by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 10, 2024
When was the last time you went to a show where there were smiles all around, with exhibitors who weren’t scrambling for points or fretting about trying to qualify for a bigger show?
For me, it was yesterday–at the Alumni Tournament of Champions, presented by Alumni Equestrian Events. The show at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation in Gladstone, N.J., was open to hunt seat and western riders who had competed on their Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association teams. Competitors who ranged in age from 21 to their 60s rode horses drawn by lot, just the way it’s done in IHSA competition.
The 80 participants, who had attended a variety of schools including the Ivy League, state universities and small colleges, were thrilled not only to have a chance to compete, but also to enjoy riding while making new friends and spending time with those they rode with or against in the past. It’s particularly special for alumni who can’t afford to have their own horses, because it gives them a chance to ride and show without spending beyond their budgets.
Camaraderie is a big part of the Alumni Tournament of Champions. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)
The Tournament of Champions has been held since 2012, but Alumni Equestrian Events is a new group, formed last year after IHSA decided not to offer competition for alumni anymore, maintaining the association needed to put all its focus on undergrads. AEE stages alumni competitions across the country from August through April.
“What’s been great is we’ve had people who had never been exposed to us before coming and saying, `Ohmigosh, I didn’t know I could ride all year long,’ ” said AEE Chairman Lena Andrews.
A number of IHSA coaches also dropped by the championship show to see what was going on.
AEE, which has more than 100 members, would like to see 50 percent growth in the next year. Judging by the enthusiasm level, that seems likely to happen.
Meggan Rusiewicz, winner of the Alumni Flat championship, is a fan of how the new group has handled the alumni desire to compete.
“I love it. I think it’s great what they’ve done with it. I’m really happy that they’ve been able to carry on the legacy that was alumni IHSA riding and I’m happy to be able to participate still,” said the 26-year-old chemical engineer, who was on the team at the University of Pittsburgh.
Meggan Rusiewicz, winner of the Alumni Flat class, with Lena Andrews, AEE chairman. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)
IHSA was “the only way I was able to continue riding through college,” said Meggan, citing finances and the fact that her own 20-year-old horse was five hours away near Philadelphia.
“I hope I am able to continue doing this. It’s been really a blast and I enjoy it, especially the catch riding and all the great horses we’re able to have here today.”
Noting she was disappointed that IHSA dropped the alumni, she added, “I’m glad we were able to keep it going with this organization.”
AEE Treasurer Jessie Ann Green, a Hofstra University alum, was active in IHSA and a finalist in the prestigious IHSA Cacchione Cup competition as an undergrad. The special events coordinator of Desert Horse Park in California, she also worked for the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association.
Jessie, who flew up to New Jersey for the show from her summer home in Kentucky, feels, “It’s always special to be here at USET. I love this show, the horses are great, I always have a great time and see my friends and it’s always a special weekend for me every year. I can’t believe how many members we have this year and I can’t believe how much we’ve grown in just a short time and how many shows we’ve had. We’re only going to expand next year.”
Among the featured offerings at the show were the reunion classes, for non-members of AEE, and the Future Alumni Cup, for recent graduates who just officially took on alumni status.
Emily Yonkes, second in the Cup, is planning to join AEE. She called the show, “a blast. It was an immense experience for me.”
The 21-year-old, who last month got her diploma from Long Island University, is planning to join AEE in order to continue pursuing her favorite pastime and having the opportunity to show.
“Riding is a very expensive sport,” she explained.
“Being a student who is in an immense amount of debt, I still get to do the things I love while transitioning into the adult world.”
Emma Venanzi, 22.who won the Future Alumni Cup, rode on the University of Pittsburgh IHSA team and wants to join AEE.
Emma Venanzi competing in the Future Alumni class. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)
“It’s a great opportunity for young adults who are in that weird in-between to still be able to ride,” said Emma, who works at a psychiatric hospital as a therapist on a child and adolescent floor.
