by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 5, 2023
Show jumper Devin Ryan is, in a sense, back where his rise to the top of his sport began. The venue is different but the event is the same, the Longines FEI World Cup Finals.
In 2018, longshots Devin and the brilliant Eddie Blue were a surprise second place at the Cup finals in Paris. They went from there to a spot on the gold medal team at the FEI World Equestrian Games.
From the highest level on the podium, they were on track for their attempt to make the 2020 Olympics, until a bone bruise on Eddie’s hind leg derailed the effort.
Now Eddie is back in form, and the venue is Omaha for the 2023 Cup finals.
“I’ve been taking it a little easy with him,” Devin said after a training round in the massive arena at the CHI Health Center.
He had a good season in 2022, but the plan going forward involves “saving him and having short- and long-term goals and see what happens. I thought about this in the beginning of the year, the World Cup Finals. He’s really more of a championship type horse, we get outrun often in jump-offs, but he likes to jump clear rounds,” Devin pointed out.
“I thought we’d come here and see what we could get done.”
What has been different over the last few years?
“He’s a little older, things change with horses,” the Long Valley, N.J., rider said of the 14-year-old Dutch warmblood.
“Their programs change and you have to figure them out, so it keeps the sport interesting.”
“My goal with him is just to coast a little bit and do this. It’s a good venue for him. He’s always been really good indoors. The important thing is Paris (the 2024 Olympics). I think it’s in anybody’s sights who has a horse they feel can do it. The horse has to be strong and healthy. We have to also as a country not over-use our horses.”
“I’m so lucky to have Eddie in my life. These animals bless us in a way. Once you have one and you do it with them, you understand what a difference it is when you have a horse who is good at his job and likes doing it, goes out there and performs.”
The U.S. is still trying to qualify as a country for Paris, which puts importance on the Nations Cup finals in Barcelona and the Pan American Games this autumn.
Devin Ryan and Eddie Blue. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Would Devin be interested in those competitions?
“Wherever they need me, I’d sort of put myself out there,” he said
But first things first; we’re in Omaha.
“It’s one of the strongest fields in a World Cup final. There are some good ones who have been doing really well,” observed Devin.
That includes world champion Henrik von Eckermann of Sweden with King Edward and Cup defending champion Martin Fuchs of Switzerland on Leone Jei. And then there’s the USA’s McLain Ward, riding the Holsteiner mare,Callas, as he seeks to repeat his 2017 Cup victory when Omaha put on the finals for the first time.
McLain Ward and Callas. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
So it means even if Devin doesn’t make the podium, finishing well up in the standings would be impressive.
U.S. show jumping coach Robert Ridland made the same point as Devin in assessing the field for the Cup.
The group of exhibitors, he noted, “is as strong a list as it ever had been. Just go down the list from Europe. I was excited to see how strong the contingent is from the rest of the world.”
They do things differently from the U.S. in terms of getting to the finals.
“I don’t think our qualifying system works as well as it does in Europe. Our system stars too early, ends too late. Theirs is much more compact with their indoor circuit.
“Ours, of course, historically combines indoors and outdoors, which is a little bit of an issue. But there’s not much we can do about it because that’s where our top competitions are. I believe we definitely need a revamping of our qualifying system, so that it makes more sense for our top horse-rider combinations. I think if we did that, it would be better for us and better for the future World Cups.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 4, 2023
After Alice Tarjan won the FEI World Cup qualifier at Dressage at Devon last autumn, she wasn’t planning on being at the Cup finals this week in Omaha.
“I was joking to Lauren (Chumley), `Wouldn’t it be funny if we qualified for the World Cup?'” Alice asked her friend.
This morning, she said with a little smile, “The joke’s on me because we came, we actually qualified.”
The Oldwick, N.J., resident rode Serendipity MF today in the warmup at the Chi Health Center Arena, where the atmosphere is always a factor, even with few people on hand for ring familiarization.
Alice Tarjan and Serenade MF. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Although the two made a businesslike picture, Alice observed, “The horse is a little tight; it’s obviously the most environment she’s ever seen.”
But as she noted, “Once you get on the horse, you just kind of have a job to do. We’ll try to learn a lot.”
And there are plenty of people to learn from. They include Olympic champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl of Germany with TSF Dalera BB; the most decorated dressage rider in history, Isabell Werth, another German with Quantaz DSP (Isabell won at the 2017 final in Omaha with another horse) and the Netherlands’ highly touted Dinja van Liere with Hermes NOP.
