by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 7, 2023
Marty Bauman and Colleen McQuay, two popular members of the equestrian community who are inspirational, influential and important to the hunter/jumper disciplines, received the William J. Moroney Visionary Award at the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s annual meeting in North Carolina this week.
Marty is a man of integrity who is always reaching out to help others. I speak from personal experience on that front, having known him for 40 years as a media chief for many major competitions and equestrian organizations. He is the gold standard in that profession.
The Massachusetts resident founded Classic Communications in 1979. He serves as executive director of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame and Museum. He was U.S. press officer at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games; 10 FEI Show Jumping World Cup Finals and the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games.
His expertise in public relations and dedication to horse sport has raised its profile and polished its image over the years.
Marty Bauman on the job. (Photo © by Lawrence J. Nagy)
“If I am being given this award because of what I have given to the horse show world, all I can say is: anything I’ve given to the horse show world is nothing compared to what it has given me,” he said.
He thanked not only USHJA, but also “everyone who has been part of my life and the horse show world itself.”
Colleen, a Texan who has played a key role in some of USHJA’s most popular Hunter programs, is a trainer and rider who served as a founding member of the association.
She has contributed to the success of the International Hunter Derby and Green Hunter Incentive programs, including the Rider Ranking System designed to give more prize money back to riders. She helped establish the Super Series Group in 2012 with the goal of growing the Texas Hunter industry. Her commitment to the Hunter discipline has served members across the country and advanced the sport to what we know it as today.
She is a member of a famous reining family, and the grandmother of hunt seat equitation star Carlee McCutcheon.
“I need to share this with all of the people that I was lucky enough to get to work with over all the years,” said Colleen in accepting her award.
“Thanks to the USHJA and everybody involved in creating these awards and letting us know that our work is appreciated.” She noted that “even the heavy debates are treasured memories.”
Robin Rost-Brown, of Ocala, Florida, is the Volunteer of the Year. This award recognizes volunteers behind the scenes who work long hours with a passion for bringing the sport forward and providing a safe, fair and understandable sport for fellow equestrians.
“This year’s award winner is a person I can count on 100 percent, all of the time. She is integrity through and through. She is strength. She is quiet. She is peace, she is wisdom and she is Robin Rost-Brown,” said USHJA President Mary Knowlton upon presenting the award.
Robin, co-vice president of the USHJA Board of Directors, has spent her life dedicated to the Hunter/Jumper sport. Along with training top riders, she is an “R” Hunter and Hunter/Jumping Seat Equitation judge who has presided over shows across the country. In addition to serving on the USHJA’s Board, Joint Equitation Task Force, Hunter Working Group and Rules Committee, she sits on USEF’s National Breeds and Disciplines Council and National Hunter Committee.
“I am so honored to have been selected as the recipient of the USHJA Volunteer Of The Year Award, Robin stated.
“As I read the description of this award I am humbled to learn that it is the highest USHJA honor awarded to a volunteer.” She added she is “forever grateful to Mary Knowlton and the staff for selecting me!”
The recipient of the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award was Linda Andrisani, who has excelled as a trainer, rider and judge. Her 40 years of experience includes presiding at such important competitions as the Capital Challenge, Devon and the Winter Equestrian Festival, as well as international fixtures.
She ran a show hunter barn, Monkton Manor, in Maryland with her late partner, Jack Stedding. Those who know her best describe her as “a mentor to many; an example to all.”
Her governance work includes stints on the USHJA Foundation Board of Directors, USEF’s National Hunter Committe and the USHJA Officials Education Committee.
The President’s Distinguished Service Award recognizes and honors dedication and service by members and volunteers to the USHJA and the sport. It is presented to those who have gone beyond the call of duty to bring the Hunter/Jumper sport to a new level and benefit the USHJA membership. This year’s recipients are Beverly Bedard, Jim Hagman, Connie Tramm Hunt, Liz Soroka, Cricket Stone and Peter Wylde.
Bev, a dedicated horsewoman from Pennsylvania who has been licensed as a recognized steward since 1967, also has her large R for judging Hunters, Hunter Seat Equitation and Jumpers. She has stewarded prestigious competitions including the National Horse Show, Capital Challenge, Gulf Coast Classics, Tryon International Equestrian Center, Upperville, Pennsylvania National Horse Show and many more. In 2013, she was awarded The Edna Lytle Perpetual Trophy during the USEF Pony Finals for her dedication and service to the Hunter/Jumper community.
Jim has been a professional in the Hunter/Jumper sport for more than 40 years after building a successful lesson and training program, Elvenstar, from the ground up in California. His passion is for growing the sport and helping upcoming athletes pave the way for their future, He has turned Elvenstar into not only a top hunter/jumper facility but also focuses on growing horsemanship skills. Elvenstar is host to USHJA programs including hosting MZ Farms/USHJA Emerging Athletes Regional Training Sessions, is a USHJA Recognized Riding Academy and hosts live educational sessions for the new USHJA Instructor Credential.
Connie is a large R judge for Hunter, Jumping Seat Equitation and Hunter Breeding, and a small “r” Jumper judge. The Michigan resident educates USHJA members through her involvement as a lead clinician in Licensed Official clinics, USHJA education webinars, serving as co-chair of the USHJA Officials Education Committee and a member of the Licensed Officials Committee for USEF.
Liz is well-known at horse shows in the Northeast for her impeccable skills in event coordination, organization, assisting showgrounds crew, building jumps and recently co-founding StableMaster LLC, which enables managers and exhibitors to order stable supplies at shows. The Shelter Island, N.Y., resident’s work has long been recognized, as she was awarded the Vital Horse Show Staff Award 2018 and is an integral part of making sure horse shows run smoothly, whether the task is behind the scenes or out in the ring.
