Category Archives: Contributors/Press

Blog writers, press releases and contributors

Catie Staszak, Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping

Schedule Released for Fieldstone Spring Festival

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Highlighted by two $20,000 Grand Prix events, four separate hunter derby sections, and jumper classics and derbies from 0.90m to 1.40m, the Fieldstone Spring Festival schedule offers feature classes for exhibitors of all ages and divisions.

The Fieldstone Spring Festival, consisting of two USEF nationally-rated weeks (May 12-16 and 19-23), is the opening event of the venue’s 2021 show schedule. Pre-entries close April 30, 2021, with the Official Prize List and entry forms coming soon.

Among the weekly feature classes are:

  • $7,500 Open Welcome Stake 1.30m — Thursday, May 13 and May 20
  • $1,000 0.90m Open Jumper Derby — Friday, May 14 and May 21
  • $5,000 3’3″ Open Hunter Derby — Saturday, May 15 and May 22
  • $1,500 2’9″ Open Hunter Derby — Sunday, May 16 and May 23
  • $1,500 — 2’6″ Child/Am Adult Hunter Derby — Sunday, May 16 and May 23
  • $20,000 Grand Prix 1.40m — Sunday, May 16 and May 23

An esteemed group of officials will return to Fieldstone in 2021, headed by Show Manager Tom Hern. Hern will also serve as a course designer at the Fieldstone Spring Festival alongside Diamond Bar, CA’s Mike Nielsen, setting tracks for Fieldstone’s five all-weather GGT hybrid/felt competition arenas and popular all-grass Grand Prix Field.

David Wilbur, Brian Lenihan, Susan Horn, and Jeff Nowak make up the group of hunter judges slated for the Fieldstone Spring Festival, while judges Jay Mullen, John Bahret, and Mike Nielsen will oversee jumper competition. In the office, Charlene Brown will head up operations as Show Secretary.

Visit FieldstoneShowPark.com.

© 2021 Catie Staszak Media, Inc.

Catie Staszak, Show Jumping

Tanner Korotkin and Deauville S Top FEI Hermes U25 Welcome at WEF 6

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Tanner Korotkin and Deauville S. Photo by Catie Staszak Media, Inc.

Ranked among the country’s top 10 U25 riders, Tanner Korotkin stayed true to form in winning the $10,000 FEI Hermes U25 Welcome with Castlewood Farm’s Deauville S during Week 6 of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL.

After three weeks of U25 competition, Korotkin and the 15-year-old Holsteiner gelding have asserted themselves as one of the division’s top competitors. The win marked the pair’s third podium finish in four outings this season.

“Deauville and I had a very nice and smooth but obviously very quick round,” Korotkin said. “There were a lot of very fast horses that went before us, and I was thinking about the following day’s grand prix. I wanted to be fast enough to win the class, but I also wanted to keep it as smooth as possible. He jumped fantastic, and he’s such a naturally fast horse that he ended up just taking the win.”

While Korotkin and Deauville S are contesting just their first WEF as a pair, they are approaching the one-year mark of their partnership. It’s been one defined by a near-instant connection; in Deauville S, Korotkin found an experienced mount that shared his indistinguishable competitive fire. The big-bodied bay gelding is rarely not in motion, often characterized by his sideways canter upon the approach to a fence, but nowadays, Korotkin finds navigating the less conventional ride almost second nature.

“Since the first day I rode him, I absolutely loved him,” Korotkin. “The way he goes — even though he canters sideways at times, I just love his forward motion. He’s always with me, and he always wants to jump a clear round. I’d say, he’s the first horse in my career that I’ve had this strong of a partnership with.”

Confidence carries, and Korotkin heads toward the second half of the winter circuit fresh off a career-best week.  Just a day prior to his U25 win, Korotkin finished fifth with a double-clear performance aboard Sandalwood Farm’s Country Boy in the $37,000 CSI3* WEF Challenge Round 6.

“He jumped absolutely incredible,” Korotkin said of his top senior mount. “It was our first three-star back in a couple weeks, and I couldn’t have asked for a better result with him.”

Korotkin has additional three- and four-star competitions circled on his calendar for the remainder of the winter circuit, as well as the upcoming U25 Semifinal under the lights at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center during Week 8.

“I think the U25 series is great,” Korotkin said. “It gives you a real feel of what true FEI classes are like, and you get to compete against some very good riders without going in to compete against the best of the world, just yet. Deauville S will aim for those classes, and after WEF is over, we’ll jump back into some more ranking classes.”

© 2021 Catie Staszak Media, Inc.

Phelps Media Group, Racing

American Equus Chosen Riders Dominate at Pegasus World Cup Invitational

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Irad Ortiz, Jr. and Colonel Liam.

Hallandale Beach, Fla. – Jan. 26, 2021 – American Equus sponsored jockeys took to the track once again at Gulfstream Park for the 2021 Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Saturday. Race day at the track in Hallandale Beach, Florida saw some of the world’s top jockeys on promising thoroughbred talent, and AE Chosen Riders claimed their place in the winner’s circle in six of the races. Irad Ortiz, Jr., winner of last year’s $3 Million Pegasus World Cup Invitational, earned top placings on numerous horses throughout the day, and went out on a high note to take home the $1 Million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational aboard Colonel Liam.

Trained by Todd A. Pletcher and owned by Robert and Lawana Low, Colonel Liam held 7/2 odds in the field of 12 talented contenders, including horses piloted by fellow AE riders Jose Ortiz, Tyler Gaffalione, Luis Saez, Joe Bravo, and Drayden van Dyke. Ortiz Jr. and Colonel Liam tackled the 1 3/16-mile Grade 1 race to be named the victors in the highest stakes turf race of the day. He ended the day with a second-place finish in the $3 Million Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Jesus’ Team trained by Jose Francisco D’Angelo.

