KyWEGO® Kentucky World Equestrian Games Citizens Action Group
For those looking for the Order of Go for tomorrow’s Combined Driving Dressage the link is below.
Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games
Combined Driving Dressage Day 1: Order of Go
Kentucky Colonel
Thomas Demond
KyWEGO
Lexington, KY—The Americans who will be contesting the Driving World Championships wish today’s presentation competition counted toward the medal scores, but they don’t. It was just for fun and beauty—and a bottle of champagne presented to each of the 17 drivers who took part.
The three judges declared Chester Weber the winner, awarding him 49.5 of a possible 50 points. James Fairclough (48.33) and Tucker Johnson (48.17), who’ve been Weber’s championship teammates for most of the last two decades, finished second and third.
The grooms and drivers spent about 10 hours polishing the horses, harnesses and vehicles, before putting on their finest driving livery. Not all drivers in these World Championships took part in this presentation.
Weber, 35, drove his four bay warmblood geldings put to a black dog cart presentation vehicle, finished with maroon-and-white pinstripes, with his wife sitting beside him.
Fairclough, 52, also drove four warmbloods (the wheelers being full sisters), put to a formal black Kuhnle presentation vehicle. Owner Jane F. Clark sat beside him.
Johnson, 46, drove a shooting brake.
Medal competition begins tomorrow (Oct. 6), with the first of two days of dressage. The challenging and exciting marathon will be a feature of the World Games on Saturday, and Sunday’s obstacles phase will climax the Driving World Championships and be the final competition of these World Games.
Lexington, KY—British riders have traditionally dominated the medals at the Para Dressage World Championships, and Sophie Wells lived up to that history by taking individual gold in the grade IV individual test, aboard the flashy chestnut Dutch Warmblood, Pinocchio. Her score of 71.677 percent gave her the definitive lead over the Netherlands’ Frank Hosmar, and Denmark’s Henrik Weber Sibbesen at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.
“I was quite pleased with my test,” said Wells, 20. “ My horse was a little difficult to warm up, but I thought that the trot work was actually quite good. He came against me a little bit when I picked up the canter after the walk, but then he came back to me again, which was good. When we were in here on Monday, he was quite distracted by the open corners, but today he was much better.”
Hosmar, 42, was equally thrilled with his score of 70.129 percent aboard his bay Dutch Warmblood Tiesto.
“Today my horse felt really good. Yesterday he was a little bit tense because he was reacting to the sound of the sand hitting the plastic fence, and it was distracting him because the arena is so quiet. So today we asked if they could turn up the music so that we couldn’t hear that noise,” said Hosmar. “Also today the test was a more difficult test, which is better for him because otherwise he gets bored easily and starts looking around. Today he was so relaxed, and I could feel him waiting for me, and so it was a really good feeling.”
Sibbesen and his handsome black Hanoverian Rexton Royal secured the bronze with their score of 69.419 percent.
In the grade III individual test, the final standings mirrored those of the grade III team test, with Germany’s Hannelore Brenner and her chestnut Hanoverian mare Women Of The World taking gold (72.400%), over Denmark’s Annika Lyke Dalskov on Preussen Wind (71.067%) and Australia’s Sharon Jarvis on Applewood Odorado (68.867%).
Brenner, 48, the reigning Paralympic champion in this test, was pleased with her performance. She believes her long-standing relationship with Women Of The World is the key to their success. “We are like a old couple,” she said. “She knows what I think and I hope I know what she thinks. She was so free and very happy.”
Brenner has also enjoyed her World Equestrian Games experience. “It is amazing for me to compete here,” she said. “Since 1999 the Para Sport has really taken a step forward. It’s great, really great. It’s the first time for us to be with the other German riders. We are like one big German family now. Before we arrived, [the German dressage riders] were already here, and we met each other. But we are not one yet. This is the first time we are together with them, and I hope there will be more.”
