For only the third time in the 72-year history of the Pan American Games, Team Canada claimed Eventing gold at the 2023 edition in Quillota, Chile today.

It was a real upset when Michael Winter (El Mundo), Colleen Loach (Fe Golden Eye), Lindsay Traisnel (Bacyrouge) and Karl Slezak (Hot Bobo) pinned the leading Americans back to silver medal spot when the Jumping course designed by Marina Azevedo - the first-ever female designer at the Pan Americans who will also set the tracks for Jumping later this week - proved a game-changer.

Brazil dropped from overnight silver-medal-spot to bronze but, along with Canada, achieved their goal of Olympic qualification, while the USA’s Caroline Pamukcu held on to take the individual title ahead of Brazil’s Marcio Carvalho Jorge in silver and Canada’s Traisnel in bronze.

It was quite a day.

Within the time

Loach was the only one of the 25 starters to make it home within the time with a fabulous clear from her 11-year-old gelding Fe Golden Eye, and when Winter put just 0.8 time faults on the board with El Mundo then Team Canada was looking very solid going into the closing stages. However when they started the day the Canadians looked set to battle it out with the Brazilians for silver, not to overtake the leading Americans for the gold because they were a full 19 penalty points behind them

Brazil didn’t quite hold it together despite minimal time penalties for both Ruy Fonseca and anchorman Jorge when Carlos Parro (Safira) picked up 16 faults and and Rafael Mamprin Losano (Withington) clipped both the second element of the rustic double at fence four and the red vertical at six. But they completed with a final tally of 127.1 and were well clear of Team Mexico who finished fourth on 253.0.

Third-line Canadian Karl Slezak and Hot Bobo lowered both the Copper Mines oxer at fence nine and the wall that followed, but compatriot Tresnel, fifth overnight, added just 1.6 time faults to her running score. Now it was up to the three remaining Americans to hold fast to that leading spot because Sydney Elliott and Qz Diamantaire, in seventh place after cross-country, had added 9.2 to their scoreline when going over the time and leaving the oxer at fence three and the first element of the triple combination at fence eight on the floor.

Vulnerable

When Sharon White and Claus B had four fences down the US began to look vulnerable, and then Dressage leader Liz Halliday, who slipped to silver medal spot with time faults yesterday, had three down and it was now vital for Pamukcu to stay clear if Team USA was to hold on to pole position. 

Pamukcu’s eight-year-old gelding HSH Blake was looking really good until his 29-year-old rider saw a very long stride to the oxer at fence five and missed the distance to bring it crashing down. The pair quickly recovered their composure, but team gold was gone and it would be the second step of the podium for the defending champions by an agonising margin of just 0.1 penalty points when they completed on 115.7 behind the Canadians on 115.6.

Pamukcu still managed to hold on to individual gold when completing on 30.8 while Brazil’s Jorge took silver on 32.2 and Canada’s Traisnel moved up from fifth to bronze with a final scoreline of 34.2.

Bitter-sweet

“It’s definitely bitter-sweet but I was very proud of our weekend competing alongside these ladies”, said America’s Elliott. White admitted that “there are probably a lot of “if onlys” going on now in our own heads, but we fought hard to the bitter end and today was obviously a bit disappointing but we are all so proud of Caroline. Everyone is already planning how we are going to get it done better next time.”

Halliday put it bluntly. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was a bit gutted right now, I think we all are, it’s certainly not the result we came here to do. But it is what it is, and sometimes that’s how it goes with horses and we have to take it on the chin and stand up and be proud of what we did achieve, and look at ways to keep fighting hard to be better. The USA has really strong riders and horses right now and we have to keep pushing”, she said.

Pamukcu was delighted to find herself in individual gold medal spot but acutely aware that her fence down was costly.

“I get a bit eager sometimes and that was definitely showing my age there but I’m grateful for a great horse. I’ve ridden a lot of sale horses and I know when I’ve made a mistake you pull yourself together and kick on! I just saw one (a stride), I feel awful because if I didn’t have that silly rail - it cost us the gold but I promise I won’t make such a silly mistake again”, she said.

Achievement

The Canadians meanwhile reflected on their superb achievement.

“This is the culmination of two years of a complete High Performance restructuring and we didn’t just win this medal, our High Performance group did it”, said Winter. “We executed today but that foundation is what made it happen. It’s been a really positive environment and it has allowed us all to do our best and that is so key. It’s not one thing that’s magical or exceptional, it’s all the small things. I’ve been in the High Performance programme since 1995 and I’ve been in the team since 2003 and this is the most solid, productive structure we’ve had”, he said. 

As Loach pointed out “the climb up the leaderboard was hard to believe!”, She was thrilled with her clear round. “My horse an exceptional jumper so I knew if I did my job he’d do his and that is very confidence-inspiring going in”, she explained. 

Slezek said “I’m super excited to be part of this team, we all worked really hard to get this!”, while Traisnel said the Canadian success today was “kind of unbelievable! The focus was the team this week and I’m just so excited we got our Paris qualification and I’ve been so happy to be part of this group! It’s my husband Xavier, my family and our team at home that got us here!”, said the 38-year-old with team gold and individual bronze medals around her neck.

Marcio Jorge said Brazil’s team bronze and his individual silver are the result of long years of hard work. He was thrilled with the performance of his 10-year-old grey gelding Castle Howard Casanova. “This is a really special horse, he’s a really good jumper and really smart as well and I hope he will be ready to be competitive in Paris next year”, he commented.

That is in the sights of all of the top three teams tonight as USA is already qualified, but for now it’s time to celebrate Pan American glory after a breathtaking conclusion to three days of exceptional Eventing sport.

