by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 8, 2024
So much went on at Aachen while it showcased five disciplines, with the Rolex Grand Prix of show jumping being the big news (our piece is the main story on this website) as the International Equestrian Festival ended its 10-day run.
But we shouldn’t overlook the three 5-star victories by Isabell Werth, who confirmed her relationship with new ride Wendy de Fontaine at the show. She ended with a fantastic freestyle, in which the lyrics of one of Barry Manilow’s most famous songs, where the chorus begins with the line, “Oh Mandy” became “Oh Wendy.”
The performance edged close to 90 percent, marked at 89.095. The audience whistled and applauded in rhythm with Wendy’s foot-perfect piaffe and passage on the final centerline, a test rewarded with a standing ovation.
“Today was our day,” said Isabell.
“We grow closer together, day by day. Wendy was really totally cool, although it was so loud. She simply said: `Tell me what to do,’ and then she did it. I have been here so many times, but today was the best day ever.”
Isabell Werth bows her head after a fabulous freestyle that showed why she should be on the German Olympic team with Wendy de Fontaine.
There was no question when the German team for Paris was named that she would be on it with Wendy, along with world number one Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera BB, who did not compete at Aachen. The only question was whether it would be Frederic Wandres and Blue Tooth Old or Ingrid Klimke and Franziskus for the final spot.
Frederic, second in the freestyle on 83.010 got the nod and Ingrid, third in the freestyle with 81.385 after her horse broke into a canter at the start of the extended trot, is reserve for the Olympics. She had said after Paris she would go back to concentrating on her main interest, eventing.
The highest-placed U.S. combination in the freestyle was Olympic reserve rider Endel Ots with Zen Elite’s Bohemian, who finished fourteenth on 74.665.
“Bohemian again gave me his everything, thank you my friend for taking me on this journey with you,” said Endel, who had never ridden in Big Tour international Grand Prix before this year.
“I truly couldn’t be any more proud of you and I am nothing but honored to be your partner.”
Anna Buffini, the only other U.S. rider in the freestyle, was fourteenth on Fiontini with a score of 74.065.
“Getting closer to where we want to be with each test,” she pointed out.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 5, 2024
The sudden death of Chromatic BF after a competition at the FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last spring will never be forgotten by the horse’s owner/breeder, Kc Branscomb, who is determined to ensure nothing like that happens to another horse representing the U.S. in competition.
She took issue with a massive injection that the 13-year-old gelding received before he collapsed in his stall at the show, and felt she was not getting the whole story about what killed him. Chromatic, who had finished third in his class 90 minutes earlier, received 4 milliliters of Legend, 5 of Adequan, 20 of Traumeel, 20 of arnica and 20 of Selevit, a selenium/vitamin combination. After he was prone on the ground and thrashing, by the time dexamethasone was called for and administered, along with IV fluids the horse was barely moving. Branscomb stated there was no epinephrine asked for or administered.
Rider Jill Humphrey accepts her trophy on Chromatic BF after taking third place in a class at the FEI World Cup Finals.
A necropsy performed at King Faisal University in Saudi Arabia did not satisfy Branscomb,nor did the U.S Equestrian Federation’s explanation based on that necropsy report.
The USEF issued a statement about the report June 10 and revised it on June 11, saying, “The cause of the death was severe diffuse pulmonary hemorrhage and edema, which could be attributed to multiple causes, including disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), cardiopulmonary failure, shock, and exercise-associated fatal pulmonary hemorrhage.
The report further indicates that the histopathologic findings raise the suspicion of fatal equine exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, despite Chromatic BF not exhibiting any overt signs of such condition. According to the final report, the administered medications were not identified as the cause of death.”
It was noted that Dr. Stephen Schumacher, USEF Chief Veterinary Officer, indicated the necropsy report is not conclusive as to the cause of the hemorrhage and edema.
This week, however, USEF Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel Sonja Keating talked for more than an hour about what might have killed Chromatic with Dr. John E. Madigan, professor emeritus of the Department of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of California Davis school of veterinary medicine and board certified in the specialty of animal welfare. Branscomb was referred to Madigan by her own veterinarian as she looked for answers.