“I was so happy to win this,” Ortiz said. “This is very special to me because I live my life once a day. We don’t know tomorrow and just enjoy the moment. I was so happy for all the connections and for Todd Pletcher too. I feel great. I was thinking about my grandfather who just passed away last year, and I just know he’s looking [down] at me. My whole family’s at home watching the race, I just miss him being around on the track. He’s my number one fan. I just imagine everything in seconds, like they are looking at me. I just feel like I have to celebrate.”

“He showed us a lot of ability in his couple of starts on the grass,” Pletcher said of Colonel Liam. “We felt like he was getting better and better. We loved the way he handled the turf in the Tropical (Park) Derby and he had trained great. We were very optimistic. He’s a little less experienced than some of the other horses but I think this proves his quality.”

Earlier in the day, Ortiz Jr. also won the 1 1/2-mile La Prevoyante Stake Grade 2 Turf race for Fillies and Mares 4 years old and up aboard Always Shopping trained by Todd Pletcher. Chosen Rider Tyler Gaffalione also had a standout day on the track, claiming the 1 1/2-mile Turf W. L. McKnight Open Stakes for 4-year-olds and up on Tide of the Sea trained by Michael J. Maker, as well as 1 Mile Turf Marshua’s River S. Fillies and Mares 4 years old and up on Zofelle.

Gaffalione also clinched the 7 Furlong Dirt Maiden race for 3-year-olds to kick off the day. Luis Saez crossed the finish first in the 1 1/16-mile Turf Claiming Race for 4-year-olds and up aboard Microsecond.

Emma Miller
em@phelpsmediagroup.com

Catie Staszak, Show Jumping

Itran Inspires Nagata Sport Horses

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Itran and Emma Butchard. Photo by Erik Smit/Silhouette Photo.

When Emma Butchard met Itran in 2019, she took on a new challenge. At just three years old, Itran was tall, lanky, and had a limited education. Never before had she added such a young horse to her string.

It was the first time I had a horse where I was starting from scratch,” she recalled. “Taking him to his first horse show and seeing him now as a 5-year-old with so much promise — it’s been very rewarding.”

Butchard, who operates her family’s Leatherstocking Farm alongside Andre Nagata’s Nagata Sport Horses in Panningen, The Netherlands, now finds herself surrounded by a classy group of well-bred 5-year-olds. Itran, however, remains a standout. Amidst Holland’s multiple quarantines due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Itran made his horse show debut in 2020 and is being aimed for a debut in the 5-year-old division in 2021. Butchard and Nagata agree: the brave, scopey gelding shows promise for top sport.

“We can trust him a lot,” Nagata said. “He’s brave and easy. He’s not the type where we have to do a lot of jumping and shows with him. He has the talent and all the tools that he needs to succeed.”

By Indoctro out of a Balou mare, Itran arrived late in his 3-year-old year from Andre’s brother Gabriel, who scouted and purchased the gelding from an online sales ad in England. The bay certainly had presence; he was tall with long legs and a big, kind eye. Butchard and Nagata immediately recognized the need to take their time with the horse’s development, given his size. They put a focus, instead, on ground work.

“Andre would have Itran work on a lunge line and in a circle, and he’d add an umbrella on the ground and have him walk over a tarp to have him practice braveness, bending, and learning the shape of his body,” Butchard explained.

Fitness was also paramount. Butchard and Itran spent the warmer months building endurance in their facility’s expansive grass field. When it came to jumping, much of it was done at the trot, with Butchard recreating courses in the form of ground poles. While building fitness, she inserted periodic tests for bravery. She got hints of her mount’s unflappable demeanor when he failed to bat an eye at a water tray or when taking on the area’s trail system.

A new venue failed to faze him, either. Itran’s first trip off property in September 2020 was taken completely in stride. So, too, was a second venture away from home, where Itran jumped his first full course.

“He just walked into the ring and went to the whole course, like it was nothing for him,” Butchard recalled. “That’s when we thought, ‘This horse is going to do something.'”

While horse shows were formally on pause in October, Peelbergen opened its doors for Training CSI events, where Itran made his show debut with Butchard, jumping .70m-.80m. Butchard could hardly hide the smile from her face as the gelding professionally marched around the venue’s bold indoor arena.

“He showed a lot of balance and was careful with an easy, big stride. Everything that I needed, he had,” Butchard said.

Since Itran’s arrival, an impressive group of prospects have arrived through Nagata Sport Horses’ doors, including horses by Douglas VDL, Cornet Obolensky, and Courtello Z. With a bourgeoning development and sales business, Butchard is now putting the lessons she’s learned with Itran to use on a daily basis, with a variety of young mounts.

“I’ve learned that every horse goes their own way, and you have to make a plan that’s specific to their needs,” she said. “I’ve also learned to trust them much more and to see how they are in the beginning and know that they’re going to get much better [in their technique] as they learn and grow.

“For us, we’re going slow with them and doing the whole process,” she continued. “Hopefully, this year we can get out and compete a little bit more, to get the horses some good miles and get their names out there. It’s nice to have young ones coming in, watching them grow and seeing them go on to succeed with someone else.”

© 2021 Catie Staszak Media, Inc.

Eventing/H.T., FEI

When You Get an Opportunity, Then Grab It with Both Hands: David O’Connor

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David O’Connor (USA) with the brilliant Custom Made who claimed individual gold at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. (Photo credit: FEI)

It’s probably not that surprising that David O’Connor’s career thrived throughout the era of long-format Eventing, because if you’ve crossed the vast expanse of North America on horseback when you’re just 11 years old then going the distance is unlikely to be daunting at any stage of your life.

