by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 21, 2022
The British kept everyone waiting, but today they finally named their team for the Blue Hors FEI World Dressage Championship presented by Helgstrand, which will be held in Denmark next month.
Although Valegro is long retired, the country’s star, Charlotte Dujardin, still has plenty of horsepower. She was selected with Imhotep, a 9-year-old Dutch warmblood, partially owned by her mentor, Carl Hester, with Valegro’s groom, Alan Davies, at her side.
While Carl isn’t on the team as a rider because he didn’t have a horse available, you know he will still be active, and part of whatever success Britain enjoys in Denmark.
Charlotte also has a direct back-up in the 13-year-old stallion Everdale in case something goes wrong with Imhotep, so she’ll be a key part of the British effort. Everdale, the sire of Imhotep, was ridden by Charlotte Fry on the Tokyo Olympic bronze medal squad.
Also selected for the British squad are Gareth Hughes with Classic Briolinca (and as a direct reserve ride, Sintano Van Hof Olympia); Richard Davison (Bubblingh) and Charlotte Fry (Glamourdale ).
Britain could be a medal contender, though likely not on the scale of the Danes, who are favored, as often-dominant Germany is weaker than usual without its pregnant Olympic gold medalist, world number one Jessica Von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera BB. Sweden also looks as if it could be in for a medal. And don’t forget the USA.
Steffen Peters (Suppenkasper) and Adrienne Lyle (Salvino) were no surprise to make the Dutta Corp. U.S. dressage team for the championships. Both were on the country’s Tokyo silver medal team. Also named was Ashley Holzer (Valentine) an Olympic medalist for her native Canada before becoming an American citizen. She looked like a lock for the squad on Valentine after some impressive performances during the European tour this summer.
But newcomer Katie Duerrhammer with Quartett was a bit of a surprise, as speculation ensued about the fourth member of the squad. Katie, at 33 the youngest rider in the group, is trained by Adrienne. Debbie McDonald, Adrienne’s mentor, works with her, and Steffen as well. Steffen is the highest-ranked U.S. rider in the world, at number 19.
Alice Tarjan of Oldwick, N.J., was named alternate with the U.S.-bred Serenade MF and will train in Germany with the squad before it leaves for Denmark.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 25, 2022
A memorial service is important to the friends and family of someone who has passed away, but you can bet that Bill Ellis really would have appreciated commemoration of his life with a hunter derby.
And that’s just what he’ll get at 8 a.m. on Friday July 29 at Princeton Show Jumping’s Summer Classic in Skillman, N.J., where the $10,000 Bill Ellis Memorial/U.S. Hunter Jumper Association International Hunter Derby will be held. The international derby was Bill’s favorite class.
He was not only successful in the saddle, having won the leading rider title at such prestigious hunter/jumper shows as the National, Devon and Upperville, but he also did well on the quarter horse circuit. The trainer ran Four Winds with business partner and husband David Connors. The operation was located at Carol Stillwell’s Stillwell Stables in Colts Neck, N.J., at one time, but they also had a farm in Ocala, Fla., the area where Bill had based himself in the early 1980s.
Bill, a member of the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame, died at the age of 69 last November. He probably was best known in the 21st Century as a respected judge, having worked in that capacity for more than 30 years.
Bill Ellis in judging mode. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
Another claim to fame was his discovery of the talented thoroughbred For the Moment for his student, Lisa Jacquin. That duo went on to contribute to the U.S. team silver medal at the 1988 Olympics, in addition to winning many important competitions.
A small memorial service for Bill was held at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, but not everyone who would have liked to attend could be there.
So Kelly DeSaye came up with the idea of the class at Princeton, with Carol, Bill and David’s client, putting up $5,000 toward the purse. The derby emerged as a group effort, with the remaining $5,000 donated by Cara Garito, Kelly Moore, Dolly Hubbard, Abby Skelton, Lanie DeVoer and Peggy McNeil.
Noting Carol Stillwell was a long-time customer of the trainer, when the derby idea came up, “she thought it would be a really fun thing to honor Bill,” said Mary Knowlton, an administrator at Princeton Show Jumping and president of USHJA.
