An Energizing Finish

As necessary and important as USDF conventions are, sometimes the topics discussed seem removed from the reason we’re actually there: the horses. Rules, awards, and governance matters are part of the fabric of our sport, but they’re not riding. As the meetings wear on, I tend to get squirmy in my seat, glancing at my watch, longing for fresh air and that intoxicating perfume known as Eau de Cheval. 

I stopped fidgeting and forgot all about the clock yesterday, the final day of the 2018 Adequan/USDF Annual Convention in Salt Lake City. It’s not an easy feat to make a classroom dressage-education session as rich and compelling as a clinic setting with live horses, but panelists Lilo Fore, Marilyn Heath, Gary Rockwell, and Lois Yukins raised the bar to a new level with their discussion on the newly revised pyramid of training. 

Dear reader, if you get the chance to learn from any of these esteemed dressage judges/trainers, in any setting, do it. These are four of our country’s most experienced dressage pros, and not only do they know what they’re looking at and how to evaluate it, but they are passionate about teaching and sharing their knowledge with any dressage enthusiast who wants to learn. Lilo, Marilyn, Gary, and Lois all are variously faculty members of the USDF L Education Program or have served on the USDF L Program, Judges, or Instructor/Trainer Committees. These volunteer positions require a tremendous amount of time and commitment; people don’t do it for the glamorous perks. They do it because they care about horses and the sport of dressage.

In their convention session, each of the four panelists discussed different levels on the newly revised pyramid of training (which Marilyn Heath also writes about in her “The Judge’s Box” column in the December 2018/January 2019 issue of USDF Connection). Here’s a graphic of the pyramid, which is similar to the previous version but contains some wording changes:

 

The newly revised pyramid of training. Illustration copyright 2018 by the United States Dressage Federation. 

One notable change is the changing of the name of the third level of the pyramid from Connection to Contact. Both terms were used in the previous pyramid version and appear in the new version as well, but as Heath explained, the change aligns the USDF pyramid more closely with the FEI’s own training scale; plus, “you need to have a little bit of contact before you can have connection.” Connection, she said, can’t happen on a looped rein. “It’s a matter of being there for your horse when you ask him to connect from back to front.”

The “back to front” concept is the key point here. Contact doesn’t mean pulling or hanging on the reins. The horse is ridden forward into the contact, not restrained into contact. 

One of the best things about getting a really good panel together is that the presentation comes alive. The panelists riff off one another and elaborate on one another’s points, and the discussion can go in unexpectedly wonderful directions. As an audience member, it can feel as if the presenters kick a rock in their path and uncover a new treasure. Here are a few examples of the gems I took away from the panel with Lilo, Marilyn, Gary, and Lois:

·     The rider’s aids should consist of about 80 percent “core” (the muscles of the trunk and upper legs; “core” includes the use of the rider’s weight). About 18 percent should be from the rider’s legs. That leaves only 2 percent of the aids that should come from the rider’s hands. –Marilyn Heath

·     All of the components of the pyramid of training—rhythm, suppleness, contact, impulsion, straightness, and collection—go hand in hand. When you ride, “you are ‘swimming’ back and forth from one to the other.” –Lilo Fore

·     The pyramid illustration itself is a graphic approximation of the “training scale” but is not intended to be taken literally (as in, "you must master Rhythm before moving on to Suppleness”). Although collection is considered the pinnacle of the pyramid, it cannot be achieved without all of the other elements. Conversely, even at the lowest levels of dressage with a green horse the rider should be thinking about encouraging the horse to develop the ability to shift weight from his forehand onto his hindquarters—the basics of collection. –Gary Rockwell

·     It is not natural for a horse to be completely straight. As prey animals, horses instinctively want to look in one direction while dropping a shoulder to flee in the other. If they do not do so, they make themselves vulnerable to predators. That’s why “that is the ultimate submissive quality in a horse—that it trusts the rider enough to be straight.”  –Lois Yukins

·     The tempo of each gait ideally should remain the same throughout the test, including lateral work, pirouettes, and so on. If the tempo slows, impulsion is lost. –Lilo Fore

·     “If the rider’s body is moving up and down, the horse’s back will not come up to meet the rider. That’s why we need to learn to sit. A quiet seat will enable a horse to easily balance himself.” –Gary Rockwell

·     “The pyramid of training does not address the rider, but the best-trained horse will not be successful without correct riding.” –Marilyn Heath

