by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 17, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
July 10, 2016
Stalls in the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation stables are bright and shiny after a major refurbishment. (Photo copyright by Nancy Jaffer)
Hundreds of horses over 100 years had taken a toll on the unique U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation stable in Gladstone. While the 12-foot box stalls still were serviceably sound, they looked worn.
Shortcomings generally were evident just on close inspection, but even the most dedicated efforts to care for the stalls could only do so much.
Scrutiny revealed wood that was no longer shiny, some of which had rotted; stall floors showing their age, iconic pale green paint chipped off the metal bars and feed bins, walls that were marked and scratched.
“Any time you have a facility that is coming up on 100 years, there are clearly some capital improvements and maintenance that need to be done,” observed Bonnie Jenkins the foundation’s executive director.
The moment had arrived to restore the grandeur of the most famous horse housing in the country. The cost is being borne by the foundation’s Gladstone Fund, an element of the Campaign for Excellence started in 2010, which is geared to preserving the facility at Hamilton Farm. Supporters of the foundation have contributed to insure the facility can be preserved in the style it deserves.
“It’s a great gift from great people who care,” said Cliff Cotter, the foundation’s director of facilities and the hands-on supervisor of the stall renovation project, which involves two levels of the building.
Former foundation chairman Jane Clark, for instance, has donated for projects such as footing for the arena where team training sessions and selection trials have been held, while a $1.5 million gift from the Hamill family last year meant work could get started on the stalls and ultimately other necessary jobs, such as replacing the original boiler and the slate roof with copper flashing.
The stable was built in 1916-17 by James Cox Brady, a New York financier who became master of an estate that spread across three counties. The structure of stucco over brick, reinforced with steel, was the largest and most lavish building of its kind in the country when it was constructed. It cost the then-princely sum of $250,000, about $5 million in today’s money after adjusting for inflation.
Its distinctive features include a second-floor trophy room with a glass ceiling, enabling those who gather there to see horses passing through the rotunda below; herringbone-pattern terrazzo brick floors and walls and ceilings of orange glazed tile.
After Brady’s death in 1927, the building was shut down. It eventually had several non-equestrian uses, including serving as a hospital for Merchant Marine seaman during World War II.
But in 1961, it started on the road to its current legendary status when Hamilton Farm was leased for use by the U.S. Equestrian Team, which funded, fielded and trained riders for international competition. It was a mission that had belonged to the Army until the cavalry was disbanded after World War II.
The USET elevated America’s profile on the international equestrian scene. Coaches such as Bertalan de Nemethy and Jack LeGoff worked with horses and riders who brought home the medals. Those who trained at Hamilton Farm included William Steinkraus, Frank Chapot, George Morris, Michael Page, Jimmy Wofford and dozens more who would go from Gladstone to glory at the Olympics, Pan American Games, world championships and the most important shows on the globe. Famous horses from several disciplines who have stayed in the stables, either long-term or as “guests,” include Snowbound, San Lucas, Grasshopper, Brentina, and so many others whose names are part of history.
Prior to the re-do, lower level stalls had scratched walls, worn floors and chipped paint on feedbins and railings. (Photo copyright by Nancy Jaffer)
The stall project started with the building’s lower level in December. Approximately 24 people were involved, plying a variety of trades at the site, from masonry and demolition to sandblasting steel so it could be primed and repainted.
Brass finials and other pieces, such as the rings used for tying horses in the stalls, had to be removed and shipped out for polishing, while missing items including brass plates from the stall locks were remade. Over the years, some of the valuable brass had been taken and likely sold, although the individually produced finials atop the posts flanking the stalls were spared because they are difficult to take off.
In fact, care had to be taken when the finials were re-positioned after being polished, since as Cliff noted, “each one sits on a post totally differently, because all the holes in the posts were hand-done when the building was constructed.
“Every time the guy moved from one post to the next, he could have been off a half-inch or quarter-inch, drilling the three holes that hold the finial on. So when you take a finial off, you have to make sure it goes back to the same place. Otherwise it’s a big puzzle to put them all back.”
Stall floors, originally tile with cork mixed in and laid above structural concrete, were chopped out with a jackhammer. Then metal mesh was laid down, with concrete poured on top of that. The original trough drains remain in each stall, but new pads were installed, coated with layers of a urethane finish. A final black painted layer includes an aggregate material to assure a good grip for horses walking on the surface.
The refurbishment involved some research.
“Probably the hardest part of the job was finding the wood to rebuild the stalls exactly the way they were when they were built,” Cliff recalled.
“I wasn’t satisfied with the options people were coming up with. I didn’t feel it would be the right fit for the building and also the longevity of the wood we needed.”
The southern yellow pine that duplicated the original wood was finally located in Alabama. At one point, a different type of wood, or perhaps even plastic wood, was considered.
“But we felt with the sealers we have today, able to seal the wood on all six sides, that will protect it longer than the original wood,” he explained.
Each board was individually milled, cut, planed, sanded and stained, then given two coats of polyurethane before it went into place on the 600-pound doors, from which the original wood had been removed. It took two hours per door to do the job, but everything was prepped and ready so it could be done in the optimum amount of time.
As Cliff looked into how to deal with what was needed for the brass fittings, John Bradshaw of Bradshaw Awards in Flemington, which engraves trophies for the foundation, pointed him toward the J.M. Caldwell Co. foundry in Westchester, Pa.
