by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 14, 2024
Ashley Holzer and Hansel are being considered for the U.S. Olympic dressage team after finishing fourth in the 3-star Grand Prix Special at Hagen, Germany, this month with a mark of 72 percent, behind second place Steffen Peters with Suppenkasper (72.660) and ahead of fifth-place Adrienne Lyle on Helix (71.979).
The Special will determine the team medals at the Paris Games this summer.
Although she was tenth, rather than in the top eight in the original rankings for the Games, and therefore not part of the official U.S. Equestrian Federation trip to Europe this spring, Ashley traveled abroad anyway with P.J. Rizvi’s horse. It paid off in her being added on Friday to the short list. The team will be announced on June 25. Hansel is a KWPN gelding (Blue Hors Don Olymbrio X Metall). His original name was In Design.
In the Hagen Grand Prix before the Special, Ashley, an Olympic veteran, was eighth with a score of 71.456 percent. Steffen, who has led the U.S. rankings all along, was third on 72.869 percent.
Ashley and Hansel were named to the U.S. team for the Rotterdam dressage Nations Cup next week, where she will compete alongside another short-listed rider, Katherine Bateson-Chandler and Haute Couture.
The others on the short list include Adrienne, who has Lars van de Hoenderheide in addition to Helix; Endel Otts with Zen Elite’s Bohemian; Marcus Orlob and Jane, the mare he began riding only this spring; Anna Buffini (Fiontini); and Anna Marek (Fire Fly).
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 11, 2024
World number one eventer Oliver Townend and the owners of Ballaghmor Class have withdrawn the horse from Britain’s eventing nominated list for the Paris Olympic Games.
“As his preparation for a long-format event in the first half of the season was interrupted, we could not secure the final qualification for the Olympics without compromising his best interests,” Oliver and his team stated.
“This is so disappointing for the whole team, but Thomas (the horse’s barn name) means the world for us and at the end of the day, his welfare and happiness is more important than everything else.
“He is one of few special horses that has an Olympic gold to his name and while he will be aiming for an autumn 5-star, we hope that stablemate Cooley Rosalent (winner of the Defender Kentucky 5-star in April) will fly the flag in our bid to be selected for the Games. Huge thanks to British Equestrian, Thomas’s owners, our sponsors and the team around us who have showed unwavering support in making this decision.”
The British Eventing selectors will work with Richard Waygood to name a replacement combination to the nominated list sometime next week.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 10, 2024
Two North American-based riders have been named to the Irish team for the Paris Olympics. Shane Sweetnam of Wellington, Florida, was selected with James Kann Cruz, and Daniel Coyle, who operates out of both Ocala, Florida and Canada, will be on the team with Legacy. The third member of the squad is Cian O’Connor with Maurice. Bertram Allen was chosen as alternate with Pacino Amiro.
Cian O’Connor and Maurice. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)
Ireland is one of the medal favorites for the Games.
Chef d’Equipe Michael Blake noted, :”We are enjoying an excellent period of Irish jumping at the moment and it is a testament to the riders and all of their teams who look after the horses at home, and when they compete, that they have all reached such a high level. the athletes and horses I have chosen have been performing brilliantly week-in ,week out on the international stage and we’ll give it everything we have to achieve what we’re setting out to do.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 5, 2024
Creation of a USEF dressage series was approved Wednesday by the FEI (international equestrian federation). The series, beginning in 2025, is designed to promote and grow equestrian sport by highlighting elite competition. Fans and stakeholders will be reached through the competitions and December final. The action will be live-streamed and tracked using a leader board.
A USEF spokesperson said it has not been decided which competitions will be part of the series or where the final will be, since the federation was waiting for FEI approval before lining up the details.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 3, 2024
The world’s number one dressage horse, TSF Dalera BB, will be “telling me when our last public dance will be. Not the other way around,” rider Jessica von Bredow Werndl says of the 17-year-old reigning Olympic and European championship star.
Would this summer’s Paris Olympics be the mare’s last competition? That might be the right note for bringing down the curtain on her brilliant competition career.
Jessica also notes on social media about Dalera that “If she still conceives, she will also be allowed to become a mommy. That is up to her — or rather her body.”
U.S. fans got to see Dalera in person at last year’s FEI World Cup finals. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Retirement isn’t imminent, however. This weekend, the mare won the German Championships in Balve with a Freestyle marked at 89.6 percent. A distant second was Frederic Wandres on Duke of Britain (83.45).
Dalera, a Trakehner, has had 35 straight victories in the last three years. She has earned 2,078 points in the FEI horse rankings, to 1,943 for the recently retired Emilio. And not surprisingly, Jessica is first in the rider rankings, ahead of Emilio’s rider, Isabell Werth. Both are from Germany.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 9, 2024
Kent Farrington and Greya, followed by Karl Cook and Caracole de la Roque on their victory lap at La Baule. (Photo by Melanie Smith Taylor)
It doesn’t exactly make up for the disappointing sixth-place U.S. finish in Friday’s Nations Cup at La Baule, France, but it was encouraging to see two candidates for the American Olympic team finish 1-2 Sunday in the $540,000 Rolex Grand Prix Ville de La Baule in the picturesque seaside city.
Kent Farrington won on his own 10-year-old Greya in a field heavy with big names. He and the Oldenburg mare were double-clear in 34.09 seconds, with Karl coming close on the speedy Caracole de la Roque (34.21) in the 11-horse jump-off. The best-placed non-American was Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet on Bond James Bond de la Hay (one of the best horse names!), much slower in 37.79.
“I’ve been second here before, actually,” Kent said, “so I wanted some good revenge.”
It was Greya’s first international victory since Kent started riding her in September 2021. He and Karl were the only U.S. riders to qualify for the jump-off in the field of 50. McLain Ward had 4 in the first round with Ilex to finish twenty-first, while Lillie Keenan was four places back of that with eight faults on Argan de Beliard . Aaron Vale was forty-third on 16 faults with Carissimo 25.
The course for the La Baule grand prix was laid out by Gregory Bodo, who will design the show jumping route for the Paris Olympics.
In Friday’s Nations Cup, things did not go as well for Kent. as they did in the grand prix. He was eliminated in the first round aboard Landon, and did not show in the second round of the class, which was won by Germany, with France and Belgium completing the podium. Other scores for the U.S. were 4/0 for Karl, 0/8 for Lillie and 4/8 for Aaron. All three were on the same horses they rode in the grand prix.
Click here for grand prix results
click here for Nations Cup results
