by Nancy Jaffer | May 21, 2025
Horse welfare continues to be in the forefront among governing bodies, whether they are of the equestrian or national variety.
The U.S. Equestrian Federation this month held a “collaborative summit” with reps of its affiliates to examine a number of issues affecting horse sports, including those touching on social license to operate.
USEF Chief of Sport David O’Connor presented a draft of the “USEF Horse Welfare Stoplight Guidelines,” listing the differences among horse friendly, non-horse friendly and unethical treatment of a horse. In line with that, training techniques and practices to guide officials and participants about acceptable versus unacceptable behavior were offered. An educational campaign centered around horse welfare will be launched this summer.
As USEF noted, “Self-regulation is preferable to being regulated by outside entities.”
A case in point: An arduous new requirement that managers of all equestrian competitions in the U.S. would have to register with and report to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but which has been at least delayed and will not go into effect during 2025 show season.
The requirement was part of a proposed amendment to the Horse Protection Act, which originally was designed to stop the practice of soring in Tennessee Walking Horses and breeds that were similarly abused. USDA and its Horse Protection team will continue to work on what’s next,including additional postponement, and will continue to seek stakeholder input.
Elsewhere, however, the extent of governmental involvement already is an issue in Europe. Horse & Hound cited a discussion on equine sport-horse welfare during a May meeting of the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals in the European Parliament.
Danish European Parliament member Niels Fuglsang, who chaired the session, has been pushing for tougher EU oversight of horse welfare, seeking to have a directive now limited to farm animals to expand for inclusion of sport horses and allow sanctions for mistreatment.
Fuglsang has advocated for banning double bridles across the EU (would North America be next?) and expressed frustration with slow progress after meeting with FEI president Ingmar de Vos last year
Dr. Mette Uldahl, vice president of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe, maintained, “We urgently need to educate modern equestrians in equine behavioral science. But education is not alone sufficient, we need to have firm governance and regulation.”
So you can see the direction in which this is headed.
Uldahl stated, “Welfare must be evaluated through objective indicators, such as body language, tail movements, ear position, eye and facial expressions and behaviors like open mouths. Horses showing signs of pain, fear or discomfort must not be rewarded.”
She added, “Harmful or coercive equipment that reasonably risks causing pain, injury, suffering, or fear must be banned, and tools that fix horses into rigid positions or mask body language must not be used.
“Independent advisory boards must be empowered to question practices, raise concerns and ensure transparency. With these principles embedded, it is entirely possible to align horse sport with modern standards of welfare and public expectations.”
She added, “It’s not about revolution, it’s about evolution – but we need a mandate to make that happen. A clear step would be requiring independent advisory boards to oversee all types of horse sport.”
De Vos pointed out the FEI’s commitment to welfare, citing reforms such as removal of time limits on horse abuse cases and the implementation of recommendations from the independent Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission.
For his part, FEI veterinary director Dr. Göran Åkerström discussed the 37-point Equine Welfare Action Plan, which includes the newly introduced noseband measuring device and the launch of the Equine Welfare Advisory Group for external oversight.
by Nancy Jaffer | May 7, 2025
What is the social impact of equestrianism?
That’s a key question in this era of Social License to Operate; that is, public acceptance of horse sports. The answers are even more important.
British Equestrian, Great Britain’s national federation for horse sports in Great Britain, is involved with a major research project on the subject, which could become a model for other countries — many of which, including the U.S., are grappling with the same situation.
BE’s partner in its work is State of Life, which specializes in measuring and demonstrating the social and economic value created by various organizations. Sad that horse sports have to be justified these days, but that’s the case
The effort, which started with a research phase in 2024, has moved on to investigate the social value of equestrianism.
State of Life has worked with several sports and community organizations to provide in-depth analysis of their social impact. They are involved with developing a new national model dealing with the social value of sport and physical activity for Sport England. The government is seeking to estimate the contribution of community sport and physical activity to health and well-being in the country.
In the first phase, equestrian activities were proven to have benefits ranging from the social value outcomes of physical and mental health and subjective wellbeing, to individual, social and community development.
Examples: riding, stable work and hippotherapy contribute to fitness and rehabilitation, while equine-assisted therapy provides therapeutic support for those with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. Engaging in equestrian activities has demonstrated an increase in confidence, employability and social connections, strengthening both individuals and communities.
Stage two will take this research to the next level, calculating the monetary worth of equestrian social value. It will demonstrate the way equestrian activity can be a vital contributor to public health, aligning with a government “Get Active” strategy. The findings will enable BE and its affiliates to showcase the industry’s impact on people’s lives across the United Kingdom, shape future strategies with data-driven insights (otherwise known as evidence), advocate for equestrianism’s unique benefits and strengthen investment and strategic partnerships.
