by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 24, 2021
Even though the Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event won’t have its 4-star Long division starting in 2023, the Horse Park of New Jersey trustees “enthusiastically” have voted to stage the event in 2022–“so long as we can obtain the necessary sponsorship funding to run the show to the standard that we have set for ourselves,” board president Adam Furlong said today.
Over the weekend, it was learned that the event was not granted a CCI 4-star Long division by the U.S. Equestrian Federation for 2023 through 2027. There is, however, a possibility Jersey Fresh can run in 2023 without the 4 Star L if it gets the 4-star Short and 3-Star Long and Short, which will not be awarded until next month.
But it does have the 4-star Long and Short and 3-star Long and Short for 2022, just as it did this year, when it drew more than 160 entries, breaking its record set in 2019. The key to whether JFI 2022 happens will be what the sponsors want to do, knowing that it might not be held in 2023, or if it is, it would be a different event than in the past. Adam’s family business, B.W Furlong & Associates, is a longtime Jersey Fresh sponsor.
The iconic Jersey Fresh jump standards. (Photo © 2021 by Nancy Jaffer)
The decisions of the sponsors “ultimately will impact the size and scale of the event,” Adam said.
“We want to send Jersey Fresh off in the best light possible. In order to do that, we need to make sure we have the necessary revenue and income to run it the way we want, so when everyone leaves they’re like, `Wow, it’s really impressive what Jersey Fresh has done over the last several years and we can’t wait to see what they have in store for us in 2028’,” which would be the start of the next five-year cycle.
“Even if Jersey Fresh runs in 2023 absent the 4-star L, every year we try to raise the bar for ourselves as far as rider expectations and the quality of the event,” Adam said. He noted that Jersey Fresh for years has been a selection/observation trials for the Olympics, as it was this year, and also for the world championships. The championships are coming up next year in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy, but it is too soon to know if Jersey Fresh will get the nod as a trial in 2022.
“The final list of selection trials will be confirmed once the selection procedures are published. As for when the selection procedures will be published, the FEI has not yet confirmed the qualification criteria for Pratoni, so we are currently playing a waiting game,” stated Jenni Autry, the USEF’s managing director for eventing.
Should Jersey Fresh get the nod to be a world championships selection trial, Adam noted, “if we have that as a selling point for the event for 2022, I would hope that would be considered a valuable commodity to sponsors.”
The cross-country at Jersey Fresh always draws tailgaters.
In 2023, even if it gets the 4-Star Short and the two 3-Star sections, Jersey Fresh would, not be able to run on its usual mid-May weekend because North Carolina’s Tryon International 4-Star L will be held then, drawing from the same pool of competitors as Jersey Fresh. Tryon is one of the six events that will host 4-Star Longs from 2023-2027.
“It’s going to be a complicated dance to try to figure out, can we do that with all the other events the Horse Park hosts in any given year?” said Adam in regard to finding a new date.
“We’re very fortunate our spring and early summer schedules are pretty jam-packed, so it would be kind of them (USEF) if they would give us a pretty early heads-up on when they’re going to tell us what their decision is.”
All of the venues that were awarded 4-Star Long divisions have state-of-the-art footing in their arenas, something the Horse Park lacks, though it is trying to raise money for that purpose.
Doug Payne, the highest-placing American in the eventing at the Tokyo Olympics, was a Jersey Fresh winner in 2019 with Starr Witness. A native of New Jersey who now lives in North Carolina, he has ridden many times at the park and his family’s Applewood Farm is a regular sponsor of cross-country fences for Jersey Fresh.
Doug Payne and Starr Witness were winners at Jersey Fresh in 2019. (Photo © 2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
“I think they’ve made such a massive effort in recent years, working so hard to improve, that it’s definitely a hard pill to swallow,” he said about the park’s loss of the 4-Star L.
“The cross-country has made great strides to improve and the footing there, regardless of weather, generally is quite good. It’s unfortunate their rings are not quite top-tier quality at the moment,” he said.
“The Horse Park has done an admirable job trying to improve and make the most of everything they’ve got and you would like to see them back at some point.”
Adam said while the board is “disappointed” that USEF didn’t award Jersey Fresh the 4-star L for 2023-’27, “rather than getting too hung up on the negatives, the appropriate way forward is to use this as an opportunity to give us a couple of years to really pursue some of the necessary funding to underwrite the capital improvement expenses and investments that we’ve talked about for quite some time. Our hope and desire is that when the 2028 bid cycle opens up, we have established ourselves as a very well-suited venue to host an international-caliber event and will be very excited to hopefully get that event and that weekend back to the Horse Park of New Jersey.”
The park has a footing fund that paid for a partial overhaul of the grand prix ring in 2019, which cost just under $100,000. Eventually, the trustees want to overhaul all the rings, which would cost about $2 million.But the key project is to re-do the surfaces of the grand prix ring and its warm-up arena, which would require 2,200 tons of new footing and cost about $500,000.
“We want to add (synthetic) material to create a softer and more consistent feel…to get it to the standard that riders expect from us these days,” said Adam.
“While we are trying to meet the standards of one of a number of different types of competition we host at the park, we know these investments will be incredibly appreciated and valuable to all the other sports that utilize the park,” Adam said.
Those who want to help the park are encouraged to donate to the footing fund on the park’s website at.https://horseparkofnewjersey.com/hpnjfootingfund.
None of the events that got a 4-Star L for 2023-’27 are in the Northeast.
“Eventing has been migrating south for quit a long time,” said Doug, noting Area I (New England) was “the hub of it all” for quite a long time.
“We saw the writing on the wall and it was part of the motivation for us to move where we did,” he said.
He noted it’s important to have major events in order to encourage the growth of eventing in a region.
“Growing up, we had Pony Club camp at the USET (in Gladstone). Being around it and seeing it is without a doubt a motivating factor.
“If it’s not around you and you’re not aware of it, it’s hard not to start looking somewhere else, another discipline or another sport. It’s encouraging “If you have top-class sport in your backyard and see the best of the best competing frequently.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 7, 2021
Can the Swedes do it? They are on quite a streak; three clear in the individual qualifier, three in the jump-off and a silver medal; three clear in the team qualifier. Will it hold through the team medal competition?
