Even though we enjoyed a host of successes and new developments on the show jumping front, 2006 will be remembered as the last year of life for the world-famous Gem Twist.

“Gem” and Milton, his fellow gray and constant rival from England, charmed all who saw them. They were loved the world over for their sheer jumping ability and for the heart and undeniable charisma they displayed each time they set foot in the international arena.

Gem was a U.S. product through and through. Bred here and sired by Frank Chapot’s former international mount Good Twist, he was purchased by first-time horse owner Michael Golden before he ever set foot into a show ring and was always trained by Frank. Ridden by then-teenager Greg Best, Gem developed from a USET Talent Search Medal mount, to a North American Young Riders Championship winner, to a double silver-medal winner at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and was named best horse at the 1990 World Equestrian Games.

After accomplishing all of this with his young and formerly unknown rider, the mighty gelding went on to notch American Grandprix Association Horse of the Year honors with Leslie Howard and Laura Chapot. A truly amazing record; a truly amazing horse. I can only imagine Gem and Milton up there somewhere giving each other the eye, just as they did in the warm-up paddock in Stockholm, Sweden, back in 1990.


A Silver Year
This year the WEG went to the world-famous show grounds in Aachen, Germany. The WEG team format is grueling, with a speed leg and then the Nations Cup. I’m not sure that it makes it that much easier on the horses to have the two rounds of the Nations Cup on consecutive days (as they did in Aachen) instead of on the same day, but it sure did make it easier on the spectators and TV since there were well more than 100 rounds each day.

Either way, our jumping team of Beezie Madden on Authentic, McLain Ward on Sapphire, Laura Kraut on Miss Independent, and Margie Engle on Hidden Creek’s Quervo Gold scored a team silver and an individual silver (for Beezie) there. All of our riders did us proud; not one rider had a bad round.

Team competition can be lost so easily, with the odd “cheap” rail from three riders often turning out to be more costly than a single disastrous round. This time the mathematics perhaps did more to keep our riders from the center podium than the jumping. Nevertheless, the silver was truly admirable in this company, and it sure felt good as it was our first team medal at a World Championships since Conrad Homfeld (on Abdullah), Michael Matz (on Chef), Katie Monahan Prudent (on Amadia) and Katherine Burdsall (on The Natural) brought home the gold 20 years ago–also in Aachen.

It would have been impossible to be an American in Aachen this year without feeling special pride in Beezie and Authentic. Admired throughout the world for years as one of a handful of the most elite riders, her multitude of fans had the chance to see her at her best on the fantastically brave and careful Authentic.

If the team competition had been grueling, the toughest was yet to come for the top 25. They jumped two more rounds on Saturday to determine which riders would take part in the “final four.”

Beezie went into Sunday’s final on top (incredibly without a single rail over five grueling courses), but the rules call for each of the four riders to start on an equal score. This format might be more exciting for the crowd, but it’s never seemed quite right to me in that it doesn’t take into account all they’ve done to get there. Shouldn’t the World Champion really be the horse and rider partnership that outperforms all comers over nearly a week of technical and big courses that constitute today’s sport?

Jos Lansink, who won the gold medal, has been admired as a rider of the highest class for many years now, but many of us would have rather not seen the title determined by a jump-off on very tired horses–over a course that wasn’t even designed to be a jump-off course in the first place. (The rules call for a jump-off, if necessary, to take place over the identical eight-obstacle course that the horses had each already jumped four times that day.)

As George Morris, our team’s chef d’equipe, has already commented, our senior jumping teams had a “silver” sort of year in 2006. They followed the double-silver effort at the WEG with a second-placed finish in the prestigious Samsung Super League series. While a bit of a letdown from last year’s victory, when put into perspective, it was truly admirable. After all, our riders must participate from an ocean away from their rival teams, and with a WEG to gear up for on top of the Samsung events, I’d say our team riders did an incredible job of
managing their horses and their schedules.


Canadian Force
The two largest international events on our own shores are the Nations Cup in Wellington, Fla., in March and the North American Junior and Young Riders Championships in early August.

Our CSIO in Wellington has grown rapidly over the past few years and now draws good teams and good sport. The Canadian victory (over the U.S. team in a jump-off) might have been a bit of a surprise at the time, but the Canadians showed that they’re still a force to be reckoned with when they went on to clinch their first-ever victory in the Nations Cup at their own CSIO in Spruce Meadows (Alta.) in September.

It’s gratifying to see Ian Millar riding with the best (and beating them) after three decades of showing us how it’s done. Ian, Joe Fargis and Norman Dello Joio are three of our senior riders whom I never tire of watching.

The NAJYRC saw a major evolution in 2006: a continental championship for junior riders was added to the young riders program. I see this as a real step forward for the event and for the sport in North America. Since many of our riders make the start of their college experience the temporary (or permanent) end of their riding, we always see a drastic reduction in the number of riders in the 18-to-21 age group. And there’s always a big range in riders’ experience levels (as well as horseflesh) in the 16-to-21 range.

Having a pair of championships–one that finishes at the 1.50-meter (4’10”) level for the 16- to 21-year-olds, the other at the 1.40-meter (4’7″) level for riders under 18–will give riders the chance to select the level most appropriate to them and their horses and will give more riders the opportunity to experience a serious championship and get a taste for how special such an event can be.