“The horses are my break,” she said, noting she bonded with so many people when she was on the IHSA team.
Her aunt, Blanton Goll, who is 10 years older and works in human resources, inspired her niece to become involved with IHSA.
For Blanton, a Westchester University grad, the alumni shows are “a great opportunity to get another chance to put on show clothes, if you don’t have your own competitive horse.”
The initials of Alumni Tournament of Champions spelled out in horse show ribbons against the backdrop of the USET Foundation stables. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)
After three years at the USET Foundation, the 2025 show will be at Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts, which has its own riding program and horses, which means mounts won’t have to be rounded up from area stables as they were this year.
Tammy Cranouski, AEE national director, discussed the effort that keeps AEE operating.
It’s a sisterhood that “runs on the enthusiasm that we all have for alumni competitions; and to ensure it keeps going forward is amazing,” she said, noting “we just built upon what Bob Caccione started. (He was the founder of IHSA).
“We’re continuing that legacy and making sure it’s available for alumni riders on a go-forward basis. A lot of times, this is their only opportunity to ride and compete, they may not have horses at home, they may not be able to maintain that type of lifestyle. So they get to create wonderful friendships and enjoy themselves.”
Tammy, a Connecticut resident who attended Westfield State University, wound up as reserve national champion in western horsemanship.
The tournament started when Lena, one of the IHSA zone chairpeople, and her friend, Jamie Windle, another chairperson, wanted a show where their riders could compete against each other.
” It’s a lot of work. It’s been worth it 110 percent,” said Lena.
The trophies presented are memorable, and the winners get to take them home but must bring them back the next year.
Emma Venanzi and Lena Andrews with one of the organization’s many trophies. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)
“A lot of them are eBay finds,” Lena revealed, noting one is part of her old kitchen sink, sanded down and fitted with a silver cowboy boot for the western division.
“My dad made some of these pieces. Some of the trophies over the years were smaller and grew,” Lena said.
“We had to put bases on them. I love awards and ribbons and I want everything to look beautiful for everyone. It’s a passion of mine.”
And so are AEE and the Tournament. As Lena explained, ““I call it my labor of love.”
(For more information on the alumni opportunities, go to https://www.alumnitoc.com.)
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 10, 2024
Two North American-based riders have been named to the Irish team for the Paris Olympics. Shane Sweetnam of Wellington, Florida, was selected with James Kann Cruz, and Daniel Coyle, who operates out of both Ocala, Florida and Canada, will be on the team with Legacy. The third member of the squad is Cian O’Connor with Maurice. Bertram Allen was chosen as alternate with Pacino Amiro.
Cian O’Connor and Maurice. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)
Ireland is one of the medal favorites for the Games.
Chef d’Equipe Michael Blake noted, :”We are enjoying an excellent period of Irish jumping at the moment and it is a testament to the riders and all of their teams who look after the horses at home, and when they compete, that they have all reached such a high level. the athletes and horses I have chosen have been performing brilliantly week-in ,week out on the international stage and we’ll give it everything we have to achieve what we’re setting out to do.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 5, 2024
Creation of a USEF dressage series was approved Wednesday by the FEI (international equestrian federation). The series, beginning in 2025, is designed to promote and grow equestrian sport by highlighting elite competition. Fans and stakeholders will be reached through the competitions and December final. The action will be live-streamed and tracked using a leader board.
A USEF spokesperson said it has not been decided which competitions will be part of the series or where the final will be, since the federation was waiting for FEI approval before lining up the details.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 3, 2024
The world’s number one dressage horse, TSF Dalera BB, will be “telling me when our last public dance will be. Not the other way around,” rider Jessica von Bredow Werndl says of the 17-year-old reigning Olympic and European championship star.
Would this summer’s Paris Olympics be the mare’s last competition? That might be the right note for bringing down the curtain on her brilliant competition career.