The 2000 Olympic Eventing champion retired from international competition in 2004, served as President of the United Stated Equestrian Federation (USEF) for the next eight years, and was inducted into the United States Eventing Association’s Hall of Fame in 2009. He now trains young horses, coaches riders, and designs courses, and he sees it all as a natural progression. “I’m in this game 45 years, and as time goes on you move on to the next level. For me that’s the training side of the sport, and I really enjoy it a lot,” says the man who became Chair of the FEI Eventing Committee three years ago.

He’s travelling to a show the day I call him up to ask him about his life and times. So how did he get started with horses? Did his family have a generational connection with them?

“No, my mum was brought up in suburban London (GBR) and she rode a bit, but it was only when she came to the US that she really got into it. My father wasn’t horsey at all; he worked in the Navy, but my brother Brian and I went to the local Pony Club when we were kids and that’s how it all began,” he explains. Mum, Sally O’Connor, would go on to become a Dressage rider, judge, and author while Brian’s voice is one of the most recognisable on the US equestrian commentary circuit. David, meanwhile, became a superstar Eventing athlete, greatly admired for the long and successful partnerships he established with a superb string of horses.

Ambitions

He says he didn’t have big ambitions as a child. “We weren’t wealthy so I never thought horses would be my life,” he explains. But when he was 17 years old, fate intervened. Spotted by legendary coach Jack Le Goff, he joined training sessions for development riders staged at the USEF Training Centre in Massachusetts (USA) and was invited to stay on.

“It was an amazing opportunity, a door that opened for me and I kinda ran through it as fast as I could! I was there for four-and-a-half years, and without that opportunity I’m really not sure where my life would have gone.”

His teenage heroes included Jimmy Wofford, Mike Plumb, “and Bruce (Davidson), who was dominating the sport across the world at the time.” David has maintained a lifetime connection with Jimmy, who he describes as a mentor and great friend. Like Jimmy, David’s career almost completely embraced the long-format era of Eventing which was very different to the scaled-back test horses and riders face today.

The old three-day formula consisted of Dressage on day 1 followed by Roads and Tracks, Steeplechase, more Roads and Tracks, and then Cross-Country on day 2, with showjumping on the third and final day.

“I was the last long-format winner at the Olympic Games (Sydney 2000) and World Championships (Jerez 2002), and I experienced the change to the modern-day sport,” he points out. “It’s certainly different doing a 13-minute course back then and an 11-minute course now. Today the intensity is higher, so horses can get out of breath quite quickly if you don’t manage your speed. Back then we managed galloping all the time, the horses were very fit, more thoroughbred types. There are horses that are not as thoroughbred that can do quite well in a 4-Star today, but they can’t manage a 5-Star. Now it’s all about turning and accuracy and having horses jump narrow fences… the rideability is more important than the athletic ability, whereas the athletic ability was more important back then. And there’s a huge difference between showjumping after cross-country and showjumping before,” he adds.

Brilliant horses

David had many brilliant horses, the best-remembered possibly his Olympic rides Giltedge and Custom Made. At the 1996 Games in Atlanta, he rode Giltedge to team silver and Custom Made to individual fifth place, and four years later Custom Made claimed individual gold in Sydney (AUS) while Giltedge was on the bronze-medal-winning US side.

So how would these two special Irish-bred horses cope with the challenges of the modern sport?

“Giltedge would be just as successful now as he was back then because he was extremely rideable and a very good showjumper, in fact he would have an even better career now because he would have been totally in the game! Custom Made would still be a big 5-Star horse; he would revel in it just like he did because his big wins were all over galloping courses like Badminton, Kentucky, the Sydney Olympics, but probably not so much at Olympic Games and World Championships because the courses are getting shorter and more twisting and turning and that wouldn’t play to his strengths.

“One of the great things about these two, and many of our other horses like Biko and Prince Panache, was that they stayed sound and played the game for so long. They were Irish-bred and we can’t afford to lose the genetic advantages that the Irish bloodlines bring, like longevity and athleticism, which maybe some of the other countries don’t have,” he says.

When it comes to longevity, Custom Made was a perfect example, only passing away last year at the ripe old age of 34.

Prepare

So how did he prepare horses like these two all-time greats? “With a lot of long, slow work three or four months away from the event to put a base on them, and faster work closer to the competition,” he explains. The long, slow work was exactly that. “Sometimes you’d spend two hours on them riding up and down hills, trotting, slow cantering, and walking. Some of the kids coming up now don’t want to put that work in,” he points out.

And did the horses have similar personalities? “No, Custom Made (a.k.a. Tailor) had tremendous strength and scope and the most unbelievable gallop. He never got tired in his life and was an incredible athlete, but he was quite sensitive about a lot of things and when he got nervous he got very strong.

“But I never had a horse try as hard as Giltedge; he always rose to the occasion. There was this super-power thing that happened at a competition; he would turn into a horse that fought for you more than any other horse I’ve had in my life. That’s why he became such a great team horse for the US. I only ever had one rail down in showjumping with him and he was always going to be in the top 10 – he was one of those troopers you could always rely on,” David says proudly.

He relishes the relationships he had with both horses. “At the beginning of their careers I felt they were part of my career but towards the end of their competitive cycle it was me who was part of theirs! I just had to do my job and let them get on with theirs. When they retired, we gave demonstrations and they became even more famous. They had a huge fan-club; people just loved them, and not many horses get that because there are not a lot of really famous horses around anymore – I think their longevity had a lot to do with that,” he comments.

