by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 3, 2022
Organized gambling on show jumping has been discussed for years, and got some consideration after the FEI World Cup finals first came to betting-centric Las Vegas in 2000. But now it has become reality via several websites, and the U.S. Equestrian Federation is taking it seriously.
It may not seem to be a widespread activity, but there are new platforms for horse show competition that are like fantasy competition for football or basketball.
Lucy Davis, a member of the USA’s medal-winning show jumping team in the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games and 2016 Olympics, has developed a site called www.prixview.com, for instance. There are a few other sites out there as well that enable you to wager on certain FEI classes, both in the U.S, and abroad. In last august, the big games include the Global Champions Tour’s London fixture and the Dublin Horse Show. The types of wagering include match-ups and over/under.
PrixView also offers analysis, similar to what EquiRatings does for eventing. Information may be presented on average faults and the knockdowns at the most challenging fences.
A policy adopted by the USEF board that goes into effect Dec. 1 was implemented as a reaction to the growing popularity of fantasy games and betting on equestrian sport. The idea is to mitigate risks that could compromise the integrity and essence of sport.
Under the policy, all competition manipulation is strictly prohibited. Violations include, but are not limited to, a participant in a competition betting money or items of monetary value on the competition; improper use of insider information by participants, whether they use the information themselves or disclose it to an outside person or entity, and giving and/or receiving a benefit in exchange for inside information, whether or not the inside information is actually exchanged.
Other violations include fixing a competition or encouraging another participant to do so or failing to cooperate with a USEF investigation. Those who must comply include not only athletes, but also their support personnel, owner shareholders or interested parties in a horse in a competition officials and volunteers. The FEI also has its own code of conduct in this regard.
Don’t be looking to put your money down on the BetMGM site in New Jersey, however. While you can wager on such relatively obscure sports as table tennis, darts and snooker, a search for show jumping doesn’t yield anything.
The USEF announced this month it is seeking not only to prevent manipulation of the sport as it applies to gambling, but also other types of maneuvering.
Citing instances that “occasionally occur where exhibitors in a class intentionally do not perform the required gaits or movements or purposefully make a mistake (i.e., pick up the wrong lead, break gait, etc.) to ensure they are not placed high on a judge’s card,” it was reported that those situations are occurring more frequently.
The reasons for these activities range from filling a class but not winning so someone else can place higher, or allowing a certain exhibitor to get points. USEF has warned members to refrain from engaging in any activity that deliberately affects the outcome of a competitive effort through willful underperformance.
That is a violation of the USEF’s sportsmanship creed. Violation could result in an official warning, censure, fine, suspension, or other penalties.
While USEF acknowledges willful underperformance can be difficult to definitively identify and is rare, those who witness an obvious, willful, and intentional manipulation of competition should report the incident to USEF by emailing disputes@USEF.org.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 12, 2022
It was an FEI world championships show jumping team medal finals to make your head spin, with reversals of fortune aplenty during this evening in Herning, Denmark.
But there were two things that didn’t change.
The Olympic champion Swedes, who had taken control of the leaderboard at the Agria title meet from the beginning, refused to give up their claim on the gold medal, though the silver and bronze were up for grabs until the end.
The sign says it all.
And the other thing? U.S. fortunes failed to improve. The country had only two people riding today, going for individual honors, as the team stood 11th yesterday, one place away from qualifying for the medal round.
McLain Ward, who has contributed to so many team medals, bowed out midway through the course after dropping three rails with Contagious. And Brian Moggre, at 21 the youngest competitor in the championships, had to cope when his mount, Balou du Reventon, reared several times approaching the fourth fence, topped by a plank.
Brian didn’t give up and continued the course as his horse shook off the momentary confusion and jumped the rest of the difficult route. He finished 52d in his first world championships.
Brian Moggre and Balou du Reventon. (Photo courtesy U.S. Equestrian)
“I don’t know what he saw,” said Brian of his stallion.
