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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Weekly Published Articles

DOUBLE MARKET PLACE

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Weekend Barn Help and Full-Time Instructor wanted to support our growing team at Thorncroft Equestrian Center in Malvern, PA. Full-time employees receive health insurance, Paid Time Off, and Continuing Education Reimbursement in a supportivelearning environment. Competitive rates commensurate with experience. Visit ourWebsiteto apply


“ 2002 Trail-et two-horse trailer with dressing room; very low usage, stored indoors; in excellent condition! Location: Reading PA; call 404-290-9596 for details.Asking $8200"

FT BARN WORKER wanted at Carousel Park Equestrian Center in Pike Creek, Delaware. Assist with daily horse care, barn maintenance, stalls, turnout, feeding. Must have experience with horses, be reliable and have own transportation, and know how to use a computer. Union job. Full benefits. Closes April 10. Apply: https://tinyurl.com/carouseljob.


PART-TIME BARN HELP wanted for private horse farm in Limerick area. Mon thru Fri, 8-11:30 am. Clean stalls, turnout, blanket changes, general barn duties. Must have experience with horses. Must be reliable and have own transportation. 610-287-5830, leave message.


ONE 12x12 STALL available on private family farm, full-care, located in West Chester (Pocopson Township). Field with run-in shed, tack room, wash stall with hot water, outdoor ring, hack to BVA or Pocopson Park. $350/mo. 610-793-9704.


THE MARYLAND EQUINE Transition Service is a statewide initiative created to ensure that safe options and resources are available to horses when their owners can no longer keep them.Many horses are currently looking for new homes through METS. For more info, go to www.mdequinetransition.org, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or call 410-970-6474.


DRY LEASE WANTED wanted (4-6 stalls). Looking in and around Kennett Square to West Chester, PA. Ideal features would include ample pasture, preferably w/option to leave horses out 24/7 when weather is good. Also ideal would be outdoor riding ring and access to hacking. Indoor nice, but not a deal-breaker. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with what you have.


Rodrigo Pessoa Honored with International Award, Pancho Lopez and Cedric inducted at Induction Gala in Wellington (2)

Wellington, Fla.--Francisco “Pancho” Lopez, longtime barn manager for Katie Monahan Prudent and then Elise Haas, and Cedric, Laura Kraut’s gold medal Olympic mount, were inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame during the Hall of Fame’s Induction Gala in Wellington on March 3.

Rodrio Pessoa accepts the International Award KindMediaRodrigo Pessoa accepts the International Award from Peter Doubleday (Photo by KindMedia)The Hall of Fame also honored Olympic, World and World Cup champion Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil as recipient of the Hall’s International Award.

“This was the third year we have hosted our annual induction ceremony as part of a sit-down dinner in Wellington and it was our biggest and best yet,” said Show Jumping Hall of Fame chairman Peter Doubleday. “We sold out in advance and, unfortunately, had to turn away several people who wanted to be there. Our sport’s history was on display with 15 Hall of Famers and many more of our sport’s legends in attendance. Once again it was an incredible night, one that we will continue to build on each year.”

Prior to the formal induction of Lopez and Cedric, the Hall of Fame presented its International Award for just the second time, with the award going to Rodrigo Pessoa, one of the most successful riders in show jumping history.

Pessoa won the individual Gold Medal at the World Equestrian Games in 1998 and at the Olympic Games in 2004.

He is also the only rider ever to win the FEI World Cup Finals three consecutive years, winning the championship in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

 

“WHILE INDUCTION into the Hall of Fame is for Americans who have had a significant impact on the sport, we recognize that there are some great international riders who impact show jumping in this country,” Doubleday said. “With that in mind, we initiated our International Award last year and presented the inaugural award to Canada’s Ian Millar. When we considered candidates for the award this year, we felt that Rodrigo was an obvious choice, and listening to his moving speech at the dinner made it clear that we made the right decision.”

inductShow Jumping Hall of Famers in attendance included (front, l-r): Leslie Howard, Margie Engle, Beezie Madden, Anne Kursinski, Mary Chapot, Melanie Smith Taylor, Jane Forbes Clark; (rear, l-r): David Distler, Michael Matz, Peter Doubleday, Robert Ridland, Anthony D’Ambrosio, Katie Prudent, Linda Allen, Danny Marks © KindMedia
Pancho Lopez

Born and raised in Mascota, Mexico, Francisco “Pancho” Lopez joined his father in Los Angeles, Calif., when he was just a teenager.

