by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 22, 2024
Incredible! Or as the Germans like to say, “Wow, wow, wow!”
That sums up the personal best (by far) performance of Marcus Orlob and Jane at the Schafhof Dresseur Festival in Germany, the final competition for Olympic hopefuls before the U.S. team is named next week.
After winning the 4-star Grand Prix on Friday, Marcus and the 10-year-old mare went one up on themselves with a victory in the Grand Prix Special on a score of 75.930 percent for a test that was smooth and effortless, yet correct. The duo earned marks of more than 77 percent for several movements, including transitions and half-pass.
Second place on 73.319 percent went to Adrienne Lyle with Helix, a horse she started showing for Zen Elite Equestrian in March, at the same time Marcus made his competition debut with Jane, who he had started riding only at the beginning of that month.
Adrienne Lyle and Helix in the awards ceremony.
Jane is owned by Alice Tarjan, who had trained her up through the levels to grand prix, but acted as the groom during her KWPN mare’s European sojourn after thinking Marcus would be a better fit for the mount.
Groom and owner Alice Tarjan led Marcus Orlob and Jane into the ring for the victory ceremony after the Grand Prix Special
Marcus originally was just hoping to be among the eight riders on the list of prospective Olympians who made the trip to Europe for observation competitions.
To think that he likely has made the Olympic team is beyond a dream come true for the native of Germany who is a naturalized American citizen.
Endel Ots, another U.S. team contender, would seem to have lost his chance for the team with a 69.872 percent Special performance on Zen Elite Equestrian’s Bohemian, who was behind the vertical at times and seemed to have less spark than in the Grand Prix, where he was fourth with 72.587 percent.
Pan American Games team and individual medalist Anna Marek on Fire Fly was eighth in the Special with 70.404 percent. In the Grand Prix for the Freestyle, however, she was second with Fayvel on a very respectable 73.131. Adrienne’s second horse, Zen Elite’s Lars de Hoenderheide, finished sixth in that class with a score of 69.109 percent. Both will compete Sunday in the freestyle. At the Olympics, that is the test that decides the individual championship medals.
Adrienne notes that her two horses “are very different rides. Lars is a big, powerful kind of pedal-to-the metal type ride and Helix is more like a ballerina, very light and dainty through the test. It’s fun to have two different types of horses.”
Veteran Olympian Steffen Peters, who headed the U.S. Olympic ranking list with Suppenkasper, was excused from the observation events and will compete as an individual next month at Aachen, where Marcus is on the team. Steffen’s best score in the Special this year was 73.234 percent.
It seems more than likely that he will be joined on the U.S. squad for Paris by Adrienne, his teammate on the 2021 Tokyo Olympic silver medal squad with the now-retired Salvino. And after Marcus’ performance at Schafhof, who could deny him a place on the team?
Ashley Holzer, a late addition to the Olympic short list with Hansel, put herself out of contention with a mark of 59.004 last week in Rotterdam, where the team finished last. The other Olympic hopeful on that squad, Katherine Bateson-Chandler, had a score of 67.848 percent on Haute Couture in the Rotterdam Grand Prix, and was twelfth Saturday in the Grand Prix Special on 70.021 percent.
Click here for results of the Special
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 21, 2024
All the major league action was overseas Friday, with a storybook American winner at an Olympic dressage observation competition in Germany, and a less happy ending for the U.S. show jumping team at the League of Nations in Rotterdam.
Marcus Orlob, who began riding Alice Tarjan’s Jane only in February, won the Grand Prix for the Special at the Schafhofs Dressage Festival with a lovely test between good halts, featuring smooth transitions, classic pirouettes and a tension-free performance throughout. He finished on a personal best of 73.913 percent ahead of Adrienne Lyle and Helix (72.739), another new combination owned by Zen Elite Equestrian. A third new U.S. pairing, Endel Ots and Zen Elite’s Bohemian, tied for fourth on 72.587. All three are contenders for a spot on the Olympic team.
Marcus Orlob and Jane.
“That was a phenomenal ride today,” said Adrienne of the performance by Marcus.
