by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 19, 2023
Managing risk when investing in horses is always tricky. The fragility of these animals and the whims of fate too often can result in a devastating outcome for owners, riders and trainers.
Catherine Haddad Staller, based in Califon, N.J., and Wellington, Fla., knows well the ups and downs of the horse business. Twice the U.S. dressage team’s reserve rider for the World Equestrian Games, she has had many other accomplishments during more than three decades of being active in the industry.
Her most recent success was the selection of her home-bred seven-year-old Hanoverian, Vianne, to compete in the FEI World Breeding Championship for Young Horses in the Netherlands next month. Doing the riding will be 23-year-old Hope Beerling, an Australian being trained by Catherine. Vianne is the only American-bred horse representing the U.S. that is participating in the competition.
Vianne takes a good look at the flag she will be representing at the Young Horse Championships with Hope Beerling. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Along with her achievements, Catherine, 59, also has dealt with her share of crushing disappointments over the years, and had to figure out a way of coping with them.
What she learned has been instilled in the development of NorCordia, an innovative company started in 2021 whose platform is geared to “helping our horses find their best partners” and enabling those who invest in the concept to seek a profit. It is the “first sporthorse portfolio investment company,” Catherine explained.
The Nor in NorCordia is for Nordic, which she calls “a representation of value,” (her partners are Danish), while Cordia refers to “the assurance of heartstrings,” a commitment to caring in connection with the horses.
The company initially offers portfolios of 10 to 12 horses, and each runs for three years. When a horse is sold during that period, it is replaced in the portfolio. The company has the ability to turn over anywhere from 18 to 24 horses in one portfolio. Eventually, replacement is stopped, so at the end of the three years, the plan is for the portfolio to be empty so investors can collect, though Catherine is careful to emphasize that investment carries no guarantee there will be a profit.
The trainer added, however, she believes “something cataclysmic would have to happen to not make a profit with this model.”
Explaining how the company manages risk, Catherine explained, “If something goes wrong with one horse, we can make up the loss by selling other horses. Because we place the horses with professionals in (both) Europe and the U.S., we never have one complete portfolio with one trainer.”
Having the NorCordia horses at several stables is a way to reduce risk in the case of disease, fire or natural disasters, for instance. The horses are mostly dressage specialists, with some show jumpers in the mix.
The first portfolio was started with a capital investment of 500,000 Euros. The second was started with 1 million Euros and had 10 shares at 100,000 Euros each sold to investors by February 2023. Portfolio three was started with 2.5 million Euros.
While Catherine and her partners want to sell horses, of course, there is another priority.
“For me,” she said, “the number one thing is horse welfare. We have to sell horses, but I said to all three of my partners, `We will be a company that gives our horses the best care, the best nutrition, the best management and the best training. We will take every precaution we can that when one of our horses leaves the stable, it’s going to the best partner, and a partner for life.’ That’s why our motto is `Horses for Life.’ ”
While she knows many ethical horse dealers, she’s also known some in the business who weren’t.
“I want to show the world how compassionately you can put horses on the market and send them on to their next partners.”
The idea is to “create training in a horse that makes him valuable to someone.”
The people who buy shares, however, aren’t buying horses for themselves. Instead, they’re involved in an investment that they hope results in a profit at the end of the three-year term. When the first horse in a portfolio is sold, the money goes to pay for expenses and care for the horses. When the second horse is sold, the company invests in another horse.
Catherine Haddad with members of her team Hope Beerling and Bella Nye. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Catherine’s longtime friend Hope Greenfield, who was involved with finance before she retired, had to be convinced to invest in the second portfolio.
“I said ‘No, I don’t want to be investing in horses anymore,'” recalled Hope, who has owned eventing and dressage horses over the years. She personally owns four horses, but was wary of getting involved with anything horse-related that wasn’t for her use.
“I know it’s a risk,” she said about the investment, pointing out, “I’m a fixed income type of person.”
But her friend, June Brody, who like Hope had been a New Jersey stable owner, wanted to split the fee for a NorCordia share after talking to her financial advisor. He examined the concept and thought it looked good. Hope was impressed by his assessment.
They finally decided to collaborate on one portfolio share in a venture they’re calling LOL (for Little Old Ladies) Adventure. The pair enjoys watching the portfolio horses compete, though they have no personal or emotional involvement with them.
“It’s fun,” Hope said.
“It’s not like investing in Berkshire Hathaway.”
