by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 8, 2021
The group trying to save the 2021 Land Rover Kentucky 5-Star Three-Day Event got another reprieve today. They now have until Wednesday at 6 p.m. to raise a bit more than $300,000 to wrap up the $750,000 goal set by Equestrian Events Inc., the competition’s organizer, as one key to reviving the fixture.
“If we get to that point now, that would give us enough comfort to continue on,” said EEI Executive Director Lee Carter, noting the $750,000 doesn’t cover all expenses. Another $750,000 will be needed to pay for the cost of running a bare-bones 5-star, but he pointed out EEI staff already is working on money-saving adjustments.
The 5-star was cancelled last week when EEI stated it couldn’t run at the top level of the sport without funding from ticket sales. Since U.S. Equestrian Federation rules still ban spectators from its licensed competitions due to Covid protocols, the 5-star appeared to be off the books for the second year in a row.
Zara Tindall of Great Britain is among the many foreign riders who have had the goal of competing at the Kentucky 5-star. (Photo © 2017 by Nancy Jaffer)
But eventer Sara Kozumplik Murphy and her husband, show jumper Brian Murphy, decided they should try to save the 5-star, and the eventing community enthusiastically joined them.
EEI originally said the $750,000 had to be raised by Sunday night Feb. 7, but the board decided that if $400,000 came in by that date, the deadline could be extended by a few days. With more than $432,000 pledged already, extra days to reach the $750,000 goal were granted.
Lee explained more time to find the money could not be given after Wednesday because riders need to make plans about what they will do with their horses as the season progresses and EEI has to start putting things together in earnest. Sara is confident, however, that the $750,000 goal can be reached. Although she conceded that a few days ago, the fundraising effort “seemed like a complete Hail Mary,” she now is more positive about the outcome as the eventing community has rallied behind the cause.
“I don’t think we’re going to lose the event because we didn’t raise enough money,” she maintained. “I think the momentum is growing.”
For his part, Lee said about the fundraising initiative, “We are grateful folks have made the effort and care enough to do it.”
By Wednesday, “Hopefully we can celebrate together that we’re running the 5-star,” Lee said, “but if not, we can (come up with) the next plan and go from there.”
If the 5-star runs, a 4-star short likely will be held concurrently. Should the 5-star be cancelled for good, the 4-star short could still go, Lee said, along with a variety of national divisions that will allow qualified people who would normally be in the stands instead to be on course at appropriate levels for their skill at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Asked if sponsors have offered to step up with the extra $750,000 needed for the 5-star, Lee said they “have been tremendous; they, like the riders, like us, need confirmation about what the plans are. It’s just a matter of giving definitive direction so they can make their plans.”
The event will not be able to pay out $400,000 in prize money as usual, but there’s a question about how much would have to be offered, even though some riders have suggested running without any prize money to insure it will be held.
FEI rules, however, require $125,000 Euros (approximately $150,000) in prize money for a 5-star, yet a break there could be helpful. Although Lee said there have been some conversations with the FEI about that topic, he isn’t sure it will be pursued, figuring they wouldn’t want to make an exception for a single 5-star.
An FEI spokesperson explained any change in the mandated prize money would need to be reviewed by the eventing technical committee and then proposed to the FEI Board. During the Covid-19 impacted period, however, the FEI has already made exceptions to the prize money rule for certain show jumping 5-stars, allowing a drop down to 4-star money, provided the quality of the competition is maintained at a 5-star level.
Sara noted the Kentucky 5-star is even more important for U.S. eventing than usual because it seems unlikely any American riders will make it to England’s Badminton 5-star in May, given the British lockdown and travel restrictions. Meanwhile, she said, there more than 20 foreign horses “wanting to fly over to do Kentucky.”
Sarah Kozumplik Murphy is one of the leaders of the 5-star fundraising. (Photo © 2017 by Nancy Jaffer)
The prestige of the 5-star, she pointed out, is that it serves as the ultimate test, with a cross-country route that is longer and more difficult than the cross-country at the Olympics. This year, both the Kentucky and Olympic cross-country routes are designed by Derek di Grazia.
Those who donate to the “Save 2021” effort will receive recognition and benefits, including reserved tables and hospitality tickets at the upper levels of giving for the 5-stars in 2022 and beyond, to 2023 and 2024. If the 5 star doesn’t happen this year, donors can request a refund. Should you want to donate, here’s the link:www.kentuckythreedayevent.com/donate
The fund raising group, meanwhile, is asking people who bought tickets for the cancelled 2020 event not to request refunds. EEI has the funds to cover that, but not much else if everyone wants their money back, instead of donating it for 2021 or rolling it over for 2022.
