by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 10, 2016
The U.S. Equestrian Federation’s flawless record of winning court challenges to its anti-doping program continued last week, after the New York State Supreme Court ruled in favor of the organization in the case of Archibald Cox’s penalties for violations of the organization’s Drugs and Medications rules, which prohibit excessive levels of GABA, a calming agent, in a horse’s system.
Following a June 2015 hearing in which it was found he had violated the rules, Cox was issued a five-month suspension and a $5,000 fine. Subsequently, he filed a proceeding against the USEF in the state of New York, challenging the hearing committee’s decision. In its ruling, the court held that the committee’s decision was supported by substantial evidence.
“The USEF has never lost a challenge in court related to its anti-doping program, which protects horse welfare,” stated USEF General Counsel Sonja Keating. “The USEF works diligently to eradicate doping in equestrian sport. We take the issue of doping very seriously. Our anti-doping protocol and the Drugs and Medications program go to the core mission of the USEF – to provide access to and increase participation in equestrian sports at all levels by ensuring fairness, safety, and enjoyment.”
Cox did not respond to a request for comment.
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 1, 2016
Having a problem involving neighbors or your town about your horse business? The State Agriculture Development Committee has published a right-to-farm guidebook that will help everyone understand New Jersey’s right to farm act.
The act is designed to protect farmers “from complaints and sometimes overly restrictive local regulations that can be a financial drain on farming operations and drive them out of business,” said state Agriculture Secretary Douglas Fisher.
The guidebook explains the basics of the Right to Farm Act, including eligibility criteria, protected activities, the formal complaint process and procedures and commonly asked questions. It also offers agricultural mediation as an alternative to the formal Right to Farm dispute resolution process.
To obtain a printed copy of the Right to Farm guidebook or the SADC’s previously published agricultural mediation handbook, contact the SADC at (609) 984-2504 or sadc@ag.state.nj.us. Or go to www.nj.gov/agriculture/sadc/publications/.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 28, 2016
Parry Thomas, right, at the 2009 retirement of Brentina with Debbie and Bob McDonald; Parry’s wife, Peggy, and their daughter, Jane. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
He was best known as the owner of Brentina. But Parry Thomas, who passed away Friday at his River Grove Farm in Idaho, did a great deal for the entire sport of dressage with his willingness to invest in horses and riders.
A banker who played a pivotal role in the development of Las Vegas, Parry was serious about dressage. He would take the golf cart from his home to the outdoor arena every day that he was home to watch Debbie McDonald training Brentina and his other horses. Parry’s influence was felt on the podium and in the development of the sport.
While Brentina–who medalled in the Olympics, the World Equestrian Games and the Pan American Games–was Parry’s most famous horse, he and his wife, Peggy, also owned Wizard. Ridden by Debbie’s protege, Adrienne Lyle, Wizard went to the Olympics and World Equestrian Games. He was retired at the 2015 Las Vegas World Cup finals in the Thomas & Mack Center, named after Parry and his late business partner, Jerry Mack. Parry was on hand for the emotional occasion.
At the Markel/USEF Young & Developing Horse Dressage National Championships in Illinois this afternoon, Adrienne won the Developing Prix St. Georges National Championship on an overall score of 74.272 percent aboard Horizon, owned by another great supporter of U.S. dressage, Betsy Juliano.
“Today’s ride was special,” said Adrienne, citing Parry’s influence.
“He was excited about the competition and loving dressage up to the day he went. He was watching over us, and we rode for him today,” she said.
Services will be held Sept. 6 at the Encore in Las Vegas.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 19, 2016
It didn’t seem like it could happen. With three past Olympic individual gold medalists in the mix, Nick Skelton looked a bit like an outsider in terms of the odds for earning the 2016 individual gold. But Nick, who has beaten the odds so many times, this afternoon became the first British show jumper to take the individual Olympic title.
