The USA’s newest 5-star event offers plenty to consider

by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 20, 2022

The MARS Maryland 5-star at Fair Hill went from being a novelty to a real fixture last weekend in just its second edition, with riders enthusiastic about the venue and the opportunity it provides.

Even so, as world number three-ranked eventer Oliver Townend pointed out, cross-country designer Ian Stark had “changed the course a lot, so it’s nearly like a first time again.”

No matter how you look at it, having two 5-stars in the U.S. is a benefit. Book-ending the season in the spring with the Kentucky 5-star, which runs with a 4-star, and Fair Hill in the autumn offers riders opportunities without going across the Atlantic to pursue the highest level of the sport.

“I think it’s critical for development,” Doug Payne said of the addition of Fair Hill, where he finished ninth.

“I’m lucky enough to benefit from it with Quantum Leap.  He’s 11. This is his fourth five star.”  Doug pointed out, however, that it only “would have been his second” if he weren’t able to participate at Fair Hill, another 5-star close to home.

Doug Payne and Quantum Leap. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

“The financial burden to go overseas is pretty incredible,” he pointed out.

“Support from the team makes some of those trips worthwhile, but without it, we’re not in a position to do that.”

Of Fair Hill, he said, “This facility is outstanding, the courses get better and better. We couldn’t have asked for more perfect conditions.”

Cassie Sanger, the Young Rider national champion, took the title on Fernhill Zoro after finishing third in the 3-star that ran with the 5-star.

“It was my first time competing at an event of this caliber,” said the 18-year-old.

“There was a ton of atmosphere, which is super important for the sport, and our horses get experience, even at the lower level, to be here and see it all.”

Cassie Sanger and Fernhill Zoro. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)

Compared with the events in which she had been competing, “The crowds are a lot bigger, the whole thing is just bigger and better,” she added, noting it afforded preparation for a move up the levels.

The 5-star riders generally were complimentary about the event, but some expressed concern that the 11-minute, 30-second optimum time for Ian Stark’s cross-country course of nearly four miles was overly generous and should have been tighter.

As the 5-star winner, world number one Tim Price, said, “What Scotty (Ian’s nickname) is very good at, he sees it very much through the horse’s eyes. For example, the white ramps to the corner, they walked big, they rode big, but they were very obvious and the job to be done was very obvious to us, and the horses read it and understood it very well. It was a good course for that job of educating them, as long as you gave them a fairly decent ride.”

Tim Price at the Mane ‘n’ Tail Singerly Slide complex. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

So what was the problem?

“It just comes back to the time,” Tim said, calling it “really straightforward. “

It was “not really the way any 5-star should be approached, in my opinion. Other than that, I thought it was a brilliant track.”

Ian had said from the get-go that he expected abuse from the riders about the time, but emphasized that he’d rather see more riders finish under the time than have horses on the ground.

And indeed, there were no horse or rider falls in the 5-star, where 14 of the 22 entries that completed the cross-country were within the time.

“I was kind of a little concerned about so many getting inside the time,” Ian conceded after the competition,  “but I thought there was some great riding.”

He said he was “tight” in walking the course to measure it, while two technical delegates walked it separately.

Cross-country course designer Ian Stark. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

“The three of us were in 20 meters of each other–how do you walk it differently?” he asked.

“I’ve made use of the gallop stretches; maybe I can look at slowing them (riders) down a little more by putting in slightly more technical questions. That might be something I think about in the future.” But meanwhile, “I thought it was a great day and I loved watching it.”

Oliver Townend, who finished third, believes that as Ian learns about the venue, he’ll get more clever about how he’s going to slow everyone down. We’re all loving it; we’ll still be back next year. It’s all positive but still needs one big tweak.”

Whimsical dinosaurs added a fantasy touch to the course. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

The day after the event, I got an email from the European Equestrian Federation concerning social license, which I have written about previously.

EEF emphasized “the need for transparency and awareness of the wider society” if horse sports are to continue.

World Horse Welfare and the University of Nottingham have recently published a peer-reviewed research paper with the conclusion that public trust is essential to the future of our sport.