“We came out of the corner and the fences come up fast and something happened. Show jumping is such an unpredictable sport. I think the first three fences, I might have put a little bit too much pressure on him, thinking about the time allowed, and came around to fence four and in that turn, he didn’t like so much pressure, and there was a miscommunication. But after that he just jumped incredible,” Brian continued, unfazed by what happened.
“I’d go as far to say it felt like one of the best rounds he’s ever jumped after that, so I was pleased that he finished well and we had a nice ending to the course and the week.”
McLain acknowledged it was “a rough week, but we will survive.”
He retired with Contagious because “This horse has given so much over the last several seasons in making it to Tokyo last year and pulling off being a part of that (Olympic) medal-winning team, and I said afterwards that was really an incredible feat. After weeks like this, you realize truly how hard it is to win those medals.”
McLain was on the USA’s 2018 world championships team that took gold in Tryon, N.C., as was Adrienne Sternlicht, who rode Cristalline in that competition and also in Herning, where she was 68th and thus not in the top 60 that competed today. The team’s other rider, Lillie Keenan, notched her first senior championships to finish 69th with Argan de Beliard.
“It was a disappointing week of results for sure, and we can’t duck that, but the young riders who were here gained a lot of miles and that will pay back for us down the road,” contended McLain.
U.S. Coach Robert Ridland is in agreement. He always puts younger riders on the team, trying to develop them for the future. But they are usually paired with several more experienced competitors. This time, McLain was the lone ranger in that regard. Horse injuries mandated that the team evolved the way it did.
“The five horse/rider combinations we have here are the best we have. Simple as that,” said Robert. (The fifth horse was Jessica Springsteen’s RMF Zecilie, who was withdrawn after being turned down in the first horse inspection)
“Reality is, as in any sport, the ups and downs of injuries plays a role. We unfortunately had the injury bug early on and lost two of three from our silver medal (Olympic) team (Laura Kraut’s Balontinue and Jessica Springsteen’s Don Juan).
Robert noted those horses sustained relatively minor injuries and both are in work again.
“We’re going to have them back in the fold,” he said.
In the raucous, packed Stutteri Arena, where Swedish fans clad in blue and yellow chanted their support for their team, the U.S was “up against veteran teams,” most particularly Sweden, “our arch rival that we went neck and neck with in Tryon, and neck and neck with in Tokyo,” Robert said.
After chatting with Sweden’s chef d’equpe, Henrik Ankarcrona, he noted, “they did a very good job with their veteran team, keeping intact every horse/rider combination that won gold in Tokyo.”
On the other hand, Henrik told Robert, “You guys have involved the next generation of riders in all your championships over the last 10 years. I’ve got the oldest team in Europe and you have the youngest team. Come Monday, reality sets in.”
Robert mentioned, “That was an interesting perspective. His four riders, the average age is 48-49. Three of our four are in their 20s, have been tested under fire and did a great job here. We didn’t miss by much. We had to be realistic about who we are competing against. The depth and quality of the top 10 teams are something like I’ve never seen before.”
The golden oldies Swedish team collected a total of a mere 7.69 penalties, though Peder Fredricson, the man who is usually rock solid, wound up as the drop score today with the generally reliable H&M All In. But no matter. The Swedes were miles ahead of the Dutch, who claimed silver as anchor Harrie Smolders put in a clear round with Monaco N.O.P. to make the team’s total 19.31.
Great Britain’s anchor Scott Brash dropped an uncharacteristic two rails with Hello Jefferson. However Harry Charles, who had two knockdowns yesterday, came back on Romeo 88 with the squad’s only clear trip of the day, making the team total 22.66 to stay ahead of Ireland (23.15) and earn its first world championships medal in 24 years. Those four teams and fifth-place Germany are now qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which had been the USA’s goal, though there is still time to achieve that in other competitions. France, which was sixth, is automatically qualified for its home Games.
World Number One Henrik von Eckermann of Sweden on the aptly named King Edward at the weird wall. (Photo courtesy Herning 2022)
Peder proudly pointed out that his older brother, Jens, was also on the squad.