In an interview, Madigan explained, “These kinds of issues are what animal welfare is about, so it’s important to offer commentary when it might help improve things.”
He noted the necropsy report listed several possible causes of death, including “shock; cardiovascular, which would include anaphylaxis, and…exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage because the lung has hemorrhage in it. And that would be the fatal form of exercise-induced hemorrhage.”
However, he added, “In sport horses, the incidences of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage fatality is 0.05 percent.
When the condition is exercise-induced, he said, the bleeding starts during exercise. The hallmarks of that include impaired performance, a cough, then some bloody discharge from the nose, he continued, adding “It starts this cascade.”
Madigan pointed out, “In some horses, it could take an hour to die but they’re struggling all along because it started during exercise.”
The idea that Chromatic took a gleeful victory lap during the awards ceremony after his class is “inconceivable and not compatible with fatal-induced thing, which occurred about four or five minutes after an IV injection.”
He mentioned the horse was not brought to the veterinarian who injected him because of a problem, but rather received “these compounds that were supposed to help him recover or whatever the notion is there for the use of those.
“Two of them had label warnings that it could produce anaphylaxis. It’s very clear the other possible causes mentioned in there (the necropsy report); shock, cardiovascular collapse etc., which can be associated with anaphylaxis or anaphylactic reaction is a much more likely cause.”
In the wake of Keating’s conversation with Madigan, USEF issued a statement Thursday about the situation, saying, “USEF is committed to learning from the tragic loss of Chromatic BF and the circumstances surrounding his death to ensure it doesn’t happen again. While the results of the necropsy report were not conclusive, we are still trying to learn as much as possible about the circumstances surrounding his death.
“We worked closely with KC Branscomb to review and revise the horse participation consent agreement. Additionally, we are thoroughly examining research and education initiatives to enhance the management of sport horse recovery.”
Details on the initiatives are yet to be determined, according to USEF.
Branscomb said, “I’m heartened that the USEF appears to be taking this more seriously now. I look forward to cooperating with them to find a positive resolution to this tragedy that will be of benefit to all sport horses in improving their welfare and safety.”
The draft of the new horse participation consent agreement says “no substances will be administered to the horse unless the USEF-appointed veterinarian first obtains written consent from the athlete,” unless it’s an emergency situation.
Branscomb had been looking for a public statement from USEF that said, upon further analysis of the cause of death and bringing in expert testimony to figure out what really went on in Riyadh, “they’ve come to the conclusion that the horse most probably did die of anaphylactic shock and it probably was related to the medications given three to four minutes before (his death). While the veterinarian acted independently, because they (USEF) had full custody of the horse and because they took that responsibility, they are responsible for supervising the vets. They bear some responsibility for the death of the horse and making sure it doesn’t happen again to another horse. They need to acknowledge some level of responsibility.”
She wants USEF to work with the American Association of Equine Practitioners or a similar organization to make sure the vets treating horses at competitions are licensed and “trained to protect our horses in the sport.”
Branscomb is asking USEF to put $1.5 million into the Chromatic BF Fund for Sport Horse Welfare.
“I want them to fund research on what top show jumping horses need to live happy, healthy lives. I want them to put some skin in the game that says that the horse that died in Riyadh didn’t die in vain. He’s going to help fund what will make sure that horses of his quality in his sport will be well taken care of…and do the sport they love without fear of having someone kill them.”
Madigan observed, “if you’re using drugs that have on the label that it can produce anaphylaxis, you better be prepared with epinephrine and corticosteroids, IV fluids etc. or don’t do it. Then you’d have to say, `is it worth the risk to help enhance the recovery?’ ”
As he sees it, “Sports medicine went from treating sports-related injuries and things like that to trying to optimize performance of the equine athlete. But that shouldn’t really include the use of medications that produce at-risk.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 6, 2024
Laura Kraut, Kent Farrington and McLain Ward, all of whom rode on the Tokyo Olympic team three years ago, have been selected for the squad that will go to the Paris Games later this month.
Laura, the only rider to go clear in the Nations Cup at Aachen last week, will be riding Baloutinue, her Tokyo mount. Kent was named with the 10-year-old prodigy Greya, winner of the La Baule Grand Prix, and McLain was chosen with Ilex, a newer mount for him. He is riding that horse in Sunday’s Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen, where Laura is showing Baloutinue.