“Trust will only ensue if society is confident that equestrianism operates transparently, that its leaders and practitioners are credible, legitimate, and competent, and that its practice reflects society’s values.”

So if it’s a choice between having a lot of riders without time penalties, or ugly pictures of horses pushed too far, everyone should think about which is in the best interests of the sport during an era when everyone has a video camera and knows how to use it.

On the plus side, there are opportunities for eventing today that could not have been imagined in an earlier time.

Having two 5-stars in the country “can only be a positive, as long as they can stay viable and super competitive,” said Bobby Costello, the interim chef d’equipe who presided over the USA’s team silver at the FEI World Championships last month in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy.

It’s up to the riders to take advantage of it, he noted. There were only 24 starters at the Maryland 5-star, but as Bobby noted, “5-star entries were light throughout the world this autumn. Who knows if this is a one-off situation or not? There were a lot of top horses who went to Pratoni, the field was huge there. I think the jury’s out a little bit. “

He did note that with the Olympic and World Championships cross-country test at 4-star level, “the absolute need for a 5-star to qualify for these competitions isn’t the way it used to be.

I think that makes it a challenge for these organizers of the 5-stars.”

At the same time, “I still like the idea of a 5-star,” commented Bobby, who rode as an individual in the 2000 Olympics.

At Pratoni, “We had five riders who were very battle-tested at the 5-star level. It gave one a lot of confidence to know that we were sending five 5-star horses into battle on (World Championships cross-country) Saturday.”

He added, “From that standpoint, do those horses need to do a 5-star every year or keep doing 5- stars once they’ve proven themselves? Maybe not. For me, I think I’m always going to be excited when we have 5-star horses to choose from, just because we know that they’ve been there and done the most difficult test there is.”

Bobby is among those who have interviewed for the permanent chef d’equipe/technical advisor job. He noted that in the interim spot, “I only had to come up with a plan for six or seven months. This next person is going to have to have a solid plan for the next several years.”

The U.S. Equestrian Federation is looking ahead not only to the 2024 Paris Olympics, but also the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on America’s home turf.

“The program has shifted, into more decentralized coaching. It seemed to work well for Pratoni,” Bobby pointed out.

Price pulls through at Fair Hill

by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 16, 2022

There’s a reason Tim Price of New Zealand rose to the title of the world’s number one-ranked eventer this month. He’s not only a great technician, he’s also cool under immense pressure.

With the USA’s Tamie Smith and Great Britain’s Oliver Townend breathing down his neck as the show jumping finale drew to a close at the MARS Maryland 5-star at Fair Hill today, Tim stayed on the steady route that is his trademark. According to EquiRatings, he is the only current rider to win five 5-stars on five different horses.

The top three were riding 5-star first-timers, which meant the possibility of an upset was very real. Several riders mentioned that the ring feels small, which increases the buzz factor, which always has the potential to wreak havoc on inexperienced horses. (Great Britain’s Harry Meade, for example had his hands full with Superstition in the dressage when his mount lost it after the crowd started applauding during his final halt.)

But the horses in contention for the 5-star championship were unfazed, despite their inexperience in an atmosphere generated by packed stands and the enthusiasm of fans.

After his ride over the demanding course designed by Ken Krome, Oliver gave a fist pump worthy of victory as he stayed on his 29.9 penalty dressage score with a double-clear round from As Is. Only four other riders in the field of 21 could achieve the same.But it wouldn’t be enough to make him a winner.

A jubilant Oliver Townend was number one for a few minutes after jumping a double-clear on As Is. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

Even so, at that point, Oliver presented a real threat to the top two. Tamie, a member of the U.S. silver medal team at the world championships, added 0.4 time penalties to her score on Danito, for a total of 29.8 penalties. That put her a mere 0.1 penalties ahead of Oliver, who was the runner-up last year at Fair Hill with a different horse.

Tamie Smith was the national champion at Fair Hill as the top-placed U.S. rider on Danito. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

It was all or nothing for Tim, last to go as befitting the first-place standing, he achieved with a fault-free cross-country trip, after dressage leader Woods Baughman sank to nineteenth with a cross-country runout.

Tim was awake last night, not knowing whether his mount, Coup de Coeur Dudevin (Top Gun Semilly X LePrince de Bois), would be up to the task he faced after a taxing cross-country day.

