by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 12, 2024
A day after winning the Grand Prix for the Freestyle on Thursday with Lars van der Hoenderheide at the World Equestrian Center Ocala, Adrienne Lyle took Friday’s Grand Prix for the Special with Lars’ stablemate, Helix. (73.065 percent).
Then she topped the Special itself with Helix on Saturday, in a narrow victory over Endel Ots and Bohemian, 71.533 percent to 71.021 percent. Bohemian was much more consistent than he was in the Grand Prix for the Special. Like Lars, both those horses are owned by Zen Elite Equestrian.
Discussing Helix, a 12-year-old KWPN gelding, Adrienne assessed him this way: “He is a horse that has incredible try.”
“It’s new riding, new style, a different program, and from the second he got here, he’s so open to letting you mold him however you want to. I’m incredibly impressed with his character.”
Adrienne and Helix in the Grand Prix for Special. (Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography)
In the Grand Prix for the Special, Adrienne’s former teammate, Kasey Perry-Glass, was second on 71.065 percent with Heartbeat W.P. Endel slid into third with 70.782 on Bohemian, who was fourth in the 2021 Olympics when ridden by Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour. Bohemian’s Ocala score was marred by problems in the one-tempis, with marks ranging between 3 and 5.
Katherine Bateson-Chandler now seems to be in sync with Haute Couteur, after coaching from British dressage mastermind Carl Hester. She was fourth with 69.717 percent. In the Special, Katherine moved up to third on 67.447 percent. Kasey was seventh (65.851). To see complete results for the Grand Prix Special, click here.
Things didn’t go so well for Sarah Tubman and First Apple, who have been leading the Olympic Games dressage rankings with an average of 73.469. Until Friday, they hadn’t shown since last fall, when they were on the gold medal team at the Pan American Games.
In the Grand Prix for the Special, Sarah was ninth with 67.587. The combination’s weakest point was the flying change between the pirouettes, with marks of 3 and 4. In the Special itself, she and First Apple had problems with both piaffe and the transition from collected walk to passage/piaffe, finishing 12th of 15 starters on 63.808. While she obviously has lost her lead in the standings, they have not been officially updated so it’s not certain where she ranks.
To read about Friday night’s Freestyle, click here.
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 8, 2024
Fran Steinwedell, a fervent supporter of horse sports, passed away Monday.
“She loved her family and was passionate for horses and the show jumping community. She spent much of her life improving our sport for the West Coast,” her daughter, Francie, wrote on social media.
A familiar figure at ringside, Fran supported the quest of another Californian, Anne Kursinski, to go to the Olympics. She bought Livius, Anne’s 1984 Olympic reserve mount who won the Grand Prix of Rome, then invested in Starman, Anne’s team silver medal mount at the 1988 Olympics. In 1996, Anne was aboard Eros, a horse in which Fran and her sister, Carlene Blunt invested. They were able to watch her be part of the silver medal team in that Olympics.
Fran Steinwedell with her sister, Carlene Blunt and longtime horse show manager Honey Craven in 2002. (Photo © 2002 by Nancy Jaffer)
An honorary life trustee of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation, Fran was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame for the hours and contributions she devoted to the sport.
In addition to her sister, survivors include Fran’s three children: Bill and his wife, Barbara; Jim and his wife, Jennifer, and Francie and her husband Richard Carvin; six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 30, 2024
Brett Parbery, once one of Australia’s top 20 bronc riders, will present Dressage at Devon’s popular Masterclass Sept. 26. But don’t worry, he isn’t going to be offering rodeo tips.
His expertise in dressage was demonstrated impressively when guiding Australia’s eventing team to lead the dressage phase at the 2012 London Olympics. He has also competed successfully, finishing tenth in dressage at the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games.
Bret Parbery (James Abernethy Photography)
His father broke and trained mounts for cattle horse sports. Brett did everything from Pony Club to Polocrosse before focusing on dressage. His eclectic background will enable him to offer pointers to a diverse group of demo riders at Devon, with practitioners of western dressage able to participate along those who ride in the more traditional English competitions.
Brett’s Performance Riders program has an online platform in which horse welfare is the top priority, with horse and rider development as his daily motivation. His training style could be called “Modern Australian,” combining “classical principles with a high-performance sports focus.”
This is the third year of Devon’s Masterclass. Previous instructors were Olympic medalists Sabine Schut-Kery and Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour.
Want to buy tickets? Here’s the link.
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 30, 2024
In only her second international competition with Lars van de Hoenderheide, Olympic veteran Adrienne Lyle won the 3-star Grand Prix Special at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival with a mark of 73.192 percent on Saturday.
She bested the winner of Thursday’s Grand Prix, Endel Ots, who was second on Zen Elite’s Bohemian with 72.490 percent. Both horses are owned by Zen Elite’s Heidi Humphries.
Adrienne and Lars. (Photo © SusanJStickle.com)
Third went to Adrienne’s longtime teammate, Kasey Perry-Glass, back in action after a long absence from the international level with a 71.383 percent on Heartbeat W.P.
Marcus Orlob of Annandale, N.J., finished fourth on Jane, previously shown by her owner, Alice Tarjan. Their score was 70.830 percent.
Adrienne said, “I think it’s 10 weeks now that we’ve had Lars and this is the first full Special I’ve ridden through on him. I’m so incredibly happy at his energy and his honesty and his willingness. It seems like he’s starting to understand what I want and fight for me in there, which is really special in such a new relationship.”
Saying, “I was really happy with his piaffe/passage tour,” Adrienne added, “I got a bit braver to make the piaffe stay on the spot more and feel like I could trust that more. His canter tour is always super; he’s got super power and the changes are just a treat to ride.”