On one of his first days in the U.S., he walked several racehorses at the Del Mar racetrack where his family worked, and immediately fell in love with working with them.

He took his first grooming job at age 15 at Blakiston Ranch, not far from Los Angeles.

He moved on to work for Grand Prix rider Jimmy Kohn five years later, and then joined George Morris at Hunterdon where he worked for six years.

It was at Hunterdon that Lopez met Katie Monahan Prudent, the international champion with whom Lopez is most identified.

He became Prudent’s barn manager and coordinated everything to keep the horses and the business in top shape.

Lopez was at the forefront of the care of all Prudent’s horses, including such stars as The Jones Boy (second-place finisher in the inaugural FEI World Cup Final in 1979), Noren (1982 American Grandprix Association Horse of the Year), The Governor (1986 AGA Horse of the Year), Amadia (team Gold medalist in the 1986 FEI World Championships) and Special Envoy (1986 AGA Horse of the Year).

Starting in 1996, Lopez worked at Willowcreek Ranch in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

He spent many years working with Elise Haas whose family then established the “Francisco “Pancho” Lopez Scholarship” at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in his honor.

The honor was most fitting as Lopez had started veterinary school when he was young but was not able to complete it due to family obligations.

Lopez had a remarkable “feel” for each horse and somehow always knew when something wasn’t right.

He was always ready to share the benefits of his experience with others and passed on his knowledge to countless grooms and barn managers.

He has also shared his more than 50 years’ worth of knowledge with riders and horses as a clinician, joining Prudent and other top professionals in educational settings.

Cedric

The “once in a lifetime” partner for rider Laura Kraut, Cedric was a small gray Holsteiner gelding foaled in Belgium in 1998 who became a stalwart on the U.S. Equestrian Team.

He was originally owned in the U.S. by Peter Wetherill and Happy Hill Farm.

After Wetherill passed away in 2010, his brother, Cortie, assumed ownership together with Kraut before Margaret Duprey of Cherry Knoll Farm became Cedric’s final owner in 2012 to help keep him in Kraut’s barn.

Cedric made his FEI debut in 2006 and, despite his 15.2-hand height and many quirks, quickly became a powerhouse on the international show jumping circuit.

His amazing partnership with Kraut spanned 11 years, producing 81 clear and 45 double-clear rounds in major competitions of $100,000 or more.

Most notably, the pair helped the U.S. win a team gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong.

Cedric’s successful career also included being on the U.S. team at the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games and numerous Nations Cup appearances, including Aachen, Barcelona, Dublin, La Baule, Rome, Rotterdam, St. Gallen and Wellington.

He and Kraut also won the Grand Prix at four Global Champions Tour (events and they were the first horse-and-rider combination to win back-to-back events, claiming top honors in 2010 at Chantilly and then Valkenswaard just two weeks later.

Cedric and Kraut also won Champion Tour events in Lausanne (2012) and Wiesbaden (2013).

A naturally careful and competitive horse, Cedric was one of the nation’s leading money winners, amassing well over $2 million in prize money. He was honored as The Chronicle of the Horse’s Show Jumping Horse of the Year in 2010.

Cedric was formally retired at age 19 in a moving ceremony in Wellington in 2017.

The Hall of Fame also honored winners of last year’s Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series and Series Finals. Olivia Sweetnam, who won the 2023 Series’ East Conference Junior Division, and Tessa Downey, who won the Series Championship Final at the Washington International Horse Show, were able to attend.