Bill was one of Mary’s mentors.
“He was a funny person, a wonderful horseman, generous with his time,” recalled Mary, who until recently ran Knightsbridge stable in Colts Neck.
When she was getting started on the big circuit with Carol Stillwell’s regular conformation hunter, Marshall, Carol sent Mary on the road with Bill. She felt it was a privilege to work with him.
“Bill, for so many of us, was a real icon,” Mary observed.
“He went too early.”
Kelly, who is known for her dedicated volunteer work with USHJA, put together the memorial derby, which is drawing such big names as Amanda Steege with Lafitte de Muze and Jeff Ayers with Cartel.
“There’s been so much support of people buying tables just to be here that day,” said Kelly, who trained with Bill the first time she went to Ocala.
“It’s very special. Everybody at the horse shows loved Bill, he was always there to help no matter what.”
Bill Ellis in the days when he was a champion rider. (Photo courtesy of David Connors)
Carol Stillwell remembers Bill’s belief that “every trainer, every individual that touched a horse had a responsibility to put that horse first. The horse’s needs always came first, that was from the very beginning.”
During the time she rode with Bill, Carol said, “I learned a lot, it was a long journey.” About 35 years, to be exact.
She remembered that despite his sense of humor, he was all business when riding was involved.
“When I started out with Bill, I was not a very disciplined person, I was very talkative,” Carol said.
She recalled that didn’t sit well with him when she was supposed to be focusing.
That was brought home to her, she recalled, the time she started to say something while jumping around a course while he was teaching.
“He called me into the middle of the ring and said, `The lesson’s over. We don’t talk during lessons. You want to talk? We talk after lessons, we talk before lessons, we don’t talk during lessons.’”
Carol can still laugh about that incident and explained, “He was a tough taskmaster. But if you’re talking, you’re not paying attention to what you’re doing. There was so much I learned from him.”
The derby, being held during Princeton’s sold-out World Champion Hunter Rider show, will begin following remarks by Carol and David Connors. Bill’s sister, Barbara Ellis, and his son, Billy Ellis, also will be on hand.
As Carol mused what Bill meant to her, she noted, ” The older I got, the smarter he got. He was such a wonderful trainer and so devoted to the horses. I miss him desperately.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 15, 2022
Only one Olympic veteran has been named to the U.S. NetJets show jumping team for the world championships in Denmark next month.
McLain Ward and Contagious will lead the way as Lillie Keenan (Argan de Beliard) and Brian Moggre (Balou du Reventon) will be making their debuts on a championship squad. Adrienne Sternlicht, a member of the 2018 gold medal world championships team, was selected with Cristalline.
McLain Ward and Contagious on their way to winning the Sapphire Grand Prix at Devon last month. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
Jessica Springsteen, 30, a teammate of McLain’s on the Tokyo silver medal Olympic squad last year when she rode Don Juan Van De Donkhoeve, will be the traveling alternate with RMF Zeclilie. She is a native of Colts Neck, N.J.
Brian, a Texan, will turn 21 Aug. 7 when he arrives in Denmark for the competition, which begins several days later on Aug. 10. In the final observation trial in the Netherlands this month, he was the only U.S. rider to turn in a clear round during the Nations Cup, where the squad finished eighth.
Lillie, 25, a New York City resident who trains with McLain, made her Nations Cup debut in 2014.
Sternlicht, 29, a Connecticut resident who previously trained with McLain, is the only team member who will be riding the same horse she was aboard in the 2018 championship. Cristalline’s best finish this year was fourth in the Sapphire Grand Prix at Devon, which McLain won with Contagious.
McLain at age 46 is very senior to his teammates and has had a stellar career. The Olympic multi-medalist from Brewster, N.Y., won the 2017 Longines FEI World Cup finals with HH Azur and took two classes with Contagious at Aachen this summer.
Show jumping is one of four world championships that will be in Herning, Denmark, this summer. The others are dressage, para-dressage and vaulting. And no, it’s not the World Equestrian Games.
The WEG began in 1990 in Stockholm as a one-off compiled of all the FEI disciplines. It went so well that it continued, some years in better style than others, through 2018 in Tryon, N.C. The very expensive and difficult to present WEG ended after Tryon.