Ticket holders who wish to donate the money they paid for 2020 toward having a 2021 5-star can link here.
Lee is confident that whatever happens this year, the 2022 5-star will happen, barring another Covid upsurge.
But as he pointed out, “If this pandemic never subsides, we all have bigger issues.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 16, 2021
An accident of local geography started Nancy Jones on a career with horses that went from the ground up to national recognition, earning her the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s 2020 Jane Marshall Dillon award.
Jonesie, who runs her business at Logan’s Brook Equine Center on the border of Morris and Somerset counties, is proficient at everything horse; from breeding, foaling and training them for a variety of jobs, to rehabbing mounts and teaching aspiring riders.
How did her involvement begin? As luck would have it, Jonesie’s family lived in a development behind Morris County’s Seaton Hackney stables in Morris Township.
“We used to sneak through the fence and fool around with the school horses,” she recalled about meeting the animals with her friends.
Although she was drawn to horses, she explained, “Lessons weren’t an option for me. My parents didn’t have that wherewithal.”
But Jonesie’s luck continued to direct her path, because Bert Beck, who ran the stable, was an “incredible horseman.”
Not only did he take an interest in kids who hung out at the barn, he was a skilled, old-school professional who made a point of imparting his knowledge to youngsters who wanted to learn the right way of doing things.
Those who were serious about horses learned plenty and developed not only a good work ethic, but also a great understanding of what it took to be successful with the animals.
“He was a top-notch trainer. Everything was correct from the beginning,” recalled Jonesie, and those who have trained with her emphasize that is also the way she operates.
“Everything is pretty much by the book,” said Mona Shaw, who worked with her at Logan’s Brook for many years.
“She’s so fastidious about doing things the right way.”
Jonesie and Whitney Reynolds before a hunter pace.
Logan’s Brook owner Maddie Devine observed, “She teaches horsemanship first and foremost. She just wouldn’t allow you to speed through the process.”
Maddie, who has ridden with Jonesie for about 30 years, says “she’s fantastic with children.”
Even though Bert wasn’t in the fanciest of situations, “He made the best of what he had,” Jonesie said
“He would let us groom and hang out. He had a very high standard. He’d let us take a pony bareback to check the back gate, just so we could sit on a pony. He would sit up in the hayloft and watch us.”
The kids learned a little bit of everything. That included driving Bert’s Clydesdale, Billy, to fixing halters. And of course, horse care was paramount.
“You never brought a horse back from riding with one bit of sweat on it, let me tell you,” Jonesie emphasized.
Bert, who considered the horses his “business partners” was “the original best teacher,” his dedicated student believes, and it set the course for her life.
“It’s all horses, it always has been,” Jonesie explained. “I didn’t decide; it just was.”
The Dillon trophy, named after the Virginia horsewoman who wrote the book, “School for Young Riders” about her training program, has been presented since 2010 to trainers who laid the initial groundwork for their students’ success. It acknowledges that while the students may go on to training elsewhere at a higher level, they advance on the foundation their early trainers gave them. In addition to Jonesie, Kathy Steege of Massachusetts (mother of top hunter rider Amanda Steege) and Pennsylvanian Betsy Morret were also recognized for the award in 2020.
As Olympic double gold medalist Joe Fargis noted about his mentor, Mrs. Dillon, “She gave me the best start a person could possibly have. She thought about the horse first, always, and was a good role model for the kids. I couldn’t have been luckier than to have started there.”
Had the award been given during Mr. Beck’s lifetime, he likely would have been a candidate for the honor.
Jonesie did everything she could to be involved with horses, even volunteering to hold mounts for members of the Spring Valley Hounds in New Vernon when the hunt had a picnic and members enjoyed a leisurely lunch..
Because she had been well-trained, people started to let her ride their horses. When Mr. Beck retired, she went over to Hilltop Stable in New Vernon, where Clarence Nagro was in charge, and to Tewksbury Farms in Hunterdon County, where she would polish boots for trainer Carl Bessette.
“I would clean the tack of those fancy show horses that I would just drool over. And then they let me sit on them and exercise them,” she remembered. Bertalan de Nemethy, coach of the U.S. show jumping team, would teach at Tewksbury and offered instruction to Jonesie.