Nick Skelton and Big Star. (Eric Knoll photo)
He has come back from a variety of injuries, including a broken neck that prompted physicians to advise him he shouldn’t ride. However, you don’t say that to Nick. Big Star, his horse of a lifetime, had been injured, and needed to be managed very carefully to make it to Rio in the kind of shape it took to go through to a jump-off for the title.
Fifth individually with Big Star in London 2012, where he rode on only the second British team to take gold in the Olympics, Nick at 58 was the second-oldest show jumper in Rio. (His teammate, John Whitaker, is 61 and gets top honors in that category.) His seven Olympic appearances are the most for any British Olympian in any sport.
Nick had a rail in the team competition, where the British squad didn’t make the cut to the second round. But he was resting up for today, when all 34 qualifiers started equal on zero penalties.
Time faults weren’t a major factor in the first round, where the fences were big while Guilherme Jorge’s route couldn’t be called tricky. But among the 27 who came back for the second round, a tighter time caught 10 riders, four of whom would otherwise have been clear.
Six competitors did go clean in both rounds, providing an incredibly exciting tiebreaker, something not often seen in the Olympics. Sadly, McLain Ward of the U.S., with a rail in the last element of the triple combination during the first round on the incredible Azur, did not qualify for the jump-off despite a clear in the second round because the two scores added together gave him a total of 4 penalties.
“I personally think the first course was really suited to the small horses, the horses that like to add strides, but that’s the test and we have to answer that test,” said McLain, whose mare has a big step.
“I’m thrilled with the horse, although disappointed with the day.”
His silver medal teammate, Lucy Davis on Barron, had 12 penalties in the first round and did not progress to the second round.
“My horse is very sensitive, and I think he feels not only the physical fatigue, but also all the stress gets to him as well, and he needed my help today a bit more than I gave him,” said Lucy.
“So I definitely take responsibility for those rails.”
But Kent Farrington of the U.S. produced two convincing clears with Voyeur, setting him up as a finalist.
Nick was in the unenviable position of being first to go in the jump-off over a shorter course with sweeping turns against two gold medalists, the title defender Steve Guerdat of Switzerland on Nino des Buissonets and the 2008 gold medalist, Eric Lamaze of Canada on Fine Lady. (Poor Jeroen Dubbeldam of the Netherlands, the 2000 winner, had a single time fault to finish a frustrating seventh on Zenith, a horse that now will be auctioned off.)
Nick finished fault-free before a packed stadium at the Deodoro Equestrian Center in 42.82 seconds, a time that looked beatable, but not easily.
He decided “to go as fast as I could but be safe and not take risks. He’s a quick horse anyway. I wanted to put pressure on everyone else and I had luck on my side.”
Steve’s chances ended when he had the first fence down, finishing in 43.08. Ali Al Thani of Qatar, an upcoming country in the sport that impressed with the quality of its Jan Tops-coached riders and horses, had two down in 45.03. Kent also toppled a pole at the first, and at the last as well to finish in 42.23, a time that would have edged Nick had he been clear.
Sweden’s Peder Fredericson did what he could on the lovely All In, finishing without faults, but in 43.35, which would be good enough for silver.
Everyone waited on Eric, who is known for speed, and Fine Lady was just the horse to beat Nick’s time. Beat it she did, in 42.09, but at the cost of having the next-to-last fence down, even though Eric went wide there. So he claimed bronze instead of gold.
“The Olympics is the most difficult challenge in our sport,” said Eric.
“We try our hardest to do our best. Anybody in that jump-off deserved a medal. Most of us go to shows every week and you can win a big grand prix, but an Olympic medal–well, that stays with you forever.”
While Nick tried not to focus on what the others were doing, he conceded, “I had to watch Eric and he made me sweat for a minute.”
When it was clear he had won, Nick–looking suddenly overwhelmed and a bit teary– was greeted with a flurry of hugs and handshakes.