“It was so exciting to see. It’s been fun watching them develop that mare throughout the season, how smart and slowly they’ve brought her along. Today she was in the right place to be able to turn it up. That’s really exciting for our country.”
For her part, Adrienne was delighted with Helix.
“It’s definitely our best test,” noted the Olympic veteran, who will ride Helix in the Special on Saturday, and her other Zen Elite mount, Lars van de Hoenderheide, in the Grand Prix for the Freestyle.
Adrienne Lyle and Helix.
According to Adrienne, Helix, “was the most trusting and the most sensitive. I was able to ride him with really quiet aids, which I really like, and the balance stayed good throughout.
“I couldn’t ask for more. There’s still so much more power in there, so much more in the tank, but we’re just sticking with our plan as being very methodical in developing him mentally and physically, step by step. The more judges see him go like that, the more the scores will go up, even with him going the same (type of) ride,” she continued.
In Rotterdam, the U.S. team’s two highest-ranked show jumping riders, Laura Kraut (Baloutinue) and McLain Ward (Callas) each had a rail, which kept the squad out of the second round, limited to eight of the 10 countries participating. The U.S. finished last, as the American dressage team had on Thursday in that discipline’s Nations Cup at the Dutch venue. Germany also did not qualify for the second round in the Rotterdam show jumping contest.
However, the U.S. did make the cut on overall points earned during the League’s three-show series to qualify for October’s final in Barcelona. Callie Schott, the least experienced rider on the squad, was fault-free on Garant in the first round, as was Jessica Springsteen with Don Juan van de Donkehoeve.
Click here to see final League of Nations standings
The winning French contingent, guided by Chef D’Equipe Henk Nooren, had seven clear rounds in seven tries (only three riders compete in the second round under the League of Nations format.) Henk indicated that the Rotterdam team–Julien Epaillard, Simon Delestre, Kevin Staut and Olivier Perreaux, will be France’s Olympic team.
“Our biggest goal is the Olympics, especially because it is a home Olympics, but we also wanted to qualify for Barcelona Final at the same time,” Henk said.
Kevin Staut, who had been injured in April 2023, hadn’t jumped in a Nations Cup since 2022, unquestionably proved his worth.Henk pointed out Kevin was under “enormous pressure to prove himself again, that he has a horse to go perhaps to Paris with in a couple of weeks.”
Kevin said, “it’s been a really long way to come back to this level, so it’s really emotional. Some clears don’t have the same value as others for this reason. We have had tough days, tough weeks, tough shows and a few weeks ago I was not really sure that we could come here and be ready — but here we are! I’m proud of my horse and all the team around us.”
Julien Epaillard and Donatello D’Auge clinched victory for the French. (FEI photo)
Robert Ridland, the U.S. chef d’equipe, felt the course designed by Quintin Maertens, Louis Konickx and Peter Grant, was too easy. He cited the fact that there were 37 trips without jumping faults across two rounds among a total of 63 trips for the two rounds. Four rounds that otherwise would have been fault-free involved penalties for exceeding the 73-second time allowed.
The League of Nations course in Rotterdam.
“The course didn’t do its job. It appeared too easy when we walked the course,” Robert contended.
But he noted, “All of our team horses jumped very well, and it was a very competitive class today, so while we had wanted to finish higher in the standings, I’m still pleased with how our horses jumped, especially Callie and Garant and Jessie and Don delivering the ever-important clear rounds for the team.”
The winning French team: Kevin Staut, Julien Epaillard, Chef d’Equipe Henk Nooren, Simon Delestre, Olivier Perreau.
For Schfhofs results, cllick here.
For Rotterdam League of Nations results, click on this link.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 20, 2024
The Dutch dressage team was victorious at that nation’s 5-star home show in Rotterdam, enjoying a margin of more than two percentage points over Denmark. Led by Dinja van Liere with the best score of the class on Hermes N.O.P. (77.8910), the Dutch earned a total of 222.392. They had supporting performances rom Edward Gal on Glock’s Total U.S. (73.196) and Emmelie Scholtens aboard Indian Rock (71.305). Edward’s horse is a son of his most famous mount, the sensational Totilas.