Startlists and Results here 

Headed to the final fence of the jump-off in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Washington (USA), Katie Dinan (USA) admitted she wasn't sure how many strides she was working on. What she did know, was that pulling was not the answer.

"A good distance showed up right away jumping in to the last line, and I kept on moving, and there was a lot of noise from the crowd. I saw my distance to the last jump, and I thought, 'This is a lot more forward than I thought this line was supposed to be,'" Dinan described. "I thought if I started pulling, it was definitely not the right thing to do. [My horse] just sprouted wings, and it was a good ending."

Last to go in a seven-horse jump-off, Dinan and her mount of five years, Brego R'n B claimed the first World Cup victory of their partnership, edging ahead of Rene Dittmer (GER) and Corsica X at the final three obstacles of Bernardo Costa Cabral's (POR) short course.

Dinan trusted her horse to a bold distance into the combination three obstacles from home and left out a stride to the final oxer to secure the victory. The winning time was 33.50 seconds. Dittmer settled for second (34.40 seconds), followed by Devin Ryan (USA) and Eddie Blue (34.74). 

"The very forward [distance] showed up to the double, and I thought, 'If not now, when?' I went for it."

Katie Dinan (USA)

Dinan and "Brego" have had many top placings on the North American League in previous seasons, and they qualified for the 2022 Finals in Leipzig (GER). Still, a win had eluded them. Under the tutelage of her longtime coach Beat Mändli (SUI), Dinan made it a personal goal to improve her speed and efficiency in jump-offs, which began to pay off in the summer. Saturday's win is the pair's third in Grand Prix competition since June. 

"I realised that Brego is a really fast horse, and if I wasn't going fast in the jump-off, it was because of me, so I had to work on that," Dinan shared. "I had to find a way, even if he's not the small, catlike horse that can just run around, to be smarter and better as a rider, to push myself to try to win these classes."

"It's hard not to love Brego. He's a super, super horse. I am so lucky to have him...This is our first five-star Grand Prix win together, and he's 17. He really, really deserves it. I'm thrilled for him."

Katie Dinan (USA)

As Brego has matured, Dinan has also prioritized the careful management of the gelding's schedule. Coupled with a busy course load as a PhD candidate at Rockefeller University (USA), Dinan isn't always able to get as much show ring practice as she'd like.

"Sometimes as a rider, I have to stay cool and patient and let it come, not stress out about not being in the ring as much," Dinan said. "I try not to show [Brego] too much and make the most of it when I do."

Dinan now shares the lead in the NAL standings with Sacramento victor Robert Blanchette (IRL) on 20 points. Sophia Siegel (USA) sits third with 17 points.

The North American League continues at Lexington (USA) on 4 October 2023.

Full results.

Standings.

USA’s Liz Halliday lost her grip on pole position with Miks Master C on cross-country day in Eventing at the Pan American Games 2023 in Quillota, Chile today but she only slipped one place to individual silver medal spot behind team-mate Caroline Pamukcu who took over the lead with HSH Blake. And Americans continue to dominate the team standings with Sharon White and Claus 63 remaining in third spot individually going into tomorrow’s medal-deciding Jumping phase.

The US team scoreline is 86.2, and after impressive cross-country performances Brazil lies second on 101.5 while Canada holds third spot on 105.2 ahead of Argentina in fourth on 194.4. Mexico is in fifth on a score of 209.00, while Chile is in sixth on 1161.8, Uruguay is in seventh on 1185.8 and Colombia has a scoreline of 2081.1.

There are two team qualifying spots on offer for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and since USA have already booked their ticket it is Brazil and Canada who are poised to make the cut if all goes according to plan tomorrow.

Perfect start

America’s Sydney Elliott and Qc Diamantaire got the day off to a perfect start with a copybook run across the 23-fence track to come home clear and well inside the time to remain on their Dressage score of 33.3 which promoted them from overnight tenth to seventh place.

Her 13-year-old gelding made it look deceptively easy when he stopped the clock in 7 minutes 53 seconds, well inside the optimum 8 minutes 3 seconds set by French course designer Pierre Le Goupil.

“I love cross-country day so much, I had a job to do what I did this morning and blaze the way. Ideally I wouldn’t like to be first out but I had confidence in my horse and it went to plan!”, she said. 

Together the pair have competed twice at Kentucky (USA), Aachen (GER) and this summer at Luhmuehlen (GER) this summer. He knows his job so well so I just tell him ‘Buddy, if I make a mistake - cover me! and he always does!”, said the rider who relocated from Louisiana to Southern Pines, North Carolina (USA) last year.

While 20 of the 34 competing combinations returned without fence penalties today only six made the time, and it was the clock that relegated Dressage leader Halliday to individual silver medal spot when she picked up four time penalties with Miks Master C.

“I wish I could have gone a little bit faster but that’s what we had today. He was a good boy, very brave and very honest. He just got a bit backed off by the turning questions at the beginning and it took us about half the course to find our galloping momentum. Quickness is not his forte”, the American pointed out.

By the time she headed out, her team-mate Sharon White and Claus had already come home with 2.4 penalties to add which was still good enough to hold on to third place. 

Buzz

The Chilean public poured into the military base in Quillota today and the buzz all around the cross-country course was electrifying. “There were so many people shouting and yelling he got a little excited in the warm-up and I’m just so thrilled with how he stayed concentrated!”, White said of her horse. 

She had a nervous moment when Claus hesitated as he jumped over the Lobster drop into the first water complex at fence five - the Casino Fountain. “That was because there were two of us jumping in at the same time because Mike (Winter, CAN) was going in the same direction but he was on his way home! So I had to shout to myself “focus, focus!”, said the rider from West Virginia who posted a personal-best in Dressage yesterday. 

