! Inspiration! Ambition! NBC is already working on its equestrian Olympic story lines. Do some pregame reading here.
Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum will be taking the place of Philipp Weishaupt on the German Olympic show jumping team. Phillip’s horse contracted an infection and won’t be fit to travel. Meredith will be riding Bella Donna 66, a 9-year-old Holsteiner mare with whom she has been competing for the past two years. [COTH]
Top of the Tweets: From our friends at SmartPak: “@SmartPakEquine is bringing you non-stop coverage: blogs, photos, videos, tweets, Facebook updates & even a nightly broadcast on the @USEFNetwork!” Find out how to follow SmartPak’s Olympic coverage at the SmartPak Blog.
That’s one way to get people out to the races: Minnesota’s Canterbury Park hosted an “Extreme Race Day” on Saturday featuring camel races, ostrich races and a track announcer, Paul Allen, randomly taking hits of helium while calling the races. Thank you, Deadspin, for bringing this event to our attention. Check out the complete footage, including an ostrich race helmet cam, over at Horse Nation.
Best of the Blogs: Valerie Vizcarrondo is “lovin’ Loch Moy,” where she recently introduced her fresh-off-the-boat Irish import Fernhill Whatever to the wonderful world of American eventing. [Blue Clover Eventing] And… Lauren Lambert blogs about eventing in the rain. [PRO]
It was eventers vs. show jumpers, vs. the mechanical bull at a charity fundraiser at Hickstead. The eventers won, of course. The top bull-riding honor went to Georgie Spence, who stuck tight for an impressive 59 seconds. [Horse & Hound]
The highs in this sport are high, and the lows are gut-wrenchingly low. After experiencing a little bit of both this weekend, Area VI 2* rider Teresa Harcourt came out the other side with a gold medal and an experience she’ll never forget.
From Teresa:
The Pendulum Effect
Well, Eventing Nation…
As I sit on the back patio of a picturesque country house right down the road from the Kentucky Horse Park, I can’t help but reminisce about the events that have taken place in the last 10 days that my team and I have been in the Bluegrass State. There have been many ups and downs on this trip. As I have been told before, eventing is the sport of the highest highs and the lowest lows. I have experienced both in the last 24 hours.
Show jumping day started early this morning with jogs at 7 a.m. All of Area VI horses, Area VII’s Lizzie Snow and Coal Creek alongside Area IX’s Kendyl Tracy’s Ever So Lucky passed the horse inspection. Sarah and I proceeded to get ready for show jumping and finally got to walk the course. It was a beautifully designed course that walked very forward. The course was inviting although elaborately decorated. Skip and I were first in the ring. Unfortunately, my day did not go as planned.
Skip jumped the first fence poorly and continued doing so. He ended up shutting down on me at fence 5, the liverpool, and we were eliminated. As I trotted out of the Rolex stadium, I couldn’t help but feel the tears welling in my eyes. I gave Skip a pat and hopped off only to start letting all of my tears go. Lizzie Snow and Coal Creek jumped a wonderful double clear round! Kendyl Tracy with Ever So Lucky had one rail, while Sarah Braun and the lovely Perfect Intentions had two rails. Our team remained in FIRST!!!
Now this is where the pendulum swings: Five minutes after my flood of tears I am being given a gold medal and galloping around the arena next to my teammates. I turned to my mom and said, “I don’t really know what to think of this.” It was hard to be sad when you have a gold medal hanging around our neck but it was hard to forget about the circumstances. I keep telling myself I contributed to that team and I did have a great weekend up to that show jump round.
As I said before, everyone who is involved with this sport knows that the highest highs will make you ecstatic and the lowest lows will put you in quite possibly the biggest hole you will ever be in. However, the weekend is over and it is time to crawl out of the hole and jump down from cloud 9 that I was on while standing on the podium. I have a horse at the end of the weekend, great teammates, wonderful family, coaches and overall supporters.