“I’ve been in this sport a long, long time and to win this at my age makes me so happy,” he said.
The big question now is, will Nick retire with that individual gold he always wanted? Don’t bet on it. The lure of the arena may be just too tempting.
“I’m not going to stop riding now,” he advised. “The only horse I ride is Big Star and when he stops, I’ll stop.”
Of course, there’s the World Cup finals in Omaha next year (oh, wait, he already won the World Cup title) so we’ll just have to wait and see. The 2018 WEG may beckon.
I can’t say enough about Gui’s courses. He is a master who produced good sport, but not at the expense of the horses and riders.
I remember how long it took the Brazilians to announce he would do the courses; I was asking him every time I saw him, “Did you hear yet?” But choosing him was the only outcome possible. How lucky is a country that can have one of its own do the job, and so beautifully.
That’s a wrap for the equestrian portion of the Olympics. I’m sure many of the riders are already thinking about 2020 Tokyo, which had its own fence in the finals.
The U.S. can be proud of its Rio results, with a medal in each discipline. Germany was the only other country to be able to make that claim. It’s a big contrast from London, when no medals came back to America with the riders.
Phillip Dutton’s individual eventing bronze in Brazil with Mighty Nice was well-deserved after the decades he has devoted to the sport. The team bronze in dressage stands as a testament to the dedication of technical adviser Robert Dover and trainer Debbie McDonald, as well as the talent and efforts of the riders, three of whom had never ridden in the Olympics previously. And team silver in show jumping was the end product of a well-calculated process overseen by coach Robert Ridland.
Let’s not forget the support staff, who did yeoman work under often difficult circumstances to enable the riders and trainers to perform their best on the world’s biggest stage.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 17, 2016
Team Jumping Medalists USA team, silver, left; France, gold and Germany, bronze. Photo Arnd Bronkhorst
Drama was the order of the day as the team show jumping medals were decided in Rio, starting with the announcement that U.S. anchor rider Beezie Madden wouldn’t compete because her mount, Cortes C, had sustained an injury during his previous round at the Games.
The U.S., tied overnight with Germany, Brazil and the Netherlands on zero penalties, would have to do without a drop score. The same applied to Brazil and the Dutch, who had their fourth men fall by the wayside, while powerful Germany still fielded a team of four and thus the ability to drop its worst result.
Lurking in fifth place with a single penalty was France, waiting to pounce with its team of four, and pounce it did.
This was designer Guilherme Jorge’s most challenging track at the Games, as it should have been, and the time allowed of 82 seconds caught more than half the starting field of 48. So time faults figured in very influentially.
“We thought the course was brilliant today,” said McLain.
“It was real Olympic caliber team jumping. So we are very proud.”
Guilherme, who upped the difficulty of his route today to accommodate the capabiity of the riders, noted that “to design an Olympic course in my home country, it doesn’t get better than this.”
France had one time penalty from round 1 yesterday and two today, but didn’t need the contribution of its final rider, world number 3 Penelope Leprovost, because the French had it won before the competition ended. (It was their second gold of the Games, having also won the eventing.)
And remember, prior to the show jumping getting under way, France’s world number two, Simon Delestre, had to be replaced by alternate Philippe Rozier on Rahotep de Toscane because his horse, Ryan, had suffered a microscopic fracture in his hock. And Penelope fell in the first round when her horse stumbled, taking her out of the individual running but still enabling her to ride for her team.
“Maybe the problems helped to make us fight more and more” said French team member Kevin Staut, who added he is, “really proud–to be French, to be a rider and to be a gold medalist.”
For the U.S., a single time fault from the previously immaculate Kent Farrington on Voyeur and a knockdown by Lucy Davis and Barron at the second part of the double late on the course meant McLain Ward had to go clear on Azur to block a threat from the Germans yet to come. He did it with a technically spot-on ride that clinched silver, as the U.S. just ended two penalties shy of the French with 5 faults.
