It was a great day all-around for Bahrain at the 18th FEI Endurance World Championship 2022 held in Butheeb (UAE) on Saturday, February 25 2023, as it claimed the top prize in both the individual and team podiums. 

HH Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, with the horse Darco La Majorie, added senior world champion – individual and team - to his already successful equestrian record of achievements, only months after he claimed gold at the FEI Endurance World Championship for Young Horses in Vic (ESP) in October. Khalifa, who shouted “We’re number one!” upon learning of his win, becomes a Senior World Champion for the first time in his storied career; he has participated in 19 Championships since 2004 and has successfully qualified in 14 of them. He won his first gold at the FEI Endurance World Championship for Young Horses in Bablona (HUN) in August 2012.  

The Organising Committee and the Championship’s host, the United Arab Emirates Equestrian and Racing Federation, pulled out all the stops to set the stage for an outstanding championship in record time, with the well-being of horses and riders at the heart of all their endeavours. The 160 km track, which was run over six loops, is set against a stunning backdrop, and was prepared to the highest standards with world-class permanent infrastructures and  facilities at the Butheeb International Endurance Village. Proper hydration and temperature control were optimised with multiple water points throughout the ride for the competitors to rehydrate.

All eyes were on the previous reigning champion, Salem Hamad Saeed Malhoof Al Kitbi from host nation UAE, with the horse Haleh, who came in second at Butheeb but had won gold at the last iteration of the FEI Endurance World Championship, held in Pisa (ITA) in 2021. “Haleh is a good horse, today was a very hard race (…). We are happy with the results,” Al Kitbi said. 

In third place was Jaume Punti Dachs of Spain, with the horse Echo Falls, making this his fifth medal in Endurance World Championships. He is tied with Becky Hart (USA) and HH Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (UAE) for the athletes with the most medals in Endurance World Championships. 

Reflecting the overall diversity of this year’s championship, the top ten athletes at the individual podium represented eight separate countries: Bahrain (two spots), UAE, Spain (two spots), Australia, Portugal, Lithuania, Oman and Kuwait. Taking the start were 117 combinations, with 36 nations represented, 23 teams, and 13 nations with individual riders, and a remarkably gender balanced field of participants with  60 female and 57 male athletes competing in Butheeb. 

For the first time since the FEI Endurance World Championship was held in 1986, Team Bahrain captured gold, ending Team Spain’s reign as champions, following three successive titles since the World Championship in Caen (FRA) in 2014. Team France, which came in second, is moving up the ranks after being bronze medallists at the World Championship in Pisa (ITA) in 2021. Their 13th team medal, Team France holds the record for the most team medals in the history of the championship. With a total of 24 medals claimed at FEI Endurance World Championships, France is also the nation with the most medals overall. 

With favoured teams UAE and Spain having horses and riders eliminated throughout the day, most notably Fares Ahmad Saeed Daafoos Amer Al Mansoori and Saeed Salem Atiq
Khamis Al Muhairi from the UAE, who were disqualified from the top individual podium spots due to their horses failing the maximum heart rate parameter exam, Portugal ultimately captured Team bronze. 

The last double gold at an FEI Endurance World Championship – for both team and individual podiums – was claimed by Spain and third-place winner Jaume Punti Dachs of Spain in Samorin (SVK) in 2016. 

The full roster of countries that participated in the 18th FEI Endurance World Championship is: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, and Uruguay.

FULL RESULTS

As the 2023 FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ series commenced Friday in Wellington (USA), Germany found themselves in a familiar position. For the third consecutive year at the venue, the German squad was on top of the podium, getting the better of a rallying home nation.

The four-person team of Frederic Wandres (Harrods 3), Michael Klimke (Harmony's Sanrino RHP), Felicitas Hendricks (Drombusch 2) and Anna-Cristina Abbelen (San Donnerhall) extended Germany's winning streak at the Global Dressage Festival with a point tally of 437.844. 

A personal best from 20-year-old Christian Simonson (Son of a Lady) in the Intermediate I (72.706%) helped the U.S. secure the silver medal (427.285), while Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén (Devanto) clinched the bronze for Sweden (414.498) with her Grand Prix Special test (70.830%).

Teams consisted of a combination of Big Tour and Small Tour pairs, with scores from the CDIO3* Grand Prix and CDIO3* Grand Prix Special (Big Tour) and CDIO3* Prix St. Georges and CDIO3* Intermediate I (Small Tour) tests combined to produce the results. Scores from the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special received a 1.5% bonus to account for a higher degree of difficulty.

A last-minute horse change for Wandres proved to be a winning formula. He and the 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding Harrods 3 won the CDIO3* Prix St. Georges (74.853%) to kick off the competition. It was only the horse's fourth international start and first Nations Cup appearance.

"We can make plans, but sometimes things turn out differently. The situation switched a little bit with the horse I preferred to bring here. So, I took Harrods, who is already one step further in his education. He's already done a National Grand Prix, but I did the step back for the German team...In the end, we were all lucky winners."

-Frederic Wandres (GER)

After carrying an overnight lead into Friday, personal best scores from Hendricks and Klimke in the Grand Prix Special would cement their team's victory. Hendricks finished second in the Special (72.234%), with Abbelen third (71.915%) and Klimke fourth (71.255%).