The CCI* combined team from Area VI and Area VII finished 8th after the weekend. Erin Murphy and Myster E pulled three unfortunate rails to finish the weekend. Jordyn Horowitz on Nicodemus flew around the course and incurred two rails. The final one to go into the Rolex stadium was Gigi Herron on Beacon Hill. Gigi had no jump penalties and only three time penalties. All of these girls left Lexington with smiles on their faces and positive attitudes.
Thank you to Dayna Lynd-Pugh, Shannon Lilley and Laura Powell for your endless dedication to all of the Young Riders. Y’all make this possible and we could not be more thankful for everything you have done for us to get us to Lexington. A personal thank you to Jackie Mcrae for making the trek to Lexington to watch Skip and I. Jackie, you have been a role model for me and I could not thank you enough. Our sponsors were incredible! Thank you to Fleeceworks, Toklat, Western Saddlery, Ulcergard and Ride On Video. Thank you to Tex Sutton, Lightstar Transportation, Sara Shade-Kleintop, Dr. Emily Sandler, Dr. Laura Werner and Eric Parsons. Finally, thank you to all the parents for your devotion to us and our dreams.
Like many of you, I enthusiastically kept up with the weekend’s NAJYRC competition. Every rider who set foot in the arena deserves our respect and admiration–years of hard work and dedication went into each and every performance; just getting to the Championships is a huge accomplishment. To every NAJYRC rider, groom, trainer, parent and supporter, here’s sending you a great big Eventing Nation round of applause.
A link to the Chronicle‘s NAJYRC eventing roundup. [COTH] Get your NAJYRC show jumping replays here. [USEF Network] And the USEA has got your coverage here. [US Eventing]
On the other side of the pond, Ireland’s Under-16 pony eventing team reigned victorious at the European Championships in Fontainebleau, France. Great Britain took silver and the Netherlands took bronze. [Horsetalk NZ] Horse & Hound has got your eventing pony champ videos. [H&H]
Elsewhere in Eventing Nation…
At Hunter Oakes H.T., Jamie March aboard Spendid Bandit and Yvonne Ocrant on ‘Sall About Me took blue ribbons in the Open Prelim and Prelim Rider divisions respectively. [Scores]
At Fitch’s Corner H.T., Buck Davidson swept the top four placings in Open Prelim, Paige Garson riding Combalache won blue in the Area I Prelim Championships, and Adrian Jones on Irish Odyssey won Prelim Rider. [Scores]
At age 54, Karen O’Connnor is America’s “senior-most” Olympian. The TeamUSA.org article quotes Karen as saying, “How did that happen… I’m like a senior citizen. What’s that?” A “senior citizen” who can ride ’em under the table, is what that is. Go Karen. [Team USA]
Boyd’s road to the Olympics has been a rocky one, and one that continues to inspire people around the world. Check out this Yahoo Olympic Athlete Spotlight, via Boyd’s Blog [Boyd and Silva Martin]
Australian eventer Shane Rose, who withdrew his horse Taurus from Olympic contention due to a soft-tissue injury yesterday,seems to have a level head about the situation. “In our sport we’re probably more used to disappointment than a lot of other sports simply by the nature of having another animal involved,” he said. “We get used to it, unfortunately, and I guess that’s what makes the good times more rewarding.” Thanks to Kate for the tip. [Australian Olympic Team]
Some people have office betting pools; we have, uh, tack room betting pools. Enter Bit of Britain’s Fantasy Finals contest for a chance to win thousands of dollars worth of prizes. Pick the top three finishers in one Olympic equestrian sport for the “Trifecta” prize, or the top three finishers in all three Olympic equestrian sports for the “Superfecta” prize. Complete contest rules and entry forms are available online. [Bit of Britain]
Have you heard of Cavalor Arti Base? It contains nutrients needed to maintain healthy joints, including MSM, glucosamine and condroitin sulfate, vitamin C, collagen and minerals. It’s ideal for maintaining strong bones and joints during the growing phase, for an older horses and as a preventative measure for performance horses. And… you can get it for only $61 TODAY ONLY from L.E.O. [Legacy Equestrian Outfitters]
Teresa Harcourt’s Area VI, VII and IX scramble team is in first place heading into 2* show jumping, which is underway at the Kentucky Horse Park. She recaps her team’s cross-country day.