Bronze was a jump-off between the 8-faults-each Germans and Canada, which was not rated as a medal contender before the Games. Germany prevailed with three rounds that left all the rails in place, while both Yann Candele and Amy Millar had rails for the Canadians.
Special mention should be made of Tiffany Foster, fault-free in both rounds today for Canada with Tripple X, who was on the British gold medal team in 2012 with Ben Maher. The only rider not to incur any faults throughout the jumping competition in Rio is Canada’s Eric Lamaze, the 2008 individual gold medalist, riding Fine Lady.
The top 35 start for the individual medals on Friday, with 20 coming back for the second round that day. Everyone begins on zero penalties, so it’s a whole new ballgame. Perhaps Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat and Nino des Buissonets can make it a clean sweep for 2012 defending Olympic champions at these Games, following the trend of Germany’s Michael Jung on Sam, who repeated his 2012 eventing title, and Charlotte Dujardin with Valegro, who did the same in dressage.
But there is plenty of stiff opposition, starting with Kent, who had only 1 penalty throughout the jumping, and including Eric, of course, as well as Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum of Germany on Fibonacci and her three teammates; McLain–who is looking for his first individual Olympic medal after two previous team golds, and Sweden’s Peder Fredericson. And that, literally, is not the half of it. Should be quite a battle for individual honors.
It is interesting the way there are so many family links among the show jumpers, both people and horses. It’s kind of like how movie stars’ kids follow in their parents’ footsteps.
You know Meredith is the sister-in-law of German anchor rider Ludger Beerbaum, but Phillippe Rozier’s father, Marcel, was an Olympian who rode on France’s last show jumping gold medal team in 1976. Hansueli Sprunger of Switzerland, father of Swiss team member Janika Sprunger, also was an Olympian. Sydney Une Prince, the mount of France’s Roger Yves Bost, is by Rodrigo Pessoa’s multi-medal championships mount, Baloubet du Rouet, and Barron’s sire is For Pleasure, who competed with the Germans in Atlanta 20 years ago. That’s just a few of the connections!
Follow me Friday at twitter.com/@nancyjaffer for a round-by-round look at the individual finals, and come back to nancyjaffer.com later on Friday for the final equestrian story from Rio.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 15, 2016
Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro on their victory lap.
The two most successful dressage riders in history battled it out today in the Olympic freestyle for the individual medals, but in the end it was no contest Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro, the horse who has set all the records for the Grand Prix, Special and Freestyle, repeated their 2012 Olympic gold with a score of 93.857.
An emotional Charlotte, for whom tears came as she performed her final halt, said, “I just knew he couldn’t have done any more. I felt like he’d done his very best.”
While this is doubtless Valegro’s last championship, the exact retirement plans for the horse who’s been everywhere and done everything are still pending.
Germany’s Isabell Werth took the silver on Wiehegold OLD to become the most decorated Olympic equestrian medalist ever. Her score was 89.071 percent, and like the others in the top three, her artistic score was over 90.
But no one came close to Valegro’s 97.714 for that mark, and he was the only one to hit 90 for technical merit. Charlotte and “Blueberry,” as he is known, were the second pair at this Olympics to repeat their London 2012 individual success. Germany’s Michael Jung took his second straight individual gold on Sam in eventing last week.
Though it was expected that Charlotte would be at the top of the podium again, and two Germans would take the other places (world number one Kristina Broring-Sprehe earned the bronze with Desperados on 87.142), there was plenty of excitement in this finals.
The USA’s Laura Graves, who clinched bronze for her team last week with her unwavering ride on Verdades, produced another spectacular performance during her Olympic debut to wind up fourth on 85.196 for a test that got an 88.429 artistic rating, with 81.964 for technical merit. It was her third personal best at these Games.
It was a great Olympics for the U.S.dressage contingent, with Steffen Peters winding up 12th on Legolas and Allison Brock 15th on Rosevelt. It was her first Olympic appearance.