“He taught me to sit the canter. He couldn’t stand seeing me in my two-point. I knew who he was and I was in awe of everybody at that time. But he just saw this kid who wanted to do it, and he really got after me. I’ll never forget it. ”
Jonesie noted, “I feel so fortunate I fell in the laps of top people, and they took care of me. My parents didn’t want me to do horses, but they couldn’t keep me away.”
While grooming for Clarence’s wife, Tania Nagro, Jonesie slipped on the rain-wet ramp of the van and fractured her ankle badly. She underwent surgery, and then the Nagros took her in at Tempe Wick, their home in Mendham
She was 18 years old, working at night at the breeding farm and during the day, at Hilltop.
“Talk about a horsemanship experience. Again, I credit Mr. Beck for giving me that base,” Jonesie said.
She foaled and broke babies, galloped race horses, was an honorary huntsman for Spring Valley, showed and did hunter trials. She would even ride horses in the parking lot at Bunchy Grant’s auction as Clarence watched to see if he wanted to buy them.
Clarence “knew how to get to a horse and make them understand their job,” she commented.
“When he broke a baby, you never had a problem with it for the rest of its life. By watching him and working with him, I learned how to train a horse.”
She often was there when the horses were born and also was on hand when they were put down.
“How many people know horses from day one until the end?” she asked.
A proud moment was when she finished second to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the Essex hunter trials on Northern Tim, a handsome fellow she had nursed back from a bowed tendon.
“My little off-the-track thoroughbred just nailed it. I know it doesn’t sound like much to a lot of people, but this little horse, he went right along,” she said proudly.
Jonesie showing Private Screening on the line at Devon. (Photo by Pennington)
She worked with Clarence until he died in 1985 when she was 30, then set up her own business at the Augustinus farm, finally moving in 1990 to Logan’s Brook located in New Vernon with a Basking Ridge address. Some may remember the property from the era when it was Rod MacDougall’s Floradale Farm.
She teaches the way she was trained.
“I will not just put a kid on a horse. They will learn about horse care right from the beginning. I don’t care if they’re five.”
That approach, she said, “attracts a certain kind of folk which I enjoy being around.”
Many of her students came to Logan’s Brook as youngsters, and rose through the ranks with her.
“I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to essentially grow up at Logan’s Brook, and I am happy to say it was some of the best years of my life,” said Lindsey Anuzis, who spent 14 years there.
“I began training with Jonesie on my tenth birthday, and from day one, she taught me not only about impeccable horsemanship, but invaluable life lessons, including, but not limited to, the value of hard work, dedication and patience.
“Jonesie emphasized the care of the horses in her training because without them, we would not be riding. She encouraged her students to learn about all aspects of horse care; feeding, by learning about their horse’s grain and hay, which she grows on the property; basic veterinary care, farm maintenance and managing a business, as well as the fundamentals of riding and horsemanship,” noted Lindsey, now a clinical mental health counselor associate in North Carolina. She hopes eventually to incorporate equine assisted psychotherapy into her practice, a dividend of her early involvement with horses.
Lindsey noted that Jonesie has relationships with excellent trainers and former Olympic team members, giving her students an opportunity when they were ready to ride with such big names as Anne Kursinski, Jeff Cook and Chris Kappler, among others.
That paid off for another former student, Jessica Siuda. When she felt it was time for a move on to bigger things in the show world, Jonesie connected her with Hunterdon Inc., a top show stable, and Jess went on to make a name for herself on the international stage with Unbelievable 5 and Hello Sanctos.
“Jonesie is the one who gave me the connection when I wanted to take my riding to the next level,” said Jess, while noting, “she taught me from day one that the horse comes first; it’s not just about riding.” Like Jonesie’s other students, she learned how to take a bridle apart, clean it the right way and put it back together again, along with braiding, bandaging and all the other details of horse care that are key. Although she is targeting a doctorate in business administration and has put horses to the side at the moment, Jess has never forgotten what Jonesie gave her, “a debt that can never be repaid.”
Jonesie often had her hands full with Northern Tim, but she knew how to work with him.
Many students who got their start with Jonesie went on to make careers with horses.
“They circle back after 20 or 25 years and thank you for giving them a work ethic,” Jonesie commented.
Even so, earning the Dillon trophy “was definitely a surprise,” she said.
“I don’t look for awards. But the fact that people think of me in that way, I feel very honored and humbled by it.”
After so many decades of hard work, does she every think of retiring?
Jonesie seemed a bit mystified by the question.
“Why would I do that?” she asked.