Dinja van Liere on Hermes N.O.P. (FEI Photo)
The Danes’ score was 220.349 to 219.435 for Germany. Isabell Werth enjoyed the top finish for the latter, earning 76.935 on Wendy de Fontaine, back from a small injury. The horse previously was ridden by Andreas Helgstrand of Denmark, who handed her over after he was barred from his country’s Olympic team following a scandal involving undercover TV coverage of training techniques at his stables.
The U.S. total of 194.848 included a disappointing mark of 59.044 from Ashley Holzer and Hansel, who had big resistance in the first piaffe, and fell out of the canter in their second pirouette. The horse’s tense state was reflected in his busy mouth.
They were a last-minute addition to the list of horse/rider combinations being considered for the U.S. Olympic team. That squad will be named next week after other contenders ride at Schafhofs dressage festival in Germany. Steffen Peters, who has led the standings from the start, is skipping that observation event and riding as an individual at Aachen next month.
At Rotterdam, Katherine Bateson Chandler on Dinja’s former ride, Haute Couture, had a score of 67.848 percent. The best of the U.S. contingent was Kevin Kohmann, who made his World Cup Finals debut in April but was not named as a contender for the Olympic team. His mark was 67.956 on Duenensee. The U.S. could not take advantage of a drop score because the team had only three members.
There apparently is a real homeside advantage at the venue. The Dutch have won four out of five of the last Nations Cups in Rotterdam, and lost only three times in the last 11 years.
Dutch chef d’equipe Patrick van der Meer commented about his team’s performance, “It’s always nice to win, but to win here in Rotterdam is very special. It was really nice. We also had some tests with some unexpected results. There were some mistakes, there was some tension, but at the end, especially Dinja—she lifted us all up. We won, and that’s super.”
click here for results
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 23, 2024
In a cavalry charge of a 15-horse jump-off for the Grand Prix of Rotterdam, Laura Kraut and Baloutinue posted the best U.S. effort with a clear round in 38.10 seconds. It was good enough for fourth behind the Dutch winner, Marc Houtzager on Sterrehof’s Dante, more than two seconds faster in 36.07 seconds.
McLain Ward, the only other American in the tie-breaker, was tenth with a knockdown on Callas in 37.45 seconds.
The other U.S. competitors did not make the cut to ride against the clock. Callie Schott had a rail with Garant to wind up twenty-ninth, while Jessica Springsteen–who rode with Laura and McLain on the Tokyo Olympic silver medal team–logged 8 faults on Don Juan van de Donkhoeve, which put her fortieth. Callie and Jessica were the only two American riders to go fault-free last week in the Longines League of Nations, where the U.S. finished last.
Rotterdam was a disappointing show for the U.S., with the dressage team also finishing last in its Nations Cup.
But for some encouraging news, be sure to read our feature story about American dressage victories in Germany. And get the story about both U.S. dressage and show jumping in Europe last week at this link. That story is also the second feature on our main page.
Click here for results of the Rotterdam Grand Prix of show jumping
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 18, 2024
Phelps, the bargain thoroughbred who has sailed around cross-country at the Maryland and Kentucky 5-stars, will compete at England’s Burghley 5-star in September.
His rider, Mia Farley, is looking for financial help in connection with the trip.
Mia Farley and Phelps at the 2024 Kentucky 5-star. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)
“We will work hard this summer to fine tune our strengths and weaknesses and look forward to putting our best foot forward in September,” she stated.
“With Burghley in mind, we are excited to open Phelps’ life to more people. Phelps will have memberships available, which will help offset his expenses overseas, as well as provide you with a glimpse into 5-star event ownership!
“With all donations being tax deductible, Phelps’ memberships will include merch, weekly emails and updates, personal visits and more.”
Phelps was tied for thirteenth after dressage at Kentucky, then moved up to fifth with one of only two double-clears on cross-country. His weak point has been show jumping, however and after toppling a rail at the first fence in the Rolex stadium, he had three more knockdowns and 0.8 time penalties to finish thirteenth over all. But Mia is working on that phase with David O’Connor, the owner of the horse he bought for $1 (though he apparently never handed over that dollar).