Cricket is heavily involved in USHJA sports governance and educational programs. The Virginian is on the USHJA Board of Directors and holds a USHJA Instructor credential and a large “R”/C1 Steward Measurement Certification. She is a Certified Schooling Supervisor, member of the USHJA Affiliate Regional Council for Zones 3-5, vice chair of the Horsemanship Quiz Challenge Committee and member of the Zone 3 Committee. Her passion for furthering the sport and education of members is a great commitment to the association.
Peter is involved with the MZ Farms/USHJA Emerging Athletes Program, serving as National Training Session head clinician since the program’s inception in 2009. The New Yorker’s commitment to the sport, love for horses, and enthusiasm for teaching draws him back to the program each year.
by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 8, 2023
A veteran and a newcomer took the big classes at the Rolex Geneva Switzerland show over the weekend, with Steve Guerdat and Richard Vogel showing their prowess at one of the world’s toughest competitions.
Swiss star Steve Guerdat won the International Jumping Riders Club Top 10 final for the third time in his career on Friday in Geneva with the only double clear aboard Venard de Cerisy.
“I am very excited – it is unbelievable to win this incredible class for the third time,” Steve said after his victory.
Steve Guerdat shows love for the IJRC trophy. (Tiffany van Halle photo)
“It is truly extraordinary. I have had so much success at this amazing show – but it keeps surprising me! The crowd was amazing and the atmosphere at the CHI Geneva is exceptional, this moment means so much to me.”
He added, “Venard was incredible – he has been such a great horse for me and I am so proud of him. This win would not be possible without my team – they really deserve this win as much as me.”
The class was open to the top 10 ranked riders in the world, over a course designed by Gerard Lechat. Henrik von Eckermann of Sweden, world number one, had a rail in the second round with King Edward to finish second. His time of 48.52 seconds also was slower than Steve’s 48.13.
Third went to the only U.S. representative, Kent Farrington, who is also number three in the world. He had a rail in the first round with Greya, but recouped in the second round with a slow and careful clear in 54.80 seconds.
The Geneva show’s closing feature on Sunday, the Rolex Grand Prix, was won by the up-and-coming Richard Vogel of Germany on United Touch S.
Richard Vogel and United Touch S. (Photo by Tiffany van Halle)
The German rider said: “I am very close with McLain Ward (2022’s grand prix winner), and I watched the whole jump-off from last year last night – I knew that to win here you would have to be fast, and so even though I was first to go, I decided to really push for it.”
He topped the jump-off in 37.14 seconds, more than two seconds ahead of runner-up Mark McCauley of Ireland on GRS Lady Amaro (39.77).
The USA’s Jessica Springsteen finished sixth in the seven-horse tie-breaker on Don Juan van de Donkhove, logging eight faults. The other U.S. rider in the class, Kent Farrington, had a rail in the first round with Greya and was fourteenth.
McLain Ward qualified for the 2023 IJRC top 10. But he elected to go instead to the Desert Circuit in California where there was a $1 million class. He had no luck, however, and retired Contagious in the class. His place in the top 10 in Switzerland was taken by Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam, world number 11, who finished sixth with a 0/8 score on James Kann Cruz. He was 18th in the grand prix.
Click here for results for the IJRC top ten.
Click this link for Rolex Grand Prix results
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by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 8, 2023
Kelli Cruciotti-Vanderveen’s Isabella van de Zuuthoeve was euthanized Thursday night after an accident during a $50,000 show jumping competition at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala.
“There are no words to express the sadness I feel right now,” Kelli said on social media.She was thrown from her horse and unhurt in the incident involving the nine 9-year-old Belgian sporthorse mare.
“My heart is broken into a million pieces and I am sure I will never be the same . Last night, my beautiful Isabella went to heaven after a tragic accident at the second-to-last jump in the Grand Prix.
“Bella was a superstar from the moment she came to our stable as a green seven-year old. She was a winner, a fighter and truly one of the most talented horses I’ve ever had the privilege to ride . There are so many memories that I will never forgot, so many firsts, so many wins and so much joy,” she stated.
“Thank you to Team Cheese for always being there no matter what, for all your work in transforming us into the team we were and always believing we could do anything.”
The veterinary team at WEC Ocala, led by official veterinarian Dr. Larry Wexler and FEI Veterinary Delegate Dr.Kim Snyder, as well as veterinarians from the University of Florida Veterinary Hospital at WEC, attended to the horse immediately. She was made as comfortable as possible before being transported by equine ambulance to the on-site hospital.
The veterinary team, working in collaboration with the rider’s team, made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize the horse due to her catastrophic hind leg injury.
“Thank you to World Equestrian Center and the team of veterinarians for their professional and loving work last night in taking care of our sweet Bella,” Kelli said.
“Thank you to everyone who has reached out and sent such amazing messages. I haven’t gotten to all of them yet but I appreciate them more than you know. Finally, thank you sweet Cheese for letting me be your person, we fought together until the very end and you somehow knew to keep me safe from harm during all of it. Thank you for letting me fly with you , I will never forget it.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 7, 2023
When should competitors speak to a judge with a question about their round? How many refusals should mean elimination in an International Hunter Derby Championship? Does an oxer have to be the final fence in a hunter classic? Should riders be allowed to enter mules in hunter and equitation classes?
Those were among the rule change questions on the agenda for Thursday’s final board meeting of the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s annual meeting in North Carolina. They illustrate why the organization should be the body debating such matters—and even more consequential items affecting the hunter, jumper and hunt seat/jumping seat equitation divisions.
Many people in this era, however, don’t know why USHJA exists, or how it came to be. On the eve of its twentieth anniversary, let’s take a look back and see how it happened.
The American Horse Shows Association’s late Twentieth Century successor, USA Equestrian, and in 2003, the U.S. Equestrian Federation that supplanted it, decided that hunters and jumpers needed their own affiliate. After all, every other breed and discipline had one.
Lacking such an affiliate, the federation’s board traditionally spent a great amount of time dealing with hunter/jumper business, which took attention away from other breeds and disciplines.
After years of wheel-spinning by a Hunter/Jumper Council, at a 2003 meeting in Newark, N.J., a small group came up with a definitive plan for a real hunter/jumper organization.
