Ingrid Klimke rides Weisse Duene during the CCI2* 7-Year-Old Dressage at the 2016 Mondial du Lion FEI World Breeding Eventing Championships for Young Horses. Photo by Libby Law Photography.
Who might we see Ingrid Klimke mounted on at the 2020 Olympics? The depth of this German superstar’s string is impressive, and she’s got an exciting one coming up the ranks in Weisse Duene.
The grey Holsteiner mare (Clarimo x Esprit V, by Romino) leads the 7-year-old Championships at the FEI World Breeding Eventing Championships at Le Lion d’Angers, France, on a dressage score of 36.9. She won her last two starts at the CIC2* level, at Varsseveld and Everswinkel, and we look forward to seeing how she tackles tomorrow’s big cross country test.
Great Britain’s Pippa Funnel and the Anglo gelding Billy Walk On (Billy Mexico x Shannon Line, by Golden Bash) also cut line in front of yesterday’s leaders, Austria’s Charlotte Dobretsberger and the Hannoverian mare Vally K (Valentino x Freia, by Freiherr).
There are two U.S. combinations as well as one American-owned horse in the 7-Year-Old Championships.
Tamie Smith with Fleeceworks Royal (Riverman x Marisol, by Corofino I), a 7-year-old Holsteiner mare owned by Judy McSwain, sit 30th heading into cross country tomorrow. They made the trip to France thanks to the Holekamp/Turner Young Event Horse Lion d’Angers Grant.
Tamie Smith walks the cross country at the 2016 Mondial du Lion FEI World Breeding Eventing Championships for Young Horses. Photo by Libby Law Photography.
Also representing the U.S. in the 7-Year-Old Championships is Robyn Fisher with Betwave (Linaro x Wavelength, by Wodan), a Holsteiner mare Robyn owns with her breeder Carol Singh. The pair finished dressage in 58th place.
One more U.S. connection: the stallion Glücksruf (Dramatiker x Gretel, by Opernball) is a German-bred Trakehner who, although ridden by Miriam Bray for Slovenia, is owned by an American, Tim Holekamp. They are 21st heading into cross country.
Team USA Support Crew sample the local drops at the 2016 Mondial du Lion FEI World Breeding Eventing Championships for Young Horses. Friday 21 October. Photo by Libby Law Photography.
Best of luck to all on cross country tomorrow! You can read Tamie’s comments about the cross country course in Wednesday’s report and check out the interactive course maps here.
In the 6-Year-Old Champions, yesterday’s leaders Kai Steffen-Meier and Painter’s Maxim, a Trakehner stallion (Phlox X Painter’s Moon, by Painter’s Row xx) bred by Graciela Bruch and owned by Welvert Stud, held fast to their overnight lead and will leave the box tomorrow on a score of 40.3.
Stay tuned for much more from Le Lion. Go Eventing!
Halt Cancer at X, the fundraising campaign created in 2012 in memory of The Event at Rebecca Farm founder Becky Broussard, had another successful year. An incredible sum of $120,000 was raised for Halt Cancer at X at the July event, $60,000 of which will be awarded in community grants to four organizations dedicated to the fight against cancer.
“We are honored to fund such a diverse pool of organizations that are working every day to halt cancer,” Sarah Broussard, daughter of Becky, said. “It’s exciting to see that the money from these grants is going to make a difference, both in our community and at a worldwide level.”
Sarah Broussard participates in the Halt Cancer at X Challenge at the 2016 event. Photo by Noah Clayton.
The 2016-2017 recipients:
First time recipient Save a Sister was awarded $24,000. The Save a Sister initiative is a collaboration among Kalispell Regional Healthcare, North Valley Hospital and the Flathead City-County Health Department. Founded in 2008, Save a Sister improves women’s access to screening mammography, educates the community, and promotes breast cancer awareness. The $24,000 grant will allow Save a Sister to establish a screening and support program for women at high-risk of developing breast cancer.
Cancer Support Community of Kalispell was awarded $21,000. Cancer Support Community of Kalispell provides a full range of support services for youth and adults affected by cancer. These services include healthy excursions, cooking/nutrition classes, education, professionally led support groups and more. Last year, the organization built the Halt Cancer at X Kitchen, which hosts cooking classes and provides a welcome space for those affected by cancer to seek support and learn about food and nutrition.
Photo by Bethanne Ray.
Cancer Support Community of Kalispell will use funds to expand the current services they offer. The organization will also use funds to begin implementing horse-healing workshops, family-oriented camping opportunities, and a weekend retreat for cancer survivors.
A third recipient, Flathead Cancer Aid Services, a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to cancer patients, was awarded two grants totaling $10,000. One grant will help fund daily living expenses for breast cancer patients. The other will provide financial assistance for healthy nutritional food and supplements to those affected by cancer.
Flathead Valley Cancer Chicks received a grant of $3,000 to help expand their annual, overnight local wellness retreat for cancer survivors. A portion of the funds will also be used for publicity outreach.
To date, Halt Cancer at X has contributed more than $325,000 to national cancer research and local support services for cancer.
Ian Stark accepts a Halt Cancer at X donation at the 2016 event. Photo by Noah Clayton.
For more information on the campaign, visit the website here.
How can we minimize risk factors in evening? What risk management initiatives need to implemented, on a global basis, to improve horse and rider safety? How can we facilitate improved communication about safety issues?
These are the most important questions facing our sport today, and the time for real answers is now — if not yesterday.
Chaired by David O’Connor, the new FEI Eventing Risk Management Steering Group had its first meeting on Wednesday at the FEI headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. The FEI released this synopsis of the group’s objectives and work accomplished at the initial summit:
The 19 October meeting established the framework for the group’s work, which includes investigating new ways to reduce horse falls, and identifying factors to decrease the number of serious injuries to athletes and horses using research studies from around the world relating to risk management. Other key areas for the group are the evaluation of statistical analysis gathered to date, including athlete qualifications and performance history, and a review of fence design. Safety equipment, the education of athletes and officials, and the roles and responsibilities of officials will also be reviewed.