·     “When a horse feels heavy on one rein, you’re not actually feeling heaviness; you’re feeling weight-bearing.” The cause of the apparent heaviness lies in the hind legs, which are not carrying equal weight. When the horse is made straight and equally strong on both sides through correct gymnastic training, the contact will feel even because he will not be relying on a rein to help support the balance disrupted by the weaker hind leg. –Lois Yukins

Freestyle Motion Passes, but Don't Expect Immediate Change

The USDF Board of Governors today approved the motion directing the USDF to recommend that US Equestrian, the national governing body of equestrian sport in the US and the rule-maker for US dressage national-level competition, rescind the rule change that increased the prerequisite qualifying score to compete in freestyle from 60 percent to 63 percent, earned at the highest test of the level.

The Board of Governors assembly wrapped up this morning at the 2018 Adequan/USDF Annual Convention in Salt Lake City.

Passed as what US Equestrian refers to as an extraordinary rule change--meaning at a time other than during the usual December-January USDF/US Equestrian convention and rule-change-approval time frame--the score-prerequisite rule (DR 129.9) takes effect today, December 1, 2018.

Even with the motion passed, USDF president George Williams emphasized after reading the results of the vote, dressage competitors should not expect change to be immediate, or in fact expect that the rule will actually be rescinded.

The ultimate decision, Williams said, is in the hands of US Equestrian's dressage-rule-making body, the USEF Dressage Sport Committee (DSC). The USDF's recommendation must go through the channels and be discussed at a future DSC meeting, and any actions would then require approval per US Equestrian's own procedures. The bottom line, Williams said, is that the score increase indeed has taken effect and will be the rule for some time to come. And the DSC could well vote to uphold the freestyle rule as it stands now.

Although some of the BOG delegates who spoke out in favor of rescinding the rule will undoubtedly be disappointed if that does not come to pass, many expressed a measure of satisfaction just knowing that the motion may "send a message" to US Equestrian, as some put it.

"I think it's important to us to send a message [to US Equestrian] that this is inappropriate," said delegate Barbara Cadwell, referring to the fact that the mid-year "extraordinary" nature of the rule change meant that it failed to register on some dressage enthusiasts' radar until after the rule change was passed. "I don't object if it's done right. I want to publicly smack their hand."

Many delegates who spoke out, both for and against the motion, said that they actually support the score increase as a way to help ensure that horses being shown in freestyle classes have the basics and the training to be able to execute their routines capably and without struggling or confusion. Higher standards, many said, help to protect equine welfare and guard against unintentionally abusive riding. I came away from the BOG vote with the sense that many delegates viewed a "yes" vote on the motion as a rebuke, not of the standards but of US Equestrian's decision to fast-track the rule change with what USDF delegates perceived as inadequate transparency or requests for comment prior to the rule's passage.

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

New US dressage national technical advisor Debbie McDonald (at podium) discusses her plans to keep the USA on the medal podiums during the USDF Board of Governors assembly. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Even a sport as traditional as dressage evolves as the years pass. Organizations similarly need to adapt to changing times, and the challenge becomes finding ways to honor the past and “hold fast to that which is good” while staying current and appealing to the next generation.

I think the USDF is in such a period of change. At yesterday’s Historical Recognition Committee open meeting, we discussed how best to ensure that important supporters of American dressage are not forgotten, by explaining their contributions to a USDF membership that is increasingly unfamiliar with such names as Lowell Boomer, Violet Hopkins, and Chuck Grant. At today’s kickoff session of the 2018 USDF Board of Governors (BOG) assembly, outgoing USDF president George Williams received a standing ovation of thanks as he winds up his eight-year term, and current USDF VP Lisa Gorretta punctuated her entertaining presidential-candidate BOG presentation with photos of memorable moments in her 30-plus-year career as a dressage rider, volunteer, and official. 

Faces like George’s and Lisa’s have become part of the reassuring fabric of the USDF—the steadfast supporters who, it seems, are always there when we need them. I see many of our regional directors and BOG delegates just once a year—at convention—and no matter what forgettable hotel or unfamiliar city we might find ourselves in, being surrounded by these passionate dressage supporters always feels a little bit like coming home.

 

USDF Board of Governors delegates give outgoing USDF president George Willams a standing ovation. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

These stalwarts won’t always be there, of course, and a chunk of today’s convention sessions involved discussions of how best to “bring along” the dressage participants of tomorrow, both human and equine.