During the new federation’s 2004 midi-year meeting, USEF President David O’Connor declared that the time was right to have an official affiliate, despite some calling for a delay. The USHJA proposal presented by Bill Moroney (now USEF CEO) got the nod over one for the National Hunter Jumper Association that was presented by Gary Baker.
This followed a turbulent time when the U.S. Equestrian Team, which once trained, funded and fielded international squads, was involved in a governance struggle with USA Equestrian. The Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act, passed by Congress, would not allow a sport’s national governing body to delegate any of its international duties, so USA Equestrian and the USET battled for the right to be the federation.
In the process, USA Equestrian became the USEF (you don’t need more details about that unhappy time, do you?) and the USET is now a foundation raising money that enables the U.S. to fund competitors who can carry the flag internationally for horse sports.
USEF fields teams, deals with drugs and medications, licensing of competitions, licensing of officials, and numerous other duties. USHJA, which like USEF has an office at the Kentucky Horse Park, creates a wide variety of programs, including the International Hunter Derby, offers awards and education, has a museum and serves as a voice for the hunter/jumper community.
So now you know who does what, and why.
Back to the rule changes, which must be approved by USEF after being hashed out by the USEF board. The four items that led off this story were resolved this way: competitors should wait until the end of the day to meet with a judge; two refusals mean elimination in the International Hunter Derby, the course designer has the discretion to decide what type of fence will be the last one in a classic and mules should be eligible for the hunters, hunter seat and jumper seat equitation; they already are allowed to do the jumpers and eventing.
Whitney Barnard, the USHJA’s assistant managing director of education programs, didn’t feel it was appropriate for an employee to speak during the meeting on the subject of mules, but she wrote a convincing letter about why they should be allowed to compete in the disciplines.
Her mule, Alan, became an eventer because that discipline reached out to her, and she felt he and the other mules should have a chance to broaden their competitive reach. If another reason was needed, she playfully cited DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) which is a big USHJA objective on the human side.
Britt McCormick, USHJA’s president-elect, remembered how he showed mules “when I was starving” and agreed it was time “to be more inclusive.”
Among the other rules passed was one giving USEF jurisdiction over conduct violations outside the competition environment. Commenting on that, USHJA Vice President Charlotte Skinner-Robson pointed out it shows the organization cares about horses “all the time, not just when they’re at the horse show.”
Director Sissy Wickes emphasized the organization has to consider horse welfare, citing the problems being experienced by racing and the recent scandal of Danish dressage trainer Andreas Helgstrand, whose stable was cited in a TV documentary for unacceptable methods of riding, training and treating horses. Oversight by equestrian organizations is vital, with social license to operate a major issue involving public acceptance of the way animals are treated in sport.
Rule changes disapproved included eliminating Horse of the Year Awards and removing the competition mileage rules.
by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 5, 2023
There were a lot of important questions asked during Town Hall sessions Monday and Tuesday at the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s annual meeting, but they all could be boiled down to this big picture concern: “Are we doing the best thing by our horses? Are we doing the best thing by our people and our sport?”
Since USHJA was founded as an affiliate of the U.S. Equestrian Federation 20 years ago, the horse world has changed dramatically. At the same time, the universality of online videos means little goes unnoticed — or unremarked.
One of the biggest challenges involves dealing with “social license,” public acceptance of the way an organization or industry operates.
In that context, USHJA President Mary Knowlton announced she will appoint a blue ribbon commission to examine “integrity and welfare in our sport,” with a report due at the association’s mid-year meeting.
She started Tuesday’s session in Concord, N.C., by “throwing a bomb into the room,” as she put it, recounting the awful story she heard about a horse who collapsed in the stable area of an indoor show. Onlookers said people were beating and kicking the horse, throwing water on him in an effort to get him up. Mary said he had suffered an “adverse reaction to some drug” that was given to make him quiet.
“People saw this and they didn’t report it,” she said about the incident.
“Does your silence make you part of this? What are we going to do about something like that?”
Mary quoted a comment made to her a while back by Katie Benson, a member of the USHJA’s Competition Standards Committee: “When our love of winning becomes higher and more important than our love of horses, we’re in a bad place.”
Mary agreed, suggesting, “Let’s be willing to look at ourselves.”
Everyone else is looking, and that’s a problem.
Marnye Langer, who has several horse-related businesses in California, said the Los Angeles city council is seeking to ban rodeo, and along with it, use of spurs and standing martingales.
She reminded her audience of the old saying, “How goes California, so goes the rest of the country. It’s a real possibility.”
Equine welfare was discussed on many fronts, with several people mentioning the need for more drug testing at shows.
Veteran trainer Otis Brown believes “probably 30 percent of the winners” are medicated with illegal substances.
“It’s up to us to turn the people in,” he said, or to inform the Drugs & Medication Committee about “what they’re using.”
Jennifer Matts, a Zone 4 committee member, commented, “People know the drug testers leave at 2 in the afternoon and we have a $100,000 Spectacular that starts at 6.”
“I applaud the (USHJA International Hunter) Derby we have in Kentucky because they have assigned testers and vet techs to them (the horses) for the 12 hours before the competition,” she mentioned.
Jennifer has checked the trash cans around the stabling area, noting “you would be as appalled and disgusted as I am when you go through these trash cans and see what they’re doing to these animals.”
She added “We need to have some sort of tools we can use to try and curb it.”
In Canada, she said, stewards can request a drug test on a horse they suspect has been given something illegal.” But Jennifer was told that can’t be done in the U.S. because it’s considered “targeting.”
Also on the welfare front, there were comments about trying something similar to eventing’s Minimum Eligibility Requirements for riders moving up to the next level in competition. It was pointed out that would make it easier for trainers to rein in students who are eager to advance beyond their capabilities, and thus curtail the danger that presents to their horses.
The unending show schedule for many horses is a concern and the idea of mandatory retirement on course after a certain number of faults was mentioned.