From Teresa:
Yesterday was the day that myself as well as many other NAJYRC candidates have been thinking about for a very long time. The day started early with Queen Dayna checking out the course for reference, in order to decide which studs were necessary. When we first arrived in Kentucky, the footing was similar to concrete. Thankfully, our rain dances worked and the skies opened up a few times to actually produce a somewhat muddy situation.
Sarah was first out of the box at 8:09 a.m. She went out with all the advice Dayna had given her and rode accordingly. She produced a double clear round to move up to fifth place. Candy, Sarah’s mare, looked wonderful coming off the course and was still looking for more jumps to conquer. GOOD JOB!
I was the second to go for the Area VI, VII and IX scramble team. Although I might have had an ungodly look of seriousness on my face, I was still very excited to go out of the box on the course I had been dreaming about for a while. I think sometimes people’s seriousness gets mistaken for fear. However, Skip galloped around the course like a champion even though we picked up 10.4 time penalties, which bumped us down to 7th. I am so extremely happy with Skip and how the course rode though.
The third and fourth members of our scramble team had excellent rides. Lizzie Snow and Coal Creek galloped around like pros to add only 4.4 time penalties to their score. Kendyl Tracy and Ever So Lucky posted another double clear round for our team to secure us the first place spot for the day. It is such a great feeling to have accomplished the amount of things we have in the last few months. Cross-country day was somewhat surreal walking down to the box but it is a memory that will stick with me forever.
The CCI* course tossed up the standings! The course seemed to ask many tough questions that had some horses and riders scratching their heads. Unfortunately, it proved to be a rough day for the CCI* team. However, one thing I would like to say is that all of our girls came back to the barns leading their horses with smiles on their faces. Of course the disappointment is looming overhead but to walk back with their heads held high was a great thing to see. Things don’t always go our way but we live to ride another day.
Today is the final day and I can’t believe it is coming to an end. I told my Sarah (my teammate) earlier that I don’t want this to end. That means that I have to think about school, working, and just overall life situations–not nearly as much fun as living and breathing horses.
Between now and the Olympics, Liz Fletcher is going to be filling us in on everything we need to know to be an informed spectator. Earlier this week, she gave us the ins-and-outs of Olympic dressage; today, we get the scoop on show jumping.
From Liz:
To follow up with our Dressage 101, I’ll now tackle the Show Jumping 101.
How are medals determined in show-jumping?
Each horse and rider pair has to go through five rounds to determine who will win individual gold. Here’s the breakdown:
In the first round, all riders compete. The best 60 individual riders (including those tied for 60th place) and all team riders that are ranked lower than 60th progress to the second round. The second round is the first ranked team competition round and the second individual qualifier. The best 45 riders in this round (again including those who are tied at 45th) progress to the third (individual) round. The top eight teams, including those tied for 8th, based on the scores from the second round (first team round) only move on to the second team round. The team event medals in the third round (second team round) and is ranked based on the combined scores of round two and round three (first and second team rounds). So now, you’re done with the team events. But there are still individual medals to win. In the third round for individuals, the best 45 riders based on the combined scores of rounds one and two progress to the third round. According to the Olympic website, a maximum of three riders from each country can progress to the fourth round for the individual medal. So if all four of the U.S. riders make it through the 3rd round and are in the top 35, one of them has to sit out. How that is decided, I don’t know.
Now we’re in the fourth round, which is also called the individual final round A. The best 20 riders in round four progress to the fifth round (individual final round B), and their scores are based on round four’s results only. Finally, the individual medals are awarded based on the combined scores of the fourth round and fifth round. If there is a tie at the end of the fifth round, there is a jump off.
