by Nancy Jaffer | May 12, 2024
The sixteenth time was the charm.
New Zealand’s Caroline Powell won the MARS Badminton Horse Trials’ Whitbread Trophy on Greenacres Special Cavalier after 15 previous outings in the event.
Caroline Powell of New Zealand with Badminton’s Whitbread trophy. (MARS Badminton Horse Trials Photo)
“I wasn’t ready for that,” said Caroline, 51.
“I thought third place would be great, but to win – wow. It’s awesome and it means so much – I’m not in my youth and just to get a horse to this stage is difficult enough, but to win – I can’t believe it.”
There was a huge shakeup in the standings during Sunday’s show jumping phase on the track designed by Kelvin Bywater at the seventy-fifth anniversary of the British fixture. Another New Zealander, Tim Price, dropped from first after cross-country to eighth with five knockdowns on Vitali, who is not known for his show jumping prowess. (To read about cross-country day, go to the second feature on this website or click here.)
Even more remarkable was the slide of Great Britain’s William Fox-Pitt, who went from a close second with Grafennacht following a brilliant cross-country trip, to an unlucky thirteenth after six knockdowns.
“I should have pulled the plug yesterday,” he said, referring to his wonderful cross-country ride, “but I have lived with a few moments in my career and it will all be fine tomorrow. I’m 55, I’m in one piece and I’ve been lucky.”
The mainstay of so many British teams, William had suggested that this could be his final Badminton, He confirmed it after his ride, noting the time has come, though he thinks he will still compete at a lower level.
As for Grafennacht, William said she will continue with a younger rider.
Caroline, seventh after dressage and sixth after cross-country, was among only three who achieved double-clear in the show jumping. She pulled it off on her 11-year-old Irish sporthorse mare (Cavalier Royale X Touchdown).
Caroline finished with a score of 43.2 penalties, ahead of Ireland’s Lucy Latta on RCA Patron Saint (45.2). Without just one of her two knockdowns, Lucy would have been the winner on a big day for the Irish.
But it already was special. Lucy is the highest-placed Irish rider at Badminton since Eddie Boylan won in 1965.
“I made a total rider error at the third fence, but my horse was phenomenal this week and I feel there’s loads more to come for him,” Lucy commented.
Caroline Powell and Greenacres Special Cavalier on their way to Badminton victory. (Photo MARS Badminton Horse Trials)
An even bigger leap was made by third-place Alexander Bragg of Great Britain. He came up from fifty-first after dressage with Quindiva, moving to tenth following cross-country and elevated himself to the podium with one of the double-clear show jumping rounds. His total was the same as Lucy’s, but the tie was broken by her lower cross-country score.
Caroline, who retired her other mount, Aldo, on cross-country, came up with her victorious mare from forty-sixth place in dressage. But as they say, it’s not a dressage competition.
Vastly experienced, Caroline, a former point-to-pointer, first came to Britain as a groom for three-time Badminton winner Ian Stark. She won team bronze at the 2010 World Equestrian Games, and was on her country’s 2008 Olympic team.
She finished thirtieth at Badminton last year on “Cav,” and sixth in the 2023 Maryland 5-star (where Ian designed the cross-country route) less than five months later. The Badminton trip was to get the mare used to crowds and atmosphere, in case she is picked for her nation’s Olympic team in Paris this summer.
Caroline and Cav going cross-country. (MARS Badminton Horse Trials Photo).
“Cav has had her tricky moments,” said Caroline, “but to be here, winning Badminton, is a dream come true.”
The top U.S. rider was UK-based Grace Taylor, who wound up eighteenth with 62.6 penalties, having moved up to nineteenth from her thirty-first place after dressage with a cross-country trip free of jumping faults.
But two knockdowns in the show jumping enabled her to rise only one place in the final tally. If she had been free of show jumping errors, she would have been just outside the top 10 in eleventh place.