In the Competition Open Forum, Dressage Seat Equitation Task Force chair Sarah Geikie talked about her group’s quest to make dressage-seat equitation a more visible, popular entry point for youth in our sport. A troubling statistic, Geikie said, is a dropoff in USDF youth memberships over the past five years—a decline that she herself could not explain and expressed a desire to research more thoroughly. The costs of riding and horse ownership, which continue to rise, are undoubtedly factors, with fewer parents being able to afford horses for their kids, Geikie said. As some in the audience pointed out, young people may be turning to high-school and collegiate programs that offer competition opportunities without having to own a horse, and the USDF may need to reach out to such programs, to renew alliances or forge new partnerships.

Another factor may be young people’s desire to enjoy an activity in the company of peers. A “token kid” at a predominantly adult dressage facility may feel out of place, and let’s face it, hanging out with a bunch of adults isn’t much fun when you’re a teen or tween. At the same time—I say this from personal experience—being a “non-elite” kid surrounded by a bunch of privileged, cliquish youths is no party either. If dressage can figure out how to bring the joy of horses and riding, like-minded companionship, and fun to young people, we’ll be able to write our own ticket. 

We need to nurture our young dressage horses as carefully as our young dressage riders. In an evening panel discussion, convention-goers heard advice on the training, competition, and judging of young horses from three of the best in the business: retired FEI 5* judge Lilo Fore, Olympian and current USEF national dressage young-horse coach Christine Traurig, and Olympian and experienced trainer Lisa Wilcox. 

According to the panelists, the art of training young dressage horses lies in the horsemanship of determining when a horse needs more time to mature, physically or mentally; and at the same time maintaining high standards for correct training according to the pyramid of training—of recognizing what demands are appropriate for the young horse and being as disciplined about training with a five-year-old, say, as with the older horse. It’s not doing the young horse any favors to ride with lax standards, the panelists said. Too much leniency, or a failure to adhere to the correct training path according to the pyramid, can create training problems or “holes” that will require extensive work to undo and retrain correctly. The rider of a young horse should seek the guidance of an experienced trainer if needed to help ensure that the horse is on the correct path. And never forget that the goal is Grand Prix—that the training of the young horse is establishing the fundamentals he will need to move up the levels.

From the Sublime to the Serious

USDF members enjoy the welcome reception at the 2018 Adequan/USDF Annual Convention in Salt Lake City. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The first day of regional meetings, open committee meetings and forums, and education sessions at the 2018 Adequan/US Dressage Federation Annual Convention dawned in the usual way.

Everywhere you look in the convention host hotel in Salt Lake City, you see tight clusters of dressage colleagues or old friends (often one and the same) holding impromptu meetings and catch-up sessions, in the hotel lobby, in every available group of chairs, in hallways outside meeting rooms, in the restaurant and the on-site Starbucks.

Jet-lagged USDF members, coffees in hand, start the day at their respective regional meetings. Then convention attendees fan out to the various other meetings, and from there things typically begin to get interesting.

GMO baskets await their lucky winners. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Today's most "interesting" topics were the impending US Equestrian rule change raising the prerequisite score to ride a dressage freestyle from 60 percent to 63 percent; and the also-impending mandate that US Equestrian adult members with Competing memberships must complete SafeSport training in order to be eligible to participate in US Equestrian activities.

The freestyle rule change (DR 129.9) was approved by US Equestrian in August and takes effect December 1, 2018. The SafeSport mandate originated with the US Olympic Committee and extends to all of the USOC's affiliated sport organizations, known as national governing bodies (NGB). US Equestrian is the US NGB for equestrian sport. The federal government since also enacted legislation requiring amateur sport organizations and their members to report sex-abuse allegations involving minors to local or federal law enforcement. Current US Equestrian members must complete SafeSport training by January 1, 2019.

Some USEF/USDF members object to the freestyle-score hike, either in principle (they fear it will deter participation in dressage) or in practice (they feel the extraordinary rule change was passed in haste and that competitors were given insufficient advance notice). Nobody actually objects to SafeSport training in concept (there is some griping about the amount of time it takes), but some people at the USEF/USDF Open Forum wished this hadn't been dropped on the equestrian community quite so suddenly.

The SafeSport training issue is pretty cut-and-dried. It's coming down from above in response to the horrific allegations from athletes (most notoriously gymnasts, but also equestrians) that exposed the ugly underbelly that has been present in some sports for many years. Ranked by numbers of active investigations of misconduct allegations, equestrian sport as a whole is #4 on the USOC's list of its 50 affiliates. So yeah, our sport needs to clean up its collective act, stat.