Caroline Pamukcu and her Irish-bred HSH Blake set off at the halfway stage of the competition and crossed the finish line in exactly the same time as compatriot Elliott. With nothing to add to her Dressage score of 26.8 she would move ahead of Halliday when cruising home without incident.

She is a busy lady who is not afraid of hard work. Just last weekend  at the 5* fixture in Maryland (USA) she won the 2023 USEF CCI3*-L in which she had three rides along with five more horses in the Young Horse classes.

HSH Blake is still only a relative youngster at eight years old but he took today’s course completely in his stride. 

“I want to thank my Federation for giving me a great prep for this competition. We were recently sent to Strzegom in Poland for the Nations Cup and I feel that really prepped us for this. This was a great track for him”, she said. 

She described the course as “a 3* track with 4* questions, so it’s quite difficult. I made sure on the galloping tracks I moved along, and then I had to set him up more than normal because the fences are smaller than what he’s used to jumping. It’s a championship course, very fun to ride, the ground was unbelievable, they did such a great job and each jump is so perfectly decorated - it’s kind of what you dream of!”, she added.

Established

Meanwhile the Brazilians were also cementing the second-place team spot they established yesterday in the Dressage ring. Team pathfinder Ruy Fonseca (Ballypatrick SRS) collected 19.6 time faults on his cautious tour of the track but both Carlos Parro (Safira) and Rafael Mamprin Losano (Withington) were double-clear to stay on their dressage scores and when anchorman Marcio Carvalho Jorge (Castle Howard Casanova) picked up just 1.6 time penalties they stayed ahead of the Canadians who, however, are less than four penalty points behind them when the action resumes in the morning.

Mamprin Losano said the course “took quite a lot of riding. This is a big scopey horse and some of the track was lovely and galloping and some parts were jump-and-turn. You had to go at 4* speed to be in the time and I’m very lucky that this horse is an absolute machine because he made my job a lot easier!”

Carvalho Jorge’s neat run leaves him lying in overnight fourth while Canada’s Lindsay Traisnel and Bacyrouge, who stopped the clock precisely on the optimum time of 8.03, have moved into fifth individually ahead of compatriot Karl Slezak with Hot Bobo in sixth. 

Perspective

Jorge put some perspective on what success, or even experience, at these Pan American Games means to athletes in the region. 

“The Brazilian team have come for the Olympic qualification, but not just for that, we come to get a medal at the PanAms because this is really important for our country. I’m based in England for the last eight years but I rode all my life in Brazil and I know how important this is for Brazil and all the other countries here. Because this is the biggest competition we have in Central and South America. 

“When we are young we grow up dreaming about the PanAms. It means a lot for the sport because it needs to grow, we can’t have this sport existing just in Europe and America anymore. Games like this keep these countries alive, keep them dreaming, keep them working and training for the future”, he said.

When Jumping gets underway at 12.00 local time tomorrow Team USA will be holding the advantage and there will be plenty to play for between Brazil and Canada. Individually there is less than a fence between the three leading Americans and less than two fences between the top nine, so it’s going to be a tense fight to the finish in the race for the Pan American Games 2023 Eventing medals.

Don’t miss a hoofbeat….

Startlists and Results here

The defending champions from the USA took a firm hold at the top of both the team and individual leaderboards when the Dressage phase got Eventing underway at the Pan American Games 2023 in Quillota, Chile today.

Performing the CCI4* test it was Sharon White who took the early lead on a score of 28.2 with her 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding Claus 3, and then US team-mate Caroline Pomacku overtook her when putting 26.8 on the board with her Irish-bred eight-year-old gelding HSH Blake. But leading the last group of the day into the ring, Liz Halliday and Miks Master C shaved another two marks off the target score to go into tomorrow’s cross-country phase at the head of affairs on 24.8.

The Californian-born 44-year-old described her 11-year-old gelding as “a keen bean, he has a big engine and he wants to get on with the job! It’s a pretty electric atmosphere in there, this horse has been to Kentucky and he definitely noticed it. I had to work to keep him relaxed”, she said after delivering a really smart performance. 

The pair finished third in Kentucky this year, the biggest achievement of the 44-year-old rider’s career. “It was his first 5*, he’s an amazing horse, a very exciting horse for the future. We haven’t been together all that long so it’s really great to be here”, Halliday said. 

Course

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s second phase, she described the cross-country course as “a little twistier than Kentucky! I don’t think eight minutes will take a lot out of Miks, he’s an amazing galloper, 16.2hh, not tall but strong and solid in his body. He has a huge stride which makes him look tremendous with so much push and lift!” 

She singled out the Cavalry Bank at 20AB, close to home on the 23-fence track, as one that could prove influential. “I’ve jumped Irish banks in Ireland at Millstreet, and the step at fence seven is sort of a quirky thing too that you’d find there. They are quite clever, something most of our horses haven’t seen and they get your attention and make you think. There’s plenty to do out there on that course!”, she said. 

She doesn’t think it should be under-estimated. “This is a big senior championship and it’s important. Nearly when you’re on a horse that has that experience it makes you focus a little more, because the jumps are a little smaller - it’s still a tricky track and anyone taking it for granted would be very silly!”, she said.

Attention

The course that starts in the main arena over the Vina del Mar Clock fence before moving into the polo field at the military base and then out across open country is the centre of everyone’s attention now. Designed by Frenchman Pierre Le Goupil and built by Jump1’s Dominic Moore from Great Britain it is colourful, clever and a whole lot of fun. The two men worked together just once before, at the FEI Eventing European Championship 2023 at Haras du Pin in France in early August.

