by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 24, 2023
The Tewksbury Trail Association will return to Christie Hoffman Farm Park in Tewksbury for its annual Trail Pace Sept. 17. There are opportunities for riders at all levels and ages to participate.
The Tewksbury Trail Association pace at Christie Hoffman Farm Park. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
TTA President Jeannie Shuster said an eight-mile course will offer both trail and pleasure pace options.
“This year, we have an Open and a new 90-plus division. To be eligible for the latter, the combined ages of two riders must be 90 years or over.
“We have a great selection of prizes for all divisions. All TTA-members will enjoy a discount on the registration fee. And we will have a special TTA Trail Pace 2023 T-shirt for the participants,” she said. That will be on a first-come, first-served basis until they run out.
Joy Custer, who leads the TTA Trail Committee, added: “Part of the fun is designing the course of this year’s pace with the TTA team. We worked hard to clear the trails and make them accessible for the trail pace. I can’t wait to see riders from the Tewksbury area and far beyond join our event and enjoy our trails.”
The TTA Trail Pace takes place between 8 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Teams of two or three riders can enter one of four divisions: Open and 90-plus and Trail Pace and Pleasure Pace. An equine veterinarian will be on site.
For more information, go to the TTA website: www.tta-nj.org .
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 11, 2023
Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs on Leone Jei was the only combination to achieve three clear rounds in the world’s richest grand prix, the $3 million (Canadian) CPKC International, part of the Rolex Grand Slam series.
Martin Fuchs and Leone Jei. (Photo Spruce Meadows)
The competition at the Spruce Meadows Masters in Calgary, Canada, drew a field of 29 on Sunday, with just Martin and Canada’s Tiffany Foster on Figor going fault-free over two rounds to meet again in a jump-off.
After Tiffany’s mount dislodged a rail, all Martin had to do was put in another perfect trip over the course laid out by Leopoldo Palacios and an international team of designers. That’s just what the former World Number One did. Martin, who lost a stirrup in the first round, is the type who meets every challenge.
Calgary, Alta Sep, 10, 2023 Martin Fuchs of SUI riding Leone Jei in the CPO ‘International Grand Prix presented by Rolex at the Spruce Meadows Masters. Mike Sturk photo.
As he took the last fence, he raised his left arm in triumph, then hugged his horse after landing before taking off his helmet and greeting the fans.
The top-placing American was Hannah Selleck, 26th on Cloud 39 after having 12 faults in the first round.
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 11, 2023
As I listened on the radio this morning to the names being read at the annual ceremony for the 9/11 terrorism victims while bells tolled, I saw a Facebook post by horse show judge and trainer Jimmy Lee about this day in 2001. He and other show officials were called to fill in for those who couldn’t get there after the attack.
“Twenty-two years ago this morning,” Jimmy wrote, “I got a call and got in my car and drove from Cape Cod to Springfield, Massachusetts, to judge the Eastern States Horse Show for Jim Lahood. In one of the first classes, several of the horses had American flag stickers on their hindquarters. I sure as hell will never ever forget!”
I was sleeping after flying in the night before from a busy week covering the Spruce Meadows horse show in Canada when the phone rang. It was my husband, telling me to turn on the TV.
“What station?” I asked. “Any station,” he replied.
A side note here. Kevin Babington, who was also at Spruce Meadows, did not leave Canada Sept. 10 and when all flights were suspended after 9/11, he wound up having to take a bus across the country in order to get home to the East Coast.
Jimmy’s post initiated a flood of memories from so many people about a day they can never forget. You always remember where you were when something that momentous happens, like Pearl Harbor, or the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. I thought it would be instructive for my readers to see what others remembered about the day.
Sterling D.B. Graburn commented, “I was at the NEDA dressage/sport horse breeders show. We had similar issues with judges having to drive in to replace judges too far away, and it did delay the show. Funny how that day changed how we think, travel, and live our lives. Brought the reality of the economic risk a terrorist attack can put the world under, never mind the horrible loss of life.”
