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 31, 2016
A collection of carriages, coaches, sleighs, carriage bells and appointments from the collection of Jeff Day will be auctioned off at 9 a.m. Sept. 10 in Asbury by Paul Z. Martin Auctioneers and Associates..
It’s the culmination of a three-day sale that also includes farm and haying equipment. For information, check www.autozip.com. The auction ID is 27759. For information, call 717-354-2010.
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 28, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
Aug. 28, 2016
You saw the Olympic eventing from Rio on TV or the live stream, but Marilyn Payne lived it as president of the ground jury, and she had quite a different view.
It was, of course, serious business, but also an adventure to be part of the world’s biggest sporting event.
Olympic eventing judge Marilyn Payne and her daughter, Holly Payne Caravella, at Holly’s Gladstone fundraiser to take Outfoxed to Burghley. (Photo copyright 2016 by Nancy Jaffer)
Marilyn shared her experiences last weekend at Beval Saddlery in Gladstone for a fundraiser for her daughter, Holly Payne Caravella, who is riding Never Outfoxed in this week’s 4-star Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials in England. (Those who wish to give her a check can make it out to Holly Payne Caravella and send it to P.O. Box 59, Gladstone, NJ 07934. Or click on https://www.gofundme.com/2fq3ey2s.)
While Holly got a U.S. Equestrian Federation grant to bring her other top mount, Santino, to the 3-star Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials the week after Burghley, she was on her own to pay Fox’s way.
So her mother, who is part of the syndicate that owns the 10-year-old thoroughbred, stepped up to talk about her time in Rio.
As soon as she arrived in Rio, Marilyn found herself in the Olympic mode. Standing in a 100-person line waiting to go through customs, she found herself chatting with the person ahead of her, who happened to be the chief judge of gymnastics.
“You think dressage has a problem? We had a lot to talk about,” she told her audience with a smile.
Marilyn, who runs Applewood Farm in Califon, attended the test event in Rio last year, when none of the radios worked. Just as dire, volunteers from Brazil who said they spoke English couldn’t even communicate the simplest messages, such as the need to call for an ambulance.
“It was a disaster,” recalled Marilyn.
Another disaster hovered at the Olympics during the rehearsal for handling the cross-country phase, just five days away, when the radios died within 10 minutes and the practice had to be suspended.
“They had to get a whole new set of radios,” Marilyn reported.
After the experience with the 2015 test event, officials from other countries (who could speak English) had to be flown in, with airfare and lodging paid for by the cash-strapped Rio Games.
Marilyn and the other officials lived in Olympic housing, where shortcomings included the choice of food and meeting the challenge of taking 30-second showers before the plumbing situation was resolved.
There was one thing the judges didn’t have to worry about. They took a bus from their accommodations to the venue, and found armed guards everywhere (the Deodoro Equestrian Center was on a military base). So security–a key issue discussed any time the Rio Games were mentioned–wasn’t a problem.
“We felt very safe,” Marilyn reported.
Talking about the first horse inspection, Marilyn said it was “entertaining” to see all the different team fashions, especially those of the Swedes, whose female riders wore “a ballooning yellow outfit” tied at the waist with something resembling a rope.
“We were like, `Oh my gosh. Okay, got to look at the horse,’” she chuckled.
In the dressage phase, everyone was waiting to see the performance of Germany’s Michael Jung and Sam, the defending champion partnership from the London 2012 Games and the hot favorite to take the title again.
Marilyn said Michael had a good ride, “but it wasn’t the best ride.”
So the thought was, “Wow, this is going to be a cool competition. Somebody else might win the gold medal.. But then came cross-country.”
While those who just wanted to get around could take optional lines that would leave them with time penalties, anyone seeking a medal had to try the more difficult direct routes.
Most teams put their best cross-country horse first, and “we lost a few,” meaning they were eliminated, Marilyn noted.
What Marilyn called THE obstacle, was actually two numbered fences, the Malmesbury Cottage table fence and a gate. The direct route involved jumping a corner of the “building,” then taking between three and five strides to a gate. By the time the second horse of each team went out, “coaches started getting smart,” she said, having their riders go the long way and making a time-consuming loop before the gate that enabled a better approach.