The induction dinner, held at the Wanderers Club in Wellington, also recognized 15 others in attendance who have previously been inducted into the Hall of Fame including Olympic veterans Mary Chapot, Margie Engle, Leslie Howard, Anne Kursinski, Beezie Madden, Michael Matz, Melanie Smith Taylor and Katie Prudent (1980 Alternate Olympics), as well as Linda Allen, Jane Forbes Clark, Anthony D’Ambrosio, David Distler, Peter Doubleday, Danny Marks and former Olympic rider and current U.S. chef d’equipe Robert Ridland. Others in attendance included Olympic veterans McLain Ward, Lauren Hough, Will Simpson, Nick Skelton, Shane Sweetnam, and Mac Cone and Grand Prix riders Georgina Bloomberg, Carly Anthony, Heather Caristo-Williams, Jimmy Torano, Kelli Cruciotti-Vanderveen, Schuyler Riley, and Coco Fath.

Honorable Mention Pet photo (2)

Susan Wiseman of Boyertown, Pa., took this photo that she entitled "Sweet tooth."

"Captured this wonderful honeybee enjoying some sweet nectar from an Echinacea flower in my backyard."said Wiseman. "Gotta love our pollinators."

pet honeybee

Brazil's Luciana Lossio won the $385,000 CSI5* Grand Prix while Jimmy Torano won the $25,000 Hunter Derby (2)

WELLINGTON, Fla.--Luciana Lossio, 49 of Brazil, only found out she would jump her first ever five-star last Sunday night, and six days later, on March 9, riding Lady Louise Jmen she won the $385,000 CSI5* Grand Prix during 'Saturday Night Lights’ at the Winter Equestrian Festival.

Luciana Lossio on Lady Louise SportfprLuciana Lossio on Lady Louise Jmen (Photo by Sportfot)“This is unbelievable for me; I've been with this mare for six years, and in the beginning I just wanted to jump 1.20m, but we became so much more,” said Lossio of her 14-year-old mare. “We went higher and higher, and today I'm here in my first five-star and winning alongside these riders that I just enjoy watching."

“She's so confident; she doesn’t change from day to night or from the grass to the sand; she’s perfect,” said Lossio.

Lossio went second to last in a four-horse jump-off over courses designed by Ireland’s Alan Wade. and she beat the then leading time of Nayel Nassar of Eqypt by fourth tenths of a second.

“Friday was International Women's Day, so I think they may have let me win because of that,” said Lossio, an amateur who works full time as a lawyer in Brazil. “Tonight was our night. In the warmup, she was telling me, ‘I want to go.’ She’s very strong and I have to be there trying to keep her in my hands because she really likes to jump.”

 

NASSAR was second on his Olympic mount Igor van de Wittemoere, finishing in 39.57 seconds behind Lossio’s 39.15.

“I think we can all agree when we walked the course tonight that it was quite a meaty track; a lot of oxers at the end of the course and the triple combination at fence 10,” said Nayel. “It was tough, but Alan does a great job opening up the horses and then asking them to close."

“We know each other inside out, but at the same time I still feel like I'm learning more about him every round,” sai Nayel about his longtime partnership with Igor van de Wittemoere. “We're tweaking our training, tweaking the bridle, always just trying to find the right connection because he is such an active, buzzy horse. Every round this circuit he's gotten better, and he felt fantastic tonight. When they're 16 years old and you feel like that was one of the best rounds they've jumped, it's something we take a lot of pride in.”

First to go in the jump-off, U.S. Pan American Games team gold medalist  Karl Cook on Kalink van’t Zorgvliet was clean in 39.9 second for third.

Shane Sweetnam of Ireland on Otis Blue, last to go, had four faults to place fourth, but he won the Martha Jolicoeur Leading International Rider Award for a top 10 finish in the WEF challenge Cup qualifier on Thursday with James Kann Cruz.

“It's always interesting going first in the jump-off because it's a different dynamic than when you go later,” said Cook, who posted the exact same placing in this five-star grand prix during the 2023 season. “You obviously know you want to go as fast as possible, but you haven't seen anyone go yet so the smartest thing to do is to go as quick as you can without being reckless. Kalinka was laser focused tonight and I could feel that.”

