Ward and Sapphire at the 2008 Olympics, where they helped win Team Gold.
(Photo by Kit Houghton/FEI)

McLain Ward announced Monday that he is retiring his Olympic mount Sapphire, who helped bring home the Gold in 2004 and 2008. The Belgian Warmblood mare is 17 this year, and sat out most of the 2011 season following a right front ligament injury sustained at the Winter Equestrian Festival.

“As I’ve said before, if she never jumps another fence, she doesn’t owe anyone anything,” Ward told The Chronicle of the Horse at the time.

In addition to two Team Gold medals the Olympics, the Brewster, NY-based Ward and Sapphire earned a Silver Medal at the 2006 World Equestrian Games, and also won the 2010 Pfizer HITS $1 Million Grand Prix, and the $1 Million CN Grand Prix at the Spruce Meadows Masters.

Monday, as word leaked out and friends pelted Ward’s Facebook page with good wishes, the rider posted a comment of his own, affectionately referring to the liver chestnut by her barn name, Sara:  “Now that the news has broke of Sara’s retirement I want to a take this opportunity to thank you all for your wonderful comments, many of which have made me teary eyed. While it is the end of her incredible career, I refuse to be sad. Sara is retiring healthy, happy and at her best.

Sapphire enjoys her first day of retirement, with a little help from McLain. (Photo courtesy Castle Hill Farm)

“I am so grateful that fate chose me as the one to be in her life, be her rider and partner as she blazed her trail into show jumping history. There will be times I will certainly miss her being by my side when the pressure is on but when i think of her all I have is incredible memories. As I look back all I can say is how lucky were we. It is hard to imagine let alone thank all of the people who at one point or another played a role in Sara and my success, but I will try: my dad [Barney Ward], Francois Mathy, Erica Mckeever, Lee Mckeever, Harry Gill, Hunter Harrison, Tom Grossman, Carrie Stanton, Emma Williams, Di Puopolo, Tim Ober, James Beldon, Bill Bradlee, Gabe Cook, Mikey Boylan, Missy Clark, the Van Bunder family, and many, many more. It’s been a hell of a run, filled with peaks and valleys but I wouldn’t have traded any of it for the world. Thank you Sara.”

Sapphire is owned by Ward and Tom Grossman’s Blue Chip Bloodstock.  She doesn’t yet have foals on the ground, but the plan it to harvest embryos and produce offspring.  “I have a 700 acre breeding facility, Blue Chip Farm, with everything we need to make this happen,” Grossman said.

“That’s where she will live. Two  years ago we  had a pasture right next to my barn manager’s house fenced a little bit high, just in case she had to hang out there.  As we speak I have 500 horses running around in the field, but my guess with her is she’s not going to love that. So she’s probably going to be up at the stud barn. Obviously, she’s going to get to be wherever she likes,” he chuckled.

The horse, whose career has largely been arranged around minding her weight―with everything from diet to bedding choreographed to keep her trim―will now get to eat what she likes. “But we’re not going to let her get fat,” Grossman stresses.  “She’ll have a very personalized hand-walking program.”

With all this luxury, the questions arises, will a busy campaigner feel at home? “It’s true, these horses are finely-tuned athletes that have been trained to win their whole lives, but if she wants to get muddy and hang out and be a  horse, she can do that too. She’s going to have the life she deserves.”

Grossman said that while Sapphire is sound, “she’s not perfect. There are a few nagging little things that we felt might be rushing it for the Olympics. She’s had very little vetting over the years, compared to other show jumpers, but McLain,  Barney and I have always had a pact, that if she wasn’t perfect, we’d take her out at the very, very top of her game rather than patch her together.”

Asked if he has been thinking along the lines of selling embryos or producing and raising Sapphire’s foals as an in-house venture, Grossman said, “We’ve had some very aggressive offers for embryos. There’s a real push and pull between having something that’s personally meaningful and commercially valuable, but I’ve been in the horse business long enough to know I will  never have another horse like Sapphire. The closest I could come would be to have one out of her.”