Dalskov’s Trakehner stallion Preussen Wind is by Gribaldi, the same sire as dressage superstar Moorland’s Totilas, and he shares Totilas’ charisma and floating gaits. Jarvis was the high score for her Australian team yesterday, and she continues to lead the way for the Aussies aboard her bay Dutch Warmblood.
Individual competition resumes tomorrow with individual tests for grades Ia, Ib, and II.
Lexington, KY— Great Britain, the team expected to win the gold medal at the Para Dressage World Championships, has taken the lead halfway through the team competition. Germany stands second, with the Netherlands third and Denmark fourth.
The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games mark the first time that para dressage has been part of the World Games.
“[The British team hasn’t] lost a gold medal at a major championship since the sport started, so there is a lot pressure,” said Sophie Christiansen of the British team, whose score of 69.41 percent in grade Ia team test on Rivaldo Of Berkeley aided the British effort. “I went to [the 2004 Athens Paralympics] at 16, so I know how to deal with the pressure. We have so much support, and that gives us Brits the upper hand.”
Christiansen, 22, added, “I didn’t know how he’d react to a big atmosphere. I’m very pleased with our score since we had a couple of blips. I’m happy, and I know I can improve.”
Lee Pearson, aboard Gentleman, led the British effort by scoring 73.81 percent in the grade Ib team test. “I was aware we needed a good test, but my main focus was to remember this test. It’s a bit of an itsy-bitsy test, and I’d not done it much,” said Pearson, 36. “I had a safe test. It was a little bit underpowered, but it’s what we needed for a team test. He’d never heard so many cameras clicking going down the centerline, but he was good today.”
Anne Dunham, riding Teddy, scored 71.76 in the grade Ia team test to add the third British score.
The German and Dutch riders, who are close behind, haven’t given up yet. Julianne Theuring, the final German rider to ride today on her flashy PRE stallion Empaque IV, in the grade IV team test, said she didn’t know what score she needed to pull ahead of Britain before she rode her test.
“This is my first test [in a World Championship], and I think it was good. I am satisfied with the test,” said Thuering, 24. “He is a stallion, so it is difficult with the mares. That is why he screamed during the test.”
The Dutch hope to close the gap in tomorrow (Wednesday’s) second test.
“I hoped to have a better test today, but it was good for the first day,” said Frank Hosmar, 42, of the Netherlands. “We have tried to beat the British team. Maybe it is still possible.”
Teammate Gert Bolmer said that he’s enjoyed the World Games, no matter the medal. “It feels a bit like the Paralympics, but with different sports. We have shared the same hotel and buses with the Dutch dressage team, and they have been very supportive of us,’ said Bolmer, 27.
http://www.wkyt.com/news/headlines/104307084.html?storySection=story
Today marked my 8th day volunteering and the 11th day overall of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. It amazing to arrive at the Kentucky Horse Park early in the morning, even before traffic control, though there is already a lot of people working in the Park. Right now the Park doesn’t sleep, there is always something that has to be done and with any major event now a days, security is present around the clock.
I have now worked primarily in 3 areas, the Main gate, the Athletes gate and the area around Main Stadium. Today I was back at Main Stadium and with a Morning and Afternoon Show Jumping sessions and Para-Dressage going on just down the way in the Covered Arena the morning was hectic but enjoyable. As I have seen throughout my time volunteering the volunteers and staff are both flexible and resourceful which is always a great asset because in any event this size you are going to have those things that come up on a daily basis that have to be dealt with on the fly.
Now before everyone thinks its all work and no play, I did get to see Mario Deslauriers on Urico during my break have an excellent ride today, yesterday he won the individual Gold Medal in Speed Jumping. He did have 2 rails down but compared to some of the crashes I saw, his ride was nearly flawless, and the U.S. team is currently sitting 3rd on the leader board after today. The team competition final is tomorrow with there now being an afternoon session added to get to the top 10 will compete tomorrow night. Information on the added session can be found here, but the good news is, if you hold a ticket for the evening event it will get you into the afternoon session as well.