Wow, clear as mud. So how did the U.S. pick its team?
In order to be considered for the Olympics, horse and rider pairs had to have competed at two out of four observation events. The events were:
The Del Mar National Horse Show – Del Mar, California May 1-6, 2012
Kentucky Spring Horse Show – Lexington, Kentucky May 8-13, 2012
The Devon Horse Show – Devon, Pennsylvania May 29-June 2, 2012
Spruce Meadows – Calgary, Alberta Canada June 13-17, 2012
After the completion of Spruce Meadows, the U.S. Olympic Show Jumping team was picked by the selectors. The team is:
Rich Fellers and Mollie and Harry Chapman’s Flexible
Beezie Madden and Coral Reef Ranch’s Coral Reef Via Volo
Reed Kessler on her own Cylana
McLain Ward and Grant Road Partners’ Antares F
Reserve: Charlie Jayne and Pony Lane Farm’s Chill RZ
Who?
Here’s a profile of each horse-rider combo:
Fellers and Flexible, a 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse Stallion, have dominated the horsey news lately, being the first American pair to win the Rolex FEI World Cup in 25 years. They competed in the Netherlands in April, then flew home and won both observation trials in Del Mar, California, in May. Then, in June, they competed at Spruce Meadows and won the USEF Olympic observation events at the Spruce Meadows Continental tournament, the Husky Energy Classic and the CN Performance CSI-W. Intense, right? You’d think that this horse has an army to take care of him, but in a recent interview with Fellers, he told TheHorse.com that, basically, the horse is just a horse. They don’t have a massage therapist, or an acupuncturist, and they see the vet for routine shots and nothing more. As they say: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
By the way, if you’ve never seen this horse jump, you’ve got to watch him. Here he is in the Netherlands winning the World Cup:
Making a great comeback is McLain Ward on Antares F, a 12-year-old Baden-Wurttemberg Gelding. Earlier this year, Ward broke his kneecap rendering him unable to ride for five months, and in May he retired his superstar mare Sapphire. Antares F was his ride for the Pan Am games in 2011, but together they still had a lot to prove at the selection trials. But prove they did. Just weeks back in the saddle after his broken knee healed, Ward won the $100,000 Wells Fargo Grand Prix of Devon and claimed second in the $50,000 Idle Dice Stakes. At Spruce Meadows, Ward and Antares had two four-fault rounds in the observation events, which, in the grand scheme of things, Ward thinks is not that big of a deal. “I think you have to look at: ‘In the toughest situation, what’s a bad day?’” he said during an interview with the Chronicle of the Horse. “And if a bad day is four faults, that’s a good thing. Every horse can win a class, but if their bad day is five down, that’s not great.”
Beezie Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo, a 14-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare, are second on the list, which is very impressive, considering the horse missed out most of the Florida winter circuit with an injured leg. However, Via competed at the Pan Am Games in 2011 with Madden and came home with a team gold and an individual silver medal. Because Via and Madden were already on the long list, Beezie and her husband John decided to lightly campaign the mare to save her for the selection events and then hopefully the Olympics. At Devon in May, she had two clear rounds but she was Beezie’s third mount and was ineligible for placings. At Spruce Meadows she was second in the Husky Energy Cup, earning the number two spot for the Olympics. The mare is small, only around 15.3 hands, but she’s powerful and quick. Madden also says that “the more she goes in the ring, the better she gets.” Perfect for five rounds of show jumping in the Olympics.
