The Kentucky Horse Park is still looking for an executive director…

by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 19, 2021

During the Maryland 5-star three-day event last month, word circulated that Lee Carter, the executive director of Equestrian Events Inc., had been named executive director of the Kentucky Horse Park. A TV station had covered the Kentucky Horse Park Commission’s vote on who should fill the post, which has been vacant for more than a year. When the public session ended with Carter winning the tally, the station aired the results. And then, silence.

During yesterday’s meeting of the commission, its chairman, Alston Kerr, said the panel was unable to come to terms with Lee, leaving the position vacant as it has been for more than a year. So the commission will issue another Request for Proposal to find candidates.

Equestrian Events Inc. Executive Director Lee Carter with Land Rover Kentucky winner Oliver Townend. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)

“Here we go again,” said Alston. “Let’s see if we can’t get this thing done.

The commission’s next meeting is Jan. 20, and Alston said she has been advised not to discuss details of the matter until the RFP is issued.

Meanwhile, Lee is still in his office at EEI, which presents the park’s biggest attraction, April’s Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, always a selection trial for major championships.

The park not only is home to many other competitions, including the National Horse Show, but it also hosts everything from Equitana to Breyerfest and wide range of equestrian organizations’ headquarters, with the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s among them.

Doug Payne, who wound up as the highest-placed U.S. eventer at last summer’s Tokyo Olympics, was among a group of riders competing for a team spot at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event in April. (Photo © 2021 by Nancy Jaffer)

Lee said he will continue to pursue the horse park job, “depending on what that looks like. It’s really in their court as to how they move forward.”

For now, he’s focused on the Land Rover event.

“Ticket sales are already ahead of where we expected them to be, which is great. If nothing ever works out for the horse park and me, we’re going to continue to make the three-day event as great as can be.

“I love EEI, I love the event, I love what we’re able to accomplish and we really do try to lift up the sport where we can.”

He went on to explain, “My interest in the horse park is that I see the same opportunities there as I saw with EEI when I stepped into that role. It’s got different challenges, being a state agency, but our inability to agree wasn’t any major differences betwixt me and them. I think it was just there were a couple of things that didn’t line up. I’m born in Kentucky and raised in Kentucky and I want to see good things for Kentucky, and that includes the horse park. We’ll see what their next process looks like and we then go from there.”

The Land Rover event had the distinction of being the country’s only 5-star until Maryland debuted this fall, and the eventing calendar continues to grow.

“I think the state is beginning to realize, `Hey, you’ve got a lot of competition out there now that didn’t exist when the 2010 WEG (World Equestrian Games) was here.’ I think they have a desire to maybe start looking at things differently. We’ll see where the park goes next,” he commented.

Meanwhile, Lee added, “I’m committed to EEI and excited about what we’ve got coming forward. If it makes sense for me to pursue the park again, then we will and if not, maybe I’m just destined to be where I’m at, and that’s not a bad place to be.”

Saluting the horses at the USEF convention

by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 16, 2022

The U.S. Equestrian Federation’s annual meeting wrapped up last night in Naples, Fla., with a salute to the country’s standout horses in six breeds and disciplines.

The Smart Pak/USEF Horse of the Year Awards featured not only high-score horses in categories from Arabian to American Saddlebred and western dressage, but also equine stars who were candidates for National and International Horse of the Year.

Jenny and Kost Karazissis with USEF President Tom O’Mara after accepting the award for National Horse of the Year Big Shot. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)

Those honors were voted on by the public, with the hunter Big Shot winning the National title for owner Dulcie Lou Morris and rider Jenny Karazissis. An 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding by Lordanos,

Big Shot’s biggest win last year was the $100,000 World Championship Hunter Rider West Coast Spectacular.

The International title belonged to Ann Thompson’s Balou de Reventon, a 16-year-old Oldenburg stallion by Cornet Obolensky ridden by Brian Moggre.

Brian, who had a top career as a junior, started riding Balou in 2020. They were the reserve combination for the Tokyo Olympics. Brian and Balou led the U.S. team to gold in the Aachen, Germany, Nations Cup, the first time an American contingent had won that title since 2005. Balou also was second in the prestigious Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen.

Brian, who is 20, gave an emotional speech at the convention after accepting Balou’s award, noting that he wrote it by himself and didn’t show it to anyone before delivering it at the dinner.

Brian and Balou du Reventon. (Photo by Shannon Brinkman)

After saluting the other International contenders, Dolton, the double-gold para-dressage mount of Roxie Trunnell and Steffen Peter’s Olympic dressage ride, Suppenkasper, Brian spoke about how he had never before gotten a horse of Balou’s character until he was selected by Ann for the ride in late 2020, and thanked Balou’s owner for the great opportunity he had received.

