by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 2, 2025
An eventing competition that nearly didn’t happen contradicted the skeptics with a memorable Sunday of sport at Moorland Farm in Far Hills, N.J.
“It was a total success,” declared eventer, trainer and Olympic judge Marilyn Payne, who rode in the first Essex in 1968 and was determined its 2024 edition wouldn’t be the last.
She stepped up to be the organizer, despite fears that the event wouldn’t attract enough competitors to break even. But 124 riders participated during the weekend and loved the experience, despite ground that was a bit squishy here and there due to torrential rain the previous week.
“I think they’ve done an absolutely great job handling the weather,” said Nicholas Hansen, who came from central Pennsylvania to win the Open Preliminary on Mr. Max.
Tailgaters cheered on Open Preliminary winner Nicholas Hansen at the water complex. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
“I think they did as well as they could have with the ground and as always, they put on a pretty well-run show. I have to say it was really cool to see so many spectators, especially around the water (complex). It was great to see the community came around and supported the show so much.”
Marilyn faced quite a task in her quest to make sure that Essex could run. She correctly figured the way to insure it happened was to downsize from a two-venue, two-day fixture to a one venue, one day event at scenic Moorland Farm in Far Hills,N.J., home of October’s popular Far Hills Race Meeting.
I asked Marilyn’s daughter, competitor Holly Payne Caravella, who was second with Quality time in Open Training, how she reacted when her mother took on the daunting task of making sure Essex survived.
“She’s so good at that stuff. It comes naturally to her,” Holly observed matter-of-factly.
While Marilyn was optimistic about how the event would run, she commented as Essex wrapped up, “It was way better than I thought. It was so exciting to see all the riders come out and have such a fabulous time. The hundreds of spectators enjoyed watching the horses and going to the trade fair. The tailgating was packed and they all were cheering every time a horse went through and the riders just loved it.”
After spending thousands of hours on perpetuating Essex, she committed to doing it all again next year, “as long as all my helpers will do it with me. I have a fantastic team. I could not do it without all the great volunteers I had,” she emphasized.
“It was muddy, but we dealt with it,” Marilyn commented, noting how volunteers moved the show jumps after each division to make sure they were out of the muddy tracks.
To avoid a muddy area originally planned for dressage, that segment was moved to a dry corner of the property across from the train station where the choo-choo whistle caused no problems. (Photo © 2025 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
The competitors liked the way the cross-country and stadium jumping tracks, both designed by Morgan Rowsell, worked out on the all-grass terrain.
The busiest rider at Essex, Ryan Wood, said, “They did a great job working with what they had and it was as good as you could have hoped for.”
Ryan won the Open Training division with the Optimist, an Irish import from Cooley farm who will be coming up for sale soon. and was also third in that section with Cooley Versace who is “looking like he will be a top-class horse.”
In the Open Preliminary, he was fourth with KHH Cooely and sixth with Cooley Maestro.
A native of Australia now based in Pennsylvania, Ryan is no stranger to Essex. He took the $20,000 Preliminary title on Ruby in 2018 when Essex (which has had its ups and downs) re-emerged on the scene after not having been contested since 1998.
Ryan Wood with his prizes and a painting of his 2018 Essex winner, Ruby. (Photo © 2025 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
Ryan came up to New Jersey from competing Saturday in the Maryland Combined Training Association Horse Trials with four horses. He withdrew them from that event before cross-country noting, “It was pretty wet down there,” since the facility was lacking the extra day to dry out that Essex enjoyed.
Asked why he was aboard so many horses, Ryan replied straight-faced, “I was riding for an owner who puts a lot of pressure on me.”
Open Training winner Ryan Wood on The Optimist. (Photo © 2025 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
That would be his wife, the former Lillian Heard, who is pregnant. Funnily enough, Nick got the ride on the Dutch-bred Mr. Max because his wife, Hanna, also is pregnant.
The horse’s owner, Marsha Nahra, bought the Dutch-bred mount for Hanna, but since March, Nick has been keeping the 8-year-old chestnut gelding going until after the baby arrives. Then Hanna is looking at building toward a 3-star event in the spring.
“I thought the show jumping looked really challenging today, and he made it look effortless,” she said of her once and future mount.