Family ride

When I ask him about the family ride across the United States of America, I can tell that there’s a determined streak in the O’Connor gene pool. He recalls a family dinner during which his mother announced her plan. “She had this romantic image of the US as the Wild West… John Wayne and all that. We lived in Maryland on the East Coast and she came up with the idea that we should ride to California on the West Coast, and the more people said it couldn’t happen the more she was determined it would. It was an amazing decision for her to make!” David says with a laugh.

So on 13th May 1973 they set off on the 3,000 mile trip that took 14 weeks to complete. “I was 11, Brian was 13 and it was just the three of us. We ended up going to Oregon instead of California because otherwise we would have had to cross the desert, and we didn’t quite make it to the west coast because Brian and I had to go back to school at the end of August,” David says. Brian’s horse did the full distance while David and Sally both needed remounts en route, turning the original two out to rest until they were collected on the way home.

“My mother knew people across the first-half of the country, and we stayed with them about every 10 days and gave the horses a couple of days off each time. But we didn’t know anybody beyond the Mississippi River, so we just knocked on people’s doors when we got to the end of the day, explained what we were doing and everyone East of the river said, ‘You’re going WHERE?!’ and everybody West said, ‘You’re from WHERE?!’ We were doing 30-35 miles a day and local newspapers started following us.

“It was an amazing trip for an 11-year-old kid and taught me a lot about spending time with horses and appreciation of the land and how people make a living. And it gave me a sense of time, not control over time but how to enjoy being in the moment, and that has always stayed with me. It was 47 years ago, and I still think about it often,” David says, clearly enjoying the memories.

Bitless

I ask David about riding without a bit in the horse’s mouth. He’s quite an advocate for bitless riding, but he points out that it has its limitations when it comes to competition.

“We start all of our young horses in rope halters without a bit, and when we are going on a quiet hack most are in just a halter, and we practice this a lot. They learn to go, stop, turn, rein-back, and all that, so when we put a bit in their mouth there is no anxiety about it.

“But there’s a huge difference when you are out on a course for 8 to 10 minutes galloping at a speed of 570 metres a minute. You can’t compare riding in a ring or quietly hacking with the need for the horse to be able to answer cross-country questions – they are two totally different things. From a risk-management point of view there is no way I would ever go cross-country for miles without having a bit.”

Admired

I ask him about the people he most admired during his time at the top of the sport and the first person he mentions is, unsurprisingly, New Zealand’s Mark Todd – “a great horseman and a good friend.”

He describes the period when he and his wife and fellow-Olympian, Karen O’Connor, lived in England as “magical. In the 90s, we were part of a group of riders including Mary King (GBR) and Blythe Tait (NZL) who were all there at the same time competing against each other and who became the best of friends. It drove us all to be better, there were 15 players at the top of the world sport all living near each other and it was a very special time,” he recalls.

So why didn’t he and Karen stay in Great Britain? “We had the opportunity to ride for Mrs Mars who became a big supporter of ours. She bought a place in Virginia and asked us to come back and run a High Performance Programme out of there. But if that opportunity hadn’t come our way, we might have stayed – who knows?” he says.

Wisdom

Finally, I ask David to share some wisdom with the next generation of young Event athletes. “The main thing is to have a goal that’s way out in front of you and to work hard to get there. Surround yourself with the best people you can find and learn your craft to the nth degree.

“As Mark Twain wrote. ‘It’s very easy to learn the tricks of the trade and never learn the trade.’ You need to learn every aspect of the trade and that includes the people part, the horse part, the riding part, the competitive part, and the management part. You don’t become a winner because you’re talented and you deserve it; you have to be driven and you need to be hungry if you want to succeed.

“And one of the things I tell all my students is that when you get an opportunity [like David did when spotted by Jack Le Goff], then grab it with both hands!”

By Louise Parkes

Media contact:

Shannon Gibbons
Media Relations and Communications Manager
shannon.gibbons@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 46

Awards, FEI

FEI Awards 2020: Fans Elect Ultimate Best from a Decade of Excellence

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Winners in the FEI Awards 2020 five categories were revealed, with multi-medalled young Dressage star Semmieke Rothenberger claiming the Longines FEI Rising Star Award for the second year in a row, and Eventing legend Ingrid Klimke also taking back-to-back wins as Peden Bloodstock FEI Best Athlete.

This year the task of choosing the best of the best from the past decade’s previous awards winners was entirely in the hands of the public who cast their votes for the 55 nominees from 19 nations. Over 70,000 votes were cast on FEI.org and on the Chinese social media platform WeChat. Podiums in each of the five categories were occupied by a global spread from Germany, Great Britain, Australia, China, Ireland, Palestine, South Africa, The Netherlands, and Zambia.

With the FEI Awards Gala cancelled this year due to the pandemic, the winners were revealed to their online audience in a moving video narrated by British Paralympic champion Natasha Baker.

Semmieke Rothenberger, winner of the Longines FEI Rising Star Award, was overcome with emotion when her family held a surprise presentation of the award at their home in Germany.

“I’m very grateful that so many people voted for me and that there is such a big fan base of people that support me,” Semmieke Rothenberger said. “It is also quite surreal because there were so many good athletes in this category, including my brother Sönke, so I didn’t really expect that I would win it again.”

The 21-year-old, winner of 22 FEI European Championship medals through all the youth categories right up to Young Riders, has even bigger goals for the future.

“My parents have always taught me to dream big and reach for my goals and I would really like to canter on that centre line of the Olympic Games one day. I’ve been to the Olympic Games in Rio with my brother and I would love to see myself there with one of my horses and feel the atmosphere of representing my country at the Olympics!”