McLain characterizes ilex as “a very exciting horse and a big jumper.”
Kent Farrington and Greya.
The alternate is Karl Cook with Caracole de la Roque, winner of the Rolex Grand Prix of Rome in May. He was second in June at La Baule, France, where Kent scored his first international victory with the 10-year-old Greya over a course laid out by Olympic course designer Gregory Bodo.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 7, 2024
Here’s a lesson that rider Richard Vogel learned the hard way in the Rolex Grand Prix Sunday at Aachen—don’t celebrate your victory until you’re sure you’ve won.
Richard Vogel celebrates victory a moment too early.
The German, a real star in the show jumping at the International Equestrian Festival this year, was on his way to claiming the featured class aboard the fabulous United Touch S as they rose over the last jump. While his horse was landing with what would be the fastest time (38.64 seconds), he raised his arm in triumph and gave a thumbs up. Except that a rail was falling at the Rolex vertical even as he did so.
“I didn’t take all the risk to the last and I was still quite sure the time was good enough and then he was over the fence in front, but not behind yet. He touched it lightly behind and we had the rail,” said Richard, noting before the pole hit the ground, “I was sure the luck was on our side.”
Richard, who won the show’s style award, wound up third, behind runner-up McLain Ward of the U.S. on Ilex (clear in 41.02) and German rider Andre Thieme (0/39.77), who was overcome with emotion as he realized he just had earned the prestigious title. The first thing he did was repeatedly kiss his horse, DSP Chakaria, saying “I love her just like my wife.”
(His wife doesn’t mind that when she gets a winner’s check, he noted).
“She’s a lifetime horse for me,” he said of the 14-year-old Brandenburg mare (Chap 47 X Askari 173).
Although he’s the former European champion, Andre is very modest. So when it came to a class that is “every rider’s lifetime dream,” Andre confided, “I thought I’d never have a chance, ever.”
Andre Thieme enjoys his victory gallop.
His victory came because “I turned really short and aggressive” to the next-to-last fence” he recounted, but as he headed to that fateful Rolex vertical, he kept thinking “I’m not going to get there. But somehow, I got there and she cleared it. I think the risk to the last two jumps and her quickness made it in the end happen.”
He couldn’t ask for anything more than what he achieved in front of a cheering crowd of 40,000.
“If I would be two years older, I’d probably say `I’m done now,’” the 49-year-old rider mused.
For his part, “I thought this morning that if I was ahead of Richie, it was good enough,” said McLain, who is buddies with Vogel.
“This grand prix has eluded me.”
McLain Ward and Ilex. (U.S. Equestrian photo)
As he watched Andre go and saw that he had beaten Ilex’s time, McLain briefly put his head in his hands and then, in a gesture of sportsmanship, gave Andre a thumbs-up.
McLain learns he has lost the class, but gave a thumbs up to Andre a moment later.
This was only the second jump-off experience McLain has had with Ilex, who will be his mount for the Paris Olympics. The 11-year-old Dutchbred gelding (Baltic VDL X Chin Chin) was ridden by Fabio Leivas Da Costa of Brazil until McLain started showing him in February.
“I believe in his stride and his step,” said McLain.
“He did everything exactly the way I planned. In hindsight, I could have done eight (strides) to the last pretty easily. You always kick yourself a little bit. Andre took a great risk and it paid off and that’s great sport.”
McLain placed high in the classes he entered and was awarded a trophy for being the best-placed jumping rider over the course of the show, but didn’t win a competition. He noted, though, that “it probably would have been a very good Aachen” if Richard “hadn’t had the week of a lifetime.”
You can see why Richard Vogel won the style award at Aachen. (Hubert Fischer photo)
Aachen was the first leg of the Rolex Grand Slam for Andre. Next up is Spruce Meadows. Anyone who wins three legs in row gets a 1 million Euro bonus. Only one rider, Scott Brash of Great Britain, has ever done it.
Spruce Meadows hosts the next leg of the Rolex Grand Slam this September.