For more information, visit McLainWard.com, and BlueChipFarms.com

Flexible makes easy work of this unusual Swedish oxer, one of the most imposing obstacles on the course. (Photo by Paula Parisi)

The fact that Helen McNaught and Caballo topped the leaderboard with eight faults until the 12^th of 20 riders went says it all about Marina Azevedo’s course for the $100,000 Hermés Grand Prix of Del Mar, May 5 at the Del Mar National Horse Show.  But it was Rich Fellers and Flexible that carried the day, battling it out in a two-team jump-off against Lauren Hough and Blue Angel, and winning with four faults and a 39.76 second finish – just over two seconds faster than Hough’s time of 41.81.

It was Fellers and Flexible’s second grand prix victory at the two Olympic observation events showcased at the Del Mar National’s Hunter Jumper Week, May 1-6, and came just a week after the duo won the Rolex FEI Show Jumping World Cup in the Netherlands.

Six of the entries contesting the 13 obstacle course were members of the USEF Long List for the U.S. Show Jumping Team for the 2012 Olympic Games and Azevedo’s second of two courses designed for Olympic observation at Del Mar was even more difficult than the first.

Six riders retired or were eliminated during round one. Only a handful of riders made it clear through the Hermés jump ―a one-stride vertical combination midway through the course. Saer Coulter and Springtime, also on the Olympic Long List, was the only other pair to leave all the rails up, although they had two time faults, putting them in third.

Lucy Davis of Los Angeles rode Nemo 119 to fourth, with two rails. New Zealand rider Duncan McFarlane, who rides out of Castro Valley, CA, came in fifth with Mr. Whoopy, with five faults.

In the jump-off, neither Fellers nor Hough were able to reproduce their clear efforts from round one with both collecting four faults. The 2012 Rolex/FEI World Cup Champions looked well on their way to jumping another fault-free effort in the jump-off until they lowered the height of the penultimate fence. However, Fellers had ridden a well-executed, efficient round over a tough jump-off track secure another win.

Fellers was very impressed with Azevedo’s course and believed it was a good test for the long listed combinations, calling it “a legitimate international course, right in there with the caliber of the (Selection) Trials courses.”

Fellers and Flexible was considering a stop at the Blenheim Equisports Showpark Ranch and Coast show, down the road at the Horsepark venue in Del Mar. “He might jump in the grand prix next Sunday on the grass. That’s the first time he will have jumped on the grass.” Said Fellers. “He’ll then go home and get some turn-out and get ready to go to Spruce Meadows next month.”

Later in the summer they head to Spruce Meadows to compete in the final 2012 US Show Jumping Team Observation Event, and the 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse stallion owned by Harry and Mollie Chapman will spend the next month preparing for the classes at the prestigious Canadian competition.

Hough (Wellington, FL) and Robyn Parsky’s Blue Angel, a 10-year-old Anglo-European mare, were the 17th combination to attempt the first round and produced the first fault-free round of the night. They collected their four faults at the back rail of the third to last oxer in the jump-off.

Third-placed Coulter, of San Francisco, rode her go-to mount, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Copernicus Stables. Fellow Californian Lucy Davis, of Los Angeles,  and Old Oak Farm’s Nemo, ranked 15th on the long list, put in a determined effort, which was marred by rails at the first and final jumps on course.

Karl Cook (Woodside, CA) brought Signe Ostby’s two horses from the USEF Long List for the U.S. Show Jumping Team for the 2012 Olympic Games to the feature class. JonKheer Z jumped to an eight fault total after dislodging rails at fences 10 and 12. With ASB Conquistador, Cook was the first long listed rider of the night to compete; they faulted at fences three, 5A and 10 and had one time fault for a 13 fault total.

The two Del Mar grand prix constituted the first of four 2012 US Show Jumping Team Observation Events. Long listed riders head to Lexington, KY next week for the second of 2012 US Show Jumping Team Observation Events at the Kentucky Spring Horse Show, May 9-13.