The day before, Laura Kraut's Olympic mount Baloutinue made his first appearance this winter in a major competition, going clean in a schooling round  in a five star speed class in which Kent Farrington on Greya was also clean but slow in another schooling round.

Both these horses are being prepared as their riders will vie for a place on the Paris Olympic team.

 

JIMMY TORANO on Laskano continued his winning record in the  $25,000 USHJA International Derby, held on the grass derby field at Equestrian Village on Saturday afternoon.

Jimmy Toranoon Laskano March Derby SportfptJimmy Torano on Laskano (Photo by Sportfot)In a hunt & go format, 44 horses competed in the single round derby course designed by Andy Christiansen of Ecuador.

Fences one through eight represented the “classic” portion of the course, while fences nine through 14 offered a “handy” track.

The day’s top scores went to Torano of Mohrsville, Pa., with a classic round score of 92 and a handy score of 91.5 for a hard-to-catch total of 183.5.

No stranger to the derby podium, Torano and Laskano have claimed numerous wins throughout their career together, including derbies throughout their tenure at WEF like the International Derby held during Premiere Week earlier this season.

“I would call him a derby specialist,” said Torano. “I can count on him every time. He never ever spooks at a jump. I can count on him for every inside turn, every handy landing, and I think we have a relationship where I know him like the back of my hand. If I call on him he's there for me.”

Torano was the only one to score a total in the 180s.

Kate Conover, of Pipersville, Pa.,on Caristo, was second with scores of 90.75 and 88.5 for a total of 179.25, and Greg Crolick on Chappy was third with scores of 91 and 88 for a total of 179.

“I was thinking really bold everywhere,” said Torano. “In the handy, there weren't a lot of places to be really handy, but I turned back tight on that straw jump, angled the double and I let him gallop to the big jump home. The nice thing about a big open field is that it allows for a good gallop out here and again with that horse you really don't have to protect anything, he’ll be there for you.”

As for Laskano, he’ll make a return for more derby action during WEF 11, but in the meantime he will continue to show under Torano’s son, JJ, in the junior hunter ranks.

“They're accumulating a lot of points, and the goal is to make it to Devon in the junior hunters,” said Torano. “The horse has been everywhere he's seen everything so I think he's lucky. He's well-mounted in general but to have this horse for his first junior hunter season is really exciting. Now we both owe a lot of gratitude to Isalou for letting us continue to ride such an incredible animal.

Honorable Mention Pet photo (2)

Lois Pettigrew of Perkiomenville, Pa. took this photo.

The golden retriever in the photos is Dexter, and the long-haired cat is Dibbs," said Pettigrew. "These two are inseparable!! The side-by-side photo is them checking out what was going on at the farm across the street."

thumbnail golden

Andre Thieme on Paule S won the $75,000 Grand Prix at HITS (2)

OCALA, Fla.--Andre Thieme, German Olympic veteran, on Paule S won the $75,000 Grand Prix over 24 competitors at HITS  on Saturday morning, March 9.

Andre Thieme on Paule S Andre Thieme on Paule S  The starting field included past winners Aaron Vale, Hunter Holloway and Tracy Fenney, with nine of 24 going clean over Oscar Soberon’s course to advance to the jump-off.

Thieme was clean on both of his mounts and in the jump-off he was clean on Chacco Hearts in 40.96 seconds, but he had been two seconds faster on his first horse, Paule S, who was clean in 38.63 seconds.

“When I walked the course, it looked perfect and I knew it wouldn’t be too easy but also not too difficult,” Thieme said. “I was really happy with my horses. I knew that with Paule going first in the jump off, I could really go for it and set a statement because I had another horse after him. Then I was a little bit more conservative with my second horse because I knew I couldn’t be faster than I was with Paule. Still we ended up first and third so it worked out pretty good!”

Francois LaMontagne of Canada was second, clean in 40.20 seconds on Chanel Du Calvaire.

LaMontagne had won the previous week’s $75,000 Grand Prix.

