by Nancy Jaffer | May 26, 2024
A fall at fence 5B on cross-country at the Bicton International Horse Trials in Southwest England Sunday resulted in the death of rider Georgie Campbell. Her horse, Global Quest, was uninjured and walked back to the stable. The rest of the event was called off.
Georgie, 36, was third in the 3-star Short at Osberton in her last outing with the horse in early May.
Georgie and Jess Campbell.
The former Georgie Strang has been married to New Zealand eventer Jesse Campbell since 2020.
by Nancy Jaffer | May 5, 2024
EQ PRO, a Naples-based equestrian apparel designer, is offering a summer camp scholarship in conjunction with the Interscholastic Equestrian Association for hunt seat and dressage riders in grades 4-8..
Juliette Douros Hawk, a 14-year-old award-winning junior equestrian and founder of EQ PRO, stated, “My horseback riding journey began when I was 10 at a local summer camp, where I discovered my passion for riding and competing. I know how expensive this sport is. This is why I am honored to partner with IEA in the hopes that together we can continue to inspire the next generation of riders.”
“By supporting IEA scholarships, young equestrian athletes are empowered with opportunities like attending specialized horse training programs or pursuing degrees related to their equestrian passion,” said IEA Resource Development Director Kathy Dando.
“The EQ PRO Summer Camp Scholarship will benefit young novice riders by helping them improve their horsemanship skills during the off-season.”
A $500.00 scholarship will be awarded to two IEA rider applicants per year, one each for hunt seat and dressage (or until scholarship funds have been fully dispersed). Applicants must be in fourth through eighth grade at the time of application deadline May 17.
EQ Pro Summer Camp Equestrian Scholarship winners will be chosen and notified in early June 2024. The deadline to submit your application is May 17, 2024, via the online application form at https://www.rideiea.org/opportunities/for-riders/ .
by Nancy Jaffer | May 27, 2024
Spectators are invited to attend a clinic with U.S. Olympic dressage team silver medalist Sabine Schut-Kery at Dumovin Farm in Westchester, Pa., Wednesday through Friday. The clinic is a benefit for Dressage at Devon, where Sabine gave the show’s first Masterclass two years ago.
“Dressage at Devon holds a special place in my heart,” said Sabine, who was the highest-scoring member of the U.S. squad at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
“I look forward to sharing some of my foundational principles with riders and spectators, while teaching a range of horse and rider athletes spanning the levels.”
Dressage at Devon President Anne Moss explained, “This event upholds our educational mission while also having the potential to deliver supplemental financial support that the fall show greatly needs.”
For information about attending the clinic as an auditor, click on this link.
by Nancy Jaffer | May 21, 2024
An agreement involving a California regional nonprofit protecting water quality and the Ridland Group show organization has paved the way for competitions to resume at the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park, after activities involving more than 25 horses were barred last month.
Subsequent negotiations were held between the two entities and the city of San Juan Capistrano, which owns the park that is leased by the Ridland Group, the operator of Blenheim Equisports. The property on San Juan Creek hosts a group of shows in the spring and summer. The next Blenheim show was slated to be held there June 7-9.
On Monday, Sarah Spinuzzi, legal director of Orange County Coastkeeper, explained the circumstances that will enable horse shows to be offered again at the park, which also is used for community events such as dog shows and concerts.
“The facility is going to be re-graded such that storm water from the equestrian stabling areas (known legally as the CAFO Production Area) will be retained on-site by June 3,” she stated. (CAFO stands for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation).
“This grading will prevent discharges of stormwater and wash-rack water to the creek. The facility will use the large grass field to pond retained stormwater. Over the rest of this year, the facility will work to improve infiltration infrastructure to be more professionally engineered so that rain events will not cause flooding and will be functional for the facility’s intended use. Future plans also require groundwater monitoring wells to ensure the protection of water quality.”
Violations of the Clean Water Act at the site have been an issue since 2017, according to Orange County Coastkeeper, which sued the city and the Ridland Group that year. An agreement for a “collaborative effort” to protect water quality in San Juan Creek while continuing equestrian activities was reached the next year. There was a five-year timeline for the remediation, plus two extensions, but Coastkeeper maintained this year’s April 15 deadline had not been met and announced the restrictions.
Two Blenheim shows were moved north to the Los Angeles Equestrian Center this month. The U.S. Equestrian Federation permitted relocation of the May competitions “because of the short notice of the closure and desire to not disrupt competitors’ plans to show,” said USEF CEO Bill Moroney.
When it was announced at the end of April that the two shows would be moved, the Ridland Group issued a statement saying it “acknowledges and respects the issues raised by Orange County Coastkeeper regarding the compliance of the Clean Water Act and would like to affirm a wider ongoing commitment to uphold the highest standards of environmental conservation throughout the operations at the Riding Park.”
Meanwhile, the dates that had been reserved for the other Blenheim shows slated for the Riding Park through Sept. 22 became available for applications to USEF from Southern California organizers who have “proof of venue” where the competitions could be held. The Ridland Group was among those that applied.