As for the freestyle controversy, it was pointed out that similar outcries occurred the last time the minimum qualifying score was raised, from 58 percent to the current 60. The result? People learned to ride better. Since horse welfare and a desire to reinforce the importance of correct training were behind the decision to raise the bar again, said FEI 5* dressage judge Gary Rockwell, the respective USDF committees behind the rule-change proposal, the USDF Executive Board, and the US Equestrian Dressage Sport Committee stand behind the decision as in the best interests of the horse and the sport.

Trauma surgeon Dr. Chris Winter presented some sobering statistics about rider injuries at his education session. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Thursday in Salt Lake City wrapped up with a considerably more sober presentation. Trauma surgeon Dr. Chris Winter gave the 2018 USDF convention's first education session, on handling emergency rider situations. The takeaway is that, unfortunately, riding and working around horses is very dangerous--more so than riding a motorcycle--and even skilled riders can get hurt. Be as safety-conscious as possible when you interact with your horse, and always wear a helmet--not just any helmet, but one that's carefully fitted to offer maximum protection. Learn the signs of traumatic brain injury (concussion is a mild form of TBI), and be sure that anyone who exhibits any symptoms of possible TBI or other injury gets checked out by medical professionals.

The radiographs and MRI images of rider injuries and their surgical aftermaths that Dr. Winter showed elicited more than a few gasps from the convention audience. As someone who's been injured and had to work through fear in getting back in the saddle, I'll admit the presentation made me uneasy and stirred up some old emotions. But as Dr. Winter said, equestrians need to understand the risks associated with our sport. We either find a way to accept the risk and take steps to minimize it, or we quit riding. We can't pretend the risk doesn't exist. So yes, I'm eager to get home to my horse--but my helmet will be strapped on securely.

It's Hip to Be Square

Salt Lake City is a pretty cool town.

I’d never spent time in this Utah city before this year, when it was selected as the site of the 2018 Adequan/USDF Annual Convention. I didn’t really know what to expect—buttoned-up piety? Crunchy-granola ski bums?

Closing in on 24 hours in Salt Lake City, I’m going to venture that it’s a bit of both. 

Statue "floats" in a fountain at the foot of the Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.  

Downtown SLC is an interesting juxtaposition of the commercial and the sacred. The convention host hotel abuts the high-end City Creek Center shopping mall—Nordstrom, Tiffany, Rolex, and other stores of that ilk. Come get your holiday retail-therapy fix at Anthropologie, Lululemon, and more.

 

Street philosophy: Installation outside the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Cross South Temple and you’re in a completely different world. Step through the gates of Temple Square and enter 35 acres that house the beating heart of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as the Mormon church. Lovely gardens, fountains, and statuary anchor the iconic buildings, including the dome-shaped, acoustically superb Mormon Tabernacle—home of the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir—and the castle-like Salt Lake Temple. Temple Square is open to visitors, and you can arrange for a tour. Be sure to have a look after dark, when thousands of lights work their holiday magic. Update: Thursday evening's Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearsal is unfortunately not open to the public. 

 

Magnificent 11,623-pipe organ is the focal point of the Mormon Tabernacle. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Our convention hotel is also across the street from the Salt Palace Convention Center, a sprawling structure whose grounds include the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. Check out the “You Are Here” installation in front of the convention-center entrance, with a forest of street signs that aren’t really street signs at all. Peace out and contemplate for a few minutes.

 

Elaborate nativity scene in Temple Square. The Mormon Tabernacle is in the background. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

At USDF conventions, it can be challenge to get out of the hotel. Try to carve out a little time. There are several convenient, quick breakfast and lunch spots (in addition to the requisite Starbucks) located no more than a couple of blocks from the hotel. Today I had a delicious French-inspired petit dejeunerat Eva’s Bakery, followed by a super-quick and tasty late lunch at Blue Lemon. Tomorrow I’m going to check out the Village Baker, which I passed during my walkabout today. After all, conventions are grueling and we need to be well-fortified.

 

The Utah Symphony knows how to get the public's attention. Billboard outside the symphony building. Photo by Jennifer Bryant. 

Welcome to Salt Lake City! I hope our paths cross at convention. If they don’t, follow this blog for daily reports and photos. Events get under way in earnest tomorrow with regional meetings and open committee sessions, and then we’ll all meet and greet at the welcome reception. See you there. I’ll be the one with the camera. 

