by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 18, 2023
When I met Sam Watson and Diarm Byrne at the 2016 U.S. Eventing annual meeting, it seemed obvious their new company, EquiRatings, was a good idea. At the time, though, I could not have known how incredibly good it would prove to be.
The future seemed bright enough when I learned they had used statistics to correctly predict that France would win the eventing team gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The partners in the new business earned themselves some money in the process, since the bookies had put that country at 16-1 odds.
The two friends, who went to school together through university level in Ireland, started their company informally, sitting at either end of a ping-pong table with their laptops. It grew so rapidly that it is now the gold standard to present data that can, as they say, “create a competitive advantage on and off the field.”
The latest effort from EquiRatings is an amazing blend of “stats, ratings and analysis” for this week’s MARS Maryland 5-star event at Fair Hill. They have thoroughly documented everything about the 26 starters, with odds not only on their chances of winning, but also on who has the best shot at making the podium.
Diarm and Sam most like the chances of Piggy March, one of three British riders who have come to the States for the third edition of this event. Although Piggy’s mount, Brookfield Cavalier Cruise, has never competed in a 5-star, they say she has a 29 percent chance of collecting the famous Fair Hill Bronze. (I love it when trophies have a formal name.)
Piggy March and Brookfield Cavalier Cruise.
Their reasoning? The horse topped a strong 4-star Short field at Thoresby in England this year. I’d be more confident of this horse’s victory if he had topped a 4-star Long, but Piggy is a much-respected rider, so she will work to make up the difference. Her odds of being in the top three are even better, at 52 percent.
She also has the best average of six dressage scores, at 27, just 0.1 head of New Zealand’s Artist, who took a 14,000-mile trip to get here with rider Monica Spencer. Artist is EquiRatings’ fourth choice in the list of those likely to win, with 9 percent and a 27 percent chance of making the podium. Monica is just 1 percent behind her compatriot, Caroline Powell with Greenacres Special Cavalier.
EquiRatings’ second choice for the win, at 24 percent, is Cooley Rosalent, with world number one Oliver Townend in the irons. I’ll go along with that estimation, and am eager to see this promising mare “in person.” She’s rated at having a 45 percent chance to make the podium.
Their top pick of a U.S. entry is Doug Payne and Quantum Leap, but he’s only given a 5 percent chance of victory. On the other hand, Quantum Leap, a Zweibrucker who came to Doug as a yearling, has an 11-year history with his rider, always a plus.
He has finished in the top 10 for 14 of his 22 4- and 5-star appearances. This horse also has EquiRatings’ top ELO points for those in this field. ELO, developed from a chess template, takes points from horses beaten in competition, and gives up points to the horses that finish ahead of them. Quantum Leap’s number is 698, ahead of Colorado Blue, ridden by Ireland’s Austin O’Connor with 676.
For comparison, the number one ELO horse of all time is Michael Jung’s Bioesthetique Sam, now retired, who in 2017 had 973 points.
I know you’re asking, what about Boyd Martin, who won the Maryland 5-star in its 2021 debut with On Cue? He was the first American since 2008 to win a 5-star. (It’s worth noting that Tamie Smith won the 5-star Land Rover Kentucky event last spring for the U.S. with Mai Baum.)
Boyd Martin and Contessa at Kentucky last spring. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Boyd is back at Maryland with another mare, Contessa, but only a 2 percent chance of winning and a 9 percent chance of a podium spot, according to EquiRatings.
I’ve learned, however, never to count out Boyd. Desire and determination count for a lot in this game, and he’s got plenty of both.
Tickets for the event, presented by Brown Advisory, are still available at https://www.maryland5star.us/tickets/. Dressage begins Thursday and continues until Oct. 20. Cross-country is Oct. 21, with the show jumping wrap-up on Oct. 22. In addition to the 5-star, a 3-star competition also will be presented.
To learn even more about the athletes, along with stats and analysis around the third annual event, click on EquiRatings’ 2023 Maryland 5 Star Stats & Stories Guide
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 20, 2023
There goes the podium…maybe.
British riders are standing first, second and third in the MARS Maryland 5-star at Fair Hill after the second day of dressage. And just for good measure, a New Zealander is fourth.
