by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 26, 2020
Clipping horses’ sensory hairs on their muzzle and around their eyes is forbidden starting in July under a new FEI rule, passed during the governing body’s General Assembly last week that means disqualification for violators. There is no penalty for clipping ear hair, but since it protects against bugs, why not even it up a bit and then leave it?
The rule only applies to FEI horses in all disciplines, so if you’re not FEI, or you’re a hunter or equitation rider, it doesn’t affect you. Even so, wouldn’t it be kind to give your horse a break and let the whiskers function the way they were designed to? If a judge wants to mark you down for not having clipped your hunter’s whiskers, maybe you should do a re-think about showing in front of an official who reacts that way.
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 16, 2020
The Essex Fox Hounds’ Thanksgiving hunt from Ellistan in Peapack has been cancelled for this year, due to you-know-what. Effective Nov. 17, outdoor gatherings in New Jersey have been limited to 150 people from the previous limit of 500 because of the Coronavirus surge.
For decades, the gathering has drawn hundreds on the morning of the holiday to watch the horses and hounds gather and then head out. Afterwards, many spectators stay on to tailgate in a big field at the estate.
The hunt gathering at Ellistan in 2019. (Photo © 2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
But as Essex joint masters Jazz Merton and Karen Murphy stated, “After significant discussion and consideration, we feel it is our responsibility to help stop the spread of COVID19 and keep our community safe. With that in mind, the Essex Fox Hounds will not be going out from Ellistan on Thanksgiving morning, and access to the property will not be permitted.
Tailgating has been a popular Thanksgiving tradition at Ellistan for decades. (Photo © 2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
“Thank you for your understanding as we navigate through these challenging times. The Thanksgiving Day Hunt is a cherished and longstanding tradition for the Essex Fox Hounds and much of our surrounding community and we look forward to hosting again in 2021.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 16, 2020
There’s a lot of discussion on social media about why the new World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Fla., will be having National Snaffle Bit Association hunter/jumper shows rather than U.S. Equestrian Federation-licensed shows.
Want to sort it out? Take a look at my stories from www.horsesport.com. Here’s a link to the piece that sets the stage, and here’s another link to the follow-up. Hope they clear up the confusion, but the last chapter of this situation has yet to be written. The FEI Board will be taking a look at it during their Dec. 15 meeting, only weeks before the WEC circuit is set to get under way.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 22, 2020
After nine years, Laura Graves and Curt Maes, co-owners of dressage sensation Verdades, have gotten married.
Curt has been a partner in the success of Diddy and Laura, the first American dressage rider to be ranked number one in the world. The Olympic team bronze medalist who won double silver at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games. did not make a bid for the Tokyo Olympics, retiring Diddy at the beginning of this year.
Curt and Laura
The couple lives in Geneva., Fla., where Laura is bringing along horses that she hopes will be future grand prix stars. They include SenSation HW, a seven-year-old black gelding who was the Markel/USEF five- and six-year-old national champion.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 22, 2020
The 2021 European Championships in show jumping and dressage–which had been cancelled when the Olympics were moved to next year–are on again.
The championships were called off when the Olympics were rescheduled to keep the focus on the Tokyo Games. But a number of national federations and the European Equestrian Federation pointed out that many nations had more competitors and horses available to compete than just the three from each county who would be riding in Japan.
The logic prevailed, with the European Jumping Championships allocated to Riesenbeck, Germany, Aug. 30-Sept. 4 and the dressage championships going to Hagen, Germany Sept. 7-12, pending final confirmation from the latter organizer. If these venues for some reason cannot host the championships, they won’t be re-bid.
The European eventing championships are not being held because organizers who expressed interest did not follow through. The European Paralympic championships also will not be held so those competitors can concentrate on their mission in Tokyo.
The European championships are staged on odd-numbered years in the Olympic cycle. The equivalent in the Western Hemisphere is the Pan American Games, but they are held only once during the Olympic cycle.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 16, 2020
Moments of glory with horses usually are fleeting, but the disappointments too often seem to come like clockwork.
Kim Herslow actually enjoyed more than few of those splendid special moments with Rosmarin, a Hanoverian she bought in Germany as a three-year-old and developed to the FEI level.
Kim and Reno at the 2015 Pan American Games. (Photo © 2015 by Nancy Jaffer)
During her best year with the son of Rosentanz, known as Reno, she emerged victorious in the Small Tour at the Munich show before going on to the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, where teams were composed of both Small and Big Tour riders.