NorCordia’s profile will be raised at Dressage at Devon which runs Sept. 26-Oct. 1, presented by Kingsview Partners. A highlight of the Pennsylvania show, the Master Class Sept. 28 featuring Danish Olympic star Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour, will be presented by NorCordia. Last year’s class, with U.S. Olympic team silver medalist Sabine Schut-Kery doing the teaching, was very popular with spectators, who filled the stands looking for tips that perhaps could improve their own horses and riding.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 20, 2023
A presentation about an expanded showgrounds for Wellington, Fla., got priority from Wellington Lifestyle Partners in its first appearance before the Village Planning. Zoning and Adjustment Board Wednesday night.
Plans for the Wellington North and South development project received a thumbs-down last month from the Village’s Equestrian Preserve Committee. That panel unanimously was against rezoning acreage set aside for equestrian purposes in order to complete a land use designation swap that is necessary for a major expansion of the Wellington International showgrounds.
Here’s a diagram of the property around the showgrounds.
Members of the preserve committee, which is only an advisory group, pointed out that they did not see an application for the expanded showgrounds during their two-day hearing. They emphasized they had no guarantee that WLP would actually sell the land to Wellington International, since the two don’t have a signed contract.
That complaint obviously hit home, because right off the bat, WLP offered the zoning board details about what is planned for the showgrounds, part of the South segment of the proposal.
“This is an opportunity, a moment in time, to create state-of-the-art facilities that will double the size of the showgrounds for all three disciplines — dressage, hunters and jumpers. As we move forward with this project, if we are approved, this will be the first dirt that is moved and this will be the first set of structures that will be built,” promised Doug McMahon, managing director of the developer, the Tavistock Group, co-founder of the Nexus Luxury Collection and the chief executive officer of Wellington Lifestyle Partners.
Rendering of a “wow” concept for the entrance to the expanded Wellington International showgrounds.
Wellington International President Michael Stone said dressage isn’t really viable at the Equestrian Village, where it has been held since 2012. It is separated from the main showgrounds by about a mile. Equipment and catering has to travel that distance, which has made access difficult and raised safety concerns. Those problems would be alleviated if all the disciplines were part of the same contiguous footprint, Stone noted.
The current dressage facility (slated for housing under the Wellington North plan) is “small and needs a lot of investment. We want to create the best possible place for dressage,” said Stone.
He pointed out that Wellington International’s parent company, Global Equestrian Group, has a big business selling dressage horses “and to sell horses, you need a showcase. Moving it over to Wellington International, we’d then have the ability to showcase those horses. It’s all part of a major planning. We’re going to double the size of the showgrounds to 190 acres.”
Stone said expanding the showgrounds is necessary to compete with up-to-date equestrian facilities in Sarasota and Ocala, each of which is approximately three hours from Wellington.
Architectural firm Populous, which is involved with Olympic venues in Paris and Los Angeles, will be designing the new showgrounds. The firm’s Todd Gralla, director of equestrian services, showed designs that promised a “wow moment” upon entering the glittering new facility.
“Interested parties” addressing the committee cited concerns about traffic and losing the equestrian ambience that has made Wellington famous around the world. There is quite a lot of opposition to the Wellington North and South project. A petition against removing Equestrian Preserve land and amending zoning to allow an increase in residential density for high-end houses and condos in the preserve had 5,059 signatures as of July 18.
This is the notice posted in the Village about Wednesday’s hearing.
The zoning board hearing, which lasted nearly four hours and continues Thursday night, will get under way with comments from the public. The final decision on the project will be made by the Village Council, which is scheduled to take it under consideration next month.
Check back at this website after the second hearing to learn how the board voted.
Meanwhile, the Village Council has approved 27 luxury homes on a former golf course inside the sprawling Palm Beach Polo complex. The Farrell Building Co West. Plans for Farrell East have been dropped in the face of protests from the community.
Andrew Carduner, the president of Palm Beach Polo’s homeowners association of 3,000 residents, praised the cooperation of Farrell’s Florida rep, Michael Sanchez, saying he has been responsive to residents’ concerns.
But when Carduner appeared during Wednesday’s Zoning Board meeting on Wellington North and South to comment against those plans on behalf of what he called the “equestrian bedroom of this community,” he cited the complaints heard during the meeting to that point as he stated his opposition to the project.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 15, 2023
(a reminiscence from an Oklahoma friend, Barbara Haney, was added to this story July 24)
Kavar Kerr “lived a life of doing for others in an incredible fashion. She was a force of nature to get things done,” said Burr Collier, president of the Blowing Rock, N.C. Horse Show, remembering his friend, who died July 13 in Jackson Hole, Wyo., surrounded by her three dogs.
“Everything she did was for the good of the sport and the people (of) the sport that she loved,” he recalled.
Kavar Kerr.
