April 1st has brought the end of the circuit, with its highs and lows – many improvements with horses and riders shown in some cases and injuries in others. Whatever injuries have occurred, Wellington has excellent teams of veterinarians and many therapeutic services at their disposal to help and spas for the riders as well – from physiotherapy and doctors, to plastic surgeons and even Botox injections given as door prizes at some functions!
Canadians are finishing the final WEF week on a high note. Eric Lamaze won the Suncast 1.50 m Championship Jumper Series Final on Coriana van Klapscheut. Eric has taken it slowly with Coriana this winter in preparation for Europe’s summer circuit. Ian Millar, whose mount Star Power is on track for the London Games, placed a very close second to the winner of the $500,000 FTI Finale Grand Prix CSI 5* Saturday night. Daniel Bluman of Colombia won by less than a second on Sancha LS. Bluman is based in Wellington but has a Canadian connection, training with Eric Lamaze for the last year.
Cathy Blundell of Montreal was champion in the Amateur Owner 3’3” 36 and Older Division on her hunter Troubadour, imported from the Netherlands by Angela Covert-Lawrence and Jeff Rundle.
Wellington is a place for authors and readers as well as riders. Unbridled Passion, written by amateur show jumper rider Jeff Papows, was launched at WEF this season. Papows brings a reality based rider’s perspective to the stories of several famous Grand Prix riders and their favourite horses – complete with the joys of achieving phenomenal success and the devastating lows that can also accompany a life with show horses. Many of the riders share intimate details about their feelings and experiences with their equine partners, which makes the book especially appealing to horse people. Many excellent photos are included – several of Ian Millar, Beezie Madden, McLain Ward among them. Papows creates an interesting and rather frightening perspective on the world of show jumping in his first chapter, when describing the moment after one hears the single beep tone that signals the beginning of the course. He writes that success, failure or an ambulance ride are separated only by the horse and rider’s mutual trust and experience together. One’s coach and supporters are only able to watch from a distance and hope.
Georgina Bloomberg, a well-known Grand Prix rider and daughter of Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York, has recently written two books for young adults. My Favorite Mistake was launched recently at WEF, while the first in the series, The A Circuit came out a few months ago. Both books involve the horse show world and the burdens of being the child of a billionaire – any possible similarities here?
Practical books are also available at WEF. How to Say ‘Whoa’ in Spanish would be very useful to trainers, barn managers and farriers in particular. Available at Beval Saddlery, it provides specific horse and barn related words in Spanish.
The weekly Lunch and Learn series at the show has provided a great deal of information about horse and rider health, safety and fitness and opportunities to meet new friends from all over the country with similar passionate horse-related interests. USEF and FEI drug rules were the topic for discussion recently by the director of the USEF Drug and Medication program and the USEF vet for Show Jumping. USET’s drug and medication program’s mission is the safety of horses in competition and a level playing field – i.e. there should be no unfair advantage. As well as discussing the amount of non-steroidal use in North America the ongoing issue of calming medication was brought forward, mainly in regard to hunter divisions. Does one lunge to death instead of using calming medications and create lasting damage to joints, or use something like Ace, which is not contributing to a level playing field? An observation was made that to a certain extent in North America we have bred horses that are dependent on drugs to show. Since non-steroidals are banned in Europe, they breed horses that don’t compete on these. Because horses are eaten there, non-steroidals can never be in a horse’s system. However this addition of horses as food can also provide Europeans with a way out if a horse of theirs cannot perform without drugs.
In anticipation of the next season, Equestrian Sport Productions has announced that Adequan has signed up as the title sponsor of the 2013 Global Dressage Festival – a major sponsorship for three years. Mark Bellissimo is thrilled about the partnership, which he feels within three years will make the Global Dressage Festival “the most significant dressage event in the world.”
A limited number of permanent stall at this venue at the Stadium are available for rent as of April 15th. Riders, trainers and owners in any discipline can stable their horses here with access to all of PBIEC’s great amenities – the 360 x 210 foot covered arena, an additional open arena and select evening riding under the lights in the International arena. Although the stables here were built to house the competition horses for the Global Dressage Festival, the plan was also to bring many Wellington equestrians together, regardless of discipline, to use the facility throughout the year. A maximum of 100 dry stalls are available at $1,000 a month with scheduled turnout times included. The Palm Beach Riding Academy will be stabled here as well.
The Winter Equestrian Festival team is already planning for 2013, with a “Save the Date” ad in this year’s Lake Placid Horse Show program. Over $6.5 million in prize money will be offered, with 70 divisions weekly. From Walk-Trot to FEI Grand Prix, there is a division for everyone!
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