The group will ensure worldwide communication and sharing of information, with the FEI as the point of contact for research ideas.
The Steering Group will build on the existing extensive work already done on risk management by the FEI Eventing Committee, National Federations and external parties, and will produce a list of recommendations to the FEI Eventing Committee by the end of February 2017. A presentation of the group’s findings will also be made at the FEI Sports Forum in April next year.
“The meeting was a great starting point for the group,” Chair David said. “There are a tremendous amount of questions to be asked and we are all very serious about trying to find answers to those questions. I think it is a good forward step for the FEI, building on the extensive work that has been done over the last 16 years since the Hartington report through to the recent Charles Barnett report and recommendations.
“We all love this sport and acknowledge that it carries inherent risks, but we owe it to everyone in the eventing community to do everything we can to make it as safe as possible for our athletes and for our horses.”
FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez said, “The first meeting of the FEI Eventing Risk Management Steering Group this week marks an important point in the acceleration of our efforts on safety. The sport has suffered such terrible losses this year and these affect us all very deeply. The wide-ranging expertise of the members of this group will play a crucial part in our ongoing work to make the sport as safe as possible.”
The Steering Group includes:
David O’Connor (Chair), former FEI Bureau Member and Olympic Eventing champion in Sydney 2000 Mike Etherington-Smith (GBR), international cross country course designer and equestrian consultant Daisy Berkeley (GBR), FEI Eventing athlete representative and international athlete Rob Stevenson (CAN), former international Olympic athlete, cardiologist and Canadian National Safety Officer Geoff Sinclair (AUS), FEI Eventing Technical Delegate and former President of the Australian Equestrian Federation Staffan Lidbeck (SWE), FEI Veterinarian and Swedish Eventing team coach Laurent Bousquet (FRA), international Eventing athlete and coach of the Japanese equestrian team Philine Ganders (GER), FEI Level 3 Eventing Steward and member of the German National Federation
The FEI has made some great strides with regard to studies and data collection, and we support this smart, progressive think tank in its quest to help bridge the gap between research and real-life application.
More details about risk management in eventing research and initiatives can be found on the FEI website here.
Have you practiced your gymnastics this week? For gridwork inspiration, check out these two videos from Will Furlong.
Over the past couple years Will has established his place at the forefront of the future of British eventing. He was crowned Young Rider National Champion in 2014 and 2016, was the Junior European Individual bronze medalist in 2013, and took individual and team gold at the Young Rider European Championships in 2015. Most recently he won the Hartbury CCI2* with Collien P 2 in August of this year.
Autumn Pipkin and Priscilla. Photo by Lisa Pipkin.
We love Mustang success stories here at EN and invite you to join us in celebrating a new one! Autumn Pipkin, a 17-year-old Alabama eventer, has been doing a super job of showing her 6-year-old Mustang Priscilla the ropes of our sport.
Priscilla was rounded up in Oklahoma when she was about eight months old. Her original owner, Gordon Morrow, bought her at an auction and raised her with the intention of being a competitive endurance horse. Autumn credits him for laying a solid foundation for Priscilla’s training: “I feel like he and Donna West, a natural horsemanship trainer in our area, did a superb job of instilling trust and bravery in her.”
Autumn and Priscilla first crossed paths when Priscilla was 4. Gordon had begun taking lessons at the barn where Autumn had learned to ride, El Gezira Riding Academy in Harpersville, Alabama, to learn the fundamentals of classical riding in order to get an edge in the endurance world.
Photo courtesy of Autumn Pipkin.
“I was out of a horse to ride, since my horse had an undiagnosed lameness that called for almost an entire year of pasture rest. Pamela Ibrahim, the owner and trainer at El Gezira, and a great friend of mine, called me at the beginning of last summer and said that Gordon had a mustang that he was going to leave with her over the summer to learn basics,” Autumn says.
“I had seen the horse move, and the image I had in my mind was a tall, chunky, grey mare outfitted in a western sidepull and racing around the arena with a prominent four-beat canter — NOT the ideal image for an event horse! I got off the phone and told my mom the news, and in a few days we made our way over to EGRA to try out my summer project. I was shocked to find when I rode her for the first time that she was soft in the bridle, sensitive to the aids, and framed herself, even in the sidepull! Her gaits soon became lovely and comfortable.”
Autumn Pipkin and Priscilla on their very first ride together. Photo by Lisa Pipkin.
Autumn says Priscilla’s trainability and trademark Mustang intelligence has helped her training progress smoothly. “One of the things that has always stuck out to me about her is how trusting she is of all people, and how quickly she picks up on things. She has never been afraid to try whatever is asked of her. I give a lot of credit to Mr. Morrow and Mrs. West and their methods of gentling her,” she says.
“I very quickly grew super excited about how cool my new project was, and thankfully, my mom loved her too! Her opinion has always been really important to me, since she is an excellent horseman and the biggest asset to my riding career, acting as groom, horse show mom, trainer, and so much more.”
Over the summer Priscilla progressed at lightning-fast speed. She graduated to a snaffle bit, and in two months’ time was doing leg yields, lengthenings and jumping 2’9” courses.
“When fall rolled around, It was time for Priscilla to go back to Gordon, but I kept insisting to draw out my time with her! I tried to find another young OTTB to be my future event horse, but the search was futile, and in the end, Gordon let me keep her. She is still his horse, so it is kind of like a free-lease type deal. I put shoes on her, clipped her, and set my eyes on getting back to eventing.”
Autumn Pipkin and Priscilla. Photo by Lisa Pipkin.