USEF judge Andrea Welles suggested a “see something, say something” campaign and more severe punishment for bad sportsmanship or mistreating horses, so it affects the livelihood of the offender.
“We have to put some teeth in whatever we develop as our sportsmanship rules,” agreed Otis.
The cost of showing is an issue that sparked a dialogue. As Mary pointed out, it’s expensive to put on a horse show, and expensive to compete in one. But the point was made that to make shows more inclusive, the cost needs to be lower, and if that’s the case, more rules make the shows more costly by requiring extra people to enforce them. As Mary noted, judges and stewards may be afraid to make judgment calls; it’s easier to have rules to lean on.
Shanette Barth Cohen, who runs the Hampton Classic, suggested USHJA might be able to help shows get sponsorship outside of the usual suspects in the industry with a collective effort, or perhaps train shows on how to get sponsorship. If sponsorship increases, it might follow that exhibitors’ fees could be decreased.
As Whitney Allen, the USHJA’s director of operations pointed out, “there’s a lot of levels of complexity there” between the national and regional segments of corporations. The concept offers an opportunity to “pull together some data we’ve been lacking as an organization and as an industry” we can turn around and have these bigger national conversations about sponsorship.
Amy Center, a Florida trainer and USEF official, said “we need to mainstream our sport and make it accessible, that it’s not just for the rich little white girl. We need to make horses important to everyone. We need to change it so we have better marketing, better story lines, mass appeal.”
Active membership has remained stuck in the 36,000 range since 2008, but with Outreach for the lower levels and Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association memberships, it goes to 51,948, Mary pointed out. There was talk about how to get more people involved.
Otis figured the average age of those in the meeting room was 45.
“We are in a very bad situation. We need to figure out innovative ways to bring the younger generation into this room if we want to continue doing what we’re doing,” he said.
That concern that was brought up by others in terms of who will carry on what needs to be done for the sport after current leadership has stepped away. Otis suggested giving zone awards at a banquet during the annual meeting to get kids and their parents to attend. He also thinks giving money away for Outreach classes would help as well.
Britt McCormick, who will take over as USHJA president in December 2024, said, “One of the issues I think we have in our sport and our industry is that we have a really hard time letting go of the`what is’ and a really hard time thinking what we want this to look like in the future.
“We keep tweaking and tweaking the same old tired model that we’ve been using since the ’50s. I think this is where we as an industry voice have to stop living in the past and in some cases, stop living in the present, and start figuring out what we want this sport and this industry to look like five, 10, 20 and 50 years from now.
“We’ve reached the limits of what we can do under this current (member-driven) business model, and it’s starting to fail.”
He added, “There are barriers to entry on the participation level and people are finding other places to spend those recreation dollars and at the end of the day, that’s what we’re competing for, is that recreational dollar all the way across the country. We just happen to use horses.”
He has suggested changing the business model to something “more expansive and global, so instead of trying to fill a stadium full of members, we need to fill that stadium full of fans and sponsors and supporters who want to watch our limited number of exhibitors.
“We have to figure out a way to take the media opportunities we have,” to use those through USHJA and the federation ”to help get more people to shows, not just to compete, but to watch. Until you have butts in seats, that advertiser isn’t going to give you any money to put on that event.”
Britt said USHJA has to work with its affiliates and pool resources for the greater good. The effort also will require assistance from USEF.
“If we can get this new thought process started…it will trickle down to the competition level and that is where we’re finally going to be able to break through to the next business model.”
That needs to be done by figuring out a new business model in cooperation with the affiliates, the federation and the membership. “Otherwise,” Britt contended, “we’re done.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 3, 2023
The podium for the first Coachella Cup $1 million grand prix was dominated by members of the squad that took team gold for the U.S. at the Pan American Games in October, qualifying the country for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
There was a time when $1 million grands prix were held in several parts of the country, but now the California Desert Circuit 5-star is the only one, drawing 35 entries for the 5-star competition.
It was a goal for many of the biggest names in the sport, but the one who made it to the winner’s circle Saturday night was Karl Cook on Kalinka Van’t Zorgvliet. He also won last year’s 5-star for a lesser purse with the mare.
Karl Cook and Kalinka van’t Zorgvliet on their way to victory. (High Desert Sport Photo)
“I don’t know what’s in her, but she’s amazing,” Karl said, commenting on her passion.
“Sometimes it’s a bit overwhelming when she’s leaping in the air. But she just has such drive and such desire to do the job well, and she loves doing the job. It then inspires you as a rider and as anyone who’s around her. She inspires them and lifts everyone up.”
Seven entries qualified for the jump-off over Alan Wade’s course at the Desert International Horse Park, but only Karl and Canada’s Mario Deslauriers on Bardolina were fault-free in the tie-breaker, finishing in 44.99 and 46.86 seconds respectively. Karl’s gold medal Pan Am teammate, Kent Farrington, had the fastest round, 43.75 seconds on Landon, but dropped a rail to finish third.
Karl had injured his left hand Tuesday night, but he didn’t consider scratching.
“It’s just a few stitches to the hand, a flesh wound,” he said.
“I was always going to ride. It was just how bad it was going to hurt. Everyone has issues they’ve got to overcome.”
With the Paris Olympics eight months away, Karl is looking like a real possibility for the three-member team that will compete there for the U.S. He also has another exciting mount in his Pan Am horse, Caracole de la Roque.
Those who didn’t get near the top of the leaderboard included Daniel Bluman. The winner of the grand prix at the Royal Winter Fair last month with Gemma W, the Israeli rider finished an unlucky 13th with Ladriano Z, while McLain Ward — also a member of the USA’s winning Pan Am team — retired for the evening with Contagious.
Click here for results
by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 1, 2023
Following a decision to ban dressage trainer/entrepreneur Andreas Helgstrand from consideration for the Danish Olympic team, the Danish Riding Federation and the Danish Riding-Instructor Association are canceling a cooperation agreement with Helgstrand Dressage as a training venue for riding education as of the end of 2023.
