by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 18, 2021
It’s been a banner week for Americans in Aachen, Germany at a show many consider the most prestigious in the world.
The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team today finished in second place at World Equestrian Festival CHIO Aachen, the best team finish for a U.S. squad in the history at the event. Will Coleman and Off The Record, Sydney Elliott and QC Diamantaire, Ariel Grald and Leamore Master Plan, and Tamie Smith with Mai Baum were led by Chef d’Equipe Erik Duvander and finished on a final team score of 116.5, edged by only 0.3 penalties as Great Britain took the win with 116.2 penalties. Ireland finished third on 127.2 penalties.
At the same time, Will and his 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding became the first American combination to win the prestigious 4-Star Short, finishing on a score of 30.50.
Two days ago, the USA’s NetJets Show Jumping Team won the Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup at Germany’s Aachen, considered by many the world’s most prestigious horse show, with each rider putting in at least one clean round and Brian Moggre putting in two on Balou du Reventon.
“Aachen is something I have dreamed of since I was a little kid, so to be here with a great horse and great teammates could just not be any better,” said Brian, who dotes on Ann Thompson’s stallion.
“I never have had a horse before that has gone and jumped great things. I only had young horses and my junior jumpers moving up, so it was a lot of pressure to put on myself to step up to the plate, but he’s so reliable and so kind, I couldn’t ask for anything more. I just love him so much,” explained Brian who, like Jessie, has been training with Laura and her partner, British Olympic double gold medalist Nick Skelton.
Brian Moggre and Balou du Reventon at Aachen. (Photo courtesy USEF)
The team total was 4 penalties (a drop score is allowed in each round, unlike the Olympics) to 8 for runner-up Sweden and 12 for third-place France.
Robert Ridland, the USA’s outstanding coach, likes to pair younger riders with more experienced competitors. So he put half of the Tokyo Olympic silver medal team, Jessie Springsteen and Laura Kraut as pathfinder and anchor, with Lucy Deslauriers and Brian. Laura had the drop score of 4 in the first round with Baloutinue, but came back to produce a fault-free trip. Lucy, riding her favorite, Hester, was clear in the first round and collected 4 faults in the second. Jessie, on Don Juan van de Donkhoeve, also was clear in the first round but had the drop score of eight in the second.
Sweden, which won gold in Tokyo, did not use any of its riders from those Games, which speaks to that country’s depth in the sport. The U.S. team was able to avoid a jump-off with Sweden, something that happened in both the 2018 World Equestrian Games, where America triumphed, and the Tokyo Olympics..
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 16, 2021
The USA’s NetJets Show Jumping Team won the Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup at Germany’s Aachen, considered by many the world’s most prestigious horse show, with each rider putting in at least one clean round and Brian Moggre putting in two on Balou du Reventon.
“Aachen is something I have dreamed of since I was a little kid, so to be here with a great horse and great teammates could just not be any better,” said Brian, who dotes on Ann Thompson’s stallion.
“I never have had a horse before that has gone and jumped great things. I only had young horses and my junior jumpers moving up, so it was a lot of pressure to put on myself to step up to the plate, but he’s so reliable and so kind, I couldn’t ask for anything more. I just love him so much,” explained Brian who, like Jessie, has been training with Laura and her partner, British Olympic double gold medalist Nick Skelton.
Brian Moggre and Balou du Reventon at Aachen. (Photo courtesy USEF)
The team total was 4 penalties (a drop score is allowed in each round, unlike the Olympics) to 8 for runner-up Sweden and 12 for third-place France.
Robert Ridland, the USA’s outstanding coach, likes to pair younger riders with more experienced competitors. So he put half of the Tokyo Olympic silver medal team, Jessie Springsteen and Laura Kraut as pathfinder and anchor, with Lucy Deslauriers and Brian. Laura had the drop score of 4 in the first round with Baloutinue, but came back to produce a fault-free trip. Lucy, riding her favorite, Hester, was clear in the first round and collected 4 faults in the second. Jessie, on Don Juan van de Donkhoeve, also was clear in the first round but had the drop score of eight in the second.