Then she offered a bit of advice:
“Take the time to learn about horses for a lifetime of feeling like you have meaning.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 5, 2021
If you haven’t been to the grounds of the Winter Equestrian Festival or the Adequan Global Dressage Festival since Covid shut them down last March, don’t be surprised to find things quite different on your return this year.
Those fleeing to Florida, with or without horses, are learning that the “no spectators” rule, which has been in effect since competition resumed in June, will continue at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center and Equestrian Village in Wellington. It’s quite disappointing for people who have been drawn to the municipality by the amenity of being able to watch great horses and riders in action. Many enthusiasts view the winter and early spring shows as a highlight of their year.
But if you aren’t showing, or one of the two guests permitted to attend per rider, a sponsor or a horse owner, you are not allowed to drop by what has beem a wildly popular destination for visitors. Guests must register, which means management knows exactly who is on the showgrounds.
Big crowds have been a regular “Saturday Night Lights” feature at PBIEC. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
Lack of spectators is particularly disappointing because so many riders will be coming from Europe, where numerous indoor shows have been shut down. That means WEF and AGDF will be even more star-studded than usual. The entire Japanese dressage team is coming, and a record 10 to 12 countries will be competing in the show jumping Nations Cup. Many of the riders will be getting ready to make a bid for participating in the Tokyo Olympics.
But since most fans won’t be able to cheer them on in person, and getting horses used to performing in front of a crowd–important preparation for the Olympics and other big stages–is one function of training that isn’t happening..The facilities can’t chance that there will be a Covid incident leading to the shutdown of competition.
“We don’t want to take any risks with any of the competitors or anybody involved in the show world,” explained Michael Stone, president of Equestrian Sport Productions, which puts on the dressage and hunter/jumper series.
Although Florida doesn’t have restrictions on the number of people who can attend outdoor sporting events (the Super Bowl is scheduled for next month in Tampa) “no spectators” at licensed shows is a U.S. Equestrian Federation rule.
Is the possibility of hosting horse show fans even on the horizon? Michael said at a press conference yesterday that if Covid “suddenly, miraculously got under control, we’d certainly be open to it.”
USEF has stated that should Covid rates decrease over the next three or four months with the advent of the vaccine, “active preparations are ongoing for the day when we can gradually allow USEF competitions to host spectators once again. We are currently developing the necessary protocols to evaluate when this can safely occur.”
USEF advised, however, that the numbers would be “restricted” when it moves cautiously to allow attendance by the public.
Steffen Peters is coming from California to the Adequan Global Dressage Festival with Suppenkasper and two other horses, but there will be no fans saluting his performance at the Friday Night Stars freestyle as they did last year before the Covid shutdown. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
ESP’s priorities, meanwhile, are for those involved with making a living at the shows.
“So many people work on a day rate (as freelancers) that “if the show doesn’t happen, they don’t get paid,” Michael observed.
“That’s really a significant factor in our decision-making,” he said.
“The biggest challenge is to keep everybody safe and hopefully Covid fatigue won’t set in,”
Although there will be VIP areas as usual for sponsors, horse owners and officials, the numbers allowed in will be limited, but Michael noted that demand for ringside gathering has dropped as the pandemic drags on.Those who don’t attend can watch at pbiec.com
Although there had been talk of scrapping the Great Charity Challenge, in which jumper riders traditionally compete in costume to the delight of the fans, it was decided to go ahead. The challenge has raised $14.8 million for non-profit organizations in Palm Beach County, and the need this year is particularly great because of food shortages for so many due to Covid.
Luckily for ESP, the fact that fans get in free (except for parking fees) means it’s not losing a ton of money by keeping them away. Michael noted that all the sponsors except the Carnival Cruise line (which can’t sail at the moment) are back on board.
“Will we make any money?” Michael asked rhetorically. “Very little. But we will survive.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 29, 2020
The headline today is from the fourth verse of “Deck the Halls,” one of my favorite carols. It’s quite appropriate; for most of us; Covid 2020 can’t pass away fast enough.
Here we are in the middle of the “holidays,” which haven’t felt very festive without real celebrations, family and friends (live, not on a screen). Facebook, as useful as it is in some ways, can’t make up for the miles between us.
“One Christmas was so much like another, in those years,” begins “A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” and many of us will agree with that thought when it comes to the Yules they once knew. But this Christmas was certainly unlike any other, and not in a good way. Let’s hope the pandemic, with its deaths, masks, lockdowns, financial pain, quarantines and struggling businesses are just a bad memory by this time in 2021, rather than a new, despairing pattern that weaves its way into our memories like a tick.
