by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 22, 2023
Should there be a limit on how many times a horse can compete at each show?
It’s a question that often comes up during the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s Town Hall forums, as it did again on Monday night.
“Each barn, each trainer, each owner is going to have their own standard of how much is too much for their horse, but I don’t think it’s a bad idea to at least get a loose idea of what that actually looks like,” observed the moderator, USHJA President Mary Knowlton.
It is impossible to address the issue with a definite number. As one commenter noted, three classes over cross-rails is very different from three classes at 1.45 meters.
But problems can arise when one horse is being shared by several different riders, perhaps as an effort to cut costs.
Mary asked, “Is it okay to do 12 cross-rail classes, six cross-rail classes? Where is the line between horse welfare and being big brother? What is enough? Do we write a rule for that?
As always, the concern is not only safety, but also how horse sports will be perceived, especially in the age of cellphone videos when the public (most of whom likely have no horse knowledge) can record what is happening, which then can spread like wildfire.
“Social license to operate is a real thing, a thing by which our beloved sport could be no more. It’s something we’ve got to face up to,” Mary warned.
As German magazine editor Jan Tonjes, president of the International Alliance of Equestrian Journalists pointed out in a recent interview in The Horse, “In general we need to communicate better that this welfare of the horse is paramount, is really more than just another sentence,”
An anonymous caller to the town hall asked, “Do people put horses first? Is their welfare number one? Answering that is step one, an important but not easy one to address.”
Lucie McKinney, a judge, pointed out, “One of the issues with horse welfare is bravery.”
Mary agreed, “Silence equals complicity.” She added how wrong it is to “just turn a blind eye to it.”
Lucie gave the example of how she spotted a horse who was competing that wouldn’t pick up the right lead, a sign of being sore. She called the steward over and noted that horse “did not get to show again in my ring.”
Another key topic is the new rule that will make it mandatory for every horse that is schooling or being longed at the showgrounds to wear a number for identification.
Steward Bev Bedard called it, “a rule that is going to be difficult for some people.”
There are many reasons why the rule is needed, but as Bev pointed out, when the question is, “Who is that person lying on the ground and the horse running free dragging a longe line,” the number will hold the answer.
Mary, however, is “fairly certain big barns will send out grooms to longe with random numbers,” and Bev suspects that is true. She’s just hoping “the rule will be respected and people will step up and do what they’re supposed to do.”
It was also suggested that if a groom is longeing a horse and doing something he shouldn’t be doing (such as having a bag on the end of the longe whip), the best thing to do, rather than speaking to the groom, may be to speak to the trainer with a request to address it.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 20, 2023
A U.S.-owned Irish hunter purchased off a video has made history at the Dublin Horse Show.
Dr. Brendan Furlong’s Bloomfield Watergate, the show’s Supreme Young Horse as a 3-year-old in 2022, was named Supreme Hunter Champion this month for what is believed to be the first time in 148 years that the same entry came back as a 4-year-old to win at the show, thus having both Dublin titles on his resume.
“It blew my mind away,” said Brendan, of the victory, then noted yet another distinction.
“The last time a 4-year-old won (Supreme) was 20 years ago.”
Watergate, bred in Ireland by Daphne Tierney and ridden by Jane Bradbury, topped the lightweight hunters before going on to be ridden by all the judges (that’s how they do it over there) and awarded the Supreme title.
“It’s the pinnacle of a show horse’s life. It doesn’t get any better,” said Brendan. The achievement by the horse nicknamed Percy was rewarded with a 10,000 Euro bonus.
The fairy tale began when a friend of Brendan’s sent him a video featuring the bay gelding, saying, “you might like this horse.”
He was right. Brendan, a native of Ireland, called his brother, who still lives in the country and asked him to contact the breeder.
“She’d never sell him,” Brendan’s brother declared. He was wrong.
Brendan called Daphne and she agreed to part with the horse on two conditions–“the price is the price” (ie, no bargaining) and that he could be entered at Dublin in her name. Brendan quickly agreed. The last time he had a horse at the Dublin show was when he was a veterinary student in Ireland and won a lightweight class with a three-year-old he bought as a foal, but that was a long time ago.