As her first project horse, Autumn says her journey with Priscilla has been hugely educational. “I will never forget at the first Poplar schooling show I took her to, there was a horse wearing a stable sheet outside while being grazed. It had never dawned on me that it was possible she had never seen a horse wearing clothes before. That was it for the day. She was so beside herself I couldn’t even lead her out of the barn,” she says.
“She has since become accustomed to the idea of blankets. Seeing the world through her eyes has been a learning experience, as it is very different from those of generations long lines of domesticated horses. She has also taught me that you can’t put time frames on young horses. They will disprove you every time!”
The pair has successfully completed three recognized events and most recently finished third in the Novice Three-Phase division at Poplar Place Farm’s October schooling horse trial. Check out this helmet cam video of their cross country trip:
Next up on their event calendar is Chattahoochee Hills the last weekend of October followed by Poplar Place H.T. in November.
“I think she has super potential, and am bent on entering our first Training sometime next spring. I look forward to seeing the amazing horse she becomes, and I have every intention of developing her to her full potential. She has come so far in less than a year and a half,” Autumn says.
“I absolutely love when I am at shows and people come asked what the white spot on her neck means, tell me how beautiful she is, then ask if she is for sale and I have to say no, she is not. I have been watching Elisa Wallace and her mustang Hwin moving up the levels, and they have inspired me to keep hoping for big things with Priscilla.”
Best of luck to this talented and hardworking pair. Go Autumn and Priscilla. Go Eventing!
According to my neighbor’s front yard, which features a giant inflatable cauldron as well as a coven of motion-sensor witches that cackle when you walk down the sidewalk past them (gets me every time), Halloween is fast approaching. Which means it is time to embrace the annual cultural ritual of freaking ourselves and everyone around us out at every opportunity.
Freaking horses out is, of course, low-hanging fruit. Doesn’t take a scary costume or creepy movie to accomplish that task! Which is the plotline for this video from Course Brook Farm Fall Horse Trials, held Oct. 8 in Sherborn, Massachusetts. (Check out Abby Powell’s write-up of the event here.)
Cross country fence judge Ann Grenier kept herself entertained by filming a short video starring “The Scary Log” as villain. Enjoy, mwah-ha-ha!
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An imported Irish Thoroughbred, sound and bursting with eventing potential for … less than a grand?
Get. Out.
(Your. Checkbook.)
Meet Charlie’s Best and two other sporthorse prospect OTTBs we handpicked this week, just for you.
Photo via Second Stride.
Charlie’s Best (Myboycharlie (IRE) – Salorina, by A.P. Indy) is Ireland born, bred by Sheikh Almaddah. Her Ireland born sire by Danehill was a Highweight 2-year-old colt in France. Her dam is by A.P. Indy.
She sticks just under 15.3 hands at age 2. Retired sound but non-competitive after a brief career from August through October 2016. Fabulous shoulder and uphill build. Correct conformation, sculpted face and kind, large eye. A smart filly looking for a new vocation. She should excel at any sport horse use, but that shoulder and her turf pedigree hints strongly towards jumping and eventing!
Make your next imported sport horse a true purebred Thoroughbred. This is a true rare diamond of a find!
Val D’Isere (Cape Blanco (IRE) – Vadahilla (FR), by Danehill) is the picture of understated elegance. She is a classy lady with classy breeding. Val is three years old with plenty of maturing yet to do. She is the boss in her group but gets along with the five other mares. She is lovely to work around and stands very patiently for a youngster when it comes to shoeing and grooming. New Vocations reports that Val is the least vocal of their girls and loves visitors to shower her with attention. She will eat all the carrots she can get! Val does not have any stall vices.
Under saddle, she is forward-going and eager to work. Her trot is fluid and she swings through her shoulder. Her canter is green but rapidly developing style. Val feels like she is going to be an extremely athletic jumper. She was retired without any injuries after two starts when she did not show top level ability. Though she may not have had top level ability on the track, she has the makings of top level ability in the show ring. Val is best suited for an advanced rider to guide her training.
Amazing Kitten (Kitten’s Joy – Kazen, by Tale of the Cat) is a 15.2-hand 2010 gelding by multiple graded stakes winner Kitten’s Joy, who earned over $2 million in his career. Bloodlines also include Storm Cat, Forty Niner, Northern Dancer and Mr. Prospector. Last raced Aug. 23, 2015 at Belterra Park. Amazing Kitten won $63,842 in 29 starts, with six firsts, three seconds and five third-place finishes. Super sweet personality. Just look at that face! He has the same white hind socks as his sire along with that shining chestnut coat. He is fairly quiet, has filled out nicely and is doing well in his training on the flat.
There are a few things in this world that I can count on to shower me me with immeasurable happiness, and one of them is when a new photo or video from “Little Eventer” Claire Peters pops up on my Instagram feed.
To be honest, Claire is my hero: not only is this 7-year-old a total beast on cross country, she’s been known to rock a tutu while she’s at it.
“Claire has an endless supply of energy, a healthy amount of sass to handle naughty ponies, and an infectious zest for life,” mom Anne says. “She is always willing to offer sound horse management and riding advice and she will continue to invite us into her bigger-than-life world where only fun, determination and big dreams exist.”
Check out my EN profile of Claire from earlier this year here, and be sure to follow her on Instagram for all the latest.
Where there are #EventerProblems there are #EventerSolutions, as we horsefolks tend to be a pretty crafty, resourceful and frugal (read: broke) bunch.
In this spinoff series we spotlight some of your most inventive problem-solving masterpieces and determined DIY efforts. Be sure to tag your photos with the hashtag #EventerSolutions on social for inclusion in future editions!
Boyd Martin (USA) et Welcome Shadow en direct de leur reprise de CCI**** ! #CCI4Stars #CCI4EDP #Pau #PauInside #DomainedeSers #Eventing #TwoHearts #EventingTour #FEI #FEIClassics #Horses
Boyd has two greys at Pau this week: Crackerjack, who sits 10th after dressage (47.7), and Welcome Shadow, who is in 25th (51.9). The event will be Welcome Shadow’s CCI4* debut and Boyd sounds pleased with the 11-year-old Thoroughbred cross mare’s effort.
