by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 5, 2018
The Wellington Eventing Showcase, which introduced hunter/jumper/dressage fans to eventing at the Winter Equestrian Festival, will not be held in February. It was a huge hit for the last three years (Boyd Martin won it every time) with a highlight in 2017 seeing riders gallop through the VIP tent to take a fence right in the midst of the party.
Boyd Martin on Welcome Shadow jumping through the VIP tent at the 2017 Wellington Eventing Showcase. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
The unrecognized competition with a $100,000 purse was staged on the grounds of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, a short canter from the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center where most of the WEF is presented.
Cross-country—the final phase in this format–ran on the derby field at Global. The next day, a show jumping grand prix was held there. That was always a bit dicey on that first weekend of February, because the $220,000 Longines FEI World Cup jumping qualifier also ran on that Sunday about a mile away at Deeridge Farm. I remember rushing from Deeridge to Global to catch the last of the WEF jumping class, and some of the riders also did a bit of dashing to participate in both.
Carly Weilminster of Equestrian Sport Productions said WEF organizers “had been given feedback from the show jumping riders that they’d prefer to do all of the FEI classes during the week on the grass instead of just the Grand Prix on Sunday. So we moved the Grand Prix to Saturday and all of the qualifying classes are now on the grass.”
The Saturday class, the 4-star $205,000 Net Jets Grand Prix, begins at the odd time of 11 a.m. at Global. Saturday night’s class is the Great Charity Challenge in the main arena at PBIEC at 6:30 p.m. Since the Longines class is on Sunday, it wouldn’t work to have a WEF class that afternoon, leaving Saturday morning as the window of opportunity.
Carly said organizers had hoped “to still be able to do the Showcase, but it posed a big logistical challenge with stabling and the field usage, etc” so it was called off. She added “We’re going to re-evaluate the week next year, but would still like to host the event.”
Lack of sponsorship also was a problem, as Equestrian Sport Productions is putting its efforts into September’s FEI World Equestrian Games in North Carolina and finding sponsors for that is taking precedence.
by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 29, 2017
The U.S. Equestrian Federation has fined Jazz Johnson Merton $5,000 and issued a two-month suspension for “unsportsmanlike behavior toward her horse, Joe Cool.”
On a widely circulated video that made headlines here and abroad, the Tewksbury resident is seen directing a kick toward the horse’s belly after she fell off during her round in the 3-foot, 3-inch division for older amateur-owners at the 2017 Hampton Classic.
The suspension runs Aug. 1-Sept. 30, which includes the 2018 Hampton Classic.
Contacted for comment, she cited the apology she issued after the incident.
It stated, “One of the greatest pleasures in my life has been riding and showing horses, and I have enjoyed this hobby since I was a little girl. In the recent incident at the Hampton Classic, I had a very inappropriate emotional response to my horse’s behavior, one that I have never had before. I was scared and angry, and reacted very badly. For that I am deeply sorry.
“My reaction was short lived, and immediately after I realized my mistake, I got back on to jump a schooling fence in order to finish the day on a trusting note with this horse.”
She promised, “I will never again exhibit this unprofessional display of aggression and poor sportsmanship.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 23, 2017
By Nancy Jaffer
December 23, 2017
She’s done it all, from winning Olympic team show jumping medals and writing a book, to victories in the world’s major grands prix, as well as earning spot in the Show Jumping Hall of Fame. Her mounts have included such famous names as Starman, Livius and Eros.
But now Anne Kursinski has something else on her resume, the title of U.S. assistant show jumping coach and development technical advisor, which she assumed this fall. Anne, who operates the Market Street training stable in Frenchtown, is working with U.S. team coach Robert Ridland.
Robert Ridland and Anne Kursinski. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
It’s a perfect relationship, since the two go way back together.
They’re both Olympians, native Californians who trained at the Flintridge Riding Club with Jimmy Williams and later with U.S. Equestrian Team coach Bert de Nemethy.
Anne, who at 58 is younger than Robert, 67, recalled she looked up to him when she was a kid. Anne remembers Robert returning to Flintridge after he rode on the 1976 Olympic team, which made an impression on her. Anne’s ambition was also to ride in the Olympics, which she did three times, earning two silver medals in the process, and was an alternate twice.
“It’s a fun camaraderie with him,” she said of Robert, noting he has had quite a career, running the World Cup finals, having his own training barn, being a course designer and a technical delegate. Meanwhile, she has been a selector for the team, so their paths have crossed often.