$100,000 Hermés Grand Prix of Del Mar Presented by Intuit (May 5, 2012)

1. Richard Fellers, Flexible  (Harry & Mollie Chapman)

2. Lauren Hough, Blue Angel (Robin Parsky)

3. Saer Coulter, Springtime (Copernicus Stables LLC)

4. Duncan Mc Farlane, Mr. Whoopy (Simone Coxe)

5. Karl Cook, JonKheer Z (Signe Ostby)

6. Lucy Davis, Nemo 119 (Old Oak Farm)

7. Helen Mc Naught,  Caballo (Helen Mc Naught Show Jumping LLC)

8.  Josephina Nor, LantzmanChello Z  (Josephina Nor Stables LLC)

9. Helen Mc Naught, Lariccello (Alison Heafey)

10. John McConnell, Katie Riddle (Rancho Corazon LLC)

11. John Perez, Utopia  (John Perez)

12. Hap Hansen, Archie Bunker (Linda Smith)

Axl Rose (Paris Sellon) Paris Sellon

Avargo (Highpoint Farm LLC) Tina Di Landri

Union (Francie Snedegar) Francie Snedegar

Warco Van De Halhoeve (Katie Harris) Eduardo Menezes

ASB Conquistador (Signe Ostby)               Karl Cook

Peterbilt  (Peterbilt LLC)                Guy Thomas

Green Sleeps Vioco (Mark Watring) Mark Watring

Uitteraard  (Almi Ventures)  Michelle Spadone

John and Tish Quirk at a 2011 San Diego Chargers v. Minnesota Vikings game. Quirk was at one time a minority owner of the team. (Photo from the collection of Tish Quirk)

On April 12, the equestrian community lost one of its most beloved figures when John Quirk passed away four months shy of his 92nd birthday (August 15). To say he was a horseman is accurate―that aspect of his life is being celebrated at the Del Mar Horse Show Hunter Jumper Week, where a new perpetual trophy will be unveiled in his name―but it falls short of capturing his vivid and adventurous journey.

With the help of his loving wife Tish, who by her own admission spent 47 of the best years of her life in his company, The Equestrian News will attempt to capture a little bit of that Quirky lightning in a bottle. The lightning left behind.

This is a gallery in which John and Tish’s family and friends are invited to build on with their own thoughts and pictures. (Email photos to horsestish@aol.com or paula@theequestriannews.com and we will make sure they get seen.)

So, welcome to our gallery opening!  This is a first for us. We think John would approve. He was a visionary thinker. Where some saw ends, he saw beginnings.

This single image is a “beginning” of sorts…until I have a sec to post the many fabulous photos Tish provided for The Equestrian News’ remembrance of her wonderful husband.  (Thank you for your patience. )

Rich Fellers and Flexible win the $50,000 Surfside Grand Prix. (Photo by Rick Osteen)

The global conquest of Rich Fellers and Flexible continues! After the intense test they just weathered in ’s-Hertogenbosch, where on April 22 they were crowned Rolex World Champions, they endured a long flight home to campaign to victory at the $50,000 Surfside Grand Prix, the first of two USEF Olympic observation classes to be held at the Del Mar National Horse Show, May 1-6.

Of the 26 entries in the class, five made the jump off over Marina Azevedo’s 13 obstacle track.

Laruen Hough and Blue Angel were the first of the USEF Long Listers (for the U.S. Show Jumping Team for the 2012 Olympic Games) to produce a fault-free effort over the first round. Riding Robyn Parsky’s 10-year-old Anglo-European mare, the Wellington, FL resident jumped a tidy, efficient round over the initial course, and looked on their way to going clear the second trip out, but slicing the turn to the penultimate jump resulted in four faults. They finished in fourth place.

Three rides after Hough in the first round, 19-year-old Lucy Davis demonstrated how she earned a 15th place standing on the long list guiding Nemo 119 to a clear round. In the first round Old Oak Farm’s 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding produced an immaculate clear. Returning for the jump-off Los Angeles resident Davis executed all the inside turns to stop the timers at 31.75 seconds and finish second.

Duncan McFarlane (NZ) and Mr. Whoopy had a rail in round two to finish third.

Fellers and Harry and Mollie Chapman’s Flexible were among three pair from the USEF show jumping “Long List” to qualify for the jump-off. Fellers (Sherwood, OR) and the 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse stallion clocked in at 30.26 seconds for round two.