An “A” Pony Clubber, Nick evented through the 3-star level, but hasn’t done any “real eventing” for nine years. He’s better-known as a dressage rider, have won triple gold in that discipline at Young Riders on a horse he got through Lendon Gray, and also did the Under-25 grand prix.
He and his wife have a training and sales business, Roaring Creek Farm, where he handles the dressage side of things and Hanna deals with the jumping.
But as Nick observed, “It’s a nice breath of fresh air to just be able to run and jump and not worry about the dressage work.”
The decision to focus on the lower levels and add the Starter division to the Essex program paid off. Starter was very popular, drawing two sections of riders. Olivia Hickok, who won the A section, wore a shirt to match her horse’s name, Huckleberry. He was adorned with a lightning bolt on one flank and stars on the other.
Olivia Hickok and Huckleberry. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
Although the Somerset Hills Pony Clubber has competed at novice level, Olivia dropped her Morgan/Standardbred cross down to Starter because he is 19 years old.
Olivia, an extremely poised 15-year-old high school sophomore from Tewksbury, N.J., said of her Essex experience, “I love this event. It’s a great local event for family and friends to come out to watch. I love the tailgating part of it, so much support, the shops and everything.”
For the second year in a row, Olivia received the Golden Nugget Memorial Trophy for the Pony Club member under 18 who had the lowest number of penalties. Coincidentally, the trophy is given by her trainer, Clarissa Wilmerding.
The other special award, the Jean and Eliott Haller Perpetual Trophy for Horsemanship, awarded in memory of the Essex founders, went to Adelaide Reist, a Starter competitor who never gave up with Firecracker, a horse who offered a bit of a challenge.
Julia Cutler riding Marilyn’s Rock Me Mama won the Adult Amateur Best Score Award in winning the Beginner Novice B Rider section with 30.3 penalties.
Leeci Rowsell, daughter of course designer Morgan Rowsell and his wife, Virginia, won the Novice B Division with Corstowns Espresso Martini. She got some helpful hints from Alice Tarjan, best known as a dressage competitor. (Photo © 2025 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
Essex offered a chance for people to get together with others involved with equestrian sport, or just horses in general. The volunteer pool came from that group. At the water complex, Beth Groblewski was a fence judge, something she has been doing since she stopped competing at Essex after the first two years it was held at Moorland.
“I volunteered because I live right up the road,” said Beth, who runs Fox Bend Farm.
“Now that I’m not competing any more, I give back. It takes a lot of volunteers to keep it going,” she said.
Tailgaters were lined up all along the area with a view of the water. Sponsors had tents where they welcomed guests, alongside those from local groups such as the Somerset Hills Pony Club and Tewksbury Trail Association.
Guy Torsiliei, who runs the Far Hills Race Meeting with Ron Kennedy, hosted Fox News star Jesse Waters and his family. Jesse moved from New York to Bernardsville and became part of the Somerset Hills Community. He enjoys skeet shooting at Moorland and is becoming a regular at Essex.
Jesse Watters and daughter Gigi, 3, with Guy Torsilieri in the tailgating area.. Photo © 2025 by Lawrence J. Nagy
“I haven’t ridden a horse yet, but one of these days I’ll get up there and try not to fall off,” Jesse told me.
Presenting sponsors for Essex were Pure Insurance and Land Rover of Parsippany, a full-service dealer of luxury brands that is expanding its involvement. Other sponsors included Kienlen Lattmann Sotheby’s International Realty, Hunt’s End Farm, Hewitt Home Heating, Purina Animal Nutrition in conjunction with Somerset Grain & Feed and Sergeantsville Grain & Feed, and Corcoran Sawyer Smith real estate.
Dr. Greg Staller’s Running ‘S’ Equine Veterinary Services sponsored the riders’ tent that we also open to horse owners and grooms. Marilyn noted donations of more than $20,000 helped keep the event running, with individual supporters contributing.
Essex gives back beyond the equestrian scene, benefitting the Life Camp in Pottersville, which provides an enriching summer day camp experience for 300 youths daily for six weeks during July and August. Campers between the ages of 6 and 13 come from the greater Newark public school system, as well as from Newark Charter School Programs.
click here for results
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 24, 2024
There is no such thing as a sure thing.
