by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 20, 2016
Herb Cohen, representing the U.S. Olympic Committee, presents an Olympic flag to Frank’s widow, Mary, and his daughters, Laura and Wendy at a celebration of the former show jumping coach’s life. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
By Nancy Jaffer
Sept. 20, 2016
A generation-spanning who’s who of American show jumping gathered yesterday at the Gladstone headquarters of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation for a smile- and tear-filled tribute to Olympian and coach Frank Chapot.
The celebration of Frank’s life drew everyone from his longtime teammates, George Morris, Kathy Kusner and Bill Steinkraus–who served as team captain before Frank, to Michael Matz, Joe Fargis and Anne Kursinski, among the stars of the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, and current team members, represented by Rio silver medalists McLain Ward and Beezie Madden.
The crowd of more than 150 also included people whose lives had touched Frank’s in other ways; students, former grooms, show ring officials, governance figures and those who simply had been friends. Also on hand were his wife Mary, another former teammate; daughters Laura, a top grand prix rider and Wendy Nunn, an outstanding amateur rider; son-in-law Edward Nunn and grandchildren Frank, Mary and Cathleen Nunn.
Some of those who turned out for Frank Chapot’s memorial celebration, in the courtyard of the USET named for the 1960 Rome silver medal team on which Frank rode. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer) FOR A WHO’S WHO IN THE PHOTO, GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THE STORY.
Speakers touched on multi-dimensional aspects of Frank’s life, which ended June 20 at the age of 84. They talked about his outstanding record as coach, with team gold at the 1984 and 2004 Olympics as well as the 1986 world championships, among many other international medals. And then there were his own accomplishments, team silver at the 1960 and 1972 Olympics, individual bronze at the 1974 World Championships and what likely is a record that never will be broken–riding on 93 Nations’ Cup teams, 46 of which brought home the win for the country he loved.
Frank at the 1986 world championships at Aachen, where the team won gold and Conrad Homfeld (pictured on Abdullah) won individual silver. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
As noted by U.S. Equestrian Federation President Chrystine Tauber, another former teammate, Frank was a strong proponent of the Nations’ Cup, pushing for better scheduling and prize money for these classes that embody national honor. He also brought along the World Cup, insuring the annual indoor championship’s survival and prominence, as current coach Robert Ridland (yet another former teammate) emphasized.
Frank was, above all, a true patriot. Red, white and blue were his colors, commemorated with the baseball caps resting on every chair for the ceremonies. The front was emblazoned with USA, in the fashion of his favorite headgear. The side was embroidered with an American flag and the back had his name and the dates and locations of his silver medals.
The U.S. and its team were everything to him, and he gave them his all. George noted that Frank usually was under-horsed for the big events, but his determination flowed to his mounts and often gave the desired results. When they didn’t, he took the fall and came back to try again, even if the odds were not in his favor.
The best horse Frank ever had was one he did not ride in competition. He bred and trained Michael Golden’s Gem Twist, part of the 1988 silver medal team, who took individual silver as well at those Games for Greg Best, a young man also trained by Frank. Gem was named Best Horse at the 1990 World Equestrian Games and won not only for Greg, but also for his subsequent riders, Leslie Burr Howard and Laura.
Greg Best and Gem Twist. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Leslie remembered getting to ready to ride Gem in the Dublin Nations’ Cup before a packed stadium when Frank put up a big oxer in the warm-up ring.
“Okay, this is your first jump,” he told her. She took it, “and then Frank says, `That was your last one,’ ” so she went in the ring off just one fence to jump clean.
Frank demonstrated the vision to take a bold chance when he cloned Gem, a gelding who couldn’t pass on his pedigree, at a time when cloning was not as accepted as it is now. When the clone, Gemini, came of age, Frank had to be the first one to ride him, even at the age of 78. Luckily, as Wendy noted, Gemini behaved.
Now standing at stud in France, Gemini is carrying on the great Bonne Nuit jumping bloodlines, exemplified in the mount with which Frank perhaps was most identified, Good Twist, the sire of Gem. Bill remembered that on one European tour, Frank had the fastest time with the gray stallion in the speed classes at every show that summer.
Frank Chapot on the speedy Good Twist.
The afternoon at the USET Foundation was a treasure trove of stories, rich with detail, humor and of course, nostalgia, for things gone by. Some could be repeated, while some, delivered with a wink, were for private conversation only. Others seemed therapeutic, bringing the speakers back for a moment or two to a time they shared with Frank.
As Chrystine pointed out, Frank had a winning attitude. Bill, who got a standing ovation for his remarks, noted that one of Frank’s favorite sayings (after the oft-quoted ingate advice of, “let him go clear”) was “that you can’t win them all unless you win the first one.”
Peter Leone put it this way: “Frank was the definition of a winner.”
Chrystine recalled you never needed to say to Frank, “Tell us what you really think.”
After meeting with a sports psychologist when that initiative was in its early days for equestrians, Frank told him curtly, “Anyone who needs this isn’t going to ride on my team.”
Chrystine noted that Frank had developed his own way of “mentally tapping into that peak zone,” rather than needing outside help.
I remember sitting in the stands at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, where show jumping was the final competition. Frank came up to seats near me between rounds to discuss strategy with his teammates and coach Bertalan de Nemethy, and though I couldn’t hear the specifics, I was impressed to see a level of determination so strong in his demeanor that it practically sent out shock waves .
It interested me that George, in his speech yesterday, mentioned he thought before the Games that Frank’s Montreal mount, Viscount, was not really the right horse for that test. Yet they finished fifth, not far off the medals. Frank made it happen, as George said, with “accuracy, guts, leg, and that horse went beautifully.”
