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The Final Test by Kim F. Miller |
International success is a common denominator in the resumes of almost all of the American riders vying for an Olympic spot during the USET Olympic Selection Trials June 20-21 and June 27-29 at the Oaks in San Juan Capistrano. California is another common denominator. A total of 12 horse/rider pairs will compete for three full-fledged and one alternate spots on the team, and the majority of the riders call the Golden State home. (We include Idaho-based Debbie McDonald among these.) At press time, there was a little wiggle room in the USET rankings that determine who makes the Trials because two qualifiers, in Illinois and North Carolina, had not happened yet. And, it was unknown whether Germany-based Catherine Haddad would earn a necessary second qualifying score in time and, if so, whether she would make the trip. Otherwise, the list looked pretty solid. Debbie McDonald, Steffen Peters, Sue Blinks, Kristina Harrison-Naness, Jan Ebeling and Leslie Morse represent California’s impressive contingent in the Trials. Debbie and Steffen qualified on two horses, so our state actually represents eight of the 12 pairs expected to contend. The success of these riders in the last 15 years or so has a lot to do with why the Selection Trials are being held on the West Coast, for the second time now. Seeing America’s best is the top reason for buying a spectator’s ticket to the Trials, and supporting these riders and the sport are strong seconds to that incentive. If the sell-outs at the World Cup Dressage Finals in Las Vegas last year were any indicator, West Coast dressage enthusiasts will be out in force to cheer all these riders on and to show organizers and sponsors that there is a viable market here for elite level dressage competition. Although we live and ride in a big state and a big country, it’s a pretty small group that has dominated U.S. teams at international competitions. Many of this year’s Olympic hopefuls have strong bonds formed as teammates in earlier Olympics, World Equestrian Games, Pan Am Games and Nations Cups. Debbie, Steffen and Sue even had the fun of riding in this year’s Rose Parade together, along with Guenter Seidel. As California convert Sue Blinks said in a 2005 interview with California Riding Magazine, there is something special about the West Coast dressage world: a camaraderie among professionals and a taste for sharing the ups and downs of pursuing international success. The Selection Trials are held as part of the USET Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions. In addition to the battles for Olympic berths, the Festival hosts the Intermediaire Championships and the Brentina Cup and Young and Junior Rider competitions. A silent auction and various VIP and general admission festivities are part of the action, too. For tickets and more information, visit www.DressageOnTheRoadToHongKong.com or call Cornerstone Events at 818-841-3554.
After Debbie McDonald and Brentina’s wonderful freestyle at the Del Mar Nationals last month, the show’s announcer wisely said that little comment was needed. The same seems true for any introduction of this pair for the Olympic Selection Trials. Debbie’s international success began in 1999 with team and individual gold at the Pan Am Games. The big and beautiful Hannoverian mare Brentina was with her then and now. Together they earned team silver and individual fourth at the 2002 World Equestrian Games, team bronze at the 2006 WEG and team bronze at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. They also became the first and only Americans to win the World Cup Dressage Finals, which they did in 2003 after the first place winner was disqualified and Debbie and Brentina’s silver turned gold. Debbie is based in Idaho, at the River Grove Farm of Brentina’s owners, Peggy and Parry Thomas. But she is an Orange County native. She grew up riding there, first on a $200 pony, and traded grunt work for saddle time throughout her youth. Although medals may be Debbie’s claim to fame, she is equally well known and loved for her kindness and generosity to her fans and the sport in general. Despite their status as the United States’ most successful active dressage team, Debbie and Brentina’s appearance at the Selection Trials was not a shoe-in. The mare was hurt while boarding a plane for Europe late last year, and she had to sit out much of the qualifying season. Terrific scores at the Festival of the Horse in Burbank and the Del Mar National catapulted this dynamic duo to the top of the USEF dressage rankings as of mid-May. Debbie is also qualified for the Trials with her young horse Felix. He did well in Germany, stepping into Brentina’s shoes when the mare was out of commission, but it seems more likely the Trials will serve as preparation for later international endeavors for this young star.
