They were dancing with sparkle at Dressage at Devon

by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 30, 2023

It was a night like no other in the long history of Dressage at Devon.

The usual Friday feature of the Grand Prix for Freestyle qualifier was upstaged by an exciting newcomer: the Dance-Off.

It did more than fill the gap between the afternoon and evening programs at the Heritage show outside of Philadelphia. It transformed the staid image of dressage beyond what the usual musical freestyle could do in terms of energizing the crowd.

What a great idea: having pairs of riders compete against each other to the music of—get this—a live   string quartet.

The Elegance Quartet provided the soundtrack for the Dance-Off. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)

A lot of the work involved for the competitors was done before the competition started, decking horses out in glitter and glitzy quarter marks, and coming up with sparkling outfits for the riders.

The judging was done on a breakdancing template of Trivium: “Body, mind and soul,” that took into account technical proficiency, choreography and harmony.

The judges were breakdancer/choreographer Nemesis, professional breakdancing event host Ivan and rider Christoph Koschel of Germany, the only one with a dressage background.

Christoph knows a good thing when he sees it, and he was excited about the Dance-Off: “I think we need more of this in future,” he declared after the first round.

The initial pairing, James Koford and Lauren Chumley, did their routine to trot music. The second pair, Catherine Haddad-Staller and Lauren Sammis, performed theirs to canter music. The final dance-off involved James and Lauren Sammis, whose no-hands one-tempis probably clinched her victory,

James Koford and Lauren Chumley all decked out for the Dance-Off. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)

Riding her own Daisy van Wittenstein and dressed as a breakdancer, Lauren was loving her moment of glory.

“It was so fun,” said Lauren, adding that next year, she wants to see two horses dancing in the arena at the same time.

Asked how she reacted when she first heard of the Dance-Off concept, Lauren said, “I certainly was hesitant to do it. Glitter’s not normally my thing.”

But she knew just how she wanted to present herself.

“All I did was pirouettes and one-tempis.”

She pointed out how nice it was to have the freedom of focusing on the movements her mare does best. She even did “no-hands” one-tempis for the first time in her life.

Lauren Sammis impressed with her showmanship. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)

And it was good for the spectators.

“I think we’ve got to do things to pull in the crowd, because if you pull in the crowd, we have more money for our sport,” Lauren said.

Anne Moss, president of Dressage at Devon, agreed.

“What a concept! And how beautifully they implemented it for the first year,” she said of the Dance-Off.

“The riders were such showmen and the horses were so beautiful. I think it was actually more beautiful than the normal musical freestyle, because there was so much more freedom so they could show the highlights of the horse without being constrained by the number of strides or details. To see Lauren do that line of ones with no hands was fantastic.”

She gave credit for the idea and its execution to D at D board member Christina Morin-Graham, who got the team together. Christina also brought in Nicole DelGiorno, who ran through the timing to insure it went off as well as it did.

The Dance-Off was followed by the 3-star Grand Prix qualifier for Saturday night’s World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle. Back to business as usual.

While winner Yvonne Losos de Muñiz of the Dominican Republic and her fiery Dutchbred mare, Aquamarijn, put in a lovely performance to earn 71.283 percent, seeing riders in their regulation dark tailcoats after the high of all the sequins and glitter in the Dance-Off took a bit of readjustment.

The Grand Prix was important to Yvonne because she is preparing for next month’s Pan American Games and a run for the 2024 Olympics.

Yvonne Losos de Muñiz and Aquamarijn won the Grand Prix for the Freestyle on a misty night. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)

“I’m really excited,” said Yvonne, who was enjoying the show even beyond taking a blue ribbon. Her mare had been out for a year with an injury, and demonstrated that she had come back better than ever. She’s still spooky, however. Yvonne needed a lead back into the ring for the awards from Ben Ebeling, who was second on Indeed.

“I was here many years ago and I have to say, it will definitely be back on my agenda from now on,” said Yvonne.

“The atmosphere is like what we want to see in a show. I’ve got butterflies. Real show atmosphere and the audience is just amazing, the shopping, it’s great. I absolutely love it.”

Added Yvonne about her mare, “With a horse like her who is so high-spirited, she needs the atmosphere.”