“It’s our first championship together, I think we’re going to keep doing a few more. It was a good start,” Peder said with a grin. Jens, it should be mentioned, was fault-free. Actually, he was also fault-free yesterday, as was teammate Henrik von Eckermann. Sweden was the only team to have riders fault-free on both days.
Dutch course designer Louis Konickx outdid himself with a course that twisted and turned in a serpentine pattern, requiring the utmost focus from the riders and their horses.
It had a green theme (sustainability is a big deal for these games) with a weird wingless wall as the second fence showing off a green map of the world. The standards of the final obstacle depicted wind turbines. In between were other challenges, including a vertical that stood 1.65 meters over a liverpool.
But the piece de resistance was the 13th of 14 fences, a triple combination of red rails comprising a vertical two strides from another vertical, which was one stride from an oxer, and six strides from the final fence. Few competitors came away unscathed, whether they toppled a rail or exceeded the 83-second time allowed in the process of completing the route.
Among those who had problems there was French rider Julien Epaillard, who has a reputation for speed He had no time penalties, but his mount, Caracole de la Roque, toppled both the A and B elements of the triple. That also toppled Julien from the top of the standings, where he had been situated through two rounds, putting him down to 12th on 8 penalties.
Julien was replaced in the number one spot by the world’s number one rider, Henrik von Eckermann on King Edward.
Henrik noted the arena was “more hectic today.” That affected his horse.
“The applause and the light when entering made him turn”
He added “I was really lucky on the triple” when he brushed the B element and it didn’t fall down. The World Championship is difficult, but my horse is really great.”
The world championships medalists on the podium from left: the Dutch silver medal team, the gold medal Swedish team and the bronze medal British team. (Photo courtesy FEI)
The individual final will be held on Sunday, with the top 25 competing.
Henrik has 0.58 penalties as teammate Jens Pederson stands second with Markan Cosmopolit on 2.71, followed by Belgium’s Jerome Guery on Quel Homme de Hus (3.35), world number two Markus Fuchs of Switzerland with Leone Jei (4.36), Max Kuhner, Austria, Electric Blue (4.49) and Israel’s Daniel Bluman, Ladriano Z (5.14).
Canada, which finished 10th, has one rider going Sunday. That’s Tiffany Foster with Figor, who stands 15th.
New coach Eric Lamaze the 2008 Olympic individual gold medalist, stated, “I take full responsibility for my riders not being on top of their game. They got out-ridden. Not necessarily in the skill department, but in the international mileage department. It’s not easy to jump three days in a row. They rode their hearts out yesterday and they needed to do that again today.
Tiffany Foster and Figor. (Photo by Arnd Bronkhorst)
“We started off well and our plan was good – our second day proves that – but they didn’t finish the job. That’s why we need to be in Europe as much as we can, to help them learn how to ride in a tough second round.
“We need to work on the mental part of the game. We got to the second round and some people might call that a win but that’s not what I’m about and this was not a way to finish a championship. If you get that close, you don’t let it slip away.”
Click here to see the individual standings. Click on this link to see the team medals.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 11, 2022
It was bad news for the U.S. show jumping team today at the Agria FEI World Championships, as it finished just one place out from qualifying for tomorrow’s final round of Nations Cup competition. But it gets worse.
The goal for the show jumping team in these championships, as it was for dressage, involved a high-enough finish to qualify the country for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Dressage made the cut; show jumping did not.
Ten nations will go through to the team finals at these championships in Herning, Denmark. The U.S. finished 11th this evening in the first round of the Nations Cup. When the team jumping competition presented by Helgstrand wraps up Friday evening, the five highest-placing countries in the finals will qualify for Paris.
This autumn’s Nations Cup final in Barcelona also offers a chance for a spot in Paris, but the U.S. did not qualify for that competition due to complications involving the pandemic. The 2023 edition of the final does the same, so the U.S. will try to qualify for that.
The other alternative for a Paris ticket is next year’s Pan American Games in Chile, where three slots will be available to the highest-ranking countries which did not qualify previously. So all is not lost, but there’s work to do and plans to make for an important trip to South America in 2023.