Kim Hewitt Bonstein recalled, ” We lived 20 miles from Ground Zero in Fanwood next to Westfield, NJ, and the fighter jets flew so low over our houses on the way to the city that it felt like they could hit the tree tops.
“Within hours of the (Twin) Towers falling, every house on our street had American flags flying and they stayed up for a very long time. On September 11 we were all stunned, yet proud, Americans no matter our political views or differing backgrounds. We were one country and one people.”
Heather Hunter wrote that she had driven to a store to pick up something “when a woman came running out of the store, screaming her husband was in there. Confused, I went into the store and saw on the TV screen what was happening. I went numb and went back to the church where T2 was and just sat in the parking lot, praying they would not bomb the church. I still get teary and feel the fear I had that morning – the helplessness. I cannot imagine what that woman felt. I will never forget the fear, her tears or her screams.”
Lisa Mitchell “was driving down 684 in Westchester county,N.Y., from North Salem to Greenwich. First and last time I have ever seen that road empty at 9:30 in the morning.”
Judy Siracusa was picking up lighting fixtures that morning. She watched what was happening on TV “with the big guys who loaded the boxes. I was embarrassed crying until I saw every one of these guys weeping buckets. We’re all still Americans.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 11, 2023
Daniel Bluman couldn’t have cut it any closer.
A heartbeat. An instant. Little more than a 10th of a second was all that separated the winner of the 4-star HITS $300,000 Grand Prix from runner-up McLain Ward in a hold-your-breath jump-off on Sunday.
Daniel and 12-year-old Gemma W., a mare he has ridden since she was five, had the benefit of going last in a six-horse tie-breaker, culled from a starting field of 41 in Saugerties, N.Y.
Daniel Bluman and Gemma W at HITS. (Photo © 2023 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
“It’s always an advantage to have the pole position, as we call it,” said Daniel, who rides for Israel internationally.
“You get to see what everyone does. I knew exactly what I had to do in order to win.”
McLain, the U.S. gold medal Olympian who is the number six-ranked show jumper in the world, had just set a flying pace of 40.16 seconds over the shortened eight-fence route with Contagious, whose heart and speed never disappoint.
Daniel, world-ranked number 19, finalized a plan as he stood at the ingate and watched McLain go. The jump-off course started out with a left turn by the statue of Liberty jump before a vertical in the middle of the ring, and that was to Daniel’s advantage, since as he said, “I know my horse off the left has a very quick lead, so I get a little bit from McLain there.
“Where I thought he left the door a little bit open was to the last jump,” said Daniel, referring to the turn from a vertical on the rail to a the red, white and blue Great American Insurance Group oxer near the middle of the arena.
“I thought he was a little bit out,” at that point, Daniel said, referring to McLain’s path, so he made a tighter turn with his Dutchbred mare, and that did the trick in 40.02 seconds, a mere 0.14 seconds faster, but it was just enough to claim the $99,000 first prize.
This is the kind of grin you grin when you’re Daniel Bluman and you know you beat the clock. (Photo © 2023 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
It was the second grand prix win this month for Daniel, who topped the 5-star $425,000 grand prix at the Hampton Classic on Labor Day weekend with Ladriano Z, the third time he had won that competition. He noted that both his horses are “proven winners, so I know that any given day, I have a shot.”
This was the first show back for Contagious, a 14-year-old Zweibrucker German gelding, who had time off after a freak injury–he hurt himself when he fell down on his way to the stable on the Aachen, Germany, show’s opening day in June. He definitely is back in form, and may be part of the team for this autumn’s Pan American Games, as the U.S. tries to qualify for the Paris Olympics next year.
When judging his prospects for the HITS class, McLain took note of Daniel’s prime position in the jumping order.
“I knew Daniel was behind me, he’d beaten me with this horse a couple of times. I know it’s a very fast horse, I know he’s going to be very ambitious to win. I really didn’t have any option but to lay down a very good round,” McLain said.