Abigail Bevan, Insight and Research Manager at British Equestrian, noted, “We’re excited to measure the tangible impact of equestrianism, following the gathering of research, which has proven the vast benefits our sector provides to the community, by encouraging people to spend time in outdoor spaces, connecting with nature, creating friendships and enjoying partnerships with our incredible horses.”
by Nancy Jaffer | May 25, 2025
Yuri Mansur and the fabulous mare Miss Blue-Saint Blue Farm finished atop a field of the world’s best riders in the Rolex Grand Prix of Rome Sunday, as the show at the Piazza di Sienna wrapped up with a spectacular competition.
“She was born for this job,” Mansur said about the daughter of Chacco Blue, who also was a winner in Hamburg, Germany last year and in Fontainebleau, France, last month. The victory for the veteran of Brazil’s teams came, appropriately, on the day after his forty-sixth birthday.
Yuri Mansur won the Rolex Grand Prix of Rome with Miss Blue-Saint Blue Farm.
“This is a mare from Brazil, she didn’t have any experience when she left there, but in three years since 2022, she has given me my best wins,” said Yuri.
“And I feel it’s just the beginning, we’ve had some bad luck with health problems, but now she is good again and she is doing an unbelievable job.”
He is just the second rider from Brazil to win the grand prix. Rodrigo Pessoa, who was sixteenth on Sunday with Major Tom, took the title in 2009.
Yuri rode for the first time only at the age of 14. The Olympian gives credit to working with Belgium’s Ludo Philippaerts as both a rider and groom.
“He helped get me started…so a big part of my journey came through Ludo. I bought a barn in 2017 in The Netherlands and now Holland is home for us”, he explained.
Remarkably, his jump-off didn’t go as planned.
“What almost made me lose was I spoke with McLain Ward, and he told me to start from the right for number one. And then at the last moment, I changed to the left, and I didn’t get a good shot to number one, so I added one stride and that meant I had to risk as much as I could,” Yuri explained.
“I had planned seven strides, but I did eight from fence one to two, and that made me just risk as much as I could in the rollbacks. I had two really blind distances but I kept following and we worked it out.”.
His time of 35.65 seconds was just 0.11 seconds ahead of Ireland’s Cian O’Connor and Iron Man in the second round of the test designed by Uliano Vezziani on the broad green field, surrounded by thousands of spectators in the heart of the Eternal City.
It was the third 5-star runner-up finish for Cian with the steel-gray Zangersheide gelding, but he wound up winning the leading rider trophy named after Italy’s greatest horsemen, brothers Piero and Raimondo D’Inzeo.
Cian said his mount “hasn’t much experience against the clock and he’s such an expressive jumper, he’s not maybe as quick as some of the others because he takes his time at his fences but that’s something we’re working on.”
France’s Nina Mallevaey, a rising star at 25 years old, finished third in 36.35 seconds with Dynastie de Beaufour.
“I know I have an amazing horse that is really generous. We did our first five-star Grand Prix about a year ago and I think we have built a great relationship together,” said Nina, who began her international career with Julien Epaillard and is now trained by Helena Stormanns.
“It’s my first time here in Rome and since the beginning of the week she’s been enjoying that arena and loving to be here. This was a dream of mine to come here so I’m very, very happy.”
A favorite of the Italian crowd, Giulia Martinengo Marquet, was galloping toward the sixth fence of blue planks with Delta Del’Isle, as a member of the course design team was adjusting a plank that had blown down in the wind. She had to turn away while the clock was stopped and the crowd gasped. However, she was able to finish the course quickly with only one knockdown and qualify for the second round. Giulia finished ninth.
The second round’s fastest effort by far, in 33.39 seconds, belonged to the USA’s Laura Kraut on Bisquetta. But a knockdown at the first element of the Rolex double simply meant she was the quickest of the four faulters, winding up sixth.
Karl Cook, Laura’s teammate on the winning Nations Cup squad Friday, missed his opportunity for the 125,000 Euro ($142,000) first prize and the honor of back-to-back wins in the class when Caracole de La Roque slipped out behind on the turn to the the third fence, the imposing green Rolex wall.
He made a valiant effort to recoup but ended his tour of the course with two knockdowns. That meant he did not qualify for the second round, limited to the top 12 of the 45 starters, and wound up twenty-second.
The USA’s McLain Ward and his Olympic team silver medal mount, Ilex, retired after dropping two rails, joining the list of six other riders who did the same. The fourth member of the American Nations Cup squad, Lillie Keenan, had two rails and a time fault with Argan de Bellard in the first round to wind up thirtieth.