So this year, the eventing and four-in-hand world championships will be held in Pratoni, Italy (just as was the case in the 1998 WEG based in Rome), but they’re far from the four disciplines in Denmark. Endurance will be in Verona, Italy. Reining has been dropped by the FEI so it’s no longer part of the world championships scene.
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by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 7, 2022
The Interscholastic Equestrian Association which offers competition opportunities to equestrians in grades 4-12, is adding something for adults.
During the organization’s 21st season, which begins next month, adult amateurs 21 and older can take advantage of a pilot program that provides a horse and tack, reducing the cost of being involved in competition–especially since participants don’t need to own a horse. It’s similar to the way collegiate league programs operate.
All adult riders must become members of the IEA and be associated with an IEA coach. Adult rider members will participate as individual participants only and not as part of a team. The Adult pilot program includes Hunt Seat, Western and Dressage, with three class options for each discipline.
Adult riders will not be limited to the number of competitions in which they may participate. Unlike the situation with youth riders, points will not be earned and therefore no post-season competitions will be held. Results of adult classes will be collected and posted to the IEA website throughout the regular season this year.
The Adult Pilot Program is optional for any returning IEA team. More information can be found in the IEA 2022-2023 Rulebook under Adult Pilot Program Addendum.
The IEA 2022-2023 regular competition season runs August 2022 through May 2023, depending upon discipline. Adult rider applications will be made available on the IEA website later this month on the Membership Page.
Want to know more? Contact the following IEA Adult Pilot Program Coordinators: For questions regarding competitors, coaches or membership: Jennifer Eaton – jenn@rideiea.org or call 1-877-RIDE-IEA ext 203. For show managers with questions about hosting adult classes: Emily David – emily@rideiea.org or call (814) 207-2603.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 6, 2022
Pay attention to this story, because what you do with your horse could be misinterpreted by people unfamiliar with (or even hostile to) equestrian sports. Remember that everyone has a video camera in their phone and can share their videos on line. Take time to think how others will view your interaction with your horse.
A little more than a month after a study group from the French National Assembly offered 46 recommendations toward making Paris 2024 “the Olympic Games of Equine Welfare,” the FEI has formed an independent commission that will allow it “to address current and future concerns related to the use of horses in sport.”
Several organizations noted the suggestions from the lower house of the French Parliament for the most part already are covered by FEI rules. However, some ideas of the National Assembly are worth consideration, including four-member teams for the Paris Olympics (sadly, not happening) and having the team show jumping run before the individual competition at the Games, the opposite way of how it was done in Tokyo last year.
But other suggestions include forming a committee that can roam the Olympic venue at will to check on welfare; regulation of tack (including draw reins and nosebands) and calling for all obstacles on cross-country to be designed to collapse in connection with a fall or impact.
In response to my query about how the French National Assembly’s proposal is regarded, the European Equestrian Federation said it “supports the FEI in this matter, whereby the FEI confirms that many of the recommendations proposed are already in the FEI Rules. We believe that the FEI Rules and Olympic and Paralympic Regulations and the operations are guaranteeing horse welfare at the highest level.”
The International Olympic Committee told me, “Animal welfare is of the utmost importance for the IOC. We understand the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) has had discussions with the French National Assembly and has confirmed that many of the recommendations proposed are already in the FEI Rules. The FEI is working closely with the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee to guarantee horse welfare at the highest level, operationally and in line with the FEI’s Rules and the Olympic and Paralympic Regulations.”
Even so, the FEI obviously feels the need for greater measures, saying its new commission will “develop a practical framework that will allow the International Federation to address current and future concerns related to the use of horses in sport.”
As FEI President Ingmar De Vos explained, “In our industry, Social License to Operate (SLO) is the term given to society’s acceptance of the practice of equestrian sport and all its related activities.”
There is a need to “future-proof” sports that are more than ever under public scrutiny. In making their recommendations, the French National Assembly cited incidents that marred the equestrian disciplines of the Tokyo Olympics, gaining unwanted attention from the public and media. At least one animal rights organization called for a ban of equestrian events at the Olympic Games.