“She’d been working really well all week, and I was getting excited about her test. She got a little bit tense and nervous when she got in the ring and got a bit curled in her frame and fell behind a little bit,” Boyd said.
“She didn’t make any big mistakes. She was green and felt like it for her first four-star test in a ring with that type of atmosphere. Scoring a 52 for her first four-star is a score to be proud of, and looking at the course we’re facing tomorrow, I think it’s going to be anyone’s day.”
Check out EN’s full Pau day two dressage report here.
I launched the “What’s in Your Ring?” series a few weeks ago with selfish motives, honestly, as I frequently find myself at a loss for new jumping exercises. I’m sure I’m not alone, so why not get some crowdsourcing going?
To help get the ball rolling I thought I’d pay it forward and share an excerpt from my my own personal file folder of go-to jumping exercises. I can’t remember who or where I picked this up from — it’s a classic, really — but it’s a good one.
I like it, first and foremost, because it is quick and easy to set up, ideal for those days when you’re scrambling to get a jump school in but don’t have time to drag a whole bunch of jumps into the ring. It’s also scalable enough to benefit horses of all levels.
Build it:
All you need: four poles, four standards, four ground poles, and some random object to serve as the centerpiece. I have a plastic barrel that does the trick, but you can make do with a hay bale, a cavaletti block, a mounting block, a muck bucket — anything, really.
Build it big or build it small; you could even just do poles on the ground for the green ones.
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
The pattern:
A few variations on the theme, as demonstrated by my 13.99999-hand superpony Princess.
Cloverleaf — Jump, land, turn, repeat. You can make the “leaves” of your shamrock as large or challengingly tiny as you like, and mix it up between right and left-hand turns if you like, which is helpful for impetuous types (“You think you know what’s coming next, smarty-pants, but you don’t! Wait for your rider to tell you which way to go!”). Keep it going for as long as you like, or until you start getting dizzy!
This is a great exercise for rideability and jumping off turns. Do your part by thinking about turning the outside of the horse while keeping the inside legs moving. Don’t slam on the brakes but sit up and ride forward through the turn, letting the geometry work its magic on your horse’s balance.
Skinny — You can also jump across the middle in a figure-8. It’s a nice exercise for straightness, and the slightly claustrophobic experience of riding into the V produces a sharp jump.
Corner/Bounce — In addition to going straight across, you can ride it as a corner or an angled bounce (9′-10″ for trot). Be very careful here to make clear to your horse which one it is you’re going after; for a corner, I’d recommend laying a pole across or filling in the middle to make sure your horse doesn’t attempt to put his feet down in the middle of it. Vice-versa, you don’t want him to not put his feet down in the bounce.
Enjoy!
Do you have an exercise to share or is there an eventer you would like to nominate for the series? Email me at [email protected].
Here’s wishing all of you out there in the Eventing Nation more highs than lows. Without further ado, here’s your latest batch of true eventing struggles:
Cary Chavis and Coco. Photo courtesy of Diana Rowland.
Congrats and best of luck to Cary Chavis, proud new owner of one of the brightest young event horse stars in the country SpectraVET Cohiba!
At just 6 years old SpectretVET Cohiba (“Coco”) has already acquired quite a taste for top ribbons. Lynn Symansky purchased the 2010 Wurttemburg mare (Con Spirito x Lea) as a green 5-year-old from Germany and their partnership immediately began to flourish, starting with a win at the 2015 East Coast Young Event Horse Championships as the highest scoring 5-year-old on both coasts.
Lynn Symansky and SpectraVET Cohiba at the 2015 East Coast Young Event Horse Championships. Photo by Sally Spickard.
They finished 1st or 2nd in Cohiba’s first dozen starts at the Novice and Training levels, including a win at last year’s Area II Novice Championships, and most recently the pair placed 2nd at the 2016 American Eventing Championships in the extremely competitive Training Horse division. After scoring a 22.7 in the dressage — Lynn describes her as “fancy and easy on the flat” — she cruised around the jumping phases seemingly without effort: “She was great on the cross country, which wasn’t the sort of course we’re used to, and she’s a careful show jumper.”
Check out this replay of their performance:
Cary, of Washington, D.C., has competed through the CIC2* level and is preparing for his first CCI2* at Fair Hill this weekend with another horse, Game On.
He trains with Valerie Vizcarrondo of Blue Clover Eventing, who was at Lynn’s farm trying a horse with another student when Lynn mentioned that they were contemplating selling Coco.
“I had watched her, obviously — quite an eye catcher!” Valeri says. “But what had struck me was her similarity to Cary’s current horse Game On, aka. ‘Bo.’ Cary is a very good rider and a soft rider, but doesn’t need anything super strong or quirky. She is so much his ride!”
Indeed, Cary rode the mare and they instantly clicked. After that things happened very quickly: “We had tried her, cross country schooled her, vetted her, and brought her home in no time! He went from kind of looking for another horse to owning one of the nicest ones in the country almost overnight!”
Since then, Valerie reports, “He’s had a few rides on her and they are just so perfect together. She is helping him with the nuisances of riding thanks to Lynn’s amazing job of producing the mare from the start and Coco’s appropriate sensitivity and elegant way of going. Cary is hoping to channel some of that at Fair Hill this weekend. He has a high probability of finishing on his dressage score — but dressage isn’t exactly Bo’s strong point.”
Cary Chavis and Coco. Photo courtesy of Diana Rowland.
Cary is a dentist with a busy schedule who makes it out to the barn two to three times a week for lessons but wants as much time in the tack as his professional schedule will allow.