Jessica also notes on social media about Dalera that “If she still conceives, she will also be allowed to become a mommy. That is up to her — or rather her body.”
U.S. fans got to see Dalera in person at last year’s FEI World Cup finals. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Retirement isn’t imminent, however. This weekend, the mare won the German Championships in Balve with a Freestyle marked at 89.6 percent. A distant second was Frederic Wandres on Duke of Britain (83.45).
Dalera, a Trakehner, has had 35 straight victories in the last three years. She has earned 2,078 points in the FEI horse rankings, to 1,943 for the recently retired Emilio. And not surprisingly, Jessica is first in the rider rankings, ahead of Emilio’s rider, Isabell Werth. Both are from Germany.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 9, 2024
Kent Farrington and Greya, followed by Karl Cook and Caracole de la Roque on their victory lap at La Baule. (Photo by Melanie Smith Taylor)
It doesn’t exactly make up for the disappointing sixth-place U.S. finish in Friday’s Nations Cup at La Baule, France, but it was encouraging to see two candidates for the American Olympic team finish 1-2 Sunday in the $540,000 Rolex Grand Prix Ville de La Baule in the picturesque seaside city.
Kent Farrington won on his own 10-year-old Greya in a field heavy with big names. He and the Oldenburg mare were double-clear in 34.09 seconds, with Karl coming close on the speedy Caracole de la Roque (34.21) in the 11-horse jump-off. The best-placed non-American was Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet on Bond James Bond de la Hay (one of the best horse names!), much slower in 37.79.
“I’ve been second here before, actually,” Kent said, “so I wanted some good revenge.”
It was Greya’s first international victory since Kent started riding her in September 2021. He and Karl were the only U.S. riders to qualify for the jump-off in the field of 50. McLain Ward had 4 in the first round with Ilex to finish twenty-first, while Lillie Keenan was four places back of that with eight faults on Argan de Beliard . Aaron Vale was forty-third on 16 faults with Carissimo 25.
The course for the La Baule grand prix was laid out by Gregory Bodo, who will design the show jumping route for the Paris Olympics.
In Friday’s Nations Cup, things did not go as well for Kent. as they did in the grand prix. He was eliminated in the first round aboard Landon, and did not show in the second round of the class, which was won by Germany, with France and Belgium completing the podium. Other scores for the U.S. were 4/0 for Karl, 0/8 for Lillie and 4/8 for Aaron. All three were on the same horses they rode in the grand prix.
Click here for grand prix results
click here for Nations Cup results
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 9, 2024
The final day of Grand Prix competition at the Hagen, Germany, 3-star dressage show Sunday on Friday kept multi-Olympic veteran Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper ahead of the other U.S. riders in competition for a place on the team for the Paris Games this summer, but he was behind the winner of the Special, Henri Ruoste of Finland on Tiffany’s Diamond (74.894 percent).
Steffen and Suppenkasper earned 72.660 percent to be second, leading the U.S. contingent. Second-best of that group was Ashley Holzer on Hansel (72 percent) in fourth place. She was not among the top eight in the rankings on the official U.S. trip to Europe, but made the journey anyway as American competitors vied for Olympic selection.
Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper in Hagen.
Steffen had been at the head of the U.S. Olympic rankings since last year. On the new FEI global ranking list, Steffen is the highest listed U.S. rider, in thirty-second place. Suppenkasper is thirty-third on the horse ranking list. In the Olympics, the Special counts for the team medal; the freestyle determines individual medals.
Adrienne Lyle, who topped the U.S. placings after Helix finished third in the first part of the class on Thursday with 71.956, was fifth in the Special with 71.979 percent. She finished just ahead of Marcus Orlob on Jane, scoring a personal best in sixth, marked at 71.936 percent.
Marcus Orlob and Jane.
