Between the visit of the Pope to New York and riding in an arena flanked by skyscrapers, a show in the heart of Manhattan tested both riders and horses, while helping build a wider audience for equestrian sport.
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Lauren Sammis and Whitman had the attention of the judges at the Rolex Central Park Horse Show. NEW YORK--"This is the most amazing, surreal, fantastic, energetic event that I have ever been to," Lauren Sammis enthused, after finishing her ride on Jane Suwalski's Whitman in the dressage Grand Prix at this weekend's Rolex Central Park Horse Show.
Held in the teardrop-shaped Wollman Rink, the competition was run against a vista of skyscrapers, while stands packed to capacity added vibrancy to the class that drew seven riders from five countries.
Winner and defending champion Isabell Werth, a multi-gold medalist who flew to New York from Germany with El Santo NRW, earned 75.10 percent, over four-time OlympianTinne Vilhelmson Silfven of Sweden, marked at 73.16 aboard Paridon Magi, a horse she has been riding for only a month.
"It is an absolute honor to be here with the riders who are here," said Sammis, of South Orange, N.J., who had the least-experienced horse in the field and wound up seventh on 66.467 percent.
She was a last-minute addition to the class, after the world's number one dressage horse, Valegro, was kept at home in England to rest following last month's European Championships, and the USA's Laura Graves decided not to bring Verdades so she could focus on the 2016 Olympics.
Asked if she felt the pressure of this unique competition, she chuckled.
"I've been nervous for two days, since learning about the transport in, and thinking about how we're getting back and forth to the hotels. I'm so out of my realm; it's not just like going to a horse show," said Sammis.
The backdrop of Pope Francis' visit, the attendant security and the overwhelming numbers of those who came to see him added another wrinkle to her experience on Friday.
Although Sammis is no stranger to the city, she always goes there in a different context that has nothing to do with her horse training and sales business.
When she visits Manhattan for fun, "I don't worry about how long it's going to take to walk from a hotel to the park when you don't know what entrance is open and you really don't know where things are. It's a totally different scenario, so there's a lot of energy that went into that."
Despite the complications surrounding the pope's presence, she never considered declining the invitation to compete.
"These are the opportunities you seize," she explained.
"This is an opportunity that you don't pass up, regardless of what's going on. It's by far the biggest show the horse has ever done and biggest most energetic venue I've ever done. I've been in the Pan American Games," said the 2007 individual silver and team bronze medalist, "but there's not this energy."
As she was close to finishing her test, she lost track of where she was. The judges called it to her attention by ringing a bell and she got back in the groove.
"I trotted a little early and then went a little blank," she commented with a smile.
"I think at that point, I was thinking `I almost got through the whole thing and I'm still here.'
"I was a bit overwhelmed. It's a lot going on in there. It's a rider error for sure."
On the positive side, "the whole thing is, the horse is showing that he has grown, he's gotten a lot stronger than he was last year, and (he) came in with the pressure and he did it," said Sammis, who also finished last in the freestyle but will be hoping for better when she and Whitman go to Dressage at Devon in Pennsylvania this week.
While Whitman is a work in progress, Sammis is up to the task.
"Now it's just how much we grow together," she said.
An example of a horse/rider partnership that has grown with several years of dedicated effort is the pairing of Catherine Haddad-Staller of Califon, N.J., and Mane Stream Hotmail.
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Catherine Haddad-Staller rode Mane Stream Hotmail to the top U.S. finish in the $75,000 dressage freestyle at the Central Park Horse Show. A veteran of the first Central Park freestyle last year, Hotmail--who has European mileage--improved markedly since he last appeared at the show, showing power and poise as he put the U.S. on the board by finishing third in last night's $75,000 freestyle with 74.250 percent.Vilhelmson-Silfven was second again (76.587) as Werth successfully kept her title with a score of 80.333.
The freestyle was one of the highlights of the five-day Central Park show, which ends today with a master class by Dujardin, who rode a borrowed horse as an exhibition in the middle of the freestyle.
Showjumpers also had their moment under the lights, in the $212,000 3-star grand prix that played to a packed house.
Daniel Bluman of Colombia topped a two-horse jump-off with Conconcreto Believe, while Sharn Wordley of New Zealand finished second on Barnetta. Several riders who were expected to be contenders wound up as also-rans. Pan American Games individual gold medalist McLain Ward was eliminated after an uncharacteristic two refusals on Rothchild, while Todd Minikus retired after one stop with Quality Girl.
ON THE RAIL--Lloyd Landkamer, 60, who managed the dressage at the 2010 World Equestrian Games and many other major competitions, died Friday after a long illness.