“Coco will be in full training with me and after Fair Hill the timing will be perfect for him to concentrate on developing a partnership with Coco while Bo goes on holiday,” Valerie says. “Our plan is for the pair to do a one-star next year!”
SpectraVET Therapeutic Lasers has played a big role in Cohiba’s journey, as the company’s owners Molly and Peter Jenkins generously sponsored the horse’s development under Lynn. The use of this therapy, which increases the speed, quality and tensile strength of tissue repair, resolves inflammation, and gives pain relief in equine athletes, it is a valuable part of Lynn’s program — she reports shorter recovery and lay-up times with the use of SpectraVET.
Go SpectraVET. Go Coco. Go Eventing!
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Because, if it’s an ex-racer, long-term care can begin as early as age 3 and continue beyond 30. Since 1983 the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation has provided long-term care for thousands of Thoroughbreds because they have no pensions or retirement plans, and their ability to do so depends on the generosity of donors like you. Click here to contribute to the long-term care of a retired racehorse via TRF.
Of course, there are plenty of OTTBs out there who are sound and ready for a brand new career — perhaps as your new event horse! Here are three that caught our eye this week:
Photo via Second Stride Inc.
World Is Watching (Any Given Saturday – Sweet Fourty, by Sweetsouthernsaint) is a 16.3+ hand 2011 gelding who retired sound and is ready for a new job. He is a stunning big gelding with great bone and style. Full evaluation pending.
He did have a reported successful tie back surgery February 2016. Great disposition and well started on socialization and turn out. Kind under saddle. Last raced in August, he’s still tight in race muscles, and he’ll need some time to free up his movement and get loose. Located in Prospect, Kentucky.
Guacanagari(Unforgettable Max – Lil Mai Tai, by Lil E. Tee) is a very sweet 15.3-hand 3-year-old who is learning new things each day. His willing attitude makes him a fun ride with three steady gaits. Overall, “Guacamole” is a pretty immature gelding who will need time to develop both mentally and physically. Guac is very quiet in his group and is happy to be a follower. He is a cribber.
Under saddle Guacamole is improving each ride. He is responsive to your aids and is such a willing baby. Guac learned a fun trick from his track days which is a lovely lope that could rival a Western pleasure Quarter Horse. Some horses will do this when they don’t want to actually trot in their warm up so they will cheat and lope (aka “hobby horse”). It’s very comfortable to ride so as a rider you enjoy it even though they are cheating! Guac will get confused when trotting and think he is supposed to lope when you put your leg on. His trainers have found that he responds better when you cluck to ask for a bigger trot.
He will need an intermediate rider or above to take it slow with him so he can fully develop into his new career. He does not have any known injuries and is suitable for all disciplines.
Lil Maxie (Unforgettable Max – Lil Mai Tai, by Lil E. Tee) is a 2010 16.0-hand mare who is described as very sensible and well put together mare. Her connections feel she will excel and learn any new discipline very quickly. She has no vices and goes out in a group.
Alice Naber-Lozeman was the highest placed Dutch rider at Boekelo 2016, finishing on a 53.9 with Coral Estate Harry Belafonte.
She and the 13-year-old Hannoverian made bold leaps up the scoreboard throughout the weekend, catapulting themselves from 48th after dressage to 8th overall thanks to double-clear cross country and show jumping rounds.
In this helmet cam she takes us on a tour of the tough, twisty CCI3* course. Grab mane!
One of my favorite parts of attending a major European horse show is the in-arena entertainment. With such big crowds turning out to watch, organizers know that they have to do something “special” to keep people entertained in the downtime.
Covering international events for Eventing Nation I’ve witnessed some pretty wild let’s-give-’em-a-show efforts: falconry exhibitions and bizarre awards ceremonies at Luhmühlen in Germany, mass line dancing and a befuddling performance by these guys at Pau in France…
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Not being able to understand a single word the announcer is saying ups the “I have no idea what is going on” factor even further.
Once again, at this weekend’s Dutch CCI3* Boekelo, I got suckered in.
When I spotted an adorable white pony at the arena in-gate during today’s lunch break, I thought, Yes! Pony jumping exhibition! And like a moth to the flame sprinted outside the press tent to see what was going on.
The crowd cheered and the pony trotted into the ring. But what was it dragging behind it on a string? And what was that nauseating smell?
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
I’m not sure what it was, and I honestly don’t ever want to know, but it was definitely some sort of dead animal part that, because it wasn’t already dead enough, was drenched in extra-strength dead animal perfume.
As I threw up in my mouth the kid and the pony took off cantering, dragging the horrifyingly malodorous object behind them around the ring.
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
OMG, I realized. They’re doing a drag hunt. Right here in the show jumping ring.
And right on cue, a pack of hounds was unleashed from the ingate, followed by a huntsman and his crew.
After several moments of frantically circling the ring in hot pursuit of a dead animal that did not exist …
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
… the huntsman gathered the hounds up …
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
… and the band (yes, there was a band) played them a little song …
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
… and then the huntsman tossed the pack a real, much larger dead animal to consume, at which point it was full-on canine “Lord of the Flies.”
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
I love fox hunting, and would have immensely enjoyed all of this (especially had I been watching it from behind some sort of scentproof glass wall) except that I kept wondering how it was going to affect the horses yet to show jump in the arena, which now severely reeked of roadkill. The phrase, “It smells like something crawled up in there and died” — yeah, that’s actually how it smelled. Everywhere.
Horses are sentient beings, and just like Black Beauty didn’t want to go over that bridge because she sensed it was compromised, I am sure that some of today’s post lunch-break horses were wary of cantering three sheets to the wind into what was clearly some sort of animal cannibalism zone.
The U.S.’s Tamie Smith and Dempsey, her baby 8-year-old future superstar who got his mind blown by Boekelo’s sensory overload for the better, were among the first ones in the arena after the break. They did not get the press release about the mock hunt.