The Aachen grand prix drew 40 starters, with 18 qualifying for a second round over a different route designed by Frank Rothenberger. Only four then made the tiebreaker.
In its detailed form guide, EquiRatings gave United Touch S a 7 percent chance of winning, along with Baloutinue, the mount of the USA’s Laura Kraut, and Dallas Vegas Batilly, ridden by Britain’s Ben Maher. That horse won the Halla Trophy for being the most successful jumping horse of the show. EquiRating’s highest win chance of 11 percent was Leone Jei, ridden by Martin Fuchs of Switzerland. He wound up fourth with 4 faults. Neither Chakaria or Ilex had their win chances rated.
Finishing twelfth with a knockdown in the first round and a clean trip in the second round was Laura with Baloutinue. She will be McLain’s teammate at the Olympics, along with Kent Farrington (who wasn’t at Aachen).
“It’s a nice set-up to Paris,” said U.S. Coach Robert Ridland, who was happy to end on a good note after his team failed to qualify for the second round of the Nations Cup on Thursday.
Asked if thought he might be named to the fourth spot on the German team in the Olympics, Andre said no, noting that chance was gone when he didn’t produce a clear round in the Nations Cup. But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. He had been so tense worrying about making the Games team that it affected his performance.
“I wanted it too much,” he explained.
“My wife said I was not the same person.”
When he finally gave up on the hope, “something changed and I felt relieved, I felt myself again.”
So he had a beer.
“I can live with being number five for the Olympics,” he said.
The show, which drew more than 370,000 visitors over 10 days, ended with its traditional, “Farewell to the Nations.”
Everyone in the stands waved white handkerchiefs while the riders, some on foot and some on horseback, joyfully waved back (and drivers with two four-in-hands did the same) to the traditional tune about leaving, “Muss I Denn” played over and over.
There’s nothing like Aachen anywhere else on earth.
click here for results of Rolex Grand Prix
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 6, 2024
There was some good news for U.S. dressage at the Aachen International Equestrian Festival Saturday.
It was comeback time for Steffen Peters in the 4-star Grand Prix Freestyle, where he and Suppenkasper finished third in the wake of a frustrating nineteenth-place effort in the Grand Prix on Thursday.
Mopsie, as Suppenkasper is known, was swinging to his familiar music, “We Can Dance” and living up to “Staying Alive,” as he and Steffen finished on 76.430 percent.
The class was won by U.S.-based Julio Mendoza Loor, who rides for Ecuador, on his Pan American Games individual gold medal mount, Jewel’s Goldstrike (78.920). His dream was only to ride at Aachen, but to win was more than he hoped for.
Julio Mendoza Loor and Jewels Goldstrike. (Hubert Fischer photo)
Steffen was another rider thrilled with how well his horse did, and joyfully praised Suppenkasper.
“A wonderful freestyle tonight,” enthused Steffen, a member of the U.S. Olympic team.
“Of course, a bit tricky after the difficult Grand Prix. Mopsie was still very excited this evening. In the beginning, the first centerline clearly showed some tension.”
But as the 16-year-old Olympic veteran who became the “rave horse’” after his freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics went viral, moved through the two-tempis and his first pirouette, “he settled down and did a wonderful, clean freestyle with a relaxed walk tour, very good piaffe/passage,” Steffen pointed out.
The rider complimented “a very good confident horse I will have the pleasure to ride in Paris.”
Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper in the freestyle. (U.S. Equestrian photo)
He thanked chef d’equipe Christine Traurig for her help, as well as his team of 20 years, from his wife, Shannon, to Mopsie’s owners Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang, as well as the horse’s groom and veterinarian.
Earlier in the day in the 5-star Grand Prix Special, Endel Ots came close to a personal best with Zen Elite’s Bohemian, finishing tenth (72.064 percent). He led the way as the U.S. squad was fourth by mere fractions of a point in the Lambertz Nations Cup team standings. Endel and Bo are the traveling reserve combination for the Olympic team.
Jane, the 10-year-old mare who has been a sensation during the U.S. riders’ European tour, has had no real experience in front of a big crowd and was not up to her usual standard in the Special. She looked tense in front of the fans in the Deutsche Bank Stadium. It was obvious she wasn’t operating on her usual wavelength right from her entry and halt, for which she got a mark of 6.2. Rider Marcus Orlob stayed cool and did a good job of getting through the test, but he finished sixteenth on 70.468 percent.