You can’t say it was unexpected, they all have sparkling resumes. But before I go any further here, I have to issue a reminder that this is not, as we always say, a dressage competition. We have cross-country coming up Saturday over a very tough Ian Stark course (look at yesterday’s story at the bottom of the page to see what he had to say). And of course, the show jumping Sunday could change everything.
But as Oliver Townend, the number one-ranked eventer in the world, remarked, Britain is so strong in eventing now that it could field three teams in next year’s Olympics. He turned in a stunning dressage performance to top the leaderboard with the eye-catching grey, Cooley Rosalent, by a show jumping sire out of a thoroughbred mare.
“She’s nine years old, so it could have gone drastically wrong through no fault of her own, just through inexperience,” said Oliver with a grin after his ride.
Oliver Townend looks on top of the world after topping the leaderboard. (Photo © 2023 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
The mare was a little nervous as she went into the arena.
“But it actually helped in the end, because it lifted her ears and I could ride her forward and she relaxed throughout the test,” Oliver commented.
The sensitive Rosie, who wears a nose net, has a lovely outline and produced sparkling half-passes among other well-presented movements. She was marked at 23.1 penalties, the equivalent in non-eventing dressage of 76.92 percent. Oliver even got a 9 from one judge for his first halt.
Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent. (Photo © 2023 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
I watched his warm-up, as he and his newest star rehearsed the movements over and over. Oliver didn’t think it was enough, feeling he was 10 minutes behind where he needed to be, but it was sufficient to please the judges. He has placed second and third respectively at the last two Maryland 5-stars, so he would dearly like to win this one.
The overnight leader, Piggy March, dropped to second on her score of 24.2 penalties with Brookfield Cavalier Cruise.
As expected, William Fox-Pitt knew just what was needed from Grafennacht, producing a test good for 26.1 penalties. William is so tall, he has to shorten his stirrups when he rides the mare. She’s 17 hands, but svelte, without a big barrel that could take up some of his long legs.
“She was quite frisky today,” William announced. “I couldn’t quite get her on the bit, but she was still showing off well and I was very pleased with her.”
William Fox-Pitt and Graffenacht.(Photo © 2023 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
She is the only 5-star horse that the legendary rider has at the moment. The mare is good cross-country, but her show jumping development “is in progress,” according to William. He said she’s a little bit “core weak. Even though she can stretch and jump and gallop, she’s not really round enough to be a sure thing in the jumping.
“If I’ve got three (rails) in hand on Sunday, I’ll be happy,” he declared.
At age 54, William is looking at retirement, and having Grafennacht is what keeps him going for now.
Monica Spencer, who rode Thursday, dropped from second to fourth with Artist (28.4), a thoroughbred who is still very much in the hunt.
Just behind her in fifth place is the highest-placed American, Boyd Martin, winner of the first Maryland 5-star with On Cue. He’s back with another mare, Contessa, not quite the dressage star her predecessor was, but still putting in a credible test with a few blips for a score of 28.6.
Boyd Martin and Contessa. (Photo © 2023 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
A couple of small things weren’t perfect, a flying change came too early, a reinback went more toward the middle of the ring than the side. But overall the training with his wife, Silva, and former German star Bettina Hoy seems to have paid off.
He changed his warm-up routine, explaining about Contessa, “The more I ride, the worse she gets.”
So he did his warm-up about two hours before his test, then had a massage and a stretch.
“I hopped on 15 minutes before the test. It’s a bit risky, because they get excited, they can really get hot. But she stayed really calm and relaxed and did a great test.”
He pointed out she has a massive canter stride, which is great for cross-country but hard to collect for dressage.
“I’ve just been cross-country schooling her over and over again. So tomorrow (Saturday) will be a real test. I’m quietly confident and quietly terrified,” he revealed.
The 5-star is running with a 3-star Long in the event, presented by Brown Advisory. There are just 26 in the 5-star (as someone mentioned, there are only so many 5-star horses in the world) but 46 in the 3-star. The USA’s Carolyn Pamukcu leads the way on HSH Conor with 25.4 penalties, while Lauren Nicholson is second in that division on Larcot Z (28.2) and the next 12 riders in the standings also are American.