“You want to get the team around,” explained Marilyn.
After the USA’s Boyd Martin finished in the first group, teammate Clark Montgomery had to withdraw because his horse didn’t want to play. So Marilyn was watching intently from her vantagepoint in the control center as the US team’s third rider, Lauren Kieffer, who was having a great round, until she galloped toward the cottage and gate.
When she saw Lauren aiming for the direct route, Marilyn’s reaction was an anguished “`Nooooo.'” “Unfortunately, she said, “the direct route didn’t work out.”
Lauren’s horse cleared it in front but caught it behind and slipped on landing, going down. That put the U.S. team out of the running, with only two riders left to compete in the next day’s show jumping.
Michael Jung went the direct way at the table/gate combo, and it was “picture perfect,” Marilyn said. She estimated six tried the direct way, and three didn’t make it.
The tricky moment for the USA’s Phillip Dutton’s came at a brush fence, where Mighty Nice barely missed being off the edge. The judge at the jump called it in to the jury as a refusal.
The cliffhanger way he took the fence “was unbelievable,” said Marilyn, noting the jury watched the instant replay several times.
Mighty Nice’s “hind end did not jump the fence,” Marilyn noted, but because the horse’s head, neck and shoulders cleared the obstacle, the effort was counted as bona fide, since that’s all the rules require. Phillip went on to take the individual bronze.
Questions such as that were easily resolved by the ground jury because not only did they see instant replays of the TV camera shots when requested, but there also was additional footage of a head-on view of the horses available to them, so they could determine whether they jumped through the flags at a fence.
Judges also have the task of stopping a horse they feel is unfit to continue.
In the show jumping, which was held over two rounds for the team and individual honors, Marilyn had a great view as Michael Jung claimed his second gold medal.
“I’ve got to get his signature,” she decided.
By the time she came down from the judges’ tower, Michael was leaving the press conference and likely on his way to a celebration.
Marilyn cleverly blocked his departure, rushing up to say, “Michael, congratulations.” She just happened to have a purple pen, so how could he say no when she handed it over and asked him to sign her hat. That was sold for $255 at the fundraiser, with Holly’s husband, Eric Caravella, acting as auctioneer. He is darn good at that job, also bidding up a little doll of the Olympic mascot, Vinicius (a blend of Brazilian animals) for $205.
After eventing concluded, the eventing judges scribed for the Grand Prix dressage judges (Marilyn sat with Gary Rockwell of the U.S.)
While she does judge pure dressage in the U.S., she doesn’t judge the discipline at that level.
“You’re right there, watching these amazing horses and hearing these amazing scores. I never heard so many 9’s and 10’s in my life.”
Eventing dressage drew more of a crowd than Grand Prix dressage, Marilyn said.
In my view, that was because Brazil had no chance at all in GP dressage, which is not popular in Brazil, while the eventers had a shot at a respectable finish.
Before her mother spoke, Holly talked about Outfoxed and how she got him. She saw a video of the thoroughbred learning to swim, with a teenage girl in a bathing suit on his back. He stepped into water and with a few little kicks from his rider, he struck off as the bottom of the lake dropped away and he was paddling nicely.
Holly Payne Caravella and Never Outfoxed. (Photo copyright 2016 by Nancy Jaffer)
Holly’s reaction?
“Oh my God, it’s a 4-year-old who will do that?” It clinched the deal and she bought him sight unseen with her mother. The thought was, “Let’s see what we’ll get. If he’s awesome, we’ll syndicate him. He was awesome.
“I knew right away he would be a 4-star horse. There are not many in the world you get on and instantly know, `This horse is going all the way.’ He had all the heart in the world with all the athletic ability. Within the first year of owning him, I decided I was going to keep him.”
She syndicated him and he has proven her original assessment correct by running twice at the 4-star Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.
Holly Payne Caravella and Never Outfoxed at Rolex Kentucky this year. (Photo copyright 2016 by Nancy Jaffer)
Burghley is, she noted, “kind of terrifying,” but Fox is the horse on which to try it.
