Conference noted::equitation

 I'm back from Attitash. The weather was cold and cloudy but it was still fun. 
 There were less riders there than in previous years. The Olympic riders 
 stayed in Europe with their quarantined horses, we were told. Leslie Lenehan,
 who rode the week before at Sugarbush in VT, and was supposed to be showing 
 here, apparently decided to stay in VT.

 Greg Best was there with Gem Twist. That was a treat. Margie was inspirational.
 She rode a lot of horses so we got to see a lot of her but Greg just had the
 one ride on Gem Twist for the AGA GP, and it was a gorgeous ride. Margie 
 beat him on one of her three entries by less than a second. Joe Fargis rode 
 well but didn't look well when he was walking the course and he was limping. 
 Barney and McLain Ward were there. Barney got great rides out of his horses, 
 which was pretty amazing considering how he looks when he rides. :^) McLain, 
 by contrast, was a beautiful rider, but had several bad crashes (taking the 
 entire fence down) on Sunday but still got two horses into the jump off in 
 the Junior A/O. Katie Prudent only rode one horse in the GP and took a rail 
 down, so she never made it to the jump off. George Lindemann sent shockwaves 
 thru the crowd during the GP when he took a shortcut off a fence through a 
 triple to make a very short 270 degree turn to the next fence. Nobody 
 thought he'd make it over the fence, (some of the horses that went the long 
 way barely made it over the fence) but he did. The crowd went wild. Then 
 his horse tapped a rail on the last fence and it dropped, making his ride 
 the fastest 4 fault ride. Had they not dropped that rail, he would have won, 
 since his time was a .2 faster than Margies no fault winning time. 

   $50K Grand Prix of NH
	Nine Riders were clear. The jump off finished in this order:
	1) Margie Goldstein on Daydream (She won last year too)
	2) Greg Best on Gem Twist       (Greg won this in 1989)
	3) Peter Leone on Royal Crown Oxo
	4) Henri Prudent on Barcelona
	5) George Lindemann on Playback 
	6) Beezie Patton on Ping Pong
	7) Barney Ward on Orchestre
	8) Joe Fargis on Mill Pearl
	9) Beezie Patton on Northern Magic
  
  $5K AMEX Show Jumping Hall of Fame A/O-Junior Jumper Classic
	Seven riders were clear. The jump off finished in this order:
	1) Kate Chope on Hearsay  (Kate is from Osterville, MA)
	2) Wendy Chapot on Good Enough
	3) Jennifer Miller on Swan Lake (Jennifer is from Peterboro, NH)
	4) McLain Ward on Carossa
	5) Kim Wickenden on Moorwortha
	6) McLain Ward on Toronja
	7) Carloyn Thorson was eliminated in the jump off.

  Governor's Cup Speed Stakes
	1) Beezie Patton on Northern Magic
	2) George Lindemann on Lari 326
	3) McLain Ward on Just Happy

  If anyone wants more details, send me mail.

    These are a bunch of ideas that come out of my reading of note 190.1
    (Attitash Grand Prix jumping this year) - thanks Kiirja! And this
    is probably the best place to do the hashing-over that some of them
    might cause.

    I've been doing hunter for about a year now, and find the similarities
    and differences from jumper pretty interesting.  Although I've been
    going to Attitash for about 4 or 5 years, this was the first time I
    had a real understanding of what I was seeing. And I'm glad I
    realized that!

    For instance, McLain Ward got gasps and roars and huge applause from
    the crowd for being not as good a rider as Beezie Patton. He had a
    a lot of close calls, the horse slipped once, he rubbed a bunch of
    fences, etc. Beezie's ride was smooth and controlled, so the crowd
    didn't get so excited. But if you knew what you were looking at, you
    knew she was the much better rider (now - this has nothing to do
    with potential, just the rides in that competition on that day; McClain
    is only 15 or 16, and is competing with the big guys!).

