by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 21, 2023
Air vests, once most commonly associated with eventers, have gotten more popular with hunter/ jumper riders over the last few years.
While it may seem like a good safety measure to wear one, the truth is that there hasn’t been sufficient research to determine how much protection they offer and set safety standards for their use.
Eventers are required to wear hard body protectors under their air vests on cross-country. There already are safety standards in place for body protectors.
Hunter/jumper riders just wear the air vests, which unlike the body protectors, do not change their body profile–a look that is important to them. The vests fit nicely over a regular show coat and are attached to the saddle via an unobtrusive lanyard. When the rider parts company with a horse, the lanyard detaches and activates the vest’s trigger mechanism, releasing Co2 to inflate the vest before the body hits the ground.
But there’s a great deal that isn’t known about the effectiveness of air vests operating on their own, without body protectors beneath them.
There’s a lot to take into consideration when calculating the protective value of air vests for riders.
The U.S. Hunter Jumper Association is launching an extensive program of testing the air vests at Virginia Tech, which previously came up with the star rating program for evaluating helmet safety. USHJA has pledged $100,000 toward the research, which will cost a total of $825,000 and cannot begin until $450,000 is raised. Those who wish to contribute can go to this link.
On Tuesday night, USHJA presented an informational webinar with Drs. Stefan Duma and Barry Miller from Virginia Tech. It was hosted by Joe Dotoli, the USHJA’s safety committee chairman.
There are a lot of questions to be answered, from the extent of the thoracic protection offered by the vests, with and without body protectors, as to whether they also may help prevent some head injuries.
One problem mentioned is the prospect that if someone falls from their horse and the vest doesn’t deploy, the Co2 canister used to inflate the vest could prove a danger to the rider’s ribs.
Another downside is the concern that the popping sound of the vest being deployed could spook a rider’s horse or other horses in the vicinity. Companies that make vests are working on making the noise go away, but achieving it “will be a challenge.” The vests started as protection for motorcycle riders, Joe pointed out, and the cycles (of course) didn’t care about a popping noise.
Listeners to the webinar wondered whether wearing an air vest could become a rule, the way helmets did at the beginning of this century. But Joe noted at that time, the U.S. Equestrian Federation “had a good standard from ASTM (The American Society for Testing and Materials) on the helmets.”
Air vests (the black garment over the red coat) are gaining popularity with hunter/jumper riders, despite the fact that more information about their effectiveness is needed. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
To find a standard for the vests, “we don’t know until we do the science,” he explained. The study is expected to take two years after it gets under way. The sooner the money is raised, the sooner that will happen.
One of the goals of the work is to “test and rate the biomechanical performance of equestrian chest protection systems.”
Once manufacturers have information from the study, “they can design vests around the research,” Joe said.
The researchers would like to get any videos that might help them in their work. If you have something like that, send it to bmiller21@vt.edu .
A concern expressed during the webinar is whether the vest can protect someone whose horse falls on top of them. It requires a body protector for an effort to reduce the severity of crush injuries, though it is not always effective against such a traumatic accident.
Joe noted that “eventing falls have been so devastating with rotational falls.” He explained that type of fall doesn’t tend to happen in hunter/jumper competition because of breakaway cups and rails that tumble easily in those classes, while eventing involves many more solid obstacles cross-country.
USHJA webinars have aired on a number of topics. Next up on Monday June 26 at 7 p.m. is a Town Hall on the grassroots of the industry.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 4, 2023
Falls of horse and of rider in competition will be reported in the class results of every U.S. Equestrian Federation competition beginning Dec. 1, the organization has decided, calling the procedure “a safety and welfare measure.”
In what can only be called a statement of the obvious, USEF explained, “It is well known that minimizing the occurrence of horse and rider falls decreases the risk of injury to participants and our equine partners in competition. To inform change, evaluate risk, and implement risk mitigation strategies in our sport, accurate data pertaining to falls is needed.”
Horse falls will be reported as ‘HF’ in the competition results and rider falls will be reported as ‘RF’. This requirement will be for all licensed breeds and disciplines, excluding eventing. For eventing competitions horse falls will continue to be reported as ‘MR’ (standing for mandatory retirement), and rider falls will continue to be reported as ‘RF’.
General Rule 122 defines the fall of a rider or a horse in competition this way: “A rider is considered to have fallen when they are separated from their horse, that has not fallen, in such a way as to necessitate remounting or vaulting into the saddle. A horse is considered to have fallen when the shoulder and haunch on the same side have touched the ground or an obstacle and the ground.”