Along with other individual FEI Award winners, Semmieke Rothenberger received an elegant timepiece from FEI Top Partner Longines, the Swiss watch brand which attaches great importance to encouraging young people to practice sports.

“This Longines FEI Rising Star Award was created to recognise young athletes between the ages of 14 and 21 who demonstrate outstanding equestrian sporting talent,” Longines Vice President of Marketing Matthieu Baumgartner said. “We are delighted to once again celebrate Semmieke Rothenberger’s dedication to equestrian sport and we applaud her determination, passion and energy, which we are confident will take her to the very top in her sporting career.”

Double Olympic Eventing team gold medallist and five-time Olympian Ingrid Klimke (GER) was delighted to win a second Peden Bloodstock FEI Best Athlete Award, together with a horse transport voucher from title sponsor and Official FEI Equine Logistics Partner, Peden Bloodstock.

“This is all still a little bit unreal but I’m so thrilled and happy,” she said. The 52-year-old, who was also nominated for the Award in 2015 and 2017, going on to win in 2019, is only the second person in history to win back-to-back European titles on the same horse, claiming individual gold with SAP Hale Bob OLD at the Longines FEI Eventing European Championships in 2017 and 2019. This year she took her fifth German National Championship, having won previously in 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2009, sharing the spotlight with her daughter Greta Busacker, who was crowned German National Junior Champion on the same day.

Although Ingrid Klimke has set her sights on winning her first individual gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games next year, she is not shy of stating her longer-term ambitions. “I’m already thinking of Paris 2024 which is not so far away. I love to ride, I love to compete, and I love to keep going.”

There was further cause for celebration at the Klimke stables when Carmen Thiemann, head groom for more than two decades, won the Cavalor FEI Best Groom Award and a voucher from title sponsor and FEI Official Nutrition Partner, Cavalor.

“It’s the trust between us and the fun we have with the horses,” Carmen Thiemann said when asked about the longevity of her professional partnership with Ingrid Klimke. “I try to make the horses happy and healthy so that they are ready to work with Ingrid.”

Carmen Thiemann, who won the FEI Best Groom Award in 2013, has a special bond with the Klimke family having started her career as a groom for Ingrid’s father Dr Reiner Klimke, an Olympic Dressage legend for Germany.

“Everyone who knows Carmen knows how valuable she is as a person and especially in her job with the horses,” a delighted Ingrid Klimke said.

“We have been successful as a team for many years and I would never go to a show or a Championship without Carmen. She is a best friend to the horses, and I can totally focus on my job, either in Cross Country or in Dressage, knowing that Carmen brings them out as happy and healthy as possible.”

It is also interesting to note that the runners-up in these two respective categories – Peden Bloodstock FEI Best Athlete and Cavalor FEI Best Groom – went to another dynamic duo: Great Britain’s superstar Charlotte Dujardin and Alan Davies, the experienced and highly respected “Super Groom” to Carl Hester’s horses, and also a key member of the FEI Grooms Working Group.

Ten years after winning their first award, the Ebony Horse Club (GBR) was once again the recipient of the FEI Solidarity Award.

“This award, coming at the end of a really challenging year, just validates everything that we’re working for,” General Manager of the Ebony Horse Club Naomi Howgate said. “To be recognised as the best of the decade is such a huge accolade and has made us extremely proud of the work that we do here.

“Ebony is a youth club with horses, rather than a riding centre, because our ethos is all about helping our young people be the best they can be both on and off the horses.”

The organisation, which is based in Brixton, South London, provides young people from low income families with the opportunity to ride horses and take part in a variety of sporting and educational activities.

The FEI has provided the 2020 FEI Solidarity Award winner with a financial donation to support the Ebony Horse Club projects. “We are a small club and we don’t have lots of resources,” Naomi Howgate said. “Donations are everything, as it is how we can provide the work we are doing. We support about 400 young people in a year and we can only do that with donations of money that allow us to run our services. So receiving this from the FEI is really fantastic!”

This year’s FEI Against All Odds Award goes to German Paralympian Dr Angelika Trabert. Born without legs and only three fingers on her right hand, Angelika is well known in the equestrian community for her indefatigable spirit and her motto, “It’s ability, not disability, that counts.”

She had just won individual gold at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2010 when she picked up her first FEI Against All Odds award, given to the person who has pursued their equestrian ambitions despite a physical handicap or extremely difficult personal circumstances.

Dr Trabert, an anaesthetist by profession, was inspired to be an athlete and coach in the years after tragically losing her long-time partner in 2005. She has won six Paralympic medals and four at the FEI World Equestrian Games™. She is also the current Para Athlete representative on the FEI Athletes’ Committee and a member of the FEI Para Equestrian Committee.

“I feel this is an award and a reward for the work I’ve been doing and what I feel is important for our sport,” Angelika Trabert said. “You should always look on the positive side, especially in these times. It’s very hard for a lot of people and it counts more than ever to look upon the possibilities and abilities that we have. And there are many.”

“Our global and diverse community is built on our shared passion for horsemanship and the team spirit, which is so present in all five of our winners, is replicated around the world and at every level of the sport, both on and off the field,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said.

“Passion and resilience define our community, and these values are echoed in the stories of each of our FEI Awards winners for 2020. Congratulations to all the nominees and especially to our winners, thank you for your commitment to the sport and the values which make the equestrian world so rewarding and inspiring.”

Full information on the FEI Awards 2020 and past winners are available here.

Media contacts:

Grania Willis
Director, Communications
grania.willis@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 42

Vanessa Martin Randin
Senior Manager, Media Relations & Communications
vanessa.randin@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 73

Equinium Sports Mktg., Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping

Sydney Shulman Gallops Ardente Printaniere to Victory in $37k Dever Golf Cars 1.45m Speed CSI4*

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Sydney Shulman and Ardente Printaniere ©Anne Gittins Photography.

