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

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.

Ready or Not, Here Comes the WEG—and Maybe Florence

Eventing competitors school in the Tryon Stadium on the day before 2018 WEG opening ceremonies. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

TIEC isn’t really ready—but by all accounts it’s ready where it counts.

Two years ago, the still-fledgling Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, North Carolina, was awarded the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games when original host Bromont, Canada, backed out.

It was a damn-the-torpedoes moment for TIEC mastermind Mark Bellissimo, who with his Tryon Equestrian Partners team was well aware that the usual lead time is more like six years. Bellissimo said he originally planned for TIEC to bid to host the 2026 WEG, but he believed his team could go into hyperdrive and make it happen for 2018.

Is it too harsh to say he thought wrong? It depends on which side of the arena fence you’re seated on.

From the competitors’ perspective—which, because it encompasses the horses’ well-being, is the most important—all is well at TIEC.

Look who we ran into outside the dressage stabling area! US dressage team members Laura Graves, Adrienne Lyle, and Kasey Perry-Glass take time for a photo. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

“For us over in dressage land, it’s wonderful,” Team USA member Adrienne Lyle said at today’s US dressage-team press conference. “The stabling is great: It’s well thought out, there’s plenty of air, and every stall has its own fan. [There are] big matted aisles. We’re right next to the schooling arenas. Everything’s nicely condensed; we’re not running all around the property. The footing is great. It’s amazing what they’ve built for this; it’s really impressive-looking.”

Officials including the USA's FEI 5* dressage judge Anne Gribbons, who is the head of the dressage ground jury for the 2018 WEG, inspect the competition arena in the US Trust Arena. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The TIEC grounds, set amidst the picturesque foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, were obviously designed to evoke a resort/mountain lodge feel: lots of rustic-looking wood and stone that blend in with and set off the surrounding natural beauty. The effect is, well, somewhat marred at the moment by the masses of construction equipment, trucks, and miniature mountains of red clay (or red mud, given recent persistent heavy rains) being excavated and moved 24/7 as the venue works frantically to ready itself for tomorrow evening’s opening ceremony.

It’s not all going to be ready.

The promised on-site hotel, which was to house the grooms, isn’t. Bellissimo himself issued a written statement of apology to the grooms and their national federations. 

Construction of WEG facilities is ongoing the day prior to opening ceremonies. The dressage competition venue, the US Trust Arena, is in the background. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

An internal road isn’t completed. Crews can’t pour asphalt when the ground is slop from this summer’s rains, my shuttle driver told me this morning.

(PSA for anyone coming to WEG: Bring water-impervious footwear that you don’t care if it gets stained by red clay.)

I’m writing this blog post from the makeshift media center in TIEC’s Legends Club. The wooden chandeliers are pretty, but we’re not supposed to be in this VIP space at all; it’s crowded, the public WiFi is iffy, and we’re thankful it’s not hot today because the air conditioning is not robust. Unfortunately, the real media center isn’t finished yet—as in, the building didn’t yet have doors when I peeked inside this morning. Fingers crossed for tomorrow—but maybe not. 

Interestingly, most people I’ve talked to have decided to go with the flow instead of complaining. Parking, logistics, and plans apparently change daily—sometimes more frequently—around here, and you just roll with the punches. That may change after the media descend in force—the opening ceremony isn’t until tomorrow night—and of course the spectators aren’t here either. 

The Netherlands' Edward Gal and Glock's Zonik N.O.P. seem unfazed by construction activity. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The horses are going with the flow, too. Asked whether mounts are disturbed by the construction going on around the schooling area, Lyle said no. 

“These horses are used to a lot; they’ve traveled the world to many, many venues,” she said. And indeed the dressage horses seemed relaxed and focused this morning as they passaged and half-passed with earth movers in the background and endurance horses being jogged vigorously along the adjacent horse track.

The show must go on, as they say—but folks here are keeping a wary eye on the weather forecasts, which as I write this have announced that Hurricane Florence has attained category-4 status and is taking aim at North Carolina. Being far inland, TIEC is not in real danger of sizeable hurricane damage, says my local host, USDF secretary and US Equestrian “S” dressage judge Margaret Freeman; but it’s looking likely that the area will be slammed with rain on Friday, which is the day the dressage Grand Prix Special competition—for this WEG’s first dressage individual medals—is scheduled to be held. 