"I love the Grand Prix Special," Hendricks said. "It suits [Drombusch 2] really well with the passage and then the extended trot parts, and they were obviously our highlights today. I'm proud of our team." 

Germany was the only team to have all of its riders score above 70 percent in every test. 

"This Nations Cup here is for sure something special," Wandres said. "The atmosphere and the team spirit between the teams is the best of the Nations Cups I have been to."

Germany now leads the series with 10 points, followed by the United States (8 points) and Sweden (7 points). The FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ resumes at Compiègne (FRA), 6-7 May.

Full results.

Today, 24 February 2023, marks one year since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces began with the support of Belarus.

“This has been a tragic year in which the equestrian community, and indeed the entire population of Ukraine, have suffered tremendously,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said.

“Almost immediately after the start of the war, the FEI set aside a CHF 1 Million Solidarity Relief Fund to aid the equestrian community in the country as well as those who have left the embattled nation. In the months that followed, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) also joined forces with the FEI Solidarity Relief Fund, establishing the USEF Ukraine Relief Fund to support Ukraine horses and equestrians, with 100% of funds raised going to the FEI Solidarity Relief Fund to be distributed by the FEI for projects approved by the USEF.

“Our general approach has been about supporting and leading initiatives to provide relief to the Ukrainian equestrian community rather than distributing money.

“A key area that required immediate action was assistance in the relocation of horses from conflict zones. We initially set up a logistical hub in Granat, located in western Ukraine between the city of Lviv and the Polish border, to prepare horses for transfer into the European Union. However, as time went on, we quickly realised we could provide greater relief to horse owners by helping them keep their horses in safer regions within Ukraine, and for this, we purchased a total of 120 boxes, which have been set up in strategic hubs around the country.

“We worked closely with various European companies to purchase 7,400 kg of veterinary supplies and equipment and transport them into Ukraine from the neighbouring countries for use by 22 local veterinarians to treat common conditions such as colic, infections, and lameness in 5,700 horses.

“We purchased and transported large quantities of premix of vitamins, minerals and nutritional additives, which were enough to prepare hundreds of tons of horse feed on the ground in Ukraine.

“The FEI Solidarity Relief Fund supplied scholarships and training support to two Jumping and two Dressage athletes, who took part in the FEI Dressage European Championships for Juniors and Young Riders 2022 held in Hartpury (GBR).

“Assistance was also provided to five Vaulting Athletes, aged between 11 and 15, who became the first team to ever represent Ukraine in an international Vaulting Event when they participated in CVI1* in Kaposvár (HUN) from 20 to 22 May 2022.

 

Photo caption: Katya Panasenko, 14, attends Vaulting training in Bernolákovo (SVK) on 18 May 2022. (c) FEI/Richard Juilliart

 

“Funds covering the staff salaries were provided to the Ukrainian Equestrian Federation.

“So far, we have used half of the sum available in the Fund and we are committed to continuing our support in 2023 by providing additional athlete scholarships and training assistance, purchasing veterinary equipment and nutritional supplies, and financially supporting the Ukrainian National Federation staff,” President De Vos concluded.

"We would like to thank FEI Solidarity for the financial support of the young Ukrainian riders,” Mykhaylo Parkhomchuk, Secretary General of the Ukrainian Equestrian Federation (UEF) and Founder and CEO of the Ukrainian Equestrian Charity Foundation (UECF), said.

“Unfortunately, many equestrian centres that were built with great love for our beautiful sport are standing in ruins. Equestrian sport in Ukraine will need a long-term recovery plan. Currently, we are discussing with the FEI Solidarity possibilities of support for equestrian equipment that would help boost the sports development in our country.

“The UECF is immensely grateful to the FEI for the ongoing support and remains committed to working together to support the equestrian community's development and future recovery."

Note to editors:

Following the military invasion of Ukraine, no FEI events organised in Russia and Belarus can be entered in the FEI Calendar for 2023.

Any Officials’ course as well as any other FEI activities scheduled to be held in Russia and Belarus in 2023 have been cancelled or relocated and all FEI Solidarity projects in Russia and Belarus have been frozen.

The FEI Board’s Emergency Resolution of 2 March 2022 prohibiting all Russian and Belarusian Athletes, Horses and Officials from participating in FEI Events remains in place. This decision was taken as a measure to protect the athletes and the sport and is currently being discussed with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

 

Photo caption: Sonia Shulga, 14, during training with the Ukrainian Vaulting team in Bernolákovo (SVK) on 18 May 2022. (c) FEI/Richard Juilliart

 

Caption of thumbnail image: French coach Anthony Bro-Petit at work with the Ukrainian Vaulting team in Bernolákovo (SVK) on 17 May 2022. © FEI/ Richard Juilliart

You will find below a brief overview of the situation and measures that have been taken by the FEI in the past 48 hours, in consultation with respective National Federations and Organising Committees following a confirmed case of EHV-1 in Lier (BEL) and four confirmed cases in Oliva (ESP).  

In Lier (BEL), a horse presenting symptoms on the weekend was immediately isolated and following confirmation of EHV-1 at the start of the week, the concerned horse and an additional 25 horses deemed to be in-contact were blocked from the FEI database.