“If you point him in the right direction, he’s going to do it for you. This is an amazing opportunity.”
Holly said she has been “overwhelmed by people contacting me saying, `I want to donate something, what can I give you?’”
Although Holly’s in England now, she’s still collecting money to pay her Burghley bills. To learn about another Jerseyan, Meg Sleeper, trying to pay for a competitive goal, go to https://nancyjaffer.com/2016/08/25/join-meg-sleeper-in-her-endurance-adventure/.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 27, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
Aug. 21, 2016
It sounded like a good, if rather unusual, idea–moving the Monmouth County Horse Show–which needed a boost–to Somerset County’s U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation headquarters in Gladstone.
But until the show actually was held at the iconic location, no one would know for sure whether the concept worked.
It turned out to be wildly popular. Monmouth at the Team, which ended a six-day run this afternoon with the $10,000 Horseflight Mini-Prix, was a hot ticket that drew raves from exhibitors and trainers.
The U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation stables provided a handsome backdrop for the $10,000 Hunter Derby during Monmouth at the Team, won by Margot Peroni on Orlon. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Organizers ran through 500 back numbers for riders and had to borrow more from area show managers, said Tucker Ericson, who bought Monmouth with his cousin, Michael Dowling, from longtime owners Mike Maxwell and George Richdale.
The show’s success stemmed from more than just its venue and the cachet of being able to ride in the renowned arena behind stables that once housed America’s most famous international jumpers. It also was a social event, with daily themed parties in the hospitality pavilion, where food, drink and music added to the atmosphere, attracting plenty of non-competitors as well as those who were actually riding.
New Jersey’s oldest show has had several homes in Monmouth over its 121 years, most recently at the Horse Park of New Jersey, but something more was required to make it extra special, just as it was before leaving Monmouth Park’s Wolf Hill Farm in the early 1970s.
Tucker and Michael thought a venue whose name is synonymous around the world with equestrian excellence would be the right spot for their show, especially in the heart of a community that is oriented toward horse sports.
The show drew raves from exhibitors.
“I’m super-pleased with the facility, the footing is amazing. Everything here has been very well done. The stabling is nothing but topnotch. Management is super-friendly,” said trainer James Fairclough II, whose mother, Robin Fairclough, is chairman of the Sussex County Horse Show that runs the week before Monmouth about an hour’s drive from Gladstone.
“It’s nice to come here in this atmosphere and jump in this facility,” continued Jimmy, who is based in Connecticut and Florida.
“It’s great for my students to get a little exposure to this history here at the USET without being under the pressure of the (USEF Talent Search) finals.”
Jumpers got an opening shot at nice money in the $5,000 1.25-meter Manhattan Saddlery Welcome Stake, won by Sarah Scheiring of the Chester Riding Club on Santa Ana Lux Z. She also won the Horseflight 1.3-meter class on Newtown Jumping Jack, who topped a field of 38, an excellent turnout.
Monmouth’s U.S. Equestrian Federation-rated hunters were C, not A, and the organizers were happy with that. On the weekend when many of the top hunters and hunter trainers in the country were in Kentucky at the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s International Hunter Derby and Pre-Green Incentive Championship, there still were plenty of horses showing at the lower levels to compete at Monmouth.
Classes for the base of the sport were taken out of dusty back rings and moved to center stage, offering an incentive for those who were just starting to show, as well as more seasoned riders with fancier horses and years of experience who might be more comfortable with fences at lower heights during this stage of their riding.
“My daughter loved it,” said Catherine Roure-Singh of Harding Township about her child, Olivia,, who rides with Dapple Hill Farm in neighboring Bedminster.
“She came to see the (USET Foundation) grounds when she was about five years old. And she said, `Mama, one day, I want to compete here.’ She’s 11 and she did it. She competed in pre-children’s hunter and finished fourth. She was so happy. She’s living her dream.”
While Tucker and Michael will add at least two C-rated days next year to the one they had this year, they’re not going for an A rating.
“I’m not so sure that’s in the best interests of the community,” said Tucker.