Masks on the presenters and winners and awards ceremonies always reminds me of the pictures of bank robbers in the wild West. (Photo © 2020 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
If I had to characterize 2020 in one word, I’d select “virtual.” With the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s decision to ban spectators from shows, those who want a taste of the action must go to the live stream. And it’s just not the same. I watched the National Dog Show at Thanksgiving, hoping its cardboard “crowd” and recorded “fan” reaction wouldn’t be borrowed by misguided equestrian competitions desperately trying to add excitement. It didn’t work for the dog show.
Live stream shows are better than nothing, though. Edicts on the size of gatherings from various governors resulted in show cancellations at different periods throughout the year. Which meant no live streams.
In New Jersey, indoor shows couldn’t be held after Dec. 5, and only 25 people were allowed in groups outdoors (not that many will consider competing when the mercury drops into the 30s and below, anyway.) The regulations extend until at least Jan.2, but I suspect that could go on much longer, killing what is normally a decent indoor season in the state for those who can’t migrate to Florida.
The equestrian organizations’ annual meetings–the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association (12 days!), U.S. Eventing Association and U.S. Dressage Federation were held on Zoom, as the USEF convention will be next year when Tom O’Mara succeeds Murray Kessler as the organization’s president. Zoom cuts down on travel expenses, but the bargain means no chance for important connections involving chatter in the hallways, meeting new people or drawing someone into a lengthy back-and-forth on the issues.
Still, it’s tough to derail the horse industry even in the worst of circumstances, so there was a brighter side to the pandemic as competition organizers and exhibitors stepped up. Managers learned how to run shows efficiently with the restrictions. Show secretaries rejoiced at having entries arrive via the Internet in a timely manner. Facilities at showgrounds got intensive cleaning. And horse sales were up (just like pet adoptions.) With so many people working from home, they had more time for equestrian pursuits, especially since a host of other recreational activities were on hold because of Covid regulations.
Jill McGrady, chair of the USHJA’s Recognized Riding Academy Committee, noted lesson programs grew in size and people were spending more time at the barn than usual. Less showing also meant more learning–riders could strengthen their skills in lessons and clinics while establishing greater rapport with their horses, rather than constantly trying to cope with the pressure of competition.
Issues coming to the fore in 2020 included safety improvements, as well as how to make horse sports more diverse, while amateurs are demanding that their concerns are heard and acted on. They want their voices to be heard.
In the good horse-related news from 2020 (there was some), the President this week signed the bill that includes the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act passed by Congress. It establishes an independent anti-doping agency to ensure national standards (as opposed to fragmented state standards) in regard to use of drugs and medications at tracks across the country. Marty Irby, executive director of Animal Wellness Action, called the legislation, “the biggest gain for horses in half a century,” which “will put the welfare of the horses at the center of the enterprise, and put the sport on a level playing field that aligns with the rest of the world.”
When more than 23 horses died in less than three months last year at California’s Santa Anita Park, the issue of breakdowns that may be caused by race day medications could not be ignored. A national database will be developed to track injuries and fatalities. The legislation also addresses track safety through an accreditation program that ensures compliance with proper maintenance of the surfaces.
What will 2021 bring? We’re nervous…
We all missed Devon and its special atmosphere this year. (Photo © 2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
Can fixtures that couldn’t run this year stage a successful return? Think about the Land Rover Kentucky 5-star event, Devon, Lake Placid, the Essex Horse Trials, the Hampton Classic, Dressage at Devon, the new Maryland 5-star event and so many others we missed in 2020 (including the Olympics, now set for this summer in Tokyo).
And then there was the FEI World Cup Finals in dressage and show jumping, which couldn’t be held in Las Vegas last April and sadly is unlikely to return there anytime soon.
Several of the stories I covered intensively during 2020 are ongoing and will develop further next year. Here’s an update:
- Grand prix rider Kevin Babington continues to work hard at rehabilitation since being left a quadriplegic by a catastrophic fall at a horse show in August 2019. He has regained a small amount of feeling here and there, including sensation that comes and goes on the right side of his body. Kevin is part of an ongoing stem cell trial at the Mayo Clinic, while the effort he is making in physical therapy is starting to pay off. That is a tribute to the Irish Olympian’s indomitable spirit and the dedication of his wife, Dianna and their children, Gwyneth and Marielle, to his cause.
“I feel like I’m getting stronger,” Kevin told me the other day. “I’m definitely encouraged.”
Kevin Babington, with his wife, Dianna, at his side, continues teaching from his porch. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
He continues to teach and said, “I feel like I’m getting better at it. If I didn’t have teaching, I’d be lost.”