Half the age of the next youngest team member, 36-year-old McLain Ward, Reed Kessler just turned 18 in early July. But being young hasn’t stopped her from showing the world what she’s got. Together with mare Cylana, a 10-year-old Belgian Warmblood, Kessler came on strong. Kessler and Cylana finished second in the $32,000 Hagyard Classic CSI 2* at the Kentucky Spring Classic. And then at Spruce Meadows, she and Cylana had two out of four rounds clear and finished first in the U.S. Selection Trials. She also piloted her other horse, Mika, to a 7th place ranking on the 2012 U.S. Olympics Long List. Even though she may be young, Kessler has been competing internationally since 2009 and is ready for London 2012.
In reserve is Charlie Jayne and Chill RZ, a 9-year-old Zangersheide stallion. Jayne piloted Chill RZ to an impressive win at Devon in the $50,000 Idle Dice Stakes. Originally, Jayne was ranked 35th on the Olympic long list, but with this performance and the performances at Spruce Meadows, his hard work was rewarded with being named the alternate. Chill RZ had an injury back in March that forced him to miss the earlier observation events which is how he ended up so low on the list. But Jayne proved that his horse has what it takes by going out and jumping clear rounds when they counted most.
Watch Charlie Jayne and Chill RZ win the Idle Dice Stakes:
And now you’re all up to date on the American Show Jumping Team. Again, no medaling predictions, but I sure have high hopes, especially for Flexible, arguably the best show jumper in the world at the moment.
When!
Here is the show jumping schedule:
Sat Aug 4 – First Qualifier 10:30 am-2:15 pm (local time)
Sun Aug 5 – Second Qualifier 11:00 am-2:30 pm
Tuesday Aug. 6 – Third Qualifier + Team Medals 2:00 pm-5:30 pm
Wed August 8 – Individual Jumping Finals Round A 12:00 pm, Round B 2:45-4:35 pm + Individual Medals
Go here for a complete broadcast schedule of equestrian events.
Kate Hicks and Erin Sylvester are on The Road to Burghley, and it’s an expensive road indeed. In support of their journey, a fundraising jump derby was held yesterday at Plantation Field. Helene Gallagher was on site taking photos, which she was kind enough to share with Eventing Nation. Thank you, Helene!
A second fundraiser will be held tonight, Wednesday, July 18. “An Evening at Northbrook” features a silent auction, dinner, and guest speaker Jimmy Wofford. Tickets are still available. For more information visit www.lilybridgeeventing.com or contact Erin Sylvester at [email protected] or Kate Dickey-Hicks at [email protected]. – Wylie
From Helene:
Hundreds of riders came together on Tuesday at Plantation Field in Unionville, PA, for a Derby Cross Fundraiser to support 4-star event riders Kate Hicks and Erin Sylvester in their quest to compete at this year’s Burghley Horse Trials in England. The ladies were all smiles at the end of a successful day, which featured riders of all ages and abilities competing in elementary through preliminary level courses.
Unfortunately Jennie Brannigan had another stroke of bad luck in the transportation department and her truck broke down right in the middle of the busy entrance as riders and trailers were arriving for the day. (Yet you can see that even in the midst of an automotive crisis the woman is still smiling… always a positive role model for the younger equestrian set!)
Plantation’s own Denis Glaccum comes to the rescue of Team Brannigan and tows the truck and trailer out of the way to let the pent-up masses in.
Always eager to support the local equestrian community, Denis and Bambi Glaccum were pleased to donate the use of their spectacular facility for this event.
Jane Sleeper on her mount Go Gizmo and Emily Henderson riding Sampson Denali.
Shielding her eyes from the sun, Amelia Bayer studies the prelim course with her horse Handsome Devil.
With Tuesday’s heat index close to 100 degrees, splashing through the water was definitely the most refreshing part of the course.
Bryce Weber concentrates on piloting Mr. Knibbles through the prelim course.
Alex Argentieri and his horse Phoenix get started on the course.
Between now and the Olympics, Liz Fletcher is going to be filling us in on everything we need to know to be an informed spectator. She kicks off her series today with a debriefing on dressage–the scoring, the schedule and the U.S. stats.
From Liz:
If you follow EN, you’re probably already up-to-speed on America’s Olympic eventing prospects. But what about our other U.S. squads?