Transcript from our post-ride interview:
Tamie: “His eyes are popping out of his head. I can’t wait until he goes to a normal horse show at home because he’s going to be like a broke plow pony.”
Me: “Yeah. And ALSO the whole arena smells like dead animal.”
Tamie: “It does, doesn’t it? It’s gross. I’m pretty sure it’s all the throw up from the party last night.”
Me: “No, they actually dragged a dead animal around the ring. Did you not …”
Tamie: “No. What?!”
Me: “It’s an actual dead animal. Because they did like a drag hunt for the halftime show.”
Tamie: “Oh my, oh, gross …”
Me: “Umm yeah.”
Tamie: “It must have landed right in front of the red oxer because he was like, ‘I dunno!’ about that one.”
Which, it did.
“OK, mum, if you say so.” Photo by Leslie Wylie.
“Although I think the last animal here got murdered.” Photo by Leslie Wylie.
“But OK. I’m brave. I’m a big brave boy.” Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Poor Dempsey. What a vegan trooper. That guy deserves an extra carrot tonight.
Stephanie Böhe and Haytom with German team coach Hans Melzer. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Stephanie Böhe was not on my short list to win the Boekelo CCI3*. She was not on my long list. She’s 23 years old but could pass for a Pony Clubber, and throughout the weekend her mount Haytom always looked like he was this close to running away with her. (I think their partnership is best expressed by this Libby Law photo from cross country yesterday: Haytom may be tough, but Stephanie is tougher.)
Boekelo was her first CCI3* attempt, although she and the 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding have been on fire of late in the CIC3* realm. A couple weeks ago they won the CICO3* at Waregem, an event in Belgium notable for its hilly cross country track, beating out several of the same names that appeared on Boekelo’s start list.
Even after leaping from 7th after dressage into 1st on the wings of a double-clear cross country trip, today nothing seemed certain. Stephanie was taking whole-hearted tugs on the big, powerful horse throughout and by the time they cross cantered into the triple I assumed they were probably doomed.
But Haytom took care of business, and Stephanie kept her eye fiercely on the prize. They made it through the finish flags fault-free, turning in one of 11 double-clear rounds we saw from 60 show jumping starters.
Stephanie Böhe and Haytom (GER). Photo by Leslie Wylie.
“What’s this German chick’s story?” I asked around the press room, being the only American in the mix, and was informed that Stephanie is a legit, if youthful, force. She is at the forefront of the new wave of talented German eventing machines coming up through Europe’s Young Rider/Pony programs, who are coming for us all.
“These new kids, they make Michael Jung look stupid,” one photographer told me. “In a few years, watch out.”
Good to know.
Lauren Kieffer and Meadowbrook’s Scarlett. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
On Stephanie’s heels heading into show jumping were Lauren Kieffer and Meadowbrook’s Scarlett, lurking just 0.6 point behind. They cantered into the ring with ice in their veins but had an unlucky rail, which bumped them to 4th in the tightly-bunched leaderboard queue.
But you know what this Germany plus one riff-raff can’t take away from you, Scarlett, you perfect perfect princess?
Manners. The common decency and basic respect for your country to not lose your freaking mind completely during the national anthem.
Pffft. Commoners. You’ll get ’em next time, ladies!
Ellie MacPhail and RF Eloquence. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Ellie MacPhail and RF Eloquence finished 23rd as the U.S.’s second highest placed combination — today they added one rail and one time fault to their score for a total of 70.4. This was Ellie’s first overseas competition, and she and “Ricky Bobby” will be departing Boekelo with a serious accumulation of eventing SkyMiles that they’ll no doubt be cashing in on in the future.
Tamie Smith and Dempsey. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Tamie Smith‘s prodigious 8-year-old Dempsey will also be heading back to the States on Wednesday with a college degree in Eventing Abroad. The pair picked up 8 faults over today’s show jumping syllabus of atmosphere and rideability after a long, hard day of cross country. They finished in the top third of the field, in 32nd, and the future is bright for this pair.
“His eyes are popping out of his head,” Tamie says of Dempsey’s Boekelo experience. “I can’t wait until he goes to a normal horse show at home because he’s going to be like a broke plow pony.”
Well-played, U.S.!
“I thought all three riders came in here and did good, professional jobs,” Coach David O’Connor said “It’s always difficult, going fast on that kind of course, to come back and jump a clear round and I thought all three were good.”
I asked him about the takeaway from Boekelo 2016.
“This is the first time Ellie has competed overseas, so that was a good experience for her, and Tamie’s young horse is exciting for the future, he’s only 8. And Lauren — that’s our best individual placing at Boekelo in 20-some odd years. So it’s good.”
We’ll second that! Go USA eventing.
Boekelo CCI3* Final Individual Top 20:
Boekelo Nations Cup Top 3:
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Germany was announced winner of 2016 FEI Nations Cup Series.
Ellie MacPhail and RF Eloquence winning the jog all day erryday. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
It’s a nippy morning here at Boekelo, which is perfectly fine because our Americans are ready to bring the show jumping heat!
And also because bundled-up babies are stinking adorable. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Our three American pairs — Lauren Kieffer and Meadowbrook’s Scarlett (2nd place, 44.5), Ellie MacPhail and RF Eloquence (22nd, 65.4) and Tamie Smith and Dempsey (34th, 75.50) — looked well-recovered from yesterday’s trying course.
Lauren Kieffer and Meadowbrook’s Scarlett. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Tamie Smith and Dempsey. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Sixty horses will contest today’s show jumping finale. One pair, Jim Newsam and Magennis of Ireland, was spun. Four additional pairs have withdrawn: Christoffer Forsberg and Wanskjaers Carlsson (SWE), Nicolas Mabire and Tourmaline Du Fief (FRA), Umberto Riva and Phoenix D’Amigny (ITA), and James O’Hare and China Doll (IRE).