Hipster cred in SLC: Green Bikes in front of the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

If Eventing Could Reschedule, Why Couldn't Dressage?

As you know if you've been following this blog (or pretty much any other equestrian media outlet, social or otherwise), the Helgstrand Dressage Freestyle competition at the FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018, scheduled for today, yesterday was canceled. In its statement announcing the cancellation, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) cited the forecasted heavy rain and high winds from Tropical Depression Florence, combined with scheduled departures of the dressage horses, as the main obstacles preventing the freestyle from being rescheduled for tomorrow, Monday, September 17.

Officials explored options including rescheduling the horses' departure dates and moving the competition to the indoor arena at the Tryon International Equestrian Center, but none proved feasible, according to the FEI's statement.

It's a major disappointment, but horse welfare comes first, so there was no alternative, most of us figured when we first read the announcement.

Except...over in eventing land, the show is going on. Today was also supposed to have been the show-jumping phase of the WEG eventing competition (cross-country went off yesterday as scheduled). The eventing jumping, however, was postponed, not canceled, and is rescheduled for tomorrow, which was to have been the "dark day" of no competition between the two weeks of the WEG.

According to the 2018 FEI WEG Veterinary Services Guide, the dressage horses and the event horses are on similar arrival and departure schedules, with a final horse departure date of Tuesday, September 18. So if the event horses can compete tomorrow and leave Tuesday, why couldn't the dressage horses? I don't know the answer. If I find out, I'll let you know.

Meanwhile, I feel bad for the disappointed spectators, and my heart goes out to the 15 riders -- including America's own Laura Graves and Kasey Perry-Glass -- who qualified for the Grand Prix Freestyle and won't get to compete. World Equestrian Games and Olympic Games don't come around all the time, and with horses there is no guarantee of a next time.

A Perfect Storm

WEG dressage freestyle cancelled

 

A too-brief shining moment: Team USA's Kasey Perry-Glass, Laura Graves, Steffen Peters, and Adrienne Lyle take a lap of honor after winning the silver medal in the 2018 WEG dressage competition. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

It’s a desperately sad break for FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018 dressage spectators, Tryon WEG organizers, all of the participating nations, and the horses, riders, and supporters who worked so hard to get here: The WEG Grand Prix Freestyle, which was scheduled for tomorrow, has been canceled. It will not be rescheduled.

In an extreme stroke of bad luck, the worst of Tropical Storm Florence is scheduled to arrive tonight in the area of the Tryon International Equestrian Center, and Florence is expected to hang around tomorrow, bringing rain and high winds to western North Carolina. Speculation about the fate of the dressage freestyle has been running rampant for days. As of yesterday we were hopeful that the competition could be rescheduled for Monday, which is supposed to be the “dark day” of no competition between the two weeks of the WEG. But the dressage horses are supposed to fly out Monday, and this afternoon the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) confirmed that the freestyle is not to be. 

Here is the text of the FEI’s statement announcing the cancellation:

Following yesterday’s announcement of the intention to hold the Helgstrand Dressage Freestyle competition on Monday morning due to extreme rainfall forecast for Sunday’s original time slot of 8.30am, further discussions have been taking place to review the options available to reschedule.

Despite the best efforts of the whole Tryon 2018 team and the Officials, who have been working on plans for rescheduling since yesterday evening, including meetings with the Chefs de Mission and Chefs d’Equipe, the logistics of putting all necessary elements into place in time have proved insurmountable. As a result, and very regrettably, the Dressage Freestyle will now be cancelled.

“This was not an easy decision, but we have explored every option, including trying to reschedule the horse departures, and even looking at moving the competition into the indoor with a change of footing, but the logistics of making all this happen are just not possible,” Tryon 2018 Organising Committee President Michael Stone said.

“We know this is desperately disappointing for the 15 athletes who had qualified their horses for the Freestyle, and of course for all the spectators who had bought tickets, but the weather has simply left us with no choice. Horse welfare has to be the top priority and flying the horses out on the same day as competition doesn’t work, so sadly the decision to cancel the Freestyle had to be taken.”

“Although we are devastated that this decision has had to be taken, we’ve had two absolutely world-class competitions here at Tryon, including yesterday’s Grand Prix Special, and to see Germany’s Isabell Werth and Bella Rose taking double gold and Team USA claiming silver was a real treat for Dressage fans.”

The decision does not affect the Olympic qualification process, as this was completed on Thursday. The teams that have earned their ticket to Tokyo 2020 are Germany, USA, Great Britain, Sweden, Netherlands and Spain.