“We don’t talk enough about the builders who have fantastic skill and creativity”, said Le Goupil today. “Six months ago I didn’t know who I was going to work with, I had an idea of what the course should be technically-speaking but the details of the fences I didn’t know because it depends on the materials you have and who is going to do the job. Dominic is creative and it has been an exchange of ideas between us”, the Frenchman explained. The Pan American venue in Quillota is very different to Normandy.

“Here natural material we would normally use is not available or is very different. At the end though the result is fantastic and everybody loves the way it has been built and presented. Now it has to please the riders and spectators tomorrow, and we will let the sport talk!”, Le Goupil said. 

He explained the principles he adheres to when designing fences for riders with differing levels of experience at the PanAms.

“The course has to provide an opportunity for everyone to finish, but it should not be too easy. We need to have a first, second, third and last! Safety is the priority, but too easy is never safe. It has to be challenging enough so that they pay attention, questioning enough so they stay focused, we need to keep them mentally busy and paying attention all the way along”, he said. The optimum time is 8 minutes 3 seconds.

Delighted

Course-builder Dominic Moore is delighted to be working alongside Le Goupil again, in a very different setting to the French countryside. “It’s a great experience for us to do two Championships on opposite sides of the world!”

“At the Europeans we had big rolling hills and natural timber and when we came here we wanted to do something totally different”, he explained. His build team includes Charles Mathews and John Williams who both run crews for Jump 1 in Europe, Aert Vandergoes from Maarsbergen Horse Trials in Holland, Raymond Martins who builds for Eric Winter in Argentina, Eric who has come along to help and Hannah Mathews who is in charge of flowers. Many of the fences have been beautifully painted by the Coddou family who live locally. The father of the family is a former Commander at the military base.

The Chilean crowd don’t hold back when they are enjoying their sport, and when the action resumes at 11.00 tomorrow morning there will be plenty of Latin-American energy and excitement in the air.

The fourth member of the US team, Sydney Elliott who is lying tenth with Qc Diamantaire, will be first out again. USA heads the team leaderboard on a score of 79.8, Canada lies second with 93.5, Brazil is close behind on 99.9 and Mexico is in fourth place on 109.2 followed by Uruguay, Chile, Argentina and Colombia in that order.

It’s going to be a thrilling day, so don’t miss a hoofbeat…..

Startlists and Results here

Bolivia's is poised to compete at the highly anticipated Pan American Games 2023 in Santiago (CHI) from 20 October to 5 November, with two exceptional riders, thanks to the support of FEI Solidarity. This support has been instrumental in nurturing equestrian talent in Bolivia, from grassroots development to championship-level performance.

Pan American Qualification Through South American Games

The athletes secured their positions at this year’s Pan American Games by clinching 2 individual spots at the South American Games 2022. Over three years, FEI Solidarity's Athletes' Training Programme has backed the Senior team, offering support to 29 dedicated athletes. Despite the training disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the team's determination led to a commendable 3^rd place finish at the Bolivarian Games (24th June-4 July 2022), with Daniel Bedoya and Rodrigo Bedoya both achieving top-ten rankings.

Two Bolivian Athletes to Compete

Bolivia has two nominated entries for the Jumping phase of the Pan American Games, Diego Bedoya with Skara Glen’s Para Bellum Bol, and Reynaldo Daza with Doria One Loar Mystic Rose, and with three spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games up for grabs at the Pan Ams, the stakes are high.

At 27 years old, Diego Bedoya, alongside his 12-year-old gelding Skara Glen's Para Bellum Bol, has had a busy season, competing up to 1.55 meters at CSI4* events in Saugerties, NY, and the CSI 3* Grand Prix in Mill Spring, NC (Tryon).

Reynaldo Daza, a seasoned campaigner, was one of the first riders to represent Bolivia at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon with Chacco Balou. His equine partner for the Pan Am Games is a recent addition to the team. “I am very excited and happy about the Pan Am Games, and excited that they will be held in Chile which is a really nice celebration for the South American community,” said Daza. “I’m hoping to do my best, enjoy, and get the best results possible in this event.”

Brazilian coach Marcello Artiaga De Castro, the Programme Lead, expressed his confidence in the Bolivian riders, saying, "Bolivia will compete at the Pan Am Games with two riders currently based in the USA, Diego Bedoya and Reynaldo Daza. They have enough international experience and their Coach will be Mr. Daniel Bedoya, who is also USA based and as a rider won Individual Silver and Team Bronze Medals at the 2022 Bolivarian Games in Colombia, as well as a strong 6th place finish individually at the 2022 Odesur Games in Paraguay. They will be fighting to get an individual spot for Bolivia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”

Nicholas Rahmi, Technical Manager at the Bolivian Federation of Equestrian Sports and Chef D-Equipe for Jumping at the Pan American Games 2023, shared this Marcello’s sentiment; “Our participation in the Pan American Games and the results obtained last year are successes but also a motivation to go further.  We would really like to qualify for the Olympic Games, in this cycle or the next”

Team Bolivia's impressive results reflect the Programme's success. At the Senior National Jumping Championships, they showcased a new level of jumping prowess, with the course set at a challenging 150cm.

Vital Role of FEI Solidarity Funding and Support

"For developing countries like Bolivia, FEI Solidarity funding and support are vital," emphasised De Castro. "Without their financial assistance and knowledge transfer, achieving two medals at the Bolivarian Games (Individual Silver and Team Bronze), contending for medals at the Odesur Games (a very close 6th place finish individually), and qualifying the Team for the Pan American Games would have been significantly more challenging.