The Persons Responsible (PRs) have all been notified, alongside their respective National Federations (NFs) and National Head Veterinarians (NHVs).

Meanwhile in Oliva (ESP), the FEI is working closely with the Spanish National Federation, the Spanish Veterinary Authority and the Organising Committee following four confirmed cases of EHV-1. These four horses were among ten horses stabled in the same stable block that developed fever. They were immediately isolated and tested, with four returning a positive test for EHV-1. There have been no reports of any neurological signs in these horses.

All the precautionary measures to minimise the risk of transmission have been swiftly applied, and ALL the horses attending Oliva from 7 February to 22 February - close to 1,000 horses – have been blocked in the FEI database. This includes any horses that may have already left Oliva to compete at other FEI events. Again all the PRs and their NFs have been notified.

For the 82 horses stabled in the same block as the four horses that tested positive, they are required to stay onsite for at least seven days with measures and testing protocols to be fulfilled prior to leaving the venue, while for the remaining horses, they can leave the venue as soon they have completed a pre-departure veterinary check.

All the horses from Lier (BEL) and Oliva (ESP) that have been blocked in the FEI database are prevented from attending any FEI events until they have fulfilled certain health requirements which are imposed in order to minimize any potential transmission of the virus, both to their own horses and the wider horse population. The mandatory biosecurity measures include isolation for a minimum of 21 days, taking twice daily rectal temperatures and conducting laboratory testing for EHV-1. Release from isolation can only take place on the advice of a veterinarian and in order to be “un-blocked” and have access to FEI Events, the horses will need to comply with all the return to competition protocols and have the restriction lifted by the FEI Veterinary Department.  

We are grateful for the community’s vigilance in all matters of biosecurity and once again reiterate the importance of the Horse Health Requirements and all the preventative measures the community can actively apply in order to minimise the risk of disease transmission.

Should you have any questions regarding this matter, don’t hesitate to contact the Veterinary Department. 

All eyes wil be on Wellington this week as the FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ 2023 series kicks off on  Thursday, 23 February at the Global Dressage Festival with six teams—double the number that lined-up a year ago.Wellington will commence a season of six legs across as many nations, from February through July. A series champion will be crowned at Falsterbo (SWE)—a fitting finale, given Sweden is the defending series champion.

Sweden has claimed the series title in four of the last six seasons and will begin its 2023 quest with a three-person squad consisting of Caroline Darcourt (Lord Django), Christina Devine (Slaebaekgaard’s Santino) and veteran anchor Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén (Devanto), under the guidance of Chef d’Equipe Louise Nathhorst.

The home team, led by Chef d’Equipe George Williams, will feature Anna Marek (Duvel), 20-year-old Christian Simonson (Son of a Lady), Charlotte Jorst (Zhaplin Langholt) and Susan Dutta (Don Design DC). Dutta is the lone Big Tour rider on the team; she and Don Design DC are fresh off a CDI3* Grand Prix Special victory in Wellington in January. The anchor pair also represented the U.S. in FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ competitions at both Wellington and Compiegne (FRA) last season.

Argentina, Australia, Canada and Germany have also fielded teams, and the German squad should not be discounted, having won this event last year. Frederic Wandres (Harrods 3) anchors the group, which also includes Anna-Christina Abbelen (Sam Donnerhall), Felicitas Hendricks (Drombusch 2) and Michael Klimke (Harmony’s Sanrino RHP). Both Klimke and Wandres were on last year’s winning team; Klimke and the now-14-year-old Oldenburg stallion Harmony’s Sanrino RHP won the Grand Prix for their team in Wellington a year ago.

Team medals are decided after the Grand Prix (or Prix St. Georges for Small Tour combinations) and the Grand Prix Special (or Intermediate I) tests, with awards decided Friday, 24 February.

Wellington’s opening leg will be followed by the CDIO5* in Compiegne (FRA), 4-7 May. June will feature CDIO3* competition in Budapest (HUN) and Rotterdam’s (NED) CDIO4* before a pair of CDIO5* events conclude the season in July at Aachen (GER) and Falsterbo.

Further details about the FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ series can be found here.

The knowledgeable crowd in the Holstenhalle in Neumünster, Germany showed their appreciation today when Denmark’s Nanna Skodborg Merrald and the fabulous Blue Hors Zepter reigned supreme at the ninth leg of the FEI Dressage World Cup™ 2022/2023 Western European League.

The 15-year-old gelding, previously competed by both Sweden’s Patrik Kittel and Denmark’s Daniel Bachmann Andersen, has quickly established a strong relationship with Skodborg Merrald since she took up the reins just a few short months ago. “He’s simply wonderful!”, she said today after pinning Germany’s Ingrid Klimke and Franziskus FRH into runner-up spot while The Netherlands’ Kirsten Brouwer slotted into third with Foundation.

These same horse-and-rider combinations filled the top three places in yesterday’s Grand Prix but today’s margins were wider, with Skodborg Merrald posting an impressive 86.060 for victory while Klimke’s 83.550 left her well clear of Brouwer who scored 81.375.