I have also been drawn into the Pin craze, if that’s what you call it. Apparently most of the athletes come with a sizable bank of pins to start and generally I haven’t even had to ask, I help someone out and they give me a pin so I have managed to gather a small collection, I say small compared to some of my volunteer friends who are sporting quite the collections now. The pin that is in rare supply, is the South African pin, and I know of no one who has it though I did have South African team members say that they did have some just not on them one day that I did ask. Obviously for those who don’t know me, my wife is South African and we had our wedding in South Africa almost 9 years ago, so it is certainly the Country pin I would love to land.
This week through Closing Ceremonies I am working all 1st shifts,yesterday and today that meant being at the Horse Park at 6 AM, starting tomorrow I have to be out there at 5 AM. So this post is the last thing I am doing before I head off to bed so I am keeping it short.
Kentucky Colonel
Thomas Demond
KyWEGO
Lexington, KY — It was back to Rolex Outdoor Stadium today for the conclusion of the Eventing World Championships, presented by Reem Acra, where Germany’s Michael Jung (33.0) remained dominant and claimed the individual gold medal as Great Britain (139.4) took the team gold medal.
Canada jumped to the team silver medal (151.5), just ahead of New Zealand (154.8) in the bronze-meal position. The United States finished fourth (160.3).
William-Fox-Pitt led the British charge on Cool Mountain by claiming the individual silver medal (42.0), while Andrew Nicholson led the New Zealand charge on Nereo by claiming the individual bronze medal (43.5). Karin Donckers of Belgium finished fourth (44.4).
Great Britain last won the World Championship team gold at the 1994 World Games, while Canada had not won a World Championship medal at all since winning the team gold medal at the 1978 World Championships here at the Kentucky Horse Park.
“It’s very hard to pinpoint one thing to mark our success,” said Fox-Pitt. “I think we’re very lucky back home to have fantastic support. And we have a good team here—we’ve been on lots of teams together now. We get on and have a lot of fun. We’re also riding fantastic horses, and we had luck on our side. Tina [Cook] didn’t have the luck on her side [on cross-country], so the pressure was very much on but the other three of us had a great competition, and we’re very lucky today.”
The Canadian riders said that they owe much of their success to coach David O’Connor, who won the team gold medal on the U.S. team at the 2002 World Games.
“He is so responsible for, not just coaching us, but putting together the program that has created these results,” said team member Kyle Carter. “Four years ago the WEG was a real disappointment for us, and since then it’s gotten stronger and stronger—and it has everything to do with him. Everybody he’s brought in is just excellent and top-notch. He’s brought another level to it.”
The Canadians also praised O’Connor for helping with their mental game.
“He encourages us with positive reinforcement mentally, so it’s not just about the riding,” said team member Selena O’Hanlon. “It’s about what you do at home, how you think about it, and how you visualize it. I think that’s really big part of it, because in every other sport I can think of—like football, tennis, all of them—you have to read books to make sure you are mentally fit as well.”
Nicholson said he’d hoped New Zealand could earn a medal for the first time since winning the team gold at the 1998 World Games.
“I was hoping to have a chance to get an individual medal,” said Nicholson. “I obviously have a lot of confidence and faith in Nereo. He’s very consistent in all three phases, and as a team we’ve come along through this year and gotten a bit more together and a bit stronger. I was thinking if we could get in the top four or five as team—so to get a medal as a team is a great bonus.”
Teammate Mark Todd, 54, competed in the 1978 World Championships at the Kentucky Horse Park before winning the individual gold medal in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. He retired from eventing after the 2000 Olympics but decided to make a comeback two years ago. His top horse Gandalf died unexpectedly last winter, and he wasn’t sure Grass Valley would be ready for these World Games until a few months ago. But now he has a new wind in his sails.
