by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 20, 2026
Olympic eventer Liz Halliday, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a 2024 fall, has returned to her base in Lexington, Ky., after many months of working hard at rehabilitation.
She posted about her progress on social media, saying, “This is the most important update I’ve given you since my accident happened! After spending 16 months in hospitals and two different rehab facilities in Chicago and Dallas, I finally returned HOME to Lexington just before Christmas.
Liz Hallliday is home.
“It’s hard to describe all of the emotions you experience when you walk through the door to your own home for the first time in so long … joy, gratitude, and a sense of pride that all of the hard work I have done over the past 16 months has brought me to this point.
“My recovery journey is far from over. I’ve converted my office into a home gym and am working on getting stronger every day. I am still committed to my weekly therapy sessions to continue working on my speech and regaining more mobility. And I am continuing to ride at a local facility, which has been so beneficial in my recovery.”
She added, “I am excited to continue to improve, and I am so grateful to you all for cheering me on throughout this recovery journey. I still have a long way to go, but I’ll never give up, and I’ll never stop fighting.”
Her horses were sent to several riders to campaign, most notably Boyd Martin, who won the first U.S. Open of eventing last October with Miks Master C, a mount he characterized as Liz’s “top hopeful.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 19, 2026
The U.S. Equestrian Federation and the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation are handing out honors with a look back to 2025.
It’s no surprise that Kent Farrington’s illustrious Greya received the USEF’s SmartPak/International Horse of the Year title. Kent, the world’s number one-ranked show jumper, owes that standing in large part to Greya, who had 15 top 12 international finishes last year. They ended the season with a victory in the Geneva, Switzerland, 5-star grand prix.
Kent Farrington and Greya.
“She has been fantastic all season. She’s a very special horse and I’m honored to receive this award,” Kent said.
A rescue horse was named SmartPak/National Horse of the Year by USEF, with the story of Athenian Lady an inspiring one about what can be achieved with loving care and determination.
The starving mare had been abandoned when she was discovered by rescue volunteer Amanda Delgado in 2015, who took on a horse that had been categorized as unadoptable.
By 2019, Athena was transformed into a western dressage world champion. In 2025, she earned three world championships and three reserve world champion titles at the Western Dressage Association of America World Show. She has earned three USEF Horse of the Year awards in western dressage and many WDAA high score awards during her career.
Athena is an ambassador for equine welfare causes worldwide, including the ASPCA’s Right Horse program and Brooke USA. In 2024, she was a Breyer model and the Breyerfest Celebration Horse for that year’s “Against All Odds” theme. She has shown the world what a rescue horse can do.
“When I first started working with Athena, I had this wild idea that she could be a World Champion. I was told I was crazy and it would never happen,” said her owner.
Athenian Lady
“I want to encourage [everyone] to have a look at rescue horses standing in a desolate pasture or in a kill pen. You might be looking at your next partner. You might be looking at a World Champion. You might be looking at the next USEF Horse of the Year. But most importantly, you may be looking at your best friend.”
To learn about the USEF’s Equestrians of the Year, click here.
The USET Foundation also honored a group of those who have made their mark in horse sports. Its Whitney Stone Cup went to Lillie Keenan, a regular on the country’s show jumping teams. She was selected as an ambassador for the sport and for exemplifying the foundation’s “highest ideals and traditions.”
In accepting the award, Lillie said, “I didn’t think I’d even be in contention with the caliber of the previous recipients — I was in awe to win.” The 29-year-old New Yorker’s name joins those of McLain Ward, Michael Matz, Debbie McDonald and so many other great U.S. stars of the sport engraved on the trophy.
“I hope I’m still quite early in my career with lots more to achieve for the U.S. team, so to already have recognition for my contribution is really surprising and motivating,” commented Lillie. She made her senior Nations Cup debut in 2014 at just 17 years old and went on to become a key member of the U.S. Jumping team.
Eventer Cassie Sanger was presented with the Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Trophy for a junior or young rider in an Olympic discipline who exemplifies the U.S. Equestrian Team’s ideals of sportsmanship and horsemanship.
Riding Redfield Fyre, the 21-year-old competitor finished in the top 20 in both the Kentucky and Burghley 5-star events last year.
“I was really surprised when I found out I had won the Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Trophy,” said the Delaware resident.