It took nearly four months from seeing the prototypes of missing items they made up until they produced samples that got the green light.
Construction supervisor Cliff Cotter shows off one of the brass rings used for tying horses. (Photo copyright by Nancy Jaffer)
“You can’t really tell the difference between what was made 100 years ago and what (was) reproduced,” said Cliff, who has been with the foundation since 2006. He previously worked on large construction projects, such as dormitories at Yale University, and the golf course that shares Hamilton Farm with the foundation.
All the work on the stalls was thoughtful and painstaking.
“It’s the only way to do it here,” said Bonnie.
“To do it any other way would be not honoring the legacy we have and the wonderful facility we’ve been given.”
Other touches included replacing fluorescent lights with instant-on LED fixtures, re-opening windows that had been painted shut or warped, redoing brass ventilation grilles and putting a new surface on the ramps leading from the top floor to the lower level.
The stalls on the upper floor will be ready for their makeover in December. The cost will be approximately the same as the $275,000 spent on the lower level. Cliff thinks the upper level will go a little faster than the lower level, “because now we know the quirks and little things we have to do to make it work.”
He believes that if James Cox Brady came back today, he’d be pleased to see that from his viewpoint, the stables haven’t changed at all.
“This is a building that was built very, very well and we’re trying to take care of it to last another 100 years,” said Cliff. “It’s a labor of love to know that you’re working on something that’s going to last.”
The USET Foundation stables, which have stood the test of time. (Photo copyright by Nancy Jaffer)
The public is invited to visit the stables during the week, or when events are being held there. They include everything from Pony Club camp to dressage shows and the U.S. Equestrian Federation Talent Search.
More information is available at www. USET.org. Those who wish to contribute to the Gladstone Fund may do so through the website or by calling (908) 234-1251.
The foundation’s mission is stated as supporting, “the competition, trainining, coaching, travel and education needs of America’s elite and developing international High Performance horsea and athletes in partnershp with the U.S. Equestrian Federation.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 16, 2016
She was the guardian at the gate, the one who presided at so many VIP areas, always gracious but firm if someone without a wristband tried to cajole their way to a table. It won’t be the same without Kiki Umla, who has left us.
How Kiki kept her sense of humor and equilibrium I’ll never know, but she handled a tough job with aplomb.
She was a real pro, and the presentation to her of the Welles Trophy for service to the horse show industry at the 2012 National Horse Show was so well-deserved.
From Lake Placid to Wellington and so many shows in between, Kiki will be sorely missed.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 15, 2016
A decision by the Canadian federal government not to provides funds for the 2018 World Equestrian Games scheduled for Bromont, Quebec, leaves the event in a fiscal hole from which there may be no way out.
The WEG has been in trouble from the start. Bromont got the original nod for the competition, which subsequently was re-bid, with Bromont again selected as host when alternatives weren’t forthcoming. The Wellington, Fla., showgrounds were out because Rolex is a major sponsor of the Winter Equestrian Festival there, and Longines is the big sponsor of the FEI (international equestrian federation). The Rolex stadium is the focal point of the Kentucky Horse Park–scene of the 2010 WEG (which ran at a loss)–so it cannot be the venue either.
FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez acknowledged that, “The FEI has been officially advised by the Bromont Organising Committee (COJEM) that the Canadian Federal Government has made the decision not to fund the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Bromont and obviously this is very disappointing. As the international governing body, the FEI has a responsibility to ask the right questions and protect the future of our flagship events so, as a matter of priority, we will be meeting with the COJEM Board and the National Federation, Equestrian Canada (actually Equine Canada), to get a full picture of the situation and to look at next steps.”
With only two years before the WEG is scheduled to get under way, the FEI will have to move fast. It may be time to scrap the WEG concept that began in 1990 and go back either to individual world championships for the eight disciplines that make up the WEG, or do them in groupings, such as show jumping, dressage and para-dressage, which has been presented for the European Championships.
Problems with putting together the WEG are nothing new. The venues that won the bids for the WEGS of 1994 (Paris) and 1998 (Ireland) both dropped out and other nations pitched in with little time to spare. The 1994 Games in the Hague, Netherlands, were a financial disaster. The 1998 Games in Rome were well put together, despite the short window organizers had for arranging their competition. Rome did not, however, include endurance, reining and para-dressage, all of which are part of the eight-discipline package at this time.
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 | Jul 3, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
June 23, 2016
Essex Horse Trials veteran Buck Davidson returned for the Invitational Derby Cross at Moorland Farm with Victor BZ.
Even before yesterday evening’s Invitational Derby Cross competition at Moorland Farm in Far Hills, I knew there wasn’t going to be just one winner.
I’m talking big picture here, not who was taking home the blue ribbon for what basically was an exhibition. The Derby Cross and accompanying cocktail party heralded the return of the iconic Mars Essex Horse Trials in 2017 at a new location.
Essex, last held in 1998 at Hamilton Farm in Gladstone, home of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation, was a major fixture on the circuit and its many supporters keenly felt the loss when it was discontinued.
So it’s a win for the sport that Essex is going to be back with a bevy of sponsors as Mars Inc. leads the way, and it’s a win for the Somerset Hills area, where a long-range strategic plan calls for having more top-class equestrian sport in the area.
Essex isn’t picking up exactly where it left off. It was a 2-star, but is coming back on the weekend of June 24, 2017 as a beginner/novice through preliminary fixture, though ambitions are to have it move up to a higher level at some point.