Sweden, which won gold in Tokyo, did not use any of its riders from those Games, which speaks to that country’s depth in the sport. The U.S. team was able to avoid a jump-off with Sweden, something that happened in both the 2018 World Equestrian Games, where America triumphed, and the Tokyo Olympics..
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 16, 2021
The U.S. Equestrian Federation is going to revise the rules related to amateur competitors. The scenario has gotten a lot more complicated in the age of social influencers, and others who dabble in teaching beginners but aren’t really professionals.Where do you think the lines should be drawn? This is the last day you can weigh in.
The changes being considered would permit amateurs to provide beginner instruction to non-competing riders outside of the competition environment in the American Saddlebred, Arabian, Hackney, Morgan, Friesian and Paso Fino, National Showhorse and Andalusian breeds and the Saddle Seat Equitation and Roadster disciplines. Instruction would be limited to 20 hours per calendar week and must be performed under the supervision of a USEF Competing member designated as Professional. USEF registration as a part-time instructor is required. A follow-up asks if this rule should include the dressage, eventing, hunter/jumper and western dressage disciplines.
Another change would allow amateurs to accept remuneration as social media influencers or brand ambassadors for posting on social media accounts? Wearing manufacturer marks, barn or stable branding, or class sponsor branded equipment would be allowed in competition. However, remuneration for commercial brand exposure in competition or on competition grounds would not be permitted.
There also is a question about whether the age limit for juniors should be raised from 18 to 21.
Take the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CL265JJ
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 15, 2021
Stars, stars, stars! Great Britain’s Zara Tindall, the former European and world eventing champion, just entered next month’s new Maryland 5-star at Fair Hill. Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter joins her country’s team gold medal Olympian Oliver Townend, the world’s number one-ranked eventer and now a contingent from France, Maxime Livio and Astier Nicolas.
Zara Tindall of Great Britain in competition. (Photo © by Shannon Brinkman)
Spectators weren’t permitted at the Land Rover Kentucky 5-star three-day event in April, but fans at last will have a chance to watch the highest level of eventing in person at Fair Hill, where the cross-country course has been designed by Ian Stark. The Scotsman is a four-time Olympic silver medalist and three-time Badminton 5-star winner who still competes at the lower levels.
The Oct. 14-17 event offering $325,000 in prize money, has attracted an an impressive list of entries. In the 5-star, which has a $100,000 first prize, eyes will be on Zara, who is the daughter of Princess Anne and former U.S. eventing coach Mark Phillips, who is also an Olympic medalist and noted course designer. Zara is riding Class Affair, a 12-year-old Irishbred on whom she finished 18th at Aachen last month.
Oliver Townend will present a challenge for all participants as he rides his two-time Kentucky 5-star winner, Cooley Master Class. He won the 2021 Kentucky event on Ballaghmor Class.
Oliver Townend and his two-time Kentucky 5-star winner Cooley Master Class. (Photo © 2021 by Nancy Jaffer)
There are plenty of international competitors, but U.S. riders account for the bulk of the entries. Quantum Leap will be ridden by Doug Payne, who was the highest-placed U.S. eventer at the Tokyo Olympics on Vandiver. Also competing is his teammate, Boyd Martin aboard his Tokyo reserve horse, On Cue, as well as Long Island T, who won a prep over the weekend at the Horse Park of New Jersey..
Boyd is the top-ranked U.S. rider on the international list in eighth place.The third member of the U.S. Olympic team, Phillip Dutton, will be riding Fernhill Singapore and Sea of Clouds.
Other rider names you’ll recognize include Will Coleman, Will Faudree, Jennie Brannigan, Hannah Sue Burnett and many more. Interestingly, the 5-star includes an entry of Nick Larkin–a New Zealander who won the first Kentucky 4-star in 1998, at a time when that was the sport’s highest designation. He now lives in Kentucky.