Fellers was extremely pleased with Flexible’s first show back from his huge win in Holland. “He was super and couldn’t have gone any better. This is the first time he’s jumped since the World Cup.” Looking towards the remainder of the 2012 US Show Jumping Team Observation Event classes, Fellers stated. “He’ll jump tomorrow night and then do two more at Spruce Meadows.”

Along with Fellers, Davis and Hough were the only three among the six Long Listed horse-rider combinations to make it to the Friday jump off. The other Olympic contenders on the go-list were: Karl Cook with JonKheerZ and ASB Conquistador; and Saer Coulter and Springtime.

Cook (Woodside, CA) was first out of the in-gate with Signey Ostby’s 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion, ASB Conquistador. The pair finished with four-fault total after having the top-rail of the narrow vertical at fence three. Cook returned to the Del Mar Arena later in the class riding Ostby’s other long listed horse, JonKheer Z. He piloted the 10-year-old Zangersheide stallion to a 13 fault round; lowering the heights of fence thee and 8B and C.

Coulter (San Francisco, CA) and Copernicus Stables’ Springtime , a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, faulted at fence three and collected one time fault in an otherwise polished effort.

The second class of the 2012 US Show Jumping Team Observation Event held at the Del Mar National Horse Show, the $100,000 Hermes Grand Prix of Del Mar presented by Intuit, begins Saturday, May, 5 at 6:45pm PST in the Del Mar Arena. This class will be live streamed on the USEFNetwork.com presented by Smartpak and is also available at DelMarNational.com/live/ (where viewers must pre-register).

$50,000 Surfside Grand Prix (26 entries) May 4

1. Flexible, Richard Fellers (Harry & Mollie Chapman)

2. Nemo 119, Lucy Davis (Old Oak Farm)

3. Mr. Whoopy, Duncan McFarlane (Simone Coxe)

4. Blue Angel, Lauren Hough (Robin Parsky)

5. Coral Reef Baloufino, Vinton Karrasch (Coral Reef Ranch)

6. Peterbilt, Guy Thomas (Peterbilt Llc)

7. Lariccello, Helen Mcnaught (Alison Heafey)

8. Green Sleeps Vioco, Mark Watring (Mark Watring)

9. ASB Conquistador, Karl Cook (Signe Ostby)

10. Archie Bunker, Hap Hansen (Linda Smith)

11. Springtime, Saer Coulter (Copernicus Stables Llc)

12. Uitteraard, Michelle Spadone (Almi Ventures)

The Grand Slam prize of $350,000is awarded to any rider who consecutively wins each of the Rolex Grand Slam Events―namely the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials and the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials.

William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk at the 2012 Rolex. (mdunnphoto.com)

So current Rolex Grand Slam contender William Fox-Pitt (GBR)―who won the 2011 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials and the 2012 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event―now must win the 2013 Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials in order to claim the big prize (as this would fulfill the criteria of having won each of the three  consecutively). This, regardless of his performance at the 2012 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials and 2013 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.

For the first time in the history of the Rolex Grand Slam, the current situation means that Fox-Pitt could be challenged for the title at the same event if any other rider consecutively wins the 2012 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials and also the 2013 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.

In 2001, Rolex created the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing in 2001. Since then, only one rider has claimed it: Pippa Funnel (GBR) in the 2002-2003 season.

California rider Duncan McFarlane placed second on Mr. Whoopy at the HITS Pfizer $1 Million class in Saugerties, New York, in September. (Photo by Paula Parisi)

We’d call him the $2 million man, except he is priceless! HITS president and CEO Tom Struzzieri is giving the U.S. its second seven-figure grand prix, the Thermal $1 Million, to cap the West Coast’s winter season, falling at the end of the Dessert Circuit in Thermal, CA, beginning in 2013.

The class will culminate a new high-performance show jumping league that networks the shows of three other West Coast event managers―Dale Harvey, Larry Langer and Robert Ridland―to form the Thermal Million Grand Prix League, comprised of 15 West Coast competitions.

The move is a huge coup for the West Coast show jumping community, since there are only a handful of $1 million classes in the world. Previously the top money class in the Pacific region was the $200,000 HITS Lamborghini Grand Prix of the Desert, so this ups the ante quite a bit.