Grace is the daughter of Ann Hardaway Sutton, who rode for the U.S. in the Seoul Olympics. Her father is Nigel Taylor, who like Ann, was a veteran of Badminton and Burghley, and is a British eventing selector, course designer and coach.
Three knockdowns and time penalties put another U.S. rider, Tiana Coudray on Cancaras Girl in the twenty-fifth spot. They had been sixth after dressage. Cosby Green and Copper Beach collected 28 jumping faults and 1.6 time penalties to place thirty-first.
Boyd Martin, who accumulated 60 jumping penalties on cross-country for a run-out and then crossing his own track on the way to the alternate route, was thirty-fourth with Tsetserleg in the field of 37 who finished the event. It was Boyd’s first Badminton completion, and like Tim Price, he has now completed every 5-star in the world.
He wound up on 122.6 penalties after dropping two rails in show jumping. Hopes had been high after he placed fourth in dressage with the horse he calls Thomas.
“This event wasn’t perfect,” Boyd said on social media, “but I felt like there were bits and pieces where Thomas was the best he has ever been. Certainly not the result I was looking for, but to be here was a huge achievement within itself.”
Boyd noted he is “Extremely grateful for the Turners (Thomas’ owners) for backing us around the world through the highs and lows of the sport. He’s a champion horse and for it to be his seventh year at 5-star is a huge credit to his heart, toughness, soundness, and the team at Windurra USA who helps keep him at the top of his game.”
Click here for results
by Nancy Jaffer | May 11, 2024
EquiRatings gave New Zealand’s Tim Price only a 10 percent chance of winning the 5-star MARS Badminton Horse Trials this weekend, but he’s on track to prove them wrong.
On a testing cross-country course designed by Eric Winter, the optimum time of 11 minutes and 19 seconds proved impossible for anyone to make, as was the case in 2023. But Tim, ranked sixth in the world, did well to finish with Vitali on just 0.4 time penalties, jumping clean and moving up two spots from his dressage placing to stand first before show jumping on 31.7 penalties.
Of Vitali, Tim said, “He gave everything he had today – he was just class.”
Looking toward Sunday’s final phase, Tim noted, “His show jumping has been good recently and I think I’ve got a bit of a plan in place. He’s buzzing with fitness and wellness, so hopefully that will help tomorrow, but I’m just going to enjoy it for today.”
Tim Price and Vitali (Photo Badminton Horse Trials)
If he wins, Tim will have achieved what his wife, Jonelle, did in 2018, when she was victorious with Classic Moet. EquiRatings advises that eight of the past 11 winners have been in the top five after dressage.
Tim, who has jumped every 5-star course in the world, won’t rely as yet that tomorrow he will be holding the famous Whitbread trophy. Only six of the last 11 cross-country leaders went on to win the entire event, EquiRatings says, noting less than one in five have jumped clear at Badminton since 2010.
Great Britain’s most veteran William Fox-Pitt, tied for eighth after dressage, is less than a rail behind Tim with 33 penalties. He had a mere 2.4 time penalties added to his dressage score of 30.6. William took one cautious longer route that added a few seconds to his total on the lovely mare Grafennacht.
The master rider has hinted that this will be his last Badminton, and you know he’d like to go out a winner.
Of his mount, he said, “She’s a cracking mare – anyone could ride her; she always says `yes’. She’s not put a foot wrong and is a great old man’s conveyance.
William Fox-Pitt and Grafennacht. (MARS Badminton Horse Trials)
“I was optimistic about today because she has never had a cross-country fault. I did take a long route and circle at the Dew Pond and Tim didn’t, so that serves me right,” added William, who made an amazing comeback from a life-threatening head injury more than eight years ago.
Further back on 37.2 penalties is Ireland’s Lucy Latta, a Badminton first-timer with RCA Patron Saint (such a good name for an event horse who is no trouble on cross-country). Lucy, who works in marketing, had the fastest time of all, coming close to the optimum by one second with just 0.4 penalties and making the leap from equal eighth in dressage (that should sound familiar) to stand on 37.2 penalties. That gives Tim a margin of a rail plus some time over her.
