In her quest to qualify for next month’s FEI World Cup Dressage Finals, Anna Buffini came east from California with FRH Davinia La Douce to compete in the final qualifier at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Fla.
The effort paid off today in the Grand Prix for Freestyle, which she won with a mark of 72.500 percent, as four of five judges gave her an 8 for the collective marks (general impression). Her mare, a 16-year-old Hanoverian by Don Frederico, looked bright and happy throughout her performance.
“It’s always hard to come over here and then acclimate them to a different coast. The first show, especially, to have a solid ride. She just nailed it,” said Anna.
But the real test comes in the freestyle Friday night, because that is the class that counts toward the World Cup (the Grand Prix is simply a required stop along the way.)
Speaking about the freestyle and the tight contest to qualify for the World Cup, she said, “It’s very difficult. It’s up and down. You don’t know if you’re in, you don’t know if you’re out We have to do our absolute best tomorrow (Friday) to make it. The freestyle is my favorite, that’s no secret, and the freestyle is her favorite. If we can go out there and do what we’ve done the last three shows in California, it could be very competitive.”
Anna trains with Guenter Seidel, who has been a longtime team member. “I wouldn’t be here without him. Everything you see in there is because of him,” Anna maintained.
The picture for the finals changed when Adrienne Lyle was unable to compete Salvino here after he popped a splint. She is the top-ranked U.S. rider, at number 10 in the world. Steffen Peters, like Adrienne a member of the 2021 Olympic silver medal team, qualified in California with Suppenkasper. Alice Tarjan of Oldwick, N.J., has qualified and did not need to compete this week.
That left Anna’s big competition as Sarah Tubman with First Apple. But the Dutchbred son of Vivaldi balked in his first piaffe, throwing his head in the air and failing to execute. Scores for that movement ranged from zero to 1. He wound up eighth of 12 starters with a score of 66.413. First Apple will have a lot of ground to make up in the freestyle, but his test has been designed specifically for him, as opposed to the standardized Grand Prix in which he competed on Thursday.
There was a 13th starter, but unluckily Julio Mendoza Loor of Ecuador, who had the score to win the class, was eliminated after a spur drew blood on Jewel’s Goldstrike.
Second place went to Canada’s Chris von Martels with Eclips (70.174), while Dong Seon Kim of South Korea on Galleria’s Bohemian (68.435) was third in the combination’s first FEI appearance. A mistake at the end of the two-tempis was costly, marked with 3s and 4s, but piaffe and passage brought some 8s to the table.
Bohemian was previously ridden by Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour on the Danish Olympic team and to a victory in the freestyle at Aachen last year. Cathrine was on hand to offer support for the horse’s new rider, who is reported to have paid millions (how many millions is hard to nail down) for the 13-year-old Westfalian by Bordeaux.
The busiest rider of the day was Morgan Barbançon of France (who formerly rode for Spain), fourth and fifth on Bolero (68.326) and Deodoro (68.218). She is already qualified for the World Cup finals.
Earlier, Morgan won the Mission Control 3-star Grand Prix qualifier for the Grand Prix Special with Habana Libre A, a Dutchbred by ZZ Top. Her score was 71.630 percent.
There’s no question as to who is her favorite mount.
“He is the best horse I’ve ever ridden and has all the makings of a top horse; every time in the ring he gets better
I often find that the people involved in putting on an equestrian competition may be as interesting as those participating in it.
Such is the case with Bernardo Costa Cabral, the 45-year-old course designer from Portugal who will head the team laying out the jumper courses at April’s Longines FEI World Cup finals in Omaha.
His resume includes some of the most prestigious shows in the world, from Royal Windsor and the London International in Britain to the National in this country, as well as shows in the Middle East and Europe.
When I met him at the Royal Winter Fair seven years ago, however, the designer wasn’t quite as well-known as he is now. So I was interested in the beginnings of his career. How many designers get involved with that aspect of the sport from a young age?
But he did, and in a unique way. I’ll let him tell you about it. Click on this video to learn his story.