“It’s just like starting over really,” said Todd. “I’m really enjoying being back in the sport. I’ve got a nice team of young horses coming along. I’ve got a great bunch of team members here. This team has been fantastic to be involved with, and I think we can only get better from here on in. The sport changed a lot, obviously, even since I gave up. It’s taken a wee while to sort of adjust to this, but I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.”
Jung remained atop the leader board throughout this championship on La Biosthetique-Sam FBW, finishing on their dressage score of just 33.00. Jung credits his success to the time he spends with the horse.
“I have trained him to do everything, and I’ve been with him almost daily,” said Jung. “That’s why he trusts me. We’re very good working together because of our longstanding working and training together. Over the last few years we’ve grown together so much, and I really hope that we can do this in London [the 2012 Olympics].”
Richard Jeffery’s show jumping course consisted of 16 elements to be jumped in a time allowed of 90 seconds. Some 22 of the 55 horse-and-rider combinations that started today’s final phase completed the course with double-clear rounds.
The U.S.’s only individual combination, Becky Holder and Courageous Comet, stood third overall after yesterday’s cross-country phase, but Holder withdrew in the holding box at the third horse inspection this morning. Courageous Comet lost a front shoe on the early part of yesterday’s course and is thought to have over-compensated in the opposite leg. He is expected to make a full recovery.
The Course for the final phase of Eventing, Stadium Jumping has been put online and it looks to be well thought out both from the horse/rider perspective as well as the spectator perspective. The link for the video of the map is provided below.
Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games
Eventing: [Stadium Jumping Course Map(Video)]
The attendance totals for today are over 50,000 bringing the total for the Games after 8 days to just over 234,000 which is impressive when you figure at the start of September the ticket sales were not much more then that. This is an indication of what a lot of us thought, that because of the current economic recession(NBER be damned) that everyone is not wanting to lay down their hard earned cash until they are walking in the door.
This also shows the strength of the silent majority in Kentucky that are horse people in comparison to a very negative and vocal minority that wanted to say these Games would be a failure. Now before I get accused of putting the cart before the horse (excuse the pun) , we are only at the halfway point, so I will not pronounce these Games a success from the financial point of view, that will take many months to say whether a number of the short term goals that were given in that regard were met, but from the stand point of Kentucky being able to put on these Games in a manner where everyone is having a great time, and that word is getting out, and the city is not being crippled while the Games are going on, I think we all can say these Games are going better at this point then any of us could of hoped.
Now again, before anyone says I am just focusing on the things that are going well and I am not giving the total picture, I will say I have been out to the park 7 of the first 8 days and I have seen some situations were the planning did come up short. In one case I ended up right smack in the middle of a 30 minute oversight. I say 30 minute because that was the time difference between when an event was expected to end and when it really did but I can also tell you, that within an hour the negative impact caused by that had been eliminated because the staff and volunteers at the Games are a very flexible and resourceful group. So as I have said for a very long time, there is a magic with these Games that is very real and a lot of good will come out of these Games for Kentucky for a long time to come.
Kentucky Colonel
Thomas Demond
KyWEGO
Lexington, KY — As the day’s third-last starter, Germany’s Michael Jung and La Biosthetique-Sam FBW made the cross-country
course look easy at the Eventing World Championships, presented by Reem Acra. The pair added nothing to their dressage penalty score of 33.00, to keep the lead they took yesterday in the dressage phase at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.
Creeping up behind Jung after equally impressive rounds are Great Britain’s William Fox-Pitt on Cool Mountain, finishing on their dressage score of 42.00, and USA’s Becky Holder on Courageous Comet, finishing on 42.50.
Of the 79 horses that started today’s course, 60 finished (75.9%). Some 13 riders, including Jung and Fox-Pitt, finished faster than the ideal time of 11:14 and added nothing to their dressage penalties.
Jung, 28, said his warm-up didn’t go as he’d planned, because of a hold on course. “I was on my horse almost double the time I normally would have been,” said Jung. “The big problem was I just didn’t
Michael Jung and La Biosthetique-Sam FBW at the Rolex Water Complex
know when I would start. There was also a really fresh wind that came up, and I didn’t want my horse to get very cool. I wanted to keep him really warm.”