“I know it’s such an honor to join the list of talented athletes who have received it before me. It feels really special to be thought of in this way, especially because this is not just an eventing award; it covers all the Olympic disciplines. It’s really special to be in there with all these other riders.”
The USET Foundation’s R. Bruce Duchossois Distinguished Trustee Award went to Akiko Yamazaki, best known by the public as the owner of such top dressage horses as Ravel and Suppenkasper. But she also serves as co-chair of the foundation’s Pathway to the Podium campaign, with an eye toward the 2028 Olympics.
Akiko has been “a lead donor and steadfast advocate for the USET Foundation’s mission, with particular impact in the dressage and vaulting disciplines, where her support has helped advance athlete development and international excellence.”
The R. Bruce Duchossois Distinguished Trustee Award is awarded in memory of its first winner in 2015.
“It is a true honor to be recognized along with past recipients who have contributed so much to equestrian sport in the U.S.,” said Akiko, a dressage Grand Prix competitor herself, who is respected for her dedication to advancing U.S. equestrian sport at the highest level, particularly through her long-term collaboration with U.S. Olympic dressage athlete Steffen Peters.
“It is a nice way to recognize and celebrate the long journey my team had with Steffen as our rider with my horses, which included participation in the past five consecutive Olympic Games, all the World Equestrian Games and World Championships in between, and multiple World Cup Finals. The award really belongs to my team.
“Horses and horse sport are my lifelong passion,” she emphasized
“I was bitten by the bug when I was six years old, inspired by my mother, who was an equestrian. I was very fortunate to be able to support riders and teams who could participate at the highest level of the sport, which introduced me to a world beyond my own riding. Now, my daughters are high performance equestrians in dressage and vaulting,” noted Akiko, who also supports USEF clinics at her California stable.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 16, 2026
The price of showing has become an ever-more urgent issue for equestrians, who all too often must limit their opportunities to compete because it is growing increasingly expensive.
For some, word last year that the U.S. Equestrian Federation would be raising fees was, if not the last straw, news of another financial obligation they didn’t need. Although the fees are not as burdensome as what it costs to compete in a licensed show, the increase made some feel the federation is not sensitive to their needs and situation.
Hunter/jumper judge Mary O’Connor, a Virginia horse breeder, called it “ironic” that after raising fees, USEF made competition costs the focus of a forum at the organization’s annual meeting this week.
She noted USEF “has solicited comments from membership on this topic, when no opinions were sought and no discussion took place with membership before USEF announced that fees would be increasing.”
To read another story about how people are coping with horse industry issues, click here or go to the second feature on this website.
Mary called the hike “extreme,” adding it comes “at a time when the general membership is reeling from increased costs for everything associated with keeping horses,” and as such, “only serves to exacerbate the problem of rising cost.”
She started a petition asking USEF “to consider rolling back or limiting the size of those fee increases, which are far too steep in the current economy.”
The petition got more than 550 signatures and thousands of views.
She contended, “USEF is about to price even more people out of sanctioned equestrian sport, with zero discussion or feedback from its membership. The costs of entering a USEF show continue to rise, making participation in the sport at any level more and more expensive. It has become a struggle to justify the expense of competing!
“Rather than increase fees, let’s consider cutting back USEF’s budget, taking a hard look at which programs are genuinely necessary, and streamline staffing in a way that makes sense. Do we really need 23 people in the Marketing department vs. seven in Member Services? Salaries should be open to discussion when across the board everyone else from grooms to licensed officials are asked to do more for less on a regular basis.”
Reacting to the petition, USEF Director of Communication Natalie Voss wrote to Mary, “The response to our increase in membership fees is precisely why we wanted to include this panel in our annual meeting slate. The vast majority of member response to the fee increase — including your petition — make clear that increased costs are not just an issue USEF experiences, or that our members experience with regards to USEF membership fees, but is part of a broader change in the costs of horsekeeping and putting on a horse show, which is impacting the whole industry.”
She explained USEF officials are “hoping the panel can shed some light on what the factors are influencing that rise in costs for them and how that translates for competitors.”
Following the meeting, a summary and recording of the session will be released, Natalie said.