Visitors have stopped coming to see him in person because of Covid, and much of the fundraising that supported Kevin at the end of 2019 and earlier this year has disappeared for the same reason, but his expenses continue to be enormous. Those looking for an end-of-year tax break can contribute to the 501c3 Kevin Babington Foundation, which handles such needs as paying for aides and renovating his Florida home, which was not handicapped accessible.
To donate, send an email to kevinbabingtonfoundation@gmail.com to obtain bank or mailing information. To make a contribution to the Babington Family Trust, which pays day-to-day expenses, send contributions (which are not tax deductible) to 13254 Casey Road, Loxahatchee, Fla., 33470.
- Although it looked as if the 2020 eventing competition at Plantation Field in Pennsylvania would be the last held there following a furor over the competition’s name, eventing at the facility actually will continue next year. When a website started a campaign to change the event’s name, contending that “Asking people of color to come visit, to spectate, volunteer, or compete, at a place called Plantation is insensitive at best and works against our efforts to implement more diversity in the sport,” property owner Cuyler Walker was upset by the implication that his family had a link with racism. He resigned from the board of Plantation Field Equestrian Events and cancelled the event’s lease on the property. Plantation Field had no connection to slavery; it got its name after Boy Scouts planted trees there in the 1930s.
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The signature cross-country complex at Plantation Field. (Photo © 2020 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
It turns out, however, that the lease had a provision enabling events to be held on the acreage for two more years after the contract was cancelled. So the board of Plantation Field Equestrian Events voted to have competition continue at the scenic site in 2021.
As 2020 wanes, we should give a thought to those we lost in the preceding 12 months. They include modern pentathlon coach Lt. Col. John Russell who reached the century mark; Ricci Desiderio, the trainer who ran Tranquillity Farm in Chester Township with his family and was a strong voice for agriculture in New Jersey; Agneta and Brownlee Currey, pillars of the Hampton Classic and U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation and James Cox Brady of Bedminster, an important figure in racing whose grandfather built the landmark stable that is the Gladstone headquarters of the USET Foundation.
Others who passed on included Eugene “Captain Seawood” Johnson, a true horse show character who could do any job around a venue, from grooming to cooking; Pan Am Games team gold and individual bronze eventing medalist Packy McGaughan and hunter/jumper/author/trainer Kip Rosenthal. This month, we lost esteemed judge Frank Willard, a North Carolinian also known for his career as a top rider and trainer; as well as Ray Harper of Howell Township, who had been director of information technology for the USET Foundation. Also gone in December were show manager and national PHA President Naomi Blumenthal and Kitty Wieschhoff, well-known in the eventing world, whose obituaries are still in the On the Rail section of this website.
Horses who went to greener pastures were dressage great Totilas, equitation star Grappa and McKinlaigh, Gina Miles’ 2008 Olympic eventing silver medal mount.
Let’s remember them all fondly and then ride forward into 2021 with confidence and our eyes up, hoping for better things. Happy New Year!
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 16, 2020
Moments of glory with horses usually are fleeting, but the disappointments too often seem to come like clockwork.
Kim Herslow actually enjoyed more than few of those splendid special moments with Rosmarin, a Hanoverian she bought in Germany as a three-year-old and developed to the FEI level.
Kim and Reno at the 2015 Pan American Games. (Photo © 2015 by Nancy Jaffer)
During her best year with the son of Rosentanz, known as Reno, she emerged victorious in the Small Tour at the Munich show before going on to the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, where teams were composed of both Small and Big Tour riders.
In Toronto, her score of 77.15 percent in the Intermediare I was just 0.02 percent behind the total earned by her teammate, Laura Graves, on Verdades in the Grand Prix Special, clinching gold for the U.S. squad and a spot on the podium for Kim.
Kim Herslow on the podium at the 2015 Pan Am Games with gold medal teammates Steffen Peters, Sabine Schut-Kery and Laura Graves (Photo © 2015 by Nancy Jaffer)
After that, she was pointing Reno to Grand Prix and all kinds of possibilities. But in January 2016, he underwent surgery for a cyst that was inside his stifle joint above the cruciate ligament. After he recovered and was being brought back to fitness, he had a suspensory issue, so she decided to semi-retire him.
“If you own horses, it is pretty much guaranteed that you will deal with an injury at some point that will sideline them in their training,” she knows.
“What a heartbreaker, but he’s happy; he owes me nothing.”