Click here for the 3-star results
Click here for the 5-star results
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 19, 2023
Remember those EquiRatings statistics we told you about yesterday?
They proved their worth on Thursday as the MARS Maryland 5-star event began with the predicted winner taking the lead.
Notice I didn’t say the predicted winner, Great Britain’s Piggy March, actually clinched the top spot with the Irish bred Brookfield Cavalier Cruise on 24.2 penalties.
That’s because we’re only halfway through the roster of 26 starters, and there are some in the second group scheduled for Friday who have a good record in the first phase. They include World Number One Oliver Townend, another Brit, with Cooley Rosalent and William Fox-Pitt (yes, yet another Brit) with Grafennacht.
But the stats also favored Monica Spencer of New Zealand, who sent the thoroughbred Artist (Guillotine/Maxamore) 14,000 miles to be tested at Fair Hill. So guess who stands second at the moment on 28.4 penalties? You got it. Do the numbers ever lie?
Since 2010, all the winners of 5-star events in the U.S. have placed anywhere from first through fifth in the dressage segment. So we have to wait until tomorrow to see who makes that top five group.
This is Piggy’s debut at the three-year-old Maryland event, presented by Brown Advisory, and she is wildly enthusiastic about being here (except for having problems getting a rental car).
“It’s absolutely beautiful. I’ve never, ever anywhere seen such footing,” she exclaimed, referring not only to the grass on the racecourse but also in the arenas.
Piggy March and Brookfield Cavalier Cruise. (Photo by Shannon Brinkman)
That, she noted, “is why we came here for our horse, we heard the footing was great.”
Her noble-countenanced 10-year-old by Cavalier Carnival out of Ryans Cruise “is still quite low on mileage.”
After he finished second in the 4-star Long at the Bramham Horse Trials in England, his team sat down to decide what would be next. They thought other 4-stars might be “taking a step back for him.” So that meant going 5-star. Although the Burghley 5-star is just down the road from Piggy’s place, and she won it in 2022 with the now-retired Vanir Kamara, the terrain is undulating and it’s a bit tougher than what Maryland had to offer – or at least that’s what she thought. But having seen the course that Ian Stark built this year, that preconceived notion has gone out the window.
“It’s such an honor and a treat to be able to come over here to compete in America. We thought this would be the best place for him. But we weren’t expecting it to be such a tough cross-country,” she admitted.
Still, it seems as if the horse she calls “the biggest dude” should be up to the task.
“He’s a brilliant horse who comes here really confident…it’s my job to give him the best run ‘round that we can do. He’s always believed in his job; he’s been a good cross-country horse so far. We’re excited to give it a go.”
Piggy believes “The best thing about him is his temperament and his mind.. He’s got such a great heart. He’s so rideable.”
Piggy March was pleased as punch with her horse’s dressage effort. (Photo © 2023 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
“Fletcher,” as he is known around the barn, will fill out more, she noted, and gain expression in dressage as he gains experience.
“The exciting thing about him is there’s loads more to come,” she promised.
Monica calls her 12-year-old horse, “a true gentleman” as well as “a beautiful mover and capable of probably a slightly better score than that couple of little blips here and there, but can’t complain with a 28.”
She got Artist as a too-slow-to-race four-year-old, and had an interesting insight about thoroughbreds when it comes to dressage.
“I do think they take a little bit longer to strengthen up because they’re not bred or built for the job we asked them to do.”
Another thoroughbred, Phelps, showed his style with a mark of 32.9 to be fourth under Mia Farley, competing in her first 5-star. Her mount, owned by Olympic individual gold medalist David O’Connor, was purchased for $1, but that little investment has paid off in an exceptional way.
Mia Farley is a first-time 5-star rider with the thoroughbred Phelps. (Photo © 2023 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
Standing third on 32.4 was 2023 Essex Horse Trials winner Hannah Sue Holberg and the Holsteiner Capitol HIM.
He doesn’t always take everything in stride, so the big screen in the arena freaked him out slightly, but then he went on to do his job.