“Who would have thought this little foal I picked up would bring us so far?” mused Alice, who usually buys horses very young and brings them up through the ranks.
“It’s cool the places horses bring us,” she observed.
“All that really matters is what you put down in the ring. The scores kind of dictate where you go. My goal is to train the horses. I love the journey and the training. Then you follow the scores and where they send you.”
Her trainer, Marcus Orlob, is coaching at the World Cup for the first time.
“I’m really excited for Alice to be here, and myself,” he said.
Marcus observed that while the facilities are great and horse-friendly, “the arena’s a little bit intimidating, all the lights, the people.” While Shrimp, as Serenade is known for her small size was “a little bit nervous inside, as Marcus put it, she overcame it to do her job.
“She’s a good girl,” he said.
Alice is one of three U.S. riders competing, the only one who has never done a World Cup finals before.
Steffen Peters is a six-time veteran, having won in 2009 with Ravel. He and Suppenkasper, better known as Mopsie, looked on their game today as they practiced various moves at the same time as Isabell was in the ring.
Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Far from being jaded by so many World Cup outings, Steffen is energized. He didn’t go to Florida this winter, electing instead to stay home in California and support the circuit there. So he’s ready to face some different competition and relishes the opportunity.
“Any time you get a chance to ride among the top 16 in the world, it’s still considered a huge honor. Doing this for 50 years now, it’s just as exciting as the first time,” he stated.
Even so, when I asked if he ever thinks about retirement, he replied in the affirmative.
“You know, it has crossed my mind to do that after Paris (the 2024 Olympics). Mopsie will be 16, I’ll be 60. It could be a good time. It’s always a good time and place to make that decision afterwards; not before.”
In the meantime, Steffen is pleased with his mount.
“He’s been so much more mature lately with electric venues,” Steffen mentioned.
“As long as the crowd stays relatively calm when we enter, I think he might stay calm as well.”
I asked whether he thought a podium finish could be in the cards.
“Any time I make predictions, it usually backfires,” he responded.
“All I can tell you is to know I prepared my best, I prepared Mopsie the best, with the most respect and kindness, and since I’ve done that, I absolutely have to be and will be okay with the outcome, no matter what.”
Anna Buffini rode in the Leipzig, Germany, World Cup finals last year and is busy gathering more experience with FRH Davinia La Douce. She contrasted her feeling in Omaha with how she felt last year at this time.
Anna Buffini was quick to acknowledge applause as she left the arena on FRH Davinia la Douce. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
“Knowing what to expect is huge. You’re not just looking around, kind of starstruck by the venue, by the people watching, all the stuff I didn’t know last year.
“It’s so helpful to have gone to one already and to have one in America. I didn’t realize how much of a difference that would make. The food, I’m familiar with the language, the people, the surroundings. I can Uber and get everything I need. It’s totally different. Hopefully, we can go in and put two solid tests down.”
The first horse show she remembers attending was the 2009 World Cup Finals in Las Vegas.
“Ever since then, I’ve dreamed of being here, and it finally came true, which was amazing.”
Anna, a Californian trained by longtime U.S. team member Guenter Seidel, is believed to be the first black rider to compete in the World Cup finals.
“I’m really proud to represent,” she emphasized.
“It shows the melting pot that we are, and I love that.”
Debbie McDonald, a World Cup finals winner who is the U.S. dressage technical advisor, still remembers her first Cup final.
“I know the feeling, like a deer in the headlights,” she recalled.
Debbie McDonald and her former teammate, Guenter Seidel. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
“Alice probably feels a little bit like, `Oh my gosh, I’m actually here,” Debbie commented, and noted that although Anna has one Cup under her belt, “she’s still a youngster.” So with the two of them, the goal is to gain mileage.
“Any time you can ride in an environment like this, it’s special, so you have to think of it that way. It’s a special group of horses and riders.
At the other end of the experience scale, “You’ve got Steffen, who’s been there and done that. It’s still always great to see him in the ring.”
But she’s not guessing who’s going to be on the podium.
“There are so many players in the game today; it’s just going to be who’s good that day. You can’t really predict.” But as far as the U.S. group goes, she said, “I’m hoping for really good rides.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 2, 2023
The Adequan Global Dressage Festival, the nation’s premier circuit in the discipline, came to an end last week after a run that began in early January. Going forward, there’s always curiosity about what’s next for exciting up-and-coming riders who earned special notice during the shows in Wellington, Fla.