The petition maintained, “The stated fee increases are extreme. That our sport is reliant on the ultra wealthy often masks the reality that many who are involved in it are barely sustaining themselves. Those who exist in the real world, whether boarding our horses or keeping them on private farms or operating training facilities, must stop to analyze every dime spent on feed, hay, bedding, farrier, vet, farm staff, lessons, attire, equipment, safety gear, transport, and hotels, all while endlessly attempting to conjure up savings that are more and more difficult to find.
“The ultra wealthy among us won’t be bothered about fees going up,” the petition notes.
“But the multitude of local and regional trainers, riders, families, and lesson stables are already being driven away from a sport we all love, not to mention breeders and those working with young horses, already facing the highest expenses worldwide to develop their offspring.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 16, 2026
Irrepressible eventer Boyd Martin received international equestrian of the year honors for 2025 Thursday at the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s Pegasus dinner, while hunter rider Daniel Geitner was named national equestrian of the year.
Boyd, who won the first USEF Evening Open in October, earned a second-place finish aboard Commando 3 during May in the Defender Kentucky 5-star to gain the USEF CCI5*-L National Championship. The Pennsylvania-based rider collected many other top placings during the season, with a total of seven international victories. In May, he was ranked number one in the world in his discipline; the first time in nearly two decades that a U.S. rider had topped the international standings.
Boyd Martin in action. (Photo © 2025 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
Discussing his career, the native of Australia noted, “There were many, many lows and some unbelievable highs. In 2010, I was faced with one of the hardest decisions of my life and it was to change my nationality to represent America.
“I soon realized when I got to America that this is my home. I also wanted to support the country that was supporting my career. I also felt it was wrong for the owners that had poured so much sup into me, being a rider with a different flag. It was the greatest decision I ever made.”
In the national ranks, Daniel Geitner won both first and second place honors in the USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship Challenge Round aboard Aeronautic and Walk The Moon.
He operates DFG Stables in Aiken, S.C., with his wife, Cathy, and their two children, Wyatt and Lilly. There are nearly 70 horses at the farm, which serves athletes at all levels, from those riding ponies and green hunters to derby contenders.
USEF stated that, “Beyond ribbons and accolades, Geitner’s influence on equestrian sport is defined by his unwavering commitment to horsemanship. He sets the standard of integrity and skill that inspires everyone who shares the ring with him or watches from the sidelines.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 15, 2026
A dedicated worker who started as a volunteer for the Kentucky Three-Day Event when she was in the Keeneland Pony Club has been named CEO of the 5-star competition’s parent organization, Equestrian Events Inc.
Vanessa Coleman, who was EEI’s chief competition and operating officer, replaces Molly Day, who became the FEI’s director of eventing and driving. Vanessa was EEI’s senior director of competition since 2013, and previously served as director of ticketing, transitioning to lead sponsorship in 2012.
“The EEI Board feels strongly that there is no better person to lead our organization than Vanessa,” said Prim Hudgins, president of the EEI Board.
“She is respected and liked by virtually everyone who knows her, and there is no doubt that her appointment will be well received by the entire eventing community, both in the U.S. and around the world.”
Vanessa Coleman
While living outside Kentucky for nearly 20 years, Vanessa was an accountant, ran her own barn and organized a local horse trial. She returned every year to volunteer at the Kentucky Three-Day Event for her mother, who was the chief steward of horse inspection. In 2008, Vanessa moved back to the area, when Janie Atkinson, event director at the time, asked her to help with the competition.
EEI is best known for producing the annual Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian™ (K3DE), the nation’s premier eventing competition. On the same weekend, when more than 90,000 spectators come to the Kentucky Horse Park, EEI also presents the Cosequin® Lexington CCI4*-S and Kentucky International show jumping 5-star, presented by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute.
Vanessa had been serving as EEI’s chief competition and operating officer, working closely with previous CEO Molly Day, who is taking a new position as the director of eventing and driving with the International Equestrian Federation. Vanessa had been EEI’s senior director of competition since 2013. Before that, she served as director of ticketing and transitioned to lead sponsorship in 2012.
“The EEI Board feels strongly that there is no better person to lead our organization than Vanessa,” said Prim Hudgins, President of the EEI Board of Directors. “She is respected and liked by virtually everyone who knows her, and there is no doubt that her appointment will be well received by the entire eventing community, both in the U.S. and around the world.”