A view of the tent as Philip Richter speaks on behalf of the USET Foundation. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Frank also had a big role in sport governance and rule-making.
“Part of being prepared, to Dad, was knowing the rules,” said Wendy.
“He prided himself on knowing the rules and making the judges and competitors play by those rules.”
As John Madden, the FEI’s first vice president, commented, “Everywhere he went he commanded respect. He was involved in every aspect of the federation and he was a tremendous influence on the FEI.”
John remembered a controversy over something at a show, where Frank had to make his case before the jury over an interpretation of a rule.
He was convincing.
“You may be right,” one of the judges finally conceded.
Not content with that, Frank retorted, “Of course I’m right. I wrote the rule.”
Frank had the backs of the team members when he was needed.
“He was always there when things were difficult,” reported John.
While Frank’s demeanor was usually no nonsense, he also had a side that was, as Wendy put it, “fiercely protective.”
His goddaughter, Robin Rost Fairclough, remembered riding for someone at a local show whose horse put in just one stride in a two-stride combination, alarming Frank. Although he was not training her that day, he marched up to the animal’s owner and informed him, “She’s never riding that horse again.”
After the formal proceedings of the memorial were over, guests moved from a tent in the arena into the stable that had played such a big role in Frank’s life. They enjoyed a drink or two and something to eat, renewed acquaintances and swapped stories. Each left with a new baseball cap and a lot of memories.
They all knew, as George said when he closed his talk, “You don’t ever replace Frank Chapot. There won’t be another one.”
Here is the list of those in the group photo: Front row–Jimmy Torano, Neal Shapiro, Peter Leone, Chrystine Tauber, Mary Chapot, Bill Steinkraus, Beezie Madden, Robin Rost Fairclough, Leslie Burr Howard, Anne Kursinski, Joy Kloss, McLain Ward, George Morris, Laura Chapot, Linda Sheridan, Michael Matz.
Back row–Mark and Armand Leone, Eric Hasbrouck, Joe Fargis, Chris Kappler (DD Matz, hidden)
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 28, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
Aug. 28, 2016
You saw the Olympic eventing from Rio on TV or the live stream, but Marilyn Payne lived it as president of the ground jury, and she had quite a different view.
It was, of course, serious business, but also an adventure to be part of the world’s biggest sporting event.
Olympic eventing judge Marilyn Payne and her daughter, Holly Payne Caravella, at Holly’s Gladstone fundraiser to take Outfoxed to Burghley. (Photo copyright 2016 by Nancy Jaffer)
Marilyn shared her experiences last weekend at Beval Saddlery in Gladstone for a fundraiser for her daughter, Holly Payne Caravella, who is riding Never Outfoxed in this week’s 4-star Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials in England. (Those who wish to give her a check can make it out to Holly Payne Caravella and send it to P.O. Box 59, Gladstone, NJ 07934. Or click on https://www.gofundme.com/2fq3ey2s.)
While Holly got a U.S. Equestrian Federation grant to bring her other top mount, Santino, to the 3-star Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials the week after Burghley, she was on her own to pay Fox’s way.
So her mother, who is part of the syndicate that owns the 10-year-old thoroughbred, stepped up to talk about her time in Rio.
As soon as she arrived in Rio, Marilyn found herself in the Olympic mode. Standing in a 100-person line waiting to go through customs, she found herself chatting with the person ahead of her, who happened to be the chief judge of gymnastics.
“You think dressage has a problem? We had a lot to talk about,” she told her audience with a smile.
Marilyn, who runs Applewood Farm in Califon, attended the test event in Rio last year, when none of the radios worked. Just as dire, volunteers from Brazil who said they spoke English couldn’t even communicate the simplest messages, such as the need to call for an ambulance.
“It was a disaster,” recalled Marilyn.
Another disaster hovered at the Olympics during the rehearsal for handling the cross-country phase, just five days away, when the radios died within 10 minutes and the practice had to be suspended.
“They had to get a whole new set of radios,” Marilyn reported.
After the experience with the 2015 test event, officials from other countries (who could speak English) had to be flown in, with airfare and lodging paid for by the cash-strapped Rio Games.
Marilyn and the other officials lived in Olympic housing, where shortcomings included the choice of food and meeting the challenge of taking 30-second showers before the plumbing situation was resolved.
There was one thing the judges didn’t have to worry about. They took a bus from their accommodations to the venue, and found armed guards everywhere (the Deodoro Equestrian Center was on a military base). So security–a key issue discussed any time the Rio Games were mentioned–wasn’t a problem.
“We felt very safe,” Marilyn reported.
Talking about the first horse inspection, Marilyn said it was “entertaining” to see all the different team fashions, especially those of the Swedes, whose female riders wore “a ballooning yellow outfit” tied at the waist with something resembling a rope.
“We were like, `Oh my gosh. Okay, got to look at the horse,’” she chuckled.
In the dressage phase, everyone was waiting to see the performance of Germany’s Michael Jung and Sam, the defending champion partnership from the London 2012 Games and the hot favorite to take the title again.
Marilyn said Michael had a good ride, “but it wasn’t the best ride.”
So the thought was, “Wow, this is going to be a cool competition. Somebody else might win the gold medal.. But then came cross-country.”
While those who just wanted to get around could take optional lines that would leave them with time penalties, anyone seeking a medal had to try the more difficult direct routes.
Most teams put their best cross-country horse first, and “we lost a few,” meaning they were eliminated, Marilyn noted.