Florence or no Florence, the dressage competition at the FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018 officially gets under way tomorrow morning with the horse inspection. All of the American horses have been working well, according to US Equestrian dressage national technical advisor and chef d’équipeRobert Dover, for whom these Games are his swan song and the finish line of his famous “Roadmap to the Podiums” initiative. Steffen Peters’ named WEG mount, Rosamunde, is in good health and faring well, Peters said, but his reserve mount, Suppenkasper, was training so well that US Equestrian decided to sub in “Mopsie” after “Rosie” suffered what US Equestrian called a minor case of dehydration after shipping to Tryon.

“I could not be more proud of everything the riders, the federation, and our entire United States dressage community has come together to produce for the years I’ve been involved as the chefand the technical advisor,” Dover said. “I just can’t wait to in the arena and get going!”

According to the BOG, West Is Not Best for US Dressage Finals

The 2015 USDF Board of Governors. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

In 2011, when the USDF Board of Governors (BOG) voted to approve the creation of a new national dressage championships called the US Dressage Finals, they green-lighted a motion that "proposed" -- not mandated -- the rotation of the championships location from East to West every three years.

The 2013, 2014, and 2015 editions of the US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan were held in Lexington, Kentucky, at the Kentucky Horse Park. The USDF decided to commit to Kentucky for the 2016 show, as well...but then what?

A site-selection committee headed by USDF president George Williams and US Dressage Finals organizer (and former USDF secretary) Janine Malone did research and identified the HITS Desert Horse Park facility in Thermal, California, as a likely location for the 2017 Finals. But then a funny thing happened: Some people started wondering whether the Finals shouldn't remain in Kentucky, after all.

According to Malone, it's not unheard of for a BOG to vote to overturn a decision approved by a previous BOG. Thus it came to be, on the first of two days of the 2015 BOG assembly, that group-member and participating-member delegates engaged in a good hour of impassioned debate as to whether the Finals should be given a permanent home at the Kentucky Horse Park or whether it was better to honor the wishes of the 2011 BOG and attempt to allocate the Finals locations in something of an equitably divided manner between the two halves of our enormous nation. Then it was time for the BOG to vote on the motion, which was to commit to a Western Finals in 2017.

US Dressage Finals officials Janine Malone and George Williams address the Board of Governors. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

I've sat through enough debates at enough BOG assemblies that I can usually tell which way the winds of popular opinion are blowing; when the vote comes, it's not too much of a surprise. But honestly, today I couldn't get a sense of which way the vote was going to go. As a colleague remarked to me after the discussion period had been ended and the voting had begun, all of the delegates who waited patiently at the microphones for their turn to speak made thoughtful, persuasive arguments. There wasn't as much "I want the Finals in my back yard because I don't want to travel" as you might imagine, and there were even a few surprise endorsements of Kentucky as a permanent Finals site by West Coast-area delegates. Some people pointed to the success of such institutions as the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event and the iconic show in Aachen, Germany, which are always held in the same location. California Dressage Society president Kevin Reinig made several trips to the microphone, declaring that "We will do whatever it takes to make the Finals a great show." Riders from the western half of the US lobbied for the opportunity to show at a championships a more reasonable distance from home.

I was in for another surprise when George Williams announced the results of the electronic voting. Assuming a close race, I didn't expect the motion to be defeated soundly, with 855 delegates voting no and 569 voting yes, with 12 abstaining.

But it ain't over 'til it's over, and there is much still to be decided. Janine Malone said that some facilities won't commit to less than a three-year contract. It looks as if the US Dressage Finals will remain in Kentucky through 2017, but what is to happen in 2018 and 2019? That question may be decided tomorrow morning when the BOG reconvenes. Before they adjourned today, delegates agreed to resume discussion tomorrow. Tomorrow they may determine the future of the US Dressage Finals.

One thing emerged clearly from the discussions, however: The Finals, which were so long in the making and doubted by so many, have exceeded expectations and have quickly become a prestigious flagship event for the USDF. This show has been embraced and continues to earn accolades from competitors, officials, and spectators alike. The US Dressage Finals are a point of pride, and no one wants to see them lose their luster or become diminished in any way. What a difference five years has made!

