by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 9, 2024
In an effort to increase support for equestrian athletes, the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation has issued “a call to action” geared to 100 days before the start of this summer’s Paris Olympics and Paralympics.
USET Foundation Giving Day, set for April 17, offers an opportunity not only for making financial contributions, but also for spreading awareness and fundraising so the U.S. team can have an impact on the international stage. But response was so good that a match for giving has been extended to April 18.
The cost of sending a team to the Olympics and Paralympics is understandable when you consider that the U.S. is sending 16 horses, with plane fare running $20,000/horse; 16 grooms, four veterinarians, two farriers, two equine physiotherapists and two human physiotherapists, a team doctor,12, 345 pounds of equipment and, oh yes, 16 riders.
It can’t be done without generous contributions.
“Ultimately, this day embodies the spirit of community and generosity, uniting stakeholders behind a common goal of empowering American riders to shine on the global equestrian stage,” a statement from the Foundation emphasized.
The Foundation suggests posting on social media with the hashtags #PathwaytoParis and #USETFoundation GivingDay” to explain why supporting U.S. athletes is important to you. Think of what it costs to get riders, horses and support staff to Paris, as well as to the preparation competitions beforehand that will hone the competitive edge of the U.S. teams.
If you post about Giving Day on line, include this link.
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 10, 2024
McLain Ward, Kent Farrington, Laura Kraut and Aaron Vale — the U.S. bronze medal team at the Ocala Longines League of Nations competition last month — are among those who have been named to the 10-member U.S. show jumping Olympic short list in preparation for the Paris Games.
Laura Kraut and Baloutinue. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)
The Olympic squad will be chosen from the riders on this list, who will be competing in observation events in Europe, everywhere from the League competitions at St. Gallen, Switzerland, and Rotterdam, Holland, to Aachen. Selection of the team will be made by July 7.
Aaron Vale and Carissimo. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)
McLain’s mounts for the tour include veterans Callas and Contagious, as well as newcomer Ilex (second in the Winter Equestrian Finale last month), and Quimi del Maset, a 10-year-old who is the youngest of that group.
McLain Ward and Callas. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)
Kent is also fielding a four-horse string, with Greya, Landon, Myla and Toulayna in his corner, while Laura has her 2021 team silver Olympic mount Baloutinue, in addition to Bisquetta and Dorado 212. Aaron is riding Carissimo 25.
Kent Farrington and Landon. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)
Those names were no surprise. Neither was Karl Cook (Caracole de la Roque and Kalinka Van’t Zorgvliet, who has done a lot of winning in recent seasons. And Callie Schott, who wowed the crowd with a third-place finish in the grand prix last month at the World Equestrian Center, is on the list with Garant, the former mount of Beezie Madden.
Others named are Jessica Springsteen with her 2021 Olympic team silver medal ride, Don Juan van de Donkhoeve; Lillie Keenan (Argan de Beliard and Kick On), Katie Dinan (Out of the Blue SCF) and Natalie Dean (Acota).
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.