Show jumping will be underway at 11:15 a.m. local time (5:15 a.m. EST), running in reverse order of go. The Americans all go on the other side of the lunch break; the competition resumes at 2 p.m. (8 a.m. EST).
With just a sliver of a point wedged between leader Stephanie Böhe and Haytom of Germany and our girl Lauren, less than a rail among the top five, and a team competition underway, it should be a thrilling finale! We’ll be bringing you all the latest.
Stephanie Böhe (GER) and Haytom, 1st place heading into Boekelo show jumping. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Andreas Dibowski and FRH Butts Avedon (GER), 3rd heading into show jumping. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
After four days of waking up at what my body believes to be 1 a.m. to cover Boekelo, I just want to go swimming in that thing. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
In tribute to all you deprived ENers who’ve been getting up at ungodly hours to watch the Boekelo live stream, I salute you. And I want to share with you this photo I took on cross country yesterday of your spirit animal, a giant inflatable coffee cup. Cheers!
Speaking of which, we’re all looking forward to today’s show jumping finale. Our three American ladies — Lauren Kieffer and Meadowbrook’s Scarlett (2nd place, 44.5), Ellie MacPhail and RF Eloquence (22nd, 65.4) and Tamie Smith and Dempsey (34th, 75.50) – all go on the other side of the lunch break; the competition resumes at 2 p.m. (8 a.m. EST).
With just a sliver of a point wedged between leader Stephanie Böhe and Haytom of Germany and our girl Lauren, less than a rail among the top five, and a team competition underway, it should be a thrilling finale. So get on up, splash some coffee on your face, and go watch!
Video: There are some people wandering around Boekelo this morning who need coffee even more than I do. On my way leaving the venue last night I took a detour through the post cross country afterparty, which was in the process of careening out of control. You can’t tell from the video, but the dancing woman is actually humping my suitcase, in which I carry my laptop and camera.
Lauren Kieffer and Meadowbrook's Scarlett. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Cross country day tends to be the sorting hat of Boekelo CCI3*. Between its twisty, time-sucking track and high-end three-star questions, those who get the job done, and quickly, are richly rewarded.
Our highest placed American pair, Lauren Kieffer and Meadowbrook’s Scarlett, had everything on the line when they left the box. Dressage leader/CCI3* rookie Isabella Innes Ker had a clear trip but collected enough time to part ways with the top 10, and with the top placing theirs for the taking, they put the pedal to the metal and quite nearly joined the exclusive club of nine out of 94 pairs that managed a double-clear trip.
One Missisippi, two Mississippi … that was the difference between first and second place, and having collected 2.4 time penalties Lauren and Scarlett will head into tomorrow’s show jumping in the penultimate leaderboard position. Germany’s Stephanie Böhe and Haytom moved from seventh into the lead on the wings of a double-clear trip, with just a fraction of a point separating she and Lauren.
Stephanie Böhe (GER) and Haytom. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Lauren plays to win but it’s impossible to be unhappy with Scarlett, who delivered a seamless round today in just her fourth three-star attempt. Scarlett, a 9-year-old Thoroughbred/Holsteiner mare owned and bred in the U.S. by Marie le Menestrel, rose to the occasion for Lauren, who has had the ride on her since she was just four years old.
“We have a really long partnership, so it gave me a lot of confidence going out,” Lauren said. “We know each other really, really well.”
The serpentine of three brush hedges at 7 was, as EN Boekelo live updates superhero Leslie Threlkeld put it, “the bugbear of the day.” Being so early on the course, it was a bit of a buzzkill for horses in the mood to run, jump and be merry, preferably on a straight-line trajectory. It caused 24 runouts plus eliminations throughout the day, catching out the likes of Blyth Tait, Dirk Shrade, Oliver Townend, Ben Hobday, Jesse Campbell and many others, unfortunately including our own Tamie Smith with Twizted Syster and Kylie Lyman with Lup the Loop.
Here, France’s Matthieu Vanlandeghem and Safran du Chanois ENE HN demonstrate a variation on the drive-by theme we saw throughout the day at the A, B and C elements:
Lauren and Scarlett, however, glided through through the troublesome S-curve with the finesse of a calligraphy pen, a testament to the mare’s rideability.
“I was obviously very careful at #7, which caused so many problems, and at the water, as there had been so many falls, but she couldn’t have been better,” Lauren said. “She was very straight, very honest.”
Lauren Kieffer and Meadowbrook’s Scarlett. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Lauren says that all things considered, the course rode to plan.
“I had a couple plans this morning and was going to watch a bit and make some final decisions later, and some decisions changed throughout the course of the day as the footing deteriorated, but it all rode according to how I was planning to ride it,” she says.
Scarlett tends to be a super show jumper and we can’t wait to cheer this pair on in the morning.
“She’s a really lovely, careful mare and she’s still young. She’s only 9, so it will be interesting to see how she comes out tomorrow,” Lauren said. “It’s a hard course on them with the twists and turns. I’m proud of her today and we’ll see what we have tomorrow!”
Lauren, for whom 2016 marks her third trip to Boekelo, talked about how at this event “you really find out a lot about a younger horse.”
And indeed Tamie Smith saw an impressive side of Dempsey, an 8-year-old Dutch horse owned by the West Coast Dempsey Syndicate. Dempsey is the greener of the two horses Tamie brought to Boekelo, but you wouldn’t have known it watching him out there today.
“I wasn’t sure how he was going to handle the crowds and stuff,” Tamie said. By “stuff” she’s referring to the parade route gauntlet of bustling crowds, rowdy bars and giant inflatable objects that the course passes through. As the highest placed Dutch rider, Alice Naber-Lozeman, described it in the press conference afterward: “It’s like riding into a discotheque.”
So. Many. Bouncy castles. Right next to the jumps! Raphael Cochet and Sherazad de Louviere (FRA). Photo by Leslie Wylie.