The course for the team final. Time allowed is 82 seconds..
Follow along to see how the competition went. If you’d like to watch a recap on TV in the U.S., it will be on NBCSN from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. today and highlights will be aired on NBC itself from 3:15-4:15 p.m. today with 1984 Olympic team show jumping gold medalist Melanie Smith Taylor commentating.
Here we go. It’s 6 a.m. at Baji Koen Equestrian Park as the final equestrian competition of the Olympics, as Santiago Varela of Spain designs yet another fantastic course, both beautiful and testing, as the teams come back. They have to cope not only with a triple combination that has a liverpool oxer in the middle, but also two double combinations and a water jump.
The first rider, Fabian Sejanes on Emir, has three fences down for Argentina. and winds up with two more penalties for exceeding the 82-second time allowed. The 10 teams are going in reverse order of standing.
Marc Houtzager and Dante have two rails for the Dutch, plus one time penalty, while Brazil’s Marion Modolo Zanotelli on Edgar M is the first without time penalties, but has three down. Britain’s Holly Smith cannot improve on that, and in fact, has four rails within the time on former event horse Denver.
As I have said repeatedly in my blogs, don’t count out the French in eventing (where they medaled) and show jumping. Simon Delestre and Berlux Z have a lovely trip, with just a single time fault to put their country into the early lead. But it doesn’t last, as Laura Kraut of the U.S. turns in the first double-clear with Baloutinue, a horse she just started riding in April.
She was spot-on everywhere, saying, “whoa, whoa” going into the triple of a vertical/oxer/vertical as he aced it. It was the first perfect round for the U.S. in jumping at Baji Koen since the discipline got under way on Tuesday.
Laura Kraut and Baloutinue at the stunning cherry tree fence.
European Champion Martin Fuchs has had a disappointing competition with the marvelous Clooney. Here he has the A at the double down and a fault at the water for eight within the time. Germany, always a threat, is less so after Andre Thieme has two rails near the end of the course with Chakaria. Fence 11 comes down for Peter Devos and Claire of Belgium.
Then Sweden comes out in the same form it has showed throughout the Games. Henrik von Eckermann and the shoeless King Edward are clear in 78.05 seconds, moving his country into the lead at the end of the first group of riders, because Laura Kraut’s clean round was clocked in 79.33 seconds. King Edward has not had a rail down in five rounds. Will the rest of his team follow suit?
SECOND GROUP OF RIDERS
Harrie Smolders, former world number one, is in the rotation for the Netherlands for the first time with Bingo Du Parc. He replaces William Greve, who had three rails down yesterday. On the good side, the horse is fresh; on the other side, he hasn’t jumped in this arena until now. No matter, he’s clean, despite getting a little close to the A element of the Japanese fan double. He just made the time allowed of 82 in 81.98.
Another substitution is Yuri Mansur of Brazil for Rodrigo Pessoa, who had copious faults in the team qualifier. Yuri and Alfons. Good move. Yuri only had one rail, at the middle element of the triple, an oxer over a liverpool that had several of the horses looking at the water.
Britain’s Harry Charles hasn’t had an easy time of it at the Games, pulling out of the individual finals after three rails and having another three in the team qualifier while subbing for Scott Brash, whose horse, Jefferson, strained a leg. But Harry and Romeo 88 are improving, and have just two down, the middle element of the triple and the A element of the Japanese fan combination.
France has another clear with one time fault from Matthieu Bilot with Quel Filou. They’re in the lead.
Jessie Springsteen for the U.S. has a rail at the mascot fence after the double with Don Juan, but isn’t ruffled and rides a lovely round after that in 78.89 seconds.It’s her first time in the Olympics, where she is flanked by team gold medal veterans, Laura and McLain Ward. That’s a nice security blanket.
It all goes wrong for Bryan Balsiger of Switzerland with Twenty Two des Biches, as four rails come down. And now Germany has a total of 12 as Maurice Tebbel and Don Diarado topple a rail at the B element of the Japanese fan double.
Belgium’s Jerome Guery on the stallion Quel Homme de Hus, his gold medal team partner from the 2019 European Championships, showed their form with a clear inside the time in 81.33. Belgium and the U.S. both have 4 faults as the second round of riders is coming to an end.
Sweden has its first rail in this Olympics, as Malin Baryard-Johnsson and Indiana fault at the middle element of the triple, but the country has given up its lead to France, which has just two time penalties. The U.S. is third with 4, behind Sweden based on time, as Belgium is fourth in a slower time with 4.
With no chance of a medal in this competition, Great Britain has dropped out and individual gold medalist Ben Maher will not bring Explosion W forward. The top-ranked horse/rider combination in the world and his nation certainly got what they came for, as it looks like Britain will be the only country to have medaled in all three disciplines.
7:15 a.m. EDT: FINAL GROUP OF RIDERS
This may not be the last round. Teams on equal faults will jump off, but if France jumps a clear, it will stay at the top of the heap.The teams are going in reverse order of merit after round two.
We’re starting off with 10th place Argentina, which has 27 penalties. Matias Albarracin on Cannavaro adds to that with five rails down and two time faults. The final total for Argentina is 49.
Swiss 2012 Olympic champion Steve Guerdat and Venard de Cerisy have a rail at the vertical after the water, always tricky to stretch for the water and then come back quickly to a narrower frame. He ends on 4, bringing the Swiss total to an uncharacteristic 28.
Pedro Veniss for Brazil with Quabri de Lisle have a rail at the first of two double combinations on course, then adds two more and a time penalty, making the team total 29, behind the Swiss.
World number one-ranked Daniel Deusser of Germany and Killer Queen were expected to be a real factor here, but that didn’t work out.in the individual. And their bid ended early, after a rail at the first element of the triple and refusal at the second element when she came too close to attempt take-off. Daniel took a courtesy fence and left the arena. That’s it for Germany, which will be behind every team that completes with three riders, but they are ahead of Great Britain, which also dropped out.
Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands and Beauville Z had the A of the triple down and the fourth fence from the end to bring their team total at 17 penalties and finish in the top five.