“The first time I laid eyes on Balou, I thought to myself, `Where is the rest of you?’ ”  Brian recalled. But he soon came to realize the little horse was quite the powerhouse.

“I continue to learn something from him each and every day,” Brian said.

The first European show in which he rode Balou was the 5-star in St. Tropez. Brian was a little unsure when he started there, but could depend on Balou and “he showed me the way, as he always does.”

Brian Moggre and Ann Thompson with Balou du Reventon’s impressive trophy. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)

As Brian noted, “I continue to learn something from him each and every day. What Balou has in his heart and soul you cannot instill into any horse.”

Ann said she selected Brian as Balou’s rider after looking at his videos.

“I just watched the things that he did that I thought would be really good and match up with Balou. They just seemed like they would be a perfect match for each other, and it worked out great.”

Where is Monmouth at the Team headed?

by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 9, 2021

What’s in the future for Monmouth at the Team?

The former Monmouth County Horse Show made an impressive statement as a boutique fixture in Somerset County, with the lure of lavish hospitality and a welcoming style. Most important in terms of attracting exhibitors and spectators was its new location at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation headquarters in Gladstone.

The U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation stables offered a dramatic backdrop for competition during Monmouth at the Team. (Photo © 2019 by Nancy Jaffer)

Exhibitors drawn to the iconic site could say they had ridden in the same ring where the likes of Bill Steinkraus and other show jumping legends trained, against a backdrop of the famous stables that are recognized around the horse world.

In 2016, its debut at the Team, the competition was named the New Jersey Horse Shows Association’s Show of the Year. But five years after Tucker Ericson and his cousin, Michael Dowling, moved New Jersey’s oldest show north from its namesake county, Covid struck. Like many shows, Monmouth at the Team was cancelled in 2020.

It was all set to return in 2021, but quarantine protocols for the Olympic dressage, para dressage and eventing teams meant they had to be isolated at the foundation before taking off for the Games. In the end, problems with flights meant they would quarantine in Germany, but that decision came far too late to accommodate Monmouth. It moved a half-hour’s drive away to Centenary University in yet another county, Morris.

The Bobcat Derb–complete with bobcat ears on every helmet–translated to a new location at Centenary in 2021. (Photo © 2021 by Nancy Jaffer)

Now Tucker doesn’t think the show can return to the USET Foundation.

“Most likely, it will stay at Centenary,” he said, noting that university is considering taking on the show.

Tucker has a new job involving building insurance programs for a vehicle fleet management company and is working at it 10 to 12 hours a day while living in Philadelphia. That means he is unable to devote himself to the show the way he did in the past.

“I can’t do all the work,” he said, adding that his cousin also is busy with two jobs, teaching at Centenary and working as a trainer.

Cousins Michael Dowling and Tucker Ericson kept busy doing every job that had to be done at the show, whether it was at the Team or at Centenary, as it was this year. (Photo © 2021 by Nancy Jaffer)

Tucker hopes to stay involved with the show to some extent, but noted he and Michael need “to partner with someone who has a facility.”

If the foundation were willing to run the show, he would offer it the dates, but that isn’t happening because employees need to focus on the organization’s mission. The foundation is the philanthropic partner of the U.S. Equestrian Federation, helping to fund U.S. teams, programs and the development pathway, through charitable gifts and donations

Tucker has three concerns as he looks at what will happen with the show.

First, he needs to partner with an organization that is going to handle a lot of the groundwork, “which means doing emails and phone calls every week of the year.”

Second, he wants to keep it “separate and unique,” so it therefore shouldn’t be part of the three circuits that dominate the show scene in New Jersey.

The third thing that is most important to him in connection with the show is the Nature Conservancy’s Bobcat Derby, a very popular hunter derby with proceeds going to benefit the purchase of land that will help preserve and expand the bobcat habitat in the state.

“The Nature Conservancy kind of fits our values,” he explained.

The disadvantage of the foundation site is that while it has a great outdoor ring, it’s the only ring, which makes a show there very costly.

“You can’t make money on a one-ring show,” said Tucker, then quickly added, “It’s not even about making money; it’s the struggle to break even.”

Hospitality is an important part of the show. (Photo © 2019 by Nancy Jaffer)

At Centenary, all the classes that had to be staged at the foundation over eight days can be held instead in four or five days by using two rings, which means staffing costs can be cut. And Centenary doesn’t have to rent a facility–they have one–so that’s less expense there as well and more money to benefit the Nature Conservancy.