Struzzieri said that while the idea was the result of brainstorming over the last 24 months with the other show organizers about “really helping raise the level of high performance show jumping on the West Coast. Candidly, few of us think we’re well-served by the World Cup Qualifiers.”

HITS president and CEO Tom Struzzieri.

The Fédération Equestre Internationale’s decision to reduce by three the number of World Cup qualifiers held on the West Coast  for the 2012/2013 season.  “We wanted to control our own destiny with a team effort that gave us a qualifying series that culminated in a big class. This is not the last of our thoughts that way, but it’s the first,” Struzzieri said by phone from an office at his new Diamond Mills Hotel in Saugerties yesterday. “We wanted to make sure we could replicate some of the importance of those [World Cup classes] with something that we did ourselves.”

“This is incredible news,” said Rich Fellers, winner of this year’s World Cup, April 22 in ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. “I thought I was excited about winning the World Cup Final, but I have to say I’m pretty excited about having a million dollar class in Thermal. It’s fantastic for the sport and will be a draw for even more competitors to come west in the winter.”

Rich Fellers

As with the HITS Pfizer $1 Million which bowed two years ago as the finale to the HITS on the Hudson circuit in Saugerties, NY, the Thermal $1 Million will require riders and horses to qualify as a single unit by competing in previously identified classes. Riders will qualify for the Thermal Million based on prize money won in grand prix at the participating shows and must compete in at least four Grand Prix during four different weeks at the HITS Desert Circuit shows to qualify.

Money won will be calculated by rider/horse combination with the rider’s top money winning horse determining the rider’s final ranking. The top 40 riders in terms of prize money on the Thermal Million Grand Prix Rider Rankings will qualify.

Blenheim Summer Classic II, August 14-19
Showpark Summer Classic, August 22-26
Showpark Summer Tournament, August 29 – September 2
Blenheim Fall Tournament, September 12-16
LA International Jumping Fest, September 19-23
Sacramento Int’l – WC Week, October 2-7
Del Mar Fall Festival II, October 24-28
LA National, November 6-11

In addition to the top 40 qualified riders, the League will have the option to choose five additional riders as Manager Picks. One Wild Card slot will be awarded to the winner of a Wild Card Grand Prix, which will be held during the 2013 Desert Circuit and the top performing grand prix rider at the six-week HITS Arizona Winter Circuit will also qualify. Like the Pfizer Million, prize money and ribbons will be awarded to the top 20 finishers with first place receiving a check for $350,000.

“No question, this should be a big boost for the sport in the West Coast and nationwide as well,” Ridland said.

Robert Ridland

HITS will continue to host FEI World Cup qualifiers during weeks II, III, and IV of the 2013 Desert Circuit, albeit three this year instead of four.

“Thermal this year was dual purpose as far as Flexible was concerned,” said Fellers. “We were preparing both for the Olympic trials and the World Cup Finals, so it was doubly important. I’ve always believed that there’s plenty of great opportunity to prepare horses on the west coast without having to travel east and the level of show jumping is certainly on par. We just don’t have the same numbers yet, but even that’s changing.”

Fellers went on to say that the news of a million dollar class in Thermal would most certainly further that dynamic and give high performance riders a reason to want to spend more time jumping in California as opposed to the East Coast.

Complete specifications and qualifying criteria for the Thermal Million Grand Prix League will be available soon on the HITS website. The 2013 HITS Desert Circuit will begin Tuesday, January 22. Preparations for the show schedule and prize list have already begun and HITS will be meeting with its Trainer & High Performance Committee to solicit feedback and ideas for the upcoming show season.

“This past season in Thermal was a true tipping point,” Struzzieri said. “The atmosphere was phenomenal and the contribution from the West Coast in our sport is as strong as it’s ever been, as evidenced by Rich Feller’s recent World Cup victory and Robert’s [Ridland] appointment as the Chef d’Equipe. There is an electricity of excitement happening west of the Mississippi and by collaborating with Dale, Larry and Robert we have yet another product that should ignite a spark in American show jumping.”