Percy is by a thoroughbred, Watermill Swatch, and is the first foal of Ballyconnery Bloomfield, a Holsteiner by Ars Vivendi. Now, about Percy’s registered name: Daphne also has Bloomfield Nixon, so knowing that makes more sense in connection with calling a horse Watergate.
Bloomfield Watergate and Jane Bradbury were spectacular winners at the Dublin Horse Show. (Photo by Siobhan English)
Percy is staying in Ireland for a few months of holiday and later this year will come to the U.S., where Brendan has a farm in Pittstown, N.J., with his wife, Dr. Wendy Leich, who may get a chance “to play with” the horse.
Percy’s future profession is uncertain at this point. Perhaps, to make the most of his ground-covering gallop, he’ll try eventing, but he may have the makings of a hunter derby mount. Of course, it will be some time before that can be determined. But whatever happens, Brendan has no intention of parting with him.
” This horse is so kind, he’s just a lovely fellow. This guy is so special to me right now, I’d probably keep him as a pet. It turned out to be the buy of a lifetime.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 17, 2023
After more than 15 hours of hearings over three evenings, Wellington, Florida’s Planning, Zoning and Adjustment board after midnight Thursday recommended that the Village Council either deny a plan to remove 96 acres from the Equestrian Preserve or table the matter until a detailed application for an expanded showgrounds on another parcel is submitted and works its way through the process.
The 5-2 decision was made “without prejudice,” which means the matter can be brought before the board again.
The showgrounds plan is in the “pre-application” process, but several Zoning board members wanted more definite information about what the property will offer before taking land from the Equestrian Preserve. The majority of the board, however, is in favor of taking land out of the Preserve if everything on a site plan for the showgrounds as displayed at the meeting is realized. The panel also made a key decision by changing the zoning from Residential to Equestrian Commercial Recreation on 114.65 acres, in the area where the showgrounds would be expanded by 90 acres.
A view of the location of the expanded showgrounds.
John Bowers, the board’s vice chair, said he would agree to remove the land from the Preserve, if in return “we are going to get an expanded, larger showgrounds and more productive space.”
The showgrounds is at the heart of the Village’s equestrian community. While it once was the ultimate venue in the “Winter Equestrian Capital of the World,” competition from the World Equestrian Center in Ocala–which was just awarded a qualifier in the FEI League of Nations–and the even newer Terra Nova outside Sarasota has raised the stakes.
“Getting out of the EPA is a very material vote I would not want to take without making sure that all i’s are dotted, all t’s are crossed. I want the maximum benefit of being able to evaluate the application before I make a decision like this,” said Bowers, who spoke more than any other board member during the Wednesday night meeting that drifted into Thursday.
The board had two long meetings last month without reaching a decision.
Citing his lack of equestrian expertise, Bowers added he would want the Equestrian Preserve Committee to offer an opinion on the showgrounds application. The EPC in June unanimously rejected having the land removed from the preserve, and approximately 6,000 Wellington residents have signed a petition against it. The argument is that high-density housing will increase traffic congestion and lead to other landowners demanding zoning changes that could hurt the horse community’s quality of life.
But the Zoning panel is only an advisory body, and it is the Council, which meets next month, that makes the final decision. To remove land from the Equestrian Preserve, four of the five Council members must vote in favor of doing so.
Why did it take three separate sessions for the seven-member Zoning board to come to its conclusion? This is a very complicated situation, involving two geographically separated parcels of land whose fate is connected.
Here’s the short version, if you haven’t been following the hearings that began in June:
For a project called Wellington North, developers who spent $35 million on a golf course applied to build housing nearby on the 96 acres that is part of the Preserve and now the home of Equestrian Village, where the Adequan Global Dressage Festival is staged.
That property also hosts some show jumping classes that are part of the Winter Equestrian Festival, which has its main facility about a mile down Pierson Road.