”He did everything better and as well as he can at home or better,” said Hannah Sue, who confessed to messing up the final flying change, saying, “I was getting too excited.
“But otherwise, I thought I rode to my plan and I rode more aggressively in the trot work, which I’ve been trying to do.”
All of the top four were cited as among the best dressage horses in the event by EquiRatings.
Piggy’s comments gave us an insight of what to expect from Ian Stark’s cross-country route.
Cross-country course designer Ian Stark. (Photo © 2023 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
Ian said he “got some stick” for his first Maryland course because too many people made the time, but that was his debut in the venue. The second year, he said, continuing with his rationale, “was like the first year,” because the start and finish were in a different place. That’s my excuse.”
In the last 10 years at U.S. 5-stars, the 2022 Maryland cross-country had the highest inside-the-time rate at 54 percent. In 2021, it was 26 percent, tying with the 2018 Land Rover Kentucky event.
This year, Ian warns, “be careful what you wish for.”
He noted that the time to complete the course Saturday without incurring penalties is 11 minutes, 10 seconds. While Ian said, “I don’t agree with time being unobtainable,” he slyly added, “I’d be quite happy if no one gets the time.”
Click here for 5-star results
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 12, 2023
More information has emerged about what was behind Tuesday’s abrupt postponement — with an hour’s notice — concerning the Wellington Village Council’s consideration of an application for the Wellington North development.
Details of the thinking behind changes to the application have been made public in a 39-page “justification statement.”
It deals with the proposal that would develop Equestrian Village, home of the Global Dressage Festival, and the neighboring White Birch property into a residential club community. Its 96 dwelling units across the parcels would include 48 single-family and 48 multi-family units, none higher than 35 feet. At present, Equestrian Village and White Birch could build just four and two units respectively without any Council action.
For the development, the Equestrian Village property would require a change of land use from Equestrian Commercial Recreation to Residential. But in order to construct more housing, 96.17 acres also would have to be removed from the Village’s Equestrian Preserve, which can only be done by a vote of four of the five Council members. The development has been opposed by many Village residents, who express concern about traffic, overcrowding and losing the community’s equestrian ambience.
The Adequan Global Dressage Festival grounds has attracted crowds for the Friday Night Lights freestyles.(Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
The statement from developer Wellington Lifestyle Partners describes the fundamental strategy as switching residential land at nearby Wellington South to an Equestrian Commercial designation for expansion of the overcrowded Wellington International showgrounds, in exchange for 96 acres of what in effect would be new residential land at Equestrian Village (Wellington North).
But the Wellington South acreage that could expand the showgrounds has yet to be sold to the owners of Wellington International. Jane Cleveland, chairman of the Village’s Equestrian Preserve Committee, points out “it has been made clear” that the land could be purchased only if the housing development is approved for the Equestrian Village site. The entire Equestrian Preserve is 9,000 acres, which is composed of showgrounds, polo fields and bridle trails. Those who are against the development fear removing any land from the Preserve could have a domino effect, resulting in the loss of other acreage designated that way.
In making its case, Wellington Lifestyle Partners stated, “By the expansion of the showgrounds from 90 acres to 190 acres, there is an ability to create a single integrated venue, which is critical to Wellington’s long-term success,”
If the Wellington International showgrounds expands, plans call for dressage to move there from Equestrian Village. The developer contends establishing jumpers, hunters and dressage for the horse shows on a contiguous piece of land would cut back on traffic generated by having competition on two showgrounds separated by busy roads.
The developer called Wellington — known as “the Winter Equestrian Capital of the World”– the trailblazer in creating an integrated equestrian community, and a model for other communities. But Wellington Lifestyle Partners maintains that the market is competitive, and continuing to grow, with the addition of the World Equestrian Center in Ocala and TerraNova outside Sarasota, as well as popular winter circuits in Europe.
“To preserve the Village’s stake in the equestrian industry and establish our community as the true Equestrian Capital of the World, the showgrounds and related lifestyle amenities must be expanded and enhanced, and high-end residential opportunities must be available to support those equestrian facilities. Wellington must take the next step forward or be forced back,” the developer contends.
