Talent Search judges pick Daisy

by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 7, 2018

By Nancy Jaffer
October 7, 2018

At the end of three phases of competition, 2017 ASPCA Maclay winner Maddy Goetzmann and 2018 North American Young Rider show jumping individual gold medalist Daisy Farish were 1-2 in the Platinum Performance USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals East. But it wasn’t over yet.

Daisy Farish on Arsouille des Etangs with the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation stable in the background. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)

Yesterday’s flat and gymnastics segments–as well as this morning’s show jumping—each were won by Maddy, who looked as if she were gearing up to take the whole thing this afternoon at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation headquarters in Gladstone. Her total for the three phases was 421, to 406 for Daisy.

The only segment left to contest was the Final Four, where the top quartet of riders started with a clean slate to compete over a shortened course, then rode the same route aboard each of the other finalists’ horses.

While Maddy earned a 90 on her mare, Faemes Van T Poelzelhof (AKA Famous) Daisy got an 88 with Arsouille Des Etangs, the horse she brought to the party. So Maddy was still ahead at the end of round one.

Madison Goetzmann on Faemes Van T Poelzelhof. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)

Maddy stayed one point in front of Daisy when each rode Cooper Dean’s Braavos. But the game changed in the third round when Maddy was on Arsouille, who cross-cantered, where the horse is on one lead in front and the other behind.Judge Ralph Caristo, who noted the young women had been “neck-and-neck” called the mishap “a slight bobble” but after everything was added up, that little mishap gave the title to Daisy by a single point.

In Ralph’s view, however, “To me, they were both the winners of this class.”

Daisy Farish takes her victory gallop. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)

Last month was the first time that FEI World Equestrian Games has not used a Final Four format to decide its individual show jumping titles, but the other Talent Search judge, Chris Kappler, likes the concept continuing as part of this competition.

“I can understand why they have taken it out of the WEG, because of such big jumping,” said Chris.

“But I think it’s still very important. It makes this class different and distinct. You really get to see the horsemanship, the feeling, that these riders can give. We tried to have a somewhat simple course…that riders really had to use their eye…and their ratability and feeling for the horse.”

Maddy and Daisy, who are close friends, held hands as they waited for the announcement about who had won, then embraced as they heard the decision. Daisy’s score in the final four was 349, to Maddy’s 348.

Maddy and Daisy hold hands waiting for word on which of them won. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)

“I knew it was going to be close, and I wasn’t sure which way it would go,” said Daisy, a 17-year-old high school senior from Kentucky.

“I felt the same way as Daisy…when it was just us two, the final two, and Daisy won,” said Maddy, briefly breaking into tears, “it was a very proud moment, we’ve been dreaming of this for awhile, she’s been one of my best friends for a long time.”

At the moment of truth, when the Talent Search results were announced, friends Madison Goetzmann and Daisy Farish reached out to each other. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)

Maddy, who is coached by Stacia Madden and Beezie and John Madden, is headed in the next few weeks for the USEF Medal finals and Washington International horsemanship championship with her longtime ride, San Remo VDL. She isn’t sure if she will try the Talent Search again. Unlike the other finals, which are only open to juniors under 18, riders can compete in the Talent Search until they are 21. But she’ll be starting at Fordham University in September 2019, so what the New York resident does after that is to be decided.

Cooper, who finished third with a score of 311, works for Heritage, the farm headed by Andre Dignelli, the 1985 Talent Search winner who is also Daisy’s coach. A 19-year-old from Alabama, Cooper was reserve champion in the Medal last year. He noted that two weeks ago, he didn’t know what horse he was going to ride, and gave heartfelt thanks to Andre, the judges and God “because I wouldn’t be here without his support. To come here is a dream come true.”

Asked what he does at Heritage, he said, “I ride as many horses as I can. When they need me to be there at 3 in the morning, I’ll be there at 3 in the morning. Whatever needs to be done, if they need me to do it, I do it.”

Lili Kaissar, fourth on a score of 309, is going to Vanderbilt University in the fall of 2019 and hopes to become an equine vet.

Lili Kaissar, fourth in the Talent Search; winner Daisy Farish; Cooper Dean, third and Madison Goetzmann, second. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)

The 18-year-old New Yorker was the only Final Four competitor who rode her own horse, Salt Lake. The dark brown gelding, who has an endearing habit of sticking his tongue out of his mouth as he goes around the ring, was named Best Horse of the finals.