“I think the show can survive,” Tucker said.

He noted they can apply for  a jumper rating and have jumpers run in one ring while the A-rated hunter classes go in another ring. Half the day of hunter competition can be A-rated, while the other half could be C-rated and unrated..

Tucker said he and Michael are only “concerned about offering a viable solution.”

With Covid, a lot has changed, he observed, noting that because people didn’t want to travel as much during the pandemic, they would rent a place and set up for a month to participate in a multi-week show like Traverse City, Mich., or Tryon, N.C. Nearing the end of August, “to do a one-week boutique show, it’s not as enticing when you’ve been on the road away from home all summer and you’ve got your points and spent a lot of money,” he pointed out.

Reducing the number of days, making it more cost-effective and trying to run jumpers in conjunction with other classes instead of on separate days seems to be the way to approach it.

“There’s pros and cons to the concept, but I think it might be one of the only viable solutions to keep it going. We’ll see what Centenary says,” commented Tucker, noting it’s not yet a done deal.

“If someone stepped up who was super-interested in the dates and running them at the Team and either didn’t care about money or had ways of raising enough, I certainly would talk to anyone who I thought was a good representation of the industry and had the right vision.”

He added, however, he won’t let the dates go “unless they have a secure home. We’re completely flexible for a solution that makes sense.”

What should the show be called if it isn’t at the team?

Noting that there are still probably $5,000 worth of ribbons left over, Tucker suggested leaving the name the same for the first year and running a contest with a big prize for whoever comes up with the best name for the future.

USEF honors a special group of deserving equestrians

by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 15, 2022

The most inspiring moments at the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s annual meeting come during the evening when the Pegasus Awards are presented.

The international and national stars, the volunteers, the notable people who have devoted their lives to horses and the federation are saluted. Their stories may prompt smiles, chuckles or tears, but they are never dull. That has held true over the years, and proved to be the case once again during this year’s meeting in Naples, Fla.

There was such a wide variety of people being saluted from so many disciplines during one evening. It’s fascinating to hear the stories of people who have the horse in common, but different ways of interacting with them.

Octavia Brown, a pioneer in the field of Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies, was presented with the USEF Equus Foundation Humanitarian award. The 79-year-old Hackettstown, N.J.,  resident was simply thrilled with the honor.

Octavia Brown chatted at the Pegasus dinner with USEF Paralympic Technical Advisor Michel Assouline, whose riders brought home an impressive array of medals from the Paralympics. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)

“It’s an amazing thing,” she explained.

“I retired two years ago and it never occurred to me that i would get this award. It just means so much to be recognized for all those years.”

Just as important in her view, is that she believes “it shows  national recognition is now being paid to the whole field of therapeutic riding in a way that 50 years ago no one could even dream it would be.”

It’s worth noting that the equestrian portion of the Paralympics, which were not held in conjunction with the Olympics  until1996, have taken on great importance and the U.S. achievements in that competition are being celebrated at the annual meeting. Who would have thought that could happen 50 years ago either?

Mane Stream in Oldwick, N.J., had its roots in the therapeutic program started by Octavia when she was on the ground floor of a movement that took off as she continued to contribute to its growth.

Her last job was at Centenary University, where she founded its therapeutic program and retirement hasn’t kept her from checking in there.

“I’m still involved with my local program as a mentor and advisor. I do still ride at Centenary, I mentor people from all over the country who want to become instructors and I also am a board member for the Horses and Humans Research Foundation, she said,  citing “their work in finding viable research to back up the work we all know is so great.”

Paralympic double gold medalist Roxie Trunnell got double recognition, receiving the Pegasus Medal of Honor and the Becky Grand Hart Trophy. Roxie, who also was on the U.S. bronze medal team, came to the stage in her wheelchair with Karin Flint, the owner of her Paralympic mount Dolton. Karin read Roxie’s speech, in which she recalled that she thought her equestrian career was over when she suffered a stroke. Instead, it just took a different direction.

Roxie Trunnell, Karin Flint and Tom O’Mara. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)

The new Kip Rosenthal Memorial High Score Equitation Award, named in memory of a beloved teacher and author, went to Zayna Rizvi. She earned the most points in equitation championships during 2021. Zayna was accompanied to the stage by Kip’s sister, Jo Michaels, and Ann Grenci, who taught so many young riders.

Zayna Rizvi with USEF President Tom O’Mara, Ann Grenci and Jo Michaels. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)

Friends who have left us were not forgotten. Among those who got the Richard E. McDevitt Award of Merit were former National Horse Show President Mason Phelps and ringmaster John Franzreb, both of whom died in May.