While living outside Kentucky for nearly 20 years, Vanessa worked as an accountant, ran her own barn, and organized a local horse trial. She returned every year to volunteer at the Kentucky Three-Day Event for her mother, who was the chief steward of horse inspection. In 2008, Vanessa moved back to the area. Janie Atkinson, who was the event director at that time, asked her to help with the event. She has been on staff ever since.
Vanessa tries to give back to the sport by volunteering and supporting other local events as much as her schedule allows. She responds promptly to email, a sign of an organized mind!
Vanessa has been an eventer most of her life and owns two horses, Rooster and Schoo. Vanessa and her husband, Anthony Trollope, have a daughter, Alexa,
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 14, 2026
A new free feature called Lifetime Care Contacts is available for for horses registered with the U.S. Equestrian Federation. It enables USEF members to add their names to a horse’s USEF record. It means that if the horse is someday be in need of financial assistance or a home, the member would like to be contacted.
“We understand that many breeders, owners, athletes, and grooms care deeply for the horses who have touched their lives and want to be there for them if they should ever fall on hard times,” said USEF CEO Bill Moroney, explaining the federation realized it could help.
The Lifetime Care Contact feature is free for USEF members or those who have a free fan account to add themselves to a horse’s record, because horse data is part of the membership section of the US Equestrian website. The feature will be accessible at no cost.
Those who want to add themselves as Lifetime Care Contacts to a horse’s USEF record may go to the Lifetime Care tile in the USEF Dashboard and search for the horse you’re looking for, using the horse’s recorded name or USEF number. Then click the button prompting you to add your contact information to that horse’s list. You’ll see a list of horses for whom you’re listed as the Lifetime Care Contact at the bottom of the page.
If you have found a horse in need and want to see if they have a Lifetime Care Contact on file, you will need a USEF membership or free fan account to access the Horse Search. Visit the Lifetime Care tile on the Member Dashboard and use the horse’s recorded name or microchip number to locate it You will be prompted to verify you’re assisting this horse and can click a button to be sent an email with that horse’s Lifetime Care Contact information.
Click here to learn more about this program and for a list of frequently asked questions.
The Federation can’t require anyone to reach out to a horse’s Lifetime Care Contact, but the program can make it easier for a horse in need to be connected with someone who has expressed an interest in helping them.
The Lifetime Care system is designed as a safety net for horses, and its use is voluntary. US Equestrian is unable to require that someone consult a Lifetime Care contact before moving, selling, or transferring a horse. The goal of the feature is to facilitate connections as needed, but this program can only be as effective as the scope of its use.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 14, 2026
The historic Essex Horse Trials, which had a successful outing as a one-day competition last year, is increasing the offerings for its 2026 edition at Moorland Farms in Far Hills, N.J., this spring.
The popular Modified division has been added to the May 31 schedule, which runs all the way through the ranks including Preliminary, Training, Beginner Novice and Novice, as well as Starter. So there’s a spot for every horse and rider with a wide range of ability and experience. Want to try eventing for the first time? Essex is a great place to begin.
The Essex Horse Trials has a special venue at Moorland Farms in Far Hills, N.J.
Those who aren’t competing have opportunities as well. For $1,500, anyone can sponsor a jump for the Modified division. Click here for a link to sponsorship opportunities, including a fence that advertises your business, farm or favorite cause.Creativity is the key –sponsors can design the obstacles any way they like. There will be a contest for riders and spectators to select their favorite fence.
Fun fences are a highlight of the Essex Horse Trials.
New for 2026 is a sponsor tent by the show jumping arena, with refreshments to enjoy while watching the action. For more information or to sign up as a volunteer, go to essexhorsestrials.net
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 13, 2026
It’s back to the drawing board yet again for the proposed Isla Carroll development in Wellington, Fla., which eked out a 3-2 approval from the Village Council on first reading Monday night.
But both Mayor Michael Napoleone and Councilman John McGovern, who reluctantly voted in favor of the plan, indicated they would not vote for it on second reading next month without changes to make the project more in keeping with requirements of the municipality’s Equestrian Overlay Zoning District.
The original plan for the property presented last year called for using the 24-stall stable on site for animals that included rescue horses and offered a wide-ranging group of disciplines, from endurance to jumpers, that was wildly unrealistic. After the Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board indicated it would reject the project, it was withdrawn.