Adrienne observed, however, “just because we have a timeline” as she looks toward Paris, she is not planning to increase her horses’ work more than the usual four days a week maximum. She also rides Helix, second in the qualifier, for Elite Equestrian.
Heidi Humphries, the owner of Elite Equestrian “has such an amazing vision,” Adrienne noted.
Bohemian was ridden to fourth place in the Tokyo Olympics by Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup- Dufour. He subsequently had a Korean rider and then Endel took over late last year.
Endel Otts and Bohemian. (Photo © SusanJStickle.com)
Endel, who had not ridden in an international Grand Prix before Thursday, was marked at 72.761 percent in the Grand Prix qualifier, ahead of Helix (71.065). Adrienne was placed first by one judge in that class.
Adrienne, who is coached by her mentor, Debbie McDonald, also was third with Lars (70.652) in the qualifier.
In the Grand Prix, Bohemian had a problem in the two-tempis, with one judge giving him a mark of 2 and the other four judges marking him at 3, which brought his score way down. That was balanced by the fact that he had mostly 8’s in piaffe and passage. In the Special, his problems cropped up in the one-tempis, with marks between 4 and 6 from the five judges. The piaffe and passage continued to be his strong points.
“It’s all very surreal,” Endel said after his ride in the Grand Prix.
“You always see all the famous people like Adrienne Lyle and Kasey Perry and I am just thankful and happy to be in there with them and part of the group.”
He called Bohemian “a crazy cool horse.”
These horses will have to qualify if they are to be considered for a U.S. European tour, which is the precursor for Olympic selection. Although the Global festival ends this weekend, shows at TerraNova in Myakka City and the World Equestrian Center in Ocala are offering qualifiers next month.
In Saturday’s 4-star Special, Katherine Bateson-Chandler won with Haute Couture on 71.872 percent. Her coach, British star Carl Hester, came to the U.S. to train her for this show.
“We’ve had our stumbling blocks that were really mentally tough for both of us, so it took a lot of regrouping,” said Katherine, citing “a big mountain to climb.” She is hoping to be invited compete with the U.S. contingent in Europe later this spring.
The mare was ridden in the Tokyo Olympics by the Netherlands’ Dinja van Liere. Haute Couture was purchased for Katherine by her friend, Jennifer Huber.
Click here for 3-star Special results.
Click here for 4-star Special results.
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 31, 2024
Former Virginia Horse Center CEO Glenn Petty joined Tryon International in March as general manager, equestrian operation.
He has been manager of the Gov. James B. Hunt,Jr. Horse Complex in Raleigh, N.C., and managed the all-breed and discipline North Carolina State Fair Horse Show for 24 years. beginning in 1983. He also has been executive vice president of the Arabian Horse Association.
Throughout his career, he and his wife Joan have maintained a residence in North Carolina where they own and operate Triangle Farms and Raleigh Indoors, an indoor hunter/jumper show circuit and the Duke Children’s Benefit Horse Shows.
“I am thrilled to join the Tryon International team,” Glenn said.
“In my short time here, I have quickly noticed the teamwork exhibited, not only among the equestrian staff, but restaurant workers, lodging staff, security as well as grounds maintenance all benefiting our wonderful exhibitors. Another thing I’ve noticed is the cleanliness of the grounds as well as the beauty of the center. The footing is great in all kinds of weather.”
“Glenn comes with a tremendous amount of experience as we ask him to oversee our equestrian operations, across all disciplines, lead our efforts in continuous improvement of our horse show facilities, improve our bio-security processes and procedures and pursue additional shows in equestrian sport for our facilities,” said Tryon Equestrian Partners Carolinas Operation President Sharon Decker.
“With our team, Glenn will ensure that the championships which continue to grow at our facility have the best and safest competitor and guest experience possible. As we host both IEA and IHSA National Championships this spring, Glenn’s leadership paired with our team, will bring an extraordinary experience to Tryon.”
Petty has served on numerous boards and committees of USEF, USHJA and AQHA throughout his career. He has chaired the North Carolina Hunter Jumper Association, the North Carolina Horse Council and the North Carolina Thoroughbred Breeders Association, as well as the North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine board. He chairs USHJA’s Competition Management Committee and serves on the American Horse Council’s Show and Competition Committee.
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 28, 2024
They call it “the best weekend all year,” and one of the things that makes the Defender Kentucky
Three-Day Event live up to that title is, of course, the horses and riders that will be competing in Lexington next month.
Plenty of big names are signed up for the 5-star, including world champion Yasmin Ingham of Great Britain with Banzai du Loir and world number one Oliver Townend, another Brit, with his newest star Cooley Rosalent.
Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent. (Photo © 2023 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
But that mare is also cross-entered at Britain’s 5-star, the MARS Badminton Horse Trials competition, to be held in May, a week later than Kentucky. That’s the same tactic that is being used by, among others, the USA’s Boyd Martin, the world number three who has Tsetserleg and On Cue slated for both. (Obviously these double-entered folks have to make a choice of one event or the other.)
One you’ll want to watch in the 5-star is David O’Connor’s Phelps, an off-the-track thoroughbred (remember when they dominated eventing?) who was a sensation last year at the MARS Maryland 5-star. He will be ridden by Mia Farley.
A number of U.S. riders are playing it cool, opting for the 4-star that runs with the 5-star. They include last year’s Kentucky 5-star winner, Tamie Smith with Mai Baum, and Will Coleman, who has Off the Record and Chin Tonic going.
With the Paris Olympics coming up just three months after Kentucky, it’s important to know that cross-country there will be at the 4-star level. That means some riders don’t feel the need to test their horses in a 5-star before such an important competition.
Click here to see Badminton entries, and here to see who’s lined up for the Kentucky 5-star. To find out about Kentucky 4-star entries, click on this link.