Gregory Wathelet and Nevados from the winning team in the Rome Nations Cup are eyeing a team medal until having a rail over the middle element of the triple, an oxer which has water underneath it. Then it’s another rail at the first element of the Japanese fan double, to put Belgium on 12 faults, with a medal unlikely
The U.S. will medal! What color will it be? McLain Ward has just one rail with Contagious at the Hachiko oxer, named for a loyal dog. It’s number 11, with a 1.6-meter spread. That brings the U.S. total to 8.
McLain Ward rides the wave at fence 1 with Contagious.
No one can believe that the last fence of the last round goes down for Sweden to tie with the U.S. as All In has his first rail in two Olympic Games for Peder Fredricson. That jump is the Paris 2024 liverpool, in honor of the next Olympic venue, where hopefully masks won’t be required! It’s a tradition to have the final fence of the last course at the Games pass the torch forward to the next Olympics.
We have a jump-off between Sweden and the U.S. on 8 penalties each after Penelope LeProvost of France loses the 2016 gold menal nation’s lead with Vancouver de Lanlore’s knockdown at the first element of the first double and then a refusal, then another refusal as Penelope goes to retake the first element. The result is elimination, sinking France to eighth/
Sweden will jump off with the U.S. for gold and silver (each has 4 penalties) while Belgium claims bronze on 12 penalties. The Netherlands was fourth on 17 penalties, followed by Switzerland (28), Brazil (29), Argentina (49) and then the drop-outs, France, Germany and Great Britain, all teams that didn’t complete with all three of their riders today. Not having a drop score available makes a big difference.
Although Sweden’s collective time in the round is 235.65 to the USA’s 237.20, with the same number of faults, time doesn’t count for the final placing, which is why a tiebreaker is needed.
JUMP-OFF
The jump-off course.
7:55 a.m. EDT: All three riders for both Sweden and the U.S. will ride in this decider to break their 8-penalty tie over a shortened course with interesting loops. Their combined scores and time decide who gets silver and who gets gold. Each nation alternates its riders in turn.
Laura Kraut is clear again, in 41.33 seconds; Baloutinue is really on the mark with a pilot who has had him for less than four months, Henrik von Eckermann is clear for Sweden in 42 seconds.on King Edward, who now has the record for no rails down during the Olympics.
Jessie Springsteen in her first Olympics goes second for the U.S., is clear in 42.95 after taking a chance to gallop to the last fence. It was her first fault-free round of the Games on Don Juan. This is close! For Sweden, Malin Baryard-Johnsson and Indiana are clean as well in 41.89 seconds.
Now the USA’s anchor, McLain Ward, is clean in 39.92 on Contagious. It’s his first fault-free trip of the Games; he got it when it counted. McLain was the anchor for the gold medal team at the 2018 World Equestrian Games, which also ended in a jump-off between America and Sweden.
Peder Fredricson and All In, the Swedish heroes.
What will All In do for Sweden this time? It all comes down to this gallant little gelding and Peder Fredricson. He must finish in 40.30 seconds or better to claim victory for Sweden with a clear round. He does it, in 39.01, and clear. Sweden is timed at a total of 122.90 in the jump-off; the U.S. at 124.20
Sweden gets its first show jumping team gold medal since 1924 (they also won in 1912 and 1920; USA, the 2018 world champions, claim silver for the second Olympics in a row, and the 2019 European gold medalists Belgium have bronze, that nation’s third Olympic team show jumping medal and its first since 1976.
What an exciting final. Great horses and superb riding in a challenge that will make Santiago Varela even more popular than he already is, I daresay.
The U.S. team of Laura Kraut, Jessica Springsteen and McLain Ward.
The show jumping medal teams: USA (silver), Sweden (gold) Belgium (bronze)
Lots of hugging everywhere. What a way to end 12 days of stellar equestrian competition in the Games that Covid couldn’t kill. So glad they went ahead, despite all the controversy. Kudos to Japan for handling it so well.
The athletes didn’t get the usual Olympic experience, no mingling with competitors from other countries, sightseeing or going to sports other than their own. Worst of all, fans couldn’t watch in person, which also meant athletes’ families couldn’t be there.
But for equestrian, it was still the test of horses and riders that it was meant to be, and everyone should be grateful that it could proceed.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 6, 2021
Teams from 19 countries lined up at Baji Koen Equestrian Park today to claim one of 10 qualifying spots for the show jumping finals that will yield the medals tomorrow, as the Tokyo Olympics draw to a close.
This is the USA’s only chance for a show jumping medal, as none of its three contenders–Kent Farrington (Gazelle), Laura Kraut (Baloutinue) and Jessie Springsteen (Don Juan van de Donkhoeve)–were fault-free on Tuesday to go through to Wednesday’s individual medal finals. Kent Farrington has been been switched out for McLain Ward and Contagious. McLain will be in his usual spot as anchor.
In the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation book, “Riding for the Team,” Mclain told me what it takes to be an anchor: “Most people would say there’s more pressure for an anchor rider than a lead-off rider, because you understand the consequences of any penalties you accumulate pretty clearly and know what has to be done.
“You’ve been put in that position because they’re expecting a certain performance from you. The pressure is greater for the anchor rider, but someone who has more experience and been in more positions can bring that to the table. You’re using all that knowledge to be mentally and physically in the right place.”
McLain is always up to the challenge. Under the new format that takes some getting used to for these Games, he is among riders from 15 countries who were switched onto their teams following the individual finals. Those usually are held after the team competition. There can also be another switch before the finals on Saturday, so Kent is staying on board as an alternate. To find out more about the substitutions, read the article “Major switches on key Olympic teams” on this website.
The course for the team jumping qualifier, designed by Santiago Varela of Spain. The time allowed is 82 seconds.
What are my picks for team medals? I think the USA is very strong; the performance in the individual qualifier wasn’t indicative of the horse and rider talent on this squad. But I’ll be interested to see how the Swedes do. Remember, they qualified all three of their riders for the jump-off in the individual finals, and Peder Fredricson claimed the individual silver (as he did in Rio) on All In.The Swiss, with 2012 individual gold medalist Steve Guerdat (Venard du Cerisy) and European Champion Martin Fuchs (Clooney) should find a place on the podium also.
There are several others to look at as well. I don’t believe, as I said during the eventing, you should ever count out the French, so keep an eye on them.