Despite the less-than-ideal preparation, Jung was thrilled with the course and La Biosthetique Sam FBW, 10, whom he has ridden since the gelding was 5 years old.
“Thus was my first championship at the four-star level,” he said. “I think it was a difficult course but a fair one for the horses. One of the big difficulties was there were demanding jumps all over the course, so at every jump you really had to concentrate, and every jump asked a very big effort from your horse, from the first jump until the end.”
Fox-Pitt, 41, agreed that course designer Michael Etherington-Smith had created a proper championship track. “I think in reality no one would have guessed it would cause the trouble it did,” he said. “It looked very imposing, but in many aspects it was a quite straightforward, big, attacking track. For it to cause enough trouble for me to have moved up from 12th to second—I am amazed. I think the last three horses of the day made it look like a canter around the park.”
Holder, 41, said she was up on all her minute markers until she got near the end, but then she became a little conservative trying to make sure she got home “nice and tidy,” adding 3.2 time penalties to her score. She added that she breathed more easily after putting certain parts of the course behind her. “It was certainly a relief to have the coffin and wishing well combination in my rear-view mirror,” she said. “It felt like he went through them easily, and that gave me a great amount of confidence for the rest of the course.”
Jung said that his plan for tonight was to have a drink, enjoy the being in the lead, and go to bed early. He praised his experience at the World Games thus far.
“For me it was always a dream to participate in the world championships, so now being in the lead is more than a dream,” he said. “I would put the saddle on him and ride it again now. I loved it very much.”
Fox-Pitt he said that he too planned to l live in the moment and not worry about tomorrow. “I think enjoying the moment is very important,” he said. “You never know what’s going to happen. In a way I don’t want tomorrow to come. I am quite enjoying the moment now.”
Fox-Pitt and his British teammates hold a narrow lead in the team standings, with a total score of 139.4. The United States team holds second place (143.7), and Canada holds third (147.5).
Holder is riding as an individual, not as a member of the U.S. team. She’s rooting hard for the team, though. “I think all of us are kind of glad that the British team is feeling our breath down their necks a little bit,” she said with a smile. “We’ve been working really hard on our show jumping with Katie Prudent, and we’re hoping to put a good show on tomorrow.”
Fox-Pitt said they are definitely feeling the pressure. “The pressure is going to be on even more,” he said. “To be going into show jumping with such little space between the top two teams is going to be terrifying. We’re going to need to jump very, very well.”
The remaining 60 horses will be presented to the ground jury in Sunday morning’s final horse inspection, and show jumping will begin at 12:45 p.m.
Iman du Golfe, ridden by Juan Carlos Garcia (ITA), was injured in a fall at fence 20. He was treated at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital for a deep laceration over the left elbow region. X-rays showed no major fracture, although there is a small bone chip near the elbow.
The laceration has been sutured, and the horse is resting comfortably. The Rood & Riddle attending veterinarians are optimistic that the horse will make a full recovery.
Iman du Golfe, horse #73 ridden by Juan Carlos Garcia (ITA), was treated at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital for a deep laceration over the left elbow region. X-rays showed no major fracture, although there is a small bone chip near the elbow.
The laceration has been sutured, and the horse is resting comfortably. The Rood & Riddle attending veterinarians are optimistic that the horse will make a full recovery.
Iman du Golfe (ITA), horse number 73, was injured in a Cross-Country fall at fence 20 this afternoon at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky. Veterinarians attended to the horse immediately. The horse was stabilized at the fence and transported by horse ambulance to the nearby Rood & Riddle veterinary hospital for further assessment and treatment.
The rider, Juan Carlos Garcia, was taken to the hospital and initial reports are that he is in good condition.
I was able to track down the Order of Go for today’s Cross Country and the map of the Course at the links listed below.
Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Eventing Cross Country
Lexington, Ky., Oct. 1, 2010 – In an historic sweep, Dutch rider Edward Gal and Moorlands Totilas captured three gold medals at the Dressage World Championships, presented by Alltech, part of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Friday night, in front of a sold-out crowd at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Main Stadium, he won the Grand Prix Freestyle with a score of 91.8 percent.
Earlier in the week, Gal and “Totilas” earned the gold medal in the Grand Prix Special and were members of the gold-medal-winning team from the Netherlands.
The Grand Prix Freestyle’s top placings mirrored those of the Grand Prix Special, with Laura Bechtolsheimer of Great Britain capturing the silver medal with Mistral Hojris (85.35%), and Steffen Peters of the United States taking bronze on Ravel (84.90%). Peters, with two medals now, is the only U.S. rider ever to earn an individual medal at a World Equestrian Games. The three top riders also finished the team Grand Prix on Sept. 28-29 in the same order.
Before the medals ceremony, announcer Brian O’Connor brought Gal into the arena to thank him for taking dressage in an “unbelievably new direction. … You are in charge of what’s happening worldwide in dressage,” O’Connor said.
Linda Zang, president of the ground jury, discussed her impressions of the top three horses: “They’re actually, to me, three totally different types of horses. Totilas is a horse that shows so much power, but at the same time is very easy and seems very light. I think Edward does an amazing job to be able to sit and keep a horse with so much power and energy into a frame and work happily with him. Laura’s horse, for me, has a lot more power and is a very big horse. And Steffen has a different kind of horse. It’s a horse that is very elastic and soft and has a different kind of harmony. All three of them have harmony.”
Gal, who came into the World Games highly touted, said he was relieved that he and his horse lived up to the expectations.
“When I came here, I knew I could do it, but it also has to happen. And then it’s quite difficult, and there was, of course, a lot of pressure on me because everyone expected it,” he said.
Peters noted that he dedicated the freestyle ride to his fellow U.S. rider Courtney King-Dye, who suffered a head injury after a riding accident in March. Peters wore a protective helmet in his celebratory victory lap aboard Ravel.
Also, during the post-medals ceremony press conference, Gal said, “It is not a rumor” that Totilas has been bred to Brentina, an Olympic and WEG medalist and a World Cup titlist.
Nations represented in the Grand Prix Freestyle were the Netherlands, Great Britain, the United States, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Australia, Canada, Austria, Poland and Switzerland. Judges were Zang (United States), Mary Seefried (Australia), Ghislain Fouarge (the Netherlands), Evi Eisenhardt (Germany), and Maribel Alonso (Mexico).
Michael Jung (German) on La Biosthetique-Sam FBW
Lexington, KY —Germany’s Michael Jung and La Biosthetique-Sam FBW took the lead today in the Eventing World Championships, presented by Reem Acra, at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Jung’s score of 33.00 put him in the top spot, while countryman Simone Deitermann, riding Free Easy (36.00), held on to the third spot after leading following day 1. Italy’s Stefano Brecciaroli, riding Apollo van de Wendi Kurt Hoeve, stands second with a 35.50.
Germany took the lead in the team race, with 114.30 penalty points. Great Britain is next (128.50) and Sweden is third (131.20), followed by Australia (131.80), Italy (135.90), New Zealand (138.30) and the United States (140.00).
Marilyn Payne, president of the ground jury, commented that today’s top rides were especially enjoyable to watch. “It’s so exciting to give 8s and 9s,” she said. “What else can I do? This is the most exciting thing as a judge: to be able to judge horses and riders like this.”
Jung was the third-last rider to start today and performed a beautiful dressage test, despite the fact that his horse is “an absolute bundle of energy.”
“The last few years, he has just performed beautifully,” said Jung. He also added that the duo competes in dressage competitions at home in Germany, which might have helped his score today.