It returned as a Planned Unit Development with forty 0.43-acre homesites, a country club with a gym, restaurant and pool, and a polo field, one of two located on the property at the moment. A 31.22-acre club/equestrian amenity pod would have 17.24 acres devoted to equestrian facilities. (The deteriorated 24-stall stable would be torn down.)
Under an agreement between property owner Frank McCourt, one of the founders of the show jumping Global Champions Tour, developer Discovery Land Company and the U.S. Polo Association, the latter would pay a $1 annual fee for a 45-year lease of the field (with a 10-year renewal option).
Isla Carroll is adjacent to the National Polo Center, which can handle overflow parking. NPC has polo matches on Sunday afternoons; Isla Carroll would host matches on Friday evenings. The agreement gives USPA scheduling control of the polo field during every polo season, as well as control of tournaments and training on the field, which it will maintain.
If the property were subdivided today without the polo plan, it would permit 40 homesites at a minimum of two acres each.
McCourt, a resident of Wellington for more than 10 years, told the council, “When I bought Isla Carroll, I had no idea what I was going to do with it. What I did know was that I did not want to see another soulless subdivision in my community…that wouldn’t benefit the equestrian sport.”
Frank McCourt speaking at the meeting.
Prior to voting, McGovern said, “To me, there’s not common equestrian amenities. I don’t know how we can have an equestrian development that doesn’t have horses. For me, the way this project would be improved into what I think is an equestrian development, would be for example…if there were five farms plus the homes, that would start to move us in a direction of this being an equestrian development. What would a polo community actually look like? We’re still sort of left with a polo field and country club.”
He added, “I don’t feel like there’s a full community buy-in as to what either the community gets, or what the residents are going to actually get here.
“For us to approve an equestrian development, it has to be about the residents who are going to live in it And then how those residents and how that equestrian community is going to become symbiotic into the equestrian portion of Wellington.
“Every resident board that has looked at this has found it to be woefully insufficient,” noted the councilman, referring to the Equestrian Preserve Committee and the Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board, both of which rejected the plan.
In voting no, Councilwoman Maria Antuña said, “The project sounds more like a resort-type project. I don’t feel this is truly what the equestrian represents for the equestrian community.”
Also voting no was Councilwoman Amanda Silvestri, who said “if we approve a project like this, I believe it would change the essence of Wellington forever.”
Deputy Mayor Tanya Siskind voted in favor of the plan, saying the project “could continue to grow the sport of polo in Wellington.”
The Council heard from dozens of residents, both pro and con, either by public statements during the meeting or via cards that stated their preference and in some cases, their thoughts.
Sarah Goos, a member of the Equestrian Preserve Committee, is not in favor of the project.
Speaking during the meeting, she expressed concern that residents would get tired of the noise from the polo matches and the odor of manure, with the possibility that public access to polo matches eventually would be limited. She had witnessed a situation like that in Long Island’s Hamptons.
On the other hand, Goos continued, “Two-acre lots are highly desirable in Wellington and well-suited for equestrian farms. This amount of land allows for a residence, private barn, paddocks and a riding ring. Exactly what the zoning is intended for.
“McCourt and Discovery could still maintain the polo field and build fewer homes, if the polo field is truly significant to them, as they say. What they are proposing is a non-equestrian country club, which does not meet the criteria of the LDR (land development regulations).”
Robin Parsky, a prominent owner of show jumpers, said she wants to be very supportive of the project because “this is about enhancing a big, beautiful grass field, which is exactly what we want to have here in Wellington and will be very beneficial to the equestrian community as a whole.”
She also mentioned that Discovery is “quality” and “user friendly, family friendly, equestrian friendly…they know what they’re doing.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 11, 2026
John Layton has been named the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s 2025 USEF Combined Driving Volunteer of the Year award, something well-deserved for the amount of time he gives to the sport.
He is president of the Gladstone Equestrian Association Gladstone Driving, and trains young drivers at his Tailspin Farm in Juliustown, part of Springfield, Burlington County, N.J.
John Layton in action; he competes when not volunteering. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
John was honored for his generosity and commitment to the discipline, according to USEF.
“His dedication has been instrumental in promoting the sport for youth drivers and the continued development of the sport in the Northeast,” the award announcement stated.
“I was kind of surprised,” said John, noting “it’s a nice award, I was happy to get it.”
He has been instrumental in giving combined driving a lift, particularly in the Northeast. One of the ideas that boosted improvement was the driving derby series he conceived. Derbies were held in five different locations last year.