“We have a rapport and get along very well,” said Anne.
“We’re very, very comfortable with each other. I have a passion for the team, I always have, and if I can’t do it myself, then I want to help other people do it.”
For his part, Robert said, “I feel Anne is essential to the program.” After spending a year shadowing former coach George Morris before taking on the job himself after the 2012 Olympics, Robert said, “It was hard for me to imagine that he was able to do all he could do as a one-man show.
“Our country is too large,” he observed, noting Anne “is an invaluable asset to the team and myself as the development coach and my assistant.” For 2018, he noted, show jumping involves “two parallel programs, one focusing on the WEG (World Equestrian Games in Tryon, N.C.) and then all the rest, including qualifying for the Nations’ Cup final.” And don’t forget the Longines FEI World Cup finals in Paris.
Robert also is a believer in putting younger, less-experienced riders on squads to bring them along. He and Anne are part of a larger team that includes DiAnn Langer, the Young Rider coach, and Lizzy Chesson, the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s director of show jumping.
Before taking the job, Anne said, “My concern was, I still have a business and I’m still actively competing.”
Anne is known for her classic form over fences, no matter how high they are. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
But she was reassured by Robert and Lizzy that she could still be involved with her other pursuits, which cleared the way for her to move into the position.
“I love the team,” she noted. “The Nations’ Cup and the tours were my favorite part of competing, I was passionate about that. I do love to teach and share my experience. To have done it from a little kid all the way up through the Olympics is helpful.” And she mentioned that when she is working with less-experienced team riders and “helping them up the pathway,” she’s giving a boost to many more people than she could by working on her own.
Anne, who has been a chef d’equipe in the past with Young Rider teams, now relies on information from DiAnn about those who have been in the Young Rider program and are moving up.
The group she deals with primarily “is different than the Young Riders, in that they need more structure in a way.” While they may have been on one or two Nations’ Cup teams, she mentioned, “These guys have already been over there, but they still need guidance.”
She went to Samorin, Slovakia, with a team during the autumn.
“When they had to ride in the Nations’ Cup, they were nervous. To be able to help them with that, I enjoy it. I’ve been in that situation myself.”
In fact, said Anne, “I was in high school when I went to my first Nations’ Cup at Spruce Meadows,” which helps her empathize with members of her squads. There’s no doubt that the mission is clear: “The bottom line is to get the next generation on the podium, doing what Beezie and McLain are doing,” she pointed out.
by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 22, 2017
New Jersey residents who didn’t come to the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation in Gladstone last spring to watch the national Grand Prix, Prix St. Georges and Brentina Cup championships missed their chance to see the country’s best dressage riders close to home.
The 2018 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions will host 14 dressage title competitions, which also include the Young Horse matches, at Lamplight Farm in Wayne, Ill. Previously, the championships were split in two at different locations.
The U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation’s historic stable was the backdrop for the USEF Dressage National Championships in 2017, when Kasey Perry-Glass won the national Grand Prix title on Goerklintgard’s Dublet. (Photo by Lawrence J. Nagy)
Hallye Griffin, USEF’s managing director of dressage, noted, “Holding the full spectrum of the championships in one location, over a weeklong period, will give us the opportunity to showcase the talented athlete/horse combinations across the full spectrum of the divisions.
“We hope that this will also prove to be an exciting event for spectators, sponsors, vendors, and supporters as we look to grow the event into something very special, while continuing to highlight our dressage competition pathways and programs in an effort to deliver continued sustainable success in our sport.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 17, 2017
Those wishing to honor the memory of Hunter Harrison, a major figure in show jumping who died earlier last month, are invited to a celebration of life Jan. 7 from 4-8 p.m. at his Double H Farm, 15050 Golden Point Road, Wellington, Fla. RSVP to doublehfarm@gmail.com. Include the number of people in your party.
Known for his long partnership with show jumper McLain Ward in such horses as HH Carlos Z and HH Azur, the CEO of the CSX railway company had health issues for several years.
He took a medical leave of absence only days before he died of complications at age 73 in Wellington, Fla. The company’s stock dropped nearly 10 percent on Dec. 15, the day after his leave was announced.
Known as a turnaround artist in the railroad industry, where he started at age 19 as a $1.50-an-hour rail car oiler for the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway while attending Memphis State University, Hunter served as CEO of four major railroads including CP, a key show jumping sponsor and a backer of the National Horse Show. CP’s name is also on the world’s richest grand prix, the CP International at Spruce Meadows in Canada, with a purse of $3 million (Canadian).
