As the seconds ticked on the clock, Suzy Stafford and Cefn Oak Park Bouncer moved in rhythm through the cones course on the final day of the FEI World Combined Pony Driving Championships, July 13-17.

Stafford, who held the lead in the single pony division by 4.18 penalties, reached the 18th obstacle when her carriage wheel struck a cone, sending the bright yellow ball rolling to the ground for 3 penalties. Stafford heard the groan of the crowd and knew the one ball she had in hand was gone. She couldn’t afford to dislodge another if the gold medal was to be hers.

With nerves of steel and a resolve that belies her age of 28, Stafford urged “Bouncer” forward. She had heard the announcer give her time at the halfway mark, and she knew she must increase her speed to avoid accumulating time faults.

So, as Bouncer’s ears flicked back and forth, he listened to Stafford and extended his stride. As they turned toward the final obstacle, a slalom of cones headed down the homestretch to the finish line, Stafford called on the black pony to weave through the cones quickly, and he was foot-perfect.

So from now on, Stafford will be introduced as a World Champion. “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” said Stafford. “I just drove the best I could and hoped for the best. On any other day, it could have been someone else’s day. I’m just glad it was mine.”

Those who know the young driver from Bear, Del., have long considered her world-class as a driver and a person, so the gold medal she received at Catton Hall, in Great Britain, is perhaps no surprise.

The manner in which she earned the first U.S. individual gold medal in combined driving was completely unexpected, however. Stafford essentially “catch-drove” Sybil and Wayne Humphreys’ Welsh Cob to the title after driving him less than a month.

And to add to the drama, Stafford took just about every penalty she had in hand. After crossing through the finishing timers with one ball down and slightly over the time allowed, she had to wait through a few anxious moments until her score was tallied.

And when the announcement came, the U.S. fans in the stands went wild, waving the stars and stripes and cheering the country’s first individual World Champion in the sport of combined driving. Fred Merriam, the individual bronze medalist at the 2002 World Single Horse Driving Championships, is the only other U.S. driver to earn an individual medal.

The U.S. team wasn’t as fortunate. Too many balls fell on Wolfgang Asendorf’s difficult cones course, and the team couldn’t hold on to a medal position and placed fifth.

Like the first Championship in 2003 in Austria, the Germans dominated the competition, with 428.03 penalties over the three phases. With two of their drivers defending their individual titles–Steffen Abicht and Dirk Gerkens, respectively–there was no stopping them. To add to their medals, 2003 individual singles gold medalist Tobias Bucker switched to teams and claimed the silver.

For the U.S. team, fifth place (478.90) was an improvement over their sixth place in Austria. Unfortunately, the team, led by chef d’equipe Hardy Zantke, had such a strong start–standing second after dressage behind Germany–that it was heartbreaking for their drivers to watch the Netherlands (433.72) and Great Britain (455.53) pull ahead after the marathon.

The all-woman team–Stafford, Sara Schmitt, Tracey Morgan, Katie Whaley, Boots Wright and Lisa Stroud–still had medal hopes going into the cones competition. The team stood 7.75 penalties behind third-placed Great Britain. And, after the pairs had finished, the U.S. had closed the gap and stood within striking distance. But when Stroud and Wright had difficulties on the cones course, the U.S. team score plummeted, and Austria moved up to take fourth (475.87).

From Tears To Triumph

As Stafford stood on the podium accepting her gold medal and accolades, she savored this brief moment because her time with Bouncer has been just as fleeting. She began driving the gelding just prior to the championships after her qualified pony, Beverly Lescher’s Courage To Lead, pulled a muscle and was out of commission.

But sometimes fate intercedes, as it did for Stafford. In late May, after Bouncer’s owners parted ways with Muffy Seaton (who had driven him for the past 10 months), he became a pony without a driver–and he was already in Great Britain and qualified for the World Championships.

“A couple of us brainstormed and wrote a letter to the U.S. Equestrian Federation recommending I drive Bouncer,” said Stafford. “So everyone agreed, and I flew over as soon as I could.”

Stafford and Bouncer met in early July and contested the Sandringham (England) CAI, two weeks prior to the championship, where they placed fifth and got to know each other.

“He’s an obedient pony and not extremely tricky,” said Stafford. “It didn’t take me long to figure him out. Any mistakes out there were mine.”

Bouncer’s return to England this summer was something of a homecoming. The 9-year-old was born and raised in Great Britain, bred by Frank Bozward of Cefn Farm in Wales. Johnston and Joy Rudd of Bristol purchased him as a weanling, broke him to drive and then sold him to the Humphreys as a 3-year-old.