In Toronto, her score of 77.15 percent in the Intermediare I was just 0.02 percent behind the total earned by her teammate, Laura Graves, on Verdades in the Grand Prix Special, clinching gold for the U.S. squad and a spot on the podium for Kim.
Kim Herslow on the podium at the 2015 Pan Am Games with gold medal teammates Steffen Peters, Sabine Schut-Kery and Laura Graves (Photo © 2015 by Nancy Jaffer)
After that, she was pointing Reno to Grand Prix and all kinds of possibilities. But in January 2016, he underwent surgery for a cyst that was inside his stifle joint above the cruciate ligament. After he recovered and was being brought back to fitness, he had a suspensory issue, so she decided to semi-retire him.
“If you own horses, it is pretty much guaranteed that you will deal with an injury at some point that will sideline them in their training,” she knows.
“What a heartbreaker, but he’s happy; he owes me nothing.”
Kim enjoys hacking Reno around her Upper Creek Farm in Stockton, where he is the first horse she rides every day.
Kim hacking Reno around the farm. Photo © by Nancy Jaffer
“I’m letting him enjoy what he wants to do and not what he has to do,” she said of Reno, now 15.
“He was a great partner and we had a lot of harmony together, so the bar is high.”
But his problems put her upper level career on hold. She had some rides that kept her in practice, at least, but nothing that she could develop the way she had done with Reno.
Then she met Elvis.
No, not that Elvis. This one is Elvis HI, a Lusitano. She owns him in partnership with Ailene Cascio of Mountain Lakes, who trained with Anne Gribbons. A median score of 70.881 has Elvis ranked first in the U.S. Dressage Federation standings for Prix St. Georges horses registered with the International Andalusian and Lusitano Horse Association.
Kim competing Elvis at the Red Tail Farm show in Bedminster this summer. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
“That’s pretty darn good for his first time out showing PSG,” said Kim, noting she had just moved him up to that division in June.
Elvis, by Travesso SC out of Quizumba HI, was purchased as a three-year-old coming four from Jorge Gabriel, a Brazilian based in Florida and Massachusetts who trains Elmo Santana, another nice Lusitano.
Kim, 49, has been riding Elvis for four years. She notes people can’t figure out what breed he is while watching him go, because he doesn’t have what many consider the typical Lusitano look.
“I took my time bringing him through the levels,” said Kim, who is schooling Grand Prix with the 12-year-old.
He’s already exhibiting a “classical and correct” piaffe, she reported.
“As he gets stronger and more supple and understands how to use his body better, it gets better and better.”
She showed him this summer at the HITS facility in Saugerties, N.Y. Because of the venue’s large size, she sees it as a good place “to get a horse’s feet wet” in practice for heading to new locations as his show career progresses.
Riding a Lusitano requires different techniques than riding a warmblood, she found.
“His walk used to be lateral and now I’m getting 8s and 9s on his collected walk. It involves teaching them (Lusitanos) to use their core and not just brace their neck and run really fast. That is the trick for that breed, I think.
Linda Zang, an international judge who has officiated at the Olympics and gives clinics at Kim’s barn, helped with Elvis. The guidance enabled Kim to improve Elvis and “bring it up to the level that it is now, with a feel that is really solid and controlled in a nice contact, where he’s always on the vertical and always going out to the bit.”
Although Kim usually spends the winter in Florida, competing at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, she notes that as questions about Covid keep coming up, “it’s not the best year to head down to Florida.” For next season, she plans to train at her own stable, with its insulated indoor arena.
She can get coaching via the internet with a Pixem video system (she is grateful for the help of her fiancée, internet technology specialist Lenny Neugarten in making that work.) So Kim has been able to benefit from lessons with U.S. dressage technical advisor Debbie McDonald and Ali Brock, a member of the USA’s 2016 bronze medal Olympic team, even though they’re not within 1,000 miles of New Jersey.
“It is nice to see she has another horse going down centerline,” Debbie commented.
Ali mentioned, “I had the wonderful opportunity to compete alongside Kim and Reno starting in 2015 at the Nations Cup in Wellington, followed by the Pan Am short list tour in Europe, the Gladstone Pan Am training camp, and all the way up to team gold in Toronto.