The finals April 4-8 are in Omaha for the second time since their debut in the midwestern city in 2017. It’s a shame that it took six years for the World Cup to return to the U.S., but as you may remember, the 2020 finals in Las Vegas had to be cancelled because of Covid. Happily, now things are back on track and in another three years, they are set for Fort Worth, Texas, under the auspices of the Split Rock series.
But why wait that long? It isn’t often that there is an opportunity to see the best competitors in show jumping as well as dressage and vaulting in the U.S. It would be nice to go to the Paris Olympics to see them in 2024, but that will be one expensive trip, and not within the means of so many people.
Omaha, however, is a town of reasonable prices, so take advantage of the chance to be there and watch the legends, such as Germany’s dressage star Isabell Werth and the USA’s super show jumping McLain Ward (both won in 2017.)
The Adequan® U.S. Para Dressage Team came through again to win the championship at the CHI Al Shaqab CPEDI3* in Qatar this weekend. The para riders were the only American team at last year’s world championships in Herning, Denmark, to come away with medals.
Guided by Chef d’Equipe Michel Assouline, the team of Beatrice de Lavalette and Sixth Sense, Fiona Howard and Jagger and Kate Shoemaker and Quiana delivered several personal-best scores.
“It was actually phenomenal, not only to have high scores but also they were consistent throughout the three days. They increased their scores each day, which was amazing,” Michel said.
“I’m happy with the horses’ performance as well. They are becoming more consistent. As far as I’m concerned, I’m not surprised because the training has been going very well.”
Kate and Quiana started things off with a personal best of 76.250 percent in the Grade IV FEI Para Grand Prix A Test. Fiona and Beatrice went one-two in the Grade II FEI Para Grand Prix A Test, with Fiona on Jagger scoring a personal-best 72.931 percent. Despite an error, Beatrice and Sixth Sense were second on a score of 71.379 percent. The U.S. team was in the lead after the first day of competition.
Another day secured team gold with a score of 446.852 percent, while the Netherlands took silver (432.389 percent) and Belgium claimed bronze (415.486 percent). Kate had a decisive win in the Grade IV Grand Prix B Test with a personal-best score of 77.793 perecent. Beatrice and Sixth Sense earned top honors in the Grade II FEI Para Grand Prix B Test with 74.555 percent, while Fiona and Jagger were second with a personal best of 73.944 percent.
The U.S. combinations finished their time at CHI Al Shaqab with Saturday’s freestyle tests. Kate and Quiana earned yet another personal best of 81.850 percent in their Grade IV FEI Para Grand Prix Freestyle. Beatrice and Sixth Sense had the top ride in the Grade IV FEI Para Grand Prix Freestyle with a score of 77.722 percent, and Fiona and Jagger were close behind in second place on a personal best of 77.433 percent.
Michel noted the high scores throughout the competition came from an educated group of judges.
“The ground jury was a very advanced ground jury. We had two 5* judges, who were both Tokyo (2021 Olympics) and Herning judges, so they have a good insight and know their stuff,” he said. “Good scores that we get from those judges are very meaningful.”
The Canadian team gave the best possible welcome gift to its new chef d’equipe, Ian Millar, as it handily won the $150,000 CSIO 4-star Nations Cup at the Winter Equestrian Festival Saturday night.
Ian, formerly known as Captain Canada for his leading role as a rider, had been on the job only a month when he faced his first team competition in Wellington, Florida. Could his squad win the title for a seventh time at the Wellington International venue?
Tiffany Foster, who produced the victory with teammates Mario Deslauriers, Beth Underhill and Erynn Ballard, said the team had been hoping for a long time that Ian would take the chef’s job.
“I think tonight’s win has a lot to do with him,” she said, breathless with excitement, after embracing Ian and her teammates.
“We wanted this for him and we’re glad we could give it to him.”
A beaming Ian was understandably proud of his team’s achievement.