On Fun Freestyle Day, Grease Is the Word

Danny (Jan Ebeling on Darling) woos Sandy (Charlotte Bredahl-Baker on Chanel) in their winning Grease-themed exhibition pas de deux. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The dark day of no competition at the 2015 Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage Final proved an opportunity for spectators as well as riders to cut loose and show the lighter side of our buttoned-down sport.

Just as many enthusiasts packed the Thomas & Mack Center for today’s Las Vegas Dressage Showcase as attended yesterday’s Grand Prix competition, which drew more than 7,300 spectators. But today was all about music, fun, and costumed exhibition rides – all by California-based riders and horses – plus a couple of milestone tributes.

The midday program kicked off with two “rising star” freestyles, ridden sans costumes: an Intermediate I Freestyle by Sabine Schut-Kery on Sanceo, and a Grand Prix Freestyle by Steffen Peters (who’s contesting the World Cup Final with Legolas 92) on the up-and-comer Rosamunde.

 

Sabine Schut-Kery rides Sanceo in an Intermediate I Freestyle. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The crowd was “looser” than at a traditional dressage competition, clapping and vocalizing freely during the rides. When Sanceo first entered the Thomas & Mack and spooked at a patch of unevenly dragged footing, the audience laughed; then when the stallion neighed, the crowd responded with a chorus of “awww.”

Light moments aside, Sanceo is a stunner, with tremendous scope and presence. His pirouettes and extensions drew cheers, and Schut-Kery was clearly thrilled with his performance.

 

OK, maybe she's a little too far underneath herself in front. But holy moly, can Rosamunde sit! Steffen Peters and his new wunderkind perform their Grand Prix Freestyle at the Las Vegas Dressage Showcase exhibition. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The other stunner is Rosamunde. It’s really hard to believe that this mare is only eight years old because her relaxation in the electric environment, coupled with her ease with the demands of the Grand Prix level, belie her age. She was so comfortable in the arena that I only saw her flinch once at some stimulus, and Peters was able to drop the reins and leave the arena on the buckle amidst the thunderous applause after his final halt and salute. Peters is not one to push a horse, and it’s obvious that Rosamunde has not been pushed. She’s extraordinary, and I expect great things from this pair in the future.

 

Not all dressage judging is this much fun! Linda Zang, Stephen Clarke, and Hans-Christian Matthiesen share a laugh with World Cup Finals announcer Bob Tallman (who's a well-known voice in the rodeo world). Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

With those more serious demonstrations concluded, it was time to turn the volume up – way up – for a three-way Dancing with the Stars-style pas de deux competition, complete with celebrity judges. FEI 5* judges Linda Zang of the US, Stephen Clarke of Great Britain, and Hans-Christian Matthiesen of Denmark made up the celebrity panel, awarding their scores via card after each ride.

 

Poison Ivy (Shannon Peters on Weltino's Magic) tries to put Batman (David Blake on Ikaros) under her evil spell. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Each pas de deux was themed, elaborately costumed, and expertly choreographed and edited. First up were Batman and Poison Ivy, aka David Blake on Ikaros and Shannon Peters on Weltino’s Magic. The horses – all of the horses today, actually – handled the atmosphere really well, in fact better than during the much quieter schooling session on Wednesday.

 

The Indian (Anna Dahlberg on Rico) meets the cowboy (Mette Rosencrantz on Marron). Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Then we visited the “Wild Wild West” courtesy of cowboy Mette Rosencrantz on Marron and Indian chief Anna Dahlberg on Rico. The upbeat soundtrack included themes from The Lone Ranger, A Million Ways to Die in the West, and Bonanza. The excitable Marron did give a half-rear during the program, but I think the audience thought it was part of the act! The judges scored the program higher than the Batman performance – but as Clarke (who was obviously relishing his role as the Simon Cowell of the panel) quipped, “Mette has a gun, so I’m going up.”

It was the final pas de deux, however, that brought down the house, winning top marks both from the judges and from the audience applause meter. “Danny” (Jan Ebeling on Darling) pursued “Sandy” (Charlotte Bredahl-Baker on Chanel) to the well-loved songs from Grease. Judge Linda Zang commended the horses’ synchrony and also confessed an affection for the 1950s-style music, saying that “This was my era!”