Tom Wright, who was one of her trainers, noted, “She gave the shirt off her back to her friends and people she respected. She loved fiercely, and worked tirelessly for the underdog and felt that caring and supporting artists was a particular responsibility in her life.”
He added, “a great horseman and successful amateur rider, she owned great animals and supported many professionals, just when they needed her most.”
Kavar enjoyed some very successful horses, among them Trust Me and Sleigh Ride in the hunter ranks, and in eventing, Mike Huber’s mount Southcoast, who won a section of the 1983 Open Preliminary event at Rolex Kentucky.
She was known for her great sense of humor and her love of all animals, but it was her charitable side for which she will be most remembered in the equestrian world.
A year after Louise Serio and Geoff Teall started the World Championship Hunter Rider organization in the early 1980s, Kavar came to them and said, “Why don’t we make this bigger and make it a foundation and start an emergency relief foundation?”
As Louise noted, “She changed lives like that. She was just an amazing lady.”
Kavar enjoyed showing her hunters.
The American Hunter Jumper Foundation, which merged with the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association in 2013, helped scores of equestrians in need, whether they were dealing with illness, a barn fire or other tragedies.
The Kavar Kerr Distinguished Service Award, named in her honor, is presented annually by the World Championship Hunter Rider Committee of the USHJA for exceptional dedication, leadership, and commitment to the WCHR Program through volunteer service and philanthropic efforts.
The center of the WCHR logo, at the top of this page, bears a likeness of Kavar jumping one of her horses.
Another person whose life was changed by Kavar is international show jumper Laura Kraut. Her first Olympic mount, Liberty, was purchased in a partnership put together by Kavar, who brought in Peter Wetherill, Joyce Williams and Kate Gibson and was part of the syndicate herself.
When Laura won the 4-star grand prix at Chantilly, France, on Bisquetta over the weekend, Kavar was on her mind.
“I thought of her when I was in there getting the ribbon,” said Laura.
“She’s the person who helped me get to the next level of my career, and the point where I am now. She never took credit for it.”
As Laura was building her resume, she rode a hunter for Kavar and lived with her in Florida during the winter circuit.
“We were really great friends. She had the biggest heart, the greatest sense of humor–I never laughed more with anyone than I did with her,” Laura remembered
Peter Wetherill ended up buying in on the Anthem syndicate as well, and Kavar’s introduction of Laura to him was key.
“If it weren’t for Peter, I wouldn’t have gotten Anthem, he came in at the 11th hour through Kavar’s urging and helped us buy Anthem, and then he bought Cedric,” said Laura, referring to her 2008 Olympic team gold medal mount.
“None of that would have happened without Kavar.”
Laura noted Kavar had bravely struggled with pain and illness for decades.
Losing Kavar was “very, very sad,” Laura acknowledged, but “she’s out of pain now. I feel confident she got out of life what she wanted.”
Barbara Haney grew up with Kavar in Oklahoma, where the two were part of “very small” hunter/jumper group during the 1970s.
“She first had a small roan, Carousel (later inherited by younger sister Mara),” recalled Barbara.
“I can even remember her riding jacket from then: a Scottish tweed from Miller’s, of course, that looked so sharp on Carousel.”
When Kavar was diagnosed with severe scoliosis, she “had to stop riding for a while, while she wore a back brace to correct that condition. She would still attend all the shows and was always ready to lend a hand when I needed one, like to hold a crop, or keep my place in the order at the in gate,” Barbara reminisced.
“At a big show in Tulsa one night, I managed to misplace my gloves right before the show started. She ran around and found a pair for me to borrow. I won the eq championship that night with whoever’s gloves those were, which was one of the biggest wins I have ever had,” said Barbara.
“After I left Oklahoma for college, I wrote to her, and saw her once or twice, but we drifted apart, since I was working internships in the northeast and wasn’t back home much. I’d given up riding to concentrate on school, and didn’t go back to riding for another 20-ish years. I still thought our paths would cross again at some point.”
Kavar, who was on the board of the Kentucky Horse Park, also raised money for the first World Champion Hunter Rider Spectacular at the Winter Equestrian Festival with funding from the late Sallie Wheeler. The class is named after the late Peter Wetherill.
Always upbeat, Kavar was known for her great sense of humor.
For the Blowing Rock show, Kavar brought in money dedicated to Sallie Wheeler and her late husband, Kenny, in recognition of all they had done for the horse show world.
A native of Oklahoma, she was a granddaughter of Robert Kerr, who served the state as governor and U.S. senator. Kavar was a big fan of the University of Oklahoma Sooners and enjoyed watching their football games in person when she could.