Eyecatchers

Eyecatchers in the first half of the competition were Germany’s Bianca Nowag-Aulenbrock and the attractive light chestnut 11-year-old mare Florine OLD who produced the most pleasing passage on their way to putting a mark of 77.225 on the board. However they were immediately overtaken by the penultimate partnership before the break, Finland’s Emma Kanerva and Greek Air whose score of 78.540 led the way when the action resumed.

With five of the 15 starters left to go, Klimke then charged out in front with the fabulous Franziskus who was a winner for the multi-talented German horsewoman on home ground at the third leg of the series in Stuttgart last November. Expressive extended trot, extraordinary extended canter and lovely tempi changes were all rolled out before their regal one-handed ride up the final centreline that saw them awarded 83.550, and the lead, to the delight of the spectators. 

But Skodborg Merrald and Zepter were not going to be outdone.

Kindred spirit

The Danish athlete who, partnering Zepter’s sire Blue Hors Zack, was a member of last year’s gold-medal-winning team at the ECCO FEI World Championships has found another kindred spirit in Zack’s son. Zepter’s self-carriage, confidence and self-belief ensure a consistency in his work, and his piaffe/passage and pirouettes all reflect that.

Scoring 86.060 they rocketed into pole position and couldn’t be ousted despite great efforts from Brouwer who would slot into third and her Dutch compatriot Marieke van der Putten with the charming gelding son of the great Totilas, Torveslettens Titanium RS2 who slotted into fourth on a score of 80.580.

Skodborg Merrald feels she is still in the early stages of developing her partnership with Blue Hors Zepter, and she’s very excited about that. “He just really wants to do his very very best but I still have the feeling there is so much more I can do with him! Now he is performing without any big mistakes but I can improve the quality of a lot of things and that makes me even more hungry!”, she said today.

And she is delighted that Zepter has accepted her as his new rider. “It’s important for me that he feels comfortable with me because then in the end I can ask for even more from him”, she explained. 

She loves his character too. “He is a little bit like a big puppy, so sweet in the stable! Also when he is in the ring he knows that he has to do the job and he’s fighting until the end, he never gives up and that’s what makes him really, really special. When he has the trust in you then he is really fighting for you!”, she said.

Well set

With 69 points, and currently in third place, on the Western European League leaderboard she looks well set for a ticket to the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final in Omaha (USA) in April, and she’s spoiled for choice about which horse she should take there. She will compete with Blue Hors Zack at the penultimate qualifier in Gothenburg, Sweden next weekend before making her decision. 

Klimke lies second on the league table and having competed in five legs of the series said today that perhaps she has done enough in the lead-up to the Final. “I thought I might do Den Bosch (’s-Hertogenbosch in The Netherlands where the last qualifier will take place in three weeks’ time) but we will see. We have done five good rounds and if it is not necessary then we will take a break”, she pointed out.

Kirsten Brouwer will definitely compete in ’s-Hertogenbosch “because it’s my home town, so it’s special” she said today. She was delighted with Foundation’s third-place finish. “It’s only our third World Cup to compete in, and I’m super proud of him. In a World Cup you compete against the best so it’s special, and it’s even more special to get a great result!”

And she was full of praise for her horse. “I love everything about him, he’s beautiful, he’s a stallion - he may get tense in the prizegiving but he knows when to focus and that’s a great quality about him”, she said. 

Next weekend’s penultimate qualifier in Gothenburg promises more great sport as the battle for those coveted tickets for Omaha comes to a boiling point, so don’t miss a hoofbeat…..

Result 

Standings

The FEI Tribunal has issued a Consent Award in an equine anti-doping case involving a Banned Substance.

In this case, the horse Meadowvale Cruise (FEI ID 106CQ68/USA), tested positive for the Banned Substance Testosterone following samples taken at the Bolivarian Games-S - Bogotá (COL), 24.06. – 05.07.2022.

The athlete, Hector Florentino Roca (FEI ID 10009161/DOM), admitted the rule violation and accepted the consequences. In its final decision the FEI Tribunal disqualified the horse from the event and imposed an eighteen-month ineligibility period on the athlete; the provisional suspension he already served shall be credited against the imposed ineligibility period. He was also fined CHF 5,000 and asked to cover the costs of the B sample, CHF 1,000.

The full Decision is available here.

Separately, the FEI has announced new adverse analytical findings (AAF) involving equine prohibited substances. The cases involve a *Banned Substance and a Controlled Medication Substance under the FEI’s Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations (EADCMRs).
In these two Jumping cases, the athletes have not been provisionally suspended. The horses have been provisionally suspended for two months from the date of notification.

Case 2022/BS10:
Horse: Blanch (107VD44/LTU)
Person Responsible: Nerijus Sipaila (10044738/LTU)
Event: CSIYH1*- Kunkiai (LTU), 25-28.08.2022,
Prohibited Substance(s): Morphine, Oripavine
Date of notification: 22 December 2022

Case 2022/BS04:
Horse: Cindy NSO (107XY33/LTU)
Person Responsible: Vilte Kasiulyte (10129107/LTU)
Event: CSIYH1*- Vazgaikiemis (LTU), 01-04.09.22,
Prohibited Substance(s): Morphine, Oripavine
Date of notification: 22 December 2022

Details on these cases can be found here.