Click here for the dressage Nations Cup team standings.
The U.S. riders deserve a lot of credit for the team’s very respectable placing against more experienced riders from other countries.
Endel Ots and Bohemian in the Special. (U.S. Equestrian Photo)
“I was super happy with Bohemian today,” said Endel, who was sick but persevered. Aachen is unseasonably cold and a lot of people have picked up a bug.
This photo of Frederic Wandres on Bluetooth Old says it all about Saturday’s Aachen weather.Endel, who had never competed at Big Tour internationally until he got the ride on Bohemian, noted it was windy with “a little bit of weather, but the atmosphere was great. It was really fun to ride at Aachen and finish in top 10 in the Grand Prix Special. My goal was just do a nice harmonious Grand Prix Special test.”
He only began riding the horse this year, and keeps polishing his partnership with the gelding, who was fourth in the Tokyo Olympics with Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour of Denmark in the saddle.
“Each time I take him and ride him in the ring and show him, I get a better idea of what he needs from me to help him. I was really happy with him. He stayed with me, he was really calm in that show environment,” Endel pointed out.
“It was just more so me piloting him around, helping him with the balance here and there. He knows the test so well like the back of his hand (hoof?). It was really fun. I’m really looking forward to the freestyle.”
That will be happening Sunday as the show ends its run at the Soers. It likely will be another chance for Germany’s Isabell Werth to shine on Wendy de Fontaine, the mare on which she won the Special with a resounding 78.085 percent to lead her nation’s squad to the team title.
Isabell Werth collects another trophy with Wendy de Fontaine. (Franziska Sack for CHIO Aachen)
Isabell noted of Wendy, who is a new ride for her this year, “She always wants to give her best. It felt very harmonious today and I have the impression we are gradually becoming one unit.”
Click here for the Grand Prix Special results.
In other good news for the USA, Chester Weber — the lone American in the four-in-hand driving competition — is standing third. He was twelfth in the marathon, won by who else but world number one Boyd Exell. Chester’s victory in the dressage last week boosted his standing as he set his sights on the podium.
Chester Weber in the marathon.
Click here for marathon results
Click this link for individual standings
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 6, 2024
The U.S. didn’t bring its Paris Olympic eventing team to Aachen, but the squad that finished second Saturday at the International Equestrian Festival demonstrated the country has some impressive depth for the future.
Chef d’Equipe Bobby Costello said the riders’ performances and their placing “proved a couple of things. One, that the U.S. is here to stay and we intend on being a player at the highest level of the sport. But I also was excited we came here with a mixed team, either riders who did not have a lot of international experience, and also a couple of young horses with more experienced riders.
“To me that was the cool thing,” he continued, noting it demonstrates that Eventing Emerging and Developing Coach Leslie Law’s program “is really working and the pathway all the way to the top is producing results.”
The British – the favorites for Olympic gold with different horses and three other riders — won the SAP Cup title handily with a score of 112.8 penalties. (Olympic team member Laura Collett rode DaCapo here, but will be aboard London 52 in Paris). The USA accumulated 123.7 penalties, while Ireland was third on 138.
James Alliston was the top finisher of the U.S. contingent, ninth on Karma. Alyssa Phillips finished fourteenth on Oskar, Liz Halliday sixteenth with Shanroe Cooley and Hallie Coon’s stop with Cute Girl at the next-to-last cross-country fence put her thirtieth.
James Alliston and Karma, the top-finishing U.S. pair in eventing, on cross-country at Aachen. (Photo U.S. Equestrian)
James moved up from thirty-third in dressage to twenty-third after the best show jumping round of the competition, and wound up ninth overall. He was fourth in the cross-country phase, with just 2.40 time penalties over a course designed for the last time by Rudiger Schwarz.