Essex began a few miles from Moorland at Hoopstick Farm in Bedminster, where Roger Haller, his family and friends put on the first Essex in 1968. Roger, a member of the eventing Hall of Fame, died in March, but his widow, Ann, was on hand to be part of the event that heralded the revival of Essex. And the event’s signature cocktail, the Hoopstick, was perfect for a toast to the return of the event.
The Derby Cross, with 12 riders taking part, was run in front of about 400 enthusiastic partygoers on the incredibly scenic former estate where the popular Far Hills Race Meeting is staged each October.
The Derby Cross “bears no relation to any jumping or eventing competition you’ve ever seen,” said Sally Ike of Tewksbury, who acted as the judge for the event. Course designer Morgan Rowsell of Long Valley came up with a hybrid that artfully combined show jumping fences with the type of natural fences, such as brush obstacles and carved logs, that one would find on an eventing cross-country floorplan.
The route was cleverly laid out, using the up-and-down of the grassy terrain to raise the level of difficulty without raising the fences too high.
Those who went clean in the first round (some got assistance from jumping a 4-foot, 3-inch joker fence that erased one knockdown for those who cleared it) came back over a shorter course against the clock. Clearing the joker fence in that round took five seconds off the entry’s time.
Derby Cross winner Jennie Brannigan and Kilkenny.
It was fun and easy to understand with commentary by experienced eventer Doug Payne. He could have a career in announcing when he decides to stop riding.
The occasion was like old home week; every time I turned around I saw people I knew, many of whom were regulars at Essex. The word of the day was “exciting.” Everyone was jazzed at the thought of Essex returning to the area.
Buck Davidson went to Essex every year, as I remember, and he believes he took part in the last one in 1998. He was eager to compete at Moorland Farm yesterday.
He recalled Essex as “always one of my favorite events. I’m really excited to have this event coming back. I’m very excited for the real thing come next year.”
Another Essex veteran, Holly Payne Caravella, Doug’s sister, rode at Essex for the first time in 1998.
“I was so upset years ago when they stopped it and I was happy I got to do it at least one year,” said the Gladstone resident.
“It’s so exciting that it’s coming back and now everyone’s going to be able to appreciate it.”
She believes 230-acre Moorland Farm, with its sweeping vistas, is a perfect location.
“It’s beautiful, it’s awesome, it’s right outside of town, which is really cool, so I think it will draw a lot of local people. They’ve got tons of land and all the equipment they need to maintain the footing, so I think it’s going to be really good.”
Jennie Brannigan, who won the Derby Cross on Kilkenny, relished her time on the property because she enjoys steeplechase racing, though she has never been able to attend the Far Hills meeting because it conflicts with the important Fair Hill, Md., International three-day event in Maryland. She loved having the opportunity to ride on such special turf, and like the others, is hoping to return in 2017.
The move to give Essex a new lease on life began last year during the Gladstone Gathering at the historic USET Foundation stables. Jim Brady, whose family once owned Hamilton Farm, felt that the area wasn’t hosting as many top-class equestrian events as it once did. He revitalized the old Gladstone Equestrian Association, and came up with the idea for the party.
Tewksbury resident Ralph Jones was among those attending, and the gathering inspired him. The eventing enthusiast began working with Morgan to find a venue where Essex could live again.
“It was so well regarded back in the day,” said Ralph.
“I was just thrilled with the idea of starting it over.”
Sinead Halpin and Topgun, second in the Derby Cross.
Local favorite Holly Payne Caravella of Gladstone and Never Outfoxed.
Essex Horse Trials Board Vice President Guy Torsilieri, former New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman and Paul Vallone, mayor of Far Hills.
They looked at several locations, but Moorland had everything, including great footing maintained for the races. Guy Torsilieri, chairman of the board of the Far Hills Race Meeting and a former Essex chairman, liked the idea and soon Essex was off and running.
“We worked very closely with Guy to bring it back,” said Ralph, noting that Guy had kept Essex’s 501-C3 status.
“We basically took the dust covers off and started over.”
Addressing the crowd at the Derby Cross, Guy said, “There is a group of individuals, and all of you, who have decided that it is time to revitalize equestrian activity in this area. We couldn’t be more thrilled.”
Essex, the Monmouth at the Team show at Gladstone in August and the races are all being benfited by Rod Ryan and Open Road Auto Group; the Peapack Gladstone Bank and RWJ Barnabas Health.
“I’m thrilled it’s all coming together,” said Guy.
Also in attendance were former New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman and Far Hills Mayor Paul Vallone, both of whom spoke about the importance of supporting the horse industry in the state.
“New Jersey’s one of those places that once you come here, you realize how horses are really in the tradition and from growing up, even not in the area, I knew New Jersey as a horse place,” said Sinead Halpin of Branchburg, second in the Derby Cross on Topgun.
“The terrain and the land is just stunning, so I’m surprised there weren’t more events here.”
As I was leaving, I chatted with Cheryl Bock of Califon, and asked her what she thought about the revival of Essex.
“I’m glad it’s back,” she said.
My feelings exactly.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 3, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
July 3, 2016
McLain Ward and HH Azur are leading the U.S. show jumping team to Brazil. (Photo copyright by Nancy Jaffer)
Impressive! That’s the reaction prompted by the announcement of the U.S. Olympic equestrian squads. It’s the most promising group of American athletes headed to the Games since 2004, when the country brought home five medals across the three disciplines, including a team gold in show jumping.