“For almost 50 years, I was one of the riders. I always appreciated the chefs and how much they cared and how much they supported us. Tonight, I feel part of this winning team and it’s a great feeling! I’m so proud to be the chef of our Canadian team. I always said that if I ever did it, I would only do it for Canada. I’ve been offered the position by other countries, but I always said I would only do it for Canada, if ever. And here we are.”
The venue is packed for Nations Cup night, with the Tiki Hut restaurant converted to the “Irish Embassy” for the occasion, and various nationalities waving their flags and wearing gear that proclaims the country for which they were rooting.
This competition isn’t one that qualifies teams for the Cup finals in Barcelona, Spain, which offers a way to clinch an Olympic berth. But even so, it has value and bragging rights for a special achievement.
The Canadian win was clinched with three clear trips in the second round from Erynn, Tiffany and Mario, who was also fault-free in the first round with the 11-year-old Belgian warmblood Emerson, who had never jumped in a Nations Cup before.
After the first round, Belgium led on 4 faults, while Canada was tied on 8 with Brazil and Ireland. The U.S. barely made the cut to come back in the second round. Its 20 faults put it last in the standings going into the segment, after Venezuela, Chile and Argentina, the lowest-placing of the 11 teams that started the competition, did not make the final eight that jumped the same course again.
Things changed radically in the second round, as leader Belgium was a drop-out after Jos Verlooy fell when Nixon Van ‘T Meulenhof refused the ninth fence, a Liverpool, and the rider took a hard fall. Things continued to go south as Zoe Conter was eliminated, and that was the end for that country.
Canada’s three clears meant anchor rider Beth didn’t have to ride in the second round as it clinched the victory with just eight penalties.
The U.S. squad had three riders who were relatively inexperienced in this kind of setting. Mavis Spencer, Natalie Dean and Mimi Gochman were joined by Adrienne Sternlicht, a member of the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games gold medal team, aboard a young horse, Faquitol-S. Natalie was the team star with a clear on a 4-fault trip on Acota M.The USA moved up from eighth in the first round to finishing fifth overall with 32 penalties, but U.S. fans may not have understood what happened to their country’s effort.
Coach Robert Ridland explained, “The plan from the very beginning this year was the 5-star nations cups that are qualifiers for Barcelona have to take priority. This nations cup has always been a great proving ground for the next generation. The road gets bumpy.
“And it was a little bumpy tonight,” he conceded.
“We were pretty darn close. Obviously, there were a couple of rounds we would have liked to have forgotten about. You have to go in knowing we’re going against some teams that are sending their best. We’re the only country that has so many riders that we can take our young talent and put it in a nations cup.
“Our competitors can’t do that, they have to send who they have, and they all have their veterans. In some ways, you might say it’s a little bit of an unfair fight, and you always want to win and get on the podium. But we have to stay the course of why we did this. Otherwise, you don’t give your young talent that’s going to be your next generation, both riders and horses, the experience when it really counts under pressure.”
TheU.S. team was selected from the rankings, and discretion also played a role in naming the squad.
Brazil edged Ireland for second place with a faster time, as both squads had a total of 16 faults. Mexico was fourth with 17, Australia sixth with 32 and Britain was seventh with 42.
Over the eons that I’ve written about the horse industry, showing, eventing, racing and other equestrian sports, I’ve accumulated stacks of programs, orders of go, course diagrams, photos, magazine articles and newspaper clippings. Lots and lots. Boxes and boxes of them.
Some (not even all!) are jammed into a storage locker, where I’ve started to go through the imposing piles of paper. This journey down memory lane begins with the 1970s and runs on through Olympics, world championships, World Cup finals and other competitions from around the globe. I’ve rediscovered pieces about people and horses, some well-remembered but long gone now, and a sort of historical perspective on what’s happening today.
As I culled the archives, I found so many interesting old stories that I decided some should be shared with my readers now and then, before the paper they’re on crumbles into dust. A few of these articles may be familiar; others could offer a new viewpoint.