One of the biggest surprises was Spain’s Severo Jesus Jurado Lopez of Spain, fifth on Lorenzo (ahead of Germany’s Dorothee Schneider and Showtime FRH). His 83.553 percent performance ended with passage down the centerline that he rode one-handed, as a delighted crowd clapped in rhythm to his music.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 12, 2016
When I find myself in a difficult position, wanting to give up, I will think of Laura Graves and her determination as she went in to the arena in Rio this afternoon to claim bronze for the USA, the first dressage team medal since 2004 for the country.
It was a must-do moment. She and Verdades were cool and delivered, a score of 80.364 that put the U.S. over the Netherlands in a very tight, tough race. The Dutch were handicapped by not having a drop score when Parzival dropped out the other day after suffering ill effects from an insect bite, but that’s the way things go in both sport and life.
Coach Robert Dover had a vision of this moment for years, and he made it come true with the help of Debbie McDonald, who was the developing dressage coach (really like the assistant senior coach) and then the personal coach of Laura and Kasey Perry-Glass (Dublet). Veterans Steffen Peters and Legolas also stood strong for the team, as did Allison Brock–like every team member except Steffen–in her first Olympics. She rode Rosevelt and was coached by Michael Barisone.
The U.S. bronze medal dressage team: Allison Brock, Laura Graves, Kasey Perry, Steffen Peters. (Photo by Shannon Brinkman)
Laura has been a study in persistence ever since she got Diddy as an unruly weanling. Through fall after fall, and even one that broke her back, she persisted and established a relationship with the 14-year-old son of Florett As. It has paid off over the years, but never as much as today, when her horse’s talent and her nerves of steel ruled the arena.
Germany won the gold by a mile with 82.577 percent, followed by Britain (77.951)–even with a less-than-perfect performance by Valegro with Charlotte Dujardin up. The U.S. had 76.363, not so far from silver, while the Dutch were fourth on 74.991.
Isabell Werth topped the Special on Wiehegold OLD with 83.711 percent. Her team gold makes her the most decorated Olympic equestrian athlete ever. Charlotte stood second with 83.025 even with a break into the first half pass, scored at a lowly 3.7, not the sort of score you associate with the horse that holds every world dressage record.
Laura’s fifth place matched her final mark at the 2014 World Equestrian Games, when she burst upon the world scene to a chorus of, “Who is that?” There is still a chance to better that mark on Monday, when the freestyle is held for individual honors, with the top 18 competing. Steffen made the cut at 14th. Allie just missed it, finishing 19th. Kasey wound up 22d.
“We’ve captured the elusive 80 percent – it does exist,” said a thrilled Laura, who was one of only five riders to score above 80 percent.
“I knew the test was going well, but you just always hope that your reflections match up with the judges. I had no idea going into the ring what I needed for a score and to see my teammates so happy and then to achieve my personal best score–and a score I’ve been reaching for–was just icing on our cake today.”
If you want to see highlights of the Grand Prix Special, go to MSNBC at 5:15 p.m. today.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 9, 2016
Few things in the Rio Olympic eventing competition have played out exactly as planned, but one important medal did, with individual gold going as expected to the (insert your own superlative here, fabulous is mine) Michael Jung of Germany and his stalwart mount, Sam.
They defended their title from London 2012, becoming only the third back-to-back winners of eventing Olympic gold in the history of the Games. They both are excellent in every phase and an incredible pleasure to watch.
Interestingly, Sam was Michael’s second choice for Rio. I was surprised at Rolex Kentucky when he told me Fischer Takinou was his first option for the Games, but after that horse got sick, he was back to 16-year-old Sam. And Sam, he had told me a year earlier, is his favorite horse.
And now everyone could see why. A doll in the dressage, even though he wasn’t first in that segment, he added nothing to his score through a tremendously influential cross-country course, a challenging first round of show jumping today and then the final round of show jumping, finishing on 40.9 penalties.