McLain Ward makes a strong turn as he starts the jump-off on Contagious. (Photo © 2023 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
“I felt if I had a fast four, I was going to be up near the top of the results either way. My horse runs a little bit to the right on the left lead and so when I jumped the second to last, he leaked out a little and I didn’t pick up on the first distance. I also knew I had left a little room there.”
But he was thrilled with Contagious, noting “he performed great.”
Third place went to a rider from the next generation, 17-year-old Zayna Rizvi on Exquise du Pachis, clocked for a clean round in 41.27 seconds. It’s interesting to see a teen up against Olympic veterans such as 47-year-old McLain and 33-year-old Daniel, but that’s not a novelty for Zayna.
As she said on a similar occasion, “It’s awesome to compete against all these professionals. It’s a great experience for me and I learn so much from it.”
Zayna Rizvi and Exquise du Pachis. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
McLain called her “a super-competitive rider,” but noted the age difference among the top placing riders is not unusual.
“We’re seeing young people up at the top of the ranks every week.”
The time allowed of 86 seconds for the first round was really tight, and 15 starters had time faults, while six retired or were eliminated.
“I thought it was a good and challenging course,” said McLain of the route designed by Oscar Soberon.
“I thought the standard of the course and the challenge of the course matched the prize money.”
It really was an impressive effort by Oscar, someone I met for the first time at this show.
“What I really enjoyed seeing was a mix between seasoned riders and up-and-coming riders. That shows it’s rideable, it’s jumpable, there were faults everywhere, which I think was good,” Oscar said, meaning there was no “bogey” fence in the Douglas Elliman Arena.
McLain Ward, Daniel Bluman and course designer Oscar Soberon. (Photo © 2023 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
While he agreed the time allowed was “a little snug,” he pointed out “in this ring and this footing, the horses really gallop super fast. There were many places to gallop and make up for time. ”
While he called time “a factor, I don’t think it was too tight, but definitely a challenge.”
The change at the showgrounds since my previous visit to HITS Saugerties last year is amazing, from the footing to the landscaping and the bathrooms.
HITS was started by Tom Struzzieri, but now the Saugerties facility, like four other HITS venues around the country, is owned by private equity firm Traub Capital Partners, a New York-based strategic private equity firm that is investing heavily in its properties.
As Daniel referenced, “It’s a world class ring with world class jumps, a beautiful warm-up area. I think it’s a fantastic venue. I’m very impressed.”
The grand prix ended the facility’s big show jumping competitions for the year, while marking the end of phase one of improvements.
“For the new HITS, we’re so excited to be building a facility that really caters to the top show jumpers and every client who’s ever been part of the HITS family” as Joey Norick, HITS’ chief customer officer, put it.
Phase 2, which starts in October, is the next stage in a multi-year plan involving “anything we can do to create a great environment for our clients and their horses. We’re aiming to make this one of the nicest facilities in North America,” Joey said.
The exhibitors’ lounge at HITS Saugerties. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
jumper and hunter rings already have been improved, and other rings will also be redone, while the parking lot will become a jumper ring and parking will be improved in another location on the grounds.
Another innovation is the exhibitors’ lounge, where riders, owners and their families can take advantage of covered seating and free food.
“We look to give back to the exhibitors and really appreciate them being part of our horse show series,” explained Joey.
“It’s always exhibitors first,” he said, while noting shade has been provided around the property and chairs are everywhere, so spectators have a place to sit.
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by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 10, 2023
It was game, set and match for defending titleist Jessica von Bredow-Werndl at the FEI European Dressage Championships on Sunday, as the 2021 Olympic gold medalist and the impeccable TSF Dalera BB won the Grand Prix Freestyle in Riesenbeck, Germany.
Her 92.818 percent performance, nearly foot-perfect except for a bobble in the one-tempis, outstripped her previous personal best of 91.732 for the musical ride. She collected two marks of 99 percent-plus for the artistic aspect of her performance, and bouquets of 10’s for her final flowing piaffe and passage tour.