I’m starting with a 1985 piece on eventer Mark Phillips, written when the Olympic gold medalist who won Badminton and Burghley came to the U.S. Equestrian Team headquarters in Gladstone, N.J.,to give a clinic for American eventers. It may seem a bit quaint, but remember this was a different era and quite a big deal at the time because of his connection with Britain’s royal family.
Here’s the original of the 1985 story that introduced Mark Phillips to many of my readers.
In 2023, we all know Mark as the former chef d’equipe for the U.S. eventing team, and a sought-after course designer (he put together the cross-country route for the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games and many other tests here and in Europe). His daughter, Zara (Tindall), who was only four when this story was written, went on to become European Eventing Champion and subsequently World Champion, earning an Olympic team silver medal to boot.
But 38 years ago, that was yet to come and the general public knew Mark Phillips best as the man who married Great Britain’s Princess Anne. Below is the story in readable form (don’t try to make out the words in the clipping above–you’ll strain your eyes.) The article was written primarily for a non-horse-oriented audience: Here it is–
June 16, 1985:Yank Equestrians jump at chance for some royal lessons
The world at large knows Capt. Mark Phillips as the good-looking fellow who married Great Britain’s Princess Anne.
In the international equestrian community, however, Phillips is famous for his competitive stature. His dossier includes four wins at the world’s most prestigious Three-Day Event and membership on the British teams that won gold medals in the Three-Day Event at the Munich Olympics and the World Championships.
He also has a reputation for good sportsmanship, and it is the desire to share his approach to riding with others that has brought him to New Jersey for a few days.
Phillips is giving a helping hand to up-and-coming American eventers at the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) Training Center in Gladstone.
There are those who might consider that aiding the opposition. Even Phillips cheerily refers to the American three-day riders as “sort of traditional enemies” of the British in the sport.
“America has always been the team to beat as far as we’re concerned,” he notes.
But Phillips is quick to add, “If you can’t help somebody in sport, well … ,” and the unspoken words are a dismissal of those too mean-spirited to share their knowledge.
Three-Day Eventing is enormously popular in Britain, where the combination of dressage, riding over obstacles cross-country and jumping fences in· a stadium setting can draw 100,000 spectators.
Ironically, though the U.S. has won the eventing team gold medals in the last two Olympics, the sport has a much lower profile here.
That doesn’t make it any less of a passionate pastime for its practitioners, however. Their ranks include the 15 riders who came from all over the East and Midwest over the weekend to work with Phillips. He volunteered for the duty and did not charge the team for his presence, considering it “an honor” to be at the elegant Gladstone facility.
“So much history in equestrian sports and success has come out of this place,” he explained.
Phillips even admitted to a bit of I nervousness before arriving.
“Americans are more technical than we are,” he observed. “We tend to ride more by the seat of our pants.”
The riders got along well with the informal Phillips, partying with him at a local restaurant one night and eagerly seeking his opinion on their horsemanship.
“I work on my own at home, so this is particularly valuable to me,” said 23-year-old Nick Marnye of Kentucky after finishing a schooling session with his palomino quarter horse, Good as Gold.
Phillips liked Marnye’s mount, and that was a boost to the young rider.
“It certainly gives you a little more confidence,” said Marnye, adding he appreciated Phillips’ attitude.
“I know he’s here to help me, not destroy me,” added Marnye, who had some previous instruction that rendered the opposite effect.
Indeed, Phillips in action is the essence of encouragement. Attired in boots, breeches, an argyle sweater and flat wool cap, Phillips instinctively goes through the proper movements-holding imaginary reins, straightening the shoulders as he instructs from the ground.
“Thank you very much indeed. Excellent,” he says with enthusiasm time after time, as riders successfully use suggested techniques and obtain the desired response from their animals.
Phillips believes in pushing the positive.
“If you take the top 10 riders in the world, what’s the difference on the day (of competition)?” he asked.
“Confidence. If confidence is high, you go and do it. If you say, ‘I’m no bloody good,’ you give up.”