“We are obviously incredibly sorry about that decision. We are immensely proud of our riding students, and we consider them close and talented colleagues,” Helgstrand Dressage said in a statement.
The action came in the wake of an undercover TV documentary that showed harsh training techniques at the Helgstrand facility in Denmark, and detailed attempts to cover spur and whip marks on horses.
Saying the footage “has made a very big impression,” the statement continued, “We understand that the images that have been shown in Operation X should be responded to.
“We have done that ourselves too. We have therefore also given both Dansk Riding Federation and Dansk Riding-Instruktør Association an open invitation for dialogue and to come visit Helgstrand Dressage to see for yourself how our practice is as a training ground and how in the last year we have improved many of our practices.
“We are very sorry that neither association has chosen to accept. Our invitation is still open: both are welcome to drop by — also unannounced, where you can carry out the necessary supervision with horses, training and pupils.”
The statement added, “Of course, we will do everything we can to continue the dialogue, so that in the future we can also welcome back our talented students at Helgstrand Dressage, where we are convinced that we can offer a good training place with healthy values and a strong community.”
The Danish Riding Association last month said Helgstrand would be banned from its teams at least until the beginning of 2025 — after the 2024 Paris Olympics, according to a Facebook posting by the Danish newspaper Nordjyske.
Helgstrand is the CEO of Global Equestrian Group, which is part of Waterland Private Equity. In 2021, GEG bought the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. The home of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, the facility was renamed Wellington International.
Hearings have been going on in Wellington since the summer about controversial zoning issues in connection with a proposed expansion of the showgrounds.
The Olympics “is completely out of the question,” said the acting chairman of the Danish Riding Association, Jakob Ravnsbo, who succeeded Helgstrand’s father, Ulf, in the position. In a comment to Nordjyske, Andreas Helgstrand wrote that he regrets the association’s decision, has always been proud to represent Denmark, and that he had been looking forward to the Olympics.
Denmark’s Olympic hopes should not suffer as a result of the ban, as only three can be on a team in the Games and the country has several top riders, including Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour, who recently got the ride on the spectacular Mount St. John Freestyle, previously ridden by Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin.
While the FEI, the international equestrian federation, commented that “any action or omission which causes or is likely to cause pain or unnecessary discomfort to a horse constitutes a violation of our rules,” it did not take immediate action in regard to the revelations of the documentary.
It stated it will “collaborate closely with the Danish National Federation, and there is a mutual recognition of decisions and any sanctions imposed. We will continue to communicate as the situation develops, and want to assure the equestrian community, our stakeholders and the public, that we are rigorously addressing this issue.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 30, 2023
The Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association’s decision to stop offering classes for alumni had been coming for a while.
“They’d been thinking about this for years,” maintained Lena Andrews, a former member of the Lehigh University IHSA team who was active in the alumni competition formerly offered at IHSA shows.
Members of the executive team that makes the alumni organization run; Lena Andrews, chairman; Jessie Ann Green, treasurer; Andrea LaManque, secretary; Erica Green Wheeler, co-hunt seat chair; Jess Benner, co hunt-seat chair; Christa Bramberger, sponsorship chair;Katherine Bacolas, points chair; Meg Gennings, co-western chair; Tammy Cranouski, AEE national director; Jamie Windle, vice president. (Skylands Photography photo)
At those shows, riders draw their mounts by lot from English and Western school horses owned by the host colleges. During Lena’s conversations with IHSA officials, “It kept coming up that they want to focus on the undergrads, and that the alumni take horses away from the undergrads, in their opinion.”
Lena believes, “they didn’t really see the value of alumni,” noting there also was a geographic issue.
“Apparently, there are more alumni in the Northeast than in other parts of the country,” she explained.
The IHSA felt “alumni want to come show and go, so they didn’t believe alumni were giving back enough.”
Lena had other ideas about how the alumni could operate.
Finally, IHSA came to the organizers of the Alumni Tournament of Champions, a separate fixture that began in 2012, and informed them, “alumni is done” at the end of the 2022 season.
“We’re not going to have alumni at Nationals,” Lena and other alums were told.
As Lena noted, “You could have done something nice to end it. Instead, there was nothing, it ended in zones (competition). How horrible would it be if the first time you made it to Nationals, there was no Nationals?”
Lena and her fellow alums weren’t going to let that happen. They wound up putting on their own version of Nationals this year, with the idea that it needed “to look and feel as similar as possible” to IHSA Nationals, with prizes and the same kind of ribbons.
Tammy Cranouski, the IHSA’s national alumni director, joined in with the new effort, under the banner of Alumni Equestrian Events (find it on Facebook and Instagram), as it was applying to be a non-profit. She became one of five members on the reformulated board. Their first jobs included developing an alumni-specific rulebook with concepts geared to strengthen alumni riding going forward. Like IHSA, it is open to both men and women.
Jamie Windle and Lena Andrews with Tara Mathews.
The concept of regions was dropped by the AEE series; they are sticking with zones, for one less layer of administration. Although riders have to declare a home zone, unlike undergrads they can ride anywhere, with points counting for the home zone.
“You can make it a fun thing and travel and see the country if you want to,” observed Lena, noting participants may ride in 15 shows in a year, with the 10 best scores to count toward earning the 28 points needed to participate post-season.
Robert Cacchione, who founded IHSA with the late Jack Fritz, noted how the evolution of the IHSA affected the alumni classes.
“As the IHSA grew,” he explained, “we started to put alumni classes at the end of the show to save the horses for the undergrads,” who rode earlier in the day.
He mentioned riders were saying because of the length of the shows and the growth of the teams, the alumni classes didn’t work anymore.
“They’re trying to use the horses only so many times, as they should,” said Robert, who serves on the IHSA executive board and holds the title of Founder Emeritus.
Dropping the alumni competition was the result.
While he noted some of the regions, such as those in the Northeast — New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New England, for instance, had sufficient horses to continue alumni competition, there weren’t enough throughout the country for that to happen everywhere.
