Unbelievable. The spring (and likely summer) show and eventing season has been swept away by the virus pandemic, and who knows what will happen to the Tokyo Olympics July 24-Aug. 9?
(Note: In a March 17 communique, the International Olympic Committee issued a statement saying it “remains fully committed to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and with more than four months to go before the Games there is no need for any drastic decisions at this stage; and any speculation at this moment would be counter-productive.”)
Failing to consider postponement or cancellation of the Olympics in the face of the virus pandemic has been characterized as “insensitive and irresponsible” by Canadian gold medal hockey Olympian Hayley Wickenheiser, a member of the International Olympic Committee who leveled criticism at the IOC.
Noting the crisis is bigger than the Olympics, he pointed out some athletes don’t know where they can train but still have been urged to continue preparing for the Games in Tokyo this summer.
Without consideration of postponement or cancellation, Olympic pole vaulter Katerina Stefanidi told Reuters, the IOC is putting athletes at risk. They want to know what Plan B is.
“The stadiums have been closed for a week,” she noted, adding that athletes may get a special permit to go inside and train.
“But how can you train there, touching the same equipment and surfaces?” she asked, referring to the danger of contamination from the virus.
Meanwhile, the dominoes continue to fall in the equestrian world.On March 20, Britain’s 5-star Badminton Horse Trials finally gave in to the inevitable and called off the May event, Closer to home, the Upperville Colt and Horse Show in Virginia, slated for June, now will be held in September.
The first major evening competitiont to hit the dust was the April 23-26 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, cancelled on March 16 for the first time in its 42-year history. Needless to say, the 3-star show jumping grand prix that was to run with it at the Kentucky Horse Park is also a goner.
Oliver Townend, the world’s number one eventer, was a big star at Land Rover Kentucky. (Photo © 2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
Britain’s spring 5-star, the Badminton Horse Trials May 6-10 hasn’t been cancelled yet, but it seems only a matter of time. The Grand National, the world’s most famous steeplechase, won’t be going, and word is that the Kentucky Derby, famously run on the first Saturday in May, will now be held Sept. 5.
Then disaster struck closer to home, as word came that the May 6-10 Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event at the Horse Park of New Jersey was suspended, though organizers are looking for a date on which the 2020 edition of the competition can be staged, as soon as authorities deem it is safe to do so.
Tailgating is always popular at Jersey Fresh. (Photo © 2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
Morgan Rowsell, co-chair of both Jersey Fresh and the MARS Essex Horse Trials set for Far Hills July 17-18, said “This is all such a mess and we don’t know whether it ends in time for Jersey to run early in June.” Both were to be observation events for Olympic candidates.
As Morgan pointed out, “The NBA is gone, but the NBA has a lot of money behind it, it’s not like they won’t come back. These events that rely on each show to survive and now they can’t run—here we are.”
Essex is a “wait-and-see,” noted Morgan.
The Mars Essex Horse Trials drew some top riders, including Will Coleman. (Photo © 2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
“We’re pushing forward and figuring and hoping in four months things will have calmed down.”
Rescheduling Jersey Fresh will depend on the calendar of the Horse Park, and I wondered if perhaps just for this year it would be possible to combine Jersey Fresh and Essex.
“Everything’s on the table,” said Morgan. “It crossed our minds.
“In extreme circumstances like this, what do we have in Jersey and how can we pull this all together? We need a 4-star moving forward. We need to get our international competitors ready for Burghley or the new (October) 5-star at Fair Hill. We need to get these people ready.
“We’re very much in the interim stage. We all could be shut down through the summer,” commented Morgan, but added, “hopefully we’ve got it licked in two months and both Jersey Fresh and Essex are ready to move forward in the best way we can, even if it’s a skeleton event with just the horses and the jump judges, and let the hoopla take a back seat, if the sponsors will follow our lead. Next year, we can make a better year of it.
“With the loss of Carolina, Kentucky, and Stable View, and Jersey Fresh postponed, there’s a need for qualifications going forward. We’re open to all suggestions at Essex and cooperation with Jersey.
“We’re a resilient community of eventers. We’ll bounce back and organizers will step up to the plate when it’s safe to compete. We don’t want to spread the virus, we’re going to do our part like the rest of the country. When the government says go, we’ll go as hard as we can to get back on track. Both events are important to New Jersey and the mid-Atlantic region in general, so if we could have both, that would be the best.”
Essex moved its date to July after encountering soggy footing the last few years.
Although eventually Morgan would like to have an all-weather surface for the dressage and show jumping phases, he said, “We will run on grass in hopes we’ll have drier weather. It’s okay if it rains; it’s whether or not we have an entire month of rain, which is what we had in June three years running.
“In July, typically the water table goes down and if it rains, it’s not that big a deal. We realize last year was not the best outcome, so we moved the date. We’re aerating, spreading sand and fertilizing to make sure the turf is better this year we’ll water if it needs watering,” said Morgan, who said perhaps they would incorporate some synthetics in the surface.
The lack of events this spring may work in favor of Essex, where the footing last year had some riders questioning whether they would come back. Now they will need an outing, so Essex may get the nod and hopefully it will suit them this time around.