The developers include Mark Bellisimo of Wellington Equestrian Partners, branded as Wellington Lifestyle Partners, working in conjunction with the Tavistock Group’s Nexus Luxury Collection. Bellisimo made his name in the horse world as the point man for Wellington Equestrian Partners in the 2007 purchase of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center showgrounds, now Wellington International. He is involved with several groups that own large tracts in Wellington.
“Interested parties” were allowed to appear before the Zoning board Wednesday to make their cases against the project, and several warned of litigation involving both parcels if development is allowed. However, Village Counsel Laurie Cohen told board members that shouldn’t influence their vote.
Attorney Jamie Gavigan, representing the Jacobs family that owns Deeridge Farm on Pierson Road near Equestrian Village, said his client is opposed to taking any land out of the EPA. He pointed out that in 2016, Wellington residents by a two-thirds majority, voted to amend the Village charter to say “it shall be a Village priority to preserve and protect the equestrian community.”
Gavigan asked how a driving range and pickleball courts in the proposed North development “preserve and protect an equestrian lifestyle.”
He noted 244 additional residential units the applicant seeks on the property would not be transferred from any other Planned Unit Development in Wellington, and that is not consistent with the Village charter.
Wellington’s equestrian sustainability mantra.
The developers also applied for housing on the second parcel, Wellington South, which is contiguous to the home of WEF at the Wellington International showgrounds. The board approved plans for Wellington South, provided there is an increase in the number of larger lots offered and a decrease in density.
The land to be used in expansion of the showgrounds won’t be offered for purchase to Wellington International or rather, its parent company, Global Equestrian Group, unless the North development project on the Preserve is approved.
As Jane Cleveland, chair of the Village’s Equestrian Preserve Committee put it, the land sale for the showgrounds’ addition is being held “hostage” as the developer’s ace to make sure it gets the approval needed for its project.
Gavigan asked, “How can the Village tie a condition from one owner on one property to a project of another owner on another property? You can consider the South (project) without considering the North.”
Attorney Len Feiwus, representing Equestrian Club Estates, called it a “quid pro quo,” which he said is “not appropriate.”
The Equestrian Preserve Committee in June unanimously voted against removing the 96 acres from the preserve. But the Zoning panel sees a benefit to having an expanded, contiguous showgrounds for dressage, hunters and jumpers, at 180 acres double the size of its current venue.
Michael Stone, president of Wellington International, has testified that the expanded showgrounds would be able to host far more horses than in the current space, and offer an air conditioned hospitality area that would attract more sponsors. The facility would have a stadium and nine additional rings with warm-up areas. Jumpers would show there, while hunters and dressage would share the current showgrounds that would be adjacent.
The new showgrounds would have a real stadium, seating 7,000, as its centerpiece rather than an ordinary arena like the current international ring. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Dressage already has a lease with Equestrian Village for 2024, and seems likely to remain there for 2025. There has been an agreement that no building would happen at Equestrian Village, if development is approved, until dressage has a home at the expanded showgrounds. That facility, if all goes well, could open in 2026. Equestrian Village is no longer up to the standard for a top dressage facility, and there are no plans to improve it.
If the zoning change for Equestrian Village and other preserve property isn’t granted and the 96 acres remains in the preserve, the owner is under no obligation to continue offering a venue for dressage after the lease or leases expire. With the current zoning unchanged, some houses could be built there, and other permitted uses include everything from offices to a veterinary practice, a restaurant and a riding school.
Site plan approval and some other things would be required, but most are administrative procedures that need no public input or council approval.
Kelly Ferraiolo, senior planner for the Village of Wellington, noted the owner of Equestrian Village does not have an obligation to keep a showgrounds at that property. She said people wouldn’t be allowed to ride their horses across the land just because it’s part of the Equestrian Preserve. She explained it is private property and would require permission from the owner before people could ride there.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 13, 2023
Britain defended its 2021 FEI European Eventing Championships title and then some today at Haras du Pin, as it took not only team honors again, but also collected individual gold and silver with smooth performances by Ros Canter on Lordships Graffalo and Kitty King on Vendredi Biats.
Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo on their way to double gold. (Les Garennes photo)
The Brits, coached by Chris Bartles, will be looking for another triumph next year when they return to France for the Paris Olympics. Their 103.9 penalties final score at the Europeans gave them an enviable margin over runner-up Germany (131.2), which was without its top rider, as Michael Jung had a startling fall (read it here) on Saturday’s cross country when fischerChipmunk went to his knees after misjudging the landing at fence 24. (A real sportsman, Michi still showed up to stand on the podium with his teammates instead of going home in a wave of disappointment.)
The Germans were only 3 penalties ahead of the French, who took the bronze medal to the delight of the enthusiastic crowd that turned up for this afternoon’s show jumping.
The setting of the FEI European Eventing Championships, crowned by a chateau, is one of a kind. (Les Garennes photo)
The British team also included Laura Collett, ninth on London 52 (46.6) after a fault-free trip in show jumping, and world champion Yasmin Ingham on Banzai du Loir, 25th with the team’s drop score (59.8) after a rail in the final phase. Tom Jackson on Capels Hollow Drift competed as an individual for Britian and wound up 29th. Tom McEwen, also competing as an individual, was eliminated on cross-country after a fall from JL Dublin.
The show jumping course map for the FEI European Eventing Championships
Sticky ground for Saturday’s cross-country phase took its toll, as three from the original field of 56 retired, 13 were eliminated and two withdrew.
But for all that, the horses looked great in this morning’s trot-up, with everyone passing. (The very veteran Karin Donckers, who became the drop score of Belgian team, was the only absentee from the horse inspection when she left her Fletcha Van’t Verahof in the stables. That horse had competed at Haras in 2014 when it hosted the FEI World Equestrian Games.) At any rate, seventh-place Belgium, like the eighth-place Netherlands, achieved their goal here of qualifying for the Paris Olympics.
Dickie Waygood, the British team manager, breathed a sigh of relief once the medals were about to be distributed.
“We rode the dragon yesterday,” he said, referring to the difficult footing conditions.
“I think every team did. It was a tough old day in the office.”
Kitty left all the rails in place, but had 1.2 time penalties to finish on 32 penalties for her silver.
“I’m just so proud of my horse,” said Kitty, noting she “rode like an absolute idiot.”
But her horse came through for her.
“When I came out, I was so cross with myself… Now I’m beginning to realize it’s been a long time coming and he deserves it so much,” Kitty commented.
“I just didn’t give him a very easy job, I kept him guessing the whole way, I kicked when I should’ve pulled and I pulled when I should’ve kicked. But he was brilliant and he helped me out.”
The bronze went to 2014 world champion Sandra Auffarth of Germany, returning to the scene of her triumph from nine years ago. She had a perfect trip with Viamant du Matz, finishing on her cross-country total of 34.6.
An overview of the scene at the awards ceremony.
Ros, this year’s Badminton winner, came into the show jumping with two rails in hand. She only needed a margin of one over the route designed by Quentin Perney and Jean-Pierre Meneau. Aside from toppling that single pole, Walter, as she calls her horse, flowed along effortlessly.
Being in the lead, even with a comfortable margin, put pressure on Ros due to the expectations of fans and supporters.
“It almost makes it worse, because there’s longer to fall,” she explained.
A lot of people held their breath at fence 4, the triple combination, when the A element, a vertical came down as Walter tipped it. But there were no more mistakes.
“I had to keep myself in my little bubble,” said Ros, explaining how she coped coming into today.
“For me, the team always comes first. It’s what I dream of doing, it always has been.”
As usual, just before receiving her medals, she gave deserved kudos to her wise and patient mount.
“I’ve got Walter to thank for it. He’s just an unbelievable horse. He’s what dreams are made of.”
Lots of history at this site.We already mentioned the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games. But the last time the Europeans were held at Haras, Great Britain mirrored today in taking team and individual gold and individual silver. The winners were Mary Gordon-Watson, Richard Walker, Derek Allhusen, Polly Hey-Hutchinson and Reuben Jones. Remembering is always nice for perspective.
Click here for individual results. Click here for team results.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 12, 2023
You really can’t count on anything in life, and nowhere is that more true than in the cross-country phase of eventing.