Wellington, FL – November 28, 2020 – The ESP Holiday & Horses CSI4* continued for its penultimate day of competition at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) on Saturday, November 28, with the $37,000 Dever Golf Cars 1.45m Speed CSI4*. Jumping to two top-five placings in the class, Sydney Shulman (ISR) finished the day on a high note with a victory on Jill Shulman’s Ardente Printaniere and a fifth-place result aboard the same owner’s Villamoura.

“She’s older; she’s 15. I bought her from Maarten Huygens and McLain Ward a little over five years ago,” commented Shulman of the winning 2006 Belgian Sporthorse mare by Joyeux Ardent x Ramiro. “She’s wonderful. She’s a bit unconventional but she’s super fast, super consistent, and you can really count on her. She has had some injuries over the years, so she has been on and off a bit. I really want to thank my grooms, Lily Stanbridge and Merri West. They take amazing care of her and she’s quite difficult because she’s unconventional to manage, but they’ve done an amazing job bringing her back from the injuries. They really deserve a lot of the credit.”

For the first and only round of riding in the $37,000 Dever Golf Cars 1.45m Speed CSI4*, course designer Anthony D’Ambrosio (USA) challenged the 65 entries with a track of 15 efforts. Sixth in the order, Shulman and Villamoura set the pace as the pathfinders with the first clear trip in 63.29 seconds. Though the leaders were overtaken for a short time by Kent Farrington (USA) and Austria 2, the winners of Wednesday’s $37,000 Holiday & Horses 1.45m Opener CSI4*, Shulman made sure to put herself at the top of the leaderboard once again with her second ride aboard Ardente Printaniere. The duo stopped the clock without any faults in a time of 61.62 seconds as the 39th in the order, leaving 26 partnerships left to chase them down.

“The first horse I rode was Villamoura, who is a speed demon,” reflected Shulman on her two rides. “I got jumped loose in the tack yesterday, so today I went for a little more conservative round on her. The winning horse, we call her Prima, only has one way of going and is a bit unconventional, so you kind of just leave her alone and let her do her thing. Most of the time it works out like today. I didn’t think Kent was beatable, so I really had nothing to lose and just tried to do the least amount of strides. She’s a massive mare and she covers the ground, so I was just hoping that she would stay careful enough, which she did.”

Though the remainder of the pack aimed to eclipse the Israeli partnership, none were able to pass their leading time, solidifying Shulman and Ardente Printaniere as the winners. Shulman’s mount has already seen respectable success this year as the winner of the $10,000 Hermes U25 Welcome CSI3* during Week Six of the 2020 Winter Equestrian Festival and the second-place finisher in the $72,900 Staller Grand Prix CSI2* this past summer in Traverse City, MI. In Saturday’s speed class, Ellen Whitaker (GBR) jumped into second place riding her own Jack Van’t Kattenheye in a clear time of 62.19 seconds, and Farrington and Austria 2 held on for the third spot.

“I’m grateful that we can continue to do what we love to do,” noted Shulman of competing under COVID protocols. “I’m really thankful to the show for allowing it to be safe and feel comfortable to do our job and to have the shows. I think we actually ended up showing more than we would have with FEI shows prior to COVID, so I really feel lucky that we can be outside and be with the horses every day and still compete. It’s a little bit different, but I think everyone is being respectful so we can continue to show.”

Run in the DeNemethy Ring, the $2,550 1.35m Jumper Speed Stake, presented by Cabana Coast, ran concurrently with the CSI4* class in the International Arena in the morning. Run over one round, the contest gave competitors just one chance to try to cross the timer quickly without any faults, and Annie Bolling of Fair Hope, AL made use of her opportunity with the fastest ride on her own Mykonos SCF. As the second-to-last pair to ride, they were up against a leading clear time of 66.16 seconds, but improved upon that time with ease to break the beam fault-free in 64.54 seconds to capture victory. Maggie Jayne of Elgin, IL and Alex Jayne’s Arizona ODF claimed second place with their time of 66.16 seconds, and Dana Gattuso of Stockton, NJ rode her own Halocia to third position in a clear time of 74.09 seconds.

For more information and results, please visit www.PBIEC.com.

Catie Staszak, Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping

Fieldstone Show Park Announces 2021 Show Schedule

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Photo courtesy Fieldstone Show Park.

The 2020 show calendar has been anything but typical, but Fieldstone Show Park wants its loyal exhibitors to know, there’s much to look forward to in 2021.

The popular venue, a staple in the northeast and a Massachusetts landmark, has announced its 2021 show dates, which will feature eight USEF nationally-rated hunter-jumper competitions throughout the months of May, June, August, and September.

The Fieldstone Spring Festival, set to kick off May 12, 2021, is sure to be a celebratory occasion, after the global COVID-19 pandemic forced the rescheduling and cancellation of many of Fieldstone’s 2020 events.

“When you’re ready, come show with us” is the venue’s mantra, as Fieldstone heads into 2021 with an outlook that is equal parts centered around positivity, safety, and comfort for horse and rider.

With many exhibitors in the northeast lacking nearby show options in 2020, Fieldstone will be ready to put the industry spotlight back on Halifax, MA next year, offering a safe, spacious venue for riders to comfortably get back in the show ring. Fieldstone’s 106-acre facility features an all-grass Grand Prix field, five competition arenas and schooling areas with all-weather GGT footing.