It works in her favor, she explained.

“She’s 18 and feels like she’s five.”

Click here to see Grand Prix results.

Dressage at Devon Master Class was really quite a masterpiece

by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 29, 2023

It’s wonderful to watch dressage at its best in the competition arena, but what does it take to actually go down centerline and put in a test worth watching?

During NorCordia’s Dressage at Devon Master Class Thursday night, World Championships team gold medalist and individual silver medalist Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour of Denmark gave us an insight into the techniques that are building blocks in developing a grand prix horse.

Cathrine made the techniques easy to understand, always with an eye on the comfort of the horse. No dressage diva, the pony-tailed expert in casual clothes stood center arena to refreshingly emphasize kindness, lots of breaks and pats on the neck after a horse has done a movement (or tried to). She’s all about encouraging harmony with the horse.

The Olympian (she was on the fourth-placed team in Tokyo) doesn’t do many master classes like the one at Devon, but she noted she’s in the off-season at the moment, which offered an opportunity to share her knowledge.

Her top horses have been sold, but she’s now working with Vianne, trained by Catherine Haddad-Staller. During the summer, the mare was ridden by Hope Beerling to the top 10 in the FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship for Young Horses.

Catherine Haddad-Staller worked on flying changes with Sola Diva during the Master Class. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)

With five of the six participants in the presentation, Cathrine worked on developing such high-level movements as flying changes, pirouettes and piaffe.

The quality of the horses was quite impressive, and Cathrine appreciated the fact that “they weren’t too schooled.

“I like that they were like on the stepping stones to bigger shows,” said Cathrine.

Most of us won’t be doing those fancy movements on our own mounts, but her work with eventer Boyd Martin offered a treasure trove of suggestions that any rider can use to their benefit.

In the class, Boyd took the place of his wife, dressage professional Silva Martin, who gave birth this week to the couple’s third son, Koa. (In case you’re wondering, Boyd told me that’s an aboriginal name; the riders’ roots are in Australia. Check out the baby’s photo in the On the Rail section of this website.)

“I was a bit nervous coming in, thinking, `What have I got myself into here?’” Boyd, who normally trains with his wife and Bettina Hoy, admitted in his usual candid style.

Cathrine Dufour working with Boyd Martin and Commando 3. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)

“I’m from a different sport and probably way less of a rider on the flat than these guys,” he continued, referring to the five others who took advantage of riding with Cathrine during the evening presented by Running S Equine Veterinary Services.

They were Beerling, Hope Cooper, Lauren Sammis, Haddad-Staller and Lindsay Kellock Duckworth. Lauren, Catherine and Lindsay each have competed at championship level, but on different horses.

They do, however, have something in common with anyone trying to acclimate their horses to a new venue.

“We’re all in this sort of place where we get to a show and the horses are nervous and they’re tight and fresh. It was just amazing to me how calm and patient she was,” observed Boyd.

He told Cathrine that was what he wanted to focus on while riding his new horse, Commando 3.

“To me, the biggest lesson I got is, usually I try to push them through and pressure them through the nerves.”

Working with Cathrine, “I did the exact opposite through transition and softness and relaxation. Usually, when you have these master classes, it’s a bit of a dog-and-pony show just to impress the crowd.  I was expecting that and couldn’t have been more wrong. The half-hour I had with Cathrine was exactly the process I felt was made for me and my horse.”

Boyd Martin was grateful for Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour’s help with Commando 3. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)

Cathrine could relate to Boyd’s situation of dealing with a cross-country fit horse in dressage, explaining, “I’ve had quite a few dragons myself,” referring to horses that get charged up when they arrive at the showgrounds.

While often dressage riders “want to show off” for the judges when they are going around the outside of the arena before entering, Cathrine said she would use that time to simply walk around the edge of the arena, trying to get her horse calm and lower his adrenaline level.

“Breathe,” she advised.

Relaxation can bring a bit of softness, even into an event horse, she said, as Boyd allowed Commando to lower his head, using the inside rein, while they walked and made small transitions from walk to halt and walk again.

She noted that on arrival at a new showgrounds, using that type of simple technique and avoiding all the “fancy things” can give a horse the opportunity to survey his surroundings calmly.