The incidents mentioned were the death of a Swiss horse on cross-country, an Irish show jumper’s nosebleed and the German women’s pentathlon coach punching a horse that had refused a jump. The FEI has no influence over pentathlon; that’s not one of its sports. After 2024, show jumping will no longer be part of the pentathlon, anyway. But the situation could be improved by allowing only one rider per horse and lowering the fences, as called for in the French National Assembly suggestions..
“Equestrian sport and the FEI’s activities are more than ever under public scrutiny and through the commission, we want to embrace that scrutiny to drive change and shine the spotlight on our number one stakeholder – the horse,” said the FEI president.
“There are comprehensive systems and mechanisms in place to protect the welfare of the horse, but there is more that can be done, and more that must be done. And in an ever-changing society, where perceptions shift and norms evolve at an increasingly fast pace, the FEI must address these concerns and criticisms from society and within equestrian circles in a clear and transparent manner.”
A lot of this is public relations. You’ll remember how two-time Olympic eventing gold medalist Sir Mark Todd wound up with a suspension from British racing (he’s a racehorse trainer now) for using a branch to urge an event horse in a clinic to go into a water obstacle. He didn’t bash the horse with it, but even a gentle push looks awry to people who don’t have a knowledge of horse sports.
The FEI president sees the commission as a way “to move forward with a course of action that will strengthen equestrian’s place in society.”
The 10-person commission will be chaired by Natalie Waran, an internationally respected equine welfare expert, a professor at the Eastern Institute of Technology in New Zealand.
She is among the five members of the Commission considered as external to the FEI, with their selection based on consultation with equine welfare and veterinary groups, while the remaining five members represent the FEI and have been selected for their experience, specific area of FEI responsibility and to provide the athletes’ and officials’ viewpoint.
“By being willing to look to the horizon, and address current and future challenges in relation to equestrian sports’ Social License to Operate, as well as to view change as a force for good, the FEI and its member organizations will provide the leadership required to help future-proof equestrian sports,” she said.
The first meetings of the commission, which has yet to be formally named, will take place this month. The commission is expected to work over an initial period of 18 months, with an interim report to be presented at the FEI General Assembly in November 2022 in Cape Town (RSA), followed by a second report at the FEI Sports Forum in April 2023 and a final report/framework to be submitted for approval at the FEI General Assembly 2023 in Mexico.
Members include external experts Kathalijne Visser-Riedstra, Professor (UAS) Human-Animal Interactions at Aeres University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands; Camie Heleski, senior lecturer, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky; Madeleine Campbell, External Expert, Senior Lecturer in Human-Animal Interactions & Ethics at the Royal Veterinary College University of London and Jessica Stark, World Horse Welfare Communications & Public Affairs Director.
Others on the commission who are connected to the FEI are Theo Ploegmakers, European Equestrian Federation President and FEI Board Member; Cayetano Martínez de Irujo, Spanish jumping rider, International Jumping Riders Club; Ken Lalo, CAS Arbiter, former Chair of the FEI Tribunal, president of the Israeli Equestrian Federation; Sabrina Ibanez, FEI Secretary General, APSO President and Cesar Hirsch, FEI Judge and Steward Level 3 and President of the Pan American Equestrian Confederation (PAEC).
Ex Officio: Administrative and Logistic Support: Francisco Lima, FEI director governance & institutional affairs, Barbara Rodel, manager FEI President’s Office, top partner Longines
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 5, 2022
Six barns in Hunterdon County, N.J., will be featured on a July 24 tour sponsored by the Tewksbury, N.J., Historical Society and the Tewksbury Trail Association. The barns are an assortment of old and new, some located on working arms with animals, some left as they were and others with updated entertainment spaces.
There are only 300 tickets, which are available in advance until July 23. Ticket pickup is at society Headquarters
60 Water St., Lebanon (Mountainville), NJ 08833. Tickets run $30 for adults, $5 for children ages 11-18 and 5 each and children ages 10 and under are admitted free.
If tickets are available the day of the tour, they can be picked up at the society headquarters. If you do it that way, they run $35 each for adults and $5 for children 11-18. Children 10 and under are free.