Among the events slated for 2021 are the Northeast Junior/Amateur-Owner Hunter Finals, scheduled during the Fieldstone Summer Showcase (Aug. 18-22, 2021); the New England Hunter Jumper Association Derby Finals (Aug. 24-28, 2021); the Massachusetts Hunter Jumper Finals (Aug. 29, 2021); and the ASPCA Maclay Region 1 Finals at the North East Classic (Sept. 12, 2021). Scheduled between the Fieldstone Summer Showcase and the Fieldstone Spring Festival is the two-week Plymouth Rock Hunter Jumper Classic (June 23 – July 3, 2021).

Save the dates for Fieldstone Show Park’s 2021 horse show schedule, when an East Coast Tradition continues.

Fieldstone Spring Festival I —  05/12/2021 – 05/16/2021
Fieldstone Spring Festival II —  05/19/2021 – 05/23/2021

Plymouth Rock Hunter Jumper Classic I —   06/23/2021 – 06/27/2021
Plymouth Rock Hunter Jumper Classic II —   06/29/2021 – 07/03/2021

Fieldstone Summer Showcase I & Northeast Jr/AO Hunter Finals—  08/18/2021 – 08/22/2021
Fieldstone Summer Showcase II & NEHJA Derby Finals —   08/24/2021 – 08/28/2021
MHJ Finals —  08/29/2021

North East Classic & ASPCA Maclay Region 1 Finals —  09/8/2021 – 09/12/2021

© 2020 Catie Staszak Media, Inc.

Catie Staszak, Show Jumping

Emma Butchard and Andre Nagata Earn Success in Panningen, The Netherlands

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Photo: Emma Butchard and Cascada K.

Nov. 21, 2020 — The sun has set on another full day of work at Nagata Sport Horses in Panningen, The Netherlands. But Emma Butchard (USA) and Andre Nagata (BRA) can still be found in the barn.

The couple, partners in both business and in life, take the term “hands on” very seriously. After bringing home a top placing, they celebrate by cleaning stalls. Each morning, there’s an early wake-up call to drop feed, turn out the horses and clean the stalls again — all before even getting to the real work of training their string of 12 horses.

Don’t be mistaken. A quick look at Butchard and Nagata’s impressive resumes of top international placings reveals a pair that has already paid their dues in the industry. But these two riders believe in earning their success, both in and out of the saddle.

“We’re focused on the details,” Butchard said. “Andre is very much into the details in the arena, setting courses, improving groundwork with the horses, and training on the flat. I’m very detail-oriented with the management of the barn and planning for our string. We do everything together, and we complement each other really well.”

It’s a mindset that has served them especially well in 2020, as FEI competition in Holland has come to a temporary halt for the second time due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The monthly FEI shows at the local Peelbergen Equestrian Center have been replaced with Training CSI shows, where local operations can school their horses in a competitive environment. Butchard and Nagata have taken advantage of the opportunity, bringing their entire competition string, including their young horses, for positive training experiences at the popular show venue. At home, they commit extra time to flatwork and even groundwork, as they work with a specialist in studying the way their horses move and use their bodies.

“We’ve been focusing on dressage work, which for me, I didn’t learn a whole lot of when I was in the U.S. Andre’s very good at it,” Butchard said. “We’ve also set several gymnastic exercises at home. It’s been great to practice.

“Peelbergen’s Training CSI shows have also been really nice,” she continued. “It’s calm and quiet at the venue, and the courses are still tough enough. They don’t go easy on that!”

Butchard and Nagata combined their respective Leatherstocking Farm and Nagata Sport Horses operations in the spring of 2019, when Butchard relocated from her longtime base in Wellington, FL. Together, the pair runs a boutique dealing barn, with a focus on developing equine talent for top sport.

“We have some horses that we’re producing and taking our time with that don’t have to be sold right away, and then some horses that are in and out more quickly for sale,” Butchard explained.

“It’s so nice to work with the horses and to see them improve,” she added. “It’s such a great feeling. We recently took our 4-year-old Itran to his first show, and it was so fun and so rewarding when he put in such a lovely round and was so professional — he acted like a saint! Then it’s nice to be competitive [with our more experienced mounts] in the international shows.”

Butchard was a regular on the international circuit in the eastern United States. She competed at the 2016 U-25 Final at the National Horse Show as well as the Open Jumper division at the historic Washington International Horse Show. The year 2017 produced many more top performances in what was surely a breakout year for the now-27-year-old: Emma and top mount Brasil (Tenerife VDL x Farrington) placed in CSI4* competition at both the Devon Horse Show and the Hampton Classic.

While Brasil took some time off in 2018, Butchard sought an opportunity to grow as a professional and set her sights on Europe. The timing was right; she met Nagata, who was in the process of relocating to Holland, shortly thereafter. A six-month stint turned into a permanent move, and both Brasil and Butchard’s other international mount Cascada K (Calido I x Lacros) have joined her across the pond.

“Cassi has really thrived over here and has benefitted from the extra dressage and flatwork that Andre has made such an important part of our program,” Butchard said. “Brasil is doing great and getting fit. I’m excited to get back to FEI shows with both of them.”

Butchard and Nagata boast a talented group of equines, ranging from 4 to 14 in age.

The 4-year-old Itran (Indoctro x Balou) is a special source of excitement. The tall gelding quickly made an impression on the Nagata Sport Horses team, displaying a poise well beyond his age and scope worthy of big things.

“He’s for sale, but we are also sort of producing him. He’s a big, young horse and needs some time to grow, but he’s capable, brave, and scopey for sure,” Butchard said.

Kara des Rosiers (Kannan x Papillon Rouge), two years Itran’s elder, stands out for her style; Butchard and Nagata think she will be a quick study. “She’s a really commercial type; she’s easy and brave,” Butchard said. “We’re not sure how high she’ll jump, but she’s going to do it well. She’s very careful. She just goes right around, nice and easy.”