He presented one at the Horse Park of New Jersey, one at Gladstone and one at the Delaware-based DelMarva driving club, (the Mar stands for Maryland, the Va for Virginia). Brandywine Valley Driving Club in Pennsylvania also staged one, and another was held at My Lady’s Manor in Maryland.
John said the derbies brought seven new people into the combined driving ranks. For what is a relatively small sport in the U.S., that constitutes a significant number.
“I think in the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast, it’s growing,” said John about combined driving.
That area, once a vibrant driving region, lost drivers who moved south or passed away. Driving also is not an inexpensive discipline. But the derbies make it more affordable, in terms of money and time.
“How do you know if you like it (combined driving) until you try something small?” he asked.
“The derby is cheap, it’s fun, it’s easy access, it’s entry level — coming in where you do the cones and the obstacles together. if you want to be there for a half-hour you can leave. You’re not stuck there.”
It’s held on a cross-country course. John explained a driver goes through Cones 1 through 5, then takes on obstacle one. Next are Cones 6 though 10, with obstacle two after that.
“Then Cones 11 through 15 and then the finish. that’s your run,” John explained.
“You get two runs; the fastest score wins.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 9, 2026
He did it again. Christian Simonson earned his second Personal Best score of the week at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, taking Friday night’s World Cup freestyle qualifier with a total of 81.445 percent on the steady Indian Rock.
Christian Simonson enjoyed yet another personal best at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival.
Their performance to themes from the Rocky movies (Rocky is the stallion’s nickname for obvious reasons) wowed a packed house in Wellington, Fla., with spectators giving him a score of 83.213 percent. The victory means Christian has earned one of the three North American berths for the FEI World Cup Final to be held in Ft. Worth, Texas, during April.
Christian, 23, had a personal best of 76.043 percent in Thursday’s Grand Prix. He is coached by Olympic veteran Adrienne Lyle under the banner of Zen Elite Equestrian, which owns Rocky. The horse was ridden in the Paris Olympics for the Dutch team by Emmelie Scholtens before Christian took over the reins with incredible success.
His freestyle’s degree of difficulty was rated more than 9 by all five judges, and he earned many other 9s for choreography, music, sublime renderings of passage, two-time change and the right pirouette. After his final halt, he seemed both overwhelmed and overjoyed, putting his hands over his eyes as the glory of the moment struck him.
Christian Simonson has an emotional moment after his marvelous Grand Prix Freestyle.
“It was a really emotional day for so many different reasons,” Christian said.
“Being in Florida, I always watched Friday Night Lights and hoped one day i would get to do that,” he commented about his debut with Rocky in the arena under those lights.
“That was one part of today. Another part was the gratitude to be able to ride such an amazing horse. That in itself made me so emotional. And the other part was just thinking of Adrienne and our team and so much support. I felt so much gratitude and love for everyone. i just felt like the luckiest person ever.”
As for Rocky, Christian said, “He is the most special, special guy. i don’t have enough words to say how much gratitude I have for him.”
Californian Genay Vaughn, who rode in the World Cup Finals last year with Gino, finished second on that mount with a score of 75.790 percent. Ashley Holzer aboard Hawtins Floriano was third with 75.010 percent.
Click here for Freestyle results
In the Grand Prix Special Saturday, Marcus Orlob and his 2024 Olympic mount, Jane, seemed to have tamed her tendency to spook and delivered a smooth test marked at 74.681 percent. He also won the Grand Prix for the Special last week.
Marcus Orlob and Jane. ( Photo ©Centre Line Media)
Describing his ride, Marcus said, “On the first [extended trot] diagonal, she had her ears up and I said ‘Go!’ and then I thought, ‘Whoa, this is way too much engine.’ But she settled nicely.” He rides the mare for her owner, Alice Tarjan, and has training help from Christine Traurig, the chef d’equipe of the US Dressage Team.
“Unfortunately, we had a little bobble in the ones (one tempi changes),” he said, referring to the mishap that brought him marks of 5 across the board.
“But then the other ones on the center line were good. I’m happy for the horse to have a drama free test and hopefully it continues that way. I try to keep things really busy for her, and it’s slowly paying off. We don’t have a magic weapon, it’s just time, consistency and giving the horse trust.”
Click here for Special results