 

ON SUNDAY, Morgan Ward on Jiran R won the $24,500 Jumper Classic.

Ward was last to go of the 14 that had qualified for the jump-off from the starting field of 34.

Eight were clean again in the jump-off.

Hunter Holloway on Kalina N was clean in 40.47 and led until the very last to go, when Ward shaved four one-hundreths of a second from Holloway’s time to win in 40.42 seconds.

“I honestly didn't know if I would catch up to her,” Ward said, “But my horse is so fast-footed and doesn't spend too much time in the air, so my plan was just to keep going, especially on the rollback to the last fence. Just keep going.”

LaMontagne delivered another top round, this time on Lacros VDL, to place third.

Andre Thieme won the $200,000 Grand Prix at WEC for his second grand prix win on March 9 (2)

OCALA, Fla.--Andre Thieme of Germany on DSP Chakana won the $200,000, CSI4* Grand Prix at the World Equestrian Center on Saturday, Andre Thieme on Andre Thieme onDSP Chakana (Photo by Andrew Ryback)
March 9 over Rodrigo Pessoa, Tiffany Foster and Callie Schott.

Gregory Bodo of France, course designer for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, with Pieter Viste of Belgium, set a formidable track with a tight time that had six clean to go on to the jump-off.

Hallie Grimes, 22, first to return on Karoline of Ballmore, had four faults in 44.99 seconds to eventually place sixth..

Next to go, seven-time Olympian Pessoa of Brazil on Dhalida was clean in a fast 42.32 seconds, putting pressure to the remaining field, but Thieme and his 14-year-old German Sport Horse mare took advantage of knowing the time to beat and was clean in 41.93 seconds..

“It’s hard to just leave it all out there when you’re early to go," said Pessoa. "I knew when I came out, I had left a little something on the table. Andre and his mare are really experienced, so they saw an opportunity and took it. But I couldn’t be more pleased with my mare.”

“I knew I didn’t want to be second, and I had a fast and experienced horse," said Thieme. "I saw Rodrigo go, and I couldn’t really tell how fast he was, but I could at least do the same tracks as he did and rely on my horse’s natural speed.”

 

THIEME said he was looking forward to the upcoming League of Nations Qualifier at WEC – Ocala on March 19-23.,

“We are in a little bit of a lucky situation because in Abu Dhabi, Germany won the first leg, so we are a little ahead," said Thieme. "But all of the teams are bringing their best and this is an Olympic year, so I think all of these riders really want to show themselves here, so there is no weakness allowed. I’ve been waiting for this venue to get an event like this. It’s incredible to compete here, and soon everyone will see it.”

Canada’s Foster on Electrique, clean in in 42.65 seconds was third, and Schott on Garant, just off a good performance in the Nations Cup in Abu Dhabi, was fourth, clean in 43.24.

Canada's Sean Jobin on Coquelicot VH Heuvelland was fifth, clean in 44.64.

Foster is looking forward to representing Canada in the five-star competition during the grand finale of the 2024 Winter Spectacular Show Series,

“Whenever I see a big show here, I put it on my calendar," said Foster. "I am coming as an individual riding for Canada in the five-star competition. I know this place is going to put on a spectacular show, and I know there are a lot of stars coming from around the world for it, so I don’t want to miss it and I am excited to be a part of it.”

This was Thieme's second victory on the same day, having won the grand prix at HITS Saturday morning.

 

Honorable Mention Pet photo (2)

Nancy Ligon of Glenmoore, Pa., sent this photo of Avery and Annie at Firefly Farm.

pet horses itching each other

Foxhall Farm Cup Team Chase opens local racing season (2)

COCKEYSVILLE, Md.--The Foxhall Farm Cup Team Chase, on March 17 in Cockeysville opens the local point-to-point and steeplechase spring season.

Wicomico 1 1A point-to-point field
In the Fastest Time competition, there are seven teams from Elkridge-Harford Hunt, six teams from Green Spring Valley Hounds, and one team each from Cheshire Hounds and Piedmont Hounds.