“So the alumni came to an agreement with IHSA to do their own thing and save the horseflesh, properly, for undergrads,” Robert said.
Even so, “There is still a dialogue with the board of IHSA and the alumni,” he continued, explaining Tammy remains on the IHSA board.
“She has a lot of input; we always know what’s going on with the alumni and where we may be able to help out throughout the country in different ways.”
The alumni competitions, he mentioned, give former team members a chance to continue riding after graduation, “when they may not have wherewithal to own a horse at this moment in time. It still gives them an opportunity to ride and compete.”
He speculated, “This may enhance the alumni to grow even more. When they were under IHSA, they had to go by IHSA rules. They could only show at our horse shows, and it was tough for them to take off seven or eight times from work during the school year. Here, they can organize four shows on a weekend in different places in the country and people could show at all four shows. That makes it more flexible for alumni. We’re hoping this will help grow the whole alumni organization–I support them.”
Jamie Windle, the AEE vice president, went to Delaware Valley University and used to ride against Lena in the IHSA shows. Asked what she missed about the alumni not being part of the IHSA shows, Jamie observed that in the past, “We were at all the IHSA shows, so you were getting to know the kids from the time they came in as freshmen, to seniors to become friends with them and continue with them and show them how much fun we had.”
Those students are, after all, candidates for alumni classes after they graduate. At Nationals, graduating seniors can ride in the “Future Alumni Cup” in an effort to “entice them to come to this horse show to become alumni,” as Jamie put it.
The Tournament of Champions and Nationals will be held June 1 and 2, 2024 at Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts. The same colleges that belong to IHSA can host an alumni show, just not at the same time as IHSA. It has to be either before or after an IHSA show, or on another date for insurance reasons, Lena commented.
With the new rules, Lena pointed out, “We hope it creates more shows, more interest, more alumni and more competitiveness in the post-season and even better nationals going forward,” said Lena.
“It provides a way for people who potentially could never make it to a finals this size. Someone riding once a week or every other week doesn’t have money to haul a horse to a show, get stabling, pay for a trainer.”
With this group, “You’re just paying your entries or maybe a hotel one or two nights. It’s an accessibility outside of college.
“You may be lessoning, but how are you horse showing? We think it provides another avenue for people to ride that’s not the A circuit. If you look at what’s thriving in the horse industry right now, the middle is going away, it’s either local shows or AA horse shows. You do schooling shows with your lesson barn or you want to go to Wellington.”
Membership is $45 for the year, with an option to pay a $20 one-time fee for those who don’t want to commit for the year. They can upgrade it to a full-time membership within 30 days.
Barns will pay a portion the same way IHSA does it now. For instance, if a barn hosting a show wants to charge $50 an entry, the alumni group will get $5 of that. A U.S. Equestrian Federation licensed judge isn’t required, just someone with judging experience; it could even be an IHSA coach.
The alumni shows are doing well, though they are so new there are no metrics on them yet. While AEE is on both Facebook and Instagram, it is baked into the Alumni Tournament of Champions website (https://www.alumnitoc.com/). That tournament, which drew from more than 20 states and Canada, took place at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation in Gladstone, N.J., for three years.
Its origin was as “a once-a-year show for fun for anyone who ever showed as part of IHSA,” Lena said.
“You could be a current IHSA alum or not have shown since you left college and thought it would be fun to do a catch ride, show, get together, meet new friends, see old friends: Because we all rode on the team together 10 years ago, we’re going to come to New Jersey and do a show.”
Riders have to qualify for Nationals, but not the Alumni Tournament of Champions. It takes 40 to 45 hunt seat horses to run the show, with up to 24 riders/class. Some reunion classes go up to 40 riders. The weekend is split between western one day, hunt seat on the other day.
Organizers begin brainstorming in August for the Tournament.. A problem was how to get a sufficient number of western horses, “they have to come from far away. (The area around the USET Foundation is primarily devoted to English riding.)
Western is a big pa. rt of the alumni shows. Kimberly King Storey and Allison Erkman Rassinoux are happy winners. (Skylands Photography photo)
“We were absolutely scrambling,” Lena recalled.
She is into having riders win something by which to remember the competition.
“USHJA (U.S. Hunter Jumper Association) will happily clean out their closet for me,” she said.
“They sent us probably 40 silver mint julep cups left over from the Silver Stirrup Cup (a discontinued competition). I can repurpose them and make better prizes than some people have ever seen.”
Other backers in that regard have included Alliant Private Client, Perri’s Leather, Essex Classics and Success Equestrian. There were 61 supporters this year.
“When you win a class with us, you go home with something cool,” said Lena, noting that for western riders, that means the treasured belt buckles.
Unusually, when someone wins a perpetual trophy with the alumni group, they get to keep it for a year. (At most horse shows, the winner gets a photo taken with the trophy, then the show engraves it and hangs onto it until the next year.)
The alumni shows have taken off in a way that is encouraging for the concept.
“I can only hope it keeps growing,” said Jamie, “and that we are seeing even more new faces, not just retaining our old alumni faces.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 23, 2023
Hundreds of people turned out as the Essex Fox Hounds gathered for their Thanksgiving hunt, adding to a decades-old tradition that many consider the perfect appetizer for a turkey dinner.
Each year, attendance grows for the occasion at scenic Ellistan in Peapack, N.J., where the backdrop of autumn leaves showcased gleaming horses, manes braided for the occasion, and the huntsman’s scarlet coat as he organized the hounds for their work. It’s a nostalgic scene that could be interchangeable with one set in the English countryside of another era.
The Essex Fox Hounds extend a welcome at Ellistan. (Photo © 2023 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
The meet offers an opportunity for everyone not only to tailgate and enjoy the fellowship of the occasion, but also to get close to the horses, often reaching out in delight to pat a soft nose when one is near.
A chance to pat a horse delights one of the spectators. (Photo © 2023 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
“I cannot believe how many people have come to help us celebrate hounds, horses and the land,” said Essex Joint Master Jazz Johnson, as she thanked everyone for being part of the occasion.