The Maryland event will be the second 5-star for On Cue, ridden to fourth place last spring in her 5-star debut at Land Rover Kentucky. (Photo © 2021 by Nancy Jaffer)
Among the riders coming from England, courtesy of arrangements by the Dutta Corp., are the number seven rider in the world, British-based Jonelle Price of New Zealand. She is bringing her Badminton winner, Classic Moet, and her husband, Tim, the world number two, will ride his Kentucky runner-up, Xavier Faer. Also along for the ride across the Atlantic is Britain’s Harry Meade with Superstition and Australian Sammi Birch with Hunter Valley II.
Kentucky drew a number of British-based riders in the run-up to the Olympics, but some this month optioned to compete in the one-off Bicton 5-star at home, replacing the Covid-cancelled Burghley fixture for this year only.
The Maryland event, one of only seven 5-stars in the world, is also hosting a 3-star–which will be held on the morning of the dressage and cross-country competition–as well as the U.S. Eventing Association Young Event Horse East Coast Championships, presented by Dubarry of Ireland.
Tim Price, second at Kentucky on Xavier Faer, will be going for the win this time in Maryland. (Photo © 2021 by Nancy Jaffer)
The competition will be held at a new location down the road from where the old Fair Hill International was staged for decades.
The Fair Hill Organizing Committee, an affiliate of the Sport & Entertainment Corporation of Maryland, is selling reserved tailgate spots next to the cross-country course on Oct. 16.
“We are so excited to offer this fantastic tailgating experience at the inaugural Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill,” said Marissa Melzer, ticketing & hospitality director.
“The chance for families, friends and/or co-workers to be together outdoors for a day at beautiful Fair Hill this fall, while enjoying their favorite tailgating menu so close to these elite athletes and horses is sure to be an experience they’ll never forget.”
Prices range from $500 for a space along the 5-Star course, $300 for a space along the 3-Star course and $250 for a General Admission space. General admission tickets are available as well.
There will also be a variety of attractions, including a food festival and vendors. For ticket information, click here.
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 10, 2021
The Master’s Chase races at Natirar on Main Street in Peapack & Gladstone are back on Oct. 9 after a year off due to Covid.
The event’s roots are in the cherished local tradition of steeplechasing in the Somerset Hills. Although the modern landscape means riders can’t race steeple-to-steeple, the afternoon will feature a full schedule of amateur horse racing and countryside sport.
Part of the Weekend in Gladstone festivities, the event benefits the Countryside Alliance of Somerset Hills, a 501c3 formed with a mission to perpetuate an understanding of the country way of life, maintaining and preserving the history and traditions of hunting with hounds and horses in the Somerset Hills, and to educate the public on the proper care of horses and hounds.
It’s a great tailgating occasion at the Somerset County park, with the action including relays, flat and jumping races, as well as a leadline race and stick pony races for children and adults. The fun starts at noon when the gates open, with the competition beginning at 2 p.m.
For more information and to reserve tailgating spaces, go to www.essexfoxhounds.org, or call Karen Murphy at (908) 727-0222.
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 9, 2021
If you were planning to go to the New York venue for show jumping’s Longines Global Champions Tour Sept. 24-26, better make other plans. The show, which debuted on Governor’s Island in 2019 and was cancelled due to Covid in 2020, is not running this year.
The League has made “the difficult decision not to stage the events in New York and Shanghai due to multiple ongoing restrictions and logistical complications related to Covid-19 and the Delta variant.”
Instead, the season finals will be held in Šamorín on the shores of the Danube, in Slovakia, before the November play-offs in Prague.
The Covid situation has made things difficult for indoor shows as well, where social distancing is a problem.. Both the Stuttgart fixture in Germany and the Maastricht show in Holland also have been cancelled.
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 6, 2021
Kroon Gravin, one of the great competition horses of the early 21st Century, has died in retirement at the age of 30.