We worked tirelessly for almost two years, amid a global pandemic, organising several clinics, virtual chats, and trials in Bolivia to elevate the standard.  I must point out that in this quest I have had tremendous support also from the whole Bolivian Equestrian community: NF Board, riders, owners, veterinarians, local and international course designers, grooms, sport fans... they all believed that Bolivia could improve and do better.  Undoubtedly, FEI Solidarity's funding and support lent much-needed credibility to the project."

FEI Solidarity's Expanding Support

Looking to the future, FEI Solidarity is expanding its support by financing a second Athletes' Training Programme in Jumping, this time for Youth. This initiative is aimed at nurturing talent from an early age and enhancing their technical abilities. With 37 athletes and 12 local coaches actively engaged, this project lays a strong foundation for the future development of Team Bolivia.

Check the FEI Solidarity Hub here.

You can follow the Pan American Games 2023 on FEI TV and the FEI YouTube channel

There was a whole new buzz around the Escuela de Equitación Regimiento Granaderos equestrian venue in Quillota, Chile today with horses coming forward for the first veterinary inspection and then going to arena familiarisation ahead of tomorrow’s opening dressage phase of Eventing at the Pan American Games 2023. 

All equines got the nod of approval, and a total of 34 combinations from nine countries - Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay and USA - will come before Ground Jury members Sandy Phillips (GBR), Robert Stevenson (USA) and Marina Sciocchetti Campello (ITA) when the action gets underway, with USA’s Sydney Elliott and QC Diamantaire first through the gate at 11.00am local time.

There are eight nations fielding teams, and following yesterday’s draw the order-of-go will be: 1, USA; 2, Brazil; 3, Uruguay; 4, Mexico; 5, Chile; 6, Colombia; 7, Argentina; 8, Canada.

At the last Pan Americans in Lima, Peru in 2019 the USA took team and individual gold along with individual silver while Brazil’s Carlos Parro took individual bronze. Parro is back in the Brazilian side again this year, but the US line-up is completely different. 

There are two qualifying spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on offer this week. The Americans have already booked their place, so the countries in contention for those two coveted slots are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay. 

Dynamic

The dynamic of the PanAms is unique, and everyone knows the favourites when it comes to medal potential. But these Games are about participation above all else, and already enjoying his fourth Pan American adventure in the sport of Eventing is the inimitable Colombian Juan Carlos Tafur Eisenmayer. 

An architect by trade, he has designed everything from sporting venues to housing projects, office buildings and hardware stores in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Colombia and elsewhere. However the real loves of his life are his horses and his competition riding. 

“I don’t know how I find the time to do it, but it happens!”, says the man from  Bogotá who will trot into the arena tomorrow afternoon with his much-loved 14-year-old Blue Moon.

Together with his wife he runs a sporthorse breeding enterprise, and he is understandably proud that the mare is a home-bred Holsteiner. With his original top ride, aptly named Quinto because he was the fifth son in a precious breeding line going back to the legendary Irish jumping stallion King of Diamonds, he says that he had a chance of making Olympic qualification earlier in his riding career but family life got in the way. 

“Now it’s easier for me to develop the sport more intensively”, says the distinguished looking gentleman who clearly hasn’t lost sight of his ambitions as he turns 70 this year.

Instrumental

His father was instrumental in establishing the Bacata Equestrian Club in 1953. “That is 70 years old in November this year, and I was born 20 days later!”, says Juan Carlos. Juan Carlos’ early life centred around the club which has nurtured generations of Colombian equestrians, including his nephew Roberto Terán Tafur who represented the country in Jumping at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and Rene Lopez who is on the Colombian Jumping team next week in Quillota.

Juan Carlos is also a Jumping course designer, working in South Africa, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Venezuela and Canada and creating the tracks for the US Young Riders championship on three occasions.

He has seen many changes in the sport over the years, and has been impressed by the increased professionalism he is seeing this week at the Pan American Games, but he says some of the nations in the region have a lot of ground to make up to be truly competitive.

“The standard of horsemanship is much higher but we still have too many differences between Europe and the US and what we are doing in South America. That is because here it is difficult to travel and bring people together, it’s so difficult to move horses around and so expensive”, he points out. The topography doesn’t help, negotiating the Andes mountains for instance is not a small challenge.

But he’s a great believer in positivity. “I try to encourage people by saying if I can do it then you have to try! Be focused, try to progress, anything is possible - although I’m not sure about a medal!”, he adds with a laugh.

Wonderful 

His first Pan American Games were in Guadalajara, Mexico in 2011, “and then Toronto in 2015 where I had a wonderful time. I was first to go cross-country and completed it with Quinto. It’s great to be able to accomplish things that you feel are difficult but then you just go for it and it turns out fantastic!”, he says.

He explains the cycle of progress that athletes in the region go through.

“We start with the Bolivarian Games, then the Central American and Caribbean Games and then the Pan American Games, and that can take you to the Olympics. I’ve had three team and one individual bronze medal in Bolivarian Games with Quinto and in the Central American Games I won one silver team medal. I feel very honoured to have done this”, he explains.

Needless to say the cross-country phase of Eventing is his favourite part. “Blue Moon loves it. We walked the course yesterday - it’s tough, we’ve never had these mountains and hills so she will be a little surprised but we will enjoy it!”, he says. He is filled with praise for the facilities at the venue, loves the stables which have been upgraded for the Games but with great respect for the integrity of the old buildings, and says the organisation is exceptional. 

First time

“It’s the first time for me to be able to go in the arena for Jumping familiarisation and again today we had familiarisation for Dressage, and we could go hacking for the last few days which is so good for the horses. We had a bit of galloping too, not seeing the (cross-country) fences but the horses loved it, and there is a very nice grazing area also so they are much more happy and relaxed. It’s a really friendly environment for everyone!”, he says.