Remember that when you and your friends are guessing—even doing educated guessing—about who will win the equestrian medals at the Olympics.
As the Games get under way this week in Paris, there are, of course, clear favorites. But you never know what can happen with them. The Charlotte Dujardin scandal illustrates that with painful detail.
And in making predictions, remember that where horses are involved, things can change fast. Again, reference Charlotte Dujardin. You couldn’t have predicted this story, and the way the timing of the accusation was arranged just before the Olympics, 2-and-a-half years after the incident.
Charlotte Dujardin and Imhotep.
Britain was under the most pressure going into the Games, because it always had the most to lose. It may well have won gold in dressage if Charlotte was part of the team, and is favored for eventing gold, as well as at least one individual medal in that sport.
In show jumping, Ireland, my choice for team gold, lost its reserve rider when Bertram Allen reported that he was withdrawing due to an injury to his horse, Pacino Amiro. These things often happen on the cusp of the Games.
“I was really looking forward to our second Olympic participation, but my horse’s health is the priority. I will definitely be cheering loudly for our Irish team,” Bertram stated on social media.
Ireland fortunately has great depth in show jumpers, so Bertram will be replaced by Darragh Kenny on VDL Cartello. But remember, Olympic teams have only three members and no drop score, so Ireland’s squad that actually will be competing is still intact.
It’s comprised of Shane Sweetnam (James Kann Cruz), Cian O’Connor (Maurice) and Daniel Coyle (Legacy). Ireland has never won an Olympic team show jumping medal, so this could well be the year, though defending champion Sweden will put on the strongest of challenges, while the U.S. and Germany also are clearly medal threats. And don’t count out the French wanting to show their best before a home crowd.
Ireland’s Daniel Coyle and Legacy. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)
Individually, how can you bet against Sweden’s world number one Henrik von Eckermann and the sensationally consistent King Edward, whose name suits him? But then there is defending gold medalist Ben Maher of Great Britain on Point Break, a different horse than Explosion, the one that took him to the top of the podium in Tokyo. And plenty of others are in the running for individual medals. Cian looks like a possibility. He is the only Irish rider who has medaled in Olympic show jumping. Ever. Germany’s Richard Vogel does a fantastic job with United Touch S and I have been impressed by Germany’s Christian Kukuk and Checker. They won the last big grand prix of the season at the Winter Equestrian Festival in style.
McLain Ward and Ilex. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)
Meanwhile, the USA’s McLain Ward seemed to have found the key to his ride of six months, Ilex, with a tight second-place finish in the Rolex grand prix at Aachen this month. McLain has two Olympic team gold medals, but still needs an individual medal for his collection. And could McLain’s teammates, Laura Kraut (Baloutinue) and Kent Farrington (Greya) somehow figure in the individual medal race?
In eventing, Great Britain is generally considered the candidate for team gold, defending its Tokyo title and going for a historic fifth title in the Games.
European Champion Ros Canter (Lordships Graffalo), a favorite for individual gold, has teammates (Laura Collett/London 52 and Tom McEwen/JLDublin) who are also in the running for individual medals.
The three-person format with no drop score is the same for all the Olympic disciplines, but it matters most in eventing with the three-phase format and the caprices of cross-country causing bumps in the prognostication road.
Great Britain’s Tom McEwen and JL Dublin. Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer
Germany is probably Britain’s stiffest competition for top honors, with marvelous Michi Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH leading the way. At 16, this is likely Chipmunk’s last championship stand. The team was just joined by the first woman to win individual Olympic gold, Julia Krajewski, the Tokyo star. She is riding Nickel, the horse who won the Aachen eventing this month. Julia replaced the 2022 world championship team gold medal combo of Sandra Auffarth and Viamant du Matz, who was said to be not fit. The third member of the team is Christoph Wahler and Carjatan S. Calvin Bockmann and Phantom of the Opera have moved into the reserve slot.