One who attracted attention is Christian Simonson, the 20-year-old busy making a name for himself not only in the Under 25 category, but in open classes as well. He’s got the ability, he’s got the horses and most important, he’s got the work ethic. His dedication is paying off in many ways. In January, the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation presented him with its Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Trophy, given to a junior or young rider in an Olympic discipline who exemplifies the Team’s ideals of sportsmanship and horsemanship.
Christian Simonson and Zeaball Diawin. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Being in Wellington, he believes, has been important for his career.
“You feel a little bit in a bubble. Every time you go out to dinner, you see someone you know professionally. It’s kind of a privilege to be here, to be in an environment that coaxes you to perform better,” he pointed out, saying he likes “to be around good people who push you.”
Under the guidance of Olympic medalist Adrienne Lyle, Christian won the Intermediate 1 Freestyle at the end of February on the 12-year-old Danish warmblood Son of a Lady (Soreldo X Welt Hit II), with an impressive 78.445 percent. He led the U.S. team to silver behind Germany in the Nations Cup, where a combination of Big Tour and Small Tour riders were featured on the squads.
His other star, 11-year-old Danish warmblood Zeaball Diawind (Furstenball OLD X Zardin Firfod), topped the Prix St. Georges at the beginning of March with 72.500 percent. He finished the festival with starts in another PSG and two Intermediate I classes, earning scores ranging from 69.902 percent to 71.912. When he was 16, Christian began riding Zeaball, who was seven, and their partnership developed from there.
Christian said his horses are similar in several important aspects, noting “they have so much quality, elasticity and most of all, an incredible willingness to work.”
Christian Simonson warming up Zeaball Diawin. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
At the same time, they display their differences.
“Zeaball has a much more chilled-out demeanor,” Christian observed, while Son of a Lady has a “24/7 Energizer bunny demeanor about him.”
No matter which horse he’s riding, he has one principle in mind.
“Adrienne promotes harmonious riding. You do it because you’re trying to bring out the best in your horse and your horse is trying to bring out the best in you. That’s how it should be. It shouldn’t be this one-way street of `You have to do this.’ ”
Instead, the better approach is telling the horse, “This is what I’d like to do; let’s do this together,” while making sure “they’re as comfortable as possible.”
Describing Christian as “endlessly tactful and patient with the horses,” Adrienne called him “an information sponge,” always trying to soak up knowledge.
“I cannot say enough good things about him. He’s an incredible rider. It’s just a joy to get to work with him. His dedication to the sport is really admirable.”
Christian gets a pre-ride pep talk from Adrienne Lyle. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Christian began training with Gail Hoff-Carmona and then Jan Ebeling until he started riding with Adrienne four years ago. He calls her “the ultimate horsewoman. She has such an amazing ability to have a holistic environment that promotes horse performance from the hooves up. She puts so much time and effort into each one of her students.”
The rider, who is 50th in the world in the 1-star rankings, describes her training style as “intelligent,” noting “she’s such an in-tune horsewoman. It’s what really puts her above the rest.”
Each time his horses do well, he said, he gives credit to support from the team Adrienne has assembled, singling out groom Monica Stanke for her contributions to his endeavors.
Christian has always loved animals and used to volunteer at an animal shelter. That was where he met Cesar Milan of the “Dog Whisperer” TV show, who invited Christian to spend a weekend at his ranch to train with his dog.
Christian learned that “all animals have a big willingness to try to please. You have to learn to nurture that as much as you can in any animal, whether it’s a horse or a dog or anything, and you have to be really patient, trying to explain things in the kindest way possible.”
Although Christian is a professional horseman, he is multi-dimensional, having gotten a student pilot’s license and participating in other sports, including skiing and scuba diving. He is involved with Monaco Sport Horses with his mother, Christina Morgan; his father, Cliff Simonson, and Misha Knoll, who sources the horses.
Busy as he is, Christian manages to balance everything with his on-line studies as a business major at the University of Texas at Austin. This summer, he will go on a European tour; the highlight of his trip last year was a third place in the Young Riders Freestyle at Aachen on Son of a Lady, marked at 74.930 percent.