The low point was the 2012 London Olympics, when there were no American equestrian medals for the first time since the 1956 Olympics. That puts on extra pressure for 2016. But through intensive development, training and fundraising efforts, jumping, dressage and eventing teams have emerged that could earn a place on the podium in Rio.
All three coaches are optimistic, without going overboard. As eventing coach David O’Connor noted, “It’s sport, and you never know really what’s going to happen.”
But the U.S. has more depth in all the disciplines than it has enjoyed in years.
It has been said the country could field two successful show jumping teams in Brazil. That was the same assessment bandied about before the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, where the team took gold while Joe Fargis and Conrad Homfeld accounted for the individual gold and silver.
Show jumping coach Robert Ridland is fortunate to know his contingent extremely well– he led the same riders to a team bronze at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. From my sidelines vantagepoint, I saw this one coming, telling Robert several weeks ago an encore for the 2014 team seemed likely to me. Protocol meant he was not allowed to comment, but I remained confident.
It seemed fairly obvious. Can you imagine an Olympic team without two-time Olympic team gold medalist McLain Ward, who rose to number one in the world rankings last month? Especially since he rides the spectacular HH Azur, winner of the grand prix in Rome last month against the world’s best?
With Rothchild, Ward was fifth at the WEG, missing the “Final Four” by one spot.
“He set the bar pretty high,” said Ridland, noting that this time, “you probably would say he is in a stronger position. We’re pretty excited about that.”
And what about Beezie Madden, Ward’s teammate on the Olympic gold medal squads, with an individual Olympic bronze to her credit? She also came home with an individual bronze from her trip to the WEG with Cortes C. You couldn’t leave her off the team.
Kent Farrington, the second-highest-placed U.S. rider at number six on the international roster, has had vast success with Voyeur. Lucy Davis, the rookie of the 2014 WEG squad, “made a pretty big statement,” as Ridland put it, during two Olympic observation events with six fault-free trips in seven rounds on Barron. Two years on, and with the WEG experience behind her, she has more to offer the team than she did in 2014.
“We’ve got four really strong horse/rider combinations,” Ridland observed.
Show jumping has the greatest number of countries that could be medal possibilities. In addition to the world champion Dutch, the Germans always are a threat and France can be impressive. The British, gold medalists in 2012, are without two of that squad’s powerhouse horses that made gold happen. Team member Scott Brash, who has been number one in the world, isn’t playing because two of his mounts are out of action.
Other squads with possibilities include Ukraine (composed of riders from outside its borders), Switzerland, Sweden and Quatar with its high-priced horses. Brazil has the incentive to do well at home, but it’s a longshot.
It will be interesting to see how the U.S. team does against many of the major players when it takes the field for its last big prep at Aachen, Germany, July 12-17.
None of the Olympic dressage team horse/rider combinations are on the 5-star squad for Aachen, with the exception of alternate Shelley Francis (Doktor). Steffen Peters will ride Rosamunde, who is the direct reserve for Legolas in Rio.
Meanwhile, Olympic combos Peters with Legolas and Kasey Perry-Glass (Goerklintgaard’s Dublet) will appear in the 4-star at Aachen.
Neither Laura Graves (Verdades) nor Ali Brock (Rosevelt) are competing at the German show.
Explaining why, coach Robert Dover said of Laura, “She is so on it now and having won her last class in Rotterdam (the final observation trial) with such a high score (77.314 percent) and feeling so confident, then what we’ll do are several dress rehearsals between now and the Olympics. She didn’t need to do another show.”
Laura Graves was a star with Verdades in the run-up to Rio. (Photo copyright 2016 by Nancy Jaffer)
As for Brock, who had done two of the three competitions for team aspirants in the Netherlands, Dover said, “everything she does is pretty mistake-free, and for her, it’s really just about having all the expression and the feeling of electricity, so we didn’t feel she needed to go out again.”
As for Peters’ particpation, Dover observed, “Steffen loves Aachen. He’s had such great shows there. Both of his two horses are still evolving into better animals, with more quality every time I see them. I never second-guess Steffen.”
Dover enthuses about his group, most of whom have been in Europe for two months, “It’s the most wonderful crew of human beings. They’re like a family together. They’ve been this way from the winter on. They support each other at home, they support each other. They were supporting each other when they were competing against each other for these cherished team spots. As a coach, you can’t want more than that. It was very heartwarming.”
Team spirit is important, as Dover observed.
“What I love is that we’re going in as a team that is renowned now as being a contending team. On any given day, just like with the jumpers, there’s going to be that team that has the luck of the day and has done all their homework.
“We know that the Germans are very strong; we know that the British, if (defending Olympic titleist) Valegro is at his very best, is a hard team to beat as well. And we know that the Dutch are very strong. But I think they are saying the same things about America right now. That’s always the nice way to go into an event.”
The German team will be announced at Aachen, and no doubt it will be a contender for gold in Rio; Germany has three of the top four combinations in the world rankings. The Dutch won’t be at Aachen; their national championship is at the same time.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Edward Gal, who is supposed to ride Glock’s Voice at the championship. He has had a checkered year, with physical problems for both himself and his horses. But even without him, the Netherlands edged the U.S. last month at Rotterdam in the team competition.