Eighteenth Century James Seymour painting of a horse likely to be the famous Thoroughbred Flying Childers. (Photo courtesy of the British Museum)

Important loans from the British Library, the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Royal Armouries, as well as rare material from Saudi Arabia, will be seen alongside objects from the British Museum’s collection for the exhibit “The Horse: From Arabia to Royal Ascot.”

The collection will be on view at the British Museum from May 24 to Sept. 30, conveniently available to attendees of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Though the exhibit focuses mainly on two breeds―the Arabian and the Thoroughbred―it will span domestication of the horse more than 5,000 years ago to present day and will include tack as well as art objects.

Equine domestication is thought to have first happened on the steppes of South Russia, with horses being introduced into the Middle East around 2300 BC. The development was to dramatically change the course of human history, making man more mobile, paving the way for modern armies and making agricultural development commerce possible on a much grander scale. Prior to horses, asses and donkeys were used for transport, predominantly as harness animals, but gradually horses became the means of faster transportation for early societies.

The exhibition includes one of the earliest known depictions of a horse and rider: a terracotta mould found in Mesopotamia (Iraq) dating 2000-1800 BC. Horses became a vital component in warfare and hunting, as reflected in the art of ancient Assyria, where elaborate and ornate horse trappings and ornaments were developed reflecting the prestige and status of horse, charioteer and rider.

Riding became an essential part of society during the Achaemenid period (5th -4th century BC), a cylinder seal of Darius, dating to 522 – 486 BC shows the king hunting lions in a chariot, and famously, the Achaemenid’s introduced ‘post horses’ which were used to deliver messages on the royal road. The horsemen of the Parthian Empire (3rd century BC – 3rd century AD) were celebrated by Roman authors for the ‘Parthian shot’, in which an apparently retreating rider would shoot arrows backwards whilst on horseback. The renown of Parthian horsemen is shown in their representation on terracotta plaques and bronze belt buckles in the British Museum collection.

Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Mughal miniature paintings, ceramics and manuscripts all attest to the growing importance of the horse in the Islamic world from the 7th century AD. Exquisite Mughal miniatures depict princes with their valued Middle Eastern steeds, horses that were famed for their speed and spirit. A magnificent Furusiyya manuscript, dating to the 14th century AD, on loan from the British Library, is a beautifully illustrated manual of horsemanship, including information on proper care for the horse, advanced riding techniques, expert weapon handling, manoeuvres and elaborate parade formations.

The horse has a long history on the Arabian Peninsula, becoming an important cultural phenomenon and a noted part of the traditional Bedouin way of life. The Arabian horse was developed through selective breeding. Its features including a distinctive head profile and high tail carriage that make the Arabian one of the most easily recongnized horse breeds in the world. The exhibition includes ‘Gigapan’ panorama photography of rock art which show horses in scenes of various dates from sites in Saudi Arabia, as well as loans of objects from Qaryat al-Fau, including wall paintings and figurines.

This Eastern-themed painting is among those on exhibit at The Horse: From Arabia to Ascot. (Photo courtesy of the British Museum)

The importance of fine horses in the Middle East is explored through the fascinating Abbas Pasha manuscript (dating to the 19th century and on loan from the King Abdulaziz Public Library, Riadyh). This document is the primary source of information about the lineage of the purebred Arabian horses acquired by Abbas Pasha (the viceroy of Egypt) throughout the Middle East.

The story of the Arabian breed of horse is examined in parallel to that of Wilfrid Scawan Blunt (1840-1922), poet and agitator, and Lady Anne Blunt (1837-1917), the granddaughter of Lord Byron. The Blunts travelled widely in the Middle East and established a celebrated stud for purebred Arabians, which was crucial for the survival of the Arabian breed, at Crabbet Park in Sussex, and another outside Cairo in Egypt. Horses, including Arabians had long been imported from the Middle East to Britain, but from the 17th century, three Arabian stallions in particular were introduced, which, bred with native mares, produced the Thoroughbred breed, now the foundation of modern racing; some 95% of all modern Thoroughbreds are descended from these three horses. Paintings and prints, trophies and memorabilia explore their remarkable success and their influence on sport and society, from early race meetings through to modern equestrian events.