Despite a pole down and 2 time penalties, France’s Nicolas Astier and Piaf de B’Neville took the silver on 48, while the USA’s Phillip Dutton earned his first individual medal, the bronze, after six Olympics and two team golds for his birth nation, Australia.
Phillip wasn’t aboard the team’s first choice for him. But when Fernhill Cubalawn had to bow out, Happy (as Mighty Nice is known) was there to fill in. With a rail in the individual jumping, his score was 51.8, just ahead of Australia’s Sam Griffiths and Paulank Brockagh (53.1).
Sam’s countryman, Christopher Burton on 9-year-old Santano II was second after dressage to Britain’s William Fox-Pitt and Chilli Morning, but moved up to first after cross-country as a refusal and time dropped William down the ranks to 22d. Chris was first after cross-country and third after this morning’s first jumping round, but two poles pulled in the afternoon landed him in fifth place for the final standings.
Double clear today put miracle William (recovered from a critical head injury suffered last year) into 12th place. It wasn’t the medal the British rider had sought, but still, who would have thought he’d even be competing in Rio after an accident from which a lesser man would still be recovering?
Boyd Martin, the only other U.S. rider coming through to show jumping, dealt well with a tired Blackfoot Mystery, an ex-racehorse who did others of his former profession proud. He wound up 16th with two poles in the first round this morning and three this afternoon. Boyd and the horse are a good match; they both gave all they had to give.
Mark Todd of New Zealand, the last person to win back-to-back eventing gold (1984 and 1988 with Charisma), was in sight of a medal after cross-country, but dropped to 11th after four rails with Leonidas II in the team jumping, where his nation gave up its medal hopes. At 60, he was hoping for a medal. That obviously didn’t work out, for him or the Kiwi team, but he made a terrific comeback in the individual round that put him seventh.
At the Pan American Games last year, I was impressed by Brazil eventing team member Ruy Fonseca’s sportsmanship when he lost gold with a knockdown by his horse, Tom Bombadil, at the last fence. Today, he did that one better. When Tom stopped at a jump and bumped down a rail, Ruy tumbled over his head. Unfazed, he stood, smiled and cheerfully replaced the errant pole in the cups. Cool guy.
Guilherme Jorge, who will design the grand prix show jumping courses later in the Games, made the route shorter for the second round today (these horses have done a LOT of jumping, after all) and the time allowed was more lenient than in the morning.
I will be keeping an eye on Grand Prix dressage starting tomorrow, so follow my comments on Twitter.com@nancyjaffer and return to nancyjaffer.com for another story in the On the Rail section.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 8, 2016
Everyone said Frenchman Pierre Michelet’s cross-country course would make a difference in the Olympic eventing standings and boy, did it, just as it had in the 2014 World Equestrian Games.
It was a real Olympic cross-country course for the first time since the 2000 Games in Sydney. There was nothing soft about it and plenty of thrills and lots of spills (but happily no serious injuries) along the winding route at the Deodoro equestrian center in Rio.
Favorites, both teams and individuals, fell by the wayside. The last water was highly influential, as many riders had trouble managing a straight enough line to take a second brush there, or on the way out to jump a narrow frog, which had yellow strips painted on it at the last minute so it would be more visible to horses.
The USA’s Clark Montgomery, who looked going into the Rio Games as if he had a shot at an individual medal with Loughan Glen, found himself on a horse who wasn’t interested in going cross-country today and retired after refusals that showed the horse’s mindset all too well.
Then his teammate Lauren Kieffer had a twisting jump at a vertical gate with Veronica, and both hit the ground. Neither was hurt, but for a second I flashed back to Veronica’s former rider, Karen O’Connor, who broke her back in an eventing career-ending fall with that mare.