“The Wellington” is designed as a private community with several tracts of land linked by a common design
philosophy. It would include The Wellington North; The Wellington South, proposed in a separate concurrent petition, and The Wellington Market, a commercial project open to the public which will be submitted in a separate future petition.
The Council’s first reading of the ordinance has been postponed to Nov. 14, 15 and possibly 16, the dates already reserved for the second reading.
The meeting room Tuesday was filled with disappointed people, some of whom had flown in, to attend the first reading of the application, only to find the session was cancelled on short notice.
“Staff supports this (postponement) request and recommends the request be approved to allow more time for staff to review the most recent modifications to the application and allow the applicant time to continue to address issues raised by interested parties and the community,” stated a Wellington website post from Village Manager Jim Barnes.
The Wellington Council meeting Tuesday night.
“This is one of the most important votes, if not the most important vote, in the history of Wellington,” emphasized Councilman Michael Drahos.
“So I do not want to rush it through. We’ve received a massive amount of information recently. We want to take time to digest that so I’m fully prepared to handle every aspect of this application. We’ve also had a lot of residents ask us to slow down and take a little bit more time as this information has been coming in lately.”
The councilman added, “So from my point of view, this was the prudent thing to do tonight, as much as it is frustrating. We want to get on with it, We want to vote, we want to decide Welllington’s future once and for all. Let’s do it the right way…so when it does come time to vote, we’re all ready to do that.”
The vote of the Village Council is the only decision that counts in terms of the Wellington North and South projects being accepted. Although the Equestrian Preserve Committee and the Planning, Zoning and Adjustment Board recommended against the proposals, they are simply advisory panels.
The changes to the proposals, however, are “significantly based on the board’s and committee’s comments, the comments that were made at the boards that did review this?” Mayor Anne Gerwig asked Barnes, who answered in the affirmative.
People were allowed to comment at the Council meeting, but they were warned that because the matter was not being taken up at that session, their comments could not go in the record or be considered by the Council next month when it deals with two items involving the projects that are legislative, and one that is quasi-judicial.
Wellington resident Richard Sirota took advantage of being allowed to speak, even though he couldn’t make an official comment.
Richard Sirota speaks to the Council.
A real estate developer, who was chairman for six years of the Battery Park City Authority in New York, said during his time in real estate and government, he had “never seen a process so anti-democratic as this. Normally, you couldn’t cancel a meeting on an hour’s notice. That’s implicitly giving a plus to the applicant.
“It’s supposed to be a level playing field…This to me is an unconscionable process. I’m saying nothing about what the zoning should be…I’m saying for process, you should all be embarrassed, because it implicitly says they control it, it’s not a level playing field.”
After concluding his remarks, he got a round of applause from the audience, who had expected to hear the Council discuss the proposals but will just have to wait some more.
Karen Holland got up to say she received a flyer from a new entity called, “Preserving Wellington,” noting the name is “very clever.”
It is putting forth the case for what the developer wants to do. Its website states: “Without New Investment, Wellington’s Equestrian Venues And Stature As The Horse Sport Capital Of The World Will Begin To Diminish.
Support The Wellington Equestrian & Golf Club Proposal.The modified plans will create a pathway for the showgrounds to double in capacity, preserve our equestrian lifestyle, invest in essential infrastructure, ease traffic challenges, and generate vital revenue for our Village – all without burdening taxpayers.”
But Holland said, “I kind of resent getting this in the mail.
“It doesn’t seem fair that the other side, which has a lot of money, is able to flood mailboxes, flood articles in the papers and just be out there and present something without people really getting an idea of what the other side is. My thoughts are, let’s put it to a vote and let people in the community decide.”
It was mentioned during the meeting, however, that Florida statutes prohibit submitting land use decisions to a public referendum.
Another group, Protect the Equestrian Preserve, has more than 7,000 people who don’t want the development.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 10, 2023
Just when the Wellington, Fla., Village Council should have gotten its first crack at evaluating the controversial development proposals from Wellington Lifestyle Partners Tuesday night, the applicant asked for a postponement after additional material was submitted involving reduced density impact.