Bobby noted that when he and the riders walked the “masterfully designed” course, it seemed, “significantly less intense than the previous two years I’ve been here. But we knew with it being Aachen and the speed factor and everything coming up so quickly, it wasn’t going to be a cakewalk but it was really interesting that it caused as much trouble as it did. We knew not to take it for granted but we had a simple plan we tend to like to stick with, as clean and as fast as we can go, get all the jumps done first.”
James called his first time at Aachen, “An awesome experience. Being in a team dynamic, you don’t get to experience that all the time. There’s been more pressure and you have to deal with that sort of thing.”
The U.S. eventing team victory gallop: Liz Halliday, James Alliston, Alyssa Phillips and Hallie Coon. (Photo US Equestrian)
In that intance, the team’s pathfinder on cross-country noted, “going first is a little bit more challenging.” But he added, “I was really happy with the horse. We had a great environment with all the teammates. We weren’t far away from gold either, a few little things could have been different.”
Of Karma, the Californian noted, “She’s an exciting horse, a really good athlete, good jumper, a lot of energy. The dressage has taken a little bit of time.”
But James quickly mentioned that the mare is “definitely moving in the right direction.”
He thinks the Oldenburg, a mere 10 years old, will relax and improve “as she learns the sport and learns the first phase.”
Karma was bred on the west coast by Casey Crowley’s family in Oregon. Her trainer found she was freezing in the arena, so he sent her to James. When he phoned a few weeks later to find out how she was doing, James advised that while Karma was not freezing anymore, she was “sort of flying around.”
James said Karma was “pretty hot, and as a result, he said, I don’t think I can sell her.”
“So then they said, `Do you want her?’ and James’ answer was, of course, “yes.”
In October, the Maryland 5-star is “a possibility” for James and Karma, but he noted they had done a lot in a short amount of time. So he is “a little bit cautious of going too gung-ho.”
Individual gold went to Germany’s Julia Krajewski for the second time. She also won in 2018.
Julia Krajewski and Nickel 21, individual winners in eventing. (Hubert Fischer photo)
“Winning Aachen is something very special, almost as big as a championship,” said the only woman to take individual gold in Olympic eventing.
Of her victory, she said, “I don’t think it’s something many people predicted,” adding that “makes it very special.”
It was also very emotional.
“We cried a lot. The owner is still crying,” she chuckled.
Despite losing a shoe, her mount didn’t miss a beat.
“Nickel is such a genuine horse who wants to do everything right. He basically waits for me to tell him what to do and then he does it.”
Click here for team results
Click here for individual results
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 4, 2024
It was a disappointing way to spend the Fourth of July for the Americans at the Aachen International Equestrian Festival.
The U.S. show jumping team failed to qualify for the second round of the 1 million Euro Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup Thursday during the world’s greatest horse show, after three of the riders logged 4 faults each.
Laura Kraut and Baloutinue put in a clear round for the USA. (U.S. Equestrian photo)
Only Laura Kraut produced a clear round, riding Baloutinue in the test watched by 40,000 spectators.
Teams from 10 countries took part, but under the class specifications, just eight were allowed to continue into the second round over the same course designed by Frank Rothenberger.
The USA is Aachen’s partner country this year as the festival marked its hundredth anniversary, and the show made a big effort at halftime to highlight that, with a country singer and a cowboy galloping around the arena with an American flag. And there was even an American flag plank jump on the course. But sadly, it just wasn’t the USA’s day. (Switzerland, the defending title holder, wound up last and also didn’t make the cut.)
Instead, the Irish—whose first rider had the first fence down—rallied to finish on zero faults, after the 4-fault penalty became the drop score. The anchor rider, Cian O’Connor, didn’t even have to jump Fancy de Kergane in the second round after teammate Shane Sweetnam clinched victory with a sparkling clear performance under pressure on James Kann Cruz to secure the 250,000 Euro winner’s prize for his homeland. It was the sixth time the Irish won the class at Aachen, but the first since 2010.
Shane modestly downplayed what he did, explaining, “It gets easier knowing you have strong teammates that you can count on.”
Shane Sweetnam, the Irish team hero, aboard James Kann Cruz. This jump depicts Charlemagne, who had his capital at Aachen before show jumping was invented.
Mexico, which hadn’t sent a team to Aachen in 20 years, was second on a total of 4 penalties after a remarkable effort by their anchor, Eugenio Garza Perez on Contango, that matched Shane’s trip for drama.
