by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 23, 2021
The clock is ticking down to the big day and you’re still looking for gifts. An easy solution for horse lovers on your list involves tickets to major 2022 equestrian competitions, which are just a click away.
After a two-year absence, Toronto’s Royal Winter Fair is set for celebrating its 100th anniversary in November. If you haven’t been, now’s your chance. It’s a combo of Canadian agriculture (maple syrup, of course; cheeses, fish, meat, etc.), lots of shopping and international equestrian sport. This is an opportunity to celebrate 100 years of agricultural and equine excellence in an amazing 1 million-square-foot setting. Here is a link to tickets in the pre-sale window.
Elegant four-in-hand competition is just one of the many equestrian facets of the Royal that will impress. (Photo © 2015 by Nancy Jaffer)
And it’s not too early to delight someone on your list with admission to April’s Land Rover Kentucky 5-star three-day event, which also will host a separate show jumping competition. Here is a link, and be aware that buying early involves a financial advantage.
Be a part of the in-crowd while you see the stars at the Kentucky Horse Park during the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event. (Photo © 2018 by Nancy Jaffer)
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 3, 2021
Carriage drivers will have their own fun fall outing at the Horse Park of New Jersey with the debut of the Reindeer Run Dec. 5. The new event will be a joint venture between the park and the Monmouth County Hunt.
In the past, the park’s Nov. 21 Turkey Trot, run in conjunction with the Eastern States Dressage and Combined Training Association, was open to both riders and drivers. That got a little complicated and limited opportunities for the drivers, however.
Diane Sigafoos, a Horse Park board member who is organizing the Reindeer Run with another park trustee, Christine Odegaard, explained some riders in the Turkey Trot were concerned their horses could be spooked by the carriages. Because of that, laying out separate routes that never crossed each other for the two groups got complicated, and limited the length of the drivers’ trails.
The solution suddenly became obvious: “Why don’t we just make it a different day?”
Christine, who, like Diane, is also a member of the Monmouth County Hunt, is a driver who knows how to set up the cones and obstacle test that will be available to the Reindeer Run drivers at no additional cost. The Reindeer Run, which will offer a special prize for the best turnout with a Christmas theme, has a discount for drivers who enter by Dec. 1.
The organizers are reaching out to local organizations such as Future Farmers of America, 4-H and Pony Club for fund raising, if they want to sell something, such as poinsettias or wreaths at the event.
Entries are already coming in for the new event.
“There’s a lot of buzz,” said Diane.
“The carriage people are looking for something to do, and that’s another reason that we wanted to try to do something for them,” she commented.To enter, go to this link on the Horse Park website.
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 22, 2021
Olympic dressage team bronze medalist Kasey Perry Glass and her, husband, Dana, welcomed Tru Lynn Glass last week.
Kasey was the second member of the 2017 Rio Games squad to give birth, following teammate Allison Brock earlier this year. Next is up Laura Graves, who announced in August that she and her husband, Curt Maes, are expecting a girl. In case you’re wondering, the fourth member of the team was Steffen Peters, so no pregnancy announcement from him is expected!
On social media, Kasey said of Tru Lynn’s birth, “We had a hard and long delivery process to bring her into this world but Dana Glass and I worked as a team and got it done. Tru is absolutely perfect! We are thanking God every moment for a happy, healthy and beautiful baby girl 6 lbs 10 oz 20 inches long.
:I can’t tell you how amazed I am with how Dana took care of me throughout this process! Not one second did I feel alone or not taken care of. This experience made me love him even more as if that was possible.”
Can you imagine if these three babies grow up to be teammates on the 2044 Olympic squad? It could happen.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 12, 2022
The Essex Horse Trials will be held in a unique split format this summer, enabling dressage and show jumping to run on all-weather footing at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation in Gladstone, N.J., while competitors still can enjoy a special cross-country experience at Moorland Farm in Far Hills.