Great Britain, which won gold at the 2012 Olympics in London, has the record-holding Valegro with Charlotte Dujardin, but the two haven’t competed since last summer’s European Championships. Her trainer and mentor, Carl Hester, is the top-ranked British rider at number 10 with Nip Tuck, and Fiona Bigwood recently moved up to number 14 with Aaterupgaards Orthilia, so they’re in with a good chance. Sweden could be in contention for a medal, while Spain has number two-ranked Beatriz Ferrer-Salat with Delgado, but no one else in the top 50.
Eventing is always the most unpredictable discipline to figure, because one misstep on cross-country can ruin a team’s medal chances. But anyone who bets against Germany this time would be foolish. With defending Olympic champion Michael Jung, the world number one, leading the way (he said his choice to ride in Rio is Fischer Takinou) and world champion Sandra Auffarth right behind him, Germany is the solid gold medal favorite.
Great Britain (which names its team Tuesday) is more of a question mark than usual because its pillar, William Fox-Pitt, has come back from a horrific accident that left him out of the action for many months. France is a nation on the rise and also looks like medal material. New Zealand is a threat, even without its longtime star, Andrew Nicholson, and with Tim Price as a reserve instead of on the team itself following an injury to his top horse. You can never count out Australia, either.
O’Connor can take comfort in having a deeper well from which to draw than usual, and top riders with several options. Phillip Dutton, world number three, is on the squad with Fernhill Cubalawn, but he also has Mighty Nice and Fernhill Fugitive as direct reserves in case of adversity.
Phillip Dutton was named to the team with Fernhill Cubalawn and two other direct reserves. (Photo copyright 2016 by Nancy Jaffer)
Boyd Martin, number seven in the world, was named with Blackfoot Mystery, but Welcome Shadow (second in the CCI 3-star at the Jersey Fresh International) is a direct reserve. World number 11, Lauren Kieffer (Veronica, and Meadowbrook’s Scarlett as direct reserve) is joined by British-based Clark Montgomery with Loughan Glen. Reserve rider Maya Black (Doesn’t Play Fair) is young but steady.
O’Connor, who like Ridland and Dover took over the coaching job following the disappointing 2012 Games, puts it this way: “The ship has turned. Now we’re just working on getting some speed up on the ship. The nice thing is that a couple of the more experienced guys have multiple horses. We’ve got some new people coming in that have been out there and gotten some experience under their belts,” said O’Connor, including Kieffer in that group.
He noted that an important plus in this group is the fact that “Morale is high, for each other; not for just one person. Attitude is really important. Everybody feels like there’s a lot of confidence.”
This team is characterized by hard-working doers and achievers with the right attitude for success.
“The one thing you really can’t teach is that twist that you want to be a champion and you can produce horses that way,” O’Connor said. “That internal drive, you can support it, but you’ve got to come with that desire.”
From the big picture perspective, Rio is looking like a very problematic Games. You’ve heard about the crime, the unfinished venues, the transportation links that still need work. A little more than two weeks ago, the state of Rio de Janeiro declared a “state of public calamity.” The governor said a financial crisis could bring about “a total collapse in public security, health, education, mobility and environmental management.”
Police and firefighters who hadn’t been paid were greeting arrivals at the Rio airport last week with a sign that that read, “Welcome to hell.”
Meanwhile, 150 prominent doctors, bioethicists and scientists from around the world asked for the Olympics to be moved or postponed because of the Zika epidemic, though it is expected that since it will be winter in Rio (seasons are opposite below the equator) less mosquitoes will be around to carry the disease.
But the coaches are undaunted. Actually, the equestrian venue at Deodoro, where the 2007 Pan American Games were held, is in decent shape compared with the locations for several other sports.
Dover notes people worried that the infrastructure for the 2004 Games in Athens wouldn’t be finished in time, but it was. The six-time Olympian said that in his experience as a rider, there were concerns about every Games, except the 1984 competition in Los Angeles, yet all turned out well.
“In all probability,” he contends, “we’ll look back and say the competition and venue ended up being as fine as the previous games.
“It’s going to be fine,” Ridland agrees.
“We’ve got a job to do, we’re going there and that’s what the deal is.”
This column was revised at 10:20 a.m. on July 4, 2016.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 29, 2016
Uthopia, the 15-year-old stallion who was purchased by a mystery buyer last month at a Northern Ireland auction, will be staying with his trainer, Carl Hester.
For a month, the fate of Uthopia was unknown. Carl, the man behind the gold medal success of British dressage at the 2012 Olympics, had tried to raise money to buy the horse that was embroiled in an ownership dispute, but to no avail.
Since then, according to British Dressage, “negotiations have taken place and the horse has now been purchased on Carl’s behalf by a supporter who wishes to remain anonymous.”
Carl Hester on Uthopia at the 2012 Olympics. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Carl commented; “I couldn’t have asked for a better early birthday present – this is the best news and the team are all very happy now we know ‘Uti’ is staying at home. It’s been a stressful time but I must thank the parties concerned in getting to this outcome, all have been professional and made it exceptionally easy.
“Those involved wish to remain anonymous and I hope that everyone can respect that but they have my extreme gratitude. I must also thank all the supporters of British dressage for their good wishes and encouragement, it’s meant a lot to me and my team. This a happy ending and will make my birthday celebrations this year extra special!”
The ending isn’t as happy for British show jumping. Scott Brash, who has been ranked previously as the number one rider in the world, won’t be going to the Rio Olympics. Scott, a member of the 2012 gold medal team, explained that his two top horses, Hello Sanctos (his 2012 mount) and Hello M’Lady have not recovered sufficiently from minor injuries incurred earlier this season and aren’t fit to compete at the Games.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 23, 2016
A celebration of Frank Chapot’s life will be held Sept. 19 at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation in Gladstone, N.J. Details of the event, such as the time it will take place, are still being worked out.
