After Alice Tarjan won the FEI World Cup qualifier at Dressage at Devon last autumn, she wasn’t planning on being at the Cup finals this week in Omaha.
“I was joking to Lauren (Chumley), `Wouldn’t it be funny if we qualified for the World Cup?'” Alice asked her friend.
This morning, she said with a little smile, “The joke’s on me because we came, we actually qualified.”
The Oldwick, N.J., resident rode Serendipity MF today in the warmup at the Chi Health Center Arena, where the atmosphere is always a factor, even with few people on hand for ring familiarization.
Alice Tarjan and Serenade MF. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Although the two made a businesslike picture, Alice observed, “The horse is a little tight; it’s obviously the most environment she’s ever seen.”
But as she noted, “Once you get on the horse, you just kind of have a job to do. We’ll try to learn a lot.”
And there are plenty of people to learn from. They include Olympic champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl of Germany with TSF Dalera BB; the most decorated dressage rider in history, Isabell Werth, another German with Quantaz DSP (Isabell won at the 2017 final in Omaha with another horse) and the Netherlands’ highly touted Dinja van Liere with Hermes NOP.
“Who would have thought this little foal I picked up would bring us so far?” mused Alice, who usually buys horses very young and brings them up through the ranks.
“It’s cool the places horses bring us,” she observed.
“All that really matters is what you put down in the ring. The scores kind of dictate where you go. My goal is to train the horses. I love the journey and the training. Then you follow the scores and where they send you.”
Her trainer, Marcus Orlob, is coaching at the World Cup for the first time.
“I’m really excited for Alice to be here, and myself,” he said.
Marcus observed that while the facilities are great and horse-friendly, “the arena’s a little bit intimidating, all the lights, the people.” While Shrimp, as Serenade is known for her small size was “a little bit nervous inside, as Marcus put it, she overcame it to do her job.
“She’s a good girl,” he said.
Alice is one of three U.S. riders competing, the only one who has never done a World Cup finals before.
Steffen Peters is a six-time veteran, having won in 2009 with Ravel. He and Suppenkasper, better known as Mopsie, looked on their game today as they practiced various moves at the same time as Isabell was in the ring.
Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Far from being jaded by so many World Cup outings, Steffen is energized. He didn’t go to Florida this winter, electing instead to stay home in California and support the circuit there. So he’s ready to face some different competition and relishes the opportunity.
“Any time you get a chance to ride among the top 16 in the world, it’s still considered a huge honor. Doing this for 50 years now, it’s just as exciting as the first time,” he stated.
Even so, when I asked if he ever thinks about retirement, he replied in the affirmative.
“You know, it has crossed my mind to do that after Paris (the 2024 Olympics). Mopsie will be 16, I’ll be 60. It could be a good time. It’s always a good time and place to make that decision afterwards; not before.”
In the meantime, Steffen is pleased with his mount.
“He’s been so much more mature lately with electric venues,” Steffen mentioned.
“As long as the crowd stays relatively calm when we enter, I think he might stay calm as well.”
I asked whether he thought a podium finish could be in the cards.
“Any time I make predictions, it usually backfires,” he responded.
“All I can tell you is to know I prepared my best, I prepared Mopsie the best, with the most respect and kindness, and since I’ve done that, I absolutely have to be and will be okay with the outcome, no matter what.”
Anna Buffini rode in the Leipzig, Germany, World Cup finals last year and is busy gathering more experience with FRH Davinia La Douce. She contrasted her feeling in Omaha with how she felt last year at this time.
Anna Buffini was quick to acknowledge applause as she left the arena on FRH Davinia la Douce. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
“Knowing what to expect is huge. You’re not just looking around, kind of starstruck by the venue, by the people watching, all the stuff I didn’t know last year.
“It’s so helpful to have gone to one already and to have one in America. I didn’t realize how much of a difference that would make. The food, I’m familiar with the language, the people, the surroundings. I can Uber and get everything I need. It’s totally different. Hopefully, we can go in and put two solid tests down.”
The first horse show she remembers attending was the 2009 World Cup Finals in Las Vegas.
“Ever since then, I’ve dreamed of being here, and it finally came true, which was amazing.”
Anna, a Californian trained by longtime U.S. team member Guenter Seidel, is believed to be the first black rider to compete in the World Cup finals.
“I’m really proud to represent,” she emphasized.
“It shows the melting pot that we are, and I love that.”
Debbie McDonald, a World Cup finals winner who is the U.S. dressage technical advisor, still remembers her first Cup final.
“I know the feeling, like a deer in the headlights,” she recalled.
Debbie McDonald and her former teammate, Guenter Seidel. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
“Alice probably feels a little bit like, `Oh my gosh, I’m actually here,” Debbie commented, and noted that although Anna has one Cup under her belt, “she’s still a youngster.” So with the two of them, the goal is to gain mileage.
“Any time you can ride in an environment like this, it’s special, so you have to think of it that way. It’s a special group of horses and riders.
At the other end of the experience scale, “You’ve got Steffen, who’s been there and done that. It’s still always great to see him in the ring.”
But she’s not guessing who’s going to be on the podium.
“There are so many players in the game today; it’s just going to be who’s good that day. You can’t really predict.” But as far as the U.S. group goes, she said, “I’m hoping for really good rides.”