Marcus took over the ride on Jane from the mare’s owner, Alice Tarjan, only during the winter. He spent more time in Germany before Hagen than the other U.S. riders so he could get to know Jane better. A native of Germany, Marcus is a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Endel Ots and Zen Elite’s Bohemian dropped in the placings to eighth with 71.745 percent. Helix, Adrienne’s ride, is also owned by the Zen Elite Equestrian Center of Florida.
Nanna Skodborg Merrald of Denmark, who had won the Grand Prix on Thursday with Blue Hors Zepter, did not ride that horse in the Special. She won the Freestyle Saturday with Blue Hors Znickers (79.975), with Kasey Perry-Glass of the U.S. second on Heartbeat W.P. (75.280).
To review the rest of the placings, click here for Grand Prix Special results.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 5, 2024
An Equine Welfare Strategy Action Plan backed by a welfare fund of $ 1,119 to launch it was approved this week during the FEI (international equestrian federation) meeting in Switzerland.
Priority will be given to six focus areas including riding, training tack and equipment; recognition of physical and emotional stress; accountability, enforcement and knowledge and “the other 23 hours,” concerning what the horse does when it is not competing or being trained. Also included among the focus areas is competitive drive/horse as a number/object and not fit to compete masking health problems.
The action plan is based on the recommendations outlined in the final report of the Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission (EEWC).
The focus areas were divided into action points and entered into a matrix linking each point to the recommendations made by the EEWC, persons or groups in charge of delivery, finances and deadlines. A series of other actions not linked to the six focus areas but addressing the EEWC recommendations have also been incorporated, including education on the five domains of animal welfare approach, communications strategy and reporting mechanisms.
Calling this “an important day for horse welfare,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said. “The board took its responsibility and devoted time to discuss the detailed action plan with keen interest. Significant actions have been outlined, which will benefit horse welfare and will have a powerful impact on the sport as a whole
The action plan will be finalized with the suggestions made by the board and will be published shortly. Implementation will begin immediately, with the objective to propose initial rule changes that safeguard horse welfare at the FEI General Assembly this fall. The plan, which includes scientific research projects, offers an ongoing perspective that will continue for years.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 3, 2024
If you watched the 4-star at the Kentucky Three-Day Event in April, you saw the U.S. eventing team for this summer’s Paris Games, which was named Monday.
Will Coleman and 4-star third-place Off the Record, the more experienced of his two horses, was selected, while his 4-star winner, the newcomer Diabolo, is a direct reserve.
Will Coleman and Off the Record. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
Boyd Martin — a member of every U.S. Olympic and world championships team since 2010 — and Federman B, fourth at Kentucky, also got the nod. Boyd’s second-place Kentucky mount, Commando 3, is his direct reserve. Fourth-place HSH Blake and Pan Am Games individual gold medalist Caroline Pamukcu are also on the squad. She does not have a direct reserve.
The traveling reserve, the only one of the top group to have run in the Defender Kentucky 5-star, is Liz Halliday. She will back up the three-member team. Her mount, Cooley Nutcracker, placed eighth at the Kentucky Horse Park. The first alternate is Sydney Elliott with QC Diamantaire.
Missing from the line-up is Tamie Smith’s ride, Mai Baum, last year’s Kentucky 5-star winner, who skipped this year’s 5-star due to injury. The horse was withdrawn from consideration for the Games, as Tamie explained on social media.
“This was a difficult decision because we have felt Mai Baum would have contributed positively to the Team had he been selected. Since his setback leading into Kentucky, there is not adequate time remaining for preparation and conditioning for him to be in top form for the team mandatory outing in a few short weeks,” Tamie said.
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“We are obviously disappointed, but always have his best interest at heart and will be looking to aim him for an exciting fall competition.
We will be cheering for Team USA, not in Paris, but at another special venue, Rebecca Farm.”
Chef d’equipe Bobby Costello said, “This was a very thorough selection process and after speaking with each of our team members named to this Olympic team, I can say there is a palpable sense of optimism and determination as we enter these final six weeks of meticulous preparation heading into Paris. We have firm but realistic expectations together as a team to continue pushing the needle forward for this program.”