The U.S. has a solid squad, even with the last-minute swap of Will Coleman’s mount, Diabolo, for Liz Halliday’s Nutcracker. Diabolo, who had replaced Will’s original mount, Off the Record, won the 4-star at Kentucky in April, but had developed an abcess and was replaced. Nutcracker was eighth in the Defender Kentucky 5-star that weekend. (See full story in the On the Rail section of this website, or click here).
Liz Halliday and Nutcracker at Kentucky. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)
Boyd Martin and Federman B, an excellent jumper, will be looking for an individual medal as well as team honors for the U.S. It would be the first time in two decades that the team medaled if they reach the podium. Caroline Pamucku is making her Olympic debut with HSH Blake, but she has proven herself to be reliable. At 29. Caroline is the youngest U.S. rider in Paris, and at age 9, Blake is the youngest horse with the American flag on his saddlepad.
We can’t ignore New Zealand, definitely in medal territory book-ended by the husband/wife powerhouse of Tim and Jonelle Price, with Clark Johnstone as the third member. Reserve, if you can believe it, is Badminton winner Caroline Powell. An embarrassment of riches. So the Kiwis are well-covered if they lose a team member.
Boyd Martin and Federman B training at Versailles. (US Equestrian photo)
Also expect the French to be in medal territory, or at least its suburbs. As we said with show jumping, they have the impetus of the home crowd behind them. With a French course designer, we’ve seen cross-country really scramble the standings at previous championships, and you can expect the same here with Pierre le Goupil doing the honors.
The fact that the dressage test will be new and shorter could also be a major factor in figuring out who wins what, making it more unpredictable than usual. And don’t forget the atmosphere at Versailles, even though spectators will be further back from the arena than they are in Aachen. That is going to add to the excitement and dare I say it, tension.
Eventers will be the first to test it out with their dressage phase, at 3:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday (9:30 a.m. French time). We’ll be covering, so stay in bed and read our bulletins when you get up for a report on the action. If you want to watch, the livestream is on Peacock, but it starts at 3:30 a.m. Eastern time. USA Network will show the first 10 riders from 3:30-4:30 a.m. Eastern. E! network will have a delayed program of top riders from 4:30-6 p.m. Eastern time.
While anything can happen in show jumping and eventing, where a rail or a refusal may befall the best of contenders, dressage tends to be a little more predictable. But not necessarily (see Charlotte Dujardin).
Britain, with Carl Hester (Fame) and world champion Lottie Fry (Glamourdale) had been my choice for gold when Charlotte was on the squad with Imhotep. Now, they could be in the medals, but it’s no sure thing. Becky Moody and Jagerbomb, who have taken Charlotte’s place, are a worthy pair, but inexperienced. So that makes Germany the gold medal choice, and world number one Jessica von Bredow-Werndl the likely individual gold medalist with TSF Dalera BB.
The eternal Isabell Werth is also an individual medal candidate with Aachen sensation Wendy de Fontaine and depending on how things go, might give Jessica a good challenge for gold. Their number three, Frederic Wandres with Bluetooth Old, isn’t quite at that level (he was more than 6 percent behind Isabell in the freestyle at Aachen, from which Jessica was absent). Alternate Ingrid Klimke withdrew a few days ago after her Franziskus was injured. Sönke Rothenberger and Fendi are replacing Ingrid and Franz.
Denmark is strong, but not strong enough to move ahead of Germany; it could be in a dead heat with Britain, though. Nanna Skodborg Merrald and Zepter may wind up in a battle for individual bronze. The Dutch, previously a dark horse team, can be well into the medal fray now. Interestingly, Dutch star Dinja van Liere (Hermes) will be at the Versailles venue just a few weeks before her brother, Joeri, competes there in wheelchair basketball at the Paralympics. Perhaps Dinja could be an individual medal contender with Hermes.
Pan American Games individual gold medalist Julio Mendoza Loor of Ecuador deserves a look in the freestyle; he should make the cut for that competition. The U.S.-based rider and Jewel’s Goldstrike did very well at Aachen, and while he’s not a medal contender, his performance and enthusiasm will speak well to the push for more countries in equestrian events at the Olympics.
And what about the U.S.?
If you had been speculating last November on who would be named to the U.S. dressage team for Paris, the only name you would have gotten right was Steffen Peters, with the “rave horse” from the Tokyo Games, Suppenkasper. The other combinations that make up the team and the alternate hadn’t even come together yet.