The two-time winner of the American Invitational (2001 and 2002), ridden by Molly Ashe Cawley, also was the first U.S entry to win Berlin’s Eternit Grand Prix in 2000 and also was a winner the next week of the Audi Grand Prix in Maastricht, Holland.
Her resume includes a victory in the Grand Prix of Devon in 2001, the year before she won the selection trials for the USA’s World Equestrian Games team, but then withdrew due to an injury. She recovered and went on to continue her notable career.
Kroon Gravin. (Photo courtesy of Molly Ashe Cawley)
The Dutch warmblood mare (Grandville-Dalgravin X G.Ramiro Z) “picked her people and if you were one of the chosen ones, life was good,” recalled Molly, who enjoyed that privilege.
“If you weren’t, she wanted nothing to do with you and there was no changing her mind. She was afraid of people in general but she was such an incredible athlete. She taught me so much and I will always be grateful,” said Molly.
“She was just one of those special horses. I was lucky to have her.”
Kroon was retired in 2008, and spent her remaining years in Holland at the home of her farrier, Peter Van Houp and his wife Inge “so she got well-cared-for, always,” Molly emphasized.
“I will miss her always,” said Molly. While agreeing that 30 is a good age for a horse to reach, she said wistfully, “You could ask for forever, but you’re never going to get it.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 6, 2021
Two unvaccinated horses in Atlantic County were euthanized after contracting Eastern Equine Encephalitis, the second and third cases of the illness that have surfaced in New Jersey this year. The animals were an 8-year-old mare and a 7-year-old mini-horse stallion. All the infections of the mosquito-borne infection were in South Jersey; the previous case was in Cumberland County.
“These new cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis emphasize the importance of horse owners needing to vaccinate their animals to greatly reduce the chances of contracting EEE and West Nile Virus,” state Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher said.
EEE causes inflammation of the brain tissue and has a significantly higher risk of death in horses than West Nile Virus (WNV), a serious viral disease that affects a horse’s neurological system. The diseases are transmitted by a mosquito bite. The virus cycles between birds and mosquitoes with horses and humans being incidental hosts.
EEE infections in horses are not a significant risk factor for human infection because horses (like humans) are “dead-end” hosts for the virus.For more information about EEE in horses, visit the New Jersey Department of Agriculture web site at this link..
Most regions of New Jersey have a reported mosquito population at or slightly above the 5-year averages
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 3, 2021
Harry Case, who defined Lord Stirling Stable’s character as its first manager, was a much-admired man. When the Ft. Meyers, Fla., resident, died on May 22, 2020, pandemic restrictions meant that wasn’t the time for those who knew him to gather in his memory.
Now his granddaughter, Krista Case, is organizing that celebration of his life. It will be held at Lord Stirling, 256 S Maple Ave. in Basking Ridge from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 25. Those attending will be able to share their memories of Mr. Case and enjoy the scrapbook and mementos Krista is bringing. It is an open house type of celebration, so it is expected that people will come and go throughout the afternoon.
Those who have photos of Harry and his wife, Vivian, should call or email Larry Basinski, who is putting together a tribute video. Contact him at (908) 338-3223 (cell) or (908) 604-8501. His email is basi1952@gmail.com. In order for organizers to determine how much caterig is needed, those who have not RSVPd that they will attend should click on this link
The stable is located on a former cattle farm started in the 1890s by Dr. Charles Frederick Baker, a Newark physician. The property was purchased in the 1940s by John Jacob Astor VI, a survivor of the Titanic disaster (his mother was pregnant with him when she escaped the sinking ship.) The land east of Maple Avenue included a barn complex where he raised prize cattle; stables, paddocks, riding trails and extensive wetlands along the Passaic River.
After the Great Swamp was named New Jersey’s first National Natural Landmark, Helen Fenske, who led the fight to save it from becoming an airport, approached Somerset County Park Commission Secretary-Director Jack Moody in 1967 with $75,000 (worth about $573,000 today) from Sarah Mellon Scaife to help the county preserve the Astor farm. Moody obtained a matching grant from the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.