The British, however, aren’t nearly as strong as they could have been with Scott Brash, a member of the country’s 2012 Olympic gold medal team, who rode on that squad with Ben Maher. Ben just claimed the individual gold with Explosion W, but Scott, whose horse had an injury, was replaced by Olympic first-timer Harry Charles (son of Peter Charles,another London 2012 team member) on Romeo 88. (see the feature story on this site for what the riders have to day.) Harry retired from the individual final after a series of knockdowns.
Ireland lost a key member when Cian O’Connor withdrew his Kilkenny after the horse had a nosebleed in the individual final. He is being replaced by Shane Sweetnam riding Alejandro, who has plenty of experience, so it will be interesting to see how that goes.
It’s 6 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time and action is under way in Japan, which is 13 hours ahead of EDT. I’ll try to blog every round as I have done in the past, but for sure I’ll be giving you information about major players as the countries they ride for jockey for a spot in the finals, where all teams will start on zero penalties. I’ll do the same with tomorrow’s competition, starting at 6 a.m. EDT.
I’ll be blogging in reverse order, with the most recent rounds first, but if you want to see how the day developed, just go down the list.
9 a.m.: Here are the qualifiers for tomorrow’s team medal round, where everyone starts with a clean slate. Sweden leads the way, followed by Germany and Belgium, tied for second; Switzerland fourth, U.S. fifth, France sixth; Britain seventh, Brazil eighth, the Netherlands ninth and Argentina last. Israel, Ireland, Mexico and Japan were all eliminated after they had riders who withdrew or were eliminated. To see the full list of results, click on this
8:40 a.m.:Maikel van der Vleuten, the individual bronze medalist for the Netherlands, has two rails and can’t risk another as he goes down the final line with Beauville Z. He makes it and finishes on 8 penalties to qualify his team in ninth place.
World number one Daniel Deusser of Germany rides a nicely planned round on Killer Queen to end with a single time penalty and put his team in a good spot for tomorrow’s jumping order. It’s tied for second behind Sweden with Belgium on 4 penalties. Gregory Wathelet of Belgium has just two time penalties as he took care not to rush Nevados S to bring his team’s total to 4.
Switzerland goes through to the finals in fourth place on 10 penalties after 2012 individual Olympic champion Steve Guerdat has two rails and one time fault with Venard de Cerisy.
Rodrigo Pessoa has 16 jumping penalties for Brazil and two time penalties with Carlito’s way, but the country still manages to qualify in ninth place with 25 penalties.
8:30 a.m. EDT: Even an individual gold medalist can have a rail down, but there was only one knockdown, at the middle element of the triple, for Ben Maher and Explosion W, putting Britain into the finals on 20 penalties in seventh place.
McLain Ward at the Flamenco fence.
The USA has also qualified, as anchor McLain Ward on Contagious–making his first appearance at these Games–had a rail and one time penalty to bring his country’s total to a very respectable 13 penalties.The USA is fifth in the ranking, which only affects the order in which countries go tomorrow, since all start on zero penalties.
Sweden leads on zero and will have the best draw tomorrow after double silver individual medalist Peder Fredricson continues his record with All In of not having a rail down in either of his Olympic outings, in 2016 and this year.
It’s been a remarkable performance here for Sweden, which qualified all three of its riders for the jump-off for the individual finals, where Peder took silver. If they keep it up, at this rate, they’ll be on track for gold tomorrow. Speaking of herself and her teammates, Sweden’s Malin Baryard-Johnsson said, ““I think we all have the same feeling, that it felt quite easy every round in there–they are all jumping so well, every round!”
Peder Fredricson and All In. (Photo courtesy FEI)
8:10 a.m EDT: The troublesome wall (which memorializes a traffic jam at Shibuya Crossing, supposedly the busiest intersection in the world) brings a refusal for Morocco’s Abdelkebir Quaddar, who accumulates 21 with Istanbull to drop his nation in the standings with 37 penalties, behind Argentina (27) . Argentina had six penalties from Matias Albarracin on Cannavaro 9, but that nation seems heading toward qualification. Morocco is ahead of New Zealand, with 39 after Daniel Meech and Cinca 3 have nine penalties total.
8: 05 a.m. EDT: Patricio Pasquel of Mexico and Babel, who is Mexican-bred, have five penalties. Two Mexicans have a total of six, but their second rider was eliminated for two refusals at the narrow Shibuya wall.
China’s Zhenquiang Li wisely shows Uncas that tricky narrow grey Shibuya wall before starting his round. He is the father of Yaofeng Li, who rode in the first group. The 2008 Olympic veteran has 7 penalties, making China’s total 35.
Israel has indeed dropped out, as has Japan, joining Ireland in that situation.
7:55 a.m. EDT: Marc Houtzager on Dante for the Netherlands has a job to do, after the country’s first rider had 13 penalties. He isn’t perfect, but a rail and time make the Dutch total 18. That country stands 11th, with only 10 teams to come through to the finals.
Maurice Tebbel of Germany on Don Diarado has two time penalties to make his team’s total 3 so far. Better to take some time and leave the fences standing than rush and have more expensive jumping penalties.
Belgium gets one more time fault in an otherwise clean round from Jerome Guery on Quel Homme de Huis, putting that team on 2 penalties total after two riders.
7:50 a.m. EDT: Switzerland has just a single penalty in its total, from Martin Fuchs’ ride in the first half of the class, as Bryan Balsinger is clear in his first appearance at the Games with Twentytwo des Biches.
Pedro Veniss of Brazil on Quabri De L’Isle has a rail and time to make his team’s total 5 penalties.
Britain’s Harry Charles, who withdrew in the individual competition, had three rails with Romeo 88. He replaced Scott Brash, whose Jefferson came out of the individual after straining a front leg.
7:45 a.m EDT: A well-ridden round by Jessie Springsteen of the U.S. on Don Juan, with just a rail at the A of the double, a combination that is the next-to-last test. That puts the U.S. on 8 penalties, with McLain Ward yet to come.
Sweden is amazing. Two clears to its credit as Malin Baryard-Johnsson is fault free on Indiana. Remember, all the Swedes were clear in the individual medal contest. Sweden leads on zero penalties after two riders have gone.