The Essex Horse Trials cross-country will return to Moorland Farm as dressage and show jumping head to the USET Foundation. (Photo © 2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
Morgan Rowsell is the cross-country course designer for the Essex Horse Trials, of which he is also the co-organizers. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
Horses will be stabled at the historic Foundation headquarters. After completing their dressage tests and jumping rounds, they will stay overnight, then trailer the next day to Moorland, a seven-minute drive, for the cross-country.”The sport of eventing has changed, where you can’t jump on grass any place other than Burghley and Badminton,” said Essex co-organizer Morgan Rowsell, referring to Great Britain’s two 5-star events.
There are no plans at this time to put in an all-weather arena at Moorland, home of October’s signature Far Hills Race Meeting. Rain for several years made things tough in terms of doing the Essex dressage and show jumping on grass. The new format “is a good compromise,” said Morgan, who runs Essex with Ralph Jones.
He noted the date also has been changed again. It ran in June when the event, which hadn’t been held since 1998, made a comeback in 2017. It was held in mid-July last year. Now it will be earlier, July 1 and 2, and Morgan hopes the change will mean cooler weather.
The dates are unusual, however, because they are a Friday and Saturday, rather than Saturday and Sunday, but Morgan explained it was done for the benefit of those competing and attending
“We felt like having a day in between ending the event and the Fourth of July (which is on the Monday) would be a better outcome for the riders. This gives them a chance to compete, have a transition day and then have their holiday.
“We figured that this would be good for the tailgaters as well, or anybody that wants to watch, for the same reasons.”
Tailgating will run as usual during cross-country at Moorland, along with the car show that has become a popular tradition. A vendor village is going to be set up in Gladstone, but vendors also can elect to be on hand for the cross-country at Moorland, Morgan said.
Essex sponsors include Running S Equine Veterinary Service, Mars Equestrian and AIG, while organizers are in the talking stages with other possible backers.
A car show is a big part of the Essex Horse Trials. (Photo © by Lawrence J. Nagy)
Morgan anticipates about 150 starters, with divisions running from Preliminary down to Beginner Novice. There will be a break after dressage concludes, with show jumping held during the early evening in conjunction with a cocktail party.
Essex ran an Advanced section once and ran into problems with the footing after a rainy week. It may apply for Advanced status again at some point, but with the recent re-do of the eventing calendar, it couldn’t be held at that level until 2028 if it is granted the division. Events were awarded their status for 2023-2027 last year.
U.S. Eventing Association President Max Corcoran was excited to hear the news and learn that at least part of the event would be held at the USET Foundation.
“That is a very cool thing, because the Essex Horse Trials, when it was there, was an amazing competition.”
She recalled, “One of first three day events I ever did as a groom was Essex when I was a working student for Bobby Costello. What a cool place to have dressage and show jumping and then go off and do the cross-country. Eventing has been missing in that area. it’s awesome to bring it back there. it’s so exciting. It’s unusual, but it can work. To have that competition regain itself is so great.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 7, 2021
George Williams, the popular former president of the U.S. Dressage Federation, was a surprise entry for the top job again during the organization’s virtual annual meeting.
Lisa Gorretta, George’s successor, had decided not to run for another term due to her work obligations. Two candidates were nominated for the position of president, Kevin Reining of Region 7 and Steven Schubert of Region 8.
As is permitted by USDF Bylaws, Iris Berdrow of Region 8 nominated George from the floor. Upon George’s nomination and acceptance, Kevin Reinig chose to rescind his candidacy in favor of supporting George. Kevin will remain in his current role as USDF Vice President for the remainder of his current term.
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 17, 2021
Despite the efforts of high-profile athletes to reinstate teams of four with a drop score at the Olympic Games, the FEI (international equestrian federation) voted today at its General Asembly in Antwerp to keep teams of three for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Teams of four will still be standard for championships, finals and other key competitions run under the auspices of the FEI, rather than those of the International Olympic Committee.
There were 70 yes votes for the teams of three, and 30 voting no.