Sweden, the Tokyo Olympic gold medal squad, is at the top of the team leaderboard in Herning, to the delight of its vocal fans dressed in the country’s yellow and blue colors.
One of Sweden’s equestrian heroes, Peder Fredricson with H&M All In. (Photo courtesy FEI)
It is followed in the standings by, as one might expect, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain and Switzerland, the western European countries that often dominate the sport. But Canada also made it (nice to know a North American flag is in the mix), with Ireland and Brazil wrapping up the top 10.
“Being one spot off is tough. It didn’t go our way today,” said Lizzy Chesson, the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s managing director of show jumping,
“It was just one of those years. If you look at the record since 2014, this jumping team has had an incredible record.”
True enough. The U.S. was the defending titleist of the world championships, having won gold in its last edition in 2018.
Lizzy noted two thirds of the Tokyo Olympic silver medal team, Laura Kraut’s ride Baloutinue and Jessica Springsteen’s Don Juan, are still recovering from injuries.
“They’re going to be back,” said Lizzy, but it didn’t happen soon enough for a trip to Denmark.
That meant there wasn’t as much choice of top horse and rider combinations as usual, so less-experienced riders needed to step up.
“At this level of the sport, you can’t afford to have two top horses not in the game,” Lizzy pointed out.
“We had a younger group here that really fought hard to get it done. They tried. No one had any major disasters, it was just minor things. Our younger athletes got great experience building for the future,” she pointed out.
McLain Ward, the U.S. four-time Olympic medalist, performed as expected in the Stuttari Ask Stadium with his usual textbook clear trip on Contagious today after a rail down in the speed opener yesterday.
Noting he had a long night trying to analyze what went wrong on Wednesday, McLain switched the time of when he would jump so he could have firmer ground for his horse. And it worked.
“After the third jump, I felt he was in different form than yesterday,” McLain said.
He is 12th individually and will compete with others in the top 60 for the individual medals to be awarded on Sunday.
Brian Moggre, at 21 the youngest competitor among the 103 who started in this competition, put in an amazing clear trip yesterday on Balou du Revonton but had a rail today. He stands 26th individually. I expected nothing less than a stellar effort from Brian despite his inexperience in senior international championships, because he has distinguished himself all along the line.
The other two members of the team did not qualify for the individual medal contest, finishing 68th and 69th respectively.
Adreinne Sternlicht, a member of the 2018 world championships gold medal team anchored by McLain, had a rail and time faults yesterday with Cristalline, and two rails today.
“My plan was to ride a bit more aggressive than yesterday,” said Adrienne.
About her mare, the rider commented, “She has not been at this level for a while, but she was fantastic today. We are both getting used to the level again. She has been out with an injury, so all has been about her well-being, she is more than just a horse to me. I feel blessed having this opportunity again after four years out.”
The other team member, Lillie Keenan, had two rails today with Argan de Beliard and three penalties for going over the 86-second time allowed for the 17 jumping efforts.
“My horse jumped really well today,” commented Lillie, who like Brian, is in her first senior team championship.
“For myself, I expected him to be more green. For the team. it was not what I needed to do. Next time, I need to believe in him more. It is my first championships, and not the last, I hope.”
The highly skilled Julien Epaillard of France kept his top placing in the individual standings with Caracole de la Roque.
France’s Julien Epaillard has ranked number one two days in a row at the championships. (Photo courtesy FEI)
“My horse was so fresh this morning, so I wasn’t in 100 percent control despite a small jog and some flatwork this morning,” said Julien, who warms up his horse in a pelham bit but competes in a hackamore.
Second in the standings is Scott Brash of Great Britain with Hello Jefferson, a horse on which he has spent a lot of time, being patient to develop a partner he can trust. The class took six hours to run, including breaks, as he pointed out.
“It’s quite a long time. We walked the course at midday, and, to remember what I walked at the end, you watch a lot of different horses and riders and they have bigger strides and smaller strides, but then you have to remember that the way you walked is focused on what suits your horse, so you have to remember that plan.”