Today let’s talk dressage.
First, an explanation of how the competition is scored. Just like eventing and show-jumping, dressage has two sets of medals up for grabs: individual and team. All riders on the team can compete as a team and as individuals, and countries that could not field a team compete just as individuals. The U.S. this year is fielding a full team (three horse and rider pairs) and one individual, with one reserve.
There are three tests to be performed: the Grand Prix, the Grand Prix Special, and the Grand Prix Freestyle (that’s the cool one with music). Everyone competes in the Grand Prix. It serves as the team event and the team with the highest combined scores wins team gold. The top 30 individuals in Grand Prix move on to the Special. Top 15 riders after the Special move on to the Freestyle, and then individuals medal from there.
So who is on the U.S. dressage team? I’ll be highlighting some of their accomplishments and how they prepared for the 2012 Olympics. The team was picked after the selection trials at the USEF Dressage Festival of Champions in Gladstone, N.J. in June and consists of:
Jan Ebeling (Moorpark, Calif.) on Amy Ebeling, Beth Meyers, and Ann Romney’s Rafalca
Tina Konyot (Palm City, Fla.) on her own and John Byrialsen’s Calecto V
Steffen Peters (San Diego, Calif.) on Four Winds Farm’s Ravel
Adrienne Lyle (Ketchum, Idaho) on Peggy Thomas’ Wizard (Individual)
Heather Blitz (Wellington, Fla.) on her own Paragon (Reserve)
Rafalca might be the most well known by the masses simply because of her owners: Ann and presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Rafalca has garnered significant attention outside the horse world on Twitter (@rafalcaromney) stating that she “dances for Mitt Romney so you don’t have to” as well as being featured on TheColbert Report and numerous news and opinion pieces in different papers (see HN’s compilation here for a sampling). Despite spending so much of her time on her Twitter account, Rafalca is very accomplished with her rider, Jan Ebeling. Rafalca has been in Ebeling’s stable since 2006 and they have steadily been working their way up the ranks since that time. At the U.S. Olympic Trials in Gladstone, Rafalca and Ebeling turned in their best Grand Prix ever, posting a 75.255%, securing the 3rd place spot over the two weekends of the trials. As Ebeling stated in an interview with the Chronicle of the Horse, he and Rafalca just get each other. “At this point, Rafalca and I know each other so well. We’re like an old married couple, and I know where to go with her and how far to go, and I know I can depend on her. She knows she can depend on me too.” Last Wednesday night, Ebeling reported from England via Twitter that Rafalca was “still a bit tired, [and] she feels loose and soft.”
Watch Ebeling and Rafalca score a 75.225% at USEF Festival of Champions:
Tina Konyot, a Florida-based dressage rider, is competing on Calecto V, with whom she came in second at the Olympic Trials. Cool factoid about Konyot is that she hails from a prestigious circus family. Both her grandfather and her father were extremely accomplished equestrians, both horse trainers, so it comes as no surprise that Konyot is as talented as she is. Konyot has stressed the importance of having a horse that is both physically and mentally fit, explaining that she spends a lot of time doing cross training, like going on hacks and trail rides, to keep her horse fresh. In the USDF’s Olympic blog she mentioned that she prefers to ride bareback with a hackamore when she and Calecto go on their afternoon walks. This dedication to doing what’s best for her horse has paid off: In January, she and Calecto V won the Grand Prix Freestyle at the Gold Coast Opener, and at the WEF Dressage Classic they won the Special and placed second in the Grand Prix test. They also achieved their personal best at the Festival of Champions in Gladstone in July, earning them a spot on the team.