    And I also paid attention to the cadence of the canter over the course,
    which I never knew enough to do before. The top riders, again, were
    smooth and controlled. It wasn't as wild as it looked, even with the
    horses' heads up, eyes bugging out, and muscles bulging! The ones who
    sat back and straight were the ones that had the control - and even
    though I can only recognize Barney Ward by his thighs, he does sit
    well and consistently every time. I understand from an article I
    read in some magazine a couple of months ago, that he can be pretty
    rough on McLain w/r/t his riding, sometimes; and I'd bet some of it has
    to do with this!

    I'd hazard a generalization and say that good hunt seat riders would
    be good jumpers (technically), but not necessarily vice versa. 'Course,
    you'd also have to have that total disregard for your own physical
    well-being to become a grand-prix jumper. They've all had brain surgery,
    broken backs or collarbones, smashed legs, etc, at one or another time
    in their lives. AND THEY GET BACK ON WITH THE CASTS!!

    Gem Twist was about the 5th horse on the course at Attitash; every horse
    before him had knocked down a fence. The announcer said something to the
    effect of "Now we'll see a clean round - here come Greg Best and Gem
    Twist". And they got a standing ovation! That horse did the course
    with apparent ease. It was a beautiful thing to watch. He's Budweiser
    Gem Twist, now, not Moet et Chandon Gem Twist. I wonder if the
    Merrimack Budweiser would ever consider having him visit the stables
    up there? 

    And then of course, there was Margie - she combines that technical
    ability with the craziness you need to fly around a course like that
    at top speed! She squawked at her horse at nearly every jump - and
    he paid attention!

    Thinking about the reaction of most of the crowd to the "thrilling"
    aspects of grand prix jumping vs. the technical abilties of horse
    and rider, it also brought to mind one of the complaints we've all
    voiced or read regarding the Olympics - you never see the good stuff,
    only the dramatic falls, etc. I don't think it will ever change, until
    people are educated to observe and appreciate the finer points of
    equestrian sports. They don't understand that the easier it looks the
    more work the rider has done or is doing. And the large majority of
    people don't want to have to be educated to be able to enjoy something
    - so the other sports will always be more popular, I'm afraid. I
    believe this is true of all of the equestrian events in the Olympics.
    Look at how many people say "I know how to ride a horse"... they don't
    know the first thing about it; and the really sad part is, they don't
    know they don't know...

    Well, done rambling. I'm starting my weekend early this week. See ya...

    Julie

> beat him on one of her three entries by less than a second. Joe Fargis rode 
> well but didn't look well and when he was walking the course and he was 
> limping. 

  When I mentioned this to my trainer he said that Joe's ankle was crushed 
  when a horse fell on him approx 8 months ago--this is the reason he didn't
  make the Olympics. Apparently every bone in the ankle was broken and my
  trainer said that Joe was still wearing a cast just a month ago! 

    I, too, was inspired while watching many of these riders. Beezie 
    Patton, Kate Chope, Jennifer Miller and several others were just 
    *beautiful* riders. Watching round after round has really sharpened 
    my eye. The education was well worth the price of the admission.

    McLain got roars because he is a young "star", having won all (or
    almost all) of the Junior rider Equitation Medals. Having a rather
    famous father doesn't hurt, either. He made the mistakes that an
    inexperienced rider makes--though most prefer to make them at 
    *much* smaller fences :^) --and I think the pressure got to him too.
    Others, who worked themselves up through the ranks quietly, are less 
    well known perhaps, but no less admired and appreciated by those who 
    know what they are looking at (and those of us who strive to be like 
    them ;^) )

>    And then of course, there was Margie - she combines that technical

    And I guess I was a lot more influenced by her than I realized-- :^)
    ever since I got back my trainer has been giving me a lot of flak
    about looking like a jumper rider over the fences...you know how 
    Margie Goldstein gives those big releases over the fences, practically
    touching the horses ears with her hands...well apparently I am doing
    that now... :*} much to my trainer's amusement and consternation! 