That finished the U.S. for team medals, but pathfinder Boyd Martin had only 3.2 time penalties with the thoroughbred Blackfoot Mystery to hover in sixth place on 50.9 penalties, not too, too far from the podium. Then six-time Olympian Phllip Dutton rode brilliantly as anchor of a team that no longer was in play to bring Mighty Nice home with 3.2 time penalties as well for a score of 46.8 in fifth place. The most dramatic moment of his ride came when he lost his stirrup as “Happy” jumped sort of sideways over a brush. But Phillip persisted, got the stirrup back and nearly made the optimum time.
Australia leads with 150.3 penalties, little more than a show jumping rail ahead of New Zealand (154.8) while France is third with 161. But the Aussies and Kiwis have only three riders still in the game, so no drop score. Even more important, they are out as a team if one of their horses fails the Tuesday morning trot-up. France, third with 161, still has four riders participating.
Germany, favored to take the gold again, has only three riders with the elimination of former reserve rider Julia Krajewski after three refusals. They are on 172.8. Britain dropped to seventh with 252.1 penalties as overnight leader from dressage, William Fox-Pitt, dropped from first to 22d after a refusal with the stallion Chilli Morning. It was the end of a fairytale for William, who struggled back from what could have been a career-ending head injury and seemed in line to realize his dream of an Olympic individual medal.
Chris Burton of Australia, the leader in Rio eventing after cross-country with Santano II. (© Hippo Foto – Dirk Caremans)
Australia’s Christopher Burton moved into the lead with Santano II, adding nothing to his dressage score of 37.6. Ditto defending gold medalist Michael Jung of Germany, clean on his dressage score of 40.9 with Sam and 14 seconds under the optimum time to boot. France’s Nicholas Astier also was fault-free to stand third with Piaf de B’Neville.
New Zealand’s Mark Todd, the two-time Olympic individual gold medalist (1984 and 1988) had two time penalties for 46 total in fourth place. On paper, Phillip and Boyd don’t have an ideal shot at a podium spot, but with the horse inspection yet to come, and show jumping course by ace grand prix jumping designer Guilherme Jorge yet to come, never say never.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 6, 2016
It’s here, finally, the often-controversial but long-awaited Rio Olympics.
Saturday morning the eventers start off the equestrian competition with their dressage phase, so it’s time to offer my thoughts on who will win the medals.
The least-predictable of the equestrian disciplines is eventing, because cross-country can throw a wrench into the efforts of the most accomplished horse/rider pairing. And while sometimes the Olympic cross-country is considered a touch soft (the better for those from less-advanced eventing countries to get around without major disasters) the fact that Frenchman Pierre Michelet is laying out the route means this course should be quite decisive.
Pierre was the designer for the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy, where his technical track and the hilly terrain took their toll. Deodoro, home of the equestrian competition in Rio, also has hills, and as in Normandy, a good number of riders doubtless will find they don’t know the answers to some of the designer’s questions.
The man with all the answers, however, should be defending individual titleist Michael Jung of Germany, a former world champion who will be aboard his most experienced mount, Sam FBW.
Will Michael Jung and Sam repeat their 2012 Olympic success in Rio? (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Michael is going for double individual gold. If he achieves it, that will be the first time it’s been done in the sport since 1988, when Mark Todd of New Zealand achieved it on Charisma.
At the same time, Michael is expected to lead the German team to gold. He will be backed up by current world champion Sandra Auffarth on Opgun Louvo and veteran Ingrid Klimke (her father was individual and team dressage gold medalist at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and brought medals home from a bunch of other Games as well.) She will be on Hale-Bob Old.
Andreas Ostholt, the fourth member of the team, was replaced in the wake of So Is Et losing a shoe. Even though Andreas’ horse passed the jog, team officials didn’t want to take a chance. Julia Krajewski was chosen to take his spot with Samourai du Thot. But remember, only three scores count.
Even so, anything can happen, and there are other teams that have a good shot at the medals. Australia, New Zealand, fast-rising France and perhaps even Brazil, with the home country wind at this squad’s back.
