My headline, which I have always used for New Year’s stories over the decades, comes from a seldom-sung verse of a favorite carol, Deck the Halls. It is amazing how fast a year goes by, isn’t it?
Last January, we were still feeling the effects of coming out of the Covid panicdemic, so everything felt a little bit new as the year 2022 began. Remember that the 2021 Olympics and many other competitions were held without spectators. The dressage and show jumping phases of the Land Rover Kentucky 5-star three-day event were staged in an empty stadium, with only cardboard cutouts looking on from the stands.
But this year, the crowds came back, and not just in Kentucky.
The fans enjoyed seeing Doug Payne finish as the highest-placed U.S. competitor at the Land Rover Kentucky 5-star. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
Shows such as Devon, which was not held for two years, were welcomed by fans. It was good to have everything return that makes Devon, Devon, from the ladies’ hat contest to the lemons with candy sticks, the tea sandwiches and an acapella men’s chorus singing the Star-Spangled Banner before the Sapphire Grand Prix. And yes, that class ended as usual, with McLain Ward collecting the blue ribbon.
The crowds were happy to return to Devon and cheer on favorites like McLain Ward. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
Another big show that came back after a two-year absence was Toronto’s Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, celebrating its hundredth anniversary in the same style we always loved; women in long gowns, men in tuxedoes or white tie and tails; a sold-out arena and top caliber international horses and riders to close out the North American Fall Indoor Circuit in style.
The months zipped by. One minute, we were looking forward to 2022’s world championships in the Olympic disciplines and Para; now we’re focusing on this April, when the FEI World Cup Finals in dressage and show jumping return to the U.S. for the first time since 2017. In 2023, as in 2017, it will be held in Omaha, and vaulting is joining the offerings.
The inaugural Omaha finals was the first time an international championship in the Olympic disciplines was held in that area of the country. The concept achieved its goal of boosting equestrian sports in that region. Want proof? Split Rock’s Fort Worth, Texas, show will present the finals in 2026.
The world championships were a mixed bag for the U.S. The dressage team’s sixth-place finish guaranteed the U.S. a berth for that discipline in the 2024 Olympics. The show jumping team was not so lucky, with Sweden dominating the team championship and its star, European Champion Henrik von Eckermann on the superlative King Edward, taking individual gold. He is ranked number one in the world.
World Champion Show Jumper Henrik von Eckermann gave King Edward a hug after winning his title.
The American squad finished eleventh and will have to do better at the Pan American Games to earn a place in Paris.
The U.S. para riders, however, came through with individual silver and bronze medals, and a team bronze that qualified the country for the Paralympics in Paris.
The eventers don’t have to sweat Paris; they qualified for the 2024 Games with a team silver, their first team medal at a world championships in 20 years.
There were plenty of big stories during the year. Former Winter Equestrian Festival impresario Mark Bellissimo presented a plan for developing acreage in Wellington, Fla., including the site of the Global Dressage Festival (dressage would move to a different location in the community under another facet of the complicated deal.)
Where dressage will be held during the 2024 Wellington circuit is up in the air, as the Global grounds may be developed. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
That saga will continue well into the new year, with hearings slated to start in February.
The most high-profile narrative was the trial of dressage trainer Michael Barisone, charged with attempted murder of a tenant on his property in a teacher/student relationship that went very wrong. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and remains at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital.
A lot happened on the local level in New Jersey in 2022.
More than two years after Lord Stirling Stable’s horses were sold as the facility was shut down during Covid, a plan to buy “a number of horses” and begin reintroducing equestrian programming before the end of the year at the Somerset County facility in Basking Ridge was announced in September. It didn’t happen.
The only specifics offered included “limited trail riding for more experienced patrons,” and providing lead-line rides for beginners. But this month, pony rides and grooming lessons for kids were halted “until better weather,” even though the stable has an indoor arena.
Lord Stirling was the venue where so many people started riding in a robust lesson program before Covid struck. There are fewer and fewer places in the state where such programs are available.
Another one that’s off the list is Essex Equestrian Center in West Orange, which closed this month. No reasons were given for the closure, but it has gotten more and more expensive to operate such facilities.
The Delaware Valley Horsemen’s Association, whose lower-level shows were popular for decades, ceased operations in the face of declining entries and a squabble between the organization’s factions.
If the entry end of the horse business goes away, it will lose its base and become a sport only for the wealthy. But in that regard, a hopeful sign is that the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s Outreach programs that enable people to venture into the show scene for a reasonable price with appropriate challenges in the arena.
What lies ahead for 2023? I think a key issue will be “social license to operate.”
Don’t forget the emphasis the FEI (international equestrian federation) puts on that, as public opinion of horse sports is emphasized. Everyone has a video camera on their phone, so there’s no hiding not only abuse, but also practices that some with no horse experience would interpret as abuse.
Expect a great deal of “guidance to promote an ethical horse/human relationship” under the banner of equine welfare. Practices you take for granted now may well not pass muster in the year to come.
One more thing. As we look back over 2022, let’s recall the people who were part of the horse world that left us in the last 12 months. Read about them at this link and raise a glass to their memory.