On an hour’s notice, the first reading of the ordinance was put off. It now will be Nov.14, 15 and possibly 16. the dates already reserved for the second reading.
The meeting room was filled with disappointed people, some of whom had flown in, to attend the first reading of the application. Opposition to the development plans include concern about overcrowding and traffic, but most of all, losing the equestrian ambience of the Village.
“Staff supports this (postponement) request and recommends the request be approved to allow more time for staff to review the most recent modifications to the application and allow the applicant time to continue to address issues raised by interested parties and the community,” stated a Wellington website post from Village Manager Jim Barnes.
The Wellington Council meeting Tuesday night.
“This is one of the most important votes, if not the most important vote, in the history of Wellington,” emphasized Councilman Michael Drahos.
“So I do not want to rush it through. We’ve received a massive amount of information recently. We want to take time to digest that so I’m fully prepared to handle every aspect of this application. We’ve also had a lot of residents ask us to slow down and take a little bit more time as this information has been coming in lately.”
The councilman added, “So from my point of view, this was the prudent thing to do tonight, as much as it is frustrating. We want to get on with it, We want to vote, we want to decide Welllington’s future once and for all. Let’s do it the right way…so when it does come time to vote, we’re all ready to do that.”
The vote of the Village Council is the only decision that counts in terms of the Wellington North and South projects being accepted. Although the Equestrian Preserve Committee and the Planning, Zoning and Adjustment Board recommended against the proposals, they are simply advisory panels.
The changes to the proposals, however, are “significantly based on the board’s and committee’s comments, the comments that were made at the boards that did review this?” Mayor Anne Gerwig asked Barnes, who answered in the affirmative.
The applicant wants to build housing on the Wellington North parcel, which means that 96.17 acres would have to be removed from the Equestrian Preserve, part of 9,000 such acres in the Village. It requires a vote of four of the five Village Council members in order to remove land from the preserve, which is composed of showgrounds, polo fields and bridle trails.
There would be housing as well on the South parcel, but an extension of the Wellington International showgrounds is also planned for Wellington South. However, an application for the showgrounds expansion, which is not a Wellington Lifestyle Partners project, would have to be submitted and evaluated separately. That process has not yet begun.
Wellington North is the home of the Global Dressage Festival, which would move to the current Wellington International facility if the showgrounds expansion is approved. The additional acreage for the showgrounds would alleviate overcrowding, offer a stadium to showcase sport and include permanent hospitality facilities.
People were allowed to comment at the Council meeting, but they were warned that because the matter was not being taken up Tuesday, their comments could not go in the record or be considered by the Council next month when it deals with two items involving the projects that are legislative, and one that is quasi-judicial.
Wellington resident Richard Sirota took advantage of being allowed to speak, even though he couldn’t make an official comment.
Richard Sirota speaks to the Council.
A real estate developer, who was chairman for six years of the Battery Park City Authority in New York, said during his time in real estate and government, he had “never seen a process so anti-democratic as this. Normally, you couldn’t cancel a meeting on an hour’s notice. That’s implicitly giving a plus to the applicant.
“It’s supposed to be a level playing field…This to me is an unconscionable process. I’m saying nothing about what the zoning should be…I’m saying for process, you should all be embarrassed, because it implicitly says they control it, it’s not a level playing field.”
After concluding his remarks, he got a round of applause from the audience, who had expected to hear the Council discuss the proposals but will just have to wait some more.
Karen Holland got up to say she received a flyer from a new entity called, “Preserving Wellington,” noting the name is “very clever.”
It is putting forth the case for what the developer wants to do. Its website states: “Without New Investment, Wellington’s Equestrian Venues And Stature As The Horse Sport Capital Of The World Will Begin To Diminish.
Support The Wellington Equestrian & Golf Club Proposal.The modified plans will create a pathway for the showgrounds to double in capacity, preserve our equestrian lifestyle, invest in essential infrastructure, ease traffic challenges, and generate vital revenue for our Village – all without burdening taxpayers.”
But Holland said, “I kind of resent getting this in the mail.