Considering how long it usually takes for a dressage horse and rider to reach the highest level, it definitely was a last-minute deal when Heidi Humphries of Zen Elite Equestrian bought Helix for two-time Olympian Adrienne Lyle and Bohemian for Endel Ots, who had never ridden in an international Grand Prix. But Adrienne made the team and Endel is the reserve. The third member of the squad is Marcus Orlob, who just began riding Alice Tarjan’s Jane in March.
The U.S. isn’t in the medal hunt, but with 15 teams entered, a finish in the top five or six is something to which the U.S. can aspire.
Marcus Orlob and Jane. (Susan J. Stickle Photography)
“We really had to patiently watch these combinations form a partnership and it’s remarkable how that has happened in that short of a time,” said U.S. chef d’equipe Christine Traurig.
“I think we have potential on the team. We know Steffen is very well capable of scoring about a 75 percent. He has proven that in the past. I really feel also that after Jane and Marcus scored so well in Kronberg (during an observation competition) that they are also capable of a score around 75 percent.
“When we look at Helix and Adrienne, I think it’s the same there. I will say we’re going to jump up close to the scores of the other internationally, more confirmed established horses and by established, I mean they have repetitively shown over a period of, not six months, but over a period of one year, two years, if not three years. That’s what I call established with a solid average in that score.
“Do we have that this year? No, we don’t. but should we be excited about having such a good team with such potential? In there we have a solid and seasoned horse and rider in Steffen and Suppenkasper, a proven combination. We have a younger combination in 10-year-old Jane and Marcus Orlob, and that is exciting for us, and exciting for the sport in our country. It is a horse Alice (Tarjan) bought when three years old, trained by Alice through young horse years with the coaching of Marcus and has been produced to Grand Prix in the U.S. That’s a wonderful statement and that’s exciting for us.
Christine Traurig.
“Adrienne is a fantastic rider. What she has accomplished with that horse in a very short time is simply incredible. He has a long career ahead of him and he will get better and better,” Christine emphasized.
“What is our goal? Our goal is to be as good as we can possibly be and to show the world we are not sleeping on the job. Here is where we are at the Paris Olympics and then on to the world championships (2026) and Los Angeles (2028 Olympics).
“It says something about America,” she pointed out.
“There is no standstill. We are moving forward and upward.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 16, 2020
It would have been a fabulous four days.
How do I know that for a fact about the FEI World Cup finals, which were to start today in Las Vegas–had it not been for Covid-19.
I know because I have been to all six Cup finals in Vegas since the glittering city’s first time showcasing equestrian sport in 2000, and I was looking forward to number seven on the 20th anniversary of its debut.
This year’s renewal might have made history with the first four-time Cup winners–could it have been Steve Guerdat of Switzerland in the show jumping and Germay’s Isabell Werth on Weiheigold in the dressage–though we were anticipating quite a showdown for her with fierce rival Charlotte Dujardin of Great Britain on Mount Saint John Freestyle in contention.
Although Vegas has become a favorite destination for Cup fans, none of us knew what to expect when we came to the Thomas & Mack Center two decades ago to watch the jumping debut in a glitzy city with a reputation for show biz, not horse show biz.
Lasers and fireworks were a revolutionary addition to show jumping when the FEI World Cup Finals came to Las Vegas.
But it turned out to be a revelation, a new approach that shook things up and influenced the way show jumping would be presented in the future, with lots of music and pizzaz. Shawn Davis, whose production flair helped make the annual National Finals Rodeo a sell-out at Thomas & Mack, put his knowhow to work for the World Cup. His version of the indoor show jumping world championships came complete with fireworks, lasers, showgirls and Elvis impersonators, all part of an energetic program that made each session fly by.
What is a Vegas World Cup final without a mounted Elvis impersonator? (Photo © 2009 by Nancy Jaffer)
Highlights in 2000 included a third straight show jumping Cup win for Rodrigo Pessoa, as well as a dressage demonstration by Debbie McDonald and Brentina, the valiant mare owned by one of the arena’s namesakes, Parry Thomas, and his wife, Peggy.