After the summer, Adrienne said, Christian is looking at the Oct. 20-Nov. 5 Pan American Games in Chile, if there is a mixed Big Tour/Small Tour team, as there usually is in the Pan Ams. But she won’t be going with him.
Adrienne, who is married to veterinarian Dr. David DaSilva, is 3 and 1/2 months pregnant and scheduled to give birth Oct. 3. As she noted, though, if Christian goes to the Pan Ams, he would be in good hands with her mentor, Debbie McDonald, the U.S. dressage team’s technical advisor, and U.S. Equestrian Federation Director of Sport Hallye Griffin, formerly the managing director of dressage.
Debbie called Christian and his horses in the ring “a beautiful picture.” But beyond that, she emphasized, “The thing about Christian is he’s very hands-on in the care of his horses.”
Meanwhile, Christian also has the ride on Adrienne’s former mount, Harmony’s Duval, and hopes to get Grand Prix experience with him. The plan is to ride him this summer in the Festival of Champions at Lamplight in Illinois.
“He’s learning a ton on him, which is the main point of him leasing him,” said Adrienne of Duval.
The highest-ranked U.S. rider at number 10 in the international dressage standings, she had hoped to be in the FEI World Cup Finals in Omaha this week, but her Olympic and world championships mount, Salvino, popped a splint and couldn’t compete in the final qualifier. Although Vinny is back in light work, he won’t be going to Europe this summer. The big goal for him is the 2024 Paris Olympics, but like all veteran riders, Adrienne knows plans don’t always work out. The 2023 World Cup is exhibit A in that regard for her.
Adrienne will keep pointing Vinny to Paris “providing he’s doing well and feeling well. I’ve always said he will dictate what he does. He’s given us so much. If he’s healthy and happy and wants to go, we’ll go, and if he shows signs of not wanting to, then he’s earned that right.” She doesn’t have a back-up mount at this point.
“If I don’t go, I don’t go. There will be more Olympics,” said Adrienne, who rode in the 2012 London Games as well as in Tokyo.
She had been training Nexolia Feodoro, with whom she made his Intermediate II debut in March. It looked as if he might be her back-up horse for Paris. But the owner moved him to Olympic veteran Lars Petersen, who runs the Helgstrand stable in Wellington.
Adrienne called the move “very much okay. I prioritize the camaraderie and team spirit in my barn. If you’re going to be in our barn, you’ve got be a team player. That’s my priority over any one horse.”
She is working with two young horses who could be championship mounts further down the road. They are Heidi Humphries’ Zen Elite’s Top Gun, a seven-year-old son of Totilas, and Furst Dream, who won the four-year-old championships last year. The five-year-old Hanoverian belongs to Betsy Juliano, the owner of Salvino and a great supporter of Adrienne.
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 27, 2023
Carol Lavell, a pillar of the 1992 U.S. Olympic bronze medal dressage team, died today, a little more than a week before her 80th birthday.
She and her statuesque flashy bay Hanoverian gelding, Gifted, were the rockstars of American dressage in the early 1990s.
Carol Lavell and Gifted.
A Vermonter who exemplified the New England values of hard work and persistence, she was both opinionated (and often right!) as well as generous with her time and knowledge.
Carol established the Gifted Memorial Fund grants for adult amateurs through the U.S. Dressage Foundation, recognizing the importance of supporting U.S. dressage at all levels across the country.
The Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize, started at The Dressage Foundation in 2005, provides financial assistance for coaching and training to talented, committed, qualified riders with plans to reach and excel at the elite, international standards of high-performance dressage.
Up to two prizes of $25,000 each are available annually to riders who are U.S. citizens over 21 years of age. Recipients are selected on the basis of merit and need.
When she went looking for a dressage prospect in 1984, Carol explained to a German horse dealer, “I want something special that stands out.” He promised he would find it, calling three days later to say he had the horse. She told him, “I’m coming right away to see it. Don’t sell it.” And that was the beginning of a famous partnership.
Carol, who graduated from Vassar College, worked in research with a biochemistry professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She also taught lab research to students at MIT, but left all that to devote herself to dressage and her special horse.
In 1987, three years after Carol started working with Gifted, he was named U.S. Dressage Federation Horse of the Year at Fourth Level and Prix St. Georges. It was the beginning of success after success.
A year later, Gifted was honored as the USDF Horse of the Year at Intermediate I. When Carol brought Gifted out at Grand Prix in 1989, the pair made their debut on the European dressage circuit. Shortly after completing that tour, Gifted won an individual gold medal at the North American Dressage Championships in Canada.