What Marilyn called THE obstacle, was actually two numbered fences, the Malmesbury Cottage table fence and a gate. The direct route involved jumping a corner of the “building,” then taking between three and five strides to a gate. By the time the second horse of each team went out, “coaches started getting smart,” she said, having their riders go the long way and making a time-consuming loop before the gate that enabled a better approach.
“You want to get the team around,” explained Marilyn.
After the USA’s Boyd Martin finished in the first group, teammate Clark Montgomery had to withdraw because his horse didn’t want to play. So Marilyn was watching intently from her vantagepoint in the control center as the US team’s third rider, Lauren Kieffer, who was having a great round, until she galloped toward the cottage and gate.
When she saw Lauren aiming for the direct route, Marilyn’s reaction was an anguished “`Nooooo.'” “Unfortunately, she said, “the direct route didn’t work out.”
Lauren’s horse cleared it in front but caught it behind and slipped on landing, going down. That put the U.S. team out of the running, with only two riders left to compete in the next day’s show jumping.
Michael Jung went the direct way at the table/gate combo, and it was “picture perfect,” Marilyn said. She estimated six tried the direct way, and three didn’t make it.
The tricky moment for the USA’s Phillip Dutton’s came at a brush fence, where Mighty Nice barely missed being off the edge. The judge at the jump called it in to the jury as a refusal.
The cliffhanger way he took the fence “was unbelievable,” said Marilyn, noting the jury watched the instant replay several times.
Mighty Nice’s “hind end did not jump the fence,” Marilyn noted, but because the horse’s head, neck and shoulders cleared the obstacle, the effort was counted as bona fide, since that’s all the rules require. Phillip went on to take the individual bronze.
Questions such as that were easily resolved by the ground jury because not only did they see instant replays of the TV camera shots when requested, but there also was additional footage of a head-on view of the horses available to them, so they could determine whether they jumped through the flags at a fence.
Judges also have the task of stopping a horse they feel is unfit to continue.
In the show jumping, which was held over two rounds for the team and individual honors, Marilyn had a great view as Michael Jung claimed his second gold medal.
“I’ve got to get his signature,” she decided.
By the time she came down from the judges’ tower, Michael was leaving the press conference and likely on his way to a celebration.
Marilyn cleverly blocked his departure, rushing up to say, “Michael, congratulations.” She just happened to have a purple pen, so how could he say no when she handed it over and asked him to sign her hat. That was sold for $255 at the fundraiser, with Holly’s husband, Eric Caravella, acting as auctioneer. He is darn good at that job, also bidding up a little doll of the Olympic mascot, Vinicius (a blend of Brazilian animals) for $205.
After eventing concluded, the eventing judges scribed for the Grand Prix dressage judges (Marilyn sat with Gary Rockwell of the U.S.)
While she does judge pure dressage in the U.S., she doesn’t judge the discipline at that level.
“You’re right there, watching these amazing horses and hearing these amazing scores. I never heard so many 9’s and 10’s in my life.”
Eventing dressage drew more of a crowd than Grand Prix dressage, Marilyn said.
In my view, that was because Brazil had no chance at all in GP dressage, which is not popular in Brazil, while the eventers had a shot at a respectable finish.
Before her mother spoke, Holly talked about Outfoxed and how she got him. She saw a video of the thoroughbred learning to swim, with a teenage girl in a bathing suit on his back. He stepped into water and with a few little kicks from his rider, he struck off as the bottom of the lake dropped away and he was paddling nicely.
Holly Payne Caravella and Never Outfoxed. (Photo copyright 2016 by Nancy Jaffer)
Holly’s reaction?
“Oh my God, it’s a 4-year-old who will do that?” It clinched the deal and she bought him sight unseen with her mother. The thought was, “Let’s see what we’ll get. If he’s awesome, we’ll syndicate him. He was awesome.
“I knew right away he would be a 4-star horse. There are not many in the world you get on and instantly know, `This horse is going all the way.’ He had all the heart in the world with all the athletic ability. Within the first year of owning him, I decided I was going to keep him.”
She syndicated him and he has proven her original assessment correct by running twice at the 4-star Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.
Holly Payne Caravella and Never Outfoxed at Rolex Kentucky this year. (Photo copyright 2016 by Nancy Jaffer)
Burghley is, she noted, “kind of terrifying,” but Fox is the horse on which to try it.
“If you point him in the right direction, he’s going to do it for you. This is an amazing opportunity.”
Holly said she has been “overwhelmed by people contacting me saying, `I want to donate something, what can I give you?’”
Although Holly’s in England now, she’s still collecting money to pay her Burghley bills. To learn about another Jerseyan, Meg Sleeper, trying to pay for a competitive goal, go to https://nancyjaffer.com/2016/08/25/join-meg-sleeper-in-her-endurance-adventure/.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 14, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
Aug. 7, 2016
The vast Tryon International Equestrian Center is being proposed as the site for the 2018 FEI World Equesrian Games.
While I realize the Olympics are the main focus for the next couple of weeks (who could miss that?), it’s past time to discuss what’s happening with the FEI World Equestrian Games, scheduled to be held somewhere on the planet a short two years from now.
The sparkling new $125 million Tryon, N.C., equestrian complex put itself forward last week as a possible candidate for WEG 2018, following the decision that the original bid winner, Bromont, Quebec, wasn’t going to work due to a lack of government financing.
Tryon, set on 1,500 acres, has it all–12 arenas (the main arena seats 6,000 and can expand to 12,000); a 5,000 seat covered arena, 1,200 permanent stalls, a new cross-country course that could also host driving, hundreds of miles of trails in the area (for endurance) and several VIP areas.