Notes to Editors:
FEI Clean Sport - human athletes
The FEI is part of the collaborative worldwide movement for doping-free sport led by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The aim of this movement is to protect fair competition as well as athlete health and welfare.
WADA’s Prohibited List identifies the substances and methods prohibited in- and out-of-competition, and in particular sports. The substances and methods on the List are classified by different categories (e.g., steroids, stimulants, gene doping).
As a WADA Code Signatory, the FEI runs a testing programme for human athletes based on WADA’s List of Prohibited List of Substances and Methods and on the Code-compliant FEI Anti-Doping Rules for Human Athletes (ADRHA).
For further information, please consult the Clean Sport section of the FEI website here.

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.

James Cunningham – Jim – Wofford, who passed away on 2 February at the age of 78, represented the United States in Eventing at two Olympic Games and won individual bronze at the FEI Eventing World Championships 1970 in Punchestown (IRL). He enjoyed a long and distinguished career as an athlete, coach, and author. He served as president of the American Horse Shows Association (now USEF) and was member of the FEI Eventing Committee for two terms, including two years as vice-chair.

In memory of Jim Wofford and everything he stood for, we are reposting this interview conducted in June 2020.

Be not afraid
By Louise Parkes

Photo caption: James C. Wofford (USA), 1944 - 2023 (c) Doug Lees

An interview with James Cunningham Wofford is not something to be taken lightly. Any attempt at leading the conversation fails miserably, because you are talking with a man with the most exceptional communications skills and extraordinary stories to tell. There’s a sense of riding the tide of equestrian history as the double-Olympian and world-famous American coach recalls sporting highlights, great horses and magical moments from his stellar career.

But it’s a bit like sitting on a runaway train, and even when you get to the end it feels like you’ve only half-halted. Because you just know that there are many more tales to be told and lots more wisdom to be shared by this raconteur par excellence.

I begin by asking him if he always had Olympic ambitions, and he admits it was “in my cross-hairs from a very early age”. Not surprising really considering his father, Col John W. Wofford who later became first President of the United States Equestrian Team (USET), competed in Jumping at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles (USA) and his older brother, Jeb, helped claim bronze for Team USA in Eventing at the Helsinki (FIN) Games in 1952. Another brother, Warren, went to the top of the sport in both Jumping and Eventing and was reserve for the US Eventing team at the Olympic Games in Stockholm (SWE) in 1956. That’s quite some pedigree just there.

When Jim was growing up, Jeb and his Helsinki team-mates Champ Hough - father of American Jumping star Lauren Hough - and Wally Staley were his childhood heroes. “Then along came Mike Plumb and Michael Page - I looked up to them for years so when I joined them on the US team that was a real thrill!”, Jim says.

Did he ever have any doubts about his ability to make it to the top in sport? “I had terrific doubts, and at first I didn’t have a suitable horse, I was riding around on a 15.3hh roan Appaloosa. However Warren lived in England, and in spring 1967 he went to Ireland looking for horses and saw Kilkenny who was for sale because he’d been to the Olympics, the World Championships and Badminton and they reckoned he was pretty much done.

Kilkenny

Photo caption: In full flight ... USA's Jim Wofford and Kilkenny on their way to clinching team silver and individual sixth place at the 1968 Olympic Games in Medixo. (c) Werner Ernst

“Warren called my mother and said what a cool schoolmaster the horse would be, so they sent him to me and suddenly I was the hottest kid on the block! We had an unusual partnership, we really shot to the top, from him being thought to be over the hill with all his mileage and me having never been anywhere of any repute - they put us together and it just worked. So we won the National Championships at my first try, and now I’m standing on the podium with Mike Page and Mike Plumb!”

Kilkenny had previously been ridden by Irishman Tommy Brennan who, following a stellar Jumping and Eventing career, became a world-renowned horse agent and cross-country course designer. Did Jim have a preference for what discipline he would compete in with the horse? “I was intrigued by showjumping, but I was a moth to a flame when it came to Eventing!”, he says.

Kilkenny had already enjoyed a successful career in both disciplines. “In late summer ’64 he went to Tokyo (Olympic Games where he finished individually 16th in Eventing), in ’65 he went showjumping with Tommy, and in ’66 he was back on the Irish gold medal Eventing team at the World Championships in Burghley”, Jim explains.

I ask him to describe Kilkenny.

"He was a 17hh dark bay gelding by Water Serpent with a mealy nose, a tiny star on his forehead and the look of eagles. When he trotted by you in hand he had all four feet off the ground!"

He had seen every sort of situation which was handy for me because I’d seen none of them. So I could just drop my hands and tell him to get on with the job which he was happy to do!”

That US National Championships victory was in 1967, and the following year they competed at Badminton (GBR) in preparation for, arguably, the most memorable Eventing Olympic Games of all time in Mexico in 1968.

In the heyday of the “classic format”, the toughness and versatility of horse and rider were fully tested. Dressage was followed by Speed and Endurance day which consisted of two sessions of Roads and Tracks interspersed by a steeplechase phase, and then a vet check before heading out on the cross-country course. The final day’s showjumping decided the result.