Frank, a resident of Neshanic Station who died earlier this week, was a six-time show jumping Olympian and a coach of the U.S. team in that discipline.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 22, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
June 22, 2016
Essex Horse Trials veteran Buck Davidson returned for the Invitational Derby Cross at Moorland Farm with Victor BZ.
Even before yesterday evening’s Invitational Derby Cross competition at Moorland Farm in Far Hills, I knew there wasn’t going to be just one winner.
I’m talking big picture here, not who was taking home the blue ribbon for what basically was an exhibition. The Derby Cross and accompanying cocktail party heralded the return of the iconic Mars Essex Horse Trials in 2017 at a new location.
Essex, last held in 1998 at Hamilton Farm in Gladstone, home of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation, was a major fixture on the circuit and its many supporters keenly felt the loss when it was discontinued.
So it’s a win for the sport that Essex is going to be back with a bevy of sponsors as Mars Inc. leads the way, and it’s a win for the Somerset Hills area, where a long-range strategic plan calls for having more top-class equestrian sport in the area.
Essex isn’t picking up exactly where it left off. It was a 2-star, but is coming back on the weekend of June 24, 2017 as a beginner/novice through preliminary fixture, though ambitions are to have it move up to a higher level at some point.
Essex began a few miles from Moorland at Hoopstick Farm in Bedminster, where Roger Haller, his family and friends put on the first Essex in 1968. Roger, a member of the eventing Hall of Fame, died in March, but his widow, Ann, was on hand to be part of the event that heralded the revival of Essex. And the event’s signature cocktail, the Hoopstick, was perfect for a toast to the return of the event.
The Derby Cross, with 12 riders taking part, was run in front of about 400 enthusiastic partygoers on the incredibly scenic former estate where the popular Far Hills Race Meeting is staged each October.
The Derby Cross “bears no relation to any jumping or eventing competition you’ve ever seen,” said Sally Ike of Tewksbury, who acted as the judge for the event. Course designer Morgan Rowsell of Long Valley came up with a hybrid that artfully combined show jumping fences with the type of natural fences, such as brush obstacles and carved logs, that one would find on an eventing cross-country floorplan.
The route was cleverly laid out, using the up-and-down of the grassy terrain to raise the level of difficulty without raising the fences too high.
Those who went clean in the first round (some got assistance from jumping a 4-foot, 3-inch joker fence that erased one knockdown for those who cleared it) came back over a shorter course against the clock. Clearing the joker fence in that round took five seconds off the entry’s time.
Derby Cross winner Jennie Brannigan and Kilkenny.
It was fun and easy to understand with commentary by experienced eventer Doug Payne. He could have a career in announcing when he decides to stop riding.
The occasion was like old home week; every time I turned around I saw people I knew, many of whom were regulars at Essex. The word of the day was “exciting.” Everyone was jazzed at the thought of Essex returning to the area.
Buck Davidson went to Essex every year, as I remember, and he believes he took part in the last one in 1998. He was eager to compete at Moorland Farm yesterday.
He recalled Essex as “always one of my favorite events. I’m really excited to have this event coming back. I’m very excited for the real thing come next year.”
Another Essex veteran, Holly Payne Caravella, Doug’s sister, rode at Essex for the first time in 1998.
“I was so upset years ago when they stopped it and I was happy I got to do it at least one year,” said the Gladstone resident.
“It’s so exciting that it’s coming back and now everyone’s going to be able to appreciate it.”
She believes 230-acre Moorland Farm, with its sweeping vistas, is a perfect location.
“It’s beautiful, it’s awesome, it’s right outside of town, which is really cool, so I think it will draw a lot of local people. They’ve got tons of land and all the equipment they need to maintain the footing, so I think it’s going to be really good.”
Jennie Brannigan, who won the Derby Cross on Kilkenny, relished her time on the property because she enjoys steeplechase racing, though she has never been able to attend the Far Hills meeting because it conflicts with the important Fair Hill, Md., International three-day event in Maryland. She loved having the opportunity to ride on such special turf, and like the others, is hoping to return in 2017.
The move to give Essex a new lease on life began last year during the Gladstone Gathering at the historic USET Foundation stables. Jim Brady, whose family once owned Hamilton Farm, felt that the area wasn’t hosting as many top-class equestrian events as it once did. He revitalized the old Gladstone Equestrian Association, and came up with the idea for the party.
Tewksbury resident Ralph Jones was among those attending, and the gathering inspired him. The eventing enthusiast began working with Morgan to find a venue where Essex could live again.
“It was so well regarded back in the day,” said Ralph.
“I was just thrilled with the idea of starting it over.”
Sinead Halpin and Topgun, second in the Derby Cross.
Local favorite Holly Payne Caravella of Gladstone and Never Outfoxed.
Essex Horse Trials Board Vice President Guy Torsilieri, former New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman and Paul Vallone, mayor of Far Hills.
They looked at several locations, but Moorland had everything, including great footing maintained for the races. Guy Torsilieri, chairman of the board of the Far Hills Race Meeting and a former Essex chairman, liked the idea and soon Essex was off and running.
“We worked very closely with Guy to bring it back,” said Ralph, noting that Guy had kept Essex’ 501-C3 status.