It also enjoys the support of the governors of North Carolina and nearby South Carolina. Just as important, it has the backing of the U.S. Equestrian Federation, which of course would like to keep the WEG in North America for 2018.
USEF CEO Bill Moroney said the organization has sent a letter to the FEI requesting its consideration of Tryon.
“We think it’s a strong proposal,” he said of Tryon’s case.
The idea is in play with the FEI. Given the short time frame before the WEG, the FEI Bureau has decided not to re-open the bid process for the 2018 Games and has mandated President Ingmar De Vos to work on an alternative.
“The FEI is already in contact with two National Federations/OCs (Samorin in Slovakia, and Tryon, USA),” Ingmar said in response to my questions.
“If other organizers contact the FEI to express an interest in hosting the Games, they will be asked to provide the information through their National Federation. The FEI will be in a position to provide more details shortly.”
In case you’re wondering why the WEG is so important, it goes beyond the fact that it’s a compilation of eight world championships. Equestrian sport is not confident of continued inclusion in the Olympics. Those Games are always changing, trying to get a new and wider audience. That means, for instance, you’ll be seeing skateboarding in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Equestrian competition is expensive to put on and Olympic leaders aren’t necessarily convinced that it has enough of a following to serve the purposes of the Games. So there’s a feeling that equestrian must insure it has a big stage of its own in case it is dropped from the Olympics, even though it is bending over backwards to stay within the five rings (to the point of major revisions such as making eventing a CIC.)
The WEG, however, too often has been a black hole financially for its organizers (one example is the 2010 Kentucky WEG, which lost more than $1 million). There are several reasons why this happens: A lack of sponsors, a lack of sufficient government support and a lack of facilities, which requires expensive infrastructure work to get it to the point where a WEG can be hosted.
Tryon seems to hit all the bases, but there is a big wrinkle. Rolex, a former FEI sponsor, is a Tryon sponsor, while Longines, another watch company, is the FEI sponsor. How do you solve that one?
Mark Bellissimo, the managing partner of Tryon Equestrian Partners which owns the facility, is hoping something can be worked out.
“The bottom line is that Rolex is focusing on what is in the best interests for the sport…they encouraged the dialogue with FEI and we’re going to work it out once we understand the level of interest,” he told me in an interview.
When I asked the FEI whether it would be in a position to mediate between Rolex and Longines if necessary, I was told, “We are at a very early stage of the review process so it is premature to be looking at these kind of details at this point.”
I get that, since the FEI hasn’t even done a site visit of Tryon at this point.
As Mark pointed out, however, the Tryon option is “a great opportunity to keep the sport global vs the tendency to think of the sport as Eurocentric. I think it would be a shame if it weren’t back here (North America) again.”
The main arena at Tryon, where it draws a capacity crowd for its Saturday Night Lights grands prix.
The WEG, which has been held every four years since 1990, has been in Europe for each renewal except 2010.
“We have a unique opportunity,” commented Mark, who is also the managing partner for Wellington Equestrian Partners, which presents the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida. He works with Michael Stone, former secretary general of the FEI and the Irish equestrian federation. Michael is the president of Equestrian Sport Productions and in his governance days, was involved in the planning process for several WEGs.
“The problem with this event,” Mark said, referring to the WEG, “is you have to get a team of people five years in advance to do a one-time event and you burn through millions (of dollars) each year in preparation. You’re creating stuff you’re going to use once. (However, for the record, both Kentucky and Aachen 2006, the most successful WEG, have continued to use what was created for their WEGs.)
Mark noted that not only is a lot of the infrastructure in place in Tryon, but “We’ve also got two state leaders very excited about it,” and there is local support as well.
“It’s been tough in the past (for previous WEGs) because everyone is so focused in getting the venue done or figuring out how to work the venue,” he pointed out.
Another advantage of Tryon is that all the activities will be on the venue’s property (except for some of the endurance trails), which is similar to the situation at Stockholm for the first WEG, Aachen and Kentucky. That plays to the concept of giving people a chance to take in competitions they wouldn’t normally see otherwise without having to travel for the driving marathon or eventing cross-country. Mark also sees WEG as an opportunity to package the sport so it is aimed at people who just like horses, and presenting it as a festival, rather than just pure sport. Interest in horses in general can translate into an interest in horse sport, he contended.
“We’d like to think that we would try to operate in a way that would be successful across many dimensions,” he commented.
“I’m hoping the FEI embraces our venue and we bring the WEG back to America,” Mark said.
“Let’s talk about how we grow the sport, vs the `watch wars’. How do we make the sport great? That’s what the goal here is and there’s at least one group that’s willing to have a conversation and figure out how to make it work.”
I asked the USEF’s Bill Moroney whether his organization will get involved in the negotiations between the watchmakers, if there is any.
“I think it’s somethng that will happen mainly between the organizers and the different sponsors and the USEF will provide any support and advisement that is necessary to help those discussions go smoothly,” he commented.
“I’m sure the FEI will as well. I think everybody understands the challenge there, but I do think in the end that everyone across the board will do what’s best for the sport.”
Some have wondered whether it would be better to break up the WEG and instead go back to individual world championships (the way it was done before the first WEG) or groups of championships.
In answer to my inquiry on that, Ingmar responded, “The FEI World Equestrian Games™ are the FEI’s flagship event and they are a commercial operation, with benefits for both the local organizing committee and the regional economy. The economic impact study conducted at Normandy (home of the last WEG) in 2014 showed that the Games had a massively beneficial impact on the region and on France overall.”