“It’s been so tight at the top through the week,” explained Tim, reflecting on his thought process before the show jumping.

“So I knew there could be some faultless rounds at the top of the table. That was kind of what kept me from falling asleep.”

But Joker, as his Selle Francais mount is known, was up to the task despite his inexperience, accruing just 0.8 time penalties that made his final score 28.2 penalties, 1.6 ahead of Tamie.

Tim Price jumps into glory at Fair Hill. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

“He dug deep for me,” said Tim, who came to Maryland merely hoping for a top five finish and didn’t count on collecting the $100,000 winner’s prize on a mount with so little mileage at the top of the game.

At the presentation ceremony, Tim had a bit of trouble hefting the weighty Fair Hill bronze trophy, but he got it done with an enormous smile as Joker’s breeder and owner, Jean-Louis Stauffer, stood by beaming with pride and dreaming of the Paris Olympics 2024.

Tim Price hoists the Fair Hill bronze as his horse’s owner, Jean-Louis Stauffer, raises a hand in salute. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

“I’ve had some fun days at the office, but I think this beats them all,” said Tim. It’s the last event of the year for him.

“What a great way to put myself on the beach for a few months,” he said.

For Tamie, as the top U.S. finisher, the season was ending in a way she never thought it could. In January, Danito was spooked in the barn and fell, breaking his wither. Tamie also had her own accident, breaking an ankle and tearing ligaments. When Equine Herpes Virus broke out in her home state of California, she headed east to avoid being trapped and set out to pursue her seemingly impossible dream of making the world championships team with Mai Baum.

Now Danito, a Hanoverian by Dancier out of a Wolkenstein II mare, is no longer in Mai Baum’s shadow.

“I think he’s just jumped out of his skin. I think he wanted this moment,” said Tamie.

“I’m so happy for him.”

The 5-star was the last of 12 events at that level for 19-year-old Harbour Pilot, who finished tenth with longtime rider Hannah Sue Hollberg in the saddle. The Irish sporthorse, a son of the great Cruising, dropped two rails, but Hannah Sue didn’t care. As far as she was concerned, her veteran performed like the star he always has been.

Hannah Sue Hollberg takes her last 5-star ride on Harbour Pilot. Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

“I just love him, and he was awesome as usual,” said an emotional Hannah Sue, noting how much she will miss riding him in events, though he will stay close to her as the pasturemate of her 3-star horse, Capitol HIM.

The day had its rocky moments, starting with the 5-star horse inspection. Harbour Pilot was sent to the holding box, but unfazed, Hannah Sue just decided she had to present him better, and he passed the ground jury.

She was determined he would not go back to the barn.

“This is not how this is going to end,” she insisted, and so it wasn’t.

Then Capitol HIM, who was leading the 3-star standings after cross-country, had three rails and a 0.8 time penalty to wind up eighteenth.

“That horse has more wins in his future,” she said, noting the mishap “doesn’t even register.”

Hannah Sue wasn’t the only rider shedding some tears. Elisa Wallace, the 3-star division winner on Renkum Corsair, cried as she recalled the loss of her beloved horse, Riot Gear, who broke his neck in a pasture accident last year.

But she brightened as she talked about Corsair, who had experience as a 1.45 meter jumper when he was seven. It stood him in good stead today, turning in a double clear that moved him up from second place to first.

Elisa Wallace, the 3-star Long winner on Renkum Corsair. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

“I feel there is a lot more to come from him,” she said.

Elisa is a mustang trainer in addition to her eventing, and gave a presentation at Fair Hill with the formerly wild horses she has trained. Her father, Rick, noted that the freestyle that won her the Extreme Mustang Makeover when she rode Fledge bareback and bridleless in 2012 was done to the tune, “One Moment in Time.” That is what was playing this afternoon when she entered the ring for the 3-star show jumping. Coincidence?

click here for 3-star results  Click here for 5-star results

Top eventer is number one at Fair Hill

by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 15, 2022

The world’s number one-ranked eventer, Tim Price, shuffled the deck today at the MARS Maryland 5-star at Fair Hill, and the Joker came out on top.