“We basically took the dust covers off and started over.”
Addressing the crowd at the Derby Cross, Guy said, “There is a group of individuals, and all of you, who have decided that it is time to revitalize equestrian activity in this area. We couldn’t be more thrilled.”
Essex, the Monmouth at the Team show at Gladstone in August and the races are all being benfited by Rod Ryan and Open Road Auto Group; the Peapack Gladstone Bank and RWJ Barnabas Health.
“I’m thrilled it’s all coming together,” said Guy.
Also in attendance were former New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman and Far Hills Mayor Paul Vallone, both of whom spoke about the importance of supporting the horse industry in the state.
“New Jersey’s one of those places that once you come here, you realize how horses are really in the tradition and from growing up, even not in the area, I knew New Jersey as a horse place,” said Sinead Halpin of Branchburg, second in the Derby Cross on Topgun.
“The terrain and the land is just stunning, so I’m surprised there weren’t more events here.”
As I was leaving, I chatted with Cheryl Bock of Califon, and asked her what she thought about the revival of Essex.
“I’m glad it’s back,” she said.
My feelings exactly.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 20, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
June 20, 2016
Frank Chapot and the speedy stallion Good Twist, Gem Twist’s sire.
Through six Olympic Games, scores of Nations’ Cups and dozens of victories at the world’s most important equestrian venues, Frank Chapot always rode to win when the nation’s flag was on his saddlepad.
In the subsequent quarter-century he spent as the U.S. show jumping coach, he inspired scores of riders to do the same. His life, which ended on Monday, June 20, at the age of 84, was about dedication to horses, the sport and his country’s team.
Frank’s longtime teammate, Billy Steinkraus, noted that, “Frank was a tenacious competitor, a stalwart teammate, and for me, a loyal friend for well over half a century. A mainstay of the jumping team for many years, he became a consistent anchor man in team events but specially enjoyed riding against the clock. (His unusual talent for going fast lives on today very conspicuously in his daughter Laura.)
“Frank’s taste for speed even extended to the way he dealt with Europe’s swarms of autograph seekers. He hated turning anyone down, but found it tiresome to scrawl his whole name over and over again. He solved this problem by simply signing `Tex’.
“Frank didn’t care a lot about what others thought of him, but all in all,” Billy said, “I think he’d be pleased to be remembered as someone who was 100 percent trier, no matter what the odds, and 100 percent genuine.”
There never was any question that his team and his country were focal points of Frank’s life.
“If you look at Frank’s clothing, he doesn’t wear baseball caps that say, `Yankees’ or `Green Bay Packers’,” longtime friend David Distler, a judge, steward and show manager, once mused.
“Everything he has says ‘USA’ on it. He believes in the U.S. doing well and winning. That’s his prime concern, and always has been.”
Frank’s wife, Mary, recalled that although Frank was “a formidable competitor against the clock, his main focus was the Nations’ Cup Team Competitions.
“After he retired from riding and went on to coach so many winning teams, he had little patience with riders who wanted to save their best horse for the grand prix, I like to think that his early input has contributed to more money being added in to those (Cup) competitions, and the scheduling of most Nations’ Cups to a Friday before the Sunday Grand Prix, rather than the day before, as was usual way back when.”
Frank once told me that he didn’t fear death, noting he was satisfied with what he had done. “I flew some fast planes (he had been an Air Force captain) and rode some good horses,” is the way he summed it up.
“I’ve had a lot of fun and had some successes–and some failures, too. To come close to winning some gold medals, which I did a couple of times, how can a person who’s not very wealthy dream of being able to do that?” he asked.
But really, that wasn’t even the half of it. When it came to committee work for the U.S. Equestrian Team and the old American Horse Shows Association, and then its successor, the U.S. Equestrian Federation, Frank was tireless and a veritable walking rulebook. He also rode steeplechase horses, was a show jumping course designer and a respected judge, saluted for all his accomplishments with the USEF’s Lifetime Achievement Award and a member of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame.
He was particularly proud of being the trainer and breeder of Gem Twist, awarded the Best Horse title at the 1990 World Equestrian Games. Gem, a thoroughbred by one of Frank’s top mounts, Good Twist, won nearly everything there was to win, from two Olympic silver medals, Pan American Games silver and the American Invitational to the American Grand Prix Association Championship with Greg Best aboard.
He went on to take two more AGA titles with Leslie Howard and Frank’s daughter, Laura, as well as a host of other honors. At Gem’s 1997 retirement during the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden, Frank was by the horse’s side, as always, when the handsome gray got a standing ovation.
Gem’s owner, Michael Golden, characterized Frank as, “a determined leader in the industry to which he devoted his life. His work ethic, his demand of excellence and integrity, as well as conviction, enabled him to speak out to all that fell short of his standards.”
After Frank retired from coaching the team a decade ago, he spent his time working with Laura at his Chado Farm (named after his first show horse) in Neshanic Station, N.J., and continuing to go on the road with her and Mary, his teammate in the early 1960s.
U.S. show jumping coach Robert Ridland in 2012 with his predecessor, George Morris, and Frank Chapot, who preceded George in the job.
“I like to be able to make him proud,” Laura once said, referring to her father. “It’s a lot of fun to have the success together and have both of us be a part of it.”
She called him “a natural horseman,” and wasn’t referring to the natural horsemanship trend, but rather, his ability to connect with horses.