He characterized his horse as, “a bit sharper today, a bit more tense, not just as smooth as yesterday, I didn’t think, but he was jumping great and I think he’ll be good tomorrow.”
Peder Fredricson, a pillar of the Swedish team, was fault-free on H&M All In and stands third.“I had a good plan after the course walk and I kept it,” said Peder, whose brother, Jens, number 10 in the rankings, also was fault-free with Markan Cosmopolit.
“When I am in there, I have to get the feeling of my horse and have the highest focus on the task,” Peder commented.
“I really have to concentrate the whole time and take one thing at a time. Jens and I had the same plan. He did seven strides to (fence) eight I kept the plan and did six. Our team spirit is great, and we are there for each other. Everything can happen and we have to take 1 day at a time and really do the best we possibly can. Tomorrow will be a long day.”
World number one Henrik von Eckermann of Sweden is fourth with King Edward, while the only woman among the top 17, Tiffany Foster, couldn’t talk enough about her ride, Figor.
Tiffany Foster and Figor.
“My horse is a bit sensitive and tends to get stressed, so it could go either way, but he was so cool in this atmosphere with the audience close by. He saved me on fence number four, after that I thought ‘Let’s do this for him’ and went for it. With a double clear, this is the first time on this level I dare to think we might have a shot against the big names.”
Every rider in the first five is carrying less than one penalty.
It was nice to see some competitors who are not big names and don’t come from show jumping powerhouse countries distinguish themselves. One was Roger Chammas of Lebanon, who missed the cut for the individual competition by finishing 62d. He had just a single time penalty this afternoon for a memorable round on Humphrey G today, and I was impressed.
“Today was just amazing,” he agreed.
“Yesterday, we had a tough time because it’s the first time on the course, and it is the first time my horse competes at this level,” said Roger, who had three knockdowns.
“I wanted to do good, and the horse is ready for it so I know the result will be good if I ride properly.” And that’s how he left the poles in place today.
It certainly wasn’t easy. Dutch courses designer Louis Konickx upped the ante without making the route too hard. He had varying levels of riders competing, and the challenges were appropriate.
Brian Moggre and a view of the “houses.”
He didn’t overdecorate the interesting fences, which had a bit of local color. The next-to-last obstacle was flanked by statues of legendary Danish writer Hans Christian Anderson and one of his creations, the little mermaid.
From the 4-meter water jump, it was eight strides to Hans Christian and then five to the final vertical (though a few ambitious riders with long-strided horses did it in four). That segment at the end had plenty of heart-breaker knockdowns.
Another interesting fence featured mischievous Danish trolls. The focal point of the ring, though, had to be the triple combination, two strides from an oxer to a vertical and one stride to another vertical. There was an expression I used to hear from riders walking a course when they saw big fences—“They’ve built houses out there,” and so it was with the triple. Really. The first part had houses as its standards, the B element had two lighthouses on either side and the C element repeated the houses.
For team standings, click here. For individual standings, click this link
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 10, 2022
Brian Moggre, only 21 and riding in his first international senior championships, made his mark as the top American finisher today in the Ecco FEI World Championships, not far behind some of the greatest names in the sport of show jumping.
The results of the speed class that kicked off four days of the discipline in Herning, Denmark, are led by distinguished French rider Julien Epaillard, 45. He was clocked in 79.48 seconds on Caracole de la Roque over the course of 17 jumping efforts designed by Louis Konickx of the Netherlands, under a format that adds 4 seconds for each knockdown.
“I had a good start and my horse felt relaxed today. I had my plan and followed it,” Julien said after his ride.
Commenting about his horse, he noted, “She jumps everything with a great scope but can sometimes react to the public.”
Julien Epaillard of France and Caracol de la Roque at the triple bar.
Even so, the rider who is ranked number nine in the world was able to keep everything under control with his mare, who is shoeless like the Swedish horses that excelled in the Tokyo Olympics.