Those who are interested in being part of the equine Cinderella story can contact the rider at Miafarley6@gmail.com for more information.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 17, 2024
The short collaboration of Marcus Orlob and Jane has been amazing. The Annandale, N.J., trainer on Monday was named to the Dutta Corp. U.S. dressage team for Aachen — arguably the world’s mot prestigious horse show– after a partnership of less than five months.
Also on the squad is Californian Anna Buffini with Fiontini, Floridian Anna Marek with her Pan American Games medal mount Fire Fly, and another Floridian, Endel Ots, with the most experienced horse of the group, Zen Elite’s Bohemian. In 2021, Bohemian was ridden to fourth place individually in the Olympics by Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour of Denmark.
Jane, who is only 10, was trained and ridden by her owner, Alice Tarjan of Oldwick, N.J. But since Jane was rather strong for slender Alice, she turned the KWPN mare over to Marcus, who is her trainer. They proceeded to make the top eight in the rankings for a spot on the Olympic team, and have been competing in Europe during the observation process. Earlier this month, Marcus scored a personal best in the Grand Prix at Hagen, Germany, with a mark of 71.936 percent.
Marcus Orlob and Jane. (Susan J. Stickle Photography)
Steffen Peters, who led the Olympic rankings all the way through with Suppenkasper, has been excused from the other observation events and will ride at Aachen as an individual. He seems to be a lock for the three-member team that will go to Paris for the Games in July.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 13, 2024
Could an Olympic dressage gold medal be in the works for Great Britain? Its superstars dominate a just-released list of that nation’s nominated entries for the Paris Games that headlines with Charlotte Dujardin (Alive and Kicking and Imhotep); her mentor, Carl Hester (Fame and En Vogue) and world champion Lottie Fry (Glamourdale and Everdale). So each of these top riders has a back-up horse.
Charlotte Dujardin with Alive and Kicking.
There are six other horse/rider combinations on the list, but if the big three make the team, Germany will have a battle for gold on its hands. Anything can happen, though. Remember that Lottie was eliminated with Everdale from the World Cup Finals in April under the blood rule.
The additional riders named to the British list of Olympic hopefuls are Lewis Carrier with Diego V, Andrew Gould (Indrigo), Gareth Hughes (Classic Goldstrike), Becky Moody and the very interesting Jagerbomb, Susan Pape (Harmony’s V-bomb) and Annabella Pidgley (Gio).
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 14, 2024
Ashley Holzer and Hansel are being considered for the U.S. Olympic dressage team after finishing fourth in the 3-star Grand Prix Special at Hagen, Germany, this month with a mark of 72 percent, behind second place Steffen Peters with Suppenkasper (72.660) and ahead of fifth-place Adrienne Lyle on Helix (71.979).
The Special will determine the team medals at the Paris Games this summer.
Although she was tenth, rather than in the top eight in the original rankings for the Games, and therefore not part of the official U.S. Equestrian Federation trip to Europe this spring, Ashley traveled abroad anyway with P.J. Rizvi’s horse. It paid off in her being added on Friday to the short list. The team will be announced on June 25. Hansel is a KWPN gelding (Blue Hors Don Olymbrio X Metall). His original name was In Design.
In the Hagen Grand Prix before the Special, Ashley, an Olympic veteran, was eighth with a score of 71.456 percent. Steffen, who has led the U.S. rankings all along, was third on 72.869 percent.
Ashley and Hansel were named to the U.S. team for the Rotterdam dressage Nations Cup next week, where she will compete alongside another short-listed rider, Katherine Bateson-Chandler and Haute Couture.
The others on the short list include Adrienne, who has Lars van de Hoenderheide in addition to Helix; Endel Otts with Zen Elite’s Bohemian; Marcus Orlob and Jane, the mare he began riding only this spring; Anna Buffini (Fiontini); and Anna Marek (Fire Fly).
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 11, 2024
World number one eventer Oliver Townend and the owners of Ballaghmor Class have withdrawn the horse from Britain’s eventing nominated list for the Paris Olympic Games.
“As his preparation for a long-format event in the first half of the season was interrupted, we could not secure the final qualification for the Olympics without compromising his best interests,” Oliver and his team stated.