Mexico

Talking about selection for Mexico, Jim says “Plumb and Page would never be left off the team if their horse was sound, and Kevin Freeman was such a marvellous horseman, maybe the best rider of all of us. So there was really one slot left, and fortunately I filled that.” However the Americans were steeped in good fortune when drawn early to go on Speed and Endurance day, because an afternoon deluge created monstrous conditions that nearly claimed the life of Kilkenny’s former rider.

“I went early and was first out of the box for us. We were on top of the ground so I had the fastest round of the day and I think Michael may have had the second-fastest. When you look back at the scores it’s two different competitions, but it could all have been completed in sunshine!”, Jim recalls.

Despite knowing that a monsoon would descend around 13.00 hours as it did every day, the start-time was not adjusted and those that set out later in the competition met with a nightmare. “Once the heavy rain began the volcanic soil became a morass immediately. It was a golf course, there was a shell of grass over this powdery substance that turned to soup under wet conditions and we got the biggest monsoon of the five weeks we were up there!”, Jim explains.

Tommy Brennan was only called into action at the last minute with the reserve Irish horse, March Hawk. Second-last to go, he faced inches of water on the steeplechase track where he took a fall on the flat, and by the time he headed out cross-country a stream that had to be crossed several times had become a dangerous flood in full spate. Only the top few inches of Fence 5 were visible and Fence 6 was almost fully submerged. Horse and rider were swept away and disappeared underwater, both in danger of drowning. But somehow they struggled ashore and continued a little further before March Hawk decided he’d had more than enough.

Great Britain claimed team gold, USA silver and West Germany bronze. Jim’s compatriot Michael Page (Foster) took individual bronze and Jim and Kilkenny slotted into sixth place.

Punchestown

The World Championship in Punchestown (IRL) two years later was another dramatic affair, but Kilkenny’s class saw Jim take individual bronze this time around.

Once again there was controversy on cross-country day with a big number of fallers late on the track. “The Irish knew they had to lead with their strength and that was the quality of their horses, so they designed a course that was maximum in every aspect - distance, speed, dimension of obstacles, number of obstacles. This was always going to be a big test, and that suited me because I had a horse purpose-built for it!”, he points out.

“But no-one knew there was a bogey fence at the 29th. You came through the woods above the old sheep tank and you galloped on a trail and then there was a guard rail and the ground fell away precipitously, and six feet out there was an oxer rail stuffed with gorse. You were supposed to gallop and jump out over the oxer and take a 6ft 6ins drop - it’s what Americans call a ‘gut-check’, a test of courage, scope and balance. But what the course designer didn’t take into account was a few fences before that there was a double-bank, and it rehearsed the horses to step on the gorse which they did again and again. As they built up the brush every time they kept stuffing the fence with more green branches so it was even more inviting for the horses to step on it.

“Something like 27 horses got that far and 24 of them fell including Kilkenny, and including Richard Meade (GBR) who got the silver medal. But Mary Gordon-Watson’s (GBR who took individual gold) horse jumped it neat as a pin. Nowadays if there were two falls like that the jump would be removed from the course and adjustments made in the scores. But in 1968 this was still a sport run by cavalry generals!”, Jim says.

Munich

The Olympic Games in Munich in 1972 brought his partnership with this faithful steed to an end. The US side that also included Mike Plumb with Free and Easy, Kevin Freeman riding Good Mixture and Bruce Davidson with Plain Sailing claimed team silver, but for Jim and Kilkenny it wasn’t their finest hour.

“I rode according to orders instead of the way I should have, and we finished well down the list. But he didn’t get the ride he needed so that’s nothing to say about him. At our silver medal victory bash I said that Kilkenny would retire now and come home. He was property of my mother, but my brother (Warren) who was a Master of Foxhounds in England was dropping heavy hints about what a wonderful Fieldmaster’s horse he would be, so I had to have a little palace revolution there to make sure he did come home!”

Kilkenny’s cross-country days were still not quite over however because he hunted another few seasons with Jim and his wife Gail back in the US even though he wasn’t the ideal candidate because he was a bit over-keen. “He couldn’t bear to have another horse in front of him, and Gail was too brave with him!”, Jim points out.

There was a lean period after Munich. “I was ‘on the bench’ and I knew part of it was because I’d ridden badly in Munich, but also because I didn’t have a horse of Olympic capability”, he says.

Carawich

All that would change however when he met Carawich. Jim insists he doesn’t believe in anthropomorphism - attributing human traits and emotions to non-humans - but then tells the story of how they first met….

He hadn’t won a competition above Preliminary level since 1972 when, at Badminton in the Spring of 1977, he experienced a moment of connection during the vet-check when a horse stopped and turned to look at him. “The hair stood up on the back of my neck - he picked me out of the crowd and stared at me. His groom tugged on the lead but he didn’t listen - it took about 30 seconds but it seemed like an hour!”, Jim recalls, with excitement still in his voice after all these years.

The 1975 Badminton winner wasn’t for sale at the time but came on the market a few months later. “He arrived in late December 1977 untried. I took out a loan on my life insurance policy to pay for him and it was the best investment I ever made!”, says Jim.