Julien has 402 wins in 3,431 starts, and is known for his ability to ride fast, as demonstrated this morning. He has won gold, silver and bronze medals in both the Olympics and previous world championships.
In contrast, Brian has 27 victories in 404 starts, which have never included a competition on the magnitude of this one. But his performance did not reflect his lack of experience.
Riding Balou du Reventon, his fault-free round finished in 83.89 seconds. He now ranks 19th among 99 competitors, finishing 10 places ahead of U.S anchorman McLain Ward, who has four Olympic team medals and led the U.S. squad to gold in the last world championships, held in 2018 in Tryon, N.C. Brian understandably was overjoyed with his mount.
Brian Moggre and Balou du Reventon. (Photo courtesy of U.S.. Equestrian)
“He was fantastic. I am so, so happy. My plan after watching the first two riders from my team go (was) giving it a shot,” said Brian, who trains with Laura Kraut and her partner, British Olympic gold medalist Nick Skelton.
“I was going for it and to finish like this is a very great start of the weekend. My horse is such a gentle stallion outside the ring, but inside, he is such a powerhouse. He is fantastic, and has such a nice temperament.”
The first American to ride, Adrienne Sternlicht on Cristalline, had a knockdown that added 4 seconds to give her a time of 93.07. The veteran of the USA’s 2018 championships gold medal team stands 69th. Her teammate, Lillie Keenan, was fault-free but relatively slow on Argan de Beliard, 38th with a time of 87.23 seconds.
The U.S. is in ninth place on 9.6 penalties as Tokyo Olympic champs Sweden took the lead with 3.69. France is second on 5.44, even though anchor Kevin Staut had a fall when his horse looked down over an oxer. Belgium is a very close third with four strong performances and 5.49 penalties.
McLain said of his trip that included a knockdown, “It wasn’t the starting round I wanted to have, but Contagious dug in and we kept it on a good score.”
McLain Ward and Contagious. (Photo courtesy U.S. Equestrian)
Now the team faces a challenge.
“‘We have to jump some clear rounds. We’re sitting on a mediocre position…all the riders and horses are capable of it, but we certainly have to step up our game,” said McLain, who blamed a miscalculation on his part for the error in his trip. Contagious, he noted, “is afraid of everything but brave when he has to do his job.”
McLain called having mentored Adrienne and now working with Lille “an incredible source of pride.”
The course was just testing enough as a prelude to the Nations Cup that will decide the team medals tomorrow and Friday. There were faults around the course, but if you wanted to say there was a bogey fence, it was the triple bar one stride from a vertical in a double combination.
The ring is not perfectly flat, it is a bit elevated where the double stood, and that made it hard for some riders to judge the triple bar early in the going. By the end of the class, they tended to figure out what to do there. Meanwhile, a flat and narrow Longines wall, that I thought would cause problems, was handled easily by most horses.
Right behind Julian in the standings
The British, who stand fourth on 6.66 penalties, had a good day. Their two most experienced riders, Scott Brash and Ben Maher, were second and 10th respectively. Scott was on Hello Jefferson and Ben, the Olympic individual gold medalist from the Tokyo Games, left Explosion W at home and rode Faltic B instead.
“I am used to bigger horses, Faltic is smaller, but very athletic and I tried to ride as fast as I felt possible,” said Ben, who mentioned the question was deciding how much he would risk for a fast time.
Scott and Ben are the two most experienced British competitors in Herning. The other half of the team is composed of younger, up-and-coming sons of two well-known riders.
Harry Charles, who rode in the Tokyo Olympics, said Scott Brash is his idol, but he works closely with his own father, longtime team member Peter Charles. Romeo88 and Harry are 48th with a knockdown.
Joseph Stockdale, 65th on Equine America Cacherel, was a cricket player who had to make a choice whether to pursue that sport or ride full-time. He decided on the latter when his father, Tim, was dying, so he could continue working with the horse the family bought as a 3-year-old.
The rest of the top six is Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs, the world number 2, standing third with Leoni Jei, followed by Sweden’s Peter Fredericson and H&M All In. His teammate, world number one Henrik von Eckermann and King Edward, is fifth. The highest-placed North American is Canada’s Tiffany Foster with Figor, in sixth place,
Click here for the individual standings.