>    though I can only recognize Barney Ward by his thighs, he does sit
    It was a real scream watching Joe and Barney walk the course together. 
    Talk about Mutt and Jeff! :^) 
 
>    I'd hazard a generalization and say that good hunt seat riders would
>    be good jumpers (technically), but not necessarily vice versa. 'Course,
	Well I would say that a jumper rider with a solid hunter background
	would be a more effective (and probably safer) jumper rider. When
	you add speed to the picture the trade-offs you have to make about
	strides and balancing the horse become so much more critical and 
        you have a lot less time to think about it and make it happen. Hunters
	are very technical, but you have time to plan what you want to do. Not
	all hunter riders have the "instinct" to make the quick adjustments.
	The good Hunter Equitation riders have to have that instinct, though.
	The Equitation Finals courses are just as tough as the jumper courses
	and those riders have to look pretty while they're doing it, too!

>    Merrimack Budweiser would ever consider having him visit the stables
>    up there? 

      Let's start a telephone campaign!

    From the Oct 30 1992 Chronicle of the Horse(We get'em a week late out
    west!)
    
    "European showjumping lost one of its biggest sponsors. With the
    departure of Bjork Westerkemp as director of the Amsterdam Options
    Exchange, the Optibeurs sponsorship of Jos Lansink and Piet Raymakers
    of Holland, Otto Becker and Franke Sloothaak of Germany and Evelyne
    Blaton and Ludo Philippaerts of Belgium has come to an end after 6
    years. 
    
    In other news of Dutch showjumping, Hans Horn, the trainer of the Dutch
    team that won the Olympics in Barcelona, has had his contract extended
    for a further 3 years. Lansink and Horn, the owner of Lansink's
    Olympic mount, Egano, have signed a contract that will make Egano
    available to the Dutch teams for another 2 years."

Budweiser has already said that they are not renewing sponsorship 
contracts for next year. To paraphrase, they feel that the audience for 
show jumping is not the same as it used to be (well, older mainly!)
and they feel the money would be better spent sponsoring something
that attracts younger fans.

In other news, the GP de Penn at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show
was won by George Lindemann Jr on Playback with a jumpoff time of 33.29,
beating an incredible ride by Leslie Lenahan on Budweiser Gem Twist
(Greg Best was injured at Devon) with a jumpoff time of 33.30 and which
was nearly lost when the horse slipped and nearly lost his hind end
during a sharp rollback to the left to the 3rd (4th?) jumpoff fence.
Other jumpoff riders were Katie Monahan on Partly Cloudy, (rail down),
Terry Rudd on Alf (1 or 2 rails down, I can't remember), and Margie Goldstein
on Daydream, (who crashed thru the Cadillac fence in a misunderstanding 
with his rider).

    The Royal Winter Fair(Toronto, Canada) Nations Cup was held on
    Saturday. Canada, US, Germany and Mexico sent teams for the
    competition. Interestingly enough, NO country sent their Olympic
    showjumping squad. Canada came closest with 2 of the same horse and
    rider combinations. Canada won for the third time in as many years.
    This is the longest winning streak at "The Royal" since the US won
    7 Nation Cups at the 1959-1965 Royal Winter Fairs. Before they started this
    streak in 1990, the Canadians hadn't won this event since the mid to
    late 1970's. I can't remember whether their last previous win was 1975 or
    1979.
    
    The Canadian team in order of rides was:
    					First Round	Second
    Mario Deslaurier w/ Alemao			0	0
    Jay Hayes w/ Waverly			4	4
    Beth Underhill w/ Monopoly			4	0
    Ian Millar w/ Big Ben			0	No ride
    
    TEAM TOTAL  8 Faults and first place
    
    
    The German team(also in order of go) was :
    Ralf Schneider w/Safran			8	0
    Lars Neiberg w/Nistria			4	0
    Marcus Beerbaum w/ Kendalian		4	4
    Holger Hetzel w/ Gipfelsturm (formerly ridden by Michael Whittaker)
    						0	4
    TEAM TOTAL 12 faults and second
    
    
    The US team in order of riding was:
    Dave Rapposa w/ Seven Wonders 		4	4
    Terry Rudd w/ Gazpacho			0.25	8
    Beezie Patton w/ Northern Magic	       12	8
    Leslie Lenehan w/ Pressurized		4	No ride
    TEAM TOTAL 20.25 faults and third
    
    The Mexican team consisted of inexperienced horses and riders. They
    were never in contention and finished a distant fourth.
    
