The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will be in Kentucky next September
Steffen Peters won the FEI Rolex Dressage World Cup finals with Ravel in 2009, the start of great achievements for America’s best dressage combination, a duo that is pointing toward the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.It’s likely that, a year from now, 2010 will be remembered as the American year in horse sports.The serious countdown is beginning for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, which get under way in Lexington, Ky., Sept. 25.
This is the first time that the compilation of world championships, inaugurated in 1990, has been held outside Europe. It’s an opportunity to show off the way the U.S. presents equestrian sports, and organizers hope one of the benefits will be an increased interest in horses across this country to broaden the base that supports the various disciplines.
This presents a great chance for Americans to see the world’s best without having to fly across the Atlantic. Those who want to take advantage of it can find more information on the Internet at alltechfeigames.com.
The trials for the USA’s WEG dressage team will be held during August in New Jersey at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation headquarters in Gladstone. That means two weekends of the finest riders and horses the U.S. has to offer in the sport. Sadly, though, it could be the last time in the foreseeable future that such a competition is staged at Gladstone, since national championships are slated to move to the Kentucky Horse Park in 2011 and likely stay there beyond that as well.
Another nearby competition to look forward to is the inception of a $1 million show jumping grand prix at the HITS Saugerties, N.Y., facility in September, just before the WEG. HITS impresario Tom Struzzieri is planning on making the day a memorable one geared to attract a wider audience than just the hard-core fans of the sport.
Looking back on 2009, one trend that emerged was an elevated profile for dressage, coupled with an effort to refine and improve judging. The emergence of the phenomenal Moorland’s Totillas, who broke three world records with the Netherlands’ Edward Gal aboard, gave dressage a whole new gloss and focal point.
The discipline drew more spectators than the traditional favorite, show jumping, at the European Championships in Britain. At home, the debut of the Exquis Dressage World Masters in Florida also was a success from a spectator standpoint (and will return for an encore in 2010.) It was the Rolex FEI World Cup finals in Las Vegas that really gave a boost to American dressage, however, as Californian Steffen Peters scored a historic victory on Ravel.
Less than three months later, he became the first American to win the Grand Prix, Grand Prix Special and Freestyle at the Aachen, Germany, show in the heartland of dressage.
American riders became activists as the eventers launched PRO and the show jumpers started NARG, both organizations of top competitors aimed at improving their shows and events and helping participants in their sports.
On the minus side, the FEI (international equestrian federation) had several flubs after passing a landmark Clean Sport agenda that will be an image improvement.
But the FEI erred in decisions made about the Nations’ Cup series and then having to call for a re-do of a vote that would have allowed the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in competition horses.
The economy continued to affect horse sports. Some shows dropped off the calendar, while others were smaller and horse sales lagged. Tack shops, feed stores and other equine-related businesses were also negatively affected.
Las Vegas Events declined to continue its every-other-year hosting of the World Cup finals, which means the earliest this fixture could return to the U.S. would be 2014.
Highlights of 2009 in New Jersey included:
• The “Knowledge is Horse Power” conference at Rutgers featuring many prominent speakers (a good number of whom were from New Jersey), once again highlighting the importance to the industry of the Rutgers Equine Science Center.
• Continuation of the Jersey Fresh three-day event as it overcame a financial shortfall. More good news: it will return to the Horse Park of New Jersey in May. And the Horse Park itself is always good news; it’s a location that is busy with major competitions for a variety of breeds and disciplines for most of the year, a real asset to the state.
• Centenary College of Hackettstown winning the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association’s national championships for the first time in 30 years, part of a sweep as Centenary student Lindsay Clark took the show’s top individual honor, the Cacchione Cup.
• The late, legendary Gem Twist returning to New Jersey in the form of his clone, Gemini. The Chapot family of Neshanic Station has great hopes on both the breeding and competition side for this colt.
There’s a lot to look forward to in 2010. Both in New Jersey and elsewhere in the country, this could be a year of unprecedented opportunity for horses and those who love them, especially if the economy improves. It’s a great time to get involved, whether that means competing, finally going for that big trail ride, helping with an equestrian charity — such as therapeutic riding or driving or rehabbing homeless horses _, or supporting competitions as a spectator, volunteer or sponsor.
ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE
Sunday: West Milford Equestrian Center Show, 367 Union Valley Rd., Newfoundland.
For more equestrian information plus photos on the internet, go to nj.com/jaffer. Nancy Jaffer may be reached at nancyjaffer@att.net.