Icarus (Quasimodo Z x Campbell VDL), a 7-year-old, is another exciting young prospect in the group — “very scopey,” as described by Nagata. More experienced mounts like Calviska de la Felize (Calvados Z x Papillon Rouge), currently located at Nagata’s brother Felipe’s Italy-based operation, and Cascada K are also for sale as Butchard and Nagata look to grow the sales side of their business.

There are bigger aspirations, of course. But if anything is certain during a year of unprecedented changes, it’s this: Butchard and Nagata are willing to put in the work required to achieve whatever they set their minds to.

“My long term goal is to still be able to ride for Team USA in Nations Cups and Championships, while having a successful business with Andre,” she said. “One thing that’s different about being in Europe is that in the U.S., I was always surrounded by my family and close friends, who supported me at home — training and at every show. Here, it is just Andre and me, except the one time my family visited for during Brasil’s CSI1* comeback last year. Andre and I can support each other through the good days and bad days, when we need a little extra push or support.”

Leatherstocking Farm & Nagata Sport Horses
www.leatherstockingfarm.com

Awards, FEI

FEI Awards 2020 Celebrate a Decade of Equestrian Excellence

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If you had the chance to choose, who would be your favourites from the winners over the past decade of FEI Awards?

Well now you have that opportunity! In a year when our sport has been brought to a standstill by the pandemic, we are looking back through the years and giving YOU the chance to pick the best of the best from the five FEI Awards categories.

And the public vote for the special edition FEI Awards 2020 is now open!

This year the winners in each of the five categories will be chosen entirely by the public and votes can be cast on FEI.org from today until 22 November. Winners will be announced the second week of December.

There are 55 nominees representing 19 nations across the five Awards categories: Longines FEI Rising Star; Peden Bloodstock FEI Best Athlete; Cavalor FEI Best Groom; FEI Against All Odds; and FEI Solidarity. The complete list of nominees can be found here.

“These Awards are a way to honour the heroes of our sport through their amazing stories of resilience, horsemanship, determination, and passion,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said.

“Equestrian is not just a sport, but a way of life for many people, and this has been a desperately difficult year for the equestrian community, just as it has been for everyone, in every sector. Now, more than ever, we need to focus on the positives that our sport has to offer and celebrate the fantastic ambassadors that we have, both on the field of play and behind the scenes making a difference.”

Since their launch in 2009, the FEI Awards have become a key addition to the annual equestrian calendar and have grown in size and stature over the last decade. The FEI Best Athlete and FEI Rising Star Award categories have featured a high calibre of nominees from around the world with numerous Olympic, Paralympic, and FEI World Equestrian Games™ honours among them.

With nine awards in total, Germany has the greatest number of winners and also tops the leader board in the FEI Best Athlete category, with five wins in 11 years.

German athletes in different Olympic disciplines have won the FEI Best Athlete category three years in a row. 2019 winner Ingrid Klimke, one of the world’s most successful Eventing riders, was the third German female to win the FEI Best Athlete award, following in the footsteps of FEI World Equestrian Games™ Jumping champion Simone Blum in 2018 and six-time Dressage Olympic gold medallist Isabell Werth in 2017.

Germany has also been to the fore in the FEI Rising Star Award, with the Rothenberger family claiming it twice, with Sönke winning in 2016 and his sister Semmieke taking home the honours last year.

Alongside the recognition of individual sporting accomplishments, the FEI Best Groom award highlights the important work of grooms, often the unsung heroes of equestrian sport, and the British have dominated this category. There was a double celebration in 2016 when Olympic champion Nick Skelton and his long-time groom Mark Beever were crowned Best Athlete and Best Groom. Career groom Jackie Potts won in 2014 for her long collaboration with Eventing legend William Fox-Pitt while Alan Davies, head groom to Dressage superstars Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin, won the title in 2017.

The FEI Solidarity Award has raised the profile of a number of equestrian development projects, individuals, and organisations that have benefitted the sport and communities in countries such as Haiti, South Africa, Singapore, Uruguay, Zambia, and Great Britain.

At the 2018 FEI Awards Gala in Manama (BRN), the FEI Solidarity Award was given to The Horsemanship Movement, founded by Chinese Eventing star Alex Hua Tian and his friend Philip Wong. The programme aims to improve the lives of migrant children through building a positive partnership with horses, as well as to reposition equestrian sports as a value-led activity, rich with character education for children.

Following his win in 2018, Alex Hua Tian became the only individual to have secured two accolades at the FEI Awards having also won FEI Rising Star at the inaugural FEI Awards Gala in 2009 in Copenhagen (DEN). The FEI Rising Star recognition came on the back of his Olympic debut at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing at the age of 18, where he became China’s first equestrian Olympian and the youngest ever Eventer in Olympic history.

Perhaps the most inspiring of all the categories is the FEI Against All Odds Award, which has brought equestrian stories of courage, hope, and faith to the forefront. The Award, given to a person who has pursued his or her equestrian ambitions despite a physical handicap or extremely difficult personal circumstances, has been won by athletes from Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Haiti, Palestine, Uruguay, and the USA.

“This year, more than ever, I invite you all to show your support for the multiple nominees in the different categories,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said. “The equestrian community has been pushed to the limit this year but has come out stronger and this is our chance to unite and celebrate our community’s resilience in the face of adversity.”

Media contacts:

Grania Willis
Director, Communications
grania.willis@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 42

Vanessa Martin Randin
Senior Manager, Media Relations & Communications
vanessa.randin@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 73