Overnight leader Michael Jung of Germany, who has boatloads of world championships, European and Olympic medals, won’t be adding another to his collection after a freak fall Saturday during the FEI European Eventing Championships at Haras du Pin in France.
His reliable fisherChipmunk was only one minute and 33 seconds from making the finish line, as he focused on achieving the optimum time, when the horse went to his knees on a sandy slide after landing over a big log. Michi tumbled forward as the horse headed downward. He wound up in the water while Chipmunk galloped away. Happily, neither one was injured.
Here’s where fischerChipmunk lost his footing.
That was, of course, a major setback for the German team, which was second to the British squad after dressage. Who would have thought Michi would be the drop score?
The Brits widened their 9.2 penalty lead over Germany after dressage to 27.3 following cross-country. The Germans are a scant 0.2 penalties ahead of the home team, France.
With difficult footing conditions, only one rider, Britain’s 2018 world champion Ros Canter, finished within the optimum time of 8 minutes, 18 seconds. She is in first place individually on her dressage score of 21.3 penalties aboard Lordships Graffalo, better known as Walter.
Ros’s mount was unfazed by the troublesome surface.
“Machine is a very good word to describe Walter,” she said.
“He’s just an amazing horse to ride cross-country.”
Not only is he eminently adjustable, “he’s brave as well,” she noted.
Second place also belongs to Britain at the moment, with Kitty King and Vendredi Biats adding just 3.7 time penalties today to their dressage score of 27.2.
“I’m really chuffed with my horse, he really dug deep. He hated the ground from the second we set out, which for him [was hard] as he lives for cross-country and he didn’t enjoy himself as he normally would, which is a big shame,” said Kitty.
“The ground was hard work and he kept trying and jumping and was really straight and genuine, I couldn’t ask any more of him and I’m proud of how hard he tried for me. It’s a shame we were a little bit slow, but I rode the horse I had underneath me. He came home happy and sound, and that’s the most important thing – and we’ve got a good score on the door for the team.”
World Champion Yamin Ingham dropped from fifth in dressage to 25th after adding 32.4 cross-country penalties (20 plus 12.4 time) on Banzai du Loir.
After jumping two elements at fence 22, she missed the third, noting noted her mount “didn’t get off the bank on the right distance,” so he wasn’t in position to take the next obstacle. Aside from that, she said, “he went around the rest with absolute perfection. I’m so proud of him for giving me his all today.”
Laura Collett, the other member of the British team, dropped from fourth to 14th with London 52 after adding 24.2 penalties to her dressage score of 22.4. Her horse took a flag with him at the second element of Fence 20 (tents memorializing the stay of Napoleon at Haras du Pin) and she was charged with 15 penalties for that, in addition to 9.2 time.
“I couldn’t be prouder of him, he’s never had to dig as deep as that before and he kept trying and jumping – he’s just so honest. On good ground, that course would have felt fantastic on a horse like him,” Laura observed.
Tom McEwan, riding as an individual for Britain, dislodged a MIM clip at fence 22 with JL Dublin but continued until the water at fence 25. The horse jumped in well, then missed at the next part, a step over a rail to a skinny.When his horse jumped the rail awkwardly Tom couldn’t stay with him, which meant he was eliminated by the fall.
Britain’s other individual, Tom Jackson with Capels Hollow Drift, had a stop at the last element of fence 25, that difficult final water, and stands 32d of the 38 who completed today. Three from the original field of 56 retired, 13 were eliminated and two withdrew.
The footing was sticky after rains Friday, leading to a two-hour delay of the start time in at the venue in Normandy, (which I remember well from the footing situation at the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games that also were held there.) Despite an extra dose of sunshine on the turf, the going was difficult. In the interests of safety, organizers wisely took a loop out of the course designed by Pierre Le Goupil and the optimum time was reduced.
Ros Canter of Great Britain and Lordships Graffalo (Walter) were perfect cross-country. (Photo by Les Garennes)
Germany’s Christoph Wahler, standing sixth on Carjatan X, noted, “It wasn’t the most pleasant round I’ve ever had.”