Steffen is as well-known and well-regarded as Debbie and his resume of international successes is almost as long. A native of Germany who moved to America in 1985 and became a citizen in 1992, Steffen wasted no time in representing his new country beautifully by helping earn team bronze at the 1996 Olympics. Since then he has been one of the elite riders whose success has helped shift the sport’s axis toward the West Coast. Udon was Steffen’s first international horse. His father bought Udon as a 3-year-old for a then 16-year-old Steffen and the pair grew together to take their place on the world stage. Steffen has credited his remarkable career to Udon, who passed away several years ago. The rider’s gift with dressage prospects has been demonstrated in many horses since then. Grandeur and Floriano were Steffen’s best-known stars up through the end of last year, but he heads to the Olympic Trials with two new hot shots. With the Contango son Ravel, formerly ridden by Dutchman Edward Gal, Steffen stood second in the Trials rankings at presstime. Lombardi II made his mark at the Aachen CDIO last summer and finished the qualifying season this spring with solid scores at Burbank and Del Mar. Steffen and his wife Shannon run their training business at Arroyo Del Mar in San Diego and Steffen is a popular clinician and a popular guy with contemporaries and fans. Characteristic of their generous natures, both Debbie McDonald and Steffen stepped up to help Holly Bergay achieve her international dreams. The Arizona young rider was born without one of her hands, but her riding ability and determination inspired Debbie and Steffen to lend their support. Visit www.hollybergay.com to learn more.
Courtney made a great impression on West Coast dressage enthusiasts last year during the World Cup Finals in Las Vegas, where the up and comer finished sixth against the world’s best. Those who missed Las Vegas are in for a treat, because this tall, elegant rider and the handsome Dutch stallion Idocus are a beautiful team. The Michigan native and New York resident would be an Olympic newbie if she makes it to Hong Kong, but she has a great mentor in two-time Olympian Lendon Gray. Courtney has worked with and for Lendon for nearly half of her 30 years. After contesting their second World Cup Finals, this time in Europe, Courtney and longtime partner Idocus sat third in the Trials standings thanks to great showings at the Aachen CDIO last summer, then even better scores at Dressage at Devon and the Palm Beach Dressage Derby in Florida earlier this year. She is a North American Young Riders product and first appeared on the USET’s Olympic Long List in 2000. Training stints with Germany’s Conrad Schumacher and, last summer, Steffen Peters, are part of her progress. Courtney refers to Idocus as “the love of my life.” With help from Lendon, she developed him up to Grand Prix and competed him in Germany in 2001. She showed him off so well that he stayed there for the next four years with another rider. They were reunited four years later and haven’t looked back after a great string of successes during the 2006/2007 season. Courtney is also qualified with Harmony’s Mythilus, who wowed the crowds during an exhibition freestyle at last year’s Festival in Gladstone, NJ.
Sue is a veteran international competitor and tireless American dressage supporter who moved to California from Florida in 2004. She brings medals and experiences from the 1998 and 2002 World Equestrian Games and the 2000 Olympics with her to the Trials. Sue’s horse is no slouch either. Mark was brought along by Canadian international rider Leslie Reid and purchased for Sue in May of 2005. Their performances at the Dressage Affaire in May and Golden State Dressage in April put them fourth in the rankings at press time. The Minnesota native trained as a teen with well-known dressage judge and sport advocate Marianne Ludwig. Sue earned a degree in animal science from the University of Wisconsin and landed her first professional equestrian job as director of the University of Massachusetts’ riding program. A frequent clinician for the USDF’s Young Rider program, she is passionate about giving back to the sport and serves on many committees. Internationally, she is best known for her wonderful tenure with Flim Flam, her partner throughout her earlier international successes.
Kristina and the spectacular PRE stallion Rociero XV made a terrific impression on fans at last year’s World Cup Finals in Las Vegas with a knock-out exhibition freestyle. A 2003 Pan Am Games team gold medalist, Kristina only began riding Rociero two years ago and they debuted at Grand Prix just last year. As a coach, Debbie McDonald has helped the beautiful pair’s steady ascent. Great performances at two CDIs in Germany last fall and at the Mid-Winter Dressage Fair in Burbank locked up their Trials berth. Kristina runs her Angele Farms training business at the Paddock Riding Club in Los Angeles. She began riding at 6 and discovered dressage in 1992, at which point she converted her hunter Gilligan into a dressage horse and took him to the Advanced Young Rider levels. The 13-year-old Rociero is owned by Margaret Carrera’s Symphony Farms in Auburn. It was love at first sight when Kristina was approached to ride the stallion, the first of his breed to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials. His intensity and focus were evident even through her video introduction to Rociero and Kristina confirms that he demonstrates those traits day in and day out in schooling and competition.