 

Elvis (Guenter Seidel on Zamorin) is a hunka-hunka burnin' love accompanied by showgirls (from left) Michelle Reilly on Umeeko, Sarah Christy on Xirope, and Elizabeth Ball on Orion. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The final musical showcase of the exhibition was a “Viva Las Vegas” quadrille. Elvis (Guenter Seidel on Zamorin) was most definitely in the building, accompanied by the scantily clad showgirls Michelle Reilly on Umeeko, Sarah Christy on Xirope, and Elizabeth Ball on Orion. The quadrille wasn’t part of the celebrity judging, but it was the perfect extravaganza to conclude the exhibitions.

Tributes and Touching Moments

Two short, related ceremonies punctuated the otherwise-exuberant Las Vegas Dressage Showcase with a serious note. The first honored the contributions of E. Parry Thomas – yes, of the Thomas & Mack Center – to both Las Vegas and dressage. Thomas, now 94, was a banker who was instrumental in developing Las Vegas as a city and a resort destination. And thanks to the equestrian interests of his wife, Peggy, and daughter Jane, Thomas became a strong supporter of the sport. He and Peggy developed their River Grove Farm in Hailey, ID, where husband-and-wife team Bob and Debbie McDonald became the trainers. The Thomases went on to sponsor Debbie McDonald through their purchases of many top horses, including the legendary Brentina, McDonald’s 2004 and 2008 Olympic mount.

 

Rider Adrienne Lyle (right) helps to lead Wizard from the arena after his retirement ceremony. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

A former working student of Debbie McDonald’s also benefited from the Thomases’ patronage. Adrienne Lyle was given the ride on their Wizard, whose career culminated in performances at the 2012 Olympics and the 2014 World Equestrian Games. The 16-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Weltmeyer x Classiker) appeared in public one last time in full show regalia (quite amped up in the T&M Center) before Lyle dismounted and the great horse was unsaddled, draped with a cooler, and led from the arena.

The tributes were a reminder that without supporters like Thomas and horses like Wizard, who give so much of themselves, dressage would be a pale shadow of the robust and thriving sport we have today. It was fitting that the ceremonies were bookended by the lighthearted and uplifting exhibition rides that, like our horses themselves, brought joy to so many.

It's Valegro First, the Rest...Trailing

On their way: Great Britain's Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro, the reigning World Cup Dressage Final champions, half-pass to Grand Prix victory with 85.414%. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Nobody here at the 2015 Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage Final can touch the golden pair of Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro. Not yet, anyway.

The 2014 World Cup Final champions, 2014 World Equestrian Games champions, and 2012 Olympic champions remained firmly fixed in the dressage-scoring stratosphere today, in the World Cup Final Grand Prix. One of a precious few horse-rider combinations in the world to crack the 80-percent scoring ceiling, the British superstars did so again today, topping the field of 18 with a final overall score of 85.414 percent.

All seven judges (yes, seven  --there were judges at K and F in addition to the customary C, E, H, M, and B) placed Valegro first. Today's judging panel consisted of Francis Verbeek-von Rooy at C, Hans-Christian Matthiessen (who replaced Isabelle Judet) at K, Stephen Clarke at E, Annette Fransen Iacobaeus at H, Maria Schwennesen at M, Peter Holler at B, and the USA's own Lilo Fore at F.

Dujardin clinched victory easily, even with a couple of minor bobbles, including a small loss of balance stepping into a piaffe on the center line. We've come to expect perfection from Valegro, and even when he's not breaking his own world record, he still comes pretty damned close. The 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Negro x Gerschwin) is a cadence machine. His tempos never waver -- most notably in the difficult piaffe-passage tours that ruthlessly expose any loss of balance. He has three fantastic gaits with no obvious weak link, and – in another comparison that leaves some other horses coming up short – he is equally supple and strong on both sides and in both hind legs. He pushes and carries equally with both hind legs.

The Netherlands' Edward Gal and Glock's Undercover N.O.P. piaffe to second place with a score of 79.057%. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Second behind Dujardin was Edward Gal of the Netherlands on Glock’s Undercover N.O.P. The 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Ferro x Donnerhall) earned an average score of 79.057 percent.