Gifted placed 11th at the World Championships in 1990, and in 1991, he was USDF Horse of the Year at Grand Prix. Carol became the first American to win the Grand Prix at the Hermes International Dressage Show in Goodwood, England.
The highlight of Gifted’s career came at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, where Carol was sixth individually and led the U.S. to a bronze medal, the first Olympic medal in 16 years for the U.S. dressage team. They needed to score 1,524 points in the Grand Prix to bring the bronze home. Gifted’s result was more than 100 points better than that, when he and Carol were marked at 1,629.
Named the 1990 and 1992 U.S. Olympic Committee Female Equestrian Athlete of the Year, Carol also received the U.S. Equestrian Team’s Whitney Stone Cup in 1992 and was the 1992 American Horse Shows Association/Hertz Equestrian of the Year. At the 1994 World Equestrian Games in The Hague, Carol and Gifted finished ninth individually as the U.S. picked up another team bronze.
So many people expressed their feelings about Carol on social media. Sarah Martin Dressage put it beautifully: “I believe there is a Rainbow Bridge for humans, too, and Carol Lavell has crossed it to find Gifted waiting.Two incredible souls who taught me so much.
“Carol was so generous. When I told her I had never ridden piaffe, she put me on Gifted that day. Can you imagine? Her heart was always so genuine, generous and she always had one more thing to teach… I am so honored to have had this woman in my life. Fly high and ride on, Carol!”
Tuny Page told a great story: At the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, after the first day of dressage concluded, riders were hanging out in the athletes’ hotel. Trainer Conrad Schumacher walked up to Carol (knowing that she and Gifted needed to do a performance of their lifetime to ensure a bronze medal) and asked the following, “So how does it feel to have the weight of your country and your team on your shoulders?”
In characteristic Carol style, her answer was: “With all due respect, Mr. Schumacher, it feels just fine because the pressure is exactly where it supposed to be!”
Sabine Schut-Kery, who in 2021 insured with Sanceo that the U.S. would get a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, posted this sentiment: “Fly high, Carol Lavell, and thank you for what you have done for U.S. dressage in the saddle and after, with your amazing dressage grants that helped so many, including myself with my precious Sanceo.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 20, 2023
Services are set March 22 for Olympic and Pan American Games eventing medalist Kevin J. Freeman, 81, who died March 18 in Portland, Oregon. His passing came six weeks after the death of his teammate and close friend of 57 years, Jimmy Wofford.
Kevin, who represented the U.S. at three Olympic games and the Pan Ams, was also a successful businessman, as well as coach and mentor to equestrians around the world. He earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife of 52 years, Barrie, who were best friends in high school, lived in Portland at Clodomir Farm.
Kevin Freeman and Good Mixture.
Kevin’s equestrian accomplishments include winning a gold medal as part of the U.S. team that competed at the 1963 Pan-American Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he also won an individual silver. He helped the U.S. team win silver medals in the 1964, 1968, and 1972 Olympic Games, and in 1964, he was the U.S. National Three-Day Event Champion and won the Olympic Trials in Gladstone. At the 1968 Olympics, Kevin competed on Chalan, a horse he’d ridden only once before. Kevin capped off his Olympic career at the 1972 games, finishing fifth individually and leading the American contingent to a team silver as the highest-placed U.S. rider. He had one of only three clear rounds on cross-country aboard one of his longtime partners, Good Mixture.
Kevin also placed third in the Maryland Hunt Cup and won the 1968 Iroquois Steeplechase in Tennessee, the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup in 1969, and the New Jersey Hunt Cup in 1970. He then turned his attention to show jumping, winning at the highest levels across North America, including at Spruce Meadows and Thunderbird venues in Canada.
As a coach, Kevin delighted in sharing his knowledge with the hundreds of horses and riders he trained over the last 50 years at Clodomir Farm. He also hosted the Freeman Farm Horse Trials at his family’s Molalla farm for several years, attracting competitors from around the country.
An all-around athlete, Kevin was a varsity athlete for the 1961-62 Cornell University men’s polo team and an avid skier. He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1991 and the United States Eventing Association Hall of Fame in 2009, along with Good Mixture.