7:40 a.m. EDT: France now leads on 6 penalties after Penelope Leprovost on Vancouver de la Lanilore has a rail and time for a total of five.
We’re on a break for a few minutes now. Not every team has had two riders go as of yet, so the score only tell us where we are half-way through, with so many key countries awaiting their second and third riders.
7 a.m. EDT: Mohamed Talaat, who wasn’t in the individual competition, rides for Egypt on the stallion Darshan by Diamant de Semilly. Two rails and time added to the country’s other score gives Egypt 17 penalties.
Morocco–Morocco!–is in the lead after two riders with a team score of 16 following a determined ride from El Ghali Boukaa on Ugolino duo Clos, who had a rail and two time penalties. Nice to see a country not among the favorites heading the standings. Don’t forget, though, that this round is only for qualifying for the finals and scores do not carry over. All the teams that make the top 10 start on zero penalties tomorrow.
The flag on the left side of the narrow gray wall goes down, one of three jumping penalties for Mario Dopazo of Argentina on Quintno. He has three rails and time, his team now has 21 penalties after two riders.
It’s elimination for Mexico’s Eugenio Garza Perez on Armani after two refusals at the wall. It is odd-looking, surprised more horses haven’t questioned it. So two eliminations in a row
6:55 a.m. EDT: Teddy Vlock on Amsterdam for Israel has a fall with his horse at the oxer that is fence number eight, but luckily his air vest goes off and he walks out of the ring. He is eliminated, so Israel joins Ireland at the bottom of the rankings. Ireland has withdrawn; Israel may follow suit.
China stands on 28 penalties after two riders. Xinglis Zang has three rails and time with For Passion.
6:50 a.m. EDT:It’s a total of 32 penalties after two team riders for the Czech Republic have gone, as Anna Kellernova has four rails and time with former German team horse, Catch Me If You Can.
William Greve, a member of the Netherlands’ winning Nations Cup team on home ground in Rotterdam this year, has three rails and a time penalty.
6:45 a.m. EDT: Andre Thieme of Germany, who has won several $1 million classes in the U.S., is just over the time in 82.92 for a single time fault with Chakaria. There are now five nations that have no jumping faults and a single time fault.
Another with a time fault and no rails down, Pieter Devos of Belgium on Claire V. This course demands a high degree of being careful, which so often is resulting in those time penalties.
Oh Marcus Fuchs–how could the European champion have a time fault? Strategy. Better to take your time and have time penalties than a rail down. Otherwise, the Swiss is fault-free on the fabulous gray, Clooney.
Marlon Modello Zanotelli has our second double-clear, riding well for Brazil on Edgar M.
6:40 a.m.EDT: Holly Smith of Great Britain makes her debut at these Games with former event horse Denver. The Flamenco fence, a tribute to course designer Santiago Varela’s Spanish national heritage, has a rail drop. Holly is free of time faults for a very neatly ridden round that finishes on four faults.
6:35 a.m. EDT: A rail falls at fence 10, the liverpool, for Laura Kraut of the USA and Baloutinue, her ride only since April. No time penalties, though.
Laura Kraut, USA, and Baloutinue.
6:30 a.m. EDT: The shoeless King Edward and Henrik von Eckermann demonstrated the style that got him into the jump-off for the individual on Wednesday and gives us our first double-clear. Remember what I said above about Sweden as a real medal threat?
It’s one time penalty and no jumping penalties for France’s Simone Delestre on Berlux Z.
Egypt has its first Olympic show jumping team since the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Nayel Nasser, the lead-off rider, drops two rails but has no time penalties with Igor van de Wittemore.
6:25 a.m EDT: Cian O’Connor’s replacement (his Kilkenny had a nosebleed in the individual) is Shane Sweetnam for Ireland with Alejandro. He has a fall at a liverpool after a series of rails down and is eliminated. That’s it for Ireland, since there is no drop score with the three-member teams. This nation can’t qualify for the final tomorrow.
“He’s an experienced horse, normally he’s very good but he pulled his shoe off going into the triple combination, I don’t know whether that hurt him but it definitely rattled him, and then after that you could see he was very unsettled and wasn’t like himself at all”, said Shane.
New Zealand’s Bruce Goodin on Danny V has 16 and 1.
6:20 a.m. EDT: It’s the first time in the ring at Baji Koen for Golden Lady, ridden in a hackamore by Ali Al Arach (riders were able to change horses from the individual if they liked). The Moroccan has 8 jumping, two time.
A quiet round from Jose Maria Larocca of Argentina on Finn Lente has only one rail down, but three time penalties.
6:15 a.m.: The first with no jumping faults is Enrique Gonzalez, a member of Mexico’s Aga Khan trophy winning team in Dublin, but he has one time penalty on Chacna, a daughter of Chacco Blue.
Israel’s Alberto Michan rides free of time penalties, but is another with 12 jumping faults.
6:10 a.m. EDT: Japan’s Daisuke Fukushima, who was clear in the jump-off for the individual to finish sixth, is back on Chanyon, the son of Chacco Blue (Explosion’s sire as well).He’s good until the end, with 13B and 14 down. Best so far.
The first two riders, from the Czech Republic and China, each had three rails with 3 time penalties.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 2, 2021
There’s no way around it.
The outcome of the Olympics for the U.S. eventing team was disappointing.
When I made my predictions, I didn’t think the squad would reach the podium, but there was always a chance it would come close.
So it was a blow to watch the U.S. finish sixth of 15 teams on 125.80 penalties, while the gold medal British (the only contingent in the Tokyo competition to have less than 100 penalties) ended on 86.30, an Olympic record for a winning eventing team.
This was the first Olympic eventing competition run without teams having a drop score, and three on a team, all scores to count, made it hard to handicap. All the key teams except the British wound up having to change their proposed line-ups before the Games got under way.
As Britain’s Oliver Townend, the world’s number one-ranked eventer noted, the odds of his country having three top horses and three top riders for them at the right time was quite something. Having that happen definitely is a challenge in a sport with three distinct phases, and Britain hadn’t taken gold in nearly half a century since last doing it in 1972, when their riders followed on their team gold at the 1968 Games.
The U.S. has not won a team eventing medal at the Olympics since 2004, and more recently, was eighth of 16 teams at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games.