He says riding keeps him fit, and Blue Moon is the perfect partner for him right now. “When you have a horse that’s light, capable, willing and careful it’s fantastic. I work for my horses and they are everything to me!”

He is joined on the Colombian team this week by Lucero Desrochers S - “a professional rider and coach, she is from Cali in Colombia”, Andres Felipe Gomez Sanabria - “a young man studying medicine” and Mauricio Benmudez - “a lawyer who just bought an Irish horse!” 

Together they will be flying the Colombian flag high, and with enormous pride.

Don’t miss a hoofbeat…..

Startlists and results here

The FEI Tribunal has issued a Final Decision under the FEI Equine Anti-Doping Rules Article 2.3 for Evading, Refusing or Failing to Submit the horse to Sample Collection.

In this case, the athlete Ayedh Al Mughamer (FEI ID 10174065/KSA), failed to submit the horse Talaqah (FEI ID 108BA98/KSA), to the doping control station for a sample collection at the CEI1* 100 Riyadh (KSA), 10-11 February 2023. 

The horse was selected for a mandatory in-competition doping control test on 11 February following a positive hyposensitivity examination. The athlete refused the testing and left the event with the horse.  

In its final decision the FEI Tribunal imposed a two-year ineligibility period on the athlete from the date of the decision, the provisional suspension served by the athlete will be credited against the period of ineligibility. The athlete was also fined CHF 7,500 and asked to pay costs of CHF 2,000. Lastly, the results of the horse and athlete combination from the event will be disqualified.

The full Decision is available here.

Separately, the FEI has notified an alleged Equine Anti-Doping Rule Violation under the Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations (EADCMRs). In this case, the athlete has been provisionally suspended until the decision of the FEI Tribunal and the horse has been provisionally suspended for two months.

Case: 2023/BS08

Horse/Passport: QUASTINA (FEI ID 107MC69/BRA)

Person Responsible/ID/NF: Lucio Vinicius DE OLIVEIRA OSÓRIO (FEI ID 10080702/BRA)

Event: CSI5*-W São Paulo SP (BRA), 22-27 August 2023

Date of sample collection: 23 August 2023

Prohibited Substance: Stanozolol

Date of notification: 24 October

Notes to Editors:

FEI Equine Prohibited Substances

The FEI Prohibited Substances List is divided into two sections: Controlled Medication and *Banned Substances. Controlled Medication substances are medications that are regularly used to treat horses, but which must have been cleared from the horse’s system by the time of competition. Banned (doping) Substances should never be found in the body of the horse and are prohibited at all times.

In the case of an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for a Banned Substance, the Person Responsible (PR) is automatically provisionally suspended from the date of notification (with the exception of certain cases involving a Prohibited Substance which is also a **Specified Substance). The horse is provisionally suspended for two months.

Information on all substances is available on the searchable FEI Equine Prohibited Substances Database.

 

Ecuador’s Julio Mendoza Loor is not a man to hide his emotions, and his smile was a mile wide when he was crowned individual Dressage champion today at the Pan American Games in Quillota, Chile.

This was his country’s first Dressage gold medal in the 72-year history of the Games, and partnering the lovely Dutch-bred gelding Jewel’s Goldstrike he produced a fabulous Freestyle performance for a mark of 87.230 that proved impossible to beat when third-last to go. 

“I can’t believe it - history for Ecuador and I got my spot for the Olympics today so it’s really exciting!”, said Loor. There were two individual slots at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on offer to NOCs in the region, and Loor has claimed one for Ecuador while the other goes to Chile after Svenja Grimm and Doctor Rossi finished eighth in today’s competition.  

Brazil’s João Marcari Oliva and Feel Good VO followed Loor into the ring and put a hefty 86.160 on the board to take their second silver medal of the week. And it was team gold medallist, USA’s Anna Marek with Fire Fly, who snatched bronze when last of the 19 starters, her 81.305 giving her the edge over team-mate and defending individual champion Sarah Tubman with First Apple.

Strong

The Americans were strong all day, Codi Harrison and Katholt’s Bossco taking the lead on 79.230 before the final group of five took their turn. 

Tubman led the way in that group and put the first over-80% score on the board with 81.155, remaining at the head of affairs when the popular Brazilian partnership of Renderson Silva de Oliveira and Fogoso Campline followed with a well-earned 80.095.

But Mendoza Loor blew the competition wide open when dancing his way to over 87% in a test brimming with confidence and class. In Sunday’s Grand Prix there had been costly mistakes, but on Monday he put things right to win the Grand Prix Special. And today it was plain sailing all the way to the biggest result of his career.

“My plan was to go mistake-free and I did it!”, he said. 

Good test

He knew he was doing a good test and that he needed to keep his nerve.“Especially after my last pirouette/piaffe, straight from pirouette to piaffe which is really complicated, he was really ready for it. After that I had to hold in my tears because I just wanted to cry!”, he added. 

Goldstrike is known as Goldie at home, and he’s a treasured member of the Mendoza Loor family. “I got him from a friend five years ago and the first time I rode him I was laughing because he wanted to be a little bit cheeky and I said ‘come on baby, bring it on!’ I love his character and we’ve become best friends”, Loor explained.

The Dutch Warmblood gelding lives a natural life, full of freedom. “He lives outside 24/7, he has his own stall with his name on it but he loves his field. For me if that’s where he is happiest then that’s where he has to live”, said the newly-crowned gold medallist.

Pleased and proud

Brazil’s Marcari Oliva said he was pleased and proud of his second silver medal of the week. - “For my horse and my team and for my other friends who were competing with me - this silver is also for them”, he pointed out.

“My horse was listening to me, he felt fresh, he also wanted to win the medal like me. I chose the music because the first part is called Feeling Good and that’s also the name of horse so I felt it was a match and I liked the music and everything went right!”, he explained. 