Joker is the barn name of Coup de Coeur Dudevin, a special horse who was up to the challenges of his first 5-star over a demanding course designed by former British team rider Ian Stark.

After Friday’s dressage, Joker was second to C’est la Vie 135, ridden by Woods Baughman. There were only 0.2 penalties between them, but the gap widened when Woods had a run-out this afternoon at a brush fence, the third element at the Mars Sustainability Bay complex. The combination was the 24^th of 29 obstacles. That and 0.8 penalties for exceeding the 11 minute, 30-second time allowed for a course of nearly four miles, put Woods out of contention in 19^th place.

It was especially hard luck for Woods after 40 penalties at the Kentucky 5-star and problems at England’s Burghley in September that prompted him to drop out and re-route to Fair Hill

Meanwhile, Tim had an issue of his own with Joker at the giant crab that was the first element at the bay.

Tim Price and the Joker, Coup de Coeur Dudevin. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)

“I was a little bit nervous. Is it the right thing to bring a horse half-way across the world that lacks experience?” Tim mused.

“It kind of puts it all on the line, a lot of investment from the owner and from ourselves,” he said.

“But I always believed in the horse and today was the perfect occasion for him, with good conditions, a great course that I could just go and try and give him a good education while being competitive. He was exceptional, really jumped beautifully.”

Nowhere was that more evident than at the crab drop, where Joker “grew another leg and used his own initiative and made a much better decision than me to get the job done,” Tim pointed out. (See our feature photo at the top of the page to understand what Tim was talking about.)

Nine minutes in, Joker “was still able to have the presence of mind to make a good decision and stay upright on his feet and keep thinking forward and ahead of himself,” observed Tim.

“It’s vindicated all the reasons I thought this (coming to Fair Hill) was a good decision.”

Right behind Tim’s score of  27.4 penalties is Tamie Smith, a member of the U.S. silver medal team at last month’s world championships, where Tim won team and individual bronze medals. Tamie is 2 penalties back of Tim. She was aboard Danito, another first-time 5-star horse.

Tamie Smith and Danito. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

And Britain’s Oliver Townend, number three in the world, completed the top three with As Is, also a first-time 5-star horse. Like the others in the triumvirate, he remains on his dressage score, which is 29.9 penalties. There is little room between the contenders, which will make this afternoon’s show jumping finale a real test of nerve and skill.

Oliver Townend and As Is. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

Asked about his feelings on how things went along his course, Ian said, “What’s made my day is the fact that these two (Tim and Tamie) along with Oliver Townend are riding first-time 5-star horses and the horses are incredibly lucky to have three of the best riders in the world.

“They were magnificent how they coped with the young horses and helped them and encouraged them. It was thrilling to watch.”

He added, “And I’m kind of expecting to get a bit of abuse with so many inside the time, for me it was perfect footing, some great riding; some bold and fast and brave riding. I would much rather see 10 get inside the time (actually it was 14) rather than five on the floor.”

The course looked beautiful on a sparkling day, perfect eventing weather. One of the more unusual aspects of the route was the presence of dinosaurs. Every day, Ian would pass a garden center down the street from Fair Hill that featured models of dinosaurs, so he asked to have some delivered for course decoratoin. Voila, Stegosaurus and Diplodocus.

A stegosaurus made for an unusual course decoration. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

In the 3-star, which ran with the 5-star, Hannah Sue (Burnett) Hollberg kept her lead from dressage on Capitol HIM, not that it was easy.

“He’s got one or two speeds rather than being a really quick, nippy horse. To ride quick, I had to be very accurate and wasn’t completely, but he made up for it. He was great,” said Hannah Sue.

Hannah Sue Hollberg leads the 3-star with Capitol HIM (.Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)

She stands on her dressage score of 26 penalties, 0.4 ahead of Elisa Wallace and Renkum Corsair, whilc Fernhill Zorro is close on 26.6 with Cassie Sanger up.

Hannah Sue was also aboard her old reliable Harbour Pilot, in his twelfth and last 5-star start as he heads for a different life at age 19. He stands eighth, finishing five minutes over the optimum time.