But Phillip Dutton, who has ridden for both Australia and the U.S. in the Games over the course of three decades, advised to “keep it all in perspective. It’s been an improvement from the team point of view for the U.S. We’re on the board and certainly you can always try to do a bit better. We were aiming for more, but it’s not horrible.”
Phillip Dutton and Z. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Equestrian)
Added Phillip, who won individual bronze at the 2016 Olympics, “It’s the Olympic Games, so you’ve got to be at your best. There’s a couple of things in dressage that didn’t go right, and we had a little bit of time (penalties) yesterday (on cross-country). Everything’s got to go right on the day, and we probably didn’t quite do that.”
Then today, although all three team members made the cut and got into the individual medal competition, none of them had a clean round. Doug Payne, riding Vandiver in his first Olympics, did the best, with one rail down in each round to end up 16th. Doug also regularly competes in grand prix show jumping, which could be a factor in that performance.
Doug Payne and Vandiver. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Equestrian)
Phillip had two rails in each round with Z to end up 21st.
“Unfortunately, I think Z really was feeling the effects of yesterday (the cross-country),’ Phillip stated.
“He didn’t jump quite as well as I would have liked to have done.”
Boyd Martin’s ride, Tsetserleg, dropped a pole and collected time penalties in the first round, then had three rails gone in the second. He was 20th.
There has been a huge effort to improve the U.S. results. Olympic and world championships show jumping medalist Peter Wylde was hired to coach the riders in his sport.
Proficiency in both dressage and show jumping are key, because they can offer a relatively controllable baseline, compare to cross-country, where so many often-unexpected challenges await.
Eventing Performance Director Erik Duvander, who has competed for his native Sweden and coached the New Zealand team, has been tireless in his efforts.
He emphasized that “In all of my years of competing and coaching in championships in this sport, I have never experienced such an arduous trip for the horses.”
Before coming to Tokyo, the horses quarantined and trained in Aachen, Germany.
“Our team handled the process without doubt and ultimately kept the welfare of our horses at the forefront of every decision. Our team truly showed their mettle on the cross country yesterday. The horses gave their absolute all on the final day in show jumping and tried until the end with everything they had left,” said Erik.
“Our grooms and staff who have worked so meticulously to care for these horses deserved a better result. It has been an extraordinary effort across the board since we left the U.S., from everyone on the long list — the reserve combinations who traveled to Germany and those who participated at the Mandatory Outing (in Virginia). Everyone has fronted up for the U.S team and done everything within their power to support our success. I have a great belief in the future of the U.S., as I know we are on the right track.”
He pointed out that when he assumed his job in the fall of 2017, he had little time to prepare horses and riders for the WEG. They weren’t ready, he has said, and everyone was hard at work to turn that around. I saw it at every event I covered over the last few years.
Boyd Martin and Eric Duvander.
As Boyd emphasized, “Eric Duvander absolutely gave his heart and soul to making America great again, no one sacrificed more than Eric to do what he’s done the last couple of years.”
Reflecting on his competition time in Tokyo, Boyd noted, “I’ve been dreaming of doing well at this. I came up a little bit short from what my hopes were.”
Added the veteran now of three Olympics, “Saying that, this is the best in the world and we’re not far off.”
Doug, who called riding in the Games “a huge honor,” felt his horse had done his best.
“You can’t ask for a whole lot more from him. He’s shown a lot of heart and I’m certainly thankful to have him.”
Even so, Doug noted about the outcome, “It’s frustrating still. It’s annoying.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 31, 2021
The heart of eventing is cross-country, and the Tokyo Olympics route devised over five years by Derek DiGrazia (who also designs the Land Rover Kentucky 5-star) has been the source of speculation for years. How would it ride? Would the weather be a factor? Today we got the answers.
There was a difficult-to-make 7-minute, 45-second optimum time for the route on Sea Forest island, within sight of Tokyo’s skyline, the same area where rowing and kayaking are being held.
The course had not only flair, but also reflected the flavor of the country where it was being held. Fences included a flower shrine, chopsticks, the bullet train and the Mt.Fuji drop.
A view of the course.
For the riders, dealing with the course meant dealing with many issues, from the camber of the tricky terrain at the former landfill, the need for speed and at the same time, caution, as well as the question of how Tokyo’s infamous mid-summer heat and humidity would affect the competitors on a steamy morning.
As the event got under way at 7:45 a.m. Tokyo time, the temperature was 80 degrees and 82 percent humidity, both of which rose throughout the competition but were mitigated somewhat by a nice breeze..
The weather made no difference to world number one Oliver Townend of Great Britain, who finished five seconds under the optimum in 7:40 with no jumping faults on Ballaghmor Class, his Land Rover Kentucky 5-star winner last spring.
Britain, favored to win team gold, was in the lead after dressage, so Oliver’s round set the stage for the other riders on the squad to keep that edge, and they did. Laura Collett (who stands third with London 52 behind Julia Krajewski of Germany on Amande De B’Neville) and Tom McEwen, sixth with Toledo de Kerser, also completed without any penalties.
Meanwhile, here’s what happened to Germany, which was second after dressage and sank. Initially, a run-out at a tricky corner from the second-to-go German rider, Sandra Auffarth, on Viamant Du Matz, dropped Germany to fifth place at the end of her round.
Then superstar Michael Jung triggered a frangible pin with Chipmunk FRH at fence 14C in the Lone Tree Moguls combination, plummeting him with 11 penalties for that transgression from first place to 10th individually as the team fell again, to sixth, behind the U.S in fifth. Michael’s mishap elevated Oliver to the top of the individual standings. Eight other riders also set off a frangible pin.
“I had a little mistake there (at fence 14C),”said Michael.
“I didn’t realize it fell down, but when I galloped away from the fence I heard the sound. It was quite a surprise for me. Everything else was really nice.”
The USA’s lead-off rider, Doug Payne, proceeded with determination on Vandiver, but took no risks that could have backfired. He put a good score in the bank, finishing in 8:02, with 6.8 time penalties.
Doug Payne and Vandiver. (Photo courtesy U.S. Equestrian)
“I thought we were going to be able to catch up a bit faster than we did, ” commented Doug, who is making his Olympic debut.