Hunter Harrison.
Sharp and incisive, Hunter once said, “I’ve just always thought that if you can be frank, honest, candid, and also develop a reputation for that, people listen to you,”
Hunter’s involvement in the equestrian world went far beyond the horses with whom he was involved, many of which carried the HH prefix to their names. He was a member of Wellington Equestrian Partners, the group behind the Winter Equestrian Festival and the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.
While he loved show jumping, he also remained keenly aware of its problems and was never reluctant to speak his mind about it.
“Wherever you go with show jumping, people don’t get along. There’s wars and fights.” When that happens, he pointed out, “I don’t know who wins there; the horse damn sure doesn’t.”
McLain Ward had a close relationship with Hunter for decades.
“My family and I are very sad that we have lost a huge presence in our lives,” he said.
“Hunter was not only a wonderful supporter of my career, but also a guiding force in everything we did. I will miss him dearly, and my thoughts are with his family in this difficult time.”
He is survived by his wife, Jeannie and daughters Elizabeth Julo and Cayce Judge, who is married to show jumper Quentin Judge.
by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 6, 2017
William Steinkraus, the chairman emeritus of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation and the first American to win an Olympic individual gold medal in any equestrian sport, died Nov. 29 at the age of 92.
Although he was a pillar of the U.S. show jumping squad for decades, Bill’s accomplishments weren’t limited to riding. He was a serious violinist, his insight made him a perceptive television commentator, he wrote several books and was an exemplary editor, as well as heading the USET for years.
“He was a renaissance man. He knew something about everything,” his 1960 Olympic teammate George Morris said today after learning about the death of the friend that he called his mentor.
“I learned so many things from Billy. He was a great riding teacher on a high level,” George commented.
Bill Steinkraus with his 1960 Olympic silver medal teammates Frank Chapot (seated) and George Morris (right). (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Beyond that, Bill was “impeccably mannered, impeccably dressed,” George continued, noting he was meticulous not only in his horsemanship, but in everything he did.
Bonnie Jenkins, executive director of the USET Foundation, noted, “He was one of the original founders and leaders of the USET and also the foundation; somebody who I think every generation still looks up to. He was a true icon and someone we were so proud to have representing this country.”
During the years when the U.S. rose to prominence internationally in show jumping, his honors included the King George V Cup in 1955, followed by the German Championship in 1959.
A series of Nations’ Cup triumphs preceded and followed his glorious 1968 individual gold with Snowbound in Mexico City.
He won more than 100 grands prix in his career and three Olympic team medals. Among them was a bronze at Helsinki in 1952 as the fledgling civilian squad took over international competition responsibilities from the Army. For the next 20 years, he was captain of the U.S. team until he retired in 1972.
The graduate of Yale University, who served in Burma during World War II, spent several years after the war in concert management before working on Wall Street as a security analyst. He went on to the publishing industry, where his employment included being the editor in chief at Winchester Press.
Bill played key roles in governance of equestrian sport. He became the president of the USET, then its chairman and finally, chairman emeritus. He also served for eight years as a member of the FEI (international equestrian federation) Bureau and president of the FEI World Cup. He was an Olympic TV commentator at Montreal, Los Angeles and Seoul and several World Championships as well as serving as an Olympic judge at Barcelona.
He was one of the first inductees of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame, and a member of the New York Sports, Madison Square Garden, National Horse Show, Washington Horse Show and Fairfield County Sports Halls of Fame.
Bill is survived by three sons, Eric, Philip and his wife Stefanie, and Edward and his wife Beth and four grandchildren, Grace, Abigail , Griffin and Clark.
Services were private. Donation’s in Bill’s memory may be made to the USET Foundation, which can be reached at www.uset.org. A memorial service is being planned for the spring.
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 20, 2017
Top trainer, handler and all-around horseman Roy Evans, 73, passed away Nov. 19.
He had a long struggle with cancer, but “he fought until the end of the day,” said close friend Sara Goetz.
Roy liked to start horses western, and was known for his love of western movies and cowboy boots. But he had a versatile approach to all disciplines. Roy was the New Jersey Bred Hunter Association’s handler of the year in 1998 and 2002, and also was best handler of Pennsylvania-bred horses at Devon in 2011, among the many honors he achieved during a long and successful career.