Britain looks to be weaker than usual, though you can’t count out any squad that has William Fox-Pitt. Will he be the same William he was before a devastating accident last fall took him out of the game for months? We’ll see.
The U.S. has Olympic experience in Boyd Martin (Blackfoot Mystery) and especially Phillip Dutton (Mighty Nice), who earned Olympic team gold twice with the squad from his native Australia before becoming an American. Games newbies Lauren Kieffer (Veronica) and Clark Montgomery (Loughan Glen) should be well up to the task. Experts consider Clark the best chance the U.S. has for an individual medal, and the team shouldn’t be counted out of the medal race. But figure that after Germany, France and New Zealand have shorter odds to stand on the podium.
Dressage, in contrast to eventing, is the most predictable of the equestrian disciplines. As U.S. coach Robert Dover puts it, “regardless of whether it’s Germany, Rio or London, we’re still basically in a sandbox that’s exactly like the sandbox in Wellington or Aachen.”
Germany is incredibly strong, with numbers 1, 2 and 3 on the international ranking list offering an air of invincibility for its squad. Kristina Broring-Sprehe (Desperados FRH); Isabell Werth (Weiheigold OLD) and Dorothee Schneider (Showtime FRH) are unlikely to be nudged off the top step of the podium, even with a British team anchored by Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro, the record holders for the Grand Prix, the Special and the Freestyle. Charlotte’s mentor and 2012 gold medal teammate, Carl Hester, will be right in there with Nip Tuck, and the two other members of that squad should support the stars admirably for silver.
Could Valegro end his competitive career with another individual gold for 2012 star Charlotte Dujardin? (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
The Dutch could be contenders for the bronze, but if there is a weak link among the potential team medalists, they’re it. And the U.S. has been working hard for a chance to ascend that podium with an impressive squad of Steffen Peters (Legolas), the only Olympic veteran; Laura Graves (Verdades), Allison Brock (Rosevelt) and Kasey Perry-Glass (Goerklintgaard’s Dublet). Sweden would seem most likely to be fifth.
Individually, Charlotte looks as if she will claim her second Olympic individual gold in what likely is Valegro’s last competition. Pick two of the Germans for the other individual placings.
Show jumping also may go to the Germans to make it an equestrian clean sweep for that nation (Christian Ahlmann is the world’s number one at the moment), but this actually is the USA’s chance for gold. Kent Farrington (Voyeur) and McLain Ward (HH Azur) are fourth and fifth in the world rankings, behind France’s Simon Delestre and Penelope Leprevost. Also on the U.S. team — the same one that took bronze at the 2014 WEG, with the exception of HH Azur — is Beezie Madden (Cortes C), individual bronze medalist at the WEG, and Lucy Davis, who has turned in fault-free round after fault-free round on Barron in the selection observation events.
The French, obviously, are a real threat, but the British–who took gold in London four years ago–have only one returning rider/horse combination, Nick Skelton on Big Star. The Dutch, world champions, can medal if they ride up to their 2014 level.
Teams less likely to figure, but still in with a chance are Sweden, Qatar, Ukraine and maybe Brazil, with former U.S. chef d’equipe George Morris coaching.
The 2012 individual gold medalist Steve Guerdat of Switzerland (also the 2015 World Cup champion) is trying for his double on Nino des Buissonnets.
Perhaps 2012 individual show jumping gold medalist Steve Guerdat of Switzerland will have a repeat on Nino des Buissonets. (Photo copyright by Nancy Jaffer)
What are the odds of all three individual gold medalists repeating their 2012 London success in Rio, with the same horses, yet. It’s an interesting and exciting possibility.
But the USA could have a show jumping spoiler in McLain, who’s ready for the biggest moment of his career.
If you saw the opening ceremonies, you’re geared up for the Games. Whether it’s via computer, tablet, phone or TV, be sure to follow the equestrians and cheer them on.