Salt Lake, Lili Kaissar’s favorite mount, was named Best Horse. Look at that tongue! (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)

The other riders’ mounts were leased or borrowed for a class that goes above and beyond what is required in most equitation finals. That was reflected in the fact that there were only 33 starters this weekend, down from 52 last year.

The idea of the Talent Search is to discover riders who have the ability to go on and perhaps someday represent the U.S. internationally, the way such previous winners as McLain Ward, Richard Spooner and Charlie Jayne have done.

“I think the great part of this final is the people who have won it in the past, and just looking at where they have gone in their riding careers,” said Daisy, who emphasized that her life will include “something to do with riding” after she goes to college.

Frank Madden, who trains Lili with his wife, Jennifer, noted that in 1982, when the Talent Search began, the only other equitation finals were the Maclay and the AHSA Medal (now the USEF Medal). Then the Washington International Horse Show put in a final, and soon a host of other championships were on the calendar.

“I think people have so many options and they made the standards of this more difficult than it had been,” Frank observed.

“You need a special horse. I think a lot of people have made the choice, (and say) `Maybe we’re not ready for this’,” he commented, though he suggested professionals need to keep an eye on what’s happening “so we don’t let it turn into 25 kids.”

Other trainers suggested lower numbers might stem from the advent of an easier option, the new USHJA jumping seat championship that has 3-foot, 3-inch fences, as opposed to the 1.20 meter (over 3-feet, 9-inches) that is the maximum obstacle height in the Talent Search, which also requires a water jump.

In other years, we’ve often seen competitors who really weren’t ready for the Talent Search challenge. Some of them may have opted for the USHJA class this year. The riders who participated this weekend all rose to the occasion, without the unhappy outcome for some that has happened in other years.

Stacia Madden pointed out that the sensible courses devised by Ralph and Chris were most welcome. The gymnastics at the Talent Search, for instance, had “historically been kind of a sticky wicket,” she noted, citing the fact that segment often relied on gimmicks. This time, it was more straightforward, including a serpentine of four fences down the middle of the ring, which gave the judges the opportunity to see “how their legs their hands, their seats, all work together; their eyes, using all their aids,” Chris explained.

Judges Chris Kappler and Ralph Caristo. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)

Stacia was grateful that the gymnastics “were going to be something productive to treating these horses well and working on their jumping style and rideablity and letting judges judge the class, instead of the gimmicks. Ralph and Chris took this very seriously to make sure it was very standard and straightforward. I think the horses and riders were able to all solve the problems and come away feeling like they learned something.”

Asked what he thought of the event, managed by international judge David Distler, Frank–who has attended since the first finals–said, “Class is a word that comes to mind. This is such a class place, a class event for 33 classy riders here this year and two very classy guys judging it. It was the best of all the USEF finals I’ve been to.”

Jerseyans bring back WEG gold

by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 25, 2018

By Nancy Jaffer
Sept. 25, 2018

Two New Jersey horsemen carried a little extra baggage in the form of gold medals on their flights home yesterday from the FEI World Equestrian Games at the Tryon International Equestrian Center.

The realization of a lifetime dream came 40 years after Jimmy Fairclough of Newton started training for his first world four-in-hand driving championship. Devin Ryan of Long Valley had a shorter time frame in his efforts to make the show jumping team that won the top prize at the WEG, but his journey with a serious concentration on the top of the sport took more than 16 years of trying to make it, in addition to how long  he spent learning his craft after starting out on a $50 horse.

On his plane leaving North Carolina, the passengers were told a gold medalist was among them, and Devin got applause after making a brief speech.

“Ten years ago, I said at some point I want to represent the U.S. on some level, even at a Nations’ Cup level,” Devin commented when I caught up with him following the team awards ceremony at the WEG.

“It’s been a whirlwind coming here and being able to make it to the WEG, a major championship, and win a gold medal. That’s setting a high peak, so I guess the only thing after this will be an Olympics,” he said with a smile.

The U.S. team, center, on the medals podium: Coach Robert Ridland, McLain Ward, Adrienne Sternlicht, Laura Kraut and Devin Ryan. ((Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer))

Devin, 36, emerged on the global radar when he was the surprise second-place finisher last spring at the Longines FEI Show Jumping World Cup Finals in Paris, which was won by veteran Beezie Madden. Coach Robert Ridland made a bold move when he put Devin on the team as the pathfinder, and made Beezie the alternate, but it paid off when the squad earned the top prize and a berth for the U.S. at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo to boot.

