An international dressage show scheduled for the Horse Park of New Jersey has been cancelled due to lack of entries and a complication involving withdrawal of one key official, but the Level 3 national Dressage at the Park show, scheduled in conjunction with the CDI, still will run July 7-10.
Jennifer Bateman, the show organizer, said only three people had entered the 2-star/1-star CDI, which was a qualifier at Intermediate I and Grand Prix (along with Para, Junior, Pony, Children’s and Young Riders) for August’s U.S. Equestrian Federation Dressage Festival of Champions at Lamplight Equestrian Center in Illinois.
At the same time, the veterinary services manager required for the CDI by the FEI (international equestrian federation) had to bow out. Others with the proper qualifications—which are changing as of July 1—were not able to take the job due to a variety of conflicts in their practices or personal lives.
The entrance to the Horse Park.
“I asked for an exception from the FEI; they wouldn’t grant it. We tried everything,” show organizer Jennifer Bateman said.
“We cancelled earlier than optimum for some competitors, but we cancelled at the best time to make sure that all of our sponsors, should they choose to leave and do something else, and our vendors, and our officials all had enough time to get their money back on their air fare and those sorts of things.”
Under the Horse Park contract with officials, “If we cancel in less than a month (before the show) that travel is on the Park. We made the best decision for the financials of the Park, as well as giving all of our officials sponsors, vendors and competitors enough notice of what we were doing. Everything was done in our power within our budget within reason to make it happen. The rest of the competition is going on as planned.”
The grand prix arena at the Horse Park. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
She anticipates 150 horses being on the grounds of the Allentown venue each day.
So even though the closing date for entries was not until June 26, the writing was on the wall last week for the CDI, which costs more to run than a national show because of various FEI requirements.
“We decided to cut our losses instead of waiting until the very last minute and not having that (veterinary) official available,” said Jennifer, who was pleased sponsors decided to stick with the show anyway.
Competitors in most divisions hoping to qualify for the Festival can use scores from the national show, but in the I-1 and Grand Prix, they also need a score from a CDI. The only other CDI in North America before the entry closing date for the Festival is Caledon in Ontario, Canada, beginning July 22.
The cancellation was bad news for riders who had been planning to enter the New Jersey CDI and try to qualify for the Festival if they hadn’t done so in 2021 at Dressage at Devon or in Florida during the winter of 2022.
“You set your schedule around certain shows, so it’s obviously disappointing,” said trainer Lauren Chumley of Pittstown, N.J, who learned of the cancellation over the weekend.
A mare she had been trying to qualify for the Small Tour at the Virginia CDI last month was under the weather there, so the Dressage at the Park CDI seemed like her last chance.
She hadn’t entered because of a cash flow situation common to trainers, but was expecting a check in time to pay her entry fee before the original deadline.
“If they wanted everyone to enter early, they should have had changed the closing date and made it sooner,” Lauren contended.
“It’s very frustrating for me, because I don’t get to play in these (CDI) arenas very often.”
Lisa Gorretta, the show’s technical delegate and the former president of the U.S. Dressage Federation, said, “The closing date was a week before the competition. Why? Because competitors insist on not entering until the last minute.
“If you make your closing date too early, they don’t want to commit that early because something could happen to the horse and they won’t get their money back. If you ask any horse show organizer at any level in dressage…if you make it (the deadline) too early, then you have to extend it, which you can’t do for a CDI.”
Now Lauren is debating whether she can afford to pay $6.50 a gallon for diesel to get herself and her horse to the Canadian CDI. Naturally, she would have preferred the 75-minute trip from her barn to the Horse Park.
She wishes that as organizers were worrying about light entries, they would have told potential competitors, “If you’re coming, you need to enter, so we don’t cancel the show.”
Heather Mason, a trainer from Tewksbury, N.J., said she has a client who is hoping to compete at the Festival and now is wondering whether she should chase a potential score to Canada “but I’m not recommending that,” said Heather.
“The USEF can do wild cards,” she noted, wondering if they could be granted to riders for the Festival under these circumstances.
“It’s unfortunate more people didn’t enter early, because I know a good number of people were planning to do the CDI,” she said.
At the same time, Heather added, “The show’s not going to bank everything on three entries. It sounds like the show did not have a choice.”
Lisa Gorretta addressed the situation on Facebook, stating, “the dressage equestrian `village’ and `community’ concept simply must work and go both ways, or you will have but one general location and time of year in which to compete East of the Mississippi.”
In an interview, she explained, “I’m a huge advocate of getting these starter CDIs, not because there’s anything wrong with Florida, but because there are competitors and horses that aren’t ready to go there. I think it is an advantage for the future of the sport to be able to offer competitions throughout the year. The 2-star is an awesome place to do it. I’m a huge advocate of having it happen and therefore it pains me when it doesn’t happen.”
Elisabeth Williams, the retired dressage super steward, who is volunteering at the Horse Park show, suggested a concept that might help competitors and shows alike under similar circumstances. She’s seen it in Sweden at jumper shows run by her sister, where there is a non-refundable commitment fee of $25 or $50 that can be paid early in the entry process, and then a starting fee that could be refunded if necessary.
Elisabeth Williams (second from left) is saluted on her retirement during Dressage at Devon by her friends, including Lisa Gorretta on the right. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
She suggested riders need to be more proactive, “you’ve got to let everybody know you’re coming.”
What happened with the Horse Park CDI might prompt a new approach on both sides, she commented.
“Maybe now everybody learned a lesson from this one, and let’s hope that next year they can try it again.”
“We are considering doing it again,” said Horse Park Vice President Ellen Clark.
“I’m asking them to consider different dates,” she added, noting there also has been a thought of putting together a series with Centerline at Saugerties and Dressage at Devon.
“In order to make this a success, we need to do it either when people are on their way down to Florida or on their way back. And then they come.”