“It doesn’t seem fair that the other side, which has a lot of money, is able to flood mailboxes, flood articles in the papers and just be out there and present something without people really getting an idea of what the other side is. My thoughts are, let’s put it to a vote and let people in the community decide.”
It was mentioned during the meeting, however, that Florida statutes prohibit submitting land use decisions to a public referendum.
Another group, Protect the Equestrian Preserve, has more than 7,000 people who don’t want the development.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 8, 2023
Luke Jensen was second last year in the Platinum Performance/U.S. Equestrian Federation Show Jumping Talent Search Finals East, but for 2023, the determined rider could not be denied the top spot.
The championship, which enjoys extra prestige because it is held at the historic U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation in Gladstone, N.J., drew 46 riders for three days of intense competition.
A working student for trainers Missy Clark, John Brennan and Maggie Gampfer at North Run, Luke’s junior days are behind him, but he picked the right way to end his equitation experience Sunday before going on to “step up to a higher level” and a career as a professional.
Luke Jensen and Calina M. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Riding at the USET Foundation made his victory even more important.
“I love coming to this facility,” explained Luke, saying he has “a great affinity for the history of the sport. I enjoy watching and trying to learn from what people have done before me. It’s very special to be successful here. It’s something I’ll never forget.”
Luke, who last year won the Dover Saddlery/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Finals, was second in the ASPCA Maclay and also owns a team silver from the North American Youth Championships, vied with Joe Craver, a Talent Search first-timer, for honors in the initial two phases, the flat and the gymnastics.
Joe, who rides with Stacia Madden at Beacon Hill, earned 91 points for each of the first two segments aboard Franco, while Luke was just a point away, on a score of 90 with Morgan Wilsberg’s Calina M, who is only seven years old but certainly was up to the challenge.
“She never didn’t answer the questions we asked,” said Missy, who initially heard about the mare from Christian Coyle and was so impressed she is in the process of buying her.
“I had a really good feeling about Luke’s partnership with Calina. Even though the mare is green and had never done equitation before joining our stable a month ago, I didn’t focus on that because it never entered my mind she wouldn’t do it,” Missy noted.
The gymnastics phase is often a deal-breaker for some riders in the Talent Search, but that was not the case this year. The course had been designed by judge Ronnie Beard and U.S. Show Jumping Coach Robert Ridland, who was supposed to judge but got sidelined with Covid after coming back from the Barcelona Nations Cup final by way of Paris to visit the Olympic venue at Versailles. He was replaced by his assistant, Olympic medalist Anne Kursinski.
“What we tried to do was make it so it wasn’t so trappy, so we could get a little bit of their style and how they would present things,” said Ronnie about the gymnastics, referencing some previous editions of the Talent Search.
“This time, the gymnastics were not so controversial, they were just very easily done. That actually made today (Sunday) much more important. It’s amazing how close a lot of the scores were.”
In the Sunday morning jumping segment, Luke moved up to a score of 94, but so did a fellow Texan and friend since childhood, Carlee McCutcheon, who had been marked at 85 in the first two phases.
Carlee McCutcheon and Chacco Star. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Carlee, a member of the famous reining family, does both sports but is focusing on jumping going forward.
“I’d like to do this at the highest level and I’m ready to go to work for it,” declared Carlee, whose mother, Mandy McQuay McCutcheon, won the USET’s Rolex Talent Derby when she was a teen.
Noted Carlee, who plans to turn professional, “just having a family that is in the horse business makes a huge difference. It’s a big advantage for me. They understand what I’m doing, they understand the ups and downs of it.”
Joe, a high school senior from North Carolina, had a 92 for the morning jumping and Amira Kettaneh of New Hampshire, who is headed for the University of South Carolina’s riding team, was marked at 92.5 with the grey mare, Gossip SA.
Luke’s total after three phases stood at 413, while Joe’s was just two points lower. Carlee was on 400.5 and Amira, 403.8.
The water obstacle on the jumping course stood on its own going into a line, so riders had to catch it just right, yet it was not the problem it often has been in previous Talent Search finals. The time allowed was snug, but fair, and you could say the same for the deciding Final Four rounds, with a 60-seconds TA.
“All three phases asked questions that were going to improve the riders who participated,” said Missy.