“When Michael came in it was just solid 8, 8, 8, and my scribe said, ‘I’m getting bored giving 8s,’ and I said, ‘OK, we’ll, how about a 9?’” said Payne. “It was just so consistent.”
Brecciaroli, a member of the Italian police, ode earlier in the today, but he wowed the crowds with a stellar performance, including a 10 given to him for his rein back. “It was flawless,” said Payne. “It was like he just did it on his own, and then he walked forward in this lovely walk. It was just marvelous.”
Although he’s only had the horse for two years, Brecciaroli said his mount listens very well. “He did a wonderful job for me, and for a horse with no experience at this level, he did a very good job,” he said.
Karin Donckers of Belgium rounded out the top four with Gazelle de la Brasserie CH (38.80). What was most impressive about her ride today was the fact that she broke her arm just three weeks ago. She had surgery to insert two pins and will wear a special brace, but doctors have given her the green light to compete.
“I was leading 4-year-olds,” she said. “We brought them back from the fields, and they were quite attached. One had to go to one barn, and one had to go into the other barn, and the horse did not agree with me. He was not really listening to me. I tried to stop him, and he stepped on my left foot, running into me, so I lost my balance and fell backwards.”
France’s Karim Florent Laghouagh, riding Havenir d’Azac, was eliminated when the judges noticed blood in the horse’s saliva. “It was a hard thing to do, but we must go by the rules,” said Payne.
The top riders all commented that tomorrow’s cross-country course is a true championship course.
“I think it’s difficult right to the end of course,” said Jung. “They are very big jumps. It’s long—the longest cross-country course for me. It’s up and down, and you have to plan your whole trip.”
Lexington, Ky., Sept. 30, 2010 — All week, U.S. reiner Tom McCutcheon has been trying to keep his mount, Gunners Special Nite, fresh and happy. Thursday afternoon, the 6-year-old American Quarter Horse stallion returned the favor by turning in a score of 228 in the individual finals at the FEI Reining World Championship, presented by John Deere, held as part of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. The score was enough to earn the individual gold medal by a margin of 5 points.
“I knew he was pretty special tonight,” McCutcheon said. “I felt pressure, for sure, because I wanted to do him justice. He’s a great little horse.”
Earlier in the week, McCutcheon and his horse helped the U.S. team to a gold medal in the team reining competition. Gunners Special Nite is sired by Colonels Smoking Gun and is out of Mifs Doll by Mifillena. He is the 2007 National Reining Horse Association Futurity intermediate open champion and has $194,237 in NRHA lifetime earnings
The individual silver medal went to U.S. teammate Craig Schmersal on Mister Montana Nic, with a score of 223, while bronze went to the defending WEG individual gold medalist Duane Latimer of Canada, riding Dun Playin Tag, with a score of 222.5.
At 12 years old, Mister Montana Nic is twice as old as the other horses on the U.S. team, and he has been with Schmersal since he was a yearling.
“That’s what it’s all about, right there,” Schmersal said of the horse’s longevity. “We’ve just got to keep those old horses sound and happy.”
Mister Montana Nic is an American Quarter Horse sired by Reminic and out of Mollie Montana by Montana Doc. He was the 2005 FEI World Reining Master silver medalist and has $132,784 in NRHA lifetime earnings.
Latimer’s mount is a 6-year-old American Quarter Horse gelding by Whiz N Tag Chex out of Brennas Dunit Fancy by Hollywood Dun It. He has $188,942 in NRHA lifetime earnings.
The other members of the gold-medal U.S. team were: Tim McQuay and Hollywoodstinseltown, finishing individually in fourth place with a 222; and Shawn Flarida and RC Fancy Step scored 207.5 after faring some bad luck. Flarida’s stirrup leather broke during the run, and he touched the saddle to regain his balance, which mandated a five-point penalty from each judge.
The judges were Greg Darnall (USA), Patti Carter-Pratt (CAN), Thiago Boechat (BRA), Ralf Hesselschwerdt (GER) and Eugenio Latorre (ITA).
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