It will be interesting to see what having accurate numbers available will do in terms of preventing falls.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 2, 2023
McLain Ward, who was hoping to be only the second person to win the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping, had two of the first three fences down today in the Rolex Grand Prix at the Aachen horse show in Germany and retired from the class.
McLain Ward retired from the Rolex Grand Prix after two fences down in the first three at Aachen.
He was aboard HH Azur, on whom he won the first two legs of the Grand Slam in Geneva and at the Dutch Masters. But with no chance of making the cut to be in the top 18 for the second round this afternoon, there wasn’t any point in continuing in the class with the mare who had given him so much over the years.
Obviously, he was disappointed.
“You certainly come with high hopes,” he pointed out.
A victory would have meant 1,500,000 Euros, a combination of the prize money an a bonus that has been won just once before, in 2015 by British rider Scott Brash. But even more important, it would have captured his “white whale,” a victory that has eluded him in this most prestigious of grands prix.
It seemed HH Azur, at 17, just wasn’t up to the challenge at this point in her life.
“We really thought she was going to retire a couple of years ago. She’s had this kind of rebirth the last 18 months. It has been just this incredible ride,” he mused.
“I knew it was going to come to an end somewhere, and maybe I didn’t just quite believe enough today.”
He added, “I knew we were kind of on the last gasp and she always just seems to be able to pull something magical out. I probably didn’t ride her also 100 percent like I believed she had all the energy to do it. It’s disappointing, but I don’t think it takes away anything from her incredible career and what a partner she’s been.”
What’s next? He’s thinking about the Paris Olympics next year.
“You move forward. We have some exciting young horses coming up.”
Meanwhile, he’s grateful for his partnership with the mare, whom he fondly calls Annie.
“I said to my daughter when she was crying today, we’re only the second person that’s ever been in this position and we’ll continue to fight on and be proud of the work we’ve done,” McLain noted.
Now the mare is ready for the next stage of her life.
McLain and HH Azur on their way to the World Cup title in 2017. (Photo © 2017 by Nancy Jaffer)
“I think Annie means a lot to the entire equestrian community, the fans of show jumping and particularly the U.S. She really is a queen. We’re all very grateful to be in Annie’s life and she’s going to have a wonderful retirement and probably a few more babies,” McLain concluded.
Later in the day, McLain wrote this letter to Annie and put it on his Facebook page:
I knew this day would come, but somehow you always were able to reach deep inside and achieve greatness time and time again.
We all know there comes a time when your mind and body disagree but it is still hard to let go. You have given all of us so much but it’s time to say goodbye to our sport and retire in good health.
I knew from our beginning you were better than me and that it would take every bit of my ability to not let you down. Your wings carried all of us whose lives you have touched on an incredible journey that is the epitome of why we seek such lofty goals and pursue them with such passion.
You are the very definition of a queen. It was a privilege to have been the one to ride on your wings, to be your partner and to be part of your life.
A special thank you to Lee, Erica, Virginie, Kirstie, the Mathy family, the Harrison family and all of our incredible team. I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in Annie and my journey. Without each and every one of you, the story we’ve written would not have been possible. I’m forever grateful for your contributions and I have no doubt Annie has touched your life in a positive way as she has everyone’s.
Happy retirement, my Queen.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 2, 2023
The Paris theme of TSF Dalera BB’s freestyle music made its usual memorable impression today at Aachen, as Jessica von Bredow-Werndl completed her sweep of the Grand Prix dressage competition.
After her final salute, Jessica hugged her mare’s neck as the fans stood and cheered. In turn, she waved, and wiped away tears.
“I was very emotional, as everyone could see,” pointed out the German Olympic gold medalist and FEI World Cup Finals champion.
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera BB.
“It is because of this incredible mare. She leaves her heart in there for me. It is the arena that affects me, it such a pleasure to perform there and she always listens to me. Yesterday, I had big mistakes because I made the wrong decisions.
“Today I didn’t take any wrong decisions, so we had no mistakes, because she just listens to me,” she said.
Jessica and the Trakehner mare were rewarded with a score of 90.820, which may well go higher if she does the same music-appropriate performance at the Paris Olympics next year.
Second place went to Nanna Skodborg Merrald of Denmark with Blue Hors Zepter her World Cup runner-up (to Dalera). The judges awarded 88.730 percent for the combination’s best-ever freestyle result to-date. Aachen was only the pair’s fourth competition together.