USEF Zone 1 claimed the team gold in the young riders this year. Their team spirit was high as was their level of jumping. It was interesting to note that a Mexican team jumped off with a U.S. team for the silver medal, just as they did last year. But this time, unlike in 2005, each team had finished the two initial rounds with a team total of just 4 faults. Several people commented that the courses must have been a bit “softer” this year, but having built the courses both years, I can assure you that they weren’t one bit easier. The level of riding and preparation was much higher, though.

I’m a big believer that when competitors know they’ll have to face a strong, but fair challenge, they tend to rise to that challenge and improve in the process. “Building down” might seem expeditious at the time, but it isn’t the way to get the worthiest winners at big events or to help those with higher aspirations.


Growing Dramatically
A World Championship for Young Jumping Horses (5-, 6- and 7-year-olds) is held annually at Zangersheide, in Lanaken, Belgium.

This was of note in 2006 because a U.S. rider, Alan Waldman, notched a reserve championship (for 6-year-olds). Since young horses are a specialty among the European countries, it isn’t surprising that Alan has lived in the Netherlands for many years and has acquired particular expertise in identifying, training and riding young horses. It’s wonderful to see a U.S. rider score so well in this highly competitive event, but it’s too bad that it’s still nearly impossible to do from a base on our side of “the pond.”

Nevertheless, young jumpers are continuing to grow dramatically, in interest and competitiveness, here at home. The Young Jumper Championship events on both coasts were joined this year with a new League Final in Kentucky. All three final events, which, together with nearly 400 qualifying classes, comprise the YJC were stronger than ever before.

It’s also nice to report that qualifiers are offered today at virtually every “jumper” show across the country. We continue to see more quality U.S.-bred horses participating in the YJC, with 12 of these receiving International Jumper Futurity bonus awards, averaging approximately $2,000 each, in 2006. Being IJF-nominated can be lucrative, as demonstrated by the talented Apache, a gelding by the successful international jumper Mescalero and out of the Thoroughbred mare Escada. Apache has now racked up $9,000 in IJF bonus money to supplement his winnings in the YJC’s Wild Turkey Farm 5-, 6- and 7/8-Year-Old Finals. He’d won back-to-back championships as a 5- and 6-year-old and was a favorite again in 2006, but an untimely 4 faults in the jump-off round cost him and rider Richard Spooner their third straight title.

Whether we’re speaking of horses, riders, events or the sport in general, development to full potential is a long and painstaking process. So it’s especially gratifying to see riders or horses who’ve had successes continue to grow. For example, Brianne Goutal and Onira, the winning combination at the 2005 NAYRC, notched grand prix wins in 2006. A number of horses scoring big successes abroad this year were YJC graduates, including, Casadora, Sampras, Neuville, Judgement, McGuiness and Madison. On the home front, other triumphant horses who started their careers in the 5-, 6-, and 7/8-year-old events were Little Big Man, Vegas, Happy Z, Ariado, Mademoiselle, Vent du Nord and Cristallo.

Along with the CSIO event in Wellington, another major competition that began only a few short years ago and continues to grow and impress is the Syracuse Sporthorse Invitational (N.Y.). It’s wonderful to see an event conceived to be a cut above the average be such a triumph, for the competitors, the sponsors, the community and the sport. It’s a daunting task to create something new and different, so it’s especially gratifying to see this event take off.

It’s not easy to summarize our year in jumping in a couple of thousand words. So much happens at so many shows here at home, and our riders and horses are so active outside our borders these days. I apologize that I’ve left so much of note out of this column because of the constraints of space.

In any case, I believe we’ll be able to look back on 2006 as a year of transition, where we began to reap the benefits of having a full-time national coach (George Morris) and where some important events expanded and took on even more significance.

I won’t forget the year because a truly remarkable rider, the low-key but incredibly gifted and consistent Beezie Madden, got her opportunity to really “show her stuff” on the world stage. And, while 2006 marked the passing of our nation’s horse, Gem Twist, it just might also turn out to mark the birth of the next national hero for our sport.

One thing’s for sure, with the increasing focus on developing athletes for the top levels of our sport (both the two-legged and the four-legged varieties), we’re making the process easier instead of harder.


Ponies Jump Up
The USEF Pony Finals returned to the Kentucky Horse Park in 2006, and the jumper portion is another event crystallizing into something special for everyone involved. Great courses by Richard Jeffery had the ponies and kids jumping perfectly challenging tracks for each and every round.

Still, a problem revolves around the discrepancy in the courses that the kids face each week in their home U.S. Equestrian Federation zones. While some areas have raised the standard beautifully, others only offer classes for ponies at very low levels. The winning team was a group of three riders from California (Zone 10), even though that’s an area yet to see a large number of pony jumpers at its shows. Show managers there are keeping the level low, hoping to attract more entries, but this doesn’t seem to be having the desired affect.

Since the team’s three riders didn’t have to chase points to go to Kentucky, their chef d’equipe, Ronnie Freeman, directed them to compete in the children’s jumper classes to prepare to jump the bigger fences. Ronnie might have been making his first trip to the pony jumper finals, but he’s certainly no stranger to preparing riders for serious competition. His advice brought his team home with gold medals around their necks, even though they started with the genuine handicap of being a three-man team!


Linda Allen