Girl Power

Two mares win WEG dressage medals; Grand Prix Special medal podium is all-female

 

Germany's Isabell Werth exults after her gold-medal-winning Grand Prix Special aboard Bella Rose. Photo by Jennifer Bryant. 

They say you can’t beat a good mare. Today that horseman’s adage proved true.

Fresh off yesterday’s team gold-medal win, Germany’s Isabell Werth and her “dream horse,” the 14-year-old Westfalen mare Bella Rose (Belissimo x Cacir AA), proved unstoppable again. The leggy, elegant, very feminine liver-chestnut mare danced her way to an individual gold medal in the Grand Prix Special at the FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018. 

 

Werth said Bella Rose's half-passes "couldn't be better." Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

According to Werth, she knew from the start of her test that it was going to be one to remember.

“When she started to trot, I said, Wow, she wants to go. The half-passes, I think they couldn’t be better. The piaffe-passage, it’s so easy. The charisma and the lightness—it makes the rider really happy to have such a horse.”

Werth spoke matter-of-factly, but the gold medal was unmistakably an emotional experience, as the international veteran—who has stood on the medal podiums too many times to count—wept openly on the podium today.

The only down side for Werth was the fact that Bella Rose’s owner, Werth’s longtime sponsor Madeleine Winter-Schulze, suffered a broken leg and had to have surgery yesterday, Werth said at the post-competition press conference. Werth said she was eager to wrap up the press obligation in order to visit her patron in the hospital, where she is said to be doing well. 

 

Verdades powered Laura Graves to the 2018 WEG Grand Prix Special individual silver medal. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Werth’s score of 86.246 percent made her untouchable by her closest rival, the USA’s Laura Graves and her KWPN gelding, Verdades (Florett As x Goya). The only male in the GP Special medals, “Diddy” laid down his signature uber-powerful, thrilling performance to earn a score of 81.717 percent and the silver medal. It was the second silver for Graves, who won team silver yesterday.

It was the first individual WEG dressage medal for the USA since Steffen Peters’ GP Special and GP Freestyle bronzes aboard Ravel at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky.

 

Praise for "Diddy" after his silver-medal-winning performance with Graves. Photo by Jennifer Bryant. 

“For me, it’s always a matter of riding this horse in his mind,” Graves said afterward. “Physically he’ll do whatever I ask him to, but sometimes it’s a matter of convincing him to do what he’s a little bit afraid of, or go where he’s afraid to go. It’s always a challenge, and it’s different every time we ride. Today I actually was very proud of how he let me ride him.”

A second mare blazed her way onto the medal podium with a stunningly mature performance for her tender nine years. British superstar Charlotte Dujardin’s new international mount, the Hanoverian mare Mount St. John Freestyle (Fidermark x Donnerhall)—the youngest horse in this WEG dressage competition—yesterday helped Team Great Britain win bronze and today put Dujardin back on the podium with a bronze-medal-winning score of 81.489 percent. To say that “Freestyle’s” scope, relaxation, and elasticity make her an exciting horse for the future is a gross understatement.

 

At just 9 years of age, Mount St. John Freestyle danced her way to GP Special bronze with Charlotte Dujardin of Great Britain. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

“It was unbelievable; I couldn’t have asked any more from her,” said Dujardin. “That’s her third-ever Grand Prix Special….I was like the jam between the sandwich, with Isabell on one end [in the order of go] and Sönke [Rothenberger] in the other. I thought, oh my god, I’ve got to really up my game so I come out and don’t look like I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“When she’s stronger and more confident, we’re going to give Isabell a run for her money!” Dujardin said. 

 

A huge smile and a fist-pump from the USA's Kasey Perry-Glass after her GP Special test aboard Goerklintgaards Dublet. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The next-highest American rider, Kasey Perry-Glass on the 15-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding Goerklintgaards Dublet (Diamond Hit x Ferro), finished sixth on a score of 78.541. “Dublet” put in a fantastic test that showed even more power and engagement than in yesterday’s team Grand Prix. 

 

American fans cheer Kasey Perry-Glass's performance. Photo by Jennifer Bryant. 

Unfortunately for Steffen Peters and Adrienne Lyle, glitches marred both of their tests and put the remaining two American riders out of the medal hunt. Both Suppenkasper and Salvino showed resistance in the transition from collected walk to piaffe at G. The costly mistakes put Peters and Lyle at the bottom of the field of 29 starters, with Peters finishing on 69.073 percent and Lyle, on 69.043.