With the popularity of horses in Somerset County, Moody suggested to the park commission that it convert the Astor barns and stables to a county riding facility. He recalled, “We wanted to promote a broad appreciation of horses and the sport of riding among the general public.” The commission approved, opening the stable in 1969 with 30 horses and riding programs for adults and children.
Mr. Case, who had trained Arabians, was in charge and set the standard for Lord Stirling to become a very popular facility. He planned the program and the set-up, including the rings. He definitely was hands-on, and enjoyed leading trail rides on Utah, his favorite horse.
A real horseman, Mr. Case had a great sense of humor, which served him and the stable’s clients very well. A role model who inspired his students, he left his stamp on the stable and the hundreds of people who rode there prior to his retirement in 1991.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 30, 2021
Roxie Trunnell, who won gold in Friday’s individual Grade I test, did it again today after achieving a record-breaking score. Ranked as world number one, topped her category of the freestyle at Baji Koen Equestrian Park with Karen Flint and Flintwoode Farm’s spectacular Dolton as the Paralympics ended its run in Tokyo.
She now matches the mark of U.S. para pioneer Vicki Garner-Sweigert, who took two golds in 1996, the first time the Paralympics were held in conjunction with the Olympics.Roxie’s score of 86.927 was a world record.
Roxie Trunnell gives Dolton a pat for a job well done. (Taylor Pence for USEF)
“He was really with the music and marching today like we really wanted,” said Roxie of her horse’s performance to the theme from the movie “Forrest Gump.”
“All of the little points were really there..He really loves his freestyle,” added Roxie, who is coached by Andrea Woodard. Asked about a highlight, she noted that.in the stretchdown, “he was really stretching.”
This was a different path to fulfillment of a dream she once held as an able-bodied rider, when she had earned a U.S. Dressage Federation bronze medal, was eyeing a silver and thinking about the Olympics. Then in 2009, a virus led to a stroke, and she found herself in a wheelchair.
Undaunted, she pursued the Para path. In 2016, she was 10th individually at the Paralympics, and then won bronze in 2018 at the FEI World Equestrian Games. Grade IV rider Kate Shoemaker originally had the ride on Dolton, but gave it up after realizing that, as coach Michel Assouline pointed out, Dolton’s great walk would make him a star in Grade I with Roxie. (Riders are graded on their degree of impairment, and the tests they ride are designed accordingly.)
A native of Washington State, Roxie moved to Florida so she could pursue her goals with Dolton.
“That was the right choice,” she said.
Kate, an equine veterinarian, continued on her road with Solitaer and today finished achingly close to the podium with a fourth place in Grade IV. Her score was 74.910, just short of bronze medal winner Manon Claeys 75.680 as the Belgian rider claimed the bronze.
It’s been an incredible Paralympics for the U.S., taking its first team medal (the bronze) and two individual golds. While Britain kept on the unbeaten streak it has enjoyed since 1996, the U.S. is on its way and could eye an upset in Paris 2024.
The other U.S. rider competing today, Beatrice de Lavallette, was 10th in that division on Clarc with a score of 72.194.
Britain’s star, Sir Lee Person, claimed his 14th Para gold in Grade II with a score of 82.447 percent on the very sensitive Breezer, who he has had since the horse was foaled.
“I’m twice over the moon – I actually didn’t care if I won a medal, that horse gave me his heart in there,” said Lee.
“He was braver than the team test, braver even than the individual test a few days ago. He still was nervous in there and we had a tiny little spook before I entered and I just half halted to say, ‘Daddy’s here’ and just kind of said, ‘Come on, we can do this’. Then, halfway through the test, I nearly started enjoying it and then I remembered I needed to get to the end before I enjoy it – he was amazing.”
Between the Olympics–where they were the only country to medal in all three disciplines–and the Paralympics, the Brits left Japan with 13 medals. The U.S. was no slouch, however, taking two silvers at the Olympics and two golds and a bronze in the Paralympics.