Lisa is a very familiar name in the dressage world, but not many American fans have had the chance to see her ride. Her international successes, including team silver at the 2002 WEG and team bronze at the 2004 Olympics, were launched from her 12-year stay in Europe. She returned to the States in 2006, settling in Florida, and nailed down her Trials spot with great scores there aboard Naomi. It’s been a wild and interesting ride for this Colorado native. Lisa was raised on her family’s cattle ranch, where she and a Quarter Horse/Thoroughbred cross named Lucky did all manner of ranch work throughout her youth. When her then-husband and fellow Trials contender Jan Ebeling introduced Lisa to dressage, she described various dressage moves as “curlicues” and thought it was quite a kick. She and Jan parted ways in 2004, but Lisa stayed hooked on dressage. On her second trip to Germany, she stayed for 12 years, building experiences and successes with some of that country’s top owners and coaches. She credits Ernst Hoyos of the Spanish Riding School, in particular, and is forever grateful to famous horses including Rohdiamant and Relevant for their influential roles in her riding. “Do it with a smile,” is Lisa’s motto. In her training, she seeks to make the work fun for her horses and if that is apparent and infectious to audiences, then she has done her job very well.
Fans got a nice chance to see this East Coast veteran in action last year. Out West to contest the U.S. Dressage Freestyle Championships, Michael and his big, handsome Dutch gelding Neruda stuck around to win the big class during the Del Mar National’s Freestyle night. On the USET’s international radar since 2000, Michael works out of farms in New Jersey and in Loxahatchee, FL during the show season there. He has described his 12-year-old equine partner as emotional, hot and a bit spooky. Much of Neruda’s preparation has been done at home rather than at shows. Johann Hinneman and Klaus Balkenhol are among those who have influenced Michael’s success. A self-described “bridesmaid” for many recent WEG and Olympic teams and a few World Cup Finals, Michael and Neruda hope to shake that status this time around. Good scores at World Cup qualifiers back East last fall, including Dressage at Devon, and a solid showing at January’s Gold Coast Opener put them in the right part of the USET’s ranking coming into the Trials.
Jan is a native of Germany but he has been a fixture on the American dressage circuit since well before he became a citizen of this country in 1998. German master Herbert Rehbein was a big influence on Jan, who moved to the States in 1984 to apprentice with many-time Olympian Robert Dover. From that time forward, he has often dominated the U.S. Festival of Champions Intermediaire Championships. In 2003, his ride sealed the U.S. team’s gold medal at the Pan Am Games. It was last year during the World Cup Finals in Las Vegas that Jan realized he had an international contender in his Trials mount Rafalca, an 11-year-old Oldenburg mare. While demonstrating the Grand Prix test to a packed and enthusiastic crowd, Jan began to target the Trials. The pair prepared with training and competition in Germany last year and did great at qualifiers in Pebble Beach, Sacramento and Del Mar. The mare has received some extra attention during earlier phases of the Presidential campaign as hopeful Mitt Romney’s wife Ann is one of the horse’s owners. Jan and his wife Amy operate the beautiful Acres training facility in Moorpark. In addition to advancing his own career, Jan coaches several up and coming young riders and accomplished amateurs.
Leslie is another longtime local favorite. Based now at her own training stable and breeding business in the Los Angeles area’s Hidden Hills, Leslie made her long-dreamed-of mark on the international scene when Kingston came into her life in 1999. She developed the handsome, huge (17.2 hh) Oldenburg stallion to great Grand Prix successes. With Kingston and his stablemate Tip Top 962, Leslie has enjoyed success at three World Cup Finals, an Olympic alternate spot in 2004, a team bronze at the WEG in 2006, and a long string of dominance at Del Mar and other venues close to home. Leslie and Kingston’s great performances at the Mid Winter Dressage Fair, the Dressage Affaire and the Del Mar National bore extra significance as they marked the Voltaire son’s return to competition after a two-year lay-up. “The King is back!” proclaimed Leslie after their third place finish last month in Del Mar. She’s been competing successfully since the age of 10, rising through the United States Pony Club ranks to earn its “B” horsemanship rating.
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