She suggested a rider not go on autopilot, but rather take advantage of “simple tasks” in getting a horse acclimated.

“He needs to listen to you,” Cathrine cautioned Boyd, rather than having the rider follow the Holsteiner’s quick rhythm.

With the others in the clinic as well, she advised counting the rhythm: “One, two three four.”

Cathrine works with Lauren Sammis and Heilen’s Oh Land. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)

Cathrine told Boyd that would enable him to feel when the horse is getting too quick. “Stay lazy,” she counseled.

“You have to be a bit creative sometimes finding that relaxation, knowing that tomorrow you want them with fire, like full power.”

Another technique to slow the horse is to stand up for two steps and sit down for one, then repeat, as the rider works to get the horse’s focus.

A big surprise came when Cathrine took out a leather device she called “a magic strap,” as she searched for the right description in English. It’s a grab strap (also known as a panic strap).

I was surprised, and I’m sure the spectators felt the same, as I heard them murmuring when she put it on the front of Boyd’s saddle. Of all people, Boyd is the last one I would think is in need of something to hold onto in order to stay aboard his horse on the flat.

Of course, I was wrong about what it was for. Cathrine explained that it can be used to help push the rider’s seat deeper into the saddle, and I could see the difference when Boyd used it.

Summing up the way riders should relate to their horses, she said, “You want to build up their confidence. Because if they don’t trust you, you can forget about it.”

Cathrine advised, “if you want to ride on that positive energy, no matter what, then you are going to perform so much better.”

Babington benefit show is now a special tradition

by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 30, 2023

It’s been five years since show jumper Kevin Babington suffered a catastrophic fall in a grand prix, but his friends haven’t forgotten the paralyzed Olympian.

On October 1, they will hold what has become an annual benefit horse show, a fixture that debuted a few weeks after his 2019 accident. Not only did Kevin’s life change the instant he hit the ground, but it also upended the lives of his wife, Dianna, and the couple’s teenage daughters, Gwyneth and Marielle.

“Kevin was the primary breadwinner,” explained Dianna, who immediately had to step up with her girls to fill the gap in their business, care for her husband and learn about a host of medical issues and how to handle them.

Dianna Babington at the 2020 benefit show at Duncraven. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)

In a different existence that suddenly was filled with doctors, hospitals and an immobilized husband, the mission is always the same.

“It’s been a nightmare. We’re trying to survive,” she said.

“I feel like this accident derailed everybody. It’s been tough. It’s very hard for us to make ends meet,” she observed, noting insurance does not cover everything needed, so the benefit show “kind of closed the gap for us.”

Kevin suffered a contusion to the spinal cord as a result of hyperextending his neck in the fall. The vertebrae hit the spinal cord, causing damage; it was a stretch and concussion injury from vertebra C3 to C5, which involves the diaphragm and mobility.

Friends recognized the immediate need for funds after Kevin’s accident, and went about setting up the show on short notice.

“It was sort of an emergency, we needed to do something for Kevin, he had just gotten hurt. Then we said, `We might have to do it again next year,’ and here we are. This is year five,” said Nancy Wallis, who course designs and co-manages the benefit with Jennifer Cassidy.

It is held at Duncraven in Titusville, N.J., a stable where Kevin once ran his business. When the Stout family took over Duncraven and refurbished it last year, they offered the venue free of charge for the show, as previous owner Tim Fedor had done.

Kevin is special, which explains why he hasn’t been forgotten, even though he’s no longer competing.

“You know people in your lifetime and you think they’re great and it goes on,” said Nancy.

“But once this happened to Kevin, we found out how many people he had touched.”

She described his kindness, noting, “He would always help, walk the course with you, or say, `Watch this turn from fence 6 to 7, it’s a little tight.’ He was so generous with his information and knowledge. He wasn’t trying to make anything off it, it was just genuine help.”

And now people are returning the favor.

Everything for the benefit is donated; the labor of the organizers, officials and volunteers, as well as raffle items, so the show has no costs that would cut down on the money raised.

“The only check we write is to the medic,” noted Nancy.

Kevin has never lost hope that some new development will give him a better quality of life and he keeps working at physical therapy. He’s game to participate in clinical trials and appreciates it when friends let him know about possible new treatments. Olympic gold medalist Rodrigo Pessoa, for instance, recently called one new study in Lucerne, Switzerland, to his attention.