A resident of Gladstone who previously lived in Pottersville, Roy did not want a memorial service. But Sara and another of his friends, Kori Edwards, are hoping to have a plaque installed in his memory at the Devon showgrounds, where he won so many classes over the years.
Roy Evans was a master showman everywhere, including Devon. Here he was handling Autumn Moon. (Photo by Sara Goetz
Those who would like to make a donation in Roy’s memory may contact Steuart@retiredracehorseproject.org. The Retired Racehorse Project gives thoroughbreds a new profession through retraining, which is a perfect reflection of Roy’s way of working with horses.
“His gift was that he was so patient and didn’t rush the horse. He did it on the horse’s terms,” said Sara. “He always worked with the horses in a positive manner and kept going forward.”
Kori called it a privilege to take care of Roy with Sara.
“He was basically family I learned so much from him,” she said. “No matter what happened, he took it in stride.
Roy Evans
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 16, 2017
By Nancy Jaffer
November 23, 2017
It’s a traditionn that began when Jacqueline Kennedy, then the charismatic First Lady of the U.S., would ride out with New Jersey’s Essex Foxhounds on Thanksgiving. The interest in her and her family was intense. As one Essex veteran told me, “photographers were hanging from the trees” when she appeared on the scene.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis at the Essex Foxhounds’ Thanksgiving hunt. To the left in black is her son, John F. Kennedy Jr. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Word got around. Eager to catch a glimpse of Jackie, people started coming to the Thanksgiving hunt to gawk. While Jackie stopped riding with Essex decades ago and died in 1994, the custom continues.
Today, as always, hundreds converged on the elegant Ellistan estate in Peapack, N.J., to watch the hunt gather before it headed out across the green fields of Somerset County.
The scene at Ellistan on Thanksgiving 2017. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Those who come to the property take photos and videos, tailgate, toss a football and generally enjoy an hour or two out in the country before heading off to their dinner.
Tailgating on Thanksgiving at Ellistan. (Photo by Lawrence J. Nagy)
Some have never been close to a horse, and are fascinated by watching sleek mounts and their well-turned out riders.
Eager kids reach out to touch a horse. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
For horse-savvy locals, it’s a time to see old friends, chat with pillars of the equestrian community and discuss who’s riding which horse.
Drs. Brendan Furlong and Wendy Leitch. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
It’s also a time to appreciate open space in the most densely populated state in the union. Essex is part of the community, an example of countryside sport, and how closely riding and horses are involved with land preservation.
Essex Hunt Committee Chairman Sally Ike and treasurer Jim Gordon. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Taking a fence on Thanksgiving. (Photo by Lawrence J. Nagy)
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 15, 2017
U.S. team veteran and 2017 ASPCA Maclay finals judge Bernie Traurig is presenting three days and evenings of immersion and education for hunter, jumper and equitation riders at Ketucham Farm in Allentown, N.J., Dec. 1-3.
Bernie, the founder of Equestrian Coach, is offering instruction to groups of four riders at a variety of fence heights. Part of the package includes a “personal coach” feature, through which Bernie will monitor your progress via video analysis for a year.
Auditors will watch on bleachers in the heated lounge and take part in discussions with Bernie and riders. The packages for the East Coast Workshop have many other benefits. For more information and to sign up, go to www.Equestriancoach.com and click on the East Coast Riding Workshop link on the home page.
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 2, 2017
Land Rover North America has taken over title sponsorship of the country’s only 4-star-rated three-day event in a four-year agreement.
The.competition at the Kentucky Horse Park will now be known as the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event. It formerly was the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, a name that was used for more than three decades.
Following eight years as official vehicle and five years as presenting sponsor, Land Rover has increased its support for the Lexington, Ky., competition that draws more than 80,000 spectators annually. Circle April 26-29 on your calendar for the 2018 renewal of the event.
“Land Rover has a long-established connection with equestrian sport and we have partnered with the Kentucky Three-Day Event for eight years now,” said Kim McCullough, vice president of marketing for Jaguar Land Rover North America LLC.
“Expanding our partnership with this title sponsorship will further strengthen our relationship with the equestrian community, an important audience for the Land Rover brand”.
Lee Carter, executive director of Equestrian Events Inc. that presents the event, said, ” Land Rover is the perfect brand to step into the title sponsor role of the Kentucky Three-Day Event. The committed support of a sponsor like Land Rover and the loyalty of our fans and the broader eventing community are what make this event the best weekend all year.”