Click here for results
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by Nancy Jaffer | May 18, 2025
The stories are amazing. Even those who weren’t in Gladstone, N.J., for the 1993 World Pair Driving Championship have heard what a spectacular competition it was, with a record 23 countries participating at Hamilton Farm, home of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation.
Although there had been other good combined driving events at Gladstone before and after the championship, nothing else held there ever could match the championship, where the marathon segment was watched by 15,000 spectators. That was a unique experience.
But as time went on, the importance of the driving event in the Pine Meadow section of the property diminished. That’s what happens when supporters move, retire or pass away.
The Gladstone Equestrian Association, founded by the late Finn Caspersen and now headed by James C. Brady III, has sought to rejuvenate competition at the site. Over the weekend, its horse driving trial and combined test (dressage and cones without the marathon) drew 40 entries, the maximum it could handle logistically.
“We’re super-excited because for the first time in probably 10 years, we were completely sold out,” said Christine Siracusa, a volunteer and sponsorship coordinator.
The ground was soaked by torrential rain during the week, so some drivers opted to scratch the marathon and compete in the combined test instead due to mud.
But others, from those driving mini horses (also known as VSEs — very small equines) to pairs of horses, opted to forge ahead in the best sporting tradition.
GEA Gladstone Driving President John Layton and Eris K (a Cleveland Bay otherwise known as The Beast) won the Single Horse Preliminary division. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
A small but mighty volunteer base, several of whom had been lending a hand to Gladstone driving events even before the Pair Championship took place, did yeoman work to make the 2025 competition happen.
“Mother nature was not our friend this week. We ended up having three course changes, but our course designer (Bruce Jones) and officials were amazing,” said Christine Siracusa, a coordinator of volunteers and sponsorship.
“The weather couldn’t have been any better” on Saturday and Sunday.
Having some time to dry out, the marathon course “was not as mucky as we thought it would be,” she pointed out.
“I was at the finish line and saw everyone smiling. They were excited, they kept on thanking us for putting on a fabulous event and hopefully, they’ll keep coming back and supporting this event.”
Alice Tarjan, better known for ridden dressage than driven dressage, skillfully guided Patser and Naferno in the Preliminary Pairs competition. (Photo © 20)25 by Nancy Jaffer)
John Layton, the GEA Gladstone Driving president, was thrilled by the number of entries and has big plans for next year. He hopes to reopen and re-do the former George’s Gorge marathon obstacle, fixing it up and renaming it the Gulch of the Northeast. John also wants to see a tailgating destination near there for optimum viewing of the action..
Amie Bauman, who handles the same duties as Christine for the GEA, is a driving professional from Pennsylvania who teaches and trains, as well as competing.
She guided Lois Kennedy’s 5-year-sold VSE stallion, Sundance, to victory in the VSE Single Preliminary, with 113.77 penalties, the best score in any of the Preliminary divisions.
“He’s a natural at it. He has so much talent. He just loves it,” she said of the bold little stallion, who handled the marathon obstacles with energy.
Amie Bauman and Sundance at the water obstacle. (Photo © 2025 by Gerry Heffner)
Amie has been coming to the driving event since 1983, the days of fellowship when local legends Bill Orth, George Hoffman, Joe Urso, Norm Sutton and George Millar — all gone now — were competing.
Looking to the future of the event, she said, “It absolutely has to keep going. It’s such a historic piece of property and we don’t really have many driving events in the North anymore.”
She works with the GEA and helps keep up the property for the event.
In that regard, she cited the assistance of Paul Miller Land Rover in fixing roads and cutting down some trees; the USET Foundation and its facility manager Maureen Pethick, who “have been incredible,” hiring a company to fix the roads and helping wherever needed, and the Hamilton Farm Golf Club, which also cut down trees and loaned equipment to the volunteers readying Pine Meadow for the competition.
Amie added, “I just need to give a shout out to the Gladstone Equestrian Association and all the people that are on it, and also all of the volunteers who help. Without them, none of this would happen.”
Kate Pantelione and Addalittlespice were pretty in pink.( Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
Shelly Temple, president of the ground jury, believes it’s important for the GEA driving trials to continue.
“The history of this place is incredible. We’ve all competed here every year. The obstacles are still very workable. I think it’s a great show. You have a lot of dedicated people who want to keep it going, a good group to bring it forward and they’re getting sponsors, so I think there’s a lot of potential. There’s a lot possible here. There were new competitors, I didn’t know a lot of them; a lot of young people were here, which I love.”
But she added, “more people need to step up and help this crowd that has kept it going. It’s very important for our sport.”
Competitors’ horses were able to stay in the historic USET stable, elegant with its tile floors and polished brass.
“That’s a great benefit to showing here,” mentioned Shelly, a 2007 team bronze medalist in the World Pony Driving Championships.
Another judge, Lisa Singer, was equally as enthusiastic.