Susan Morey of Hallmark Farm, who passed away a little more than a month ago, received the Barbara Worth Oakford Trophy and the Pegasus Medal of Honor.

It was an emotional moment when her husband, Stan, accepted the awards for the Arabian breeder and competitor, who also was a Morgan trainer. He noted how much his wife would have appreciated the honor, while characterizing his family as “contributors.”  His son, Colter, who came on stage with him, is a police officer and his daughter, Julie is a nurse. Susan was known as a mentor to young equestrians.

Show jumping Olympic multi-medalist Laura Kraut earned the International Equestrian of the Year title, while hunter rider Hunt Tosh was named National Equestrian of the Year.

The highlight of the evening, as always, was presentation of the Lifetime Achievement  Awards.

One of the winners was U.S. Equestrian Team veteran Kathy Kusner, whose story was told by her close friend Olympic double gold medalist Joe Fargis. The first woman to hold a jockey’s license, something that was decided in court when the establishment did not want to accept female jockeys, She also was a pilot and known for starting Horses in the Hood, giving inner-city children an opportunity to experience being involved with horses. Kathy was unable to make the trip from California to accept her award in person.

Howard Simpson speaking at the awards dinner. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)

The other person receiving the prestigious salute was Howard Simpson, whose dedication insured the survival of what is now known as the North American Youth Championships.

During his acceptance speech, Howard in his typically generous style cited the contributions of so many others toward starting and keeping alive what originally was the North American Young Riders Championship. He mentioned Gen. Jonathan Burton, Col. D.W. Thackeray and Capt. Jack Fritz, all gone now; the O’Connor and Broussard families and the volunteers who worked so hard over the years.

“What was really important to me, and what remains important, are the conversations…of passion and knowledge from so many people in and outside of the discipline that you may be working on. (That) is what makes the Federation…so important,” Howard told his audience.

“The dedication of so many people…is outstanding,” he concluded, saying “how that dedication and passion would go on year after year, not for a title, not for a position (but) to bring a point across to represent your fellow equestrians.”

The Washington International has a new home outside the city

by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 9, 2021

The Washington International Horse Show is moving out of its namesake city for the third time since its founding in 1958, heading to Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, Md., for 2022.

The show, formerly 4-star rated, will be a 5-star Oct. 25-30 if the FEI and U.S. Equestrian Federation approve. Show organizers had been looking for several years for an alternative to the Capital One arena in downtown Washington DC, because its lease was expiring.

The Washington International drew a nice crowd in the heart of the city. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)

Capital One wasn’t the most convenient venue, with many competing horses stabled on the street. But being in the heart of the nation’s capital, mere blocks from the White House, made the show unique. The arena was within walking distance of restaurants, hotels and museums, contributing to a very special experience.

The schooling area at WIHS wasn’t very large, but riders managed. (Photo © by Lawrence J.Nagy)

The Show Place Arena will host the competition next year, while a partnership with the National Harbor waterfront complex in Oxon, Hill, Md., will offer lodging, entertaining, restaurants and shopping, as well as events such as WIHS Kids Day.

The show will be part of Maryland Horse Month, along with the Maryland 5-star at Fair Hill Oct. 13-16 and the Maryland Million horse racing feature at Laurel.

The Washington International was founded in 1958 and ran at the National Guard Armory in the city until 1974. The next year, it moved to Landover, Md., where it ran through 1999. In 2000, it was back in the city at the arena now known as Capital One. It was held there through 2019, but the pandemic prompted the show to head south to Tryon, N.C., for two years.

Replicas of Washington DC landmarks such as the Smithsonian and Washington Monument were part of the ring decor at the Washington International. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)

Washington  is part of the North American Fall Indoor Circuit, once a key goal for hunter, jumper and equitation exhibitors. The Pennsylvania National show remains in Harrisburg, but the National, which follows the Washington International, left its traditional home of Madison Square Garden forever in 2002 and is now held in Kentucky. The Royal Winter Fair in Toronto, which has kept its location at the exposition center through the decades, has not been held as the circuit’s finale for the last two years due to Covid restrictions.

The fall circuit has less importance now than in the past because the landscape  of horse showing in the U.S. has changed dramatically in the 21st century. Many people head to Florida early, skipping the indoor shows instead of waiting to leave until after the holidays. Some do it for tax reasons to keep their Florida residency; others because there are so many offerings for competition in the Sunshine State during the autumn as well as the winter.