The equestrian center at Samorin is part of a multi-sport and leisure complex, close to airports in neighboring Vienna, Austria, and Bratislava, capital of Slovakia. It is hosting the endurance world championships next month, so you know it’s familiar territory for the FEI.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 31, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
July 31, 2016
Sally Ike and her sister Muffin at the Monmouth County Horse Show in the early ’50s with the racetrack grandstand behind them.
Monmouth is New Jersey’s oldest horse show, but at the same time, it is also the newest.
Next month, a re-invented version gets under way at the sixth venue in its history, and the second outside the county where it was founded 121 years ago.
Entries close Aug. 1 for the multi-ring fixture that most recently was presented at the Horse Park of New Jersey in Allentown. It has been repurposed for competition in a single, prestigious arena at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation headquarters in Gladstone, Somerset County.
Now called Monmouth at the Team, the show that runs Aug. 15-21 is an example of thinking out of the-box. It offers a wide range of classes, from a $10,000 mini-prix and a $10,000 hunter derby to $5,000 children’s/adult jumper sections, C-rated hunters and an outreach division at the lower level, which introduces riders to being part of a U.S. Equestrian Federation-recognized show without having to pay dues to the organization.
Tucker Ericson and his cousin, Michael Dowling, the Monmouth organizers, hope to increase its offerings and rating in succeeding years during a new chapter in its long and storied history.
When Sally Ike started competing at Monmouth in the early 1950s, it was held at Monmouth Park race track before moving to the track’s adjacent Wolf Hill property that was used for training.
“It was my first show. It was in the walk-trot and my pony’s name was Hard Times.”” recalled Sally, who went on to become a top three-day eventer.
Sally Ike jumping Hard Times at Monmouth.
Monmouth was very much of a family thing for Sally, since her father, Joseph, was president of the show and her aunt, Nancy Howell, the wife of a racehorse trainer, was the secretary.
“Everybody in the community was involved organizing it. It was an old-timey horse show, the judges were professional, but everybody on the committee was volunteers and pitched in to make things happen,” said Sally, now the USEF’s Gladstone-based managing director of education and licensed officials.
“Wolf Hill was an old breeding farm, so there must have been 100 or so stalls and we stayed in permanent stabling.”
She added, “I have very fond memories. Those were the days; I can remember when Bert (U.S. show jumping coach Bertalan de Nemethy) used to bring the team down, (William) Steinkraus and (Frank) Chapot. It was an iconic horse show.”
Judy Richter has her own set of Monmouth memories. She and her late sister, Carol Hofmann Thompson, grew up in New Jersey, so Monmouth was a must.
“We rode in it when it was at the racetrack,” said Judy, noting with a chuckle, “we were lucky to get around the course on our rescue horses. It exposed us to what was out there.”
As they progressed, so did the show, which blossomed to be a regular stop for such big names as Rodney Jenkins and Bernie Traurig. Carol, who went on to join the USET, was always a big winner there.
Carol Hofmann Thompson and Salem competing at Monmouth.
Judy has fond memories of how her late husband, Max Richter, went on to win a jumper class at Monmouth on a careful, fast mare named Rationed Love over Frank Chapot–just back from campaigning in Europe.
“It was a high point in our equestrian career,” said Judy. “That was like a miracle.”
Judy also judged at Monmouth during the Wolf Hill era, and stayed in “what they called the Reading Room, the most fabulous place with hot and cold running maids and a huge, long banister that we all would slide down.”
Max Richter proudly displayed his Monmouth County Horse Show championship cooler 52 years ago at Wolf Hill.
Things changed when Monmouth Park needed the space at Wolf Hill and the show had to move. It spent a year in Readington at the old Four Seasons Farm, then moved to East Freehold Park for decades before heading to the Horse Park in 2012.
“It brings a smile to my face that Michael and Tucker care enough about the show to make sure it doesn’t die,” said Sally.
“In an ideal world, would it have been nice to have stayed in Monmouth County? Sure. But this is such a special venue. I’m really looking forward to it. I’m going to hang out at the horse show.”
Social life was always a big part of Monmouth, and the show at the team is going after that aspect in a big way.
“It’s half horse show, half social event,” said Tucker.
It’s all about hospitality, starting with a welcome tent to greet people and assist them, starting with ship-in day, Aug. 15, before the show gets under way, when there will be pizza and cocktails for all. In the days that follow, plans call for breakfast every morning, and light appetizers in the mid-afternoon followed by heavier appetizers from Flemington-based Chive and Thyme catering. There will be a variety of parties; one that is Mexican-themed, a barbeque, sustainable local New Jersey offerings, a mardi gras, a Kentucky Derby party out of season, and a brunch and Italian meal to send competitors home on the final day. Live music is scheduled for the last four days of the show, an eclectic mix of classical, jazz and pop/rock.
Tucker is grateful for community support from the Gladstone Equestrian Association and the revival of the Essex Horse Trials, and with that, the Far Hills Race Meeting. The show is partnering with Essex “to promote each other’s businesses,” with Mars Inc., the Open Road Auto Group and RWJ Barnabas Health sponsoring both competitions.
Precise Buildings will be donating $12,000-$15,000 of work annually toward a utility building for jumps and equipment storage. After that, it will begin on a judges/announcers pavilion with heat, air conditioning and a state-of-the-art sound system.
What’s been a challenge, Tucker said, is what to keep in the way of classes as the multi-ring approach is boiled down to one arena. Monmouth leased its Tuesday date from West Milford Equestrian Center to expand its offerings.
“The grass roots is really what this horse show is about,” said Tucker, who estimates between 300 and 400 horses will participate.