Gal’s test was not without mistakes. He picked up counter-canter instead of passage at M. There was a slightly overeager canter transition at E. And Gal had to delay the start of the one-tempis for a couple of strides because the horse wasn’t quite balanced, which made for a less-polished execution. Undercover—black and beautiful like a certain other famous former mount of Gal’s, but not quite in the league of the legendary Totilas—had tension creep into moments of the test, and he gets short and tight in the neck when it happens. But he’s lovely and talented, and his good basics evidently overcame the bobbles in the judges’ minds today, as all had him in second place (except for Fore, who placed Undercover fifth).

Speaking of tension, the 13-year-old Westfalen gelding Legolas (Laomedon x Florestan II) is known for being spooky, and the USA’s Steffen Peters has been expressing concerns about the horse’s ability to handle the electric indoor atmosphere at the Thomas & Mack Center since last year’s World Equestrian Games. Well, Peters has been prepping Legolas extensively to desensitize him to the lights, crowds, and noises, and all his hard work paid off today. Legolas was more relaxed than at the WEG, with clean tempi changes (a previous bugaboo) and a piaffe-passage tour in a better balance. The changes could have used more expression, and Legolas backed off the extended canter a tad early headed toward K (a corner that a number of horses weren’t thrilled about), and the second canter pirouette came around a bit too quickly. But otherwise it was a lovely test, and Peters exulted and pumped his fist in the air when it was over. His score of 76.843 percent put him in third place.

 

Steffen Peters' face says it all after a strong performance for third place aboard Legolas. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Afterward, Peters admitted that the strong showing “was probably a big surprise to me, too,” referring to the fact that Legolas’s performances in Florida this winter were sometimes marred by reactivity to the crowds. “We knew, if were going to qualify for Vegas, we needed to change things drastically. A week ago, we were invited to a farm three hours north of us. A hundred people showed up, a lot of noise, a lot of atmosphere. We recorded a sound file of the very end of a freestyle with the crowd cheering while the music was still playing.”

Peters edited the short clip to make it five minutes long, and he “played it over and over again in this new sound system we installed in this covered arena. I played it at 5:30 in the morning and when it was dark, and it paid off.” He said he was thrilled with how well Legolas handled the atmosphere: “Today I was probably even more excited than Charlotte and Edward.”

Finishing fourth was an exciting new pair from Germany: Jessica von Bredow-Werndl on the 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion Unee BB (Gribaldi x Dageraad). Unee BB is dark bay, gorgeous, and with that enviable combination of scope and suppleness. He had one mistake in the two-tempis, and he broke to trot at the beginning of his second extended canter because nature called. But his final score of 74.843 percent clearly thrilled his rider.

 

Laura Graves and Verdades in an expressive half-pass. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The score also just edged out the other US combination, Laura Graves and her 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Verdades (Florett AS x Goya). You probably know that this green-at-Grand-Prix pair burst onto the international scene at the 2014 WEG with a fifth-place freestyle finish, and the US press in particular has been buzzing about them ever since. I think Laura and “Diddy” got more attention than Captain America, Steffen Peters, before this World Cup Final, even though our captain is the competitive veteran and a past World Cup champion.

Las Vegas is Diddy’s first indoor competition, and it showed a little bit today with some moments of tension—a startle near H, a backed-off moment in the first piaffe, and a bobble at the end of the two-tempis. Diddy got a bit tight in the neck at times, and he wasn’t quite the elastic fantastic we saw in Normandy last August or at the Florida shows this winter. But let’s put it into perspective: This combination, still new to the international scene, placed fifth in a class at the World Cup Dressage Final, outranking such celebrated veterans as Germany’s Isabell Werth (eighth on El Santo NRW, 72.843 percent). Pretty good in my book.

 

But of course Elvis is in the building! Would you expect anything less in Vegas? Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

A Day of Rest (for the Horses, Anyway)

At a World Cup Dressage Final, all competitors who earn a score of 58 percent or better in the Grand Prix go on to the GP Freestyle. The lowest score today was 66.971 (Tatiana Dorofeeva of Russia on Kartsevo Upperville), so everybody will get to contest the Freestyle on Saturday, April 18. Tomorrow, dressage fans will be able to enjoy a diversion in the form of the Las Vegas Dressage Showcase, with exhibition performances that promise plenty of Vegas-style razzle-dazzle. Stay tuned for all the fun; plus I have yet to make it to that shoppers’ paradise known as the World Cup Finals Gift Show. Who needs gambling when you have an equestrian trade show to entice you to part with your money?