David Distler has been involved with the Talent Search since 1982 and managed it since 1986. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
The Final Four is the unique test that determines the top order of finish. It is modeled on the way it used to be done at the show jumping world championships, where the four best-scoring riders would take each others’ horses over the same course.
The world championships dropped the format, but it’s still alive and exciting at the Talent Search.
“To ride a horse for two minutes and prepare to jump a course, it’s tricky, but that challenge at the same time makes it my favorite part of the week,” said Luke.
All the riders, who started on a clean slate, did fine on the new, shorter course aboard their own horses. But when Amira switched to Carlee’s Chacco Star, she had a knockdown and a refusal, which added up to 8 jumping faults and 19 time faults.
Joe ran into trouble with Luke’s Calina M, also in the second round, having a knockdown at the third fence and a couple of tight approaches to wind up with a 4-fault total.
There were no other mishaps, but it was obvious that Amira, who rides with her mother, Leigh Kettaneh and Andre Dignelli of Heritage, would be fourth and Joe third, though he got a bonus when his mount, the perky gray, Franco, won the title of Best Horse of the finals.
Franco, the Best Horse of the Talent Search, and Joe Craver. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
So it was between Luke and Carlee, who is trained at Stonehenge by Max Amaya and T.J. O’Mara (a previous Talent Search winner).
There turned out to be just three points between them, with Luke finishing on 375 and Carlee on 372. The mistakes by Joe and Amira were expensive; Joe’s total was 324 and Amira’s 310.
Talent Search winner Luke Jensen, runner-up Carlee McCutcheon, third place Joe Craver and Amira Kettaneh, who was fourth. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Ronnie and Anne were pleased by the way the riders performed.
“Overall, the level of all them was higher than it’s been in the past. I thought it was wonderful to see everyone handle the water much better than ever before,” said Anne.
Judges Anne Kursinski and Ronnie Beard with DiAnn LAnger, Missy Clark, John Brennan and Luke Jensen. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
“I also thought that they’ve learned to make the time allowed a lot better. There used to be so many more time faults and now everybody was being very efficient. That’s very important in today’s world with show jumping.”
To that point, a single time fault kept the U.S. from qualifying for the Paris Olympics during the Nations Cup final last weekend in Barcelona, with the team’s last chance to make the 2024 Olypics coming later this month at the Pan American Games.
The purpose of the Talent Search is just what the name says; to recruit talent for U.S. teams going forward.
Robert Ridland, who was finishing his Covid quarantine at a hotel by the Newark, N.J., Airport, watched the Talent Search on the livestream.
He said it “looked great, and succeeded in doing exactly what its purpose has always been…to seek out potential riders for future international teams.”
On Sunday, he “judged” while watching the competition on his laptop.
“I ended up with exactly the same Final Four riders and in exactly the same order as Anne and Ronnie pinned them. And Anthony (D’Ambrosio) did an excellent job as the technical delegate. Overall, it was a great Talent Search Final!”
Missy, whose students now have won the Talent Search eight times, appreciated the judging, noting “the whole event was overseen by two of the best. I really thought all three phases asked questions that were going to improve all the riders who participated here, whether they won or didn’t.”
Discussing Luke, she said, “he’s very understated. His compassion and genuine love for the horses always comes shining through, because the horses all respond to him in such a positive way.” He’s such a hard worker, she noted, that sometimes in the evening she has to tell him it’s time to go home.
Another of Missy’s working students, Callista Smith, won the Hollow Brook Wealth Management Sportsmanship Award.
DiAnn Langer, Callista Smith and Hollow Brook Wealth Management CEO Alan Bazaar. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Callista finished last in the Talent Search because her horse wasn’t quite right when he came out of the stall Sunday mornning, so she scratched. But she spent the rest of the day helping other riders.
“I can’t say enough about how awesome she is,” said Missy.
“She’s an incredible human being, the hardest worker, has the best attitude and disposition, is a wonderful student a complete team player and is always appreciative. She’s truly one in a million.”
The Talent Search Finals West in California last month went to Camilla Jerng, trained by Susie Schroer.
Click here for complete results of the Talent Search.