Though he is 36, giving up is something Phillips himself has yet to seriously consider. His sport is a dangerous one. A tiring 1,100-pound horse who takes a misstep at an immovable cross-country jump can mean bone-crushing disaster for a rider.
But the father of two is looking ahead to the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, and hoping to be a part of the scene there.
“I’ve had two or three really bad years, when horses I thought would come through, haven’t,” said Phillips.
“But I won the Novice Championship last year with Distinctive and I’ve got two or three others I’m very excited about.
If these prospects don’t pan out, he conceded, “That might be the time to call it a day and spend time teaching.”
As Phillips has acknowledged in the past, “There’s no fame shorter than sporting fame” and he accepts the fact that the moment will come when the trophies will go home with his students, rather than himself.
He teaches all over the world, doing instructional clinics in Australia and New Zealand regularly, and ranging as far afield as Japan. He hopes to do more such work in America after breaking the ice this time.
And it’s possible there may be more opportunities like the commentating stint he handled for Australian television at the Olympics.
“I had never done it before and I was a real novice,” he admitted. “But people wrote and said they enjoyed it. That gave me a bit of a buzz. Maybe all the effort was worthwhile.”
Eventing sponsorship in Great Britain is quite the thing, and Phillips is backed by Land Rover. The firm is committed through 1988 to his “Range Rover” team, which includes a contingent of young riders he is bringing along.
Like all top competitors, Phillips often yearns for someone to give him a few pointers, just as he helps others.
Though he has had some dressage coaching, there is little time for him to get assistance. During his stay here, he worked on jumping techniques with retired USET Show Jumping Coach Bertlan de Nemethy of Far Hills.
At home, Princess Anne occasionally lends a hand, if asked. A top eventer herself, she rode on the 1976 British Olympic team, while Phillips was the reserve member there.
Since the birth of the Phillips’ children, Peter, 7, and Zara, 4, Princess Anne has been concentrating primarily on events for novice horses.
But the mutual eventing aid comes only “as and when required,” Phillips said, noting, “It’s like a husband and wife can’t teach each other to drive. There’s nothing worse than help from a husband or wife when you don’t want it.”
Phillips added he and Princess Anne “interchange a bit” and occasionally swap horses. “Sometimes the feminine touch works better with a horse, and sometimes the male strength is better. Different horses react differently,” he commented.
Phillips doesn’t feel that being married to Princess Anne has affected his position in eventing.
“Sport doesn’t do anybody any favors. It’s no respecter of rank or anything else,” said Phillips. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a poor boy or a rich boy once you get in the arena.”
Besides, he noted, before he was married he had won Badminton, the biggest annual event on the Three-Day calendar, several times and ridden in the Olympics.
“Within the sport, I was already a name,” he pointed out. “Once you’ve got to the top, you’re always a name.”
Even as the decades sped by, the dedicated alumni of Junior Essex Troop never forgot lessons learned or friends made in the cadet auxiliary of the Essex Troop, 102d Cavalry, New Jersey National Guard. As youngsters on a 13-acre farm in West Orange, they experienced military discipline and the virtues of hard work; grooming horses, cleaning stalls and doing other chores that kept the place running.
They were trained in equitation, marching and marksmanship, sharing a brotherhood that became a lifelong bond. Troopers were easy to spot as they rode in competition, proudly wearing their regulation green uniforms. The JET drill team was famous for its star turn of having each rider, lance in hand, jump his horse safely through a ring of fire.
Although the farm was sold in 1983 and the youth program ceased operations in 1987 amid changing times, those who had been part of JET stayed close. The Troop’s Garden State Horse Show continued to be staged by alumni, doing everything from announcing to serving as jump crew. The show also did double duty as an annual reunion for the men.
It was held at various locations, from Chubb Park in Chester to the Sussex Country Fairgrounds in Augusta and finally, in 2019, at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation in Gladstone.
But with no active organization for young people to bring troopers up through the ranks, the task of putting on a large show became too much for the aging former troopers, so their spring dates went to The Ridge at Riverview in Asbury.