And what of the rider EquiRatings picked as the favorite with a 21 percent chance of winning?
That would be defending champion Ros Canter on Izilot DHI, her 2023 Pau 5-star winner and the leader after dressage. The world number two-ranked rider activated a frangible pin at obstacle 10 jumping into the MARS Badminton Lake, then retired after her horse spooked and ran past the final element. Bummer.
It was also a disappointing day for the U.S., especially since there were such high hopes for Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg after they finished fourth in dressage with 29 penalties. The experienced duo was going well as one of the first rides on course, until…
Let Boyd tell you about it.
“Thomas (as Tsetserleg is known around the barn) started out fantastic. We were humming along, jumping all the hard obstacles early on,” said Boyd, ranked world number three.
And then trouble struck three-quarters of the way around.
It was “a sunken road, which was a skinny down a dip in three strides, up a bank to one stride to a skinny. I had a complete mental breakdown,” he recounted.
“I knew I had to stay out and get square but…I don’t know, we were going pretty fast. We’d done a lot of the harder jumps and I was getting a bit too brave and confident,” he admitted.
Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg at Badminton (Photo Peter Nixon for USEA)
“Unfortunately, I cut my turn and tried to angle this skinny and it was basically a horrible ride. Poor old Thomas didn’t have a moment to see the fence and balance up and jump the jump. We ran off the skinny and I sort of tried to figure out where the alternate was and sort of figured it out.”
But not exactly.
“I crossed my tracks going the alternate way. After that, I was sort of just on survival and got him home safe and sound. It was unbelievable riding here and a tough, tough place to bring an event horse.”
He was given 20 penalties for the run-out and 40 more for crossing his track. Then there were the 25.2 time penalties, making his total 114.2 penalties and putting him in thirty-eighth place among the 41 who finished cross-country.
Good on Boyd for being so honest, as he usually is, and for adding, “Very proud of Thomas. Kicking myself all day for the ride I gave him at one jump. Fingers crossed for tomorrow’s show jumping.” He’s looking for his first completion at Badminton.
Grace Taylor and Game Changer, the best U.S. finisher after cross-country at Badminton. (Peter Nixon for USEA)
The best-placed U.S. rider is the unsung UK-based Grace Taylor with Game Changer, nineteenth on 54.6 penalties and clear over the jumps. She moved up from thirty first place after dressage. After her it’s Tiana Coudray on Cancaras Girl, twenty-sixth, followed by Cosby Green in thirty-second on Copper Beach.
Meghan O’Donahue (Palm Crescent) and Allie Knowles (Morswood) were eliminated after falling.
Click here for results
by Nancy Jaffer | May 8, 2024
Oliver Townend, last month’s Kentucky 5-star winner with Cooley Rosalent, is missing out on a chance to make history this week.
With a win at the Burghley 5-star last year and then Kentucky this year, all he would have had to do was win the Badminton 5-star this weekend to collect the $350,000 Rolex Grand Slam prize. Okay, that wasn’t a given, but Ballaghmor Class, the horse nicknamed Thomas, has a record that made it seem a real possibility.
Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class were Kentucky 5-star winners in 2021. (Photo © 2021 by Nancy Jaffer)
Only two riders in history, Pippa Funnell and Michael Jung, have been able to do it. But Oliver won’t be the third, at least this year.
“Absolutely gutted to withdraw Ballaghmor Class from this week’s MARS Badminton Horse Trials,” the British rider reported about his 17-year-old Irish sport horse.
“He had an abscess earlier in the season and consequently missed a couple of runs and gallops. This morning, he went for his final gallop and with the 11.5 mins cross-country course combined with the possible soft ground, we don’t feel he’s at his normal 5-star fitness right now.
Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class on their way to winning the Kentucky 5-star in 2021. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
“This is the first time in his career he’s missed a 5-star and with the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing being at stake (for the third time for me!) and Thomas’s record with 10 top-5 placings at 5-star, 4 of which are from Badminton including twice second place, and his three wins at Burghley and Kentucky, we really hoped he would finally get the Badminton trophy he so badly deserves.
“He’s fit and well, and knowing his huge heart. he’d give us his all, but it’s simply not in his best interest to run this week and his welfare is our top priority.
“Thomas will be rerouted to plan B, but for now, we’d like to give a huge thanks to his owners, our sponsors and our team, who are all equally gutted but support us to make this call to look after our superstar.”
Oliver had two other shots at the Grand Slam and had been itching to make the third time the charm.
“The first time, I nearly killed myself trying to win it,” he recalled about his cross-country fall at Kentucky that landed him in the hospital in 2010.
And that was after he was stranded in Britain by the Icelandic volcano fallout. Desperate to get to Kentucky for the last leg of the Grand Slam after winning Badminton and Burghley, he took a train to Paris, hoping for a connection to Madrid, where the airport was open, but encountered a train strike. He then hopped in a cab and convinced the driver to take him from France to Spain, which cost about $3,000.
His next shot at the Grand Slam also was disappointing, but less traumatic.
“The second time,” he remembered, “I was second at Badminton.”
by Nancy Jaffer | May 3, 2024
Saturday’s Kentucky Derby had a stellar line-up, with the likes of $2.3 million yearling purchase Sierra Leone, erratic but brilliant Fierceness and undefeated Japanese star Forever Young, not to mention 17 other contenders. It’s the one day of the year when even people who normally don’t care about horse racing actually do care about horse racing.
But the question was, would the 150th anniversary of the iconic race go down in history as one of the 10 Best Kentucky Derbies?
That’s the title of a new book from the staff and correspondents of The Blood Horse recounting the most memorable runs for the roses. This iconic race, replete with mint juleps and tradition, has many stories to tell.
And yes, you can add another chapter to this volume, and consider changing the name to the 11 Best Kentucky Derbies.
Not only was there a three-way, almost-too-close-to-call at first sight photo finish, but the winning trainer and jockey achieved a memorable double. The day before taking the Derby with Mystik Dan, conditioner Kenny McPeek and rider Brian Hernandez won the Kentucky Oaks with Thorpedo Anna.
In the Derby, Dan nosed out Sierra Leone and Forever Young in a memorable stretch duel. It’s one that won’t soon be forgotten.
What a finish–Sierra Leone, Forever Young and Mystik Dan.
While you’re in the mood to consider Derbies past and present, this book about the best of those races offers not only cherished memories, but also little-known facts abut the most famous Derby winners. Even those of us who really follow racing will discover untold tales and relish reminders of greatness while leafing through its pages.
You can probably guess that the number one story is “The Legend of Big Red” — who else but Secretariat 51 years ago, at the first stop on his way to Triple Crown glory. (That’s our cover photo).
Before the race, he had been syndicated for more than $6 million. Think what that would be in today’s currency. He had a following, he was a star, he rewrote the record book and is probably the one most people think of when they hear the word “racehorse.” He is best known, of course, for clinching that Triple Crown, a feat many thought might never be accomplished again, because it hadn’t happened since 1948 when Citation swept the Derby, Preakness and Belmont trio.
The immortal Secretariat in full gallop forever.
His great rival, Sham, is part of Sec’s story, and deserves deference for his heartbreaking try against the magnificent champion, so let’s not forget him.
Two years before Secretariat, Canonero II also was a sensation. Who would have thought that a colt who sold for $1,200 due to a crooked front leg would have any potential at all? But he wound up in the barn of trainer Juan Arias, who grew up in the slums of Caracas and slept in horse stalls when he got his first full-time job at the track.
Canonero, named after a type of singing group, won his first race in Venezuela and came to Del Mar in the U.S., where he showed promise but bad luck meant he didn’t get sold and went back to South America. The story of how he finally got nominated to the Derby is worth reading, as well as the saga of subsequent trials and tribulations. not to mention his come-from-behind triumph.