When she was approached about doing the exhibition, Debbie recalled, “I thought, `Wow, how cool, to go in that arena, being Parry Thomas’ arena.’”
And then it occurred to her, “How cool if they have a World Cup in dressage and we could come and ride here. And then it ended up being that way,” she said.
After the 2000 and 2003 show jumping finals, the dressage final joined the lineup in 2005.
“It’s two Super Bowls,” came the explanation at the time from Pat Christenson, president of Las Vegas Events, which presented the finals in conjunction with the FEI.
So the big names in both disciplines flocked to Vegas that year and for the next three renewals in Nevada, enjoying their time in the casino hotels nearly as much as their sojourn in the arena. But nothing could beat the fans and atmosphere at Thomas & Mack.
Riding in the venue just a few miles from Vegas’ famous strip is a unique experience, according to Debbie.
“It’s one of the most fun environments to go into. You come down this long tunnel and they open the curtains and the crowd is all above you and they’re crazy. You feel like everyone’s there looking at you, not like in a big, big arena, where they’re farther away. It’s a very special place for me.”
Debbie and Brentina had a big moment in 2005, when their passage down center line to the song “R-E-S-P-E-C-T”” (which is something Brentina didn’t get enough of from judges) had the audience clapping in time to the music and cheering. Although she finished third behind Dutch riders Anky van Grunsven with Salinero and Edward Gal on Lingh, Brentina and Debbie definitely won the hearts of the fans.
Debbie McDonald was jubilant after her freestyle on Brentina in the 2005 World Cup final, and the crowd shared her enthusiasm. (Photo © 2005 by Nancy Jaffer)
That was among so many special moments I enjoyed during the time I spent at Thomas & Mack over the years.
The 2009 jumping final was memorable, with U.S. favorites McLain Ward and Sapphire just missing the title as Meredith Michaels Beerbaum took her third Cup title on Shutterfly for Germany. Steffen Peters’ dressage victory on Ravel the same year struck a chord, the first time a U.S. rider had earned the honor in the USA. (Debbie won the 2003 dressage Cup two months after the competition, in which the original victor was disqualified when her horse tested positive for a prohibited substance.)
Riding Shutterfly, Meredith Michaels Beerbaum won her third FEI World Cup final in 2009 in Vegas. Photo © 2009 by Nancy Jaffer
Steffen was eager to try again for that title this year with Suppenkasper after 11 victories in Florida this winter, inspired by mental images of his 2009 win, but that just was not to be.
What I will remember most about 2009, however, was Brentina’s emotional retirement ceremony with theThomas family and Debbie’s husband, Bob on hand in the arena. Debbie (and many of the rest of us) couldn’t hold back tears as she and Brentina left the ring, with the mare gracefully passaging her way toward the exit.
“That proved to me that she really loved what she did,” said Debbie.
Debbie McDonald with her husband, Bob; Peggy, Jane and Parry Thomas, as Brentina was retired during the 2009 FEI World Cup final. (Photo © 2009 by Nancy Jaffer)
The 2015 finals was interesting in that the audience for dressage outdrew show jumping, even as Steve Guerdat won a nailbiter over Penelope LeProvost and teenage Bertram Allen. The previous night, the crowd of 11,000 offered a heartfelt standing ovation after watching Charlotte and the magical Valegro win the freestyle with a score of 94.196 percent.
Charlotte Dujardin and the great Valegro captured hearts along with the FEI Reem Acra World Cup title in 2015. Photo © 2015 by Nancy Jaffer
We couldn’t wait to come back. Vegas was supposed to get the 2018 Cup finals, but a problem with the space for dressage judges around the arena scuttled that plan.
A $70 million renovation had fixed the problem and updated the building, which was to offer a luxe VIP area this month. The entertainment was scheduled to be more sophisticated than in past years, with a rock band starting off the show and not an Elvis or a showgirl in sight. We were promised lots more surprises. But then came the pandemic. It’s likely we’ll see the Cups in Vegas again in 2025, but that’s a long time to wait. Too long for this special venue.
On the other hand, the Cups will be back in the U.S. before then, coming to Omaha in 2023 to reprise their 2017 initial appearance in Nebraska. Let’s hope the pandemic is over by then…