Although the German collected three gold medals during the championships, she had to withstand a long-anticipated challenge in the final phase from World Champion Lottie Fry of Great Britain on Glamourdale.
These Championships had been touted as the first head-to-head encounter between a dark bay mare best known for her flawless piaffe and passage and a bold black stallion whose extravagant reach is showcased in the extended canter and tempi-changes. The two are a study in contrasts, but each is wonderful in their own way, demonstrating the appeal of dressage across the spectrum.
Dalera finished ahead of Glamourdale in both the Grand Prix and Friday’s Special–where Lottie didn’t make it to the podium–but their final encounter brought all the delight and suspense promised at the prospect of their first meeting.
And this time, it was oh-so-close, a real counterpoint with Dalera’s French music summoning thoughts of the 2024 Paris Olympics, while Glamourdale performed to a British medley that included the Beatles (of course), Phil Collins and Eric Clapton.
Lottie Fry and Glamourdale. (Photo courtesy FEI)
The Dutchbred stallion was marked at 92.379 percent, a hair’s breadth less than his rival. Despite just missing the gold, Lottie was overjoyed.
“He felt amazing today, He was just loving it so much and I finally felt like we were back on track today – everything was coming together,” she said.
The rest day on Saturday did wonders for Glammy, who felt a bit tired in the Special, according to Lottie.
In contrast, the Freestyle, she reported, “just went so, so well and I couldn’t be more proud of him. It’s really special because the first time I rode that test was Herning (the 2022 world championships) and now we’re still only on our fourth or fifth ride ever, so still, when the music starts, everyone feels it and it’s just incredible to ride to. He loves the clapping and it just reminds him that there’s lots of people watching him.”
With all her victories, one could easily suppose that Jessica might be a little jaded by constant success, but that is far from the case.
FEI Dressage European Championship Riesenbeck 2023
Jessica von Bredow Werndl (GER) riding TSF Dalera BB European Champion in the Grand Prix Freestyle at the FEI Dressage European Championship Riesenbeck 2023
Copyright �FEI/Leanjo de Koster
“It’s very special. This never becomes normal,” she explained, and of course, the fact that it happened in her home country added to the glitter.
“I’m just so grateful to have such a wonderful dancing horse with me,” she said of Dalera, a Trakehner who missed the World Championships because her rider was pregnant.
Jessica spends a great deal of time on the ground with the mare, attention that is reflected in their loving partnership.
But Jessica also was quick to mention, “It’s not my success. It’s the whole team,” she said, offering her gratitude to Dalera’s owner Beatrice Buerchler-Keller, and her groom, Franziska Leonhardt.
The European Championships were a roaring success for Britain, which took team gold (the first time a country other than Germany had done that in such a major meet in that nation). Charlotte Dujardin on a 10-year-old horse, Imhotep, earned individual bronze in the Special just six months after having a baby, and she picked up another bronze in the freestyle with a new routine.
How new? Sunday was the first time she’d ridden it all the way through.
Charlotte Dujardin waves to the crowd as she rides to get her freestyle medal. (British Equestrian/Jon Stroud Media)
Charlotte was awarded an amazing 97.400 percent artistic mark for the magic she and Pete (as Imhotep is known) were able to conjure to the theme from the movie “Madagascar.”
Her total score was 91.396, not very far off from the gold and silver. Touches such as a piaffe fan with a change of direction at the end of the performance on the precocious Dutchbred gave her a boost.
After Aachen, she knew it was time for something new instead of borrowing the music from Valegro, her now-retired multi-gold medal mount.
Working with Tom Hunt, she had about three weeks to make a floor plan and get music.
“Coming into today, it was very, very exciting,” said Charlotte of the race for the medals.
“No one really knew who was going to be where, what order – it was quite interesting reading social media, because they were guessing and I just had a laugh. I think you can never say until you’ve been in there and you’ve done the job.”