Kevin worked closely with his father, Percy, and brothers, Michael and Perk, to run J.A. Freeman and Son, a farm-implement manufacturing company based out of Portland for more than 100 years. When the family sold the business to Allied Systems Co. in 2004, he and his two brothers continued working together, creating the Freeman Group, a commercial real estate company that he helped run until his death.
In addition to his wife, Kevin is survived by his children, Eric (Stephanie); Peter (Anna); Kevin and Wendy Freeman Gallo (Edgar); his brother, Perk; sister, Laurie Freeman; his six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
The March 22 memorial service will be held at 10 am at St. Mary’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland, followed by a reception. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Kevin’s name to the United States Equestrian Team Foundation or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 1, 2023
McLain Ward, who has piled up triumph after triumph since winning the first leg of the Rolex Grand Slam in Geneva last December, had to settle for sixth place tonight in the $500,000 Rolex 5-star Grand Prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival.
Richard Vogel took a victory lap after winning the $500,000 Rolex Grand Prix.
The 40-horse field faced quite a challenge at the Wellington International showgrounds on the course designed by Guilherme Jorge.
German rider Richard Vogel on Cepano Baloubet was one of only two contenders in the seven-horse jump-off to finish fault free, winning by an amazing 8.62-second margin over Colombia’s Roberto Teran on Dez’ Ooktoff, who wisely decided to go for a clear rather than time.
McLain was aboard HH Azur, the mare on whom he won at Geneva as well as the second leg of the Rolex Grand Slam series in the Netherlands. She was also his ride six years ago in Omaha, when he won the FEI World Cup Finals for the first time.
Luck was not with him, as he had rails down at both the Rolex double, as well as the vertical that followed it. His total was 12 faults in 40.6 seconds.
“I’m overwhelmed,” said Richard.
“Two weeks ago, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to do this horse in this big a grand prix. But, he felt really good and then we thought, ‘We’re here and he’s in very good shape, so let’s give it a try,’ and he was amazing.”
“My plan was not to risk too much in the jump-off, but also to put the pressure on the ones coming after me so they had to risk a bit more to be faster and I was lucky it all worked out,” said Richard, who had four international wins during the 2023 season at WEF.
Cepano Baloubet just found a new home in Richard’s stable after Veronica and Molly Tracy purchased the gelding for him to compete.
“I first rode this horse when he was six, and not too long after the horse came to our stable with the same owner and we were able to produce him. In January, they purchased the horse for me to keep it in the stable, so I’m lucky to have such good owners and so much trust in those people.”
Guilherme Jorge’s course map for the $500,000 class.
Explaining his strategy, Roberto said of his horse, “I knew he wouldn’t have the foot speed to take a win but was thrilled with the second-place finish.
“When I bought this horse, he was quite green at this level,” said Roberto, who represented Colombia in the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games.
“He’s not a fast horse, but he’s consistent in clear rounds. I’m ecstatic with him because we’ve been working with him for more than three years and he’s now very consistent at this level.
“I wasn’t going to pass Richard, or Mclain, or anyone else going fast, so I wanted to go double clear and hope for some mistakes and it worked out,” he added.
Richard, 26, and McLain, 47, will face off again this week in Omaha, which hosts the Cup finals for the second time. McLain will be aboard Callas, while Richard rides United Touch S.
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 28, 2023
Charles “Champ” Hough was only 18 when he made history in Helsinki with the 1952 U.S. Olympic squad, earning a team bronze medal in eventing as the youngest equestrian competitor at those Games.
That was the USA’s first civilian equestrian team at the Olympics, after the cavalry was phased out and the Army no longer was involved with horse sport. But it was just the beginning for someone who would go on to make his mark in multiple segments of the horse industry.
Champ Hough on the great hunter, Sutton Place, in 1968. (Photo by Fallaw)
Champ died peacefully at age 88 on Monday, after a week in hospice. He suffered a stroke in 2001, and it had been “a bumpy road” since then, but true to his can-do attitude, “he lived his best life in the nursing home,” said his daughter, Lauren Hough, a show jumping Olympian herself.
She noted Champ was in the Hall of Fame at the Palm Beach Nursing Home in Lake Worth, Fla., where he enjoyed wearing his cowboy hat and cowboy boots as he visited everyone in his wheelchair “and flirted with all the nurses.”
During his long career, “He did every aspect of equestrian life,” said Lauren, who mentioned he was involved with saddlebreds at one time, then went on to run the famous Sutton Place hunter/jumper stable in California with her mother, Linda Hough.