In the Average Time competition, there are eight teams from Green Spring Valley, five teams from Cheshire, three from Elkridge-Harford and one from Mt. Carmel Hounds.

Both competitions will be run over a flagged course of about four miles.

Mr. Stewart's Cheshire Foxhounds Point to Point will be held March 31 at Plantation Field in Unionville with a full card of timber races including three national Steeplechase Association sanctioned timber races, a side saddle race and pony races.

The timber races include an open race for amateur riders at 12:00 PM, followed by  amateur apprentice, maiden and novice races, followed by the side saddle race and two flat races.

 

THE CHESHIRE races are scheduled to be live streamed by the NSA.

Visit Cheshire's website for tickets.

Brandywine Hills Point-to-Point will be held Sunday, April 7 at the H.E. Myrick Conservation Center on Route 842 in West Chester.

The Junior Field Master Chase is at 12 Noon, followed by four pony races on the flat as well as a stick pony race.

At 1:45, jump races begin with a ladies’ Race followed by amateur apprentice, novice and open timber and concluding with the side saddle Race at 3:45.

Brandywine Hills is also scheduled to be live streamed.

Contact Betsy @ This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 610-793-1090.

Visit www.brandywineredclay.org for more information.

The Mount Harmon Wicomico Point-to-Point on April 14 in Earleville, Md.  concludes the Delaware Valley Point-to-Point series.

Wicomico includes pony races, a Junior Field Master Chase and four timber races, a maiden,, ladies, amateur apprentice and open, followed by a flat race.

For race information, contact Brooke Boyer, 302-530-6975, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For more information, visit www.mountharmon.org, or call 410-275-8819 or go to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

All Horses in all four of these races are awarded points in the Delaware Valley Point-to-Point series.

Championships are awarded in novice, ladies and open races as well as a leading trainer.

Willowdale Steeplechase on May 11 in Kennett Square, Pa., opens the local sanctioned steeplechase season.

Willowdale features three courses set on its rolling turf: The first three hurdle races of the day are run over National fences.

The feature stakes race is run over solid post and rail fences (timber) and European style hedges, open ditches and water jumps.

New this year is a second timber course consisting of leaning timber rails set in front of natural edges creating an inviting fence for the horses.

Willowdale will be live streamed.

Contact: Andrea Collins, Race Director, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 610-220-3742.

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.willowdale.org

Honorable Mention Pet photo (2)

Hall Harsh of Kansas  City took this photo.

"My cat, Annie, with her emotional support monkey," said Harsh.

Pet cat w monkey toy

Honorable Mention Pet photo (2)

Robin Stryker of Lititz, Pa., took this photo that she entitled "A Tale of Two Tails."

"This features Oreo, the barn cat, at Chaparral Farm in Denver, Pa." said Stryker.
pet cat chasing mouse

Germany's Frederic Wandres on Bluetooth OLD won the 5* Grand Prix (2)

WELLINGTON, Fla.--Frederic Wandres of Germany on Bluetooth OLD scored 76.196% to win the CDI5* FEI Grand Prix on Wednesday, March 13.

Frederic Wandres on Bluetooth OD GP Susan StickleFrederic Wandres on Bluetooth OLD (Photo by Susan Stickle)Germany placed first and second, with the 23-year-old Felicitas Hendricks on Drombusch OLD placing second with 71.283%, while Kevin Kohmann was third with 70.826% on 15-year-old Dünense.

It was close at the top as less than one percentage point covered the third to seventh place finishers.

It was the opening day of the five-star week of the Global Dressage Festival.

The CDI5* FEI Grand Prix, a qualifier for the Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle classes, both Friday evening, was held under lights at the Wellington International venue, in the enormous main stadium International Arena.

Wandres, 36, was trending close to the 80% mark in the first half of the test, but a mistake in the one-time changes, which carry a double marking coefficient and were awarded fours and fives from all the judges, dragged the final score below his and Bluetooth’s career high of 77.888%, set at the European Championships in September 2023.