“You really get to know someone when they are under the pressure of competing, and there was a tremendous amount of pressure to achieve team gold in Toronto. Kim is one of my most favorite people ever–she is an amazing horsewoman, teammate, barnmate and friend who is honest, trustworthy, supportive, caring and kind,” Ali added.
“She is a heck of a competitor and exactly the kind of person who you’d want on your team. I am so happy to see her bringing on new horses, and have enjoyed helping her with Elvis. He is a very-hard working, serious, sensitive guy who has really bloomed under Kim’s training and nurturing. I fully expect to see them in the Grand Prix ring in the next couple of years.”
Kim gives Elvis a pat after a good test. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
Hard work is also Kim’s hallmark. After the former hunter/jumper rider discovered dressage at Delaware Valley College in Pennsylvania, her father, John Herslow, gave her the opportunity of having her own farm, but required her to be involved in building it.
When Upper Creek first opened, Kim did all the work because she couldn’t afford to pay for any help. The business progressed, but she noted, “All the horses I produced I had to sell as they started getting good, so I could pay my bills. I appreciate everything more because I’ve worked that hard for it.”
In addition to Elvis, Kim is bringing along a five-year-old, Feymar (Furstenball X Weltmeyer) who has “a super brain” She was second in the ranking of the Bundeschampionat for Oldenburgs as a three-year-old. But it was the fact that she reminded Kim of Reno which made a connection.
“That’s one of the reasons I bought her,” she explained, noting the mare is on a slower track than Reno while he was developing. Even so, “She’ll be a powerhouse, I think. We’ve just got to see how it plays out.”
She knows that patience is the only was to make things happen with her horses.
When it comes to Elvis practicing piaffe, “I’m being careful to keep it fun. Grand Prix isn’t that far off for him. He’s going to be one of those horses that wants to do it. He’s trying really hard for me, and that’s a good feeling.”
She’s willing to spend “whatever time it takes to give him the confidence and make him super consistent. If he shows potential that he’s going to step up to that plate, for sure we could think about doing some bigger things.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 7, 2020
After listening to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach speak today at a press conference following a meeting of his executive board, it seems the Tokyo Games are on track for 2021–although they will be produced differently than any of their predecessors.
Citing “another very encouraging, precise report” on the status of the Olympics received during the board meeting, Bach noted “progress is being made on producing an Olympic Games fit for a post-Corona world.”
As he pointed out, “Our world will never be as it was at the beginning of this year,” which also means changes made for Tokyo will be considered in planning for the 2022 winter Olympics in Beijing and the 2024 summer Olympics in Paris. While in the past there were “a number of nice-to-haves” in connection with the Games, Bach mentioned, one major initiative will be “simplification, to see how can we concentrate on the essentials of the Games.”
There already has been $280 million saved through more than 50 measures agreed upon by the organizing committee and the IOC. There has been progress on Covid counter-measures, Bach said, commenting about “the potential arrival of a vaccine” and rapid testing to determine who has the disease.
He sees such developments as “methods to be added to the tool box” of how to put on a Games. It is estimated that the one-year postponement of the Olympics will result in $800 million in additional costs, to be added to a total for presenting the Games slated as $12.6 billion at the end of 2019.
Bach noted what has been learned about handling Covid since March offers leads “for good progress in addressing the challenge of the virus,” which will be at the disposal of the IOC and Games organizers next year.
Asked whether the Games could be held behind closed doors without spectators should there be a massive second wave of Covid-19, Bach said he couldn’t speculate on what the situation will be nine or ten months from now. But he did note that even during what some say is a second wave happening now in a number of locations, both professional and amateur sports, including world championships in cycling and triathlon, are being held around the world. At the same time, he didn’t know if the Games organizers will be able to “fill the stands to their full capacity” next July or if social distancing restrictions still will need to be in effect.
Christophe Dubi, the IOC sports director and deputy Olympic Games executive director, noted “there are a number of scenarios” that are possible, and that as things unfold, organizers will “know which tools we’ll use.” Answering a question about what will happen to the opening ceremonies, usually a highlight of the Games, he pointed out it is a “massive undertaking” that “has to be adjusted to a sign of the times.”
Bach is so optimistic that said he can “encourage the Japanese people who have doubts to have confidence in their own efficiency and organizing committee.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 1, 2020
If there were an official title for the top hunt seat equitation horse of all time, it would go to Grappa, the appropriate namesake of the Best Horse title at the East Coast Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search.
