Jumpers Pin Hopes to Pan Ams

By Paula Parisi October 9, 2011

The U.S. heads to Mexico for the Oct. 14-30 Pan Am Games with the heat turned up: if the show jumping team doesn’t finish in the top five in Guadalajara, it won’t land a coveted Olympic berth. To the best of anyone’s recollection, this would be a first, at least since the International Olympic Committee began requiring countries to qualify to participate in the Olympics (as opposed to simply declaring their intent to “enter”).

In truth would be difficult for the U.S. not to qualify. All it has to do is medal, or land within the top five behind Canada and Brazil (or within the top four after Mexico or Brazil, since the Federation Equestre Internationale specifies as eligible the “three best-ranked teams from the Pan American games” excluding those already qualified, which Canada and Brazil have done by notching top five at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky.

With the powerhouse riders the U.S. has on tap, that shouldn’t be difficult. After some fine-tuning (the lineup was changed twice), the show jumping team for Guadalajara is: Beezie Madden (Cazenovia, NY) and Coral Reef Via Volo;  McLain Ward (Brewster, NY) and Antares F; Christine McCrea (East Windsor, CT), taking Candy Tribble and Romantovich Take One; and Farrington and Uceko.

Farrington and Uceko have been in top form all year, with victories including the King’s Cup at Hickstead in July. But he has literally squeaked onto the Pan Am team, having initially been the second substitute after Lauren Hough and Quick Study (traveling reserve) and Margie Engle and Indigo (first-ranked substitute). On Sept. 19, both Hough and Engle withdrew, putting Farrington and his gray KWPN gelding in the spare tire slot.

On Oct. 5, the USEF announced that Laura Kraut, who had been riding Cedric in Europe, was withdrawing from the four-person squad “due to European Union quarantine regulations, transportation and logistics issues” pertaining to the horse and Farrington went from understudy to featured performer. Mario Deslauriers (New York, NY) and Jane Forbes Clark’s Urico will now serve as the Traveling Reserve.  Whether or not the U.S. team gets to compete, riders may still be eligible to as individuals. Rallying the troops, for team or group, is show jumping chef de equipe George Morris.

There is less drama in the dressage and eventing barns, where the U.S. teams qualified at WEG. Representing the U.S. in dressage will be Heather Blitz (Loxahatchee, FL) on Paragon, Marisa Festerling (Moorpark, CA) on Big Tyme, Cesar Parra (Whitehouse, NJ) on Grandioso and Steffen Peters (San Diego, CA) on Weltino’s Magic. Substitute riders are Endel Ots (De Pere, WI) on Toscano and Heather Mason (Lebanon, NJ) on Warsteiner. They will compete under the guidance of technical advisor Anne Gribbons.

The dressage competition will be held at the Prix St. Georges level, a decision that was made so more countries could participate. Likewise the eventing will be configured as a CCI 2*. Show jumping, on the other hand, will conform to Continental Championship specifications, with jumps ranging in height from 1.4M-1.6M, which is Olympic caliber. Mexico’s Javier Fernández is the course designer.

Eventing at the Pan American Games will see five horses will compete for both team and individual classification, with the best three scores to count for the team score. The 2011 Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team for the Pan American Games consists of Hannah Sue Burnett (The Plans, VA) and Pilot Harbour (8-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding); Buck Davidson (Ocala, FL) and Absolute Liberty (8-year-old Thoroughbred x Oldenburg mare); Jonathan Holling (Ocala, FL) and Downtown Harrison (7-year-old Trakehner x Thoroughbred gelding; Shannon Lilley (Gilroy, CA) and Ballingowan Pizzaz (9-year-old Sport Horse Gelding); Michael Pollard (Dalton, CA) and Schoensgreen Hanni (8-year-old German Sport Horse mare).

The following have been named as replacements: Boyd Martin (Cochranville, PA) and Cold Harbor (11-year-old Canadian Sport Horse); Kristin Schmolze (Califon, NJ) and Ballylaffin Bracken (11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding); Tamra Smith (Murietta, CA) and Mar de Amor (11-year-old Selle Francais gelding; Lynn Symansky (Middleburg, VA) and Donner (8-year-old Thoroughbred gelding); Jolie Wentworth (Martinez, CA) and Good Knight (9-year-old Canadian Sport Horse). They compete under Chef d’Equipe Capt. Mark Phillips.

A record number of horse-and-rider combinations are scheduled to take part in the 16th Pan-American Games Oct. 16-30. A total of 157 horse and rider partnerships are registered to compete at the event ― the world’s largest multi-sport competition apart from the summer Olympics, which takes place on a four-year cycle leading up to each Olympic staging and is open to participants based in  North America and Central/South America (FEI geographical regions D and E).

The equestrian aspect of the Guadalajara event will revolve around these three Olympic equestrian disciplines. The Pan Am Endurance Championships will be held separately as a 75-mile CEI 3* race in Santo Domingo, Chile, Oct. 22.

Jumping will take place at the Guadalajara Country Club, Oct. 25-29. Dressage will be held at the same venue, while eventing will take place at the Santa Sofia Country Club. So that more countries can participate, the dressage competition is being held at the Prix St. Georges level, while the eventing will be at CCI 2*.

A total of 15 nations will be represented in dressage, with 12 of them fielding teams (as opposed to sending individuals). Ten of 13 nations entered in eventing are sending teams. In Jumping there are entries from 18 countries and 12 teams.

Technical Delegate for the jumping events at the 2011 Pan-American Games is Venezuela’s Leopoldo Palacios, while Brazil’s Andre Paro is TD for eventing and Freddy Leyman from Belgium is TD for dressage.

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