“At that height level (3-6), that will limit the number of exhibitors and those who can compete. We have to keep ourselves close to the beat on what the exhibitors want and what the community needs. We’re open-minded, but at this point, it seems like the home run is at this level.”
He and his cousin, a trainer and assistant professor of equine studies at Centenary University, have found their niche, one that was under-served.
“We’re really proud of the support from exhibitors and trainers. Everyone is asking for reserved stalls for next year,” said Tucker, a horse show judge himself who also manages shows in Kentucky.
Tucker and Michael worked unceasingly to make the show a success in the run-up to its debut, and they didn’t stop there. At 5 a.m. on hunter derby day, Tucker was cleaning bathrooms, and later in the afternoon, he was behind the bar serving drinks. His cousin, meanwhile, was busy ringside training competitors.
Show co-organizer Tucker Ericson stepped in to bartend in the hospitality tent when needed. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
A number of community leaders were on hand to watch the action from the hospitality tent set along one side of the arena.
“This facility is sort of like the Fenway Park of equestrian,” said Jim Brady, who revived the Gladstone Equestrian Association with the goal of bringing more equestrian competition to the facility and the area. He also mentioned the input of Leslie Sullivan, who handled public relations for the show.
Guy Torsilieri, who runs the Far Hills Race Meeting down the road at Moorland Farms, was involved in a sponsor-sharing initiative with Monmouth, an example of how equestrian groups in the area are starting to work together. Moorland will host a revival of the Essex Horse Trials next June, another source of excitement for horse-oriented fans in the Somerset Hills.
“I think it’s fabulous. I’m tickled pink,” Guy said of Monmouth, but his vision goes beyond one or two competitions.
“I’m glad it’s being reused again,” he said of the foundation’s facility, which had a paucity of major competitions in recent years, “and I think it’s just the beginning of many great things to come.”
He is on board with the decision that Monmouth doesn’t have to be A-rated, just as Essex doesn’t need to have a multi-star competition at this point, the way it did prior to its post-1998 demise.
“There’s multiple needs at multiple levels,” mused Guy, whose steeplechase draws crowds of 30,000 or so every October.
“You can have a fabulous event at a beginner level. It’s a pyramid. If you don’t have a broad base at the bottom, it doesn’t go to the pinnacle at the top.”
Monmouth at the Team has many links to its roots. Creigh Duncan, who managed the show at the Horse Park, had the same post in Gladstone. Wiss Costanza, a Monmouth starter for 32 years, enjoyed seeing the new version of the show with which she had been associated for so long.
“They’ve done a great job,” said Wiss, who was on hand as a vendor with Adequan.
“I absolutely love it at the Team, as does obviously everyone else. It’s top of the line. The Monmouth tradition continues.”
Those in the hospitality tent had a great view of the action, in addition to food and drink. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Victoria Maxwell, daughter of Monmouth’s former owner, Mike Maxwell, started her association with Monmouth in 1966, when it was at Wolf Hill and she rode her pony, Beverly, in the leadline. She was judged by the late Carol Hofmann Thompson, for whom she later went to work.
One of her fondest memories was seeing Rodney Jenkins ride so many horses there that, “they would just pull one horse up next to the other and he would just hop from horse to horse and his feet would never touch the ground.
“I’ve been to all the Monmouths at all the different locations. I’ve seen a lot of people with their hearts and souls into keeping this show going. The show has always adapted and found a way to survive and thrive. This is just terrific.”
Her father sat in with judge Mike Rosser to officiate at the $10,000 Hunter Derby, held at jump heights of 2 feet, 2-6 and 3 feet.
While he enjoyed being a part of Monmouth even though he no longer owns it, Mike conceded, “It’s kind of bittersweet. I’m so happy it’s a success, it’s a beautiful venue, they’ve done a wonderful job, but on the other hand, it’s kind of hard to let go, but I think it was time for that. I’m glad it worked out for both parties.”
There were 72 entries in the classic round of the derby, with 15 coming back for the handy round. Margot Peroni of Redfield Farm in Califon won with Orlon, a 7-year-old German import she has trained since he was two, along with her husband, Bastian Schroeder.
“Every win with this horse is special,” said Margaret, who last year topped the HITS $250,000 Platinum Performance Hunter Prix.