Kim enjoys hacking Reno around her Upper Creek Farm in Stockton, where he is the first horse she rides every day.
Kim hacking Reno around the farm. Photo © by Nancy Jaffer
“I’m letting him enjoy what he wants to do and not what he has to do,” she said of Reno, now 15.
“He was a great partner and we had a lot of harmony together, so the bar is high.”
But his problems put her upper level career on hold. She had some rides that kept her in practice, at least, but nothing that she could develop the way she had done with Reno.
Then she met Elvis.
No, not that Elvis. This one is Elvis HI, a Lusitano. She owns him in partnership with Ailene Cascio of Mountain Lakes, who trained with Anne Gribbons. A median score of 70.881 has Elvis ranked first in the U.S. Dressage Federation standings for Prix St. Georges horses registered with the International Andalusian and Lusitano Horse Association.
Kim competing Elvis at the Red Tail Farm show in Bedminster this summer. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
“That’s pretty darn good for his first time out showing PSG,” said Kim, noting she had just moved him up to that division in June.
Elvis, by Travesso SC out of Quizumba HI, was purchased as a three-year-old coming four from Jorge Gabriel, a Brazilian based in Florida and Massachusetts who trains Elmo Santana, another nice Lusitano.
Kim, 49, has been riding Elvis for four years. She notes people can’t figure out what breed he is while watching him go, because he doesn’t have what many consider the typical Lusitano look.
“I took my time bringing him through the levels,” said Kim, who is schooling Grand Prix with the 12-year-old.
He’s already exhibiting a “classical and correct” piaffe, she reported.
“As he gets stronger and more supple and understands how to use his body better, it gets better and better.”
She showed him this summer at the HITS facility in Saugerties, N.Y. Because of the venue’s large size, she sees it as a good place “to get a horse’s feet wet” in practice for heading to new locations as his show career progresses.
Riding a Lusitano requires different techniques than riding a warmblood, she found.
“His walk used to be lateral and now I’m getting 8s and 9s on his collected walk. It involves teaching them (Lusitanos) to use their core and not just brace their neck and run really fast. That is the trick for that breed, I think.
Linda Zang, an international judge who has officiated at the Olympics and gives clinics at Kim’s barn, helped with Elvis. The guidance enabled Kim to improve Elvis and “bring it up to the level that it is now, with a feel that is really solid and controlled in a nice contact, where he’s always on the vertical and always going out to the bit.”
Although Kim usually spends the winter in Florida, competing at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, she notes that as questions about Covid keep coming up, “it’s not the best year to head down to Florida.” For next season, she plans to train at her own stable, with its insulated indoor arena.
She can get coaching via the internet with a Pixem video system (she is grateful for the help of her fiancée, internet technology specialist Lenny Neugarten in making that work.) So Kim has been able to benefit from lessons with U.S. dressage technical advisor Debbie McDonald and Ali Brock, a member of the USA’s 2016 bronze medal Olympic team, even though they’re not within 1,000 miles of New Jersey.
“It is nice to see she has another horse going down centerline,” Debbie commented.
Ali mentioned, “I had the wonderful opportunity to compete alongside Kim and Reno starting in 2015 at the Nations Cup in Wellington, followed by the Pan Am short list tour in Europe, the Gladstone Pan Am training camp, and all the way up to team gold in Toronto.
“You really get to know someone when they are under the pressure of competing, and there was a tremendous amount of pressure to achieve team gold in Toronto. Kim is one of my most favorite people ever–she is an amazing horsewoman, teammate, barnmate and friend who is honest, trustworthy, supportive, caring and kind,” Ali added.
“She is a heck of a competitor and exactly the kind of person who you’d want on your team. I am so happy to see her bringing on new horses, and have enjoyed helping her with Elvis. He is a very-hard working, serious, sensitive guy who has really bloomed under Kim’s training and nurturing. I fully expect to see them in the Grand Prix ring in the next couple of years.”
Kim gives Elvis a pat after a good test. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
Hard work is also Kim’s hallmark. After the former hunter/jumper rider discovered dressage at Delaware Valley College in Pennsylvania, her father, John Herslow, gave her the opportunity of having her own farm, but required her to be involved in building it.
When Upper Creek first opened, Kim did all the work because she couldn’t afford to pay for any help. The business progressed, but she noted, “All the horses I produced I had to sell as they started getting good, so I could pay my bills. I appreciate everything more because I’ve worked that hard for it.”