He found the striding changed before the fences due to the condition of the surface.
“With the ground being as it was, it was hard work, starting at fence one. It was hard work for us and even harder for the horses.”
While it was a “big, nicely built course,” after the rain came, “then the conditions changed everything and the way your horse can cope with the conditions again changes everything.”
Germany’s Christoph Wahler and Carjatan X at the keyhole. (Photo by Les Garennes)
Dickie Waygood, the British chef d’equipe, noted, “We saw today horses that had to work very hard; the ground was very energy-sapping. Horses didn’t always move toward the fences on the stride that they saw.”
At the same time, he called it, ” a fantastic championship track,” praising the designer for adapting to the weather.
The course designer is also laying out the cross-country for next year’s Paris Olympics. One might think that would give those riding in the Europeans an edge over those who weren’t there. But he is also handling the course for this autumn’s Pan American Games in Chile. so that takes care of the Western Hemisphere to make everything fair.
Click here for the team standings. Click on this link for individual standings.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 11, 2023
British riders have taken six of the top nine places on the leaderboard at the European Eventing Championships and lead the team standings, but the irrepressible Michael Jung of Germany stands first individually after dressage with fischerChipmunk on a score of 19.4 penalties.
“My feeling was very good,” said Michi about his test.
“I’m very happy about fischerChipmunk. He was amazing to ride. He was super in the preparation time (last week).”
Today, “he was very calm; in the beginning he was a little bit tense. That’s the reason why I went in so early (to the arena) to have a little more time,” noted Michi, who thought his canter was a highlight of the test.
Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk. (Les Garennes photo)
The British squad has 67.1 penalties from the best three riders, a 9.2 penalty edge over Germany on 76.3. Belgium is third on 90.9.
British team rider Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo is not far behind Michi with 21.3, while Tom McEwan–riding JL Dublin as an individual, is third on 22. The other Brits were marked this way: 4, Laura Collett and London 52 (22.4), 5, world champion Yasmin Ingham (Banzai du Loir, 23.4), 6. Tom Jackson, riding as an individual with Capels Hollow Drift (25.7) and Kitty King (Vendredi Biats, 27.2).
Ros recalled that she had to give herself a reminder “not to have too high an expectation and to stick to the process and remind myself that he’s still a horse that physically isn’t fully matured yet, and I was to stick within the boundaries of what he was capable of, but he actually gets stronger all the time.
“It’s little things – his changes are getting better and better, his halt and his rein-back were a real weakness last year and the start of this year, and this summer they’re starting to feel like they’re getting very consistent, so it’s really exciting,” said the 2018 world champion.
Great Britain’s Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. (Les Garennes photo)
“There are little things I would tweak for next time, but on the whole, I think our training is just gradually going in the right direction, which is what I’m really pleased with,” she explained.
With the wet weather for the majority of the day, Ros’ thoughts turned to the Saturday cross-country. Those of us who were at the 2014 world championships in Normandy remember how bad the going got for cross-country after it had been wet, so it is interesting to know what Ros thinks.
“The first water is a very big drop in, so it’ll be interesting to see how they read that. Of course, with Walter (as she calls her horse), we are still coming across questions that he hasn’t actually come across before, with his age, even though he’s done what he’s done already. He tends to drift a bit more to the right and little things like that, so for my personal self I have to walk the course very much thinking of Walter, but I think it’s more the undulations, the twists and turns that are going to create more challenges at the jumps.
,,
“It walks very much like a short format, but obviously, you’ve got the length added onto it as well, so it will be mentally and physically quite challenging for the horses, and I think that’s where the questions are going to lie. The first three fences are basically on a 360 (degrees) to a 180, so it’s going to be very hard at the start of the course to get into the speed that you really want to be in. I think it’s highly likely by minute one you’re going to be down on the clock, and then I think it just depends on if you can claw it back and stay inside the time.
“We’ve been very positive as a team so far about the course – our course walks have been extremely positive and there hasn’t been too much talk on the parts we don’t like or the ground we don’t like, and I think that’s really good for team spirit,” she concluded.
Click here for team results. Click this link for individual standings.