 

“I HAD A super expensive mistake, the one-tempi mistake, but the rest of the test felt pretty flawless and super nice,” said Wandres, who trains with his partner Lars Ligus, and also with the German team coach Monica Theodorescu, who was in Wellington to watch the pair ahead of the selection process for the Paris Olympic Games this summer. “Bluetooth had a winter break, and came back into the arena fresh and allowed me to ride him in a super harmonious way. I’m a little bit angry with myself for the mistake, it was my mistake, not his, but it’s okay, we are in the beginning of the season for him."

“He had a hard summer last year showing very consistently, so he earned himself a break from the show scene,” he said. “He’s really enjoyed the sun here, and we took time to invest into the small details, and I think that worked tonight. The mistake is something I can fix, and I’m looking personally more for other things; like presenting to the judges in a super harmonious way, in a good frame, with a happy horse and always light in the contact.”

In December 2013, Bluetooth was sold at the PSI Auction in Germany for €1 million (approximately $1.3 million USD at the time), and Wandres noticed the leggy bay gelding, but never expected that he would become his trusted grand prix partner.

However, years later he was offered the ride, and the pair made their international grand prix debut in April 2021, and have been a hot commodity ever since, posting wins on both sides of the planet.

“He’s a very sensitive horse, but in a positive way," said Wandres. "Two years ago, he would go kind of shy, but now he gets the feeling of presenting himself and becoming bigger. That’s what I like, that over the years they get more self-confidence to shine, and shine bright in the right moments. He takes that and becomes more expressive.”

The pair will contest the CDI5* Grand Prix Special on Friday, as in Paris that is the test that will determine the team medals, so a high-scoring performance is crucial for their Olympic campaign.

McLain Ward on First Lady won the four star WEF Cup (2)

WELLINGTON, Fla.--McLain Ward on First Lady won the $62,500 CSI4* WEF Challenge Cup, a qualifier for the $215,000 CSI4* Grand Prix during ‘Saturday Night Lights’, on Thursday, March 14.

McLain Ward on First Lady WEF Cup SportfotMcLain Ward on First Lady (Photo by Sportfot)While this was his first international victory at this year's WEF, Ward has had some top placings with Ilex, Callas and Contagious while preparing his horses to peak for the Paris Olympics.

The WEF Cup had an impressive field of 48 competing over course set by Oscar Soberon, 12 of which were clean.

That number dropped to 10 when Margie Engle and Shane Sweetnam elected not to compete.

Ward, going near the end, was clean in 34.95 seconds.

“She has been very solid and felt great the whole circuit,” Ward said of First Lady, an 11-year-old Oldenburg mare. “I had one grand prix that I had a big score in because we didn’t have a lot of experience with the water and I overrode her, but she’s either been clear or on four faults every time out; it has been a bit frustrating with some of the four-fault rounds and it was nice that it came together today for her, her owner and myself."

 

“SHE'S A VERY careful horse,” he said. “She has taken a while to develop because of that quality, but she’s jumping the bigger size easier and easier now, so I’m really always excited to compete with her.”

While the Olympic medalist has his sights set on Paris 2024, he said that the WEF circuit produces some of the most challenging competition seen throughout the year.

“You do see the more experienced riders start to pinpoint and target their horses towards the end of season,” said Ward. “But I think it’s very hard to win every day here and it is also very easy to get in a four fault run and things not actually going that badly. We say it builds and builds, but really we’re already built by week three. There’s often no difference between a three-star and a five-star when it comes to the level of competition here.”

World number five, Kent Farrington, going fifth on Myla, was clean in 36.67 to place second, and Nicola Philippaerts of Belgium on Derby De Riverland was third, clean in 37.17 seconds.

Laura Kraut had the only other clean round on Baloutinue, going slowly for a schooling round on her Tokyo Olympic mount who is just coming back from a time off, to place fourth.

Scott Stewart of Flemington, N.J., won three championships in hunter sections.

Stewart was champion in the 3’ Green Hunter on Follow This, in the High Performance Hunter with Nottingham, and in the Conformation Hunter on California Love.

“He's won almost every model he's been in, so he definitely has the look and the talent to win the hack as well," said Stewart of California Love, who won every class in his division.