In addition to Elvis, Kim is bringing along a five-year-old, Feymar (Furstenball X Weltmeyer) who has “a super brain” She was second in the ranking of the Bundeschampionat for Oldenburgs as a three-year-old. But it was the fact that she reminded Kim of Reno which made a connection.
“That’s one of the reasons I bought her,” she explained, noting the mare is on a slower track than Reno while he was developing. Even so, “She’ll be a powerhouse, I think. We’ve just got to see how it plays out.”
She knows that patience is the only was to make things happen with her horses.
When it comes to Elvis practicing piaffe, “I’m being careful to keep it fun. Grand Prix isn’t that far off for him. He’s going to be one of those horses that wants to do it. He’s trying really hard for me, and that’s a good feeling.”
She’s willing to spend “whatever time it takes to give him the confidence and make him super consistent. If he shows potential that he’s going to step up to that plate, for sure we could think about doing some bigger things.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 21, 2020
A lifetime ban against hunter/jumper trainer Bob McDonald has been lifted by the U.S. Equestrian Federation, as the U.S. Center for SafeSport closed a case against him involving allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor in 1973.
McDonald was suspended in June, pending an appeal. While arbitration was pending, he provided more information to SafeSport on August 21. Then, a week later, he was notified that all sanctions had been lifted.
Robert McDonald. (Photo © 2015 by Nancy Jaffer)
He and his wife, U.S. Dressage Technical Advisor Debbie McDonald, were relieved that after more than two emotionally and financially draining months, their nightmare is over.
“The accusations were false, they were always false and were proven to be false. It’s simple enough,” said McDonald, who is semi-retired.
SafeSport is the “exclusive authority” investigating and prosecuting allegations of sexual abuse within Olympic and Paralympic sport.
While a spokesman for the organization could not comment on the specifics of the case, he stated, “SafeSport’s mission is to make athlete well-being the centerpiece of sport culture.
“It fulfills its critical purpose through policies, resources and tools aimed at preventing abuse as well as those that allow the Center to hold individuals accountable. Every matter is unique which is why the Center is equipped with tools, policies and procedures to account for the many variables inherent in this important and highly sensitive work. One such tool allows SafeSport to return to a matter when and if additional information is made available, including the participation of key witnesses. Such a decision is not taken lightly and is only made in the interest of fulfilling the Center’s mission.”
When contacted, the USEF said in a statement, “We do not have any details on the decision made by the U.S. Center for SafeSport. All information with regard to the case remains confidential in accordance with the policies of the Center. Mr. McDonald has been fully reinstated as a USEF member.”
McDonald noted that when the case against him was made public, supporters stood behind him.
“They said they know me, and they know that this isn’t me. That’s what kept me going the whole time,” noted McDonald, 73, whose career also included time as a horse show judge.
“I got letters from people I taught 50 and 45 years ago, saying I had changed their lives and they wanted me to know they were the better for it. That let me know in 50 years of doing this, some good came from it.”
As his wife commented, “It was amazing to see how many names I’d forgotten who came forward and said (of the accusation) `There’s no way. If you need anything, let us know.’”
Bob and Debbie McDonald at Brentina’s 2009 retirement. (Photo © 2009 by Nancy Jaffer)
While thanking those who supported her husband and herself, she stated, “We are relieved and grateful to hear that the lifetime ban against my husband, Bob, has been lifted and that the case is closed, but we are by no means considering this a celebration.
“He has never wavered his position on the accusations being false and we are both appreciative of all of our family, friends and supporters who have encouraged us and supported us during this time. From the beginning we cooperated and allowed the process to take place with SafeSport. Bob understood the seriousness of the accusations and that is why we were committed to clearing his name. We do not take any type of abuse lightly. There is nothing worse than having your character, or the character of a loved one questioned.”
While the ban was in effect, Bob McDonald was prohibited from participating in any activities or competitions licensed, endorsed or sponsored by the USEF, and was not allowed to attend shows.
At the time the accusation was made, McDonald said, “It is beyond heartbreaking to see the reputation that I have painstakingly built throughout my career be tarnished by an allegation of misconduct from 47 years ago.”
Recognized for being a great spotter of equine talent, McDonald is best known in the dressage world for discovering the promising Hanoverian, Brentina. She was purchased by Parry and Peggy Thomas, who were clients of McDonald’s, and his wife got the ride on the chestnut mare. The duo became the top U.S. combination in dressage, taking double gold at the 1999 Pan American Games and going on to be part of the silver medal team at the 2002 FEI World Equestrian Games. They also were on the bronze medal team at the 2004 Olympics, along with earning many other honors.