After three rounds of jumping at the WEG, the U.S. and Sweden were tied on 20.59 penalties. As Robert noted, the odds were long that two nations would have the same score to the hundredth of a point, but once it happened, a jump-off was the next step.

Devin, McLain Ward and Laura Kraut all were fault-free in the tie breaker, as were three of the Swedes, but the total time taken on course by the Americans was 2.03 seconds less than their rivals, giving them the gold.

This was Devin’s first team championship, and he found “expectations are high; they expect more out of you, you expect more out of yourself. I would think it never gets easier.” The team experience involved having every member of the squad, including the fourth member, Adrienne Sternlicht, living in the same house.

Devin and Eddie Blue. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)

While Devin knows fans often are awed by the sport’s big names, he advised, “don’t be shy, because they’re no different than us. Everyone was doing their job, and that’s why we got our medal.”

He didn’t take his first riding lesson until age 13, then joined Pony Club and dealt with problem horses. A lesson with George Morris on one of those mounts started him on the path that would take him to the top. He worked with George for four years, then rode with dealer Alan Waldman in the Netherlands. He returned to New Jersey to open River Run farm and pursue his goal: Riding for the U.S.

Devin got Eddie as a four-year-old and developed the Dutchbred by Zirocco Blue himself. At age 9, the horse owned by LL Show Jumpers was among the youngest entries in the 124-horse field, where Devin finished 16th.

By bringing Eddie through the levels, he formed a stronger bond with him than he would have buying a ready-made jumper, which he couldn’t afford to do anyway.

“Look at the top riders and the horses with which they have been most successful,” he once told me, citing such Olympic gold medalists as McLain with Sapphire or Great Britain’s Nick Skelton with Big Star.

“They usually started with those horses as 5- or 6-year olds, when they’re young enough that they’re not set in their ways.”

Next up for Devin is trying to qualify for the 2019 World Cup finals.

It bothers him that there’s an impression that making it to the top level of show jumping requires a huge amount of cash.

“You don’t have to be uber-wealthy to get there,” said Devin, who didn’t come from big money.

“There’s so much talk that it’s not possible to get there,” he continued, noting hard work is the way to make it, even for those short of funds. He advises parents whose children are aspiring riders, “tell your kid to put the cellphone down and go to work.”

Fairclough’s marathon—where he had the disadvantage of being first on course–and cones scores contributed to the U.S. win, even though he had a control problem in the final segment after one of his horse’s nosebands broke. It had to be fixed with a zip tie when the teams were called back to the arena for the presentation.

Jimmy Fairclough in the cones segment. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)

Jimmy stood proudly on the podium with teammates Misdee Wrigley-Miller and his former student, Chester Weber, who also earned individual silver for the second time in a row. He was particularly pleased to be accepting the medal with Chester.

“At one point in life, we kind of parted ways a little bit, but we always still worked on teams together, no matter what,” he said. “Over time, it’s worked out and so it’s great. He’s worked very hard at it, so it’s nice.”

Thoughts on the podium were with people who worked hard to improve American driving but had passed away. One was  Finn Caspersen, who brought the 1993 World Pair Championships to Gladstone and really put driving on the map in the U.S.

On the gold medal podium: U.S. teammaters Cheter Weber, Misdee Wrigley-Miller, Jimmy Fairclough. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)

“Finn would have been ecstatic,” said Jimmy. He also mentioned Ed Young, the four-in-hand chef d’equipe, who died a year ago. “He would have been ecstatic too.”

As Chester noted, Ed “was the force around U.S. Equestrian’s program and led the way for a number of years, and today, when the reality was there that we won team gold, to me personally, for me and this team medal, that’s for Ed Young.”

Jimmy Fairclough was out first on the marathon course and really went for it. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)

At age 60, Jimmy isn’t sure what his next move regarding driving will be.

“I’m going to semi-retire,” he believes, noting without a sponsor, it’s hard to compete at the top level, especially since he owns his horses and pays their expenses. He thinks he’ll still compete in this country, but he’s no longer looking ahead to the next world championships, which would be in 2020.

“It’s been 40 years. It’s a lot of work to keep horses in the kind of training for that period of time. Five shoulder surgeries later and everything else, it’s a lot.”

The very next move is easy, though. He’ll be putting this gold medal next to the team gold he won at the 1991 World Pairs Championship. Those are nice punctuation points for a lifetime passion.