“We bought him when he was a 3-year-old,” said Stewart of the now nine-year-old gelding. “He's also a great jumper, and he's very easy going in with a big stride, and just does it easy, he's the perfect type.”

 

Katherine Bateson Chandler won the CDI3* FEI Grand Prix

WELLINGTON, Fla.--Katherine Bateson Chandler on Haute Couture won the CDI3* FEI Grand Prix over a field of 33 horses in a class that took over four hours on Thursday, March 14.

Katherine Bateson Chandler on Haute Couture Susan StickleKatherine Bateson Chandler on Haute Couture (Photo by Susan Stickle)Bateson Chandler’s 71.913% was a new high score in this test after a rocky start to their competitive career.

Geñay Vaughn, second on Gino, had a new personal best of 69.522%.

She has owned the black KWPN by Bretton Woods since he was 6, and this was the horse’s fourth CDI in his career.

Canada’s Ariana Chia on Guateque IV was third with 69.022%.

Chia broke up the American skein of winners, as all the other riders in the top seven were representing the USA.

Bateson Chandler acquired the ride on Haute Couture, who was reserve for the Netherlands Olympic team for Tokyo with Dinja van Liere, in December 2021, and the pair have had some bumps in the road, with their scores ranging from 61% to 71% over the past two years.

 

“WE'VE HAD our ups and downs, it’s been a really challenging season for me and I really needed this,” said the 49-year-old, referring to the fact that she and ‘Merrie’ were eliminated in their only two other CDI starts in 2024. “We really put in the time and work, me, my trainer Ashley Holzer and Jen her owner and Alex Garrett, her groom, it’s been a true group effort. We put in a lot of work to get Merrie to where she was today, and she felt amazing.”

Bateson Chandler trains with Holzer as well as Carl Hester, with whom she spends summers in the UK.

“This is a tough sport and it’s been emotionally a very difficult ride,” she said. “Haute Couture is a well known horse and I’m still getting to know her. We had a bit of a scare in Europe where she got spooked and we’ve been getting her confidence, and mine, back again. It’s been a journey, big time!"

“I hate to say it, but social media really played a bad role in this for me when I was having a hard time," she said. "I take things very personally and horsemanship has always been top of my priorities, and so I’ve had to stay away from some of that negativity online. It’s been a big learning curve not to take things too personally. I’m so lucky to have the support system that I have, because that really kept me grounded.”

“I love the on-the-ground stuff,” she said. “I spent two hours with Merrie on Monday just playing, and that helps build trust in your relationship, so that’s been a big part of it. Mentally she’s a very sharp horse and the groundwork has taught her to bring her brain to center and relax. When she gets a little worked up now I’ve got some tools to get her to come down, think and get her brain in the right place.

“I also take her to lots of different places and we warm up in one ring and we act like it’s a show. Here we’re really lucky that on Tuesdays we can school in the ring. We’ve put in the hours, but she’s really learning to trust me and I’m learning to trust her; that’s the biggest thing in this sport, trust.”

Bateson Chandler’s performance was boosted by the surprise appearance of her husband Carl Chandler, who had told her that he would not be able to make it, but when she was riding she spotted him ringside.

“Tomorrow is another day and who knows,” she said. “But I’ll take this result. When you do this sport you take it day by day, and when you have a good ride you celebrate. When you don’t, you regroup and pull yourself back up by the boot straps.”

Of the 15 in the CDI1* FEI Prix St. Georges, Kevin Kohmann on Five Star won with a score of 70.098%.

Kohmann added the blue ribbon to his third place finish the previous evening in the CDI5* Grand Prix on Dünensee at the rider’s first ever five-star show.

He has been riding Five Star internationally at small tour since 2020 and they have logged 17 CDI wins together, many of those at AGDF.

The Netherlands’ Luuk Mourits was second with a 69.608% on Harmony’s Sarotti OLD, and Spain’s Natalia Bacariza Danguillecourt on Dhannie Ymas was third with 68.775%.

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