After the couple separated, Lauren would go to the East Coast for the summers to spend time with Champ.
“He would hook up a two-horse trailer behind the motor home. I had a small pony and a junior jumper and we’d travel all over the east coast together. He groomed for me and polished my boots; we just had a great time.”
Champ went on to racehorses, training them and preparing them for sale when he worked for Fasig-Tipton. He also was on the ground floor of the Saudi Equestrian Federation as it got started, helping build their stables.
“He was a really keen horseman,” Lauren observed.
“He’s going to leave a hole, for sure. You think you’re prepared, but it’s something I haven’t really navigated yet.”
Although he and Linda were divorced, she was his caretaker for the last 20 years.
Linda, Champ and Lauren Hough. (Photo courtesy Lauren Hough)
Champ was inducted into the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame. Jimmy Lee, the president of that organization, recalled him as “a great horseman. He had a vast knowledge of all aspects of the horse. He could condition and present a horse, as well as anyone I’ve ever known.”
Jimmy called Champ, “an amazing showman who set the standard for doing it the right way and a credit to our sport. He was a master at presentation, whether in the show ring or at the sales. He was kind enough to share his knowledge about the horse and about showing with me. Needless, to say I always took his advice.”
Sharon Stewart-Wells met Champ when she was about 13 and he and her father were at the Camp Pendleton Marine Base.
“Every year, there was a big rodeo at Camp Pendleton and Champ put on an exhibition of jumping a horse around a course that he had set up. I told my mother that I wanted to do that. She took me to the base stables and Champ taught me to jump by jumping the picnic tables at the rodeo grounds,” she remembered.
In addition to Linda and Lauren, Champ is survived by another daughter, Cindy Brooks.
A celebration of Champ’s life will be held on Monday, April 3 from 4-6 p.m. at the Wanderers Club in Wellington, Fla.
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 30, 2023
Laura Roberts, who had been the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s dressage performance and event support director, will now be the managing director of dressage. She has moved up to fill the spot vacated by Hallye Griffin when she was promoted to the organization’s director of FEI Sport this month.
In addition to serving with USEF for five years, Laura has other sports experience. She was involved with USA Karate and U.S. Figure Skating, serving as team USA coordinator for the latter at the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
Laura was the USEF’s team leader for the 2019 Pan American Games and and led several Nations Cup teams at both senior and youth levels.
“I am thrilled that Laura is stepping into the managing director role for dressage,” Hallye said.
“Laura has worked closely with our coaching staff and committee members throughout her time with us and has developed invaluable knowledge about the ins and outs of dressage. She is a hard worker and a team player, and I have no doubt that she will be a great leader for U.S. Dressage.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 21, 2023
Canadian show jumper Jonathon Millar, who fell and hit his head March 12, underwent brain surgery to stop a bleed and relieve swelling. He is now off sedation and breathing on his own at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where he is showing promising signs communicating with facial expression and hand signals.
Jonathon, the Florida-based son of Canadian show jumping chef d’equipe Ian Millar, is in stable condition, but the care required for his full recovery is financially daunting, and he has a long journey ahead.
A Gofundme has been started to help with expenses. Those who wish to donate may click on this link.
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 28, 2023
HITS’ announcement last month that John Ammerman would return in a mangement capacity to the company’s Vermont Summer Festival shows was “premature,” Ammerman has said.
“After asking for my help as a co-manager (with Joe Dotoli) at the Vermont Summer Festival, the HITS management team has unfortunately failed to produce a realistic contract that includes the terms originally discussed.I have since been informed by HITS that they cannot afford my services and `do not need my assistance anyway,’ ” Ammerman commented in a statement.
He added, “Given that the news of my return was released prior to finalizing an agreement between myself and HITS, it is only fair to let the exhibitors know that I will not be working at the 2023 Vermont Summer Festival.”
Joey Norick, HITS’ chief customer officer, attributed the situation to “a touch of miscommunication. Interpretation may have been taken differently. As much as I’d love to have John there, I’m sorry it didn’t go the way he wanted. We would only wish him all the best.”
In its official statement reacting to Ammerman’s comments, HITS said the company “has nothing but admiration and respect for John Ammerman and everything he has done for the Vermont Summer Festival. We are truly sorry he is not joining us, but we have nothing but well wishes for him and Dotty.”