Twelve years ago, Kavar was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and presumably had only five years to live. A brother and sister had died previously, and she did not want her parents to face burying another child, so she was determined to live.
Her mother, Joffa, a sculptor, died in June 2022 and her father, Bill Kerr, died a week and two days before she did. He was the founder of the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyo. and Kavar served on its board. Outside of the horse world, she was also active in philanthropy, serving on the board of a battered women’s shelter in Wyoming.
Kavar, who was 64, is survived by her sister, Mara Kerr of Edmond, Okla.; her niece, Ayla Mashburn of Oklahoma City, a nephew, Graycen Mashburn (Whitney), Edmond, Okla., and great-nieces Tyler, Aubrey and Caroline.
Private services will be held in Minnesota, at the final resting place of her parents and siblings, Joffa and David.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 11, 2023
Eventer Jane Sleeper usually is the one who offers a helping hand, whether as a volunteer or by training horses and riders, drawing on the wisdom learned in her long career.
But Jane, 73, had a bad fall in late May, noting with her usual sense of humor, “I just don’t bounce anymore.”
Four days ago, she returned home from rehab and is “slowly making progress,” revealing she “got stepped on when I fell off!.”
While she noted, “kind, encouraging words keep me motivated,” more than that is needed to get her through this difficult time.
A GoFundMe has been set up to handle some of the many expenses Jane is facing. Click here to access the GoFundMe page.
Direct contributions can also be made through PayPal via janeesleeper@gmail.com or via checks payable to her at Jane Sleeper, 130 Buck Run Road, East Fallowfield, Pa. 19320.
An auction also has been organized by Niamh O’Connell to benefit Jane. Niamh said so many in the equestrian world have been motivated by Jane, and now are coming to her aid.
“The amount of people who reached out to me and said, `I want to help’ has been pretty amazing,” Niamh reported.
To participate in the auction through 8 p.m. July 24, click here .
Items up for bid include lessons with 5-star riders, a tailgating package for the Maryland 5-star evebt, a package of studio portraits from Niamh, who is a photographer, and a breeding contract to one of Gem Twist’s clones.
Kennett Brewing Company in Kennett Square, Pa., is the site of a benefit for Jane July 23 from 4-7 p.m., featuring equestrians, such as Lillian and Ryan Wood, as celebrity bartenders. There will be a raffle that evening as well. The bar is at 109 S. Broad St., suite 2.The Phone is 610-444-0440. There will be a similar benefit at the Whip Tavern in Coatesville, Pa., Aug. 13 from 3-6 p.m.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 12, 2023
Debbie McDonald, who has been synonymous with U.S. dressage excellence during this century, is stepping down Aug. 1 from her post as the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s technical advisor in the discipline.
“After many discussions, it’s a difficult decision for me, but the right one, as I begin to slow down my teaching schedule to spend more time with my family, to step away from the technical advisor role in order to allow the program to find a successor that can ultimately help lead the program through Paris 2024 (Olympics) and Los Angeles 2028,” said Debbie, 68, explaining her decision.
Debbie on the kiss-and-cry platform with dressage sponsor Betsy Juliano and protege Adrienne Lyle. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
“It’s been an honor to work with the U.S. dressage program over the past 15-plus years, both as a coach and technical advisor. I wish nothing but success for the program and will still be involved with coaching on a limited basis. I look forward to seeing our athletes continue to succeed on the world stage.”
Debbie’s granddaughter, son and daughter-in-law live in Idaho, where she and her husband, Bob, have a house, though they spend the winter in Wellington, Fla., the center of dressage in the U.S. during the winter and early spring. Idaho is far from the dressage action, and Debbie has spent much of her time away from home or traveling.
USEF will appoint an interim chef d’equipe until a replacement for Debbie can be selected.
In 2003, Debbie was the first American to win the FEI World Cup Finals, riding Brentina, the horse with whom she won team silver at the 2002 FEI World Equestrian Games, as well as team bronze at the 2004 Olympics and the 2006 WEG. Together, Debbie and Brentina, who took double gold at the 1999 Pan American Games, were the sweethearts of U.S. dressage.
Debbie in her competition days with Brentina. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer).
Debbie became the U.S. dressage development coach in 2009 and assisted Robert Dover when he was technical advisor. She assumed that post after the 2016 Olympics.
During her run in the job, the U.S. won a team silver at the 2018 WEG with riders she coached, including her longtime protege Adrienne Lyle; Laura Graves and Kasey Perry-Glass, making up three-quarters of the squad that also included Steffen Peters.
Adrienne joined Steffen and Sabine Schut-Kerry to collect a historic team silver at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. But Debbie’s contract wasn’t renewed that year, after she was named in a lawsuit involving her husband.