The exhibit is funded in large part by the Saudi Equestrian Fund. Faissal Ibn Abdullah Ibn Muhammad Al-Saud, minister of education and chairman of the board of trustees of the Saudi Equestrian Fund said, “It is well known that the horse has played a crucial role in the development of civilization, and that a close bond exists between horses and men. I am very pleased that it has been possible to support this exhibition in London which gives us an opportunity to look at different aspects of the history of the Arabian horse and the context from which it emerged.” The Layan Cultural Foundation and Juddmonte Farms in association with the Saudi Commission for Tourism & Antiquities also helped to make the exhibit possible.

Admission is free. Visit The British Museum for further info.

Heavy rains caused flooding on the cross country course at Badminton.
(Photo by BBC London)

The Mitsubishi Badminton Horse Trials have been cancelled for the first time since 1987 due to rain and flooding. The CCI4* eventing competition had been scheduled to take place May 4-7 in England.

The news comes as a major disappointment to British eventers preparing for the 2012 Summer Olympics, as well as for countryman William Fox-Pitt, who was attempting to win the third leg of eventing’s triple crown, formally known as the Rolex Grand Slam.

The Rolex Grand Slam ― single-season victories at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials in September, the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event in April and Badminton in May ― comes with a $350,000 bonus. It hasn’t been achieved since fellow Brit Pippa Funnel won all three events in the 2002-2003 season. Riding Parklane Hawk Fox-Pitt won at Burghley and Rolex Kentucky.

Organizers said there was “no chance” the soggy turf would dry out in time for the event next week. “I don’t think it will majorly affect the Olympic preparations though. We had contingency plans in place but we will have to discuss them with the riders and the owners first. We will make those plans over the next 48 hours,” British performance manager Yogi Breisner told London newspaper The Telegraph.

Most of the British Olympic eventing team seems a lock, with William Fox-Pitt, Mary King, Piggy French and Nicola Wilson the top contenders. There remains one open slot in the five-person lineup, and Zara Phillips, daughter of U.S. eventing coach Captain Mark Phillips, was expected to make a case at Badminton for why she and new mount High Kingdom are worthy of an Olympic ticket.

Now much of that action will be rerouted to the CIC3* Chatsworth Horse Trials in Derbyshire May 11-13.

As for Fox-Pitt’s le Slam Grande, organizers are now considering whether to allow a consecutive win at Burghley (Aug. 30-Sept. 2 in Stamford, England) to sub in for Badminton.

FEI president Princess Haya addresses the Swiss assembly. (Photo by Edouard Curchod / FEI)

The Saudi Equestrian Fund is providing a fresh infusion of financing to the FEI Nation’s Cup Series, which the Fédération intends to freshen-up and rebrand.

Announcing the agreement to 250 delegates at the opening of the Fédération Equestre Internationale Sports Forum in Lausanne, Switzerland, today FEI president HRH Princess Haya informed delegates that the SEF will provide full financial support for the 2012 series and has also agreed to a five-year title sponsorship commencing in 2013. The Saudi Equestrian Fund was created by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz by royal decree in November 2009 to give the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia a lasting legacy in equestrianism through sport and cultural events.

The heightened involvement of the Arab nations in various aspects of equestrian sport – from endurance to show jumping – has had a major impact in the past few years, driving up the price of top horses but also enhancing competition through things sponsorships, the construction of new facilities and hosting duties for major events in places like Qatar and Dubai.

“We believe this is a fantastic opportunity to preserve one of the flagship events and heritage of the FEI. We want to be part of the process that will enhance the Nations Cup concept, and help it become a truly global, contemporary product. The objective is to make the Nations Cup universal, fresh and exciting,” said HH Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah Al Saud, chairman of the Saudi Equestrian Board of Trustees.

“Supporting the Nations Cup series fits perfectly with our mission to improve and promote the growth of equestrian sport inside and outside Saudi Arabia,” Ziyad Abduljawad, managing director of the SEF said. “The Nations Cup should be the pinnacle of equestrian sport. National pride and competing for your nation provide an extra dimension that drives the individual to produce peak performance. We believe in the power of the Nations Cup to bring the best of equestrian sport to the world.”