“There’s a lot in the works. I put my name in for all those things, to see if I can get into one of the studies,” said Kevin.

“I definitely have some hope.”

But following what Marielle, now 17, and Gwyneth, 20, achieve in the sport, “that’s the thing that keeps me going.”

Kevin watches the riders in his ring in Loxahatchee, Fla., from his wheelchair on the back porch of his home. Understandably, he’s proud of the efforts of his wife and daughters, calling the girls “really good teachers” in what has become “a family business.”

He does a lot of mentoring, and Dianna noted he “still has a great eye. There’s a place for him in the industry.”

When Kevin is needed for consultations, he goes down to the barn to lend expertise, and is active on Facetime for those seeking his opinion. In the past, the native of Ireland has helped with selection of the Irish team for the Olympics. Kevin, who tied for fourth in the 2004 Olympics, continues to watch the Nations Cups via the internet to stay current.

Kevin jumping at Hickstead.

When the horse shows are going on in Wellington, a few minutes from Loxahatchee, he can often be found at ringside, helping his girls and offering advice to anyone who needs it, along with a friendly chat.

As Nancy noted, “he never mentions himself. It’s always, `What are you doing, what horse shows have you been to, where are you going next?’ He’s a forward thinker, for sure.”

Paralyzed from mid-chest down, he has had some subtle improvements in terms of what he can feel here and there on his body, but none are “life-changing improvements,” as his wife put it.

While his right arm has gotten stronger and he can bring it up almost up to his nose, his fingers are not strong enough to hold a fork, which would enable him to feed himself.

Kevin at the 2004 Olympics, where he tied for fourth. (Photo © 2004 by Nancy Jaffer)

Still, she said, “there have been some blessings.”

He can laugh, even in the midst of chronic pain; he can clear his throat a little bit and his voice is stronger than it used to be.

“I never hear him complain,” Diana mentioned, “He hasn’t given up.”

The couple knows that medical science is always making strides.

“I’m hopeful something will break at some point. I hope it’s during his lifetime,” Dianna said.

Meanwhile, Kevin is grateful for the benefit show, and those who are putting it on.

“For the local people to come out and still support is just incredible, and even for the new owners of Duncraven to step up and offer their place is just wonderful. I miss that area.”

“The horse community is amazing,” he added.

Dianna mentioned $30,000 was raised by last year’s show. That’s a remarkable amount, considering the show was practically rained out and only ran some classes in the indoor ring as the monsoon came down outside it. Extending a raffle through the next weekend helped bring in more contributions.

Kevin has always had enthusiastic fans.

This year, fundraising strategies include bareback “Ride a buck” classes.

“Kevin was a big bareback rider,” Nancy pointed out.

Kids who participate will put $5 under their knee. The last one to keep the bill in place will be the winner and enjoy a 50/50 split, with Kevin’s trust keeping half the money and the winner keeping half (unless they want to donate it). The adults will ride with $10 bills under their knees.

The third jumper class of each division is a 50/50 stakes class. Entry fees go in the pot, with half to the winner.

Volunteers are needed who can help set up for the show, as well as working the day it runs. They should contact Nancy at (908) 256-3386. Donation of raffle items also is being sought. Julie Koveloski is in charge of that at (609) 439-8983 or email jroslowski@yahoo.com.  Items raffled in the past have included gift cards, mini-jumps (for kids), air vests and photo sessions, but there are always gift baskets and a variety of offerings.

People who can’t make it to the show but want to donate may give to the Kevin Babington Trust, which goes directly to him for a variety of crushing expenses that never stop cropping up. Checks may be sent to Kevin at 13254 Casey Road, Loxahatchee, Fla. 33470.

Those looking for a tax deduction with their contribution can donate to the Kevin Babington Foundation, a 501(c)3 which provides support not only to Kevin, but also to other show jumpers who have suffered spinal injuries. It helps pay for aides, which enables Dianna and the girls to keep working. Its mission for those seeking help also includes outfitting vehicles for transportation and remodeling to make homes suitable for the disabled, but does not contribute toward daily expenses.