“All of the 2-foot through 3-foot divisions are people who don’t get to show in that arena and now will have the opportunity. The show kind of has everything, depending on what your need is,” he said.
From zone points to Marshall and Sterling points, schooling in the arena (which will host the USEF Talent Search in October) and jumpers, there’s something for everybody.
“Even though it’s not a typical A show, it affords more opportunity to the community that’s around it at that time of year,” said Tucker. He pointed out it’s the same week as the Pre-Green Hunter Finals and the International Hunter Derby in Kentucky.
“So the high-end A-rated hunters involved in those finals aren’t around anyway,” he pointed out.
“We felt strongly about getting the message out about what that facility means to our history and the future of our sport. I think we knew it would be a big draw. The exciting part is to see how the local businesses are thrilled to get involved because they are looking for outlets that bring the community together. They’re using it as an outlet to bring clients, get involve, and enjoy the sport. It seems like a win/win for everyone.”
For more information, go to http://www.monmouthattheteam.com
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 22, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
June 22, 2016
Essex Horse Trials veteran Buck Davidson returned for the Invitational Derby Cross at Moorland Farm with Victor BZ.
Even before yesterday evening’s Invitational Derby Cross competition at Moorland Farm in Far Hills, I knew there wasn’t going to be just one winner.
I’m talking big picture here, not who was taking home the blue ribbon for what basically was an exhibition. The Derby Cross and accompanying cocktail party heralded the return of the iconic Mars Essex Horse Trials in 2017 at a new location.
Essex, last held in 1998 at Hamilton Farm in Gladstone, home of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation, was a major fixture on the circuit and its many supporters keenly felt the loss when it was discontinued.
So it’s a win for the sport that Essex is going to be back with a bevy of sponsors as Mars Inc. leads the way, and it’s a win for the Somerset Hills area, where a long-range strategic plan calls for having more top-class equestrian sport in the area.
Essex isn’t picking up exactly where it left off. It was a 2-star, but is coming back on the weekend of June 24, 2017 as a beginner/novice through preliminary fixture, though ambitions are to have it move up to a higher level at some point.
Essex began a few miles from Moorland at Hoopstick Farm in Bedminster, where Roger Haller, his family and friends put on the first Essex in 1968. Roger, a member of the eventing Hall of Fame, died in March, but his widow, Ann, was on hand to be part of the event that heralded the revival of Essex. And the event’s signature cocktail, the Hoopstick, was perfect for a toast to the return of the event.
The Derby Cross, with 12 riders taking part, was run in front of about 400 enthusiastic partygoers on the incredibly scenic former estate where the popular Far Hills Race Meeting is staged each October.
The Derby Cross “bears no relation to any jumping or eventing competition you’ve ever seen,” said Sally Ike of Tewksbury, who acted as the judge for the event. Course designer Morgan Rowsell of Long Valley came up with a hybrid that artfully combined show jumping fences with the type of natural fences, such as brush obstacles and carved logs, that one would find on an eventing cross-country floorplan.
The route was cleverly laid out, using the up-and-down of the grassy terrain to raise the level of difficulty without raising the fences too high.
Those who went clean in the first round (some got assistance from jumping a 4-foot, 3-inch joker fence that erased one knockdown for those who cleared it) came back over a shorter course against the clock. Clearing the joker fence in that round took five seconds off the entry’s time.
Derby Cross winner Jennie Brannigan and Kilkenny.
It was fun and easy to understand with commentary by experienced eventer Doug Payne. He could have a career in announcing when he decides to stop riding.
The occasion was like old home week; every time I turned around I saw people I knew, many of whom were regulars at Essex. The word of the day was “exciting.” Everyone was jazzed at the thought of Essex returning to the area.
Buck Davidson went to Essex every year, as I remember, and he believes he took part in the last one in 1998. He was eager to compete at Moorland Farm yesterday.
He recalled Essex as “always one of my favorite events. I’m really excited to have this event coming back. I’m very excited for the real thing come next year.”
Another Essex veteran, Holly Payne Caravella, Doug’s sister, rode at Essex for the first time in 1998.
“I was so upset years ago when they stopped it and I was happy I got to do it at least one year,” said the Gladstone resident.
“It’s so exciting that it’s coming back and now everyone’s going to be able to appreciate it.”
She believes 230-acre Moorland Farm, with its sweeping vistas, is a perfect location.
“It’s beautiful, it’s awesome, it’s right outside of town, which is really cool, so I think it will draw a lot of local people. They’ve got tons of land and all the equipment they need to maintain the footing, so I think it’s going to be really good.”
Jennie Brannigan, who won the Derby Cross on Kilkenny, relished her time on the property because she enjoys steeplechase racing, though she has never been able to attend the Far Hills meeting because it conflicts with the important Fair Hill, Md., International three-day event in Maryland. She loved having the opportunity to ride on such special turf, and like the others, is hoping to return in 2017.
The move to give Essex a new lease on life began last year during the Gladstone Gathering at the historic USET Foundation stables. Jim Brady, whose family once owned Hamilton Farm, felt that the area wasn’t hosting as many top-class equestrian events as it once did. He revitalized the old Gladstone Equestrian Association, and came up with the idea for the party.
Tewksbury resident Ralph Jones was among those attending, and the gathering inspired him. The eventing enthusiast began working with Morgan to find a venue where Essex could live again.
“It was so well regarded back in the day,” said Ralph.
“I was just thrilled with the idea of starting it over.”
Sinead Halpin and Topgun, second in the Derby Cross.
Local favorite Holly Payne Caravella of Gladstone and Never Outfoxed.