He had been suspended by USEF when allegations dating back nearly a half-century were made to SafeSport. After arbitration, the case was closed and Bob was reinstated. The civil matter – for which the couple never had been served – was dismissed.
Debbie and Bob McDonald with Brentina on her retirement. (Photo © 2009 by Nancy Jaffer)
The team worked without a technical advisor after Debbie’s departure, while George Williams, U.S. Dressage Federation president, acted as chef d’equpe. Debbie was reappointed to the technical advisor position in February 2023.
Debbie with longtime friend and teammate Guenter Seidel at the FEI World Cup Finals this year. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
At Aachen in June, the U.S. team finished last of eight nations. Adrienne, who is pregnant, was not on the squad, which consisted of riders light on international experience.
Hallye Griffin, the USEF’s director of FEI sport, noted, “We respect Debbie’s decision to step down as technical advisor and are reviewing the potential of her working as a featured clinician for some of our programs and pathway events in the future.
“We are setting our sights forward to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and will begin our search for a technical advisor with a goal to fill the role by December 1, 2023, with commitment through the LA 2028 Games.”
U.S. Dressage thanked Debbie “for her continued support of the program over the past four years in the role of technical advisor and the achievements the program secured under her leadership, including an Olympic team silver in Tokyo; and a Pan American Games team silver in 2019 in Lima, Peru, as well as her dedication to the development program, where she served as U.S. Dressage Development Coach.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 8, 2023
The fabulous dressage star Valegro marked his 21st birthday last week.
Atop the Olympic multi-gold medal champion for the occasion was the daughter of his famous rider, Charlotte Dujardin. The fact that little Isabella Rose is not even six months old (she was born March 7) of course meant the child had to be supported on Valegro’s back by her mother. But it was wonderful to see Valegro looking fine, as always, and carrying a representative of the next generation of British dressage (one can hope.)
Charlotte and Valegro on their way to glory at the 2012 London Olympics. (Photo © 2012 by Nancy Jaffer)
Valegro symbolized a historic milestone for that nation when he led that its team to a breakthrough gold at the 2012 London Games, then picked up individual gold for Charlotte with a freestyle to music that included the chimes of England’s iconic Big Ben and appropriately, an Olympic Fanfare. She earned 90.089 percent (just missing her British freestyle record at the time of 90.65 percent), still a memorable achievement for herself, the horse and her country.
It was a privilege to be an accredited journalist in Greenwich Park for the occasion, and stand so close as Charlotte waited for the medal presentation that I could see the tears she kept wiping away with her white gloved hands (I remember I felt like offering her a handkerchief).
“I just wanted to go out there today and enjoy it and not regret anything,” Charlotte said at the time, and that’s what she did. The afternoon is so clear in my memory that I can’t believe it was 11 years ago, but its imprint is indelible.
Isabella Rose sits atop Valegro on his 21st birthday. (Photo by Jess Photography)
Valegro’s emergence on the scene under the skillful direction of trainer Carl Hester marked a transition for what played best in dressage at the top level.
This horse was more about harmony than power, very correct in the way he executed the movements, but doing it with a fluid style that made him a star. Valegro clinched my romance with dressage, and as such, captured a special place in my heart.
Valegro was 10 then, and still had many more gold medals in him, including the 2014 world championships and the 2016 Olympics, where the score for his winning freestyle was 93.857. Charlotte called him “the most amazing horse that there is” and I agree, even seven years after his retirement from showing.
Fans at the Central Park Horse Show in 2016 mobbed Valegro and Charlotte Dujardin when they made an appearance before the horse’s official retirement. (Photo © 2016 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
I was privileged to write about many great horses before Valegro, including Reiner Klimke’s 1984 individual gold ride, Ahlerich, and many successful horses after him, including current Olympic champion TSF Dalera BB and world champion Glamourdale, with his amazing reach.
But Valegro, nicknamed Blueberry, is the one who will always stand out for me. It brings joy to see how well he looks (but what would you expect with Carl and Charlotte always mindful of him?) They were so wise to retire him following Rio. After all, what more did he have to prove? But he kept his fans happy by making many special appearances, including his visit to Central Park in 2016 and later that year, his farewell performance at Olympia during the London International Horse Show.
Valegro performing at Central Park. (Photo © 2016 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
If Valegro were a young man, at age 21 he would have many wonderful years ahead of him to hone his craft. But 21 is not young for a horse, even one in such great shape as Valegro. I hope he is with us in his current capacity for many years to come, as a symbol of all that is right for the sport and a light that continues to shine with special care and love.