“At the end we were totally on empty, so it’s all you can ask for.”
Of Vandiver, he said, “He’s got the biggest heart of any horse I’ve had the opportunity to work with. Although a bit unconventional at times, he tries his heart out.”
Time penalties were the order of the day, as expected. At the end of the first rotation of team riders, only Australia’s Shane Rose was on the same page as Oliver in having a double-clear round.
By the end of the competition, just five others (including the other two members of the spectacular British team, as I said) had joined them in coming in under the optimum and finishing without jumping faults.
Julia Krajewski of the German team, which was standing in second place after she rode, nearly made the time but was one second over for 0.4 time penalties.on Amande De B’Neville.
Germany remained second after the first round, with New Zealand third, following Jonelle Price’s trip on Grovine de Reve in 7:50 that added two penalties to her score.
Twelve riders retired or were eliminated, starting with the first on course, Arinadtha Chavatanont of Thailand, who splashed into the first water when Boleybawn Prince looked down at the grass verge as he jumped and aimed for that instead of the pond, falling into the drink.
Thailand’s Aridadtha Chavatanont had the unenviable position of leading off on cross country, where a miscalculation landed her and Boleybawn Prince in the first water complex, but they both walked away.
That left it to Oliver, second to go, to figure out how to ride the course without watching someone else handle the fences.He and Ballaghmor Class were up to that challenge.
“We know he’s special, anybody who watches eventing knows he’s special, but he’s tough and digs deep,” said Olive.
“Early on, I thought he was getting slightly away from me – in fact, there were a couple of places where he was in control and I wasn’t – but I sat behind him and found good distances.
“Once I got into the course, I started picking up good, big, quick distances – almost racing distances – to the straightforward fences, and he answered beautifully.
Britain’s Oliver Townend on Ballaghmor Class is in the lead individually for Olympic gold.
“His pedigree is part of what makes him good, but it’s mentality more than anything – he’s tough in every aspect of life. He’s quirky, but he’s tough, and the bottom line is that he wants to do his job more than most horses.
“I have a lot of trust in Derek di Grazia’s courses, I think the man’s one of the best – if not the best – in the world at what he’s doing, and even when I think a distance is one way, I know that if it isn’t, then it’s a safe distance.”
The USA’s Phillip Dutton was held after fence 12 when a Thai rider fell on course, but he got going well again with Z and ended on a time of 7:57 to stand 17th.
The 2016 Olympic individual bronze medalist said such a start-and-stop and start situation “is not ideal.”
Phillip Dutton and Z. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Equestrian)
He called Z, “a great little horse with a big heart. I think I couldn’t have gone much better.” Assessing the course, he said, “It’s hard work, but I knew that coming in.”
He observed, “We’re in the hunt still. Obviously, sitting in fifth place, we still need to claw our way up a bit further, but it was certainly an exciting day of cross country.
“When the time is hard to get like that, it always adds pressure and a sense of chance to everything you’re doing. Some of the horses really excelled, especially some of the faster, more Thoroughbred types. It was exciting right through to the end, and we’re holding our own, which is good.”
Boyd Martin rode anchor for the U.S. on Tsetserleg and is in 14th place, finishing in 7:53 with 3.2 time penalties as the best score for his team.
“It’s a big sigh of relief getting around well,” he said, noting he thinks his horse “tried his absolute heart out. It wasn’t a course that suited him that well, with the twists and turns and back and forth, but he dug deep.
Boyd Martin anchors the U.S. team on Tsetserleg. (Photo courtesy FEI)
“In hindsight, maybe I should have pushed him a little bit harder,” continued Boyd, who believed he was good on time until the last seven jumps.The weather was a factor in his horse’s performance..
“The heat knocked him around for sure. I felt like he was a bit winded by the second minute. He stayed about that mode the whole way around and never dropped the bit.”
Even so, “he was pretty empty by the end.”
Added Boyd, who was born in Australia and has dual citizenship, “I’m very proud to be American.and have three American horses finish clear today. I’m pleased, relieved and still dialed-in for tomorrow” when the stadium jumping will be held at starting at 4 a.m. Monday EDT back at Baji Koen Equestrian Park, an hour from Sea Forest. I’ll be blogging the action, so you can check this website at any time to catch up, without having to wake at a crazy hour.
The U.S. total is on 109.40 penalties in fifth place, to 78.30 for Britain, which has a great lead over Australia, standing on 96.20; it’s 97.10 for France in third, 104 for fourth-place New Zealand, whichmoved off podium position after a slow round by Jesse Campbell on Diachello.
There are 114.20 penalties for sixth-place Germany behind the U.S. The stadium jumping phase could shake things up a bit, though it seems doubtful any nation can catch Britain.
Showing great professionalism, Australian anchor rider Andrew Hoy was 10 seconds under the optimum time in his eighth Olympics He tied Mark Todd’s record for the most Olympic clear rounds. Sixty-two-year-old Andrew stands sixth individually on Vasily de Lassos.
He was on hold for some time, with his saddle off and getting a bath, while officials attended to Jet Set, ridden by Robin Godel of Switzerland. The horse, formerly the mount of New Zealand’s Andrew Nicholson, never had a fault cross-country.
He became lame after the Mt. Fuji fence and was pulled up. Sadly, Jet Set’s injury was such that he could not be saved and had to be euthanized. The gelding, a veteran of the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games, received immediate veterinary attention at the fence and, after an initial assessment, was transferred by horse ambulance to the on-site veterinary clinic.
Ultrasound scans revealed an irreparable ligament rupture in the lower right leg, just above the hoof, and on humane grounds and with the agreement of the owners and rider, the decision was taken to put the horse to sleep, according to the FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale).
Robin praised his beloved horse, noting, “He set off on what he loved to do the most,: gallop and fly over obstacles.”
In line with the FEI Veterinary Regulations, samples have already been taken from the horse and a post mortem will be conducted.
Australia’s Andrew Hoy gives the thumbs up after finishing 10 seconds under the optimum time.
Japan, which did well in dressage to stand fourth at that point and within sight of the podium, had hopes dashed when Yoshiaki Oiwa fell from Calle 44 at a brush jump down hill from the big drop fence. .That nation now is 11th, but Kazuma Tomoto (who rides with British multi-medalist William Fox-Pitt) is ranked an impressive fifth individually with Vinci de la Vigne.