There should have been 30 horses in today’s competition, but in another unfortunate turn, Great Britain’s Spencer Wilton and Super Nova II, who won team bronze yesterday, withdrew from the Special.

According to a statement from Team GB, “the horse [was] not feeling 100% after getting excited in yesterday’s medal ceremony.”

“Prize-givings are not ‘Neville’s’ favourite thing,” Wilton stated, “and normally I wouldn’t do them with him, but we’re at a championship. I helped the team secure qualification for Tokyo 2020 [Olympics] and that’s my primary focus, so with that in mind, his welfare was key to this tough decision.”

In preparation for the finale of the 2018 WEG dressage competition—the individual freestyle final on Sunday—the second horse inspection is scheduled for tomorrow morning. As of this writing the show will go on, and no postponements or cancellations due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Florence have been announced. I’ve just checked my weather app, and at the moment the forecasters are predicting 3 to 4 inches of rain for the Tryon area, with winds of up to 35 mph and possibly higher gusts. Rain is expected to move in tomorrow afternoon, with the worst of the weather being tomorrow night and—unfortunately for dressage-freestyle ticket holders—Sunday. But with luck it will be more like a miserably wet horse show and less like a natural disaster. 

In case you’re on the fence about coming Sunday, here are two tidbits to entice you: Both Graves and Dujardin will be unveiling brand-new freestyles—with music that, according to both riders, arrived just yesterday! (Dujardin quipped that her motto going in will be “Hope and pray.”) Graves refused to divulge any details about the new program or the music, so if you want to witness the world premiere, bring your wellies and don’t miss the WEG Grand Prix Freestyle. 

Sweet Sixteen

Team USA wins FEI World Equestrian Games dressage silver for the first time since 2002

 

2018 WEG team dressage silver medalists Kasey Perry-Glass, Adrienne Lyle, Steffen Peters, and Laura Graves of the USA with technical advisor and chef d'equipe Robert Dover. Photo by Jennifer Bryant. 

“They’ve worked very hard for this.”

Not that we had any doubts that the four members of the 2018 US World Equestrian Games dressage team had put in the time and the blood, sweat, and tears to get there; but there was the affirmation, standing next to me ringside for the dressage team medal ceremony at the FEI WEG Tryon 2018.

It was Diane Perry, Team USA member Kasey Perry-Glass’s mom and the owner of Perry-Glass’s WEG mount, Goerklintgaards Dublet. Between wielding her smartphone video camera to record the ceremony for posterity and exhorting “Dublet” to please keep all four feet on the ground, Perry was every horse-show mom writ large: proud, perhaps a little overwhelmed, adrenaline-fueled but tired from the long hours in the North Carolina heat and humidity, and already gearing up for her daughter’s next effort (asked whether they’d be celebrating tonight, Perry quickly replied: “Oh, no. We have a horse show tomorrow,” referring to the Grand Prix Special).

 

Group hug! Team USA's Debbie McDonald, Kasey Perry-Glass, Adrienne Lyle, and Steffen Peters embrace after watching Laura Graves clinch the team silver medal on Verdades, while sponsor Betsy Juliano and chef Robert Dover look on. Photo by Jennifer Bryant. 

It’s easy to forget, when we see our dressage idols on the covers of magazines, and when they and their entourages and their sponsorships and their celebrity make them seem larger than life, that top riders are daughters and wives and moms and dads—people who were endowed with a generous helping of talent and ambition and grit and of course luck, but also people who probably have a lot in common with those of you who are reading this. They love horses. They love riding. They love dressage. Watching Diane Perry cheer for her daughter as she stepped onto the WEG dressage medal podium for the first time, the glamorous medal ceremony suddenly felt very personal.

But competition at this international level isn’t really personal; it’s about national pride first and foremost, with glory for one’s team and one’s country superseding individual accomplishment. Although dressage is ultimately about one rider’s partnership with one horse, “top sport,” as the Europeans call it, is a machine the way NFL football is a machine: an industry and a very serious business while at the same time serving as entertainment and hobby for the spectator and fan.

 

German team gold medalist Isabell Werth and Bella Rose were the highest-scoring pair of the WEG Grand Prix team competition. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The German dressage machine has dominated the discipline for decades, and today was no exception. The team of Isabell Werth on Bella Rose, Sonke Rothenberger on Cosmo, Jessica Bredow-Werndl on TSF Dalera BB, and Dorothee Schneider on Sammy Davis Jr. swept the 2018 WEG dressage team competition with a total score of 242.950. Werth and her “dream horse,” Bella Rose, topped both her teammates and the entire field with their score of 84.829 percent in a largely flawless test marked by elegance and elasticity.