The medalists were the only ones among the 18 competitors to score more than 90 percent. Denmark’s Nanna Skodborg-Merrald, the silver medalist from the Special, wound up fourth with 89.546 percent on Blue Hors Zepter. Right behind her was German star Isabell Werth, who went earlier in the order than the eventual medalists, throwing down the gauntlet on DSP Quantaz with a test whose intricacy was reflected in an artistic mark of 95.800. Her total of 88.407 was good enough for fifth.
British dressage mastermind Carl Hester hasn’t had much saddle time with Fame, but that didn’t deter him from riding his first freestyle on the sleek horse at the European Championships, of all places.
The floorplan created for Carl’s Tokyo 2020 and European Championship 2021 medalist En Vogue, starts with a very high degree of difficulty – passage immediately out of the opening halt, into a piaffe pirouette, then back into passage before moving into canter pirouettes.
Although Fame broke into canter on the line of extended trot, Carl was quick to correct him and they progressed well into their final passage zig-zag and halt. While they wouldn’t be challenging for a podium placing with their final score of 85.461 percent, right behind Sweden’s Dante Weltino Old and Therese Nilshagen on 86.132 percent, it was still an impressive effort.
“I’ve just been thinking all year about the Grand Prix and the Special – this is what’s kept him calm,” explained Carl after their test.
“I can’t believe he was that good today because I’ve never done that, and it’s just great. I knew that by the end of the week he would be even better and on my side so, that’s why I went for it.”
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by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 8, 2023
So much for the widely touted head-to-head match-up between British World Dressage Champion Lottie Fry on Glamourdale and Olympic (as well as defending European) Champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl of Germany with TSF Dalera BB.
Jessica came out on top guiding the mare, with a personal best of 85.593 percent Friday in the Grand Prix Special at the FEI European Championships in Riesenbeck, Germany. But Lottie finished off the podium, a disappointing fourth with a score of 81.763 despite her stallion’s performance having many highlights.
In a quiet moment before the medals were presented, it was possible to get a glimpse of the special rapport Jessica von Bredow-Werndl has with Dalera.
The real matchup turned out to be with Denmark’s Nanna Skodborg-Merrill on Blue Hors Zepter with 82.796, finishing right behind Jessica, as she did earlier this year at the FEI World Cup Finals in Omaha. Interestingly, Nanna had ridden Zepter’s sire, Blue Hors Zach, in competition as well.
She noted she could feel the effect of “some big mistakes” from Thursday’s Grand Prix, in which she finished fourth on 78.556 percent.
Nana explained, “He’s so sensitive, you can feel that the next couple of days.”
During the Special, “It was important for me to go for it in the exercises where I could go for it and also to keep him calm and keep him confident with me.”
As for the freestyIe Sunday, she admitted, “I haven’t put a lot of thought in it yet but I’ll show a brand new freestyle so I’m very excited to show that.”
And then there was the surprise of these championships, Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin on the 10-year-old Imhotep, the least experienced horse in the top group, but not showing his lack of mileage with 82.583 percent for a test sprinkled with a few 10s that demonstrated beautiful harmony, control and precision.
“I feel like there’s heaps more to come,” said Charlotte, who had a baby six months ago and initially wasn’t even expecting to be at the championships.
Always the team player, she noted how special it was that three British riders scored over 80 percent in the Special after the nation took team gold Thursday to outpace Germany on its home territory, with Denmark in bronze.
Carl Hester, Charlotte’s mentor, was fifth aboard Fame–with whom he just started competing this year–on 80.106. So watch out for the British at the Paris Olympics next year, where teams will be limited to three riders.
Carl was all smiles, noting his horse “felt easy, he felt relaxed. I’ve never had him so relaxed. It was like he grew up at this show. I just had a lovely ride.”
Lottie, who spent the night before the Special doing “not much sleeping and a lot of thinking,” had a blip in the one-tempis but got marks of 10 in her two-tempis.The changes and extensions are hallmarks of Glamourdale, who has an extravagant reach that strikes awe in the extended canter.