Watch Konyot and Calecto V score their personal best, an 80.149% at the Olympic Trials:
Next up, dressage team superstars Steffen Peters and Ravel. This horse has had incredible success since 2009, and Peters is an absolute master. Why didn’t you see Ravel at the Olympic Selection trials at Gladstone? Because he was given a bye. Yes, he’s that good. In 2009, Ravel won 10 out of 11 FEI classes he was entered in which helped earn him the honor of being USEF Horse of the Year. They also competed together at the WEGs in 2010 and earned an individual bronze for the Grand Prix Special and Freestyle tests. This January, Steffen Peters and Ravel broke a competition record with their Grand Prix test score of 81.383% at the World Dressage Masters in Palm Beach. Ravel and Peters also competed at the 2008 Olympics in Hong Kong and came in 4th by the barest of margins. Taking into consideration that the 2008 Olympics was the first time the horse had competed outside of the U.S., I think we can expect great things from this pair in London.
Watch Steffen Peters and Ravel at the World Dressage Masters:
Adrienne Lyle and Wizard together are a strong individual pair for the U.S. In 2011, Lyle and Wizard won both the Grand Prix Test and Grand Prix Freestyle at Devon, and their hard work and good scores continued into 2012. Earlier this year they won the CDI***** at West Palm Beach on a score of 73.012%, and at the World Dressage Masters in Florida, Lyle and Wizard took top honors in the Special and finished in 4th in the Freestyle. In the Olympic Grand Prix Special at the U.S. Selection trials, Lyle and Wizard earned a 74.889%. They finished the trials in 4th place, just edging out Todd Flettrich and Otto. Lyle and Wizard are competing for the U.S. as individuals.
Watch Adrienne Lyle and Wizard win the Grand Prix Special at the World Dressage Masters:
And finally, we come to our reserve pair, Heather Blitz and Paragon. While only in London this year as a backup, I have a good feeling about this horse and rider team. Blitz’s love for the 18-hand horse is very obvious. She bred him herself did not breed him herself, was there the day he was born and has done all of his training. Paragon and Blitz already have a bit of international experience, as they were members of the gold-winning team at the Pan Am Games in 2011. So far this year, the pair has finished second in both the Grand Prix CDI*** and Grand Prix Special CDI**** at the World Dressage Masters in Palm Beach. The horse is in an excellent position for the future with such a strong foundation, and he’s only 9 this year. The only place for him to go is up!
Watch Heather Blitz and Paragon win at the Global Dressage Festival:
So there you have it: the U.S. Olympic dressage team. I won’t be offering any medal predictions, but I can say that I’m feeling very optimistic about the United State’s chances! Go Team USA!
Dressage Schedule:
Thursday Aug 2 – Team Dressage Grand Prix Day 1 11:00 am-3:30 pm (local time)
Friday Aug 3 – Team Dressage Grand Prix Day 2 11:00 am-3:30 pm
Tuesday Aug. 7 – Grand Prix Special + Team Medals 10:00 am-4:15 pm
TOP NEWS STORY: The FEI has mandated that all horses participating in the cross-country portion of the 2012 Olympic eventing competition at Greenwich Park must be fitted with appropriate attire, including flippers, snorkels and inflatable swim rings.