The Rudds traveled to Catton Hall to watch Bouncer and said they knew he’d be a champion from early on. “I saw him at 4 weeks and bought him at 4 months, when he left his mother,” said Joy Rudd. “I drove him for about nine months and realized he had potential. I actually knew that at 4 months old–when you turned him out, he just bounced and floated across the field.”

Sybil Humphreys competed Bouncer up to the preliminary level under the watchful eye of Larry Poulin, and Bouncer won and placed in numerous CDEs before she and her husband decided he deserved a chance to make a name for himself at the advanced level.

Seaton took Bouncer’s reins and qualified him for the World Championships before their partnership ended just after the Royal Windsor CAI (England) in May.

With three weeks to prepare for the World Championships, it was a small army–from team coaches Georgina Frith and Chester Weber, to the farriers, veterinarians and supporters–who helped mold a new pony and driver pair into one cohesive unit.

“It certainly was a team effort,” said Stafford. “I couldn’t have done any of this without the whole group. And I’m grateful to the Humphreys for allowing me to drive Bouncer and to my navigator, Claudia DeLorme. I couldn’t have done it without her.”

Stafford, an event rider who began driving five years ago after suffering a severe ankle injury in a riding accident, is an assistant to advanced pair driver Lisa Singer.

“I’m so proud of her,” said Singer. “She’s an incredibly dedicated person. She had a bumpy road coming here, and it’s nice that the road flattened out for her.”

A Gallant Effort

The U.S. team also navigated a few bumps along the way to their fifth-placed finish. With strong driving in each of the three divisions and in each phase, the U.S. contingent had a lot to cheer for during the four-day competition.

Schmitt, the highest-placed U.S. driver in the 2003 World Championships, drove a solid dressage test for ninth place. She was the first U.S. team driver on the marathon, which began under overcast skies. But no rain fell as the country’s dry spell continued and made for hard and slippery footing. Adding this factor to a challenging course designed by Asendorf, and there were thrills and spills aplenty.

Just after entering hazard 2, Schmitt’s groom was flung off the carriage around a turn, which accounted for 10 penalties. High Country Doc was going strong when they entered The Hill, which featured a very steep slope descending into gates set on the side of the hill. “I didn’t even know she was off,” said Schmitt, “until the end of the hazard when I went to talk to her.”

Schmitt, Glen Garner, N.J., unfortunately couldn’t better her sixth-placed effort in Austria. In addition to her disappointing marathon, her Morgan stallion was under the weather throughout the competition, but he showed tremendous heart. With a gallant performance in the cones–a clean round with .56 time faults for sixth place in the phase–“Doc” and Schmitt vaulted from 19th to claim 10th.

“He wasn’t on his game, so we did some tests and found out he’s a little anemic,” she said. “Yesterday, on the marathon, I felt like I was driving a wet noodle. But he kept trying, and today I think we would have made the time [on the cones] if he were feeling better. But I’m happy I could contribute to the team.”

Pair driver Morgan, Beallsville, Md., gambled by using a new pony in her Dartmoor pair at the championship, but it paid huge dividends when she drove to fifth place in dressage with 51.84 penalties. Judge Mark Wentein (Belgium) even placed the pair first.

With her veteran Lizwell Gambling Queen, 9, nicknamed Maude, Morgan added Singletree Tabitha Twitchit, 7, a Dartmoor who had only contested one other advanced-level competition. Team coaches Frith and Weber both suggested that Morgan try the new combination in dressage because they’re better matched in both color and movement.

“I was thrilled she was so great,” said Morgan of Tabitha. “She really showed three different gaits and kept her rhythm. When we came [into the arena], she looked at the crowd and I said, ‘Hey concentrate.’ And she said, ‘Oh, OK.’ “

Morgan returned to her veteran duo of Maude and Gaylen Romeo for the marathon, and they placed 12th in the marathon after some slower times through the hazards.

In the cones, however, Morgan and her small Dartmoors galloped confidently, and they were just one of a few pairs to finish within the time allowed. But two balls down was a disappointment for Morgan, who didn’t even hear the second ball drop. Nevertheless, their performance was among the best of the day in the pairs division and they earned fourth-placed honors.

U.S. driver Katie Whaley drove to 13th overall with a particularly strong performance in the marathon phase, where her Welsh Sec. A ponies were quick and precise. But even with an eighth-placed cones performance, Whaley, Southern Pines, N.C., couldn’t overcome the conservative dressage test she’d had (69.12 penalties), where they placed 22nd out of the 24 entries.