Lottie Fry and the glamorous Glamourdale. (Photo British Equestrian/Jon Stroud Media)
She said of her mount, “He felt really good in there, much better than yesterday, much more concentrated.”
“To be honest, everything felt really good,” Lottie added.
While that “wasn’t reflected in the marks,” Glamourdale’s rider observed, “I couldn’t fault him.”
As in the Grand Prix on Thursday, Jessica had a rather slow start with Dalera, who stepped back in the initial halt, getting a mark of 6.5. But she moved on from there with the mare’s usual rhythm, exhibiting classical form in her piaffe and passage, her strongest suits.
The medalists: Nana Skodborg-Merrill, silver; Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, gold and Charlotte Dujardin, bronze.
Lottie and Jessica (along with 18 other entries) will meet again Sunday in the championships’ finale, the freestyle.
It’s no longer a two-horse contest; as the Special proved, there are more than two contenders who will be going for the gold. For those who are betting, past performance gives the edge to Jessica, who missed the 2022 World Championships due to pregnancy. If she wins, it will be Germany’s 48th European Championships gold medal over the decades since that competition debuted.
As a player for the home team, Jessica gets a lift from the crowd, and Dalera enjoyed the same.
“Dalera felt so powerful and so focused today. It was just a pleasure to ride her,” said Jessica, who enjoyed the fans’ reaction.
“You really feel it and hear it,” she said.
“Afterward, they went crazy and this is an amazing feeling.”
The fourth member of the British team, Gareth Hughes, also had an amazing feeling with a different orientation. He finished 14th, on a respectable 74.651 percent and with only three riders from each country allowed to compete in the freestyle, he won’t be participating on the last day. But no matter, he was overjoyed with how things went in the first two days of competition. He’s all about sportsmanship.
Gareth Hughes and Classic Briolinca. (Photo British Equestrian)
“I’m very very happy. Do you know what? This is her third or fourth championship and at each one, she gives everything she’s got. She’s 17 years of age now, and goes in there and performs – she’s a true, true professional, she’s beautiful and she tries her heart out. What more could a rider want?” Gareth asked.
“She was brilliant. It’s like a cauldron in there – you go in and there’s no air. But she was really, really focused and she tried her heart out. I think it’s one of the best tests she’s done and that’s all you can do as a rider, go in there and ride the best test that you can.
Reflecting on the team gold medal, Gareth said: “If I retired now, I’d be happy. I’m very lucky because I’ve got a medal of every color now. When you’re young and you’re wanting to do this, you have ambitions. My ambition when I was young was to ride dressage, then my second ambition was to ride in tails, then it was to ride a Grand Prix, then if I was ever good enough, it was to ride on a team.
“To be part of this team, that’s really something special. It’s a medal- winning team and to get on the team is so hard every year, and to come away with a gold at the Europeans in Germany? These are things I read about as a kid – you never believed it would happen – so it’s a fairytale,” he said.
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by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 8, 2023
Two big winners from the USEF Dressage Festival of Champions earlier this summer have been named for the squad that will represent the country at the Pan American Games in Chile this autumn.
Codi Harrison, victorious in the Grand Prix competition at the championship with Katholt’s Bossco and Christian Simonson, tops in the Intermediate I on Son of a Lady, will be competing for the U.S.
Christian Simonson and Son of a Lady.
A mixed group of Big Tour and Small Tour is permitted for the Pan Ams to allow teams from countries without a strong Grand Prix contingent to take part in the Western Hemisphere’s version of the European Championships.
Also named to the team are veteran Grand Prix competitor Sarah Tubman with First Apple, individual gold and team silver medalist at the last Pan Ams in 2019, and Anna Marek with Fire Fly, also a Grand Prix entry.
Although the Pan Ams can be used as a qualifier for participation in the Paris Olympics next year, the U.S. doesn’t have to worry about that, having qualified in last year’s World Championships. So it’s a good time for combinations to gain experience at an international title meet.