“It’s an annual family tradition. We always look forward to this day and we’re excited to be here,” said Olivia Ford of Tewksbury, N.J., as everyone gathered around a nice display of cheeses.
I asked if attendance at Ellistan means it’s difficult to make Thanksgiving dinner, but no worries; the Ford family has it figured out.
“My husband, Matthew, prepares the turkey a few days before and I’d say it’s more of a potluck. A few family members each bring a dish,” said Olivia.
Matthew and Olivia Ford with Francisco Segarra.
Her father, Francisco Segarra, is a regular too.
“What I like about it most is the people. It’s really special to be around nice people who are friendly. It’s a tradition that makes it the best.”
Mark Pfunke of Chester, N.J., is a first-timer at the Essex Thanksgiving meet and a former horse owner who drove his award-winning 1929 Packard 640 (there are only about 100 of them left).
This one was found in a junkyard in Newark in 1950 by a man who restored it to perfection. The car is not just a pretty face.
“It runs beautifully,” Mark said proudly. He was convinced to come by P.J. Ehmann of Oldwick, N.J., the owner of a 1940 Packard.
Mark Pfunke and his Packard. (Photo © 2023 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
What does P.J. enjoy about coming?
“Meeting all the people. See and be seen. And the hot toddy is good too,” he added.
Sarah Slack (she’s an Essex joint master) and her husband, Hank Slack, Ellistan’s owners, graciously treat the crowd to hot toddies if they are adults; for the kids, it’s hot chocolate. The riders call the drink a “stirrup cup,” but it’s tasty whether it’s consumed on horseback or on foot.
Michael Webb, the genial estate manager, said the toddy is a brew of brandy, rum and sherry, judiciously mixed with apple cider and honey, both produced at Ellistan.
“The original hunt club recipe was literally the alcohol, water and lemon juice,” Michael informed me.
“Twenty-five years ago, I changed it,” (for the better).
The Johnson family’s carriage is always a part of the festivities at the hunt meet. (Photo © 2023 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
As the riders prepared to move off, I chatted with Kate Crauford, an Australian who was riding with the hunt for the first time. A competitive show jumper, she borrowed Castle, a dapple grey gelding, from another Essex joint master, Dennis Sargenti. Since she was new to the scene, I thought I’d tell her why so many people come out.
A festive spread for the tailgating was enjoyed by Nancy Spatz, Dana and Lexi Sendro and Bullet the puppy. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
“Do you know who Jackie Kennedy was?” I asked, not sure if the fact that she was 23 years old and from the other side of the world might need an explanation about the former first lady.
But Kate knew of her (as someone said to me, who hasn’t heard of Jackie Kennedy?), so I thought she’d appreciate hearing about her role in the Thanksgiving tradition.
I explained Mrs. Kennedy was a member of Essex, and once the media got wind of that, they turned out with their cameras every year for the hunt, to which she was often accompanied by her son, John. Even after she no longer rode on Thanksgiving, and passed away, people kept coming since they had gotten in the habit. Now Kate understands the origin, and so do you.
Jacqueline Kennedy at Ellistan when she rode with Essex (that’s her son John in the left background). (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
“I had no idea that so many people came and watched,” Kate told me.
“It’s actually quite nice. It’s a lot more fun, inviting and inclusive.”
Gigi Moynihan, another jumper on a holiday from the show ring, was aboard her off-the-track thoroughbred, Ripley. She rides with the hunt on Thanksgiving every year.
“It’s so great that all the people come out,” said Gigi.
“There aren’t a lot of events like this for foxhunting. It’s really nice to see everyone, all your friends come and all the local people come with the whole family. It’s just great fun.”
The hunt itself ran for more than two hours, ranging around a section of the Somerset Hills dotted with estates and undulating fields.
The hunt takes a check in the middle of an exciting afternoon. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
“We covered a lot of ground and the hounds have been great,” said Lynn Jones, another joint master.
She was delighted with the number of people who came out to watch.”
“I thought it was the biggest crowd ever,” she said.
(Read my two-part 2022 series on fox hunts in New Jersey via these links. Click here for part one and here for part two.)
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 22, 2023
Operation X: The Secrets of the Horse Billionaire, presented the first part of a documentary that aired Nov. 22 in Denmark on the way horses are trained at Helgstrand Dressage, with information obtained by a reporter going undercover as a groom.
Helgstrand Dressage, which has 290 horses in training, while selling more than 150 elite dressage horses annually, lost a court battle to prevent the program from being televised. Helgstrand Dressage trains about 350 horses a day, with 10,000 rides a month.
International competitor Andreas Helgstrand, who owns the company with his wife, Marianne, is the CEO of Global Equestrian Group, which is part of Waterland Private Equity. In 2021, GEG bought the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. The home of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, the facility was renamed Wellington International.
In the wake of the program being aired, the Danish Equestrian Federation will exclude Andreas Helgstrand from the national team and all national team activities at this time. His father, Ulf Helgstrand, had stepped aside in September from his role as head of the federation due to the potential for conflict of interest.
The federation’s board “strongly distances itself from the unacceptable methods of riding, training, and treating horses the broadcasts clearly show. Therefore, it is now clear, that Andreas Helgstrand, based on the broadcasts, can no longer represent the Danish equestrian federation as a national team rider.”
The federation stated that practices revealed on the program are “not compatible with the fundamental values and principles of horse welfare.” It will no longer collaborate with Helgstrand Event.”
This includes national higher level competitions as well as national and international championships for the time being.
Dyrenes Protection (animal protection) in Denmark reported Helgstrand Dressage, Andreas Helgstrand and associated riders to the police as a result of the broadcast.
“At Dyrenes Protection, we are appalled by the documentary. The hidden recordings show that the horses at Helgstrand Dressage have been systematically treated in a way that is deeply worrying and contrary to basic principles of responsible training and animal welfare. We believe that it has the character of animal cruelty,” said Yvonne Johansen, animal welfare manager at Animal Protection and a veterinarian specializing in horses.