Essex Horse Trials Board Vice President Guy Torsilieri, former New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman and Paul Vallone, mayor of Far Hills.
They looked at several locations, but Moorland had everything, including great footing maintained for the races. Guy Torsilieri, chairman of the board of the Far Hills Race Meeting and a former Essex chairman, liked the idea and soon Essex was off and running.
“We worked very closely with Guy to bring it back,” said Ralph, noting that Guy had kept Essex’ 501-C3 status.
“We basically took the dust covers off and started over.”
Addressing the crowd at the Derby Cross, Guy said, “There is a group of individuals, and all of you, who have decided that it is time to revitalize equestrian activity in this area. We couldn’t be more thrilled.”
Essex, the Monmouth at the Team show at Gladstone in August and the races are all being benfited by Rod Ryan and Open Road Auto Group; the Peapack Gladstone Bank and RWJ Barnabas Health.
“I’m thrilled it’s all coming together,” said Guy.
Also in attendance were former New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman and Far Hills Mayor Paul Vallone, both of whom spoke about the importance of supporting the horse industry in the state.
“New Jersey’s one of those places that once you come here, you realize how horses are really in the tradition and from growing up, even not in the area, I knew New Jersey as a horse place,” said Sinead Halpin of Branchburg, second in the Derby Cross on Topgun.
“The terrain and the land is just stunning, so I’m surprised there weren’t more events here.”
As I was leaving, I chatted with Cheryl Bock of Califon, and asked her what she thought about the revival of Essex.
“I’m glad it’s back,” she said.
My feelings exactly.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 20, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
June 20, 2016
Frank Chapot and the speedy stallion Good Twist, Gem Twist’s sire.
Through six Olympic Games, scores of Nations’ Cups and dozens of victories at the world’s most important equestrian venues, Frank Chapot always rode to win when the nation’s flag was on his saddlepad.
In the subsequent quarter-century he spent as the U.S. show jumping coach, he inspired scores of riders to do the same. His life, which ended on Monday, June 20, at the age of 84, was about dedication to horses, the sport and his country’s team.
Frank’s longtime teammate, Billy Steinkraus, noted that, “Frank was a tenacious competitor, a stalwart teammate, and for me, a loyal friend for well over half a century. A mainstay of the jumping team for many years, he became a consistent anchor man in team events but specially enjoyed riding against the clock. (His unusual talent for going fast lives on today very conspicuously in his daughter Laura.)
“Frank’s taste for speed even extended to the way he dealt with Europe’s swarms of autograph seekers. He hated turning anyone down, but found it tiresome to scrawl his whole name over and over again. He solved this problem by simply signing `Tex’.
“Frank didn’t care a lot about what others thought of him, but all in all,” Billy said, “I think he’d be pleased to be remembered as someone who was 100 percent trier, no matter what the odds, and 100 percent genuine.”
There never was any question that his team and his country were focal points of Frank’s life.
“If you look at Frank’s clothing, he doesn’t wear baseball caps that say, `Yankees’ or `Green Bay Packers’,” longtime friend David Distler, a judge, steward and show manager, once mused.
“Everything he has says ‘USA’ on it. He believes in the U.S. doing well and winning. That’s his prime concern, and always has been.”
Frank’s wife, Mary, recalled that although Frank was “a formidable competitor against the clock, his main focus was the Nations’ Cup Team Competitions.
“After he retired from riding and went on to coach so many winning teams, he had little patience with riders who wanted to save their best horse for the grand prix, I like to think that his early input has contributed to more money being added in to those (Cup) competitions, and the scheduling of most Nations’ Cups to a Friday before the Sunday Grand Prix, rather than the day before, as was usual way back when.”
Frank once told me that he didn’t fear death, noting he was satisfied with what he had done. “I flew some fast planes (he had been an Air Force captain) and rode some good horses,” is the way he summed it up.
“I’ve had a lot of fun and had some successes–and some failures, too. To come close to winning some gold medals, which I did a couple of times, how can a person who’s not very wealthy dream of being able to do that?” he asked.
But really, that wasn’t even the half of it. When it came to committee work for the U.S. Equestrian Team and the old American Horse Shows Association, and then its successor, the U.S. Equestrian Federation, Frank was tireless and a veritable walking rulebook. He also rode steeplechase horses, was a show jumping course designer and a respected judge, saluted for all his accomplishments with the USEF’s Lifetime Achievement Award and a member of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame.
He was particularly proud of being the trainer and breeder of Gem Twist, awarded the Best Horse title at the 1990 World Equestrian Games. Gem, a thoroughbred by one of Frank’s top mounts, Good Twist, won nearly everything there was to win, from two Olympic silver medals, Pan American Games silver and the American Invitational to the American Grand Prix Association Championship with Greg Best aboard.
He went on to take two more AGA titles with Leslie Howard and Frank’s daughter, Laura, as well as a host of other honors. At Gem’s 1997 retirement during the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden, Frank was by the horse’s side, as always, when the handsome gray got a standing ovation.
Gem’s owner, Michael Golden, characterized Frank as, “a determined leader in the industry to which he devoted his life. His work ethic, his demand of excellence and integrity, as well as conviction, enabled him to speak out to all that fell short of his standards.”
After Frank retired from coaching the team a decade ago, he spent his time working with Laura at his Chado Farm (named after his first show horse) in Neshanic Station, N.J., and continuing to go on the road with her and Mary, his teammate in the early 1960s.
U.S. show jumping coach Robert Ridland in 2012 with his predecessor, George Morris, and Frank Chapot, who preceded George in the job.
“I like to be able to make him proud,” Laura once said, referring to her father. “It’s a lot of fun to have the success together and have both of us be a part of it.”