Eh, not really. In fact, The Telegraph is reporting that all systems are go despite the rain that drowned Badminton and resulted in waterlogged Gatcombe’s cancellation. Jeremy Edwards, equestrian venue manager for Locog, told the paper he was “particularly thrilled with the way the park drains” after three years of preparation from the Sports Turf Research Institute. If worse comes to worst, the competition schedule allows for eventing to be pushed back a day, and organizers note that spectators can watch on screens from the arena or move around the cross-country course wholly on tarmac if conditions are soggy. [The Telegraph]
As for Gatcombe, British Eventing’s Chief Executive Mike Etherington Smith says, “We will do all we can with regard to re-scheduling the British Championships later in the year at alternative venues and will keep members updated as and when we have plans in place.” [British Eventing]
Recalculating route: With Gatcombe off the table, Sinead Halpin is struggling to reformulate a plan for herself and her horse. She talks to the Star Ledger about her disappointment in not making the team, the selectors’ concerns, and the frustrations of not knowing what to do next. “I’m new at this,” she says, “and I’m trying to figure out how to get as much information as possible, based on my horse’s welfare, whether to stay on the road to the Olympics or make alternate plans.” [NJ.com]
U.S. Olympic Team Trivia: The USEF has compiled a roster with bios, videos and fascinating and/or fun facts about the horses and riders who will be representing the United States in London. For example, did you know that Mr. Medicott shares the same sire, the ISH stallion Cruising, as Rich Fellers’ showjumping ride Flexible? [USEF]
Young eventers in the news: They may not be Olympians, yet, but a team of teens headed to Stuart Horse Trials this weekend garnered some press from the Hunterdon County Democrat. The team is sponsored by Eastern States Dressage and Combined Training Association and includes Chef d’Equipe Patricia Lutfy and Team Coach Marcia Kulak. Have a great ride Christy, Jorgen, Alyssa, Jessica, Grace and Sofie! [NJ.com]
Happy Birthday Emily Beshear! Support Emily’s birthday wish to make it to the Blenheim this September. Somerset, Va.-based Brickland Eventing has announced a series of events throughout the summer to help raise the $30,000 needed to transport Emily and Quincy to England, including: a kids eventing camp (July 16-20), an adult eventing camp (July 25-28), two jumping derbies (July 29 and August 19), and a raffle (August 19). For more information on any of these events, visit the Brickland Eventing website.
Go Claire Go!: Paralyzed British event rider Claire Lomas, who recently completed the London Marathon in a bionic suit, will be the guest speaker at a lunch fundraising event at Blenheim on September 6. She has now set her sights on a new challenge of cycling from London to Paris on a specially constructed bicycle in aid of spinal research. [Horse Talk]
Phillip wants to thank the Academy: And also his horses, his owners, his team and his sponsors for their support as he prepares for his fifth Olympic Games. [Equifit]
Noted: The British foxhunting and eventing community lost one of its own in Jo Lomas, who succumbed to a severe chest injury likely incurred by a kick. [H&H]
Timewaster of the day: When the boss isn’t looking check out these humorous lists, including “Top 10 Ways to Get in Shape to Own a Horse,” “You Know You’re a Horseperson When…” and “Horse Terminology.” [Horse Forum]
Hot on Horse Nation: The latest installation of Intervention, “a series in which we identify horsepeople whose compulsive behaviors have brought them to a point of personal crisis.” [HN]
Best of the Blogs: Jennie Brannigan catches us up on her whirlwind life. [COTH]
Found on Facebook: From Rebecca Howard, “Having a cup of tea at our adorable cottage in Marlborough… Ponies are on way, will see them in a few hours”
You may have heard that there’s another Who Wants To Be A Blogger contest in the area. As a co-winner of the last EN Blogger Contest, this year’s panel of judges encouraged me to offer some advice to those considering throwing their hat in the ring this go-round. So here are some pearls of wisdom:
DO act like you’re excited about eventing. Automatic bonus points.
DON’T use bad grammar, misspelled words or abbreviations invented by teenagers (LOL, LMAO, IDK, etc.). Use smiley faces sparingly 🙂
DO give the impression that you know what you’re talking about. Casual namedropping of four-star riders, sentences that begin “This one time at Badminton,” etc. are all acceptable.
DON’T start sentences with “This one time at Badminton” if you haven’t actually been to Badminton.
DO realize that writing for EN is hard work. If burning the midnight oil to write N&N and fielding neurotic text messages from John isn’t your cup of tea, this might not be the gig for you.
DON’T be afraid to suck up to the chinchillas. They’re the ones who really run the show, and don’t you ever forget it. (They made me write that.)
DO stray from the beaten journalistic path. Ask yourself, “Would Horse Illustrated publish this story?” If the answer is “yes,” consider sending it to Horse Illustrated. They might actually pay you.