Talk about an underdog (underhorse?) He was a real horse of the people.
The “Bad Dream Derby” demonstrated that nightmares can come true, unfortunately. You’ve heard of most of the field in the 1957 Run for the Roses: Bold Ruler, Gallant Man and Round Table. Iron Liege, however was not a household name.
But he wound up the winner when the great jockey, Willie Shoemaker, misread the finish line and stood up in the stirrups aboard Gallant Man, enabling Iron Liege to cross the finish line first. In an eerie twist, Gallant Man’s owner, Ralph Lowe, had a dream two days before the Derby in which that’s exactly what happened.
Trainer John Nerud heard the nightmare story and repeated it to the jockey the night before the Derby, emphasizing to the legendary Shoemaker that he should “Ride past the wire.” When the dream became reality, one has to wonder if the power of suggestion had something to do with the misadventure.
Bill Hartack was all smiles on the way to the winner’s circle aboard Iron Liege. (Skeeets Meadors photo)
There are plenty of other tales worth telling in this volume. It’s as good an accessory for future Derby days as the all-important hat (or that julep). There’s Regret, the first filly to win the Derby in 1915, the long-tailed Whirlaway in 1941 and Alysheba, a determined winner who astounded the crowd when he amazingly recovered from a stumble to take the trophy in 1987. And we can’t forget that longshot of longshots, 2022 winner Rich Strike.
Rich Strike
So who do you like in the 2024 Derby? Will the winner’s story become a conversation piece that morphs into another memorable addition to Derby history? Let’s hope it’s a tale worth telling, and remembering.
If you want the book, click here for a link to buy it.
by Nancy Jaffer | May 1, 2024
The historic Potomac Horse Center in Maryland, which trained generations of horsemen and women, is closing this summer. stating it was unable to renegotiate its 1993 lease.
The 60-acre property is owned by the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), which made the renewal contingent on PHC raising $3 million to $5 million to improve the infrastructure, with no assurance that PHC would be permitted to remain on the property, Potomac’s Nancy Novograd announced in a letter explaining the closure.
She explained, “PHC simply cannot ask our clients to pay for and invest in a rapidly deteriorating infrastructure that PHC does not own,” saying the terms of the lease are unsustainable under current economic conditions.”
PHC pays M-NCPPC a monthly base rent for use of the facilities plus a percentage of PHC’s net and gross income.
Additionally, PHC pays for capital improvements, repairs and maintenance of M-NCPPC’s property. Income from the lesson program also goes to veterinary care, farrier services, hay and grain for the horses; utilities, payroll, insurance, farm equipment maintenance, fuel, and tack.
“It has become nonviable for our programs to cover the increasingly higher and higher costs of the rapidly aging infrastructure, let alone allow PHC to build up the $3 million to $5 million required by M-NCPPC toproceed with negotiations,” Nancy said.
The closing is effective July 22, but lessons will continue through June 16.
Asked for comment, Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission responded that Potomac Horse Center, “a private business, recently notified Montgomery Parks of its intent to end its lease with Montgomery Parks.
“Since its lease began in 1993, PHC has been contractually responsible for all maintenance and capital improvements at the facility. However, structural assessments performed by an outside expert in the fall of 2023 showed major life safety and structural concerns on site.
“Montgomery Parks requested that PHC develop a plan to fund the necessary repairs and maintain a viable equestrian operation. However, PHC instead notified Montgomery Parks of its intent to cease operations and vacate the property. In the near term, Montgomery Parks will take steps to address immediate safety issues on the site,” the statement concluded.
Potomac Horse Center was founded in the late 1950s by F.G. “Stretch” Harting. News that it will not continue was greeted with sorrow by the many friends and graduates of PHC.