“We are literally speechless,” said team member Federico Fernandez.
“We are so grateful to the organizers for allowing us to take part. It is the most important show in the world. It is magic in every respect. To ride into this stadium gives you goosebumps. It is an amazing feeling, an adventure, a dream. We will never forget it.” In addition to Federico and Eugenio, others on the team were Nicolas Pizarro and Andres Azcarraga, the latter having flown in from Spruce Meadows in Canada.
Britain was third with the same score and a slower time. Robert Whitaker of that team noted, “We were close to winning it. Everyone rode well and the horses jumped brilliantly. We are really happy with the result.”
U.S. Coach Robert Ridland, who will announce his Olympic team after this show, noted, “Obviously, the result today was disappointing for the entire team. We are always aiming for the second round and for the podium and that’s a collective mindset. But I thought all our horses jumped really well and the cards just didn’t fall in our favor.
“There were a lot of clears in the first round, which left very little room for error in terms of the first round scores. Laura and Baloutinue jumped a great clear for us and there is still plenty of jumping left this week.”
McLain Ward had a pole down in the middle element of the triple, which Ilex seemed to jump a bit out of stride.
McLain Ward and Ilex. (U.S. Equestrian photo)
Natalie Dean on Acota M was going clear until she had a knockdown at the final fence, while Katie Dinan with Out of the Blue SCF dropped a pole at the Liverpool marked with the German coat of arms that was a big trouble spot on the course.
The Irish team consisted of three of the riders who will be going to Paris for the Olympics; Shane and Cian, who are on the team, and Bertram Allen, the traveling reserve. The third team rider, Daniel Coyle, is not showing at Aachen.
Michael Blake, Ireland’s ebullient chef d’equipe, congratulated the Mexican and British teams for “pushing us all the way to the line.”
He complimented the enthusiastic spectators, noting, “This show and the Dublin show, the crowds are so big and so knowledgeable.”
The Irish team and Michael Blake. (Jennifer Metzner photo)
EquiRatings’ interesting form guide for the Nations Cup had a lot of great statistics, even if it didn’t pick the winner. Germany, which has won the class 30 times since 1929, more than three times what any other nation has done, was given a 40 percent podium chance (it finished sixth). The U.S. was given a 39 percent chance (and we know what happened to that team), France 38 percent (they were seventh) and Ireland a 34 percent chance. And I’m going on the record to announce Ireland is my pick for Olympic gold. I have heard the Irish national anthem played more times than any other at shows I reported on this year.
Click here for the team standings.
Click here for the individual standings
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 5, 2024
The U.S. eventing team at the Aachen International Equestrian Festival is in podium position—just—after dressage and show jumping, the first two phases of the three-part test.
The squad stands on 102.100 penalties, only 0.5 ahead of fourth-place New Zealand. Great Britain leads the way on 96.3, with Australia on 100.1.
Dressage wasn’t the best, but the team recouped in the afternoon show jumping.
The highest-placing American Friday was Hallie Coon, sixteenth for the two segments with Cute Girl, one spot ahead of Alyssa Phillips on Oskar. James Alliston was first in the jumping with Karma, moving up to twenty third from thirty third in dressage. Liz Halliday is one placing ahead of James on Shanroe Cooley.
Eventer Hallie Coon and the aptly named Pretty Girl. (Photo U.S. Equestrian)
And guess who was in first place?
Who else but Germany’s superstar Michael Jung with fischerChipmunk FRH? He won the dressage and came fourteenth in the jumping on time, while adding no jumping faults to his 22.5 penalty dressage mark. But the multi-gold medalist isn’t taking his Olympic horse cross-country. So another German, Julia Krajewski, is actually first on Nickel 21 with 23.9 penalties. Julia was the first woman to take the individual gold in Olympic eventing when she achieved that feat in Tokyo three years ago.
Michael is on the team with another horse, Kilcandra Ocean Power (42.20), but he had two rails. That didn’t help the fortunes of the German squad, which stood sixth on Friday afternoon.