What lies ahead for him? He’s Capitol HIM’s best buddy, so they’ll be together for the immediate future, and Hannah Sue hopes she can find someone to ride (and handle) him at a lower level.

World number one eventer Tim Price close to the top at Fair Hill

by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 14, 2022

A mere fraction separates first and second place in the MARS Maryland 5-star at Fair Hill three-day event, with Woods Baughman on the Hanoverian C’est la Vie 153 staying just 0.2 penalties ahead of world number one Tim Price on a Selle Francais, Coupe de Couer Dudevin, as two days of dressage wrapped up this afternoon.

Woods performed in a driving rainstorm on Thursday, while the sun smiled on Tim as he turned in a smooth ride for a score of 27.4 penalties.

His mount (Top Gun Semilly X Les Prince des Bois) was bred by Jean-Louis Staffer, a French-speaking Swiss. He has placed the horse with several riders, including Robin Godel of Switzerland and more recently, Chris Burton of Australia, until that rider gave up eventing.Then Coupe de Coeur Dudevin wound up in Tim’s barn.

Tim Price and Coupe de Coeur Dudevin. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

Tim’s wife, Jonelle, the world number two (it’s the first time a spousal combo has been one-two on the FEI rankings) was the first to work with the gelding, but the horse was a bit too powerful for the petite rider.

So Tim took over the horse, who became his back-up for the FEI World Championships in August, where he took individual and team bronze on Falco.

Joker, as the horse is known, is “short on experience, but what he has done, he has done extremely well,” Tim commented.

Fair Hill is Joker’s  first 5-star, and he has his work cut out for him Saturday on Ian Stark’s cross-country layout, which involves an 11-minute, 30-second optimum time. The course is linear, like a snake that is bending back on itself, rather than a route that leans toward the horizontal.

“There’s a lot of to-ing and fro-ing,” is the way Tim put it.

“It’s big, it’s serious; he doesn’t muck about,  does he, Scotty,” he said, using course designer Ian Stark’s nickname (Ian is Scottish).

The course last year was Ian’s first 5-star effort and  he honed in on the fact that “it needed a bit of a change-up,” observed Tim, noting Ian has his own distinctive brand of cross-country design.

He thinks the condition of the ground could be a factor, mentioning that after the Thursday rain, it’s not as firm as it was last  year.

Joker’s breeder/owner, a jolly, bright-eyed man, has big plans for his horse. He wants to see him in the 2024 Paris Olympics, he told me cheerfully. The problem is, he conceded, that Tim may have other horses in line for that honor.

But it’s obvious Tim is impressed by the horse, whose only transgression in his dressage test was kicking out in a flying change.

I wondered if there was extra pressure on Tim because of moving up to world number one. He was, as always, very gracious in his answer.

“It’s quite a new feeling,” he said.

“There’s a lot of pressure in what we do anyway. So this is a new pressure, but I’ve got a compartment for that. I try to enjoy what I do, I try to focus on that.”

The placings switched around quite a bit today, with France’s Nicolas Astier dropping to fourth on Babylon de Gamma (29.1) as Alexandra Knowles had a lovely test on Morswood (28.8) to slot into third.

Allie Knowles and Morswood. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

Allie said of her Irish sporthorse, “He’s been getting stronger over the last 12 months.”

While dressage isn’t one of his favorite things, “he gave it his all,” she observed.

Last year’s Fair Hill runner-up and former world number one, Oliver Townend of Great Britain, is tenth with the Spanish-bred As Is, a horse he inherited from New Zealand’s Andrew Nicholson.

Don’t be surprised if this one moves way up the ranks after cross-country. Oliver has taken a variety of horses to fame, and As Is could be the next candidate for that distinction.

Oliver Townend and As Is. Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy

Hannah Sue Hollberg is eighth in the 5-star with her longtime partner, Harbour Pilot, who at 19 is appearing in his last competition.

In the 3-Star Long, which is running with the 5-star, Hannah Sue leads aboard the Holsteiner Capitol Him, with an impressive score of 26 penalties. Standing second with Renukum Corsair (26.4) is Elisa Wallace, who put on an exhibition with her mustangs during the lunch break.

Click here for the 3-star results  Click here for the 4-star results