The JET alums then were left with $140,000 and the question of what to do with the money as they undertook the process of formally dissolving their corporation.
“There was no sense in keeping it going,” explained Rodney Seelig, president of the 11-member JET board. At the same time, it was important to distribute the funds to organizations with the same values the troopers had learned.
“We got so much out of Troop,” he pointed out.
“It meant so much to all of us,” agreed another board member, John Walker, who is pleased that distribution of the funding was well thought-out.
After much due diligence, the board decided on donations to four organizations. The Interscholastic Equestrian Association, the USA’s largest youth equestrian organization with a reach across the country in 44 states, also will be receiving JET trophies for national championships in addition to funding.
The 14,550-member IEA offers programs for riders in grades 4-8 and 9-12, with the idea of promoting lifelong involvement in equestrian sports while developing an appreciation and understanding of them through competition and educational opportunities.
“IEA is quite like Troop in its mission,” said Tim Cleary, an officer of Troop who became its horsemanship instructor and is an associate professor of equine studies at Centenary University.
“The Junior Essex Troop, and riding organizations like it, were the foundations of the IHSA (Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association) and the IEA. We, as kids, experienced the format they are doing now.”
There is something for every level in IEA and even a variety of disciplines—it offers western and dressage competitions as well as hunt seat, and has a pilot program for adults.
It creates a lot of memories. John noted that the first horse show ribbon ever won by his son, Jack, now 27, was at an IEA show as he was inspired to go on with his riding and is training today to be a veterinary technician.
“I am so happy to have the Junior Essex Troop name live on in an organization that is so much like it,” Tim commented .
“The objective is/was to introduce those drawn to horses in a way that is affordable.”
The other beneficiaries of JET’s generosity are Project Forces for Horses in Long Valley, which helps veterans; Work to Ride in Philadelphia, introducing horses to children in an urban setting and Mylestone Equine Rescue in Phillipsburg, N.J. It is run by SusanKelly Thompson, a granddaughter of Solon Maxfield Palmer, a cavalry veteran who was a commandant of JET, incorporated in 1943.
IEA had a natural link with JET. Roxane Durant, IEA’s executive director and one of its founders, worked at JET shows in the early 2000s when her former husband, the late Mike Rheinheimer, was managing them.
“I did the ingate and whatever needed doing,” she said.
“I feel like I met the Junior Essex Troop and a least a piece of their history,” Roxane observed.
“In there somewhere, it planted some seeds for creating a similar program that also connects kids using horses,” she suggested.
JET team at the 1959 Junior Olympics at the Thomas School on Long Island: Ronnie Scornavacca, Pat Devlin, Pete Andre, Denis Glaccum.
Roxane views the Troop’s donation as “an incredible endorsement for us,” noting the two organizations talked for more than a year before the decision was made.
“It’s an honor to be chosen to carry on their legacy,” she said.
Kathy Dando, IEA’s resource development director, notes the organization offers many benefits.
While it helps increase revenue for lesson barns—which are vital but often have a tough time surviving, at the same time “it is really promoting good access to grassroots education for the sport,” she pointed out. In addition, it provides second careers for equine athletes and
“good safe instruction and positive promotion for getting our kids access to benefits of the sport and learning well.”
Stories about JET remind Roxane of how she grew up, going to a local barn and putting on horse shows, in a youth community centered around horses.
“Those were the dreams I always wanted to keep alive for other kids,” she mused.
She expects the JET funds will go toward IEA’s Benevolent Program, which supports both students and coaches in financial need. IEA helps between 20 and 40 riders a year with financial support.
It’s a win not only for IEA, but also for equestrian sport.
Roxane notes kids who might not otherwise be able to ride will get the boost they need from IEA.
“Those are the kind of kids that will step into this industry because they fought hard to be in it. That’s hugely significant and their (JET’s) funding will be a key to us being able to continue that program.”
Those interested in learning more about IEA can contact membership coordinator Jennifer Eaton at jenn@rideiea.org, or go to the website at rideiea.org.