Bobby Costello, the U.S. chef d’equipe is pleased so far with his team. But Saturday’s cross-country laid out by Rüdiger Schwarz will tell the tale, as it always tends to do at Aachen–even if the designer has borne in mind that most teams are using it as a prep for the Paris Olympics.
“After a bit of a slow start in the dressage this morning, all four of our athletes rode really classy and clear rounds to move right up into the conversation for tomorrow,” Bobby said.
“The cross-country is serious, as it usually is here in Aachen, and our riders have a very clear plan for what they need to do.”
In the big dressage arena Friday, no U.S. riders were competing. The team will reappear Saturday in the 5-star Grand Prix Special.
But there was plenty of action in that discipline as world champion Lottie Fry of Great Britain made it two-for-two in her Aachen recordbook as she took the 4-star Grand Prix Special on her Paris Olympic mount, Glamourdale, the way she won the Grand Prix – almost.
Her second pirouette this time went astray when her mount did a flying change and then lost his balance in the pirouette.
But no matter. His quality was such that he was marked at 80.107 percent, far ahead of runner-up Isabell Werth on Quantaz DSP. The German pair was marked at 75 percent, ahead of another German entry, Frederic Wandres on Duke of Britain FRH (73.128)
“To be honest,” said Lottie, “that was one of the best feelings that he has ever given me in a test.”
Lottie Fry and Glamourdale at Aachen. (Photo © DigiShots)
So why the error?
“I was so pleased with my pirouette to the left that I somehow forgot to ride the rest of the center line. So it was my own fault. But in the remaining parts of the test, he was so focused on me, had so much `go’ and so much fun in there. That was the best feeling I could have wished for before Paris.”
Dressage for fun was not neglected either. The Prize of Handwerk is a quadrille competition, and the winners took the USA’s Partner Nation status for 2024 seriously.
The District Association of Bergisch Land was directed by their team leader, Norma Frerck, dressed as the Statue of Liberty. They rode to the song, “Hit the Road Jack.”
The winning quadrille team. (Photo by Hubert Fischer)
Dressed in the traditional Uncle Sam red, white and blue costumes, Stefanie Haase with Chestnut K, Nicola Heynen with Livius, Heike Holtkamp with Sambuko and Ramona Müller with Dr. Mo, were excellent.
“Anyone who manages to get a Statue of Liberty rocking has achieved a great deal,” said judge Katrina Wüst, who awarded the quartet 93 percent for their second victory in a row.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 4, 2024
The only U.S. entry in the Aachen four-in-hand driving, Chester Weber showed style and grace in winning the dressage phase with a score of 35.59 penalties over Australia’s Boyd Exell, the world number one, marked at 38.79.
Chester, the world number 11, said modestly, “There were no obvious mistakes.”
Chester Weber during his winning four-in-hand dressage test. (U.S. Equstrian Photo)
Even with top horses and fantastic facilities for preparation at Aachen, “you still have to get it done,” he pointed out.
One of Chester’s wheelers is Nico Teusje C, who has a story behind him.
“He was a Covid purchase,” said Chester, who explained that during the pandemic, he was going through Facebook saw Nico and another horse on line.
“They were quite young,” he mentioned, but he bought them over the phone anyway. One of them didn’t work out for the four-in-hand, but Nico certainly did.
“This one keeps stepping up and stepping up. This one kept impressing me,” he said of the wheeler.
“We’re always tweaking the plan and trying to listen to what the horses tell us.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 3, 2024
Boyd Martin remains the top American on the FEI’s eventing ranking list, but he has dropped from second to sixth. Meanwhile, Caroline Martin Pamukcu, who will be his teammate at the Olympics this month, made a big jump up from twenty first to eleventh. Liz Halliday Sharp, U.S. Olympic reserve rider, went from nineteenth to fourteenth.
The biggest change was at the top, with Great Britain’s Oliver Townend dropping from first to second after nine months as his compatriot, European Champion Ros Canter, hit number one. Ros is on the team for the Olympics; Oliver is not.
“I was quite shocked to hear I’m world number one.” said Ros, “as it was something that wasn’t on my radar. It’s really exciting news, and I’m thrilled for my whole team because this is a joint effort. I’ve been really lucky to have some fantastic horses in my team.”