Grappa, an equitation horse to remember.
The seven-time national champion, owned by Sarah Willeman, left us this week at the remarkable age of 34. She often posted photos of him, and he looked great in retirement, grazing with his pal, Otter.
He took his final bow for the public in 2006 at the Washington International Horse Show. Sara called the years after that, “a gift beyond what I could have expected.”
She recalled that “his extraordinary life force made him unruly and brilliant as a show horse. The wild look in his eye that used to warn us of upcoming antics reassured me in his later years: a sign that he was thriving, still himself. His beauty, grace and class were with him to the end. An extraordinary being in all ways, a horse we all felt lucky to know.”
Sarah, who thanked caretaker Nancy Shaw for her efforts, noted, “What Grappa did for me in my riding career is forever part of me. And even more than the achievements, the chance to be his person, to learn from him, to care for him over many years, has helped to shape who I am. Whenever I’m with any horse, Grappa is in my heart.”
Trainer Missy Clark remembered that “Grappa ran the show, and we had to figure out ways to fit into his playbook. There will never be another soul like Grappa.”
After Lauren Bass rode him to the Maclay title in 1996, the year that the National Horse Show returned to Madison Square Garden from the Meadowlands, Lauren also was aboard the next year for victory in the AHSA Medal Finals.
When Sarah bought him, she won the 1998 Washington International Horse Show finals with the former jumper, then went on to take the Medal and USET East Coast Show Jumping Talent Search Finals. She leased him to Missy’s stuents, including Brian Walker, who won the Maclay in 2001 while in 2002, Maggie Jayne took the Medal finals.
“I am so incredibly grateful to have had a horse like Grappa in my life,” stated Missy.
“His talent, athleticism, individualism and desire to win were the traits that set him apart. His sense of humor was unforgettable too. He not only had an impressive track record of winning national championships, but he also had quite a track record of bucking people off! Luckily I escaped that fate, but he could sure keep you on your toes!
Missy offered condolences to Sarah and her mother, Anne Meyer, on their loss of such a remarkable horse.
“Godspeed Grappa… you were one in a million and I will remember all that you taught me for the rest of time.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 30, 2020
The Essex Foxhounds Masters Chase is always a fun fall happening at Natirar in Peapack, with races for everyone, whether you have a stick horse or a thoroughbred, and lots of tailgating.
But Covid has taken another competition from us, as the chase was just cancelled. Essex Joint Master Jazz Merton explained, “Fox hunting has been incredible lately; we are so, so fortunate to have been able to get outside enjoying the countryside sport in these difficult times, where quarantines, social distancing and avoiding big group gatherings have kept us from our normal activities.
“The Natirar race day that benefits the Countryside Alliance of the Somerset Hills is a very family-oriented day,” she said. Explaining the cancellation, Jazz added, “We just felt that the family tailgating experience would be too risky with the exposure and would potentially compromise our safe enjoyment of this wonderfully social celebration of our sport.”
Instead, Essex is offering a chance for riders to enjoy another hunter pace as they have added one Oct. 25 to the schedule at Cedar Lane Farm on Homestead Road in Oldwick. For more on Essex, go to www.essexfoxhounds.org.
Other paces this fall include the Monmouth County Hunt’s themed outing starting at their hunt kennels, 50 E. Branch Road, Allentown. The final pace in its series Nov. 1 offers thoroughbred challenge awards and a tailgate contest. All jumps have go-arounds.
There are three divisions, with the fee $55 for adults and $35 for juniors. Both English and western riders are welcome, with protective headgear, of course. For more information, go to this link
The Spring Valley Hounds’ hunter pace is Nov. 1 in Allamuchy, Warren County. There are six divisions, including a “fossil” section for which the ages of the two riders on a team must add up to 110. The fee is $50 per rider. Teams go out from 9 a.m. through 12:30 p.m. For details, go to http://www.springvalleyhounds.com/hunter-paces.html
There’s a grand prize of $500 for the best performance in two of the three Spring Valley paces this year.
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 18, 2020
Reacting to the Eventing Nation website’s “attack” on the use of the name Plantation Field for the major eventing series in Unionville, Pa., property owner Cuyler Walker announced on Sept. 16 that he is cancelling the lease of his land for the competitions.