Colleen Loach, Canada’s lone rider (following Jessica Phoenix’s decision to withdraw Pavarotti before the event started) finished all smiles in 8:03 on Qorry Blue D’Argouges in 26th place.
Lauren Billys, riding the 19-year-old Castle Larchfield Purdy, felt her mount, the second-oldest in the competiton. was running out of gas and kindly pulled up. Her regular coach is Derek DiGrazia, but of course, that arrangement wasn’t continued into the Games.
Twenty-year-old Tayberry at the Samurai sword jump with Thomas Heffernan Ho.
The oldest horse in this event, Tayberry, was very credible, however, in completing the course. The 20-year-old campaigner finished in 10:04 for Thomas Heffernan Ho, the first Hong Kong representative to ride in Olympic eventing. He is ranked 46th. What a special moment for horse and rider.
For full results, click here
NBC will be showing cross-country at some point, just can’t say when. Check your listings. However, it looks as if it will also be on NBCSN beginning at 1:30 p.m. Sunday Aug. 1. These things can change, so double-check..
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 30, 2021
We started out at a decent hour for Eastern Daylight Time, 7:30 p.m., rather than 4:30 a.m. the way we did this morning, as the third member of each team took their turn in the sandbox for the finale of the dressage phase. As the segment began, Britain stood first and as it ended, Britain remained in the lead.
You can bet the standings will be scrambled, though, after everyone tries to best Derek DiGrazia’s cross-country course at Sea Forest, which is on the water. The horses ship there tonight so they’ll be ready for the start of that segment at 7:45 a.m. Sunday Japanese time.
Watch it on the live stream at www.nbcolympics.com starting at 6:45 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time Saturday (don’t forget Japan is 13 hours ahead of us).
Just to repeat, it will be Sunday morning there, Saturday evening for us.The highlights show on NBC won’t be aired until 11:15 a.m. Sunday, or 1:30 p.m. Sunday on NBCSN for a longer version.
This website will have a story Saturday night, and I’ll do some live blog coverage of key rides.
As tonight’s action concluded, saving the best for next-to-last to go, Germany’s Michael Jung (our coverboy for this post) performed a test that was absolutely by the book and meticulous on FRH Chipmunk, as he works on becoming the first-ever three-time individual Olympic eventing gold medalist.
He passed the overnight individual leader, Great Britain’s Oliver Townend on Ballaghmor Class, earning 21.1 penalties to Oliver’s 23.60.
If you look at the photo at the top of the page, you can see that Michael really went for it in the extended canter, even leaning forward to emphasize his speed.
Michael Jung nails it.
That’s pure Michael Jung, who is also proficient in Grand Prix dressage and show jumping. Recently married, he is the father of a son, who will enjoy quite a legacy from his dad.
Michael’s score gave Germany a total of 80.4 penalties to mover up from fifth and stand second to Great Britain, which has 78.30 penalties..
Tom McEwen, Britain’s final rider in the dressage, earned 28.90 with Toledo de Kerser to stand 12th individually.
“I’m actually very pleased with him, he coped very well in there – he loves situations likes that,” said Tom. “It was just the two early (flying) changes that really cost me – the preparation was good, but they were a bit of a flop really.
“He’s been amazing since he got here, absolutely unreal – which makes it more of a shame to go in there and get a 28 or 29 because I knew he could have been very low 20s or even into the teens on the right day.”
Even though cross-country day July 31 is Michael’s 39th birthday, he’s not taking it easy with the challenge ahead of him.
“Now is definitely not a time to rest, we have to focus, ignore everything else and ride as if we were middling in this competition, we will have to fight properly,” he said.
Speaking of his relationship with Chipmunk, Michael noted, “We had a very good partnership today, everything worked like I wished. Since the European Championships in 2019, I’ve had more time to train with him. We had a long winter to work more and have had many more competitions this year, so everything is going much better.”
New Zealand moved up to third place after Tim Price, world number two, had a smooth test with Vitali, save for a rushed second lead change. His 25.60 mark on the horse previously ridden by Jock Paget, got the Kiwis on a total of 86.40 penalties and put him fifth individually..
Japan is fourth on 90.10 (I told you in my preview story they could get close to the podium; just watch them on cross-country). Sweden stands fifth on 91.10, followed by Australia (93.4) and China, yes China! (93.6). Alex Hua Tian, the most experienced member of that team, is third individually on Don Geniro (23.90).
So what about the U.S.? It has moved up one place to eighth with 94.60 penalties.
A lot of American hopes were resting on anchor man Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg, who started well and had a nice accurate halt. But the horse broke going forward after the reinback that follows the halt. Obviously on high alert, he then trotted when asked to canter, but somehow got decent flying changes. His score of 31.1 penalties puts Boyd 20th individually..
Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg. (Photo courtesy U.S. Equestrian)
Obviously, it wasn’t the ride Boyd had hoped for.
“To be honest, it was quite disappointing,” he said, noting Tseterleg has been ” so good in the dressage for years and years.”
So Boyd was surprised at how things went, citing “One moment in the reinback when he fell behind me and misunderstood me and cantered out and screwed up the next movement. It was some great moments and some disastrous moments.”
As he observed, “You sort of come here hoping to give a personal best,” and it must be remembered that the dressage is only the first of three phases.
“The cross-country is so difficult and so hard to get the time I think we’re in with a chance if we can deliver three good rounds on cross-country,” said Boyd.
“We’ve got good, seasoned horses older and experienced. We’ve got nothing to lose by going out there and giving it a crack.”
The highest-placed American after dressage is Phillip Dutton on Z in 12th; Doug Payne is in the middle of the pack of 62, standing 30th. Both men rode dressage on Thursday.
Other individual rankings of note include: Germany’s Julia Krajewski, the former rider of Michael Jung’s Chipmunk, fourth on Amande D B’Neville (25.20), then Tim Price as we mentioned, with Britain’s Laura Collett on the appropriately named London 52 (25.80).in sixth.
For the full list of individual results, click on this.
So you can plan ahead, here is a link to the order of go for cross-country.
