by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 27, 2023
Take a look at how British champion gymnast Joe Fraser takes a unique approach to checking out the cross-country course for the Defender Burghley 5-star in England.
His unorthodox approach without a horse may not be within the rules of competition (ya think?) but it certainly is entertaining. Just go ahead and click on this link to see how he did it.
Joe’s effort provides a whole new perspective on the route designed by Derek di Grazia that will be a test for horse and rider combinations attempting what many consider the world’s toughest 5-star. However, we don’t want to see them doing any handstands (hoofstands?), right?
The event runs Aug. 31-Sept. 3. For more info, click here.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 27, 2023
How is the U.S. pipeline working to supply top dressage horses for future international competition?
A good barometer could be found during the USEF National Dressage Championships at the Lamplight Equestrian Center over the last seven days, where a wide range of talent–much of it on the rise–was showcased.
Look at our cover story on I-1 champion Christian Simonson and Son of a Lady (or click on this link) to see someone who’s just waiting in the wings to eventually make a senior team.
And in the Markel/USEF Developing Horse Prix St. Georges Dressage National Championship, the title went to Sonnenberg’s Jersey, guided by the best finisher in the 2021 Olympics, Sabine Schut Kery. She is bringing along this 9-year-old Dutch warmblood now that her Games campaigner, Sanceo, is retired.
“It’s a really young, new partnership,” said Sabine, who has only been working with the gelding for three months.
“Just doing this, coming here, speaks volumes. I would rate him a 15 for his character, and rideability, too. He obviously had good training before, and he’s super talented.”
Sabine also had the seven-year-old champion, Sandi Mancini’s Dutch warmblood, Gorgeous Latino.
Sabine Schut Kery and Sonnenberg’s Jersey. (Photo by Leslie Potter/U.S. Equestrian)
“I’m just thrilled with my two stallions, having them come here and do so well. I don’t know what more I could ask,” Sabine said.
Talking about Jersey, she noted, “He’s super fun to ride. I love his gaits, and I look forward to the future.”
And what will that be?
“I want to give him a good break on our beautiful grass pastures, and then see and go to the next step,” she said.
So many riders at the show in Illinois demonstrated potential with their horses that will be realized not too far down the road.
To name just one more, the Adequan®/USEF Young Adult Brentina Cup Dressage National Championship went for the second year in a row to Quinn Iverson with Bille Davidson’s 14-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Beckham 19.
Brentina, the namesake of the award, was the storied mount of Debbie McDonald, a former U.S. dressage technical advisor. She is the mentor of Olympic medalist Adrienne Lyle, who in turn has coached Christian and Quinn. That’s quite a family tree!
Quinn and Beckham keep improving.
“In the past,” Quinn said, “We’ve had lots of bobbles here and there, and we’re finally starting to smooth it out, and I’m glad that we could show things that we’ve learned since last year.”
In the Neue Schule/USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship, it wasn’t quite a sweep for Codi Harrison and her own Katholt’s Bossco, but she wound up with the tricolor anyway.
National Grand Prix champs Codi Harrison and Katholt’s Bossco. (Photo by Leslie Potter /U.S. Equestrian)
After Codi took the Grand Prix and the Special earlier in the week, the Saturday freestyle went to Lehua Custer and Wendy Sasser’s F.J. Ramzes on 76.350 percent, with World Championships veteran Katie Duerhammer and Kylee Lourie’s Paxton taking the runner-up spot in their dance to music on 75.775.
But a mark of 75.675 percent for third place was good enough to boost Codi and Bossco, a 16-year-old Danish warmblood, to the overall honors when added to their previous scores.
“He was great,” said Codi.
“I had a mistake in the twos, but other than that, he was right with me the whole way. The ones felt great. This drop in temperature helped him. He did great in the heat, but it was nice today to just be able to kind of sit back and relax and he took me around.”
Click here for full results
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 23, 2023
The U.S. eventing team for this autumn’s Pan American Games in Chile includes a mixture of experience and rising stars.
Named to the squad are Sydney Elliott and QC Diamantaire; 2022 world championships veteran Liz Halliday and Miks Master C, third at Land Rover Kentucky last spring; Caroline Pamukcu with HSH Blake and
Sharon White and Claus 63. Liz’s direct reserve is Cooley Nutcracker, in case Miks Master C is unable to compete.
Tamie Smith, also a 2022 world championships team member, and Kynan are the traveling reserves.
The U.S. qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics last year with a silver medal at the world championships. So a bit of the pressure is off for the Pan Ams, enabling several combinations to get their first international championship mileage without having to worry about qualifying for Paris.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 22, 2023
Should there be a limit on how many times a horse can compete at each show?
It’s a question that often comes up during the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s Town Hall forums, as it did again on Monday night.
“Each barn, each trainer, each owner is going to have their own standard of how much is too much for their horse, but I don’t think it’s a bad idea to at least get a loose idea of what that actually looks like,” observed the moderator, USHJA President Mary Knowlton.
It is impossible to address the issue with a definite number. As one commenter noted, three classes over cross-rails is very different from three classes at 1.45 meters.
But problems can arise when one horse is being shared by several different riders, perhaps as an effort to cut costs.