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 7, 2023
In their first head-to-head encounter, German Olympic and European Champion TSF Dalera BB and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl finished ahead of World Champion Glamourdale and Britain’s Lottie Fry at the FEI European Championships in Risenbeck, Germany on Thursday. The mare vs. the stallion.
The match-up had been highly anticipated and each horse experienced brief downsides during their tests. But after a bit of a slow start without her usual bevy of 10’s in the initial piaffe/passage work, Dalera’s specialty, Jessica emerged with the upper hoof on 84.612, a new personal best in the Grand Prix .As she was leaving the ring, the mare spooked into a few strides of gallop, but Jessica quickly brought her under control.
Glamourdale, whose strength lies in his extensions and tempi changes, got uncharacteristic marks of 6.5 and 5 on the final center line in the piaffe, bringing the stallion’s score to 81.258 and a personal best in the Grand Prix.
In the big picture, the score clinched team gold for Lottie’s side on a total of 242.220, with Germany second on 239.674 and Denmark taking bronze with 228.727.
Jessica accepted the fact that her score wasn’t enough to nudge Germany into gold medal territory.
“Everyone rode super,’ she said.
“More was not possible here today. We can’t do more than our best. The British are just abnormally strong.”
Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera BB. (EQWOnet photo)
Lottie noted she has been on a good number of teams in her career, so “to finally get the gold here is an incredible feeling and so special to do it with these teammates. He went in there on fire. He felt amazing in there. He had a few small distractions, I could just feel his eyes wandering to the outside of the arena.” Even so, she noted, “We really improved on a lot of things since last year.
Britain, which led after day one with a brilliant performance by Carl Hester on Fame and good support from Gareth Hughes on Classic Briolinca, went from strength to strength early in the second day as Carl’s protege, Charlotte Dujardin, put in a personal best in the Grand Prix on Imhotep, fondly known as Pete.
Charlotte Dujardin and Imhotep compete in the Grand Prix at the FEI Dressage European Championship. ( Photo Jon Stroud Media)
The new mother of the adorable Isabella Rose was bubbling with delight after being marked first across the board by the judges when she delivered a test marked at 82.422, a real surprise in that it wound up being more than a point ahead of Lottie’s mark.
Charlotte declared, “It’s been absolutely incredible. I wasn’t really going to plan to be here this year after having Isabella only six months ago. It was kind of a roller coaster.”
After her pregnancy, she started competing again at home at Royal Windsor. then got Pete’s first 80 percent at Wellington in England before a pre-championship run at Aachen.
“Pete hasn’t done an awful lot of competitions,” she noted, but figured about Aachen, “`Why not run him there?’ Again, he got brilliant scores. It was brilliant preparation for coming here. He has been on top form. He felt amazing. Pete is an unbelievable horse.
“He has so much power, so much ability, his brain is phenomenal. He tries so hard. He’s gone out there and done his absolute best. and that’s all you can ask, win or lose, when you’ve got a test like that, you can’t ask any more. He always wants to please. That’s what makes it so emotional.”
But eventually, you can.
As Charlotte noted, w ith10-year-old Pete only in the development stage and gaining strength, “There’s still more. I’m still on half-power.”
Pete had 19 hours of travel and was “travel sick” when he got to Germany. And on top of that, Isabella Rose was running a temperature.
Olympic multi-gold medalist Charlotte,, who became Britain’s golden girl on the now-retired Valegro, knows how to take it all in stride. Her attitude helps her overcome.
Team Gold Medalists Great Britain (L-R) Gareth Hughes, Lottie Fry, Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester at the FEI Dressage European Championship 2023.- (Photo Jon Stroud Media)
“For me, it’s all about having fun and enjoying it,” she said.
“Especially now, as I’ve had a baby, I see it so differently: `Oh well, there’s always another day.'”
But Thursday was the day to remember.
“I am absolutely thrilled and euphoric,” said chef d’equipe Caroline Griffith.
“This team have been building toward this…and when you see the riding and the tests they produced, it’s phenomenal. They support each other so very well, as a team, they are super to work with.”