She called him “a natural horseman,” and wasn’t referring to the natural horsemanship trend, but rather, his ability to connect with horses.
“He’d walk up to a horse and it would come to attention. He seemed to have a rapport with them,” she recalled.
Laura loved watching him ride, noting “he could get on and be doing what you’d been spending the last three weeks trying to do with your horse. I’m so lucky to have had his influence on my riding and be able to have his input.”
A new chapter in the Chapots’ lives began after they cloned Gem. It was quite an innovative move for Frank, who tended to be a bit of a traditionalist, but the advent of Gemini helped preserve the fabulous Bonne Nuit jumping lines carried by Gem, a gelding. Gemini’s job is to stand at stud, and the Chapots have several of his youngsters, who just started jumping courses last year.
It’s all a far cry from when Frank was growing up in the 1940s. The sport in this country was small-time then, except for the cavalry teams that competed for the U.S. abroad and in Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden at the National Horse Show.
“It was a hidden sport, more or less,” Frank remembered a few years ago.
“Now more people are interested in equestrian sports, show jumping especially, which gives a little more recognition, though (still) maybe not the recognition we’d like to have. It’s not so elitist anymore, and that’s a good thing. The dollars involved for sure are more than I ever expected.”
Mostly self-taught, he used to watch the Mexican team practice at the old Squadron A Armory in Manhattan when it came for the National, which helped him pick up some sophisticated riding tips.
Frank also got equitation instruction as a teen from Al Homewood at the Boulder Brook Club in Scarsdale, N.Y., where his father took him on Friday nights. Equitation practice, which was his mother’s idea, paid off when he won the ASPCA Maclay finals at the Garden in 1947.\
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Frank spent two years in the Air Force, serving between the Korean and Vietnam wars, and was able to spend the weekends riding.
At his first Olympics in 1956, his mother paid $3,500 for a horse named Belair who had sight in only one eye. The equestrian events were held in Stockholm, because quarantine restrictions kept them out of Melbourne, where the rest of the Games were staged. The pressure was on Frank to be the pathfinder. Only three riders were on a team in those days, so every score counted over an incredibly difficult course.
Frank Chapot at his home, Chado Farm, in Neshanic Station, N.J.
Team Captain Billy Steinkraus told him before he went in the arena: “You’ve got to get around.”
The first eight fences went well enough, but Belair got hung up in the next obstacle, a wide oxer. Frank stayed on, only to have the horse stop at the next fence.
“I thought, ‘I’m not going to get around,’ ” he recounted, noting that if he failed, the team would be eliminated. He gritted his teeth and pressed on; the horse didn’t dare do anything but keep going. It was pure Chapot.
The team finished fifth, and “getting home” became Frank’s calling card.
“I didn’t come from a family with a lot of money,” he once said.
“My big break came from making the team and having a good relationship with Bert de Nemethy,” he explained, referring to the aristocratic Hungarian who coached the U.S. show jumpers for 25 years.
Bill Steinkraus and Frank, who succeeded him as captain, were mainstays of the team in the 1950s, ’60s, and part of the ’70s. Others joined them eventually, including George Morris and a California rider named Mary Mairs, who had won both the Maclay and American Horse Shows Association Medal equitation finals in 1960 and was selected to come to team headquarters in Gladstone, N.J., by Bert after a talent scouting trip.
Mary remembers “Billy and Frank came to observe. They had made it (onto the team), and it was awesome that they would take time to watch us go round.”
Mary and Frank married 51 years ago and rode together on the 1964 Olympic team in Tokyo, where the squad was sixth and Frank was the highest-placed American, seventh on San Lucas. The couple also teamed four years later in Mexico City, where Frank just missed a medal on San Lucas, coming in fourth, as did the team.
Asked how he evaluated his success as a rider, Frank once answered, “It was more determination, not especially talent. I wouldn’t be able to ride with these young people today; they get better training and better horses.”
George assessed Frank’s basic style as “not too complicated. He was a great rider; aggressive with a difficult horse, aggressive against the clock, aggressive over big courses, but he was aggressive with ‘feel’ for the horse.”
Frank, George and Billy rode on the 1960 Olympic silver medal team in Rome, and the courtyard at the USET Foundation’s headquarters is dedicated to that squad.
“He was a great team player,” said George, noting that Frank “always had my back” and was supportive, telling him, “You can do it,” when George expressed doubts about a difficult course. The two were lifelong friends; George spent every Christmas eve at Frank’s house when he ran Hunterdon Inc. in New Jersey.
He called Frank “a great chef d’equipe” in so many ways, not the least of which was the fact that “he was street-smart, he was more diplomatic than I was; he was clever that way” and managed as a result to get things done under less-than-ideal circumstances. George also noted Frank’s regard for horses, never letting anything be done at their expense.
As coach, Frank presided over glory years of the USET, when the show jumping team won its first gold at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, where Joe Fargis and Conrad Homfeld also brought home the individual gold and silver. The team won gold again in the 1986 world championships in Aachen, Germany, where Conrad earned individual silver. And Gem’s double silver at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 was personally special to Frank.
Frank remained active in the sport until recent years, when his health declined. Survivors in addition to Mary and Laura include daughter Wendy Nunn, an accountant who has been successful as an amateur-owner jumper; her husband, Edward Nunn, and their children, Frank, Mary and Cathleen.
Arrangements are by the Branchburg, N.J., Funeral Home. There will be no visitation or funeral, as per Frank’s request, but a celebration of his life will be held at some point in the autumn.
Contributions in his memory may be made to the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation at USET.org.