Mary asked, “Is it okay to do 12 cross-rail classes, six cross-rail classes? Where is the line between horse welfare and being big brother? What is enough? Do we write a rule for that?
As always, the concern is not only safety, but also how horse sports will be perceived, especially in the age of cellphone videos when the public (most of whom likely have no horse knowledge) can record what is happening, which then can spread like wildfire.
“Social license to operate is a real thing, a thing by which our beloved sport could be no more. It’s something we’ve got to face up to,” Mary warned.
As German magazine editor Jan Tonjes, president of the International Alliance of Equestrian Journalists pointed out in a recent interview in The Horse, “In general we need to communicate better that this welfare of the horse is paramount, is really more than just another sentence,”
An anonymous caller to the town hall asked, “Do people put horses first? Is their welfare number one? Answering that is step one, an important but not easy one to address.”
Lucie McKinney, a judge, pointed out, “One of the issues with horse welfare is bravery.”
Mary agreed, “Silence equals complicity.” She added how wrong it is to “just turn a blind eye to it.”
Lucie gave the example of how she spotted a horse who was competing that wouldn’t pick up the right lead, a sign of being sore. She called the steward over and noted that horse “did not get to show again in my ring.”
Another key topic is the new rule that will make it mandatory for every horse that is schooling or being longed at the showgrounds to wear a number for identification.
Steward Bev Bedard called it, “a rule that is going to be difficult for some people.”
There are many reasons why the rule is needed, but as Bev pointed out, when the question is, “Who is that person lying on the ground and the horse running free dragging a longe line,” the number will hold the answer.
Mary, however, is “fairly certain big barns will send out grooms to longe with random numbers,” and Bev suspects that is true. She’s just hoping “the rule will be respected and people will step up and do what they’re supposed to do.”
It was also suggested that if a groom is longeing a horse and doing something he shouldn’t be doing (such as having a bag on the end of the longe whip), the best thing to do, rather than speaking to the groom, may be to speak to the trainer with a request to address it.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 23, 2023
Richard Picken always wanted to help. He was a friend and trainer to many top riders before he died of cancer in August 2022 at the age of 53. He enjoyed coaching young riders and training inexperienced horses as much as he thrived under the pressure of an international championship.
Richard Picken
Remembering all he did and what he stood for, those who loved him have established in his memory the Richard Picken Memorial Grants from the Fund of the same name. The funds will go toward the intensive training of riders 25 years and younger.
Grants of $5,000 will be awarded annually to one candidate competing at the FEI CCI2* level or higher. Applicants must offer two written references, an estimation of their performance strengths and weaknesses with notable focus on show jumping; a video of a recent show jumping round from a licensed USEF competition, a description of the trainer with whom they would work and how they would spend the grant funds.
Click here for an application. The deadline is Oct. 15. The grant announcement will made at the U.S. Eventing Association annual meeting.
For additional information contact USEA CEO Rob Burk.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 17, 2023
The Horse Protection Act, passed in 1970, is in need of a thorough review. It was intended to end soring, a practice that has been all too common with Tennessee Walking Horses and a few other breeds.
A fatal error enabled the industry to police itself by training its own inspectors to examine horses for soring at shows and sales. Is it a surprise that this system has been replete with conflicts of interest?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture revealed that from 2018-2020, USDA inspectors found violations at a 403 percent rate higher than industry inspectors, who obviously turned a blind eye to soring.
In response to a 2010 audit report by the USDA Inspector General that called the self-policing scheme a failure and said it should be abolished, the agency pledged to replace industry self-policing with a team of USDA-licensed and trained inspectors and announced final regulations to do so in 2017.
These regulations were withdrawn by a new administration. USDA was sued by the Humane Society of the U.S., arguing that the agency failed to undertake the proper procedures for withdrawing a rule that had been finalized. The federal Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed, meaning that the USDA must take action to fix its error.
So USDA is again proposing to amend its regulations by eliminating the industry-run enforcement system, and instead is assigning sole responsibility to its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to screen, train and authorize inspectors. The agency also proposes to disallow the use of devices and substances that are integral to soring, and to make other needed reforms. This step would reaffirm the federal government’s commitment to preventing the cruel practice of soring.
Ending horse soring is broadly supported by Congress. The Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act would codify key elements of the 2017 HPA rule, including eliminating the failed industry self-policing system and use of devices integral to soring.
The legislation has twice been passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the House and has been consistently co-sponsored by a majority of the Senate going back to 2014. Since the USDA itself could accomplish much of what the PAST Act aims to achieve, Congress has also expressed support for upgraded regulations, through appropriations language calling for the swift proposal, finalization and publication of the new final rule.
A new HPA rule is on the horizon with provisions of the 2017 rule included. Specifically, this includes the prohibition of the use of action devices on any Tennessee walking or racking horse, and an end to the industry self-policing system.
HSUS hopes the final rule expands the prohibition on action devices, to include weighted shoes for Tennessee walking and racking horses of all ages and expands the ban on the use of all prohibited devices to include Spotted Saddle Horses, who are also victims of soring.
There is no excuse for this practice. Let’s hope we’ll see the end of it soon.