Britain first claimed European gold at the FEI European Championships in Rotterdam in 2011, a harbinger of going on to win a historic Olympic team gold at London 2012 and start the dynasty of British dressage.
Thursday’s win in Riesenbeck was the second European gold for Britain in the last month, as the eventing team set the stage in France during August with a double victory for the squad and Ros Canter, while silver went to Kitty King.
Likewise, there is a possibility of several individual medals for Britain in dressage. On Friday, the Grand Prix Special will have 30 participants who qualified, but it will be touted as a sequel to the face-off between Jessica and Lottie
“We’re really going for it tomorrow,” said Lottie on Thursday.
In terms of the glitches, she said she will “to try to iron out those little things. Hopefully, he’s a little more concentrated rated tomorrow and I’ll be more prepared to handle it.”
Sixth-place Austria, followed by Belgium and Spain in the rankings, qualified for the Paris Olympics next year on the basis of their finish at Riesenbeck.
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click here to see individual results
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 4, 2023
There was a pause in the action at the Hampton Classic Labor Day weekend when McLain Ward retired HH Azur, his “queen,” as he always called this spectacular mare.
Horse and rider became a presence on the circuit after Francois Mathy sold half interest in her to Hunter Harrison and Double H Farm in 2015. They started winning right away, with the $400,000 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Spruce Meadows a special triumph for the 9-year-old.
Her many achievements include contributing to the U.S. silver medal at the 2016 Olympics, working with her rider to fulfill a longtime dream as he took the title at the FEI World Cup Final in 2017, and then months later, helping the U.S. win silver at the FEI Nations Cup Final in Barcelona. All of that made her the 2017 USEF Horse of the Year.
McLain Ward leads HH Azur out of an arena for the last time. (Photo Randolph PR)
In 2022, Annie, as she is known, earned 4-star wins at the Winter Equestrian Festival and Old Salem before a 5-star win at Spruce Meadows. Most recently she and McLain claimed two 5-star legs of the Rolex Grand Slam, the Grand Prix of Geneva in December and ’s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands in March
Over the years, Annie won 25 FEI Grands Prix at the world’s most prestigious shows. She deserves the wonderful retirement that McLain will provide for her.
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 6, 2023
Carl Hester, the architect of British dressage success, is heading the individual rankings as the European Dressage Championships got under way in Riesenbeck, Germany, on Wednesday. Riding Fame,a 13-year-old Dutchbred (Bordeaux X Rhodium), the veteran of 22 championship competitions put his nation in the lead with a personal best score of 78.540 percent.
“I absolutely love this horse. I look forward to riding him every day,” said Carl, who noted that despite the “boiling” hot weather, “he delivered today. When a horse goes like that for you in these weather conditions…If I never did a test again, it’s a lovely one to finish on.”
Carl Hester waves to the crowd in Riesenbeck as he leaves the ring with Fame after a super test.
For the moment, his teammate, Gareth Hughes, has the drop score with Classic Briolinca (74.565), the 17-year-old mare with whom he has been working since she was three.
It’s likely Gareth will remain as the drop score, since British stalwarts Charlotte Dujardin (Imhotep) and World Champion Lottie Fry (Glamourdale) ride tomorrow. But at this point, Gareth is fourth overall, back of Germany’s Mathias Alexander Rath (Thiago GS, 74.845)
Germany for now is the second-place team on 77.174, Isabell Werth’s mark with DSP Quantaz, which makes Mathias the current drop score.
Despite standing second behind Carl, Isabell, who has seven Olympic gold medals, likely won’t be the top score for the German team. Not only does Frederic Wandres (Bluetooth Old) ride Thursday for the home side, but also world number one Jessica von Bredow-Werndl on TSF Dalera BB.
The world is waiting for the showdown between Dalera and Glamourdale. Jessica missed the world championshps last year because she was pregnant, while Glamourdale did not appear at this spring’s FEI World Cup finals because it was breeding season.
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Click here for team standings.