“Carawich suited me as the rider I was after two Olympics and one World Championship. We went to Lexington World Championships (Kentucky, USA) in ’78 where we finished 10th and were on the bronze medal team, and then we were fifth at Badminton the following spring and then second at the alternate Olympics in Fontainebleau (FRA) in 1980. We were second in the Kentucky event that spring and won Kentucky the following year. He was quite some horse too!”

More great horses

An injury sustained at Luhmuehlen (GER) in 1981 put an end to Carawich’s career, but Jim still had more great horses to ride. There was Castlewellan who came his way when British rider Judy Bradwell, in recovery following a nasty accident, asked him if he knew of a suitable new US owner for the horse.

“I said don’t go away, and in about 30 minutes we had a deal! He came over that summer, again untried, and we won a big Intermediate event. Then in Spring ’84 we were well-placed at Kentucky and then we were non-riding reserves at the LA Olympic Games”.

Jim retired after that, but two years later came out of retirement for one more moment of glory. Offered the ride on The Optimist, normally competed by America’s Karen Lende (now O’Connor) who was riding in Australia that year, he jumped at the chance. 

“He was a big bull of a horse, Irish-bred, 16.3hh and a bit big-eared and small-eyed, with massive shoulders like a bullock. He’d run away with everyone who got on him, but he had a wonderful attitude going down to jumps”, Jim recalls. It wouldn’t be all plain sailing, but again a moment of connection would turn everything around.

“For about a week or 10 days I thought I’d painted myself in a corner because we were not getting along at all”, he explains. However he accidentally caught the horse unawares in the stable one day, and The Optimist didn’t have time to put on his normal sullen expression. Instead Jim got a fleeting glimpse of a bright, intelligent, focused horse. “I laughed and shook my finger at him and said “it’s too late, I saw you!”, Jim says. “I suddenly realised he didn’t want to be told what to do, he already knew his job so the next time I threw my leg over him I did it with that in mind and we got along famously. He won a couple of prep events and then he won Kentucky. And then I quickly retired again!”, Jim says.

Talent

Asked to compare the talent of riders from his own era with those of today he replies, “this stuff about ‘Oh we were better in the good old days’ - don’t you believe it! I lived through the good old days - these people today would beat us like a carpet!”, he insists. There have been many changes in the sport of course. “Riders are in a much more predictable situation these days. When they are pacing distances between cross-country obstacles you know it’s a different sport.”

And the horses - are there big differences in them too? “In the classic format they had to be brave as a lion because we jumped some formidable stuff. We don’t test now for strength of character in the horse - today it’s a test of technique”, he points out.

For many years now he’s been a dedicated and hugely successful coach, and he enjoys training pupils at all levels. He’s looking forward to getting back to working with his students again very soon and seeing how “profitably” they’ve used this time during the pandemic shutdown. “Will they have improved their horse’s training, or will they have worn them out by endlessly practicing competitive details?”, he wonders.

I ask what advice he has for riders concerned about returning to competition in the shadow of the virus still sweeping across the world, and he replies - “event riders are already bio-mechanically engineered not to be afraid, so don’t be afraid! Know the risks and the safeguards, and go from there.”

Life, he concludes, is like the wording on a famous painting “The Bullfinch” by English artist, Snaffles - “glorious uncertainty” is what awaits us all on the landing side. And, for James Cunningham Wofford, that’s all part of the thrill of the ride.

The FEI World Cup™ Finals first visited Omaha, NE in 2017. But the city’s history in equestrian sport spans years before it.

Omaha, the largest city in the midwestern U.S. state of Nebraska, has established itself as a destination to showcase the United States’ niche sports. The city might be most well known as the annual destination for the College World Series in the sport of baseball, but the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials called Omaha home in 2008, 2012 and 2016.

It’s equestrian sport that has put the city on the international stage.  The Omaha Equestrian Foundation was established in 2010 with the goal of developing the city into a hub for the horse sport industry. By 2012, the nonprofit organisation founded the region’s first premier showjumping event in the region, known as ‘International Omaha’.

A year later, International Omaha added FEI competitions to its schedule, and by 2017, the city was hosting FEI World Cup Finals for both Jumping and Dressage. For 2023, Vaulting has been added to the championship programme, and the 2022 International Omaha hosted five Vaulting divisions, including a qualifier for the 2023 FEI Vaulting World Cup™ Final.

“The event  itself started off very much as a regional show with very big aspirations. The driver of the show, Lisa Roskens always had the World Cup Final in mind,” said Jon Garner, who has led the management team at International Omaha for the last decade. “When you walk into that venue for the first time, you realise that the hardest job is [already] done, because the venue is so spectacular."

Both the International Omaha event and the FEI World Cup™ Finals are held at the CHI Health Center Omaha, located in the heart of the city’s downtown. The International Omaha event has grown from a horse show to a full-scale equestrian experience  that garners the entire community’s involvement. Included in the annual schedule is an equine trade show, complete with educational demonstrations and clinics. Olympic gold medalist Melanie Smith Taylor, the 1982 World Cup Champion, hosted 2022’s event clinic.

Garner said, “Given that Omaha doesn’t have a major sports team, [residents and locals] get behind anything that comes here.  Omahans are very proud of their part of the world, and they like to showcase it. The city is behind it; there’s no question.”