Although the prize money was less in Gladstone, the victory was important to her.
“To do it here at the team is amazing,” she said.
“What a cool place to get to show. I’m really excited. It was a really, really fun class.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 25, 2016
From the steaming jungles of Malaysia to the scenic fields of Normandy, Meg Sleeper has competed in four endurance world championships. She plans to make it five next month in Slovakia, riding along the Danube river under what likely will be optimum conditions to complete the race.
Meg Sleeper and Shyrocco Rimbaud
The Kingwood Township resident needs help to do it, however. That’s understandable when you learn that the initial estimate for shipping her horse, Shyrocco Rimbaud, was $22,000 round-trip for a variety of reasons. The horse will fly into Frankfurt, Germany, and then have a 10-hour van ride to get to his destination.
The U.S. Equestrian Federation is giving her a $10,000 grant to be used as she wishes, but expenses are many. A friend, Robin Farrington, set up a GoFundMe account in Meg’s name, but it’s less than halfway to the $18,800 goal. (click on https://www.gofundme.com/megsleeperenduranc to read more about Meg and make a pledge).
It is rarely easy to go to a world championship (held every two years) for those in this non-Olympic FEI sport, because a large crew is required by each competitor. Meg will have four people to help her.
The race originally was supposed to be in Dubai, and expenses for that would have been covered by the organizer, Meg said, but horse welfare issues prompted the FEI to change venues. Slovakia (where the lavish Samorin equestrian center is a contender to host the 2018 World Equestrian Games) didn’t get the nod to hold the championships until June, which left little time for fundraising.
Although Meg was originally part of the U.S. team, one of the three horses selected had to drop out, so she and Thomas Hagis of Virginia will compete as individuals.
The championships are usually a financial struggle (and of course, there’s tons of work to condition and qualify a horse), yet the highly regarded University of Florida veterinary cardiologist has no thought of giving up on her opportunities to compete at the top of the endurance game.
“I just love the sport. I love seeing the different trails and meeting new people and also some of the people I see just at these events,” said Meg.
Discussing the Slovakia location, 90 minutes by car from Vienna, she said, “I’m really excited about it. It will be an adventure.” But less of one, happily, than riding through that rain forest.
It’s a family effort. She rides homebreds and her husband, Dave Augustine, works as the shoer and a crew member. (He’ll be accompanying the horse on the plane as a groom.)
Her mark of seven hours, 49 minutes for 100 miles, set four years ago during the London world championships (where she was 11th) is the fastest off-continent time recorded for a U.S. horse. Meg’s mount for that event was Reveille, who sustained a fracture more than seven months ago and is still in rehab.
It seems unlikely Reveille will compete again, but she will be represented by Rimbaud, her Anglo-Arab half-brother out of a thoroughbred mare, Poetic Pride, a Northern Dancer granddaughter. Reveille’s half-sister, Shyrocco Rabia, who is also by Rimmon, will be ridden in the championships by Fernando Paiz, representing Guatemala.
Of the fundraising effort, Meg noted, “It’s really emotional for me. I feel really awkward asking for financial assistance. Some of the responses have been really emotional for me. I’ve had clients from years ago contacting me.
“It’s been a really interesting voyage. I feel like I’m going to have all these people with me in my pocket as I’m riding, because the support has been really incredible. I’m hoping we can do well because I really feel like I need to do that for everybody.”
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 16, 2016
I know the Olympic show jumping has been a bit hard to follow, with the teams and individuals on seemingly separate tracks, as the opener on Sunday was only to place teams in the order of go, while for the individuals, it counted big time.
Lucy Davis, the youngest member of the U.S team, was clear today on Barron
So although the U.S. was down the line on Sunday, today American riders shone, with clears from Lucy Davis (Barron), Kent Farrington on Voyeur (the only one who also was clear Sunday) and McLain Ward (Azur). Just the best three out of four count, so anchor rider Beezie Madden’s toppled pole and water jump fault with Cortes C was the team’s drop score. Together with a rail from Sunday, that knocks her out of individual contention.