Although he was known as an organizer, and played key roles in the Adequan Global Dressage Festival and the Festival of Champions, among other key events, the genial red-haired horseman had another side to his expertise.
As the owner/operator of Brandywine Farm, a dressage facility in Minnesota, Landkamer won the United States Dressage Federation Horse of the Year award and bred multiple nationally ranked horses. He was a U.S. Equestrian Federation steward and technical delegate.
The U.S. Dressage Federation named Landkamer show secretary of the year, manager of the year and volunteer of the year over the decades he served the sport...
Dressage at Devon, the biggest dressage show of the autumn, gets under way Tuesday at the Devon Showgrounds on Route 30 in Devon, Pa. While the high point is Saturday night's freestyle under the lights, performances of the Tempel Lippizans on Friday, Saturday and Sunday are also a big draw, and a variety of competitions and shopping make the show an unusual experience.
For more information, go to www.dressageatdevon.com...
A symposium on legal, business and insurance issues impacting the equine industry is being presented Oct. 12 by the Equine Science Center at Rutgers University. The program, featuring experts from all three fields, will be held at the Palace at Somerset Park in Somerset. Topics to be covered include immigration law, worker's compensation for equine operations and insurance coverage, as well as an exploration of the state's "Right to Farm" Act.
"In order for the equine industry to succeed, people in the horse industry have to run their business as a business," said attorney Liz Durkin, vice-chair of the Rutgers University Board of Equine Advancement.
"We believe that this symposium is the first event of its kind where the target audience is equine operators specifically. Other similar events are geared to either attorneys or accountants who practice in that field," she observed.
"The event organizers felt that it was important to host a seminar, for a nominal fee, that will address the basics of the legal, accounting, and insurance topics for equine operators. Our goal is to assist equine operators in becoming as successful as possible."
Registration is $75. This fee includes a catered breakfast and lunch, as well as all of the conference materials. Students with a valid ID will have a discounted rate of $50. Seating is limited and will only be guaranteed upon receipt of payment in the form of a check payable to the Rutgers University Equine Science Center.
Register at http://goo.gl/O08hjK
NEW JERSEY ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE
Today: Princeton Show Jumping Series, Hunter Farms North, 246 Burnt Hill Road, Skillman; Garden State Combined Driving Event, Horse Park of New Jersey, Route 524, Allentown; Spotted Toad Show, Hunter Farms North, 246 Burnt Hill Road, Skillman; Garden State Paint Show, Gloucester County Dream Park, 400 Route 130 South, Logan Township; Delaware Valley Horsemen's Association Hunter Show, DVHA Showgrounds, 299 Ringoes-Rosemont Road, Sergeantsville; Smoke Rise Riding Club Horse Show, Smoke Rise Farm, 1 Talbot Dr., Kinnelon; Good Times Farm Dressage Schooling Show, 278 Jackson Mills Road, Freehold; Baymar Farms Show, 38 Harbor Road, Morganville.
Tuesday: An Evening with Sally Ike, Cook College, Rutgers University, The Roundhouse, College Farm Road, New Brunswick (7-8:30 p.m., admission free).
Wednesday: Princeton Show Jumping Series, Hunter Farms North, 246 Burnt Hill Road, Skillman )through Oct. 4).
Saturday: U.S. Equestrian Federation Talent Search, U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation, Pottersville Road, Gladstone (through Oct. 4); Spotted Toad Show, Hunter Farms North, 246 Burnt Hill Road, Skillman (through Oct. 4); Sussex County Benefit Show, Sussex County Fairgrounds, Plains Road, Augusta; Riding with HEART Benefit Tack Sale, 639 Route 513, Pittstown (10 a.m.-3 p.m.); Schooling Fun Jumpers, Split Elm Equestrian, 553 South Frankfort Ave.,Galloway; Garden State Appaloosa Show, Gloucester County Dream Park, 400 Route 130 South, Logan Township (through Oct. 4); Carousel Farm Dressage Show, 8 Linn Smith Road, Augusta.
Oct. 4: ESDCTA Horse Trials, Horse Park of New Jersey, Route 524, Allentown; Spring Valley Hounds Hunter Pace, Sand Spring Lane Showgrounds, New Vernon (9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.); Delaware Valley Horsemen's Association Driving Show, DVHA Showgrounds, 299 Ringoes-Rosemont Road, Sergeantsville; CJL Farm Show, West Milford Equestrian Center, 367 Union Valley Road, Newfoundland; Lord Stirling Stable Pleasure Drive, 256 S. Maple Ave., Basking Ridge (9-11 a.m.).
Nancy Jaffer: nancyjaffer@comcast.net.