It wasn’t easy to change from his top ride, Escorial, who he competed at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 and the FEI Dressage World Championship 2022 in Herning (DEN) and who was withdrawn in favour of the Westphalian stallion he rode this week. “I have more experience with Escorial, he’s older and my first choice was him. But the other horse (Feel Good VO) gave me the same or maybe more, he was really into it and he gave his best and we got the silver medal. We will never know what would have happened if I had the other horse (Escorial), but this horse did the best he could do”, he pointed out.  

Quite a week

USA’s Marek said she came to the Pan Americans “not expecting a whole lot in terms of an individual medal”, so with a bronze individual to add to the team gold she won on Monday it has been quite a week.

“You spend so much time at training camp and there’s all the anticipation coming here, and I worked all year to make the team and I was hoping for months that I made the team. Then you come and prepare, and that first ride, never having done a major championship before, where you’re not just riding for yourself and the owner but for the team and the country….the feeling I had after the Grand Prix without even knowing the score, it felt like a great ride for Fire Fly and like no other feeling I’ve ever had in my life!”, said the rider who was born in Michigan but who has been living in Ocala, Florida for the last 14 years. 

She is obviously a woman of many talents. She and her husband have a 20-acre farm and also keep training horses and clients at another farm close by. Describing her lifestyle she explained, “I coach, I ride, I teach, I’m a mom, I clean my house, I feed horses….!” 

She was completely taken aback about making it onto the podium today. She was back at the stables when she heard the news.

“Standing in the box and finding out that I was bronze here today I freaked out! I almost made my horse take off! My coach Anne Gribbons told me before going in, you’re not riding for the team any more, you have nothing to lose so just go for it! But I had to follow those two (Loor and Marcari Oliva who were standing nearby) so you’ve got to do something right!”, she said. 

Praises

Meanwhile new Pan American Games individual champion Julio Mendoza Loor was still singing the praises of the horse that has carried him to the most significant moment in his career.

“I can’t express how grateful I am to this horse (Jewel’s Goldstrike). He gave me everything and more than I deserve, and I’m always going to be grateful to him. He’s always going to be at home in the field - I love him!!”, he said.

Result here

After the intense excitement of yesterday’s Team competition in which USA took gold and Brazil and Canada claimed silver and bronze along with qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, attention has turned to tomorrow’s individual Dressage Freestyle title-decider at the Pan American Games 2023 in Quilotta, Chile.

The second horse inspection took place this morning, and 20 horse-and-rider combinations from 10 countries will come before judges Carlos Lopes (POR), Michael Osinski (USA), Magnus Ringmark (SWE), Cara Whitham (CAN) and Cesar Torrente (COL) to battle it out for the individual medals. A draw was held after the trot-up today, and it will be Colombia’s Maria Alejandra Aponte Gonzalez and Lord of the Dance who will be first into the ring at 11.00 local time tomorrow.

No more than three combinations from the same country may participate in this final competition, and of the 20 starters there will be four Small Tour partnerships doing Intermediate l Freestyle while the 16 Big Tour contenders will perform at Grand Prix Freestyle level. Four countries - Brazil, Canada, Mexico and USA - have three combinations through to this final test and, as has happened all week, Big Tour riders will have a 3% bonus added to their scores.

The combination with the best result tomorrow will win gold, the second best will win silver and the third best will win bronze. If there is a tie for the medals, the Big Tour combination will finish ahead of the Small Tour combination and if there is a tie between combinations in the same tour (Small or Big), the best result in the Int I/GPS will finish ahead. 

All of the biggest scorers of the week are in the final group, and first to go of these are the defending champions from the USA, Sarah Tubman and First Apple who will step into the ring 14.00.

Biggest battle

The biggest battle may well be fought between yesterday’s Grand Prix Special winners Julio Mendoza Loor and Jewel’s Goldstrike from Ecuador and Brazil’s João Marcari Oliva who topped the line-up in Sunday’s Grand Prix. 

Oliva is competing his reserve horse, Feel Good VO, because it was decided just a couple of weeks ago that his intended ride Escorial Campline was not fit to compete. Despite the last-minute change things have worked out very nicely indeed.

Like Marcari Oliva, Ecuador’s Mendoza Loor has a long-held tradition of horsemanship in his family, in both Spain and in Quito in Ecuador where his father ran a riding school. Now based in North Carolina, USA and married to US Dressage Federation silver medallist Jessica Mendoza, he says he owes all his success to her - “I asked God for a woman, and he gave me an angel!”, he said after topping yesterday’s Special. 

But there will be precious little romance in the air when the action gets underway at the Chilean Army Equitation Centre in Quillota tomorrow with individual Pan American Games glory up for grabs.

Tubman won’t be giving anything away for free and her US team-mate Anna Marek won’t either. But one of the most appealing partnerships at the event so far has been Brazil’s Renderson Silva de Oliveira and the Lusitano Fogoso Campline who have been really impressive all week. Oliveira says he wants to do his country proud, and especially the Brazilian people for whom “life is hard”. Together with the stallion he has won his way into the hearts of many this week and there won’t be a dry eye in the house if he finds his way onto the medal podium tomorrow.

Eventers

Meanwhile the Eventers have arrived ahead of their first horse inspection on Thursday, and today they schooled over fences in the main arena as the sun at last came out after several days hidden behind clouds. 

Fresh from his runner-up finish with Grafennacht at CCI5*-L in Maryland, USA, at the weekend, five-time Olympian, multiple champion and coach Great Britain’s William Fox-Pitt turned up, ready to put the Brazilian team through their paces.