Lisa Singer on the job. (Photo © 2025 by Nancy Jaffer)
She was National Pairs Champion nine times and a member of the U.S. team at eight World Pair Championships. Lisa no longer drives competitively, but teaches, trains, runs shows, gives clinics and designs courses.
Looking at the roster of competitors on her clipboard, she said, “What was neat was that I only knew three people on this list. There’s a lot of new people, a lot of young people coming. That’s awesome.”
Click here for Horse Trial results. Click here for Combined Test results.
by Nancy Jaffer | May 19, 2025
Centenary University’s Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association team did it again.
For 35 years, the team has won the organization’s High Point Hunt Seat Equestrian Championship, which is determined by the total number of points teams accumulated throughout the season. The record had largely gone unnoticed until equestrian historian Steve Maxwell contacted team coach Michael Dowling last month.“Steve is very familiar with our team and our program,” said Michael, who co-coaches the University’s IHSA team with Heather Clark.
“He reached out to share his research showing that we had won the championship for 35 consecutive years, and how very impressed he is with our team and our program. Steve knows his stuff — he attends zones and nationals almost every year — and his data is very accurate.”
The IHSA team competes in approximately eight horse shows per season to accrue points for the Highpoint Hunt Seat team score, while riders also earn points to advance individually to zones and nationals. This year, Centenary was the Zone 3 champion, with Caroline Mancini winning USHJA/High-Point Hunter Seat Rider. The team took third at IHSA National Championships May 2-4 at Tryon International Equestrian Center in North Carolina, placing behind Purdue University and Sacred Heart University.
“What makes this special is that Purdue and Sacred Heart are both D1 schools with significant resources,” noted Centenary President Dr. Dale Caldwell.
“Incredibly, small D3 Centenary beat national athletic powerhouses Stanford University and the University of Southern California. This is a testament to the dedication of Centenary’s riders, coaches, and equestrian faculty. Their hard work has made Centenary one of the nation’s best competitive and academic equestrian programs in the nation.”
In addition to the IHSA team, Centenary hosts an International Dressage Association squad, and just completed the inaugural season of a new NCEA team, which competes through the NCAA. In addition, the University’s Equine Studies Department offers academic major, minor, and certificate programs that involve students in daily operations at the Centenary University Equestrian Center in Long Valley.
“At a larger university, students may have a riding lesson a couple of times a week,” Michael said. “But at Centenary, our students spend most of their downtime at the Equestrian Center, helping to care for and rehab the horses. Here, they become comfortable riding unfamiliar horses — which they often must do in competition — so they’re very prepared. Our students also have a lot of exposure to additional riding opportunities and trainers that may not be available at other universities.”
Heather Clark cited the professional experience of the University’s faculty and coaches as a contributing factor to the program’s extraordinary long-term success: “We’re all very invested in cultivating our students and helping them to reach their goals. Professionally, we’re active members of the equine field. For instance, Michael and I both have our own training facilities and our resident veterinarian, Jesslyn Bryk-Lucy, DVM, has her own practice. Other faculty are stewards and judges. We have such deep faculty expertise and are all committed to developing Centenary riders, competitively and academically.”
“Cultivating young professionals is really what Centenary is all about,” agreed Kelly Munz, chair of the Equine Studies Department, noting that undergraduates routinely encounter between 20 and 30 working alumni at horse shows around the country.
“While we welcome successful junior riders, we’re just as interested in developing the talents and passions of riders of all abilities. When we traveled to nationals in May, we transported between 14 and 18 of our horses to the competition. It’s a major effort that will provide amazing professional experience, not just for our competing riders, but also for those students who will be caring for and schooling the horses. This is very much a team effort.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 21, 2025
Olympic dressage and World Championships team medalist Steffen Peters is offering a two-day clinic June 7 and 8 at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation in Gladstone, N.J.
Auditors can enjoy the rare opportunity to learn from the former World Cup champion for a fee of $60 per day. One of the USA’s most decorated competitors and a mainstay of its team for nearly three decades, Steffen is known for his supportive teaching style as he offers instruction on the ways for horse and rider to improve their performance.
Steffen Peters at the FEI Dressage World Cup Finals in 2023. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Lidiya Frumova, who is organizing the sessions, noted that Steffen does only a few audited clinics annually. So the amateur trainer noted proudly how happy she is that he agreed to come from the other side of the country for the occasion.
There is a waiting list for participants, who are eager to ride in front of Steffen. However, as Lidiya noted, just being able to audit the clinic with the California-based rider is a valuable learning opportunity. Steffen will work for an hour with each rider, who range from First Level to Grand Prix.
Vendors will be on site with wares including boots, saddles and apparel.
To register, contact Lidiya at frumoval@gmail.com