“He’d walk up to a horse and it would come to attention. He seemed to have a rapport with them,” she recalled.
Laura loved watching him ride, noting “he could get on and be doing what you’d been spending the last three weeks trying to do with your horse. I’m so lucky to have had his influence on my riding and be able to have his input.”
A new chapter in the Chapots’ lives began after they cloned Gem. It was quite an innovative move for Frank, who tended to be a bit of a traditionalist, but the advent of Gemini helped preserve the fabulous Bonne Nuit jumping lines carried by Gem, a gelding. Gemini’s job is to stand at stud, and the Chapots have several of his youngsters, who just started jumping courses last year.
It’s all a far cry from when Frank was growing up in the 1940s. The sport in this country was small-time then, except for the cavalry teams that competed for the U.S. abroad and in Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden at the National Horse Show.
“It was a hidden sport, more or less,” Frank remembered a few years ago.
“Now more people are interested in equestrian sports, show jumping especially, which gives a little more recognition, though (still) maybe not the recognition we’d like to have. It’s not so elitist anymore, and that’s a good thing. The dollars involved for sure are more than I ever expected.”
Mostly self-taught, he used to watch the Mexican team practice at the old Squadron A Armory in Manhattan when it came for the National, which helped him pick up some sophisticated riding tips.
Frank also got equitation instruction as a teen from Al Homewood at the Boulder Brook Club in Scarsdale, N.Y., where his father took him on Friday nights. Equitation practice, which was his mother’s idea, paid off when he won the ASPCA Maclay finals at the Garden in 1947.\
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Frank spent two years in the Air Force, serving between the Korean and Vietnam wars, and was able to spend the weekends riding.
At his first Olympics in 1956, his mother paid $3,500 for a horse named Belair who had sight in only one eye. The equestrian events were held in Stockholm, because quarantine restrictions kept them out of Melbourne, where the rest of the Games were staged. The pressure was on Frank to be the pathfinder. Only three riders were on a team in those days, so every score counted over an incredibly difficult course.
Frank Chapot at his home, Chado Farm, in Neshanic Station, N.J.
Team Captain Billy Steinkraus told him before he went in the arena: “You’ve got to get around.”
The first eight fences went well enough, but Belair got hung up in the next obstacle, a wide oxer. Frank stayed on, only to have the horse stop at the next fence.
“I thought, ‘I’m not going to get around,’ ” he recounted, noting that if he failed, the team would be eliminated. He gritted his teeth and pressed on; the horse didn’t dare do anything but keep going. It was pure Chapot.
The team finished fifth, and “getting home” became Frank’s calling card.
“I didn’t come from a family with a lot of money,” he once said.
“My big break came from making the team and having a good relationship with Bert de Nemethy,” he explained, referring to the aristocratic Hungarian who coached the U.S. show jumpers for 25 years.
Bill Steinkraus and Frank, who succeeded him as captain, were mainstays of the team in the 1950s, ’60s, and part of the ’70s. Others joined them eventually, including George Morris and a California rider named Mary Mairs, who had won both the Maclay and American Horse Shows Association Medal equitation finals in 1960 and was selected to come to team headquarters in Gladstone, N.J., by Bert after a talent scouting trip.
Mary remembers “Billy and Frank came to observe. They had made it (onto the team), and it was awesome that they would take time to watch us go round.”
Mary and Frank married 51 years ago and rode together on the 1964 Olympic team in Tokyo, where the squad was sixth and Frank was the highest-placed American, seventh on San Lucas. The couple also teamed four years later in Mexico City, where Frank just missed a medal on San Lucas, coming in fourth, as did the team.
Asked how he evaluated his success as a rider, Frank once answered, “It was more determination, not especially talent. I wouldn’t be able to ride with these young people today; they get better training and better horses.”
George assessed Frank’s basic style as “not too complicated. He was a great rider; aggressive with a difficult horse, aggressive against the clock, aggressive over big courses, but he was aggressive with ‘feel’ for the horse.”
Frank, George and Billy rode on the 1960 Olympic silver medal team in Rome, and the courtyard at the USET Foundation’s headquarters is dedicated to that squad.
“He was a great team player,” said George, noting that Frank “always had my back” and was supportive, telling him, “You can do it,” when George expressed doubts about a difficult course. The two were lifelong friends; George spent every Christmas eve at Frank’s house when he ran Hunterdon Inc. in New Jersey.
He called Frank “a great chef d’equipe” in so many ways, not the least of which was the fact that “he was street-smart, he was more diplomatic than I was; he was clever that way” and managed as a result to get things done under less-than-ideal circumstances. George also noted Frank’s regard for horses, never letting anything be done at their expense.
As coach, Frank presided over glory years of the USET, when the show jumping team won its first gold at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, where Joe Fargis and Conrad Homfeld also brought home the individual gold and silver. The team won gold again in the 1986 world championships in Aachen, Germany, where Conrad earned individual silver. And Gem’s double silver at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 was personally special to Frank.
Frank remained active in the sport until recent years, when his health declined. Survivors in addition to Mary and Laura include daughter Wendy Nunn, an accountant who has been successful as an amateur-owner jumper; her husband, Edward Nunn, and their children, Frank, Mary and Cathleen.
Arrangements are by the Branchburg, N.J., Funeral Home. There will be no visitation or funeral, as per Frank’s request, but a celebration of his life will be held at some point in the autumn.
Contributions in his memory may be made to the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation at USET.org.