Alternates in alphabetical order are James Alliston (Karma), Jennie Brannigan (FE Lifestyle), Will Faudree (Mama’s Magic Way), as well as Liz Halliday with Miks Master C and Shanroe Cooley. James, Jennie and Liz will be on the team for Aachen next month with Alyssa Phillips.
The Olympic team will have a mandatory outing June 21-23 at the Stable View Summer Horse Trials in Aiken, S.C. before going to Europe to train for the Games.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 3, 2024
The FEI has opened disciplinary proceedings against dressage trainer Cesar Parra.
Parra, a native of Colombia who represented that nation in the Olympics, became an American citizen and rode on the U.S. team in the Pan American Games. Following the release online earlier this year of videos showing him whipping horses and engaging in other practices that were questioned, the Florida-based trainer was provisionally suspended from national and FEI competitions.
That suspension remains in effect during the disciplinary proceedings. An FEI spokesperson said that as this is an ongoing investigation, the international federation cannot provide any further comment at this stage.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 6, 2024
The second day of Grand Prix competition at the Hagen, Germany, 3-star dressage show on Friday kept multi-Olympic veteran Steffen Peters ahead of the other U.S. riders in competition for a place on the team for the Paris Games this summer.
Steffen and Suppenkasper earned 72.869 percent to be third, but could not overtake the previous day’s leaders, Denmark’s Nanna Skodborg Merrald on the consistent Blue Hors Zepter (78.739) and World Cup champion Patrik Kittel of Sweden (Jovian/74.783).
Steffen had been at the head of the U.S. Olympic rankings since last year. On the new FEI global ranking list, Steffen is the highest listed U.S. rider, in thirty-second place. Suppenkasper is thirty-third on the horse ranking list.
Adrienne Lyle, who topped the U.S. placings after Helix finished third in the first part of the class on Thursday with 71.956, moved down to fifth behind Henri Ruoste of Finland (Tiffany’s Diamond/72.239) as the class wrapped up.
Anna Buffini, Steffen’s fellow Californian, was seventh with Fiontini, marked at 71.783 percent. She is behind Endel Ots on Zen’s Bohemian, sixth with 71.891. Anna and Steffen were the only Americans competing on the second day of the class.
Adrienne was pleased with her ride on Helix.
“I was very happy with Helix and how he handled the big stadium environment,” she said.
Adrienne Lyle and Helix. (File photo by Susan J. Stickle)
“My goal for him was a relaxed, confidence-building ride today.”
Adrienne also competed on Lars van der Hoenderheide, but withdrew after a mistake in the two-tempis.
“I chose to retire Lars because something in his body felt uncomfortable today when I went into the ring. The signs he was giving me may have been subtle for the observer, but I could tell something wasn’t right in his body, so I chose to retire,” explained Adrienne, who always puts the welfare of her horses first and is sensitive to how they are reacting.
“Our partnership is still very new and I want to be sure he always trusts me and that I don’t push him if he isn’t feeling right. I am very fortunate to have an owner and trainer who think this same way and were fully supportive of the decision.”
Adrienne, whose mentor is former U.S. dressage star Debbie McDonald, began riding Lars and Helix this year for owner Heidi Humphries of Zen Elite Equestrian Center in Florida. Heidi also owns Zen Elite’s Bohemian. That horse was ridden to fourth place in the Tokyo Olympics by Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour of Denmark.
Others among the eight U.S. riders who made the cut for the European tour and rode in Hagen included Katherine Bateson Chandler, who ended up eleventh on Haute Couture (70.764), Marcus Orlob, fifteenth with Jane (69.957) and Pan American Games medalist Anna Marek (Fire Fly, seventeenth, 69.848). Ashley Holzer did not make the cut for the top eight named for the tour after being tenth in the rankings, but came to Europe anyway and rode Hansel to eighth place (71.456)
click here for final Grand Prix results