Arguments against the three-member teams, instituted for Tokyo, include horse welfare, putting pressure on riders to continue for the honor of their country even if their horse is struggling. Dressage has operated previously with teams of three, but the nature of that discipline makes it less likely that a team member will have to drop out or get eliminated than is the case in show jumping or eventing.
Several countries, including France and the U.S., argued for teams of four. Botswana, Hong Kong and the 2021 Olympic show jumping team gold medalist nation, Sweden, were in favor of teams of three.
Cutting the number of team members from four to three meant more countries could participate in Tokyo within the parameters set for the number of show jumping slots. The International Olympic Committee wants to see a wide range of countries in each sport at the Games, and the threat of equestrian being dropped from the Olympics is a concern when it comes to FEI policy.
Stephan Ellenbruch of Germany, re-elected chairman of the FEI jumping committee, acknowledged the dissension but asked for unity, comparing it with handling a show jumping course..
“I need you, the athletes…as team members. The course is set, let’s accept the framework we have and make it the best possible format we can do for the job. I’m counting on your advice and…expertise. Let’s jump this course together.”
Next up is the December deadline for all sports to submit their qualification procedures for the Paris Games. That has also been contentious.
To read how Swiss multi-medalist Steve Guerdat argued for four-member teams on Tuesday at the FEI meeting, click on this link.
Will Connell, the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s director of sport, called for longer term thinking on the Olympic formats that goes beyond Paris, to include Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032. “We need to play the long game,” he said.
Meanwhile, Roly Owers, who heads the World Horse Welfare organization, warned those at the meeting that responsible use and care of horses in sport is vital to the continuation of competition against outside forces–some of which even believe that horses should not be ridden. Others contend horse welfare will suffer when horses compete,” he pointed out.
“We must do right by our horses – and be seen to be doing so,” he advised.
FEI President Ingmar de Vos emphasized, “We must continue to educate the non-equestrian community about equestrian sport and our values as there is a lot of misinformation which exists out there and could threaten the integrity of the sport we love.”
Roly discussed a social license under which those involved with horses should operate. (Note on the graphic that license is spelled in the British way.)
The outcry over a pentathlete’s abuse of horse that refused in the jumping phase of that sport at last summer’s Olympics, as well as photos of her coach punching the animal, led the International Modern Pentathlon Union to say it would drop riding as an element of the sport after the 2024 Paris Olympics.
While no one could condone what happened in Tokyo, Roly accused the pentathlon organization of having “an apparent knee-jerk reaction” by dropping riding. He called it the wrong decision. Instead, it could have revised how the segment was run.
The organization has come up with an ethical framework of how to treat horses across the board, not only in sport but in everything from breeding to after-care.
Here is a graphic about the threats to horse keeping in the current environment.
In other business, the FEI officially dropped reining from its list of disciplines. It had been a part of the governing body for two decades, but the FEI and the U.S.-based National Reining Horse Association often clashed on matters that were, as the NRHA put it, “legal, cultural, structural, and financial in nature.”
A memorandum of understanding between the organization that emerged in June seemed to offer a path forward, but NRHA said the advent of a different agreement three months later prompted the NRHA’s decision not to move forward.
It reminded me of the old saying that when two people ride a horse, one person must ride behind, and neither the FEI nor the NRHA wanted to ride behind, so to speak. The FEI statutes state that the FEI “shall be the sole governing body for the FEI Disciplines.” That was not the case with reining.
“We hope that in the future we may be able to work together in some capacity,” NRHA President Rick Clark said.
For its part, the FEI pledged to “support initiatives from National Federations to preserve the FEI reining legacy.”
At the General Assembly, Sven Friesecke of Switzerland, who had been head of the FEI reining committee looked very sad as he told the gathering, “We tried to make it run, and unfortunately we failed. But we have plans…”
The USA’s David O’Connor was re-elected to chair the FEI’s eventing committee. David was the individual Olympic eventing gold medalist in 2000 and the first president of the U.S. Equestrian Federation.