International Jumping Riders Club committee member Francois Mathy gives a presentation on the Rolex Rankings. (Photo by Edouard Curchod / FEI)

Organizers of the eight FEI Nations Cup Top League events were informed at a meeting with the FEI in Geneva last December that a funding solution had been found for the series, but details of the agreement were not released at that time as the FEI continued ongoing discussions with the SEF to formalize the agreement.

The Saudi Equestrian Fund will be part of discussions with the FEI on prize money, branding and the revitalization of the series, with the twin goals of improving the overall prize money for each event and the overall level of competition. As part of the restructuring of the series, the concept will be debated at this week’s Sports Forum, and the FEI will also create a dedicated e-platform to facilitate a transparent and open process, allowing stakeholders further opportunities to voice their opinions, and provide feedback and follow-up.

The Saudi Equestrian Fund is keen to facilitate the change and has expressed the wish that the outcome of the renovation process is a concept that is supported by all parties. The Fund will provide financial support in order to ensure the continuity of the 2012 series during the transition to the new concept which will be launched in 2013.

The Board of Trustees of the Saudi Equestrian Fund is also supporting a major exhibition in the British Museum in London entitled “The Horse: from Arabia to Royal Ascot.” The exhibition, which runs from 24 May to 30 September, charts the history of the horse, from ancient civilization to modern day sporting events and includes important loans from the British Library, Fitzwilliam Museum and the Royal Armories, as well as rare material from Saudi Arabia.

The FEI Nations Cup is the oldest of the FEI competitions. It has existed for over a century, but it was in 1964 that the Nations Cup became a series when a ranking was established. Since then it has gone through a number of transformations, run as the President’s Cup, the Prince Philip Trophy, and more recently as the Super League. In recent years a sentiment has emerged that the concept is in need of review and an overhaul is  seen as key to ensuring the future of the series.

The FEI Nations CupTop League is currently run at eight selected European venues, but that f0rmat will be examined at the Sports Forum in Lausanne and, following further consultation, proposed changes to the series will be voted on at the General Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey,  in November.

General assembly at the FEI Sports Forum in Lausanne.
(Photo by Edouard Curchod / FEI)

William Fox-Pitt collects his second Rolex win, with Parklane Hawk.

With a single rail down in the show jumping ring, William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk of Great Britain won the 2012 Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event on April 30. The USA claimed second and third, with Allison Springer and Arthur and Boyd Martin and Otis Barbotiere propelled into third on the strength of a clear show-jumping round.

New Zealand’s Jonathan Paget and Clifton Promise, who went into the show jumping phase in third place, dropped rails at two fences and fell to fifth, behind the USA’s Karen O’Connor’s and Mr. Mendicott, fourth, and William Coleman and Twizzle, fifth.

In addition to the signature gold Rolex watch, Fox-Pitt takes home $80,000 for the 45.3 win,  his second in three years at this event. Springer’s (47.0) second earned $37,000, and Martin’s third (51.0) $30,000. Martin also finished eighth on Remington XXV (56.9).

While O’Connor and Martin are mainstays of the U.S.’s high performance eventing teams, Springer, 37, and Coleman, 29, are rising stars, getting a close look from 2012 Summer Olympics assessors. Springer was an alternate at the 2010 World Equestrian Games, but has never ridden for the U.S. internationally.

The VA-based Coleman trains at the Tivoli Farm and Empress Hill stables, both in the Gordonsville area. Raised in a riding family, he was in the saddle at age 4 and has enjoyed tremendous success, winning the 2001 North American Young Riders Championship, the U.K.’s Bramham CCI3* in 2003. He was shortlisted for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece, but fell out of the running when his horse got injured.

Of the 73 horse and rider teams that entered the Kentucky Rolex only 57 started, and of those only 27 made it through the show jumping phase to complete the event.

The Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event presented by Bridgestone is staged by Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI) a KY-based non-profit corporation formed in 1975 to stage the 1978 World Three-Day Event Championships at what was then a brand new Kentucky Horse Park. Rolex Watch USA came in as a title sponsor of the event and the U.S. eventing team in 1981.

Complete results, click here.