    The Canadians were terrific! Deslaurier and Alemao who were fresh from
    their win in the President's Cup GP at the Washington International,
    produced a double clear. The only time those 2 even came close to
    knocking something down was at the next to last jump in the second
    round. Deslaurier lost a stirrup which disturbed his balance causing Alemao
    to give the large oxer a hard rub. With only 3 strides to the last,
    Deslaurier had no time to regain his stirrup. They made the jump nicely
    but he was nearly unseated on landing. His right leg was completely
    on the left side of Alemao as if he were going to dismount! How he
    managed to get back in the saddle so quickly is beyond me.
    
    Jay Hayes and Waverly produced a very respectable double 4 fault 
    performance which actually turned out to be the worst total showing for
    their team. The were clear going into the last fence in the first round
    and just had a light rub which unfortunately caused the rail to fall.
    
    Beth Underhill and Monopoly proved to be the winning margin set on the
    base provided by the other rides. They had just 4 faults in the first
    round and went clean in the second. This meant that Millar and Big Ben
    only had to go in the first round where they produced a clear.
    
    For the US, Rapposa and Seven Wonders went well and provided a nice
    double 4. Terry Rudd and Gazpacho were brilliant in the first round but
    couldn't maintain their brilliance through the second round. Beezie
    Patton and Northern Magic had a VERY bad "day at the office" considering 
    they are a top combination. Leapin' Leslie and Pressurized went well in
    the first round but did not go in the second as they could not improve
    the team placing.
    
    The German team was young and relatively inexperienced but still
    formidable. Any team that can have 3 horse/rider cominations chip in clear 
    rounds and a nice double 4 from the other pair is tough even though 
    they're young. Most impressive was their Gipfelsturmer. He was powerful, 
    calm, obedient and obviously well-schooled.

    Sports Channel had 2 hours of coverage on the Millstreet Indoor
    showjumping from Ireland last night. Knowing Sports Channel, it will
    probably be repeated sometime in the next couple weeks so check your
    listings.
    
    In case they don't repaet it and for those who don't get Sports
    Channel, here are the results of what they showed:
    
    They started with the jump-off for the Volvo World Cup Qualifier. One
    of the first rides they showed was Jessica Chesney(IRE) on Diamond
    Exchange. This young woman rode a tremendous round. She went so fast
    that the horse's tail and her own pony tail were straight out behind
    them! ;-) They also went clear. 
    
    Now, the pressure was on everybody else. In order to win they had to go 
    clear and VERY fast. Many of them choked and had rails down. Some saw
    the disasters of those that went early and chose to go slowly but clear 
    to insure a high placing for themselves. But, Francis Connors(IRE) and 
    Spring Elegance rose to the challenge. They flew around the course, 
    cutting every corner possible. In the end, they came up a fraction of a 
    second slower than Jessica Chesney and Diamond Exchange. 
    
    Next, they had the Speed Derby class which is a shortened version of
    their Indoor Derby course with time used to break ties on rounds with
    equal faults. Shortening the course eliminated the bank and left only 2 
    jumps in the Dyke combination rather than the 3 one sees in the Derby.
    Very few horse and rider combinations got round clear. The winning ride
    was Matthew Lonni(GBR) on Magna with second going to another Brit,
    Brian Dye on Sky View.
    
    They finished with coverage of the Indoor Jumping Derby. Early on,
    there were no clear rounds. One of the best early rounds was a 4 fault
    ride by the young Brazilian,Hector??? Pesoa. His father, Nelson Pesoa, and
    Elastique provided one of the clear rounds. There was a jumpoff
    between Nelson Pesoa and 2 others; Nigel Coupe on Suntory and Michael
    Whittaker on Monsanta. Coupe rode first in the jumpoff and had 8
    faults. Nelson Pesoa sent Elastique around masterfully. He's remarkably
    quiet rider having great hands and form. They went clear in 35.94
    seconds. Michael Whittaker rode last. He and Monsanta went clear and
    MUCH faster than Pesoa and Elastique! Whittaker and Monsanta got home
    in 34.03 seconds! While watching a Nations Cup from Calgary last
    summer, one of the commentators made a joke about how good Whittaker
    and Monsanta were. She said something like, "No wonder the great Milton
    has so many good rounds left in him. Michael Whittaker and Monsanta go
    clear in the Nations Cup events to spare Milton's energy!"