In an online posting, Diana Barnes said, “Betty Howett and Colette Stevens came with Porlock Vale experience in the UK, and modeled HorseMasters after the British course of study.”
PHC “Classed-up and stepped up our equine knowledge, `American’ dressage, and style of riding, not to mention improved equine care, both physically and psychologically.”
In another post, Suzanne Crowell stated, “The horse center was particularly important to those of us who had our intro to dressage there. Other than Morven Park there was really nowhere else in the ‘70s. It was instrumental in the accelerated development of the sport in the U.S. The quality of instruction and horses for a large operation was unsurpassed. The everyday clientele were women who worked for a living to support their horse habit.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the job market for women expanded dramatically then, such that women could support themselves with better-paid jobs and had some money left over.”
On June 17, 2024, all assets, including school horses, are available for sale to approved homes, by appointment only. Starting immediately, prospective buyers can try the horses and see everything that is for sale. The horses and equipment needed for daily use will remain on the property through June 16.
However, individuals may immediately purchase all other assets, including surplus tack and farm equipment. PHC will accept cash or certified funds only, but no personal checks and cannot arrange payment plans.
The Potomac Horse Center main number will not be fielding sales calls or making appointments. For inquiries, those interested may call (240) 614-3834.
by Nancy Jaffer | May 4, 2024
This is the weekend it all came down to the wire for the U.S. Olympic dressage ranking list.
Qualifying scores earned at the 3-star TerraNova show near Sarasota, Fla., will help determine which eight candidates head to Europe in the coming months. Competition there will be used in selecting the three-member team for the Paris Olympics.
Several of the horses were latecomers to the quest, joining the contest with new riders just this year. Three are owned by Zen Elite Equestrian Center in Fort Lauderdale.
Endel Ots rides the most celebrated of the three Zen horses, Bohemian, guided to fourth in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics by Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour of Denmark. He capped his campaign with a victory in the Freestyle, where he was marked at 75.670 percent.
Adrienne Lyle’s rides, Helix and Lars van de Hoenderheide, are the others in the Zen trio. Lars won the Special (71.723), with another new pair, Marcus Orlob and Alice Tarjan’s Jane, second on 69.872.
Noting that Saturday was a “blistering hot day,” Adrienne commented that while Lars completed his qualifying criteria for the Olympic short list with his Special victory despite the weather, Helix “did the freestyle just as thunderstorms rolled in.” She said “he found the plants blowing in the wind to be quite scary, but still managed to pull off a podium finish and complete his qualifying criteria.”
Saying it was time for a big sigh of relief after qualifying criteria were completed, Adrienne thanked Zen’s owner, Heidi Humphries, and her own mentor, Debbie McDonald, as well as her grooms.
Kasey Perry-Glass, who had been a team regular with Doublet, now retired, was second in the freestyle on her new ride, Heartbeat W.P. (72.615). Helix, winner of the 3-star Grand Prix on Friday, was third with a score of 72.560 percent.
The Freestyle is a requirement for Olympic candidates, but it doesn’t count in their overall standings. It’s the Grand Prix and the Special, which determines the team medals at the Games. The Freestyle secures individual medals, which are considered less important than team medals in the big picture.
The U.S. Equestrian Federation next week will announce the pairings that go to Europe for observation competitions. The list is likely to include Olympic veteran Steffen Peters, who has been at the top of the rankings with his 2021 Tokyo mount, Suppenkasper. He did not come East for competitions this year, and neither did fellow Californian Anna Buffini, who is also has been near the top of the list with Fiontini.
Among the others in contention in addition to Adrienne, Endel, Marcus and Kasey include Ashley Holzer with Hansel, second in the Grand Prix and fourth in the Freestyle; Katherine Bateson-Chancler with Haute Couture, Sarah Tubman (First Apple) and Anna Marek (Fire Fly), who did not compete at TerraNova but already was qualified.
Click here for TerraNova Grand Prix results
Click here for TerraNova Grand Prix Special results
Click here for TerraNova Freestyle results