With much of equestrian sport in the U.S. centred around east- and west- coast circuits, Omaha has provided a middle ground,  and has received great support from centrally located athletes and exhibitors. Previous winners of the International Omaha Grand Prix include World Cup Finals veteran Hunter Holloway (USA); Christian Heineking (GER); and most recently, Caelinn Leahy (USA).

But the event that has grown equestrian sport in Omaha the most has been “Local Day” and the Developing Rider Invitational Jumping event that kicks off the International Omaha event each year. The programme offers an opportunity for locally based young riders to qualify and compete at the venue in a beginner’s level ‘grassroots’-type division,

“The International Omaha event has always been well attended, and it’s getting harder for competitors to secure qualifying spots now.” Garner said. “Originally, they were riding school horses, and the attire was a bit of a mismatch. That is not the case now. The quality of the horses has improved, the riding and coaching is significantly better, and both horse and human athletes come far better prepared now.

“That’s been really good to watch,” he added. “One of the Foundation’s drivers is to impact and build the grassroots of the sport [in Omaha]. There is no question that has happened, and I think having a major venue and a major event in your backyard is a good driver of that.”

The FEI World Cup™ Finals returns to Omaha 4-8 April 2023.

To learn more, visit https://omaha2023.fei.org/

From the moment he began his bid to win a record 10^th World Cup title in Lyon (FRA) last October, Boyd Exell (AUS) was ultimately focussed on the final in Bordeaux (FRA).  It was that singular, steely vision that served him so well and saw him crowned champion once again.  As the only driver to have three clear rounds over the two competitions, Boyd finished on his times and a total of 239.37.

The determination on his face was clear to see as he entered the buzzing arena on Sunday afternoon.  As last to go of the seven drivers who came forward in reverse order of their results, after competition one the night before, the weight of expectation to produce another show of supremacy was on his shoulders.  But pressure is fuel to Boyd and true to form, when he most needed to, he delivered another accurate and fast round.  This meant he was the last to go in the all-important drive-off, while aware that his challengers, father and son legends Ijsbrand and Bram Chardon (NED), would show him no mercy. 

“It’s a relief! When you have a fantastic team of horses and they manage to have a very good season, it means that you are able to deliver again in the final.  In indoor driving, it’s high risk and high reward, or high risk and big loss.   I don’t always expect to win although I always expect to be in the top three so I’m really pleased with my horses.” – Boyd Exell (AUS)

As the defending champion, Bram was his nearest rival and admitted afterwards that in recent years he and Boyd seem to be trading titles.  Although Bram and his four experienced Lipizzaners were consistently faster on time, they had costly 4 penalties to add after each round and it was those rolling balls which were the difference between retaining a title or watching a close rival win.  On the cumulative scores, Bram finished in silver, 4.04 behind on 243.41.

“At the start I knew Boyd was very strong this year.  I went back to one of my old leaders for this event and I had three very, very fast rounds but there were too many knock downs.  I was able to put the pressure on Boyd but he was very clever in his performance and was consistent, as he has been, and so he is the deserving winner of the final.  I won it last time and we seem to keep switching now – so next year it will be my turn!” – Bram Chardon (NED)

It was a pleasure to see the sheer joy on the face of Ijsbrand as he and his horses entered the arena for the drive-off.  He seemed delighted to have sealed his place in final running, although was undoubtedly aware that he was unlikely to win a fourth title.  As he visibly relaxed and enjoyed the moment, his horses embraced the course and although he too had a ball to add, by then he was assured of a podium place and finished in bronze on 253.39.

Jérôme Voutaz (SUI) had a great first round, but with 10.25 seconds to carry over from the previous night, had left himself a big gap to fill.  Producing a clear round, he ended in a respectable fourth position, leapfrogging Belgium’s Dries Degrieck who gave an impressive drive against the clock, but wasn’t quite quick enough to maintain his overnight placing – despite going clear.  The increasing tally of penalties which the drivers had to start with, 50% of the difference between their scores and Boyd’s, meant that those further down the running order had progressively even bigger mountains to climb than those towards the top.

It was not Koos de Ronde’s (NED) event and although on Sunday he put in the sort of drive we expect from him, confirming why he has been at the upper end of the sport for so many years, it wasn’t enough to raise him from sixth place.  In seventh was French Wild Card Benjamin Aillaud, who rounded off a constructive first season with his Lusitanos horses.

In the press conference, sitting sandwiched between the Chardons, Boyd dedicated his win to his long-term supporter Sarah Garnett, who couldn’t be at the final.  He stated that for the last 30 years she has been at every international competition with him – and he missed her this time.  He also dedicated a special thank you to Eric Bouwman, the owner of his new right lead horse Maestoso Jupiter, who has added to the speed of the combination.  Previously driven by Benjamin Aillaud, Jupiter has been an important part of a grouping which has produced consistently winning results and Boyd confessed to being too afraid to change a formula which has served him so well. 

Giving the fans in the full house at the Parc des Expositions the entertainment they have come to enjoy, this was a vintage FEI Driving World Cup™ final which rounded off a wonderful Series and more than lived up to its expectation. 

FULL RESULTS