“It was a short seven up the first line, and maybe I was a little casual about the back rail, and then he clipped that,” Beezie said about her knockdown at fence 3.
“The water has been riding difficult all day. I just didn’t quite get across. I think he actually finished better than he started in the course, so hopefully tomorrow we’re in good shape.”
I had been thinking Cortes, her individual and team bronze horse at the 2014 WEG, wasn’t at his sharpest this season. It’s quite an art getting a horse ready for the Games, what with all the observation events and fitness required to get them to peak at the right time.
But as expected, the USA is leading after the first round of the team jumping, tied with the Netherlands (world champions), Germany (the faves to medal in Rio) and Brazil.
Brazil?
Let me blow my horn a bit; I did pick them as a key contender in previews, and not only because they are “at home” and the crowd is behind them. Having former U.S. coach George Morris on their side as coach is a big plus in any team’s book.
I spoke to George after today’s jumping at the Deodoro Equestrian Center and he emphasized, “I have two teams.” While he’s in the kiss-and-cry stand (where team officials and family observe competition) when the Brazilians are going, he is still thrilled that America is doing so well.
“I’m beholden to the States,” he said, and of course, the U.S. is beholden to him as well–not only for his team coaching, but also for his system of equitation and horsemanship that has been a key to American success.
He emphasized that he isn’t changing the riding style of his Brazilian team members; that isn’t his function in the relatively brief time he has had with them. Rather, he calls himself “a supporter,” who tries “to keep it all structured.”
One of his methods is going over and over–and over–the route of the course with each rider, to get it into their subconscious and give them confidence.
There had been a small kerfuffle when Rodrigo Pessoa–a former Olympic and world champion–was not named to the squad and selected as alternate, but based on current form, it turns out the right four were picked. Brazil had three clears and one 8-fault round today, and they’re riding high.
Course designer Guilherme Jorge (who we see so often in the U.S., he’s setting up house in Wellington, Fla.,) did it again with a route that enabled 21 of 69 starters to sail through with no penalties, while posing puzzles that stumped those at the lower end of the scale. That’s how it should be, and he’s a master of bringing the best to the top. Brazil is lucky to have one of its own so eminently qualified to lay out the floorplans on the country’s biggest-ever equestrian stage.
The 4.3-meter water obstacle was pesky once again, as it had been in Sunday’s round, and 19 faulted there, including Australia’s Scott Keach who fell off before the jump when his horse refused. It was seven strides from an oxer to the water (laid out going away from the ingate, which makes it harder), so riders really had to rev without overdoing it at the oxer as they thought about the H20.
The teams you’d expect to be near the top are France, fifth with just 1 time fault total (those time faults can be expensive, though) and Canada, with 4, in sixth place. (Keep an eye on them, they have Eric Lamaze, the 2008 individual Olympic gold medalist with the stellar Fine Lady).
Tied for seventh on 8 are Sweden and Switzerland. It was disappointing to see the latter’s defending champ, Steve Guerdat, have 8 faults–including the water–on Nino des Buissonets. The 2012 Olympic gold medalists in eventing and dressage repeated their feat here in the individual standings, and if Steve could have done the same, it would have been an unprecedented sweep for former champs. But he’s behind the tide right now, so it seems unlikely.
In the individual standings, Kent, the USA’s only double clear (Sunday and today), is tied with Germans Christian Ahlmann, Daniel Deusser and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum; Peder Fredericson (Sweden), Pedro Veniss and Doda de Miranda (Brazil), Harrie Smolders and Maikel van der Vleuten, (Netherlands), Sergio Alvarez Moya (Spain) and Eric Lamaze (Canada).
“I wouldn’t say it’s massive in size yet, but I am sure that’s to come,” Kent said of the round one course.
Like George, he noted, “I think tomorrow will be significantly bigger. It’s exactly what you would expect at a championship level. The time allowed is quite short, which I think is going to be a factor either through time faults or rails down because of people worrying about the time. Obviously, I am thrilled with my horse. It was a great start for Team USA.”
Tomorrow is the team finals for the top eight nations. Be sure to check out my running commentary at www.twitter.com/@nancyjaffer.
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.