In response to the documentary, Helgstrand Dressage stated it needs to correct what has happened.
“What we see in TV 2’s footage makes a big impression on us. It is not okay. It is poor riding and treatment of horses that we do not want to see at Helgstrand Dressage,” the company said in a statement.
“It does not live up to our guidelines and values, and it is not representative of our culture”
It continued, “We can see that there has been a shift in our values, and it is our responsibility as leaders to ensure that our training and treatment of horses are done in the best possible way. We can see in the programs that this has not happened. We can and must do better.
“That’s why we take the content of the programs very seriously. The recordings are from January 2023, and we have thoroughly reviewed our work processes both before and since the recordings and introduced a wide range of measures and improvement points for our animal welfare, business management and conditions for our employees.”
Noting “It is central to our work that our horses are well,” the statement read, “We train elite dressage horses that, together with their riders, should be able to perform at the highest level. We can only succeed if our horses thrive, and there is trust between rider and horse. Elite sports are demanding. But like other athletes, a sports horse needs to feel good to deliver results, which is why we must always be attentive to the way we train our horses.
“Like the experts, we can also see that there is conflict behavior in some of the cases in the programs. This is unacceptable, and we are reacting to this,” the statement read.
“We have 60 professional riders and grooms who work hard every day to train our horses in the best possible way. It is our responsibility to ensure that our guidelines are followed and that training methods are used correctly and always with the health and well-being of the horse as the main priority.
“We can see that some of our training equipment has been used incorrectly in the recordings. It should guide and correct the horse, but it should never be used as punishment. We would like to make it clear that rollkur (over-flexing) and excessive use of whip or draw reins are not accepted by us. The same applies to covering spur marks with colored (shoe) cream.
“Therefore, we have made it clear that no form of colored cream is accepted by us. We acknowledge that our horses may occasionally have sores in the mouth. This can be from biting themselves in the mouth or the tongue or grinding their teeth. That said, no horse should be ridden with sores that require care and rest. We have since introduced a thorough check of our horses every 14 days, where our stable managers assess the physical and mental condition of the horses.
The statement advises, “At Helgstrand Dressage, we have chosen not to participate in the Operation X programs about us because we are fundamentally against TV 2’s use of hidden recordings. But there should be no doubt that we take the content very seriously.”
As a result, Helgstrand said improvements in the business have been implemented.
“What we see in TV 2’s footage makes a big impression on us. It is not okay. It is poor riding and treatment of horses that we do not want to see at Helgstrand Dressage. It does not live up to our guidelines and values, and it is not representative of our culture.”
Helgstrand conceded, “We can see that there has been a shift in our values, and it is our responsibility as leaders to ensure that our training and treatment of horses are done in the best possible way. We can see in the programs that this has not happened. We can and must do better.”
The organization stated, “That’s why we take the content of the programs very seriously. The recordings are from January 2023, and we have thoroughly reviewed our work processes both before and since the recordings and introduced a wide range of measures and improvement points for our animal welfare, business management and conditions for our employees.
“It is central to our work that our horses are well. We train elite dressage horses that, together with their riders, should be able to perform at the highest level. We can only succeed if our horses thrive, and there is trust between rider and horse. Elite sports are demanding. But like other athletes, a sports horse needs to feel good to deliver results, which is why we must always be attentive to the way we train our horses.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that our guidelines are followed and that training methods are used correctly and always with the health and well-being of the horse as the main priority. We can see that some of our training equipment has been used incorrectly in the recordings. It should guide and correct the horse, but it should never be used as punishment. d to complying with current legislation, but strive to set higher standards for the industry — whether it’s our work with horses, our business practices or the conditions for our employees.
“In response to the public criticism, we have conducted an independent legal investigation of our company’s business practices, and we have thoroughly and in detail compared our practices and internal guidelines with the Danish Animal Welfare Act, the Danish Equestrian Federation’s ethical guidelines and the International Equestrian Federation’s Code of Conduct and general guidelines. On this basis, we have introduced a wide range of measures and improvement points for our animal welfare, business practices, and conditions for our employees.”
Based on the internal review of the industry’s legislation and guidelines in this area, Helgstrand has introduced:
- “A stricter self-monitoring of horses, where stable managers inspect all horses every 14 days. This is in addition to daily inspections of horses and 3-5 annual veterinary checks. All horse checks significantly exceed legal requirements.
- An updated Code of Conduct and guidelines in our employee handbook that clearly describe our requirements for all work with and handling of horses. The guidelines are based on both the International Equestrian Federation’s regulations and the Danish Equestrian Federation’s ethical guidelines. Violation of our guidelines will result in a number of sanctions.
- Spreading knowledge of our Code of Conduct and internal guidelines upon employment, and focus on the above has been intensified in our daily work.
- Raising awareness of the whistleblower scheme. Helgstrand Dressage has had a whistleblower scheme since 2022, where investigations are conducted confidentially.
Further training of employees in addition to ongoing dialog and alignment of expectations regarding our requirements for the treatment of horses.”
Based on an independent legal investigation from Bruun & Hjejle from June 2022, the company has introduced:
- New partnership contracts for co-owners of horses with clear guidelines for ownership, costs and commission. This creates greater transparency in our deals.
- Transparency in all aspects of the contractual basis.
- Documented/written communication that is approved by both party owner and H/D as a basis for 100 percent agreement on the contractual basis.
- Transparency in any commission settlements (a new industry standard).
- Introduced a thorough KYC (Know Your Customer) process to ensure the validity of the purchase amount.
A review of working conditions for grooms resulted in significant salary increases effective from June 2022, which Helgstrand contends is now setting the industry A-standard.
There also is an opportunity for industry-leading bonus schemes, while working conditions have been improved with a focus on working hours. A Groom Manager has been employed full-time to ensure the well-being, retention and strengthening of working conditions for the employee group.