Click on this link for team standings.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 2, 2022
Boyd Martin, a member of every world championships and Olympic team since 2010, has been named to the U.S. Land Rover eventing squad that will compete in Italy’s Pratoni del Vivaro next month at the world championships. He’ll be aboard his Tokyo Games mount, Tseterleg.
Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
Other members of the team are Will Coleman with Off the Record, winner of the 4-star Short at Aachen last year; Lauren Nicholson and the veteran Vermiculus; Ariel Grald (Master Plan), and Tamie Smith (Mai Baum).
Will has a direct reserve, Dondante, in case Off the Record is unable to run. Phllip Dutton, the individual bronze medalist at the 2016 Olympics and long a pillar of the team, is traveling reserve with Z.
He is also on the list of alternates with Sea of Clouds, the only off-the-track thoroughbred in the group. Other alternates are Jennie Brannigan (FE Lifestyle), Boyd with Federman B, Buck Davidson (Carlevo), Sydney Elliott (QC Diamantaire) and Liz Halliday-Sharp (Cooley Quicksilver).
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 27, 2022
The roster of National Horse Show managers over the venerable competition’s 139-year history includes many memorable names, from Ned King and Eric Atterbury to Honey Craven, John Franzreb, David Distler and Leo Conroy, co-manager with Hugh Kincannon.
Joining the list this year is Stephanie Lightner, who brings a unique set of credentials to the job.
Stephanie, who succeeds Michael Morrissey as manager, noted “Being a woman and being asked to be in that position, it made me feel good. There aren’t too many (women) playing at that level. The times they are a-changing.”
But she was selected on the basis of her achievements, not as a symbol.
“I don’t feel like I have anything to prove,” she commented in an interview after her appointment was announced today.
“I like the opportunity to take on a challenge,” Stephanie added.
Stephanie Lightner, the new manager of the National Horse Show. (Photo courtesy of the National Horse Show)
Her background is impressive, having helmed World Cup finals in Las Vegas and serving as vice president of operations for Bleinheim EquiSports, an equestrian event management company based in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., which produces horse shows in there and in Las Vegas. U.S. show jumping coach is the president of the company.
Stephanie lives in Florida, but continues her work on the West Coast. There’s a lot on her plate, but as she said about the National, “I felt like it was one I couldn’t turn down. It was an honor to be asked. It’s a very prestigious horse show.”
She made her comments as her work for the day wrapped up at the Adequan®/USEF Junior Hunter National Championship – West under Bleinheim’s auspices.
Stephanie never visited the National during its heyday at Madison Square Garden when it was the highlight of the U.S. season, but she has worked as a steward at the show, so she has a degree of familiarity with it already.
When she was asked to manage the show, she said her first thought was of Mason Phelps, the National’s dynamic former president who died last year, and “trying to do something to make him proud.”
When she has discussions about the show, she mentioned that “If I think of anything big, I say, `What do you think Mason would think about that?’”
Though she is coming on board a bit late for the 2022 National, considering that the show gets under way in just three months at the Kentucky Horse Park, Stephanie is making sure, however, that “this first year, nothing falls through the cracks and that exhibitors are given the best show possible.”
The National Horse Show is invested in tradition, as the lineup for the ASPCA Maclay presentation signifies. Mason Phelps is in the orange jacket in the front row. (Photo © 2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
She knows everything should be properly in place, noting the group working with the show is a good one, and quite experienced.
Stephanie said she is always cautious about changes when doing something for the first time as she gains a deeper knowledge of the situation.
“I’m looking forward to going through this first year and coming out with a much better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the horse show,” she said.
An issue with the National is that it doesn’t attract the type of crowds a competition of its caliber deserves. Stephanie understands that and will be looking to eventually bringing in more spectators.
“One of the focuses toward the future is to rebrand the National with some fresh new aspects to it that maybe will stand out a little more,” she mentioned.