Stroud’s strong performance in dressage with her gray Connemaras (and one Arabian), kept the U.S. right in the medal hunt the first day. With a smooth and consistent test, highlighted by their matching gaits, they were a picture of elegance. Stroud placed a strong sixth with 56.0 penalties.

Wright and her team of flashy chestnuts didn’t have that same impulsion or precision as Stroud’s grays. Their solid dressage test scored 62.88, leaving them 12th and in the middle of the pack.

The following day, Stroud was on target for a strong marathon score until hazard 7, The Splish Splash. But when she dropped her two grooms to untangle her ponies after the carriage became caught on a post, her score plummeted. Her 154.05 penalties left her last of the teams that finished the marathon.

After Stroud’s difficulty, Wright stepped up to the plate for the U.S. team. With her Welsh Cobs, Wright drove a steady and consistent marathon for 14th place. Her score kept the U.S. team within striking distance of the British for the team bronze medal. But when Stroud and Wright each posted cones scores in the 20s, the U.S. team fell to fifth overall.

Two individual drivers also represented the U.S. Jack Wetzel, Aiken, S.C., drove Birchgrove Llewelyn, a 10-year-old Welsh Cob, to 20th place overall. Wetzel, the 2002 National Single Pony Champion, drove a lovely dressage test that scored 48 penalties and ranked him seventh. A slow trip through the hazards for 28th place, however, dropped him down in the standings.

Wendy Ying made her first World Championship appearance with Minefford Megastar, her 13-year-old, Welsh Cob stallion. They placed 32nd of the 34 entries that completed the three phases.

Jennifer Matheson was the sole Canadian driver at the championships, but while she was making her debut at the World Championships, her pony, Danyloo, was defending his title. She purchased the German Riding pony stallion after he’d earned the individual gold medal in 2003 with German Tobias Bucker. After an eighth-placed dressage score, Matheson, like Schmitt, lost her groom off the carriage at hazard 2. The 10 added penalties and slower times through the hazards left her 29th in that phase. With 11.26 penalties in the cones, she placed 23rd overall.

The Germans Dominate–Again

The rest of the pony driving world will be happy to note that undefeated two-time World Champion team driver Dirk Gerkens will now retire from ponies to concentrate on horses. The 25-year-old farrier from Paderborn drove a team of Westphalians, which included two new ponies he added since his victory in 2003.

Gerkens placed fourth in the dressage with a lovely test that scored 52 penalties, keeping him in striking distance.

Belgian driver Mia Allo, known for her mastery of driven dressage, bettered her second-placed performance in Austria with the winning score of 41.6 at Catton Hall. Here her gleaming team of palominos shined, showing precise transitions and rhythmical suspended gaits.

“I have a new pony this year who I started in May, a New Forest pony. The others are Welsh partbreds. He, being a little bit steadier, has helped my dressage performance,” she said. “Today was the best test we’ve had.”

The judges–Ge’ Konig (the Nether-lands), Hans-Peter Ruschlin (Switzer-land), Martha Hanks-Nicoll (USA), Mark Wentein (Belgium) and Diana Brownlie (GBR) rewarded forward moving ponies and precise driving–just what Allo provided.

“I feel my extended trot was very good today, and I really like their transitions,” said Allo. “They were very steady.”

Allo predicted she’d fall from the lead after the marathon, but she didn’t drop too far. With an 11th-placed performance, she stood in bronze-medal contention entering the final phase.

Gerkens liked the marathon course–where he had the best times in two of the eight hazards–to move into the lead by 1.12 penalties over teammate Bucker.

The spectators, enjoying a sunny summer day at Catton Hall, cheered hardest for the smallest equines at the competition–two teams of pinto Shetlands driven by father and son, Aart van de Kamp Sr., and Jr., of the Nether-lands. The elder van de Kamp just rocketed through the hazards, taking routes none of the other larger ponies could tackle, scoring the fastest times in three hazards for the best marathon score. The younger van de Kamp, 25, was right behind in third place, even with a knockdown in hazard 2 that cost him 2 penalties.

The Shetlands, which hadn’t scored well in the dressage phase (14th and 21st), were on the move up. Van de Kamp Jr., who started the final day in 11th place, was the only team driver to post a double clear cones round. He finished in eighth place.

Van de Kamp Sr., had just one ball down within the time allowed to poise on the brink of an individual medal. Then, when Allo had a slow round with one ball down, the Shetlands were rewarded with the individual bronze medal and led the Netherlands to team silver.

Bucker and Gerkens weren’t to be denied their medals, however, and the two remained atop the standings with solid cones scores.