The Plantation Field International Horse Trials, where competition begins tomorrow, will continue through the weekend, but Denis Glaccum, president of Plantation Field Equestrian Events, said he and Walker “will not accept censoring of our First Amendment rights.”
Eventing Nation had cited the “troubling associations inherent in the name Plantation Field. Specifically, the word `plantation.’ ”
In an editorial, the website maintained that “Asking people of color to come visit, to spectate, volunteer, or compete, at a place called Plantation is insensitive at best and works against our efforts to implement more diversity in the sport.”
At the same time, it also was noted that no one associated with the event had an objective to offend with use of the name. And Eventing Nation pointed out Plantation Field proceeds benefited Work to Ride, a program for disadvantaged urban youths that offers them an opportunity to ride and work with horses.
Then after learning today that Walker was cancelling the lease, Eventing Nation posted this message: “The loss of this event is a significant one for our sport. Our intention was to open a discussion, guided by the governing organizations, to make sure diverse BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) would be welcomed and included in every area of eventing.
“We are deeply saddened that the property owner has chosen this path rather than join us in an open discussion about inclusivity as it reflects on the name of this iconic venue.”
Eventing Nation’s editor, Leslie Wylie, did not return a call seeking further comment.
A storm erupted on social media with word about why the lease was being cancelled, during a year when many events–including U.S. Eventing’s own American Eventing Championships–were not held as a result of the pandemic.
The U.S. Eventing board of governors decided in a recent meeting that it would not use the name Plantation Field in media releases or write-ups of the event. Glaccum contended the organization’s investigation found just two people who were offended by the name, neither were from the area.
USEA vice president of active athletes and board member Doug Payne, who did not attend that meeting, called the situation “demoralizing.”
He is, he said, “Absolutely dismayed with actions that have led to the removal of the venue and I think it’s a massive detriment to the sport going forward.”
Payne sent a letter to the USEA board, suggesting it should do “some serious looking inward. I think they need to about-face on this. They’re tasked with growing the sport and right now, and we’re cutting it down.
“Clearly, I want no exclusionary policies; you don’t want people getting pushed away. The impact here is a massive negative and I’m obviously disappointed between the USEA and Eventing Nation with their actions that led to this.”
The USEA CEO Rob Burk and its president, Max Corcoran, apparently took Payne’s advice, issuing a statement on Sept. 17 saying: “Having this historic competition close isn’t the right result for the sport, and the USEA is working hard to find a solution. The organizer and landowners operate exceptional events on a beautiful piece of land.”
Having seen the light, they noted, “We are deeply sensitive to the history of the word ‘plantation’ and its connection to slavery; however, this property has no known connections to slavery (the emphasis is mine) and was instead named after ‘plantings’ on the property.
“We understand that neither the organizer nor the landowners have ever intended to cause any discomfort related to the name of the event and to imply otherwise is a disservice to our organizers, landowners, and our sport. The USEA does not have the ability to require an event to change its name as we are required to carry the US Equestrian licensed name of the competition on our calendar of events. However, we are hopeful that an acceptable solution to this issue can be reached.”
Meanwhile,some of Eventing Nation’s sponsors dropped off in the fall-out of the lease cancellation. The website said it will be donating the vacated spaces to organizations doing good work in the equestrian world.
Prior to the issuance of the USEA’s statement, Glaccum said he was “extremely disappointed in the lack of leadership at the national level in dealing with this situation. This event welcomes riders from elementary to the 4* level at multiple competitions at the local, national and international level each year. It is also local to numerous professional riders including several Olympians. The loss of Plantation Field will be a huge loss to the entire equestrian community.”
So how did the iconic venue get its name?
In the 1930s, Plunkett Stewart, who had purchased the land in the early 20th century, allowed the Boy Scouts to plant hedges and trees there. The dictionary defines the word “Plantation” as “an area in which trees have been planted”. Colonial Pennsylvania considered properties less than 100 acres to be a farm, while more than that up to 1,000 acres was a plantation.
And what did the property have to do with slavery? Nothing, as was pointed out in the USEA statement. So why wasn’t that obvious in the first place?
Ironically, considering the current circumstances, the Unionville area is historically a Quaker community. The Quakers were one of the earliest abolitionist groups and fought against slavery. This area was also part of the Underground Railroad.
“What will other events think?” Glaccum wondered about the issue, which first arose in June. “This is how you treat someone?”