John,
	As a bit of irony in the Indoor Jumping Derby, I noticed
	that Nelson Passoa was NOT riding in one of "his" saddles.
	(eg The Nelson Passoa brand saddle.) Funny huh?
	Does that say something or is it just the way things are.

Ed P 

    I do think that's ironic although I wouldn't know his brand from a
    hole-in-the-wall!
    
    I've often wondered whether the celebrities who endorsed" saddles
    actually rode in them... like the Charles de Kunffy Dressage saddle...
    Has anybody ever seen him even RIDE much less in his brand of saddle?
    
    If I had to fathom a guess, I'd say it's just the way things are that
    they don't actually use them.
    
    John

    If you want to know any thing about Waverly - I can tell you a fair bit
    - good and bad - she was in our barn for a year and I knew her former
    owner quite well.  Some is a bit off  so it may have to be off line. 
    
    Linda

Somebody asked about Greg Best last week. I found this article in the Sept 24 
Chronicle(which just arrived at our house last Fri Oct 1st!):

GREG BEST MOVES AHEAD

Greg Best is almost recovered from the severe shoulder injury that's looked 
like the end of his grand prix career and kept him from riding his great 
partner Gem Twist for a year. Later this fall, Best, owner Michael Golden and 
trainer Frank Chapot will decide if they all have a future together.

In the meantime, Best is running his own 34-horse operation in Wellington, 
Fla., with the help of his sister, Leigh Ann.

"I'm just growing in all directions, which is exactly what I wanted to do,"
Best said. "Everybody told me I would starve here, and that there would be no 
business. I came down with four horses and now I have 34."

Best injured his shoulder when he fell with Gem Twist during a qualifier for 
the $85,000 American Gold Cup last Sept. 12. In a six-hour surgery, two screws 
were inserted to repair a torn shoulder cuff and a torn rotator cuff, alons 
with ligament and tendon dammage.

Best said that his shoulder now has 100 percent of its range to ride and 90 
percent of its strength. "As far as the riding goes, there's nothing I'm not 
capable of," Best said.

This summer Best returned to the show circuit in Vermont, taking 14 horses and 
competing with his students in four shows. Best said he has a wide variety of 
students, from short stirrup to intermediate jumpers. "I had some students 
from Arizona and California that just exceeded my expectations and their own," 
he said.

The question of whether or not Best will replace Leslie Lenehan on Gem Twist 
will be answered this fall, So far, Lenehan and Gem Twist haven't won any 
grand prix events together. Their highlights have been finishing second in 
a $50,000 grand prix in Florida last March and leading the U.S. team to 
victory at the Dublin(Ireland) Horse Show with a crucial clear round.

Owner Golden said at the moment he has no concrete plans regarding either 
rider. "Come the fall, I'm sure Frank[Chapot] and I will have to sit down and 
decide," Golden said. "Gem Twist will not be the loser in either case because 
they're both great riders."

Best said he doesn't look forward to having to choose between his barn and Gem 
Twist. "There is no doubt that I'd love to ride him again. But if it's a 
question of riding him or giving up what I have here...Well, it's a tough 
decision," Best said. "It's a long term decision, not what do I want to do for 
the summer, rather what do I want to do for the rest of this horse's career."

But Best knows what he'd like to do if he gets the ride again. "The World 
Championships is a goal that comes to mind immediately. And I'd love to do the 
Olympics again," Best said.

    Skimming thru the Pedlar and N.E. Equine (I think) there are
    ads that Greg Best will be holding a clinic in Littleton MA
    in early November.

Thanks for taking the time to post that update on Greg Best and Gem Twist!

Jan