Like Dalera, Nanna said, Zepter is a horse that has “a big heart and always want to fight for you. I now just have to figure out how much I can ask of him and what is too much. I actually found some new buttons here in Aachen. No, I don’t think we have reached the limit in his potential yet.“
Third place went to a rider from Aachen’s partner country, Great Britain. That was Charlotte Dujardin with Imhotep. She once set a world record to the Freestyle she performed today. That was with the legendary Valegro, whose horseshoe decorates the Walk of Fame in Aachen. Her new star is nick-named Pete, and at least as younger horse he was so wild that Dujardin and her trainer, Carl Hester, decided it would be best for him to live outside 24 hours a day.
“He bucked everyone off,” revealed Charlotte. He is no longer quite as wild, but still is on grass with a friend around the clock when he is at home.
His score of 88.415 percent is a new personal record for him, and it seems inevitable that the numbers will go up.
“Pete is a very young, inexperienced horse, so I am delighted with the result. But there is more to come,” Charlotte vowed.
Fifteen riders qualified for the freestyle, but no U.S. riders were among them.
Click here for the dressage results.
Four-in-hand driving also wrapped up today. As usual, Boyd Exell of Australia, world number one, was the winner.
For the individual driving results, click here. For the team driving results, click this link.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 28, 2023
Dressage at the Park, July 6-9 at the Horse Park of New Jersey, will have 1- and 2-star FEI competition this year in addition to national classes. It offers nine qualifiers for various championships as well.
Those trying to qualify for the Pan American Games in Chile this autumn will have their last chance to get the necessary scores at the competition in Allentown, since qualifying for the Small Tour (the Pan Am teams combine Small and Big Tour riders) ends on July 9, the final day of the show.
Dressage at the Park always attracts a nice group of horses and riders.
But there will be more to enjoy than just the competition during the show.
On the Saturday, July 8 during the lunch break, kids pf any age will be able to participate in a matchy/matchy parade, whether they want to wear costumes themselves, dress up their ponies or use stick horses or Breyer horses. They can do whatever they like with color coordination to make them feel like little dressage queens and kings.
There are several divisions, including a leadline (only necessary for real ponies, not the stick horses!) The ponies, if not already entered at the show, must be entered with a signed liability waiver, a negative Coggins test and vaccination records. Click here for the entry blank and more information.
Participants are asked to raise money any way they like, through donations or a lemonade stand, perhaps. The proceeds go to Philadelphia’s Work to Ride program, a nonprofit community-based prevention program that aids under-resourced urban youth through constructive activities centered on horsemanship, equestrian sports and education.
Dr. Carey Williams of Rutgers university will offer a free seminar on equine nutrition in the pavilion at the park on that Saturday. Later in the afternoon, about 3 p.m., New Jersey dressage rider Alice Tarjan–who will just have returned from competing at the Aachen show in Germany–will be signing autographs and doing a Q and A during a party open to all.
“We’re excited to have her come,” said Jennifer Bateman, a member of the show committee.
The free events are something everyone can enjoy, whether they’re riding or not. And there is no admission charge to attend the show.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 26, 2023
Two saddlebreds at the Virginia Horse Center for the Shenandoah Classic competition tested positive for Equine Herpesivrus-1(EHV-1) last week. Both were taken to a veterinary clinic where one was euthanized and the other was stable after receiving medical care.
Approximately 80 horses were under quarantine after being stabled in the same barn as the two positive horses at the Lexington, Va., facility. They were prohibited from competition and were placed in isolation by the State Veterinarian’s Office of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Each was monitored twice daily for fever (temperature over 101.50° F) and other clinical signs.
None of the 80 quarantined horses remained on the grounds after Sunday, June 25. Starting June 26, the State Veterinarian’s office put a special team on the grounds, disinfecting every stall and grounds equipment such as Bobcats, tractors, muck buckets, rakes, etc. Dr. Abby Sage has stated that after June 26, the Virginia Horse Center will have the “safest stalls in the country”.
Glenn Petty, horse center CEO stated “The Virginia Horse Center cannot state enough how appreciative we are for the professional and common sense leadership of Dr. Abby Sage and Dr. Tabitha Moore, State Veterinarian’s office; Dr. Ginger Reagan, show veterinarian; Dr. Hugh Behling, Kalarama Farm veterinarian; Dr. Katie Flynn, USEF BioSecurity Veterinarian; and R H Bennett, show manager.
“We had a great team and thoughtful management of the situation worked. Also, the trainers and exhibitors could not have been more supportive and cooperative. At the end of the large trainer meeting, the team was given a round of applause for the handling of this situation.”
Moving onto the grounds this week will be the Arabian Horse Association Region 15 and 16 Championship and the Vaulting Region IX Championship. The House Mountain Hunter Jumper Show scheduled for this week has been moved to July 18-19.
For more information on EHV-1 or the latest on disease outbreaks visit https://equinediseasecc.org/.