For now however it is still the Dressage horses and riders who are holding centre stage ahead of one more day of what promises to be a thrilling conclusion to the Pan American Games 2023 in their discipline.So don’t miss a hoofbeat……

Startlists and results here

Some fun facts about Chile….

Chile is the longest country in the world from north to south at 2,653 miles.

And it is also one of the world's narrowest – with a width of just over 200 km.

Chile is the world’s fifth-largest wine exporter, with 100 wineries. 

Pisco is Chile’s national drink. 

More than half of the country’s plants and animals are found nowhere else on Earth. 

Chile has the world’s driest desert – the Atacama. It has not seen a single drop of rain since record-keeping began. 

Many of Chile’s more than 1,300 volcanoes can be active. 

Penguins are found in Chile, in addition to Antarctica. With almost 12,000 breeding pairs in the country, ‘Humboldt Penguins’ can be seen on the north coast of Chile. 

On a day that bubbled with excitement, Team USA stood firm to take Dressage team gold, Team Brazil made history when slotting into silver medal position and the defending champions from Canada took bronze at the Pan American Games 2023 in Quillota, Chile.

This was the ninth PanAm Dressage team title for the USA as the side of Christian Simonson (Son of a Lady), Anna Marek (Fire Fly), Codi Harrison (Katholt’s Bossco) and Sarah Tubman (First Apple) finished on a tally of 450.670. Brazil completed on 443.343 and Canada posted a score of 431.937. 

As the US is already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games it was the Brazilians and Canadians who claimed the two qualifying spots on offer. The hosts from Chile finished fourth on 423.672.

Biggest score

Today’s tests were Intermediate l for Small Tour and Grand Prix Special for Big Tour combinations, and the biggest score was posted by Ecuadorian individual Julio Mendoza Loor and Jewel’s Goldstrike who topped the Special with 78.617. Yesterday’s Grand Prix winning partnership of João Victor Marcari Oliva and Feel Good VO from Brazil slotted into a very close second when putting 78.612 on the board and defending individual champion Sarah Tubman from the USA finished third with Little Apple on 76.872. 

Four years ago the American pair were competing at Small Tour level, and this time around they showed just how much they have developed their partnership when stepping up to the Big Tour challenge so successfully. 

The Americans came out today with all guns blazing and 21-year-old Christian Simonson got them off to the perfect start when taking a strong lead in the Intermediate l when posting 74.971 which would leave him best in the Small Tour competition and individually fourth at the end of the day. That was backed up by 74.489 from Marek and Fire Fly, and 71.957 from Harrison riding Katholt’s Bossco before Tubman put the icing on the cake with her 76.872.

Amazing week

“It’s been such an amazing week!”, said Florida-based Tubman. “We are the youngest team the US has sent out in quite a while and I’m really proud to say we all delivered personal bests across the board along with amazing camaraderie! It’s one thing to stand up there and have the national anthem played because of your performances, and it’s completely different to do it next to three friends!”

Success today was particularly emotional for the 35-year-old as she remembered her former sponsor, Gerry Ibanez, who passed away not long after she won the individual medal at the last Pan Americans in Lima, Peru four years ago. 

Harrison who hails from Kansas but now also lives in Florida, USA said “you dream of making it into a championship like this and for it to come real is the best feeling!” 

Simonson’s Danish-bred gelding was formerly competed by Spanish Olympian and prolific producer of young Dressage horses Severo Jurado Lopez, and by Danish Olympian and World Championship team gold medallist Carina Cassøe Krüth. “I’m really fortunate to ride him”, said the young American, “he’s one of the only horses I’ve met that…even if he doesn’t win, that fighting feeling he gives you is probably the best thing!” 

Celebrate

The Brazilians had a lot to celebrate today. Not only have they been hugely impressive so far, with the relatively inexperienced Paulo Cesar Dos Santos (Fidel Da Sasa JE) and Renderson Silva De Oliveira (Fogoso Campline) showing extraordinary potential in their first year at Grand Prix level, but this foursome have also earned Brazil’s first-ever Pan American Dressage team silver medals along with that coveted Olympic slot. There was an enormous sense of achievement for them, and a sense that this is only the first step on a new journey ahead.

“This is the most special day of my life, a really important moment in my career!”, said Dos Santos. “It’s been a really hard year for me but I was confident that I would be here with a very strong team and we would be able to get our objective - the silver medal and also the qualification for the Olympic Games. I want to thank this amazing team - we are all warriors here together - and all the people back in Brazil, my family and my friends who are cheering for me. They push us to be here in this great moment and I want to share this moment with them as well!”

João Victor Marcari Oliva said of his fellow team-members, “they are not just partners in competition they are friends in life!” His horse, Feel Good, is special to him because he’s had him since he was 18 months old and they have grown up together. “He’s been with me a very long time and today he gave me everything we trained for over this last nine and a half years together. I’m so happy with him and he deserves a sacks of carrots now!”, said the 27-year-old rider.

Dream year

Manuel Rodrigues Tavares de Almeida Neto, who got married just a few weeks ago, said the last time he competed was at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and that, coming back to the sport after six years, this has been a dream year.

“I got this mare in April, the first German horse I was riding”, said the 30-year-old athlete who is more attuned to the Lusitano horses so closely associated with his successful equestrian family. “It was quite a challenge and I couldn’t be happier with the result. We made history here today and I really hope João and Renderson can make more history the day after tomorrow. 

“For Brazil this result puts us in a spot we’ve never been before, and in the next years I think there is much more to come so we can start dreaming and planning to make history at the Olympics as well - not this one (Paris 2024) but the next one!”, he added.

Meanwhile the top-23 combinations have qualified for Wednesday’s individual Freestyle medal-decider, so don’t miss a hoofbeat….

Results here