 

Top USA scorer Laura Graves and Verdades. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Last to go in the entire team competition was the most hotly anticipated pair of the largely American crowd: top-ranked US rider Laura Graves and her famous Verdades. They did not disappoint, laying down a powerful Grand Prix test marred only by “Diddy’s” slight spook at an FEI TV camera near C to earn a score of 81.537 percent, which put Graves second individually behind Werth. 

Graves’ usual sparkling smile seemed a bit dimmed during the medal ceremony, and at the press conference we found out why: She confessed to being “a little under the weather.” Here’s hoping she gets some needed rest and feels better for tomorrow’s GP Special—although she said that “adrenaline is an amazing thing” because as soon as she put her foot in the stirrup today, all else was forgotten.

Perry-Glass’s score of 76.739 percent was the second-highest of the US team, which clinched the silver medal on a team total score of 233.136.

“It felt great,” Perry-Glass said of her Grand Prix test afterward. “He was 100 percent in warm-up, and I really felt like he brought the power that we were looking for in the test.”

“He’s so sensitive,” Perry-Glass said of the 15-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding (Diamond Hit x Ferro). “I had to figure out that balance between asking for more and not asking for too much. I think we’re really right on the cusp of being really great with that. 

“He has every opportunity to be up with Isabell and Laura,” Perry-Glass continued. Referring to their excellent finishes in Aachen this year, she said: “We’ve done it once before. I know we can do it again.” With tears welling, she said, “I’m going to cry because I love him so much.”

For a report on Team USA silver medalists Steffen Peters’ and Adrienne Lyle’s tests yesterday, click here.

Since the retirement of Charlotte Dujardin’s superstar mount Valegro, the dressage world has wondered whether Great Britain would remain among the top powers in the sport. The answer, as evidenced by today’s WEG team dressage bronze medal, is yes. 

 

Great Britain's Charlotte Dujardin and her new star partner, Mount St. John Freestyle. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Dujardin, back on the international scene for the first time since winning individual gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics with Valegro, was Team GBR’s top scorer, earning 77.764 percent on the astonishingly young-yet-accomplished nine-year-old Hanoverian mare, Mount St. John Freestyle (Fidermark x Donnerhall). “Freestyle” handled the atmosphere in the US Trust Arena with ease, making just a few green mistakes—this was only Freestyle’s sixth Grand Prix—and Dujardin said afterward that the mare’s nickname of “Mrs. Valegro” is not an exaggeration.

“She has three very normal paces,” Dujardin said, “but when I started riding her, she has unbelievable trainability. And then her scope for what she can do: She can just put her legs wherever she wants! She’s so brave and she gives so much… She has the same attitude [as Valegro]: She goes in that arena, she’s not afraid of anything; she tries so hard. I know when she’s stronger and the mistakes aren’t there, it’s going to be very, very exciting. I think she may be as good as him one day. 

 

2018 WEG team bronze medalists Carl Hester of Great Britain on Hawtins Delicato. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Finishing just behind his most famous pupil was Carl Hester, also on a relatively inexperienced horse, the 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding Hawtins Delicato (Diamond Hit x Regazzoni). The stunning “Del” put in a lovely and elastic test with just a few bobbles to earn a score of 77.283. The British team was rounded out by Spencer Wilton on Super Nova II (74.581) and Emile Faurie on Dono di Maggio (72.795), for a team total of 229.628.

Said Hester afterward: “I said to Charlotte, with these young horses, we can’t compete them all around Europe and then fly them to a WEG and expect them to be on form. They would be exhausted. Our plan was to do the British shows and then come here. Having said that, I’ve had a week…it’s been a bit tense because the horse hasn’t really walked, he hasn’t really halted. Then this morning, one week later, we walked around the ring at 7:30 this morning on a loose rein; he walked around twice and I thought, I’m going to have a good ride today. And I did. He has such good paces, this horse. He might not be the superstar flash of some of the others, but he is so good with his hind legs, he has such a great walk.”

With that, the stage is set for an exciting start to the WEG individual dressage competition. Two medals are at stake—GP Special and GP Freestyle—and the Special kicks off tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. EDT. Watch on FEI TV or catch WEG dressage on NBC Sports' Olympic Channel.