In the pair division, Abicht had some luck fall his way for his victory. Ewoud Boom of the Netherlands took control of the division in dressage with a 46.88-penalty score with his pair of bay New Forest ponies, relegating Abicht and his Welsh and German Riding ponies to second with 47.04.

Boom, fifth in the 2003 World Championships, began this marathon meaning business. He had the best time in hazard 1, but his lead was short-lived. Going around a tight corner in hazard 2, his carriage turned over. But, fast as lightning, he and his groom righted the carriage and were back in action, posting the 19th fastest time (just 12.36 seconds off the fastest time in the hazard). Boom continued on, galloping to the best time in all of the remaining six hazards. If not for the turnover, he would have topped Abicht by 5.33 penalties. But with 60 penalties added to his score, he fell to last place of the pairs finishing the marathon.

In the cones phase, the standings shuffled significantly as the twisty course took its toll. Even with 8.55 penalties, Abicht easily won the gold with 139.11. The pressure was off of Abicht after Jo Rennison of Great Britain, who stood second, had a disastrous round of 15.24 penalties that dropped her to sixth place.

Rupert Ganhor of Austria, who had been sixth going into the cones, had just one ball down in the final slalom to the finish line. But the 3 penalties moved him all the way up to take the silver with 145.70. Lars Dau of Denmark retained his bronze-medal standing with 8.64 penalties and finished with 146.94.

Singles driver Yvonne de Ruyter of the Netherlands, who led after dressage, with 39.8 penalties (the only driver to crack the 30s), missed a gate in hazard 4, The Pine Grove, and was eliminated.

Thus, the door was opened, and Stafford continued writing her fairytale story with a fifth-placed marathon drive with Bouncer.

“Today couldn’t have gone any better,” said Stafford smiling. “He’s not an extremely fast pony, but he’s steady, and that’s what did well today. The footing was slippery–people who went for the speed sometimes did get into trouble.”

Early on, hazard 2 proved to be the bogey spot, and spectators flocked to the area (where hazard 1 was also in view) to see the action.
Italian driver Salvatore Pacifico was the first of many to turn over at the hazard. French driver Giles Arriat, the first team out on course, flipped his carriage and his horses took off without him, necessitating his retirement from the course.

Morgan described the hazards as well designed for a championship. “It really had questions everywhere. There wasn’t a hazard there that didn’t have something unique about it,” she said. “This wasn’t my best marathon–I had a few little bobbles–but my ponies were tough and brave and finished with lots of pep.”

From Sophistication To Sheepdogs

The July 14 issue of the British magazine Horse & Hound featured a little tidbit about the dangers of eating “take-away food” at sporting events because of the poor food hygiene. But those who attended the FEI World Combined Pony Driving Championships had no such problems.

Catton Hall, the estate that hosted the championships, also concurrently held The Midlands Food & Drink Festival, July 15-17, which featured master chefs from the area demonstrating their cooking prowess, a cookery demonstration theatre and more than 75 exhibitors and vendors.

With a saunter around the huge food tent, you could sample delicacies from all corners of the world. If you had a taste for Thai, for instance, there were several different vendors to choose from, with what seemed like an infinite number of spicy sauces to fire up your taste buds. For something more English, there were vendors selling pheasant, venison and mutton, made into pastries, rolls and even hotdogs (called sheepdogs!).

After eating your fill, you could wander around and watch the ponies compete or take a stroll around the estate grounds. Catton Hall itself is the home of the Nielson family, and this year they’re celebrating their continuous occupancy of the home by themselves and their ancestors for 600 years.

Catton Hall was first mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1085, when the settlement boasted two ale houses (perhaps to that end, beer was less expensive than soft drinks at the venue). The present Hall was built in 1742 and has been altered very little since that date.

The Nielsons boast a significant collection of early Dutch and Italian paintings as well as royal and family portraits and Georgian furniture. The gardens, formal in the front and with mixed borders in the back, flow down to the River Trent, which meandered through the competition grounds and provided a beautiful backdrop. The Nielson family is also active in habitat and environmental causes, and they’ve recently planted almost 80,000 trees.

Set in Derbyshire, Catton Hall is about a three-hour drive north of London. And while it was a distance away from the catastrophe of the previous week’s terrorist bombings, the competition halted at noon on Friday for two minutes of silence while the nation paused to remember the innocent commuters who had died on the transit system in London.

And what British sporting event would be complete without a touch of royalty? In addition to speaking at the opening and closing ceremonies, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh represented Great Britain as an individual driving the Queen’s team of Fell ponies.

He placed a respectable 10th in the dressage phase and drove consistently well in the marathon and cones phase to place 17th overall in the team division.