“This is so disappointing for the whole team, but Thomas (the horse’s barn name) means the world for us and at the end of the day, his welfare and happiness is more important than everything else.
“He is one of few special horses that has an Olympic gold to his name and while he will be aiming for an autumn 5-star, we hope that stablemate Cooley Rosalent (winner of the Defender Kentucky 5-star in April) will fly the flag in our bid to be selected for the Games. Huge thanks to British Equestrian, Thomas’s owners, our sponsors and the team around us who have showed unwavering support in making this decision.”
The British Eventing selectors will work with Richard Waygood to name a replacement combination to the nominated list sometime next week.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 11, 2024
The death of Chromatic BF shortly after a brilliant performance at the FEI World Cup Show Jumping Finals in Saudi Arabia April 18 was a devastating development that seemed unreal.
The 13-year-old Oldenburg appeared to be in great condition as he flew over the fences under the guidance of rider Jill Humphrey, and his third-place finish in the class that evening was the best performance by a U.S. entry thus far in the competition that would wrap up three days later.
But 90 minutes after the class ended at 9:30 p.m., the horse was dead.
Jill Humphrey and Chromatic get their third-place trophy at the World Cup finals.
The loss of Chromatic as jubilation dissolved into tears cast a pall over the first World Cup show jumping final presented in the Middle East.
A report on the necropsy performed at King Faisal University in Saudi Arabia included information that the horse had been treated at 10:41 p.m. with 4 milliliters of Legend, 5 of Adequan, 20 of Traumeel, 20 of arnica and 20 of Selevit, a selenium/vitamin combination.
At 10:44 p.m., Chromatic returned to his stall. A minute later, he began to stumble. Chromatic received dexamethasone at 10:48 p.m. He was pronounced dead at 10:59.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Equestrian Federation revised a statement about the situation that it had released on Monday.
“We have received the final necropsy report for Chromatic BF who passed away at the FEI World Cup Finals in April. The cause of the death was severe diffuse pulmonary hemorrhage and edema, which could be attributed to multiple causes, including disseminated intravascular coagulation (most commonly observed in severe sepsis and septic shock, according to the Medscape website); cardiopulmonary failure, shock, and exercise-associated fatal pulmonary hemorrhage. The report further indicates that the histopathologic findings raise the suspicion of fatal equine exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, despite Chromatic BF not exhibiting any overt signs of such condition. According to the final report, the administered medications were not identified as the cause of death.”
Dr. Stephen Schumacher, USEF chief veterinary officer, indicated the necropsy report is not conclusive as to the cause of the hemorrhage and edema.
Branscomb noted there was “some really upsetting information” in the necropsy report.
“It’s significantly different than what I believed to be true, and potentially (has) much more extensive consequences.”
She said the manufacturer’s label on Selevit says it can “cause anaphylactic shock and sudden cardiac death in horses. You have to have corticosteroids and epinephrine standing by and it’s contraindicated to ever give it intravenously.
“It’s only given to horses documented for selenium deficiency, which my horse was not,” she mentioned.
“Now I’m finding out there was more and that I was not told the truth.”
Branscomb said that originally, “I had thought it was just an honest mistake and that everyone was being transparent and forthcoming and genuinely interested in both the truth and preventing it happening again. Now I’m not so sure about any of that.”
She believes the horse was killed by a “shock reaction to the IV injection of unecessary and risky medications, done without anyone on my team’s knowledge…more than 90 minutes after my horse performed perfectly and returned healthy and fit to the stables with his lifetime groom. That is my truth and I stand by it.”
Branscomb noted, “This is unbelievably upsetting and I don’t even know where to go with it. Thirty-five years of breeding, the first American-bred horse in 37 years to contest the World Cup final. He was the flagship of my breeding farm.”
The Californian explained, “I kept him the whole 13 years and developed him so we could show the world what American breeding could produce. He was doing the job and he would have podiumed. They robbed me of it and that’s not okay.”
In the wake of Chromatic’s death, she had worked with USEF to come up with the draft of a revised horse participation consent agreement that said “no substances will be administered to the horse unless the USEF-appointed veterinarian first obtains written consent from the athlete,” unless it’s an emergency situation.