USEF also had requested that organizers interested in hosting the Junior Hunter Finals West or the Show Jumping Talent Search Finals West, both of which were slated for the Riding Park, make contact by May 20.
“All organizers meeting USEF standards and the license criteria were welcome to apply for events through the duration of the application period, which closed last evening on May 20,” according to a Tuesday comment from USEF.
“The applications submitted through this process are being reviewed thoroughly.”
The federation added it “is working diligently to ensure that competition participants and their horses have access to reliable, safe, and quality competitions in California for the remainder of the competition year. We recognize time is of the essence and are working to resolve the calendar issues as expeditiously as possible.”
by Nancy Jaffer | May 20, 2024
Anna Buffini announced that her dressage star Davinia La Douce (Don FredericoXA Jungle Prince) is retiring after a long career and at the right moment.
“I have made the decision to retire her when she’s still feeling her best,” the Callifornia rider said on social media.
Anna Buffini and Davinia La Douce on their freestyle victory pass in Wellington. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
“From a horse who was overlooked by many to sixth place in the World Cup, none of us could have imagined how far Diva would take us. I purchased Diva off of a video during Covid, but because of the excellent training she received from Klaus and Belli Balkenhol, Guenter Seidel (her trainer) and I were able to compete with her almost immediately.
Anna and her other horse, Fiontini, are short-listed for the U.S. Olympic dressage team and will compete in Europe in the run-up to selection for the Paris Games.
A retirement announcement also has been made by German star Isabell Werth for her 18-year-old Emilio at Wiesbaden over the weekend, where he won the Freestyle with a score of 83.3 percent. The FEI World Cup Finals in Riyadh during April was supposed to be his last bow, but a small injury meant he couldn’t travel to Saudi Arabia.
Anna Buffini noted in her posting about Davinia La Douce, also known as Diva, that “In 2021, we made our First Nations cup team together. She also got to compete in Rotterdam and place fourth in the special at Aachen. In 2022, Diva girl was on fire and qualified for the World Cup. I received a lot of acknowledgment for being the youngest ever U.S. athlete and the first African-American to compete in the World Cup, but it was all because of Diva,” Anna stated.
“After the World Cup, we got to experience Horses and Dreams for the first time and she placed fourth in an incredibly special freestyle. In 2023, we found our way into the World Cup again, including scoring our first ever 80 percent together. We flew to Florida with one chance to qualify for it and she came through again. With a tenth place finish in the Grand Prix and placed sixth with our Top Gun freestyle routine, that’s the memory I’ll take with me of Diva forever.
“Later that year, she was the anchor for team USA at Aachen and the first day of the Grand Prix we set one of our personal bests. This horse is all heart. Going into 2024, I looked at this season as icing on the cake. She had a good first show but I made too many mistakes in the next few shows and we didn’t get the scores we were hoping to get to make the short list.
“However, our last show in Temecula was magical and made for a beautiful ending of our career together. It was a hard decision not to bring her to Europe, but just like we did with Sundayboy, I always want to retire our horses before they start to decline. I’ll be forever thankful to this mare who has been an underdog her whole life. She may not have had the biggest muscles or the most extravagant movements but she does have the biggest heart. She will live out the rest of her days by my side teaching young up-and-coming riders, and being the boss of the barn as usual. Who knows? We may also see some Diva babies in the future. I wish to thank my coach Guenter my parents and the incredible team of people who have worked so hard to keep this wonderful mare healthy and happy. We indeed did have the time of our life.”
by Nancy Jaffer | May 20, 2024
Did you watch the Defender Kentucky 5-star three-day event? If so, you saw a big chunk of the British Olympic eventing team hopefuls finish 1-2-3.
Britain has just named its powerhouse short list for this summer’s Paris Games, and it’s no surprise that Kentucky winner Oliver Townend, the world number one, is on it with Cooley Rosalent, as well as Ballaghmor Class, a former Kentucky winner who had to scratch from the Badminton 5-star two weeks after Kentucky.
Oliver Townend and Kentucky winner Cooley Rosalent. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)
Also named were Kentucky runner-up Tom McEwen and JL Dublin, one rail away from victory at Defender, and on the Tokyo Olympics gold medal team with Oliver. World champion Yasmin Ingham, third at Kentucky on Banzai du Loir, was named with him and also was selected with Rehy DJ.
Additionally on the short list are Bubby Upton, who made a miraculous recovery from breaking her back in a fall last year to finish 10th at Badminton with Cola. Emily King, fourth at Badminton with Valmy Biats, has made the cut, along with her mother, Kitty King and Vendredi Biats. Others are Tom Jackson (Capels Hollow Drift), fifth at Badminton and Ros Canter with both Lordships Graffalo, the 2023 Badminton winner, and Izilot DHI, who she retired on cross-country at Badminton.Also on the roster is Laura Collett with London 52, victorious at Badminton in 2022 and a member of the gold medal team in Tokyo.
Britain is definitely the team to beat at the Olympics. Four finalists will be named to the team in late June, though only three will actually be part of the starting order, with one rider as a reserve.