“I just went out the box and he got into a good rhythm and he didn’t care,” Tamie says. “He was great to all the twisty-turny stuff, he read all the really hard lines and did all the direct routes. I was ecstatic with him.”
I saw Tamie and Dempsey at the #7 combination, where he looked quite keen but open to negotiation. Tamie sat up, wrangled Dempsey’s hind-end and bounced him up underneath her, dribbling him like a basketball to each fence. “The first narrows were tough,” Tamie said. “You had to fight for every one.”
Tamie Smith and Dempsey. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
When the Dutch rider in front of them, Jordy Wilken, had a fall at the #20 rolltop, there was a near 10-minute hold on course. It was tough timing for a horse just locking onto his game, but Tamie kept Dempsey trotting around and the pair completed the course clear with 16.4 time for an overnight placing of 36th.
“I’m just so proud of him,” Tamie said. “He was super focused and really rideable, and to see where he’s come from and where he is now it’s just so rewarding when the stars start to align.”
Ellie MacPhail and RF Eloquence. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Ellie MacPhail and RF Eloquence were a third U.S. success story. Boekelo marks Ellie’s first time competing overseas and she seems to be thriving on the experience. The pair galloped across the finish with 17.2 time and will head into show jumping in 22nd place.
“I was really happy with him,” Ellie said. “I didn’t really know what to expect. I ran Rolex this spring but coming here, it’s a totally different feeling and the course is a lot different and I couldn’t be more thrilled with him.”
The 11-year-old Holsteiner owned by Sally Crane ate up the track. Ellie says that #7ABC was a little bit exciting: “He got there and jumped huge over the first one and landed way far past it, so I had to kind of pass the second one and angle it and then the third one was a little off, but he was a good boy to keep going.”
She reports that the course rode according to plan, except for her decision to take the long route at #23AB, a mound to corner combination. “He was a little tired and I didn’t feel like I could get there so that cost us some time,” Ellie explained.
Apologies to Ellie as I didn’t get a good action shot of her (the struggle of being a 5’1″ photographer in a packed crowd is real) but I’ll snap extra tomorrow — we’re all looking forward to cheering on this exciting pair.
“He’s been going really well. We’ve been working really hard on it, so I’m hoping to have a good clean round,” Ellie says.
Best of luck to all three of our remaining U.S. combinations!
Kylie Lyman and Lup the Loop. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
As mentioned earlier, Tamie and her second ride, Twizted Syster, and Kylie Lyman with Lup the Loop unfortunately ran into a bit a trouble on course today. For both the trouble started with a drive-by at the #7 combination — Tamie had a runout at the B element and Kylie fell victim to C.
Kylie and Loopy’s day ended not long afterward at the #11 water; Leslie T. said it looked from the live stream that he jumped in huge, tripped on landing and managed to recover but had no ability to reorganize for the bounce brushes out at B and C.
Tamie Smith and Twizted Syster. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Of Tamie and Chloe’s fall at the rail in the second water, #18, Leslie reports that Twizted Syster just stumbled on landing and submarined into the water. Both were on their feet quickly and walked off the course.
Tough luck, but they’ll be back to play another day.
Three fallen riders were transported from the course in an ambulance: Anna Siemer of Germany will stay the night in the hospital for observation, the Netherlands’ Jordy Wilken was taken to the hospital then discharged, and Italy’s Pietro Sandei was taken off course in the ambulance but did not need to go to hospital. No serious horse injuries were reported.
2016 Boekelo cross country statistics are similar to previous years. Wayne Quarles, President of the Ground Jury, remarked afterward, “I was impressed by the majority of the riding. There were a few unfortunate incidents but the fact that everyone is going home safe and sound is a great testament to the competition.”
Our U.S. team — Lauren, Elinor and Kylie — is now 8th in the Nations Cup rankings. Great Britain leads, followed by the Netherlands in second and New Zealand in third.
The final horse inspection takes place on Sunday at 9 a.m. local time (3 a.m. EST) with show jumping to begin at 11 a.m. Go U.S. and Go Eventing!
Rise and shine, little buddy, Boekelo cross country is on! We know it’s hard to get out of bed but how comfortable is sleeping in a wooden shoe really, anyway? Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Sleep when you’re dead, Eventing Nation — the Boekelo live stream is on! We understand how hard it is to click a mouse more than once before you’ve had your coffee, so we went ahead and embedded it for you right here. Click the lower right hand corner to expand to full screen. Because we here at EN strive to be your #1 source for 4 a.m. cross country viewing parties, Leslie Threlkeld is running live updates too, so keep an eye on those at this link.
Here’s a link to cross country ride times and the leaderboard, and be sure to check out our cross country preview here with commentary from Coach David O’Connor and course designer Sue Benson. There’s a six hour time difference between EST and the Netherlands, and if you’re watching the livestream it’s still way too early to do math, so here’s a handy time zone converter:
Cross country gets underway at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. EST) with 9th placed Oliver Townend and Cooley SRS leading off — check out our feature on Oliver from earlier today here.
U.S. Cross Country Ride Times
12:20 p.m. local time/6:20 a.m. EST: Kylie Lyman and Lup the Loop (32nd place after dressage) 12:51 p.m. local time/6:51 a.m. EST: Tamie Smith and Dempsey (69th place after dressage) 2:28 p.m. local time/8:28 a.m. EST: Ellie MacPhail and RF Eloquence (21st place after dressage) 2:32 p.m. local time/8:32 a.m. EST: Tamie Smith and Twizted Syster (49th place after dressage) 4:04 p.m. local time/10:04 a.m. EST: Lauren Kieffer and Meadowbrook’s Scarlett (2nd place after dressage)
Ingrid Klimke rides Weisse Duene during the CCI2* 7-Year-Old Dressage at the 2016 Mondial du Lion FEI World Breeding Eventing Championships for Young Horses. Photo by Libby Law Photography.
