News and Notes By Pam Gleason Eventing Training Sessions in Aiken The United States Equestrian Federation has once again selected Aiken as the site for winter training sessions for riders aspiring to be on the U.S. eventing team. For the third year, these sessions will be at Three Runs Plantation, an equestrian residential community on Aiken‟s Southside. Three Runs is an ideal location for winter training, providing jumping and dressage arenas with excellent, all-weather footing as well as a comfortable clubhouse overlooking the facility. The sessions are open to the public, and provide an unrivalled opportunity to watch our international riders train with Captain Mark Phillips, the chef d’équipe of the eventing team. The management of Three Runs has also invited select groups of interested horsemen to come out and enjoy lunch while observing the action. Cross country training sessions will be held on the course at Paradise Farm on Route 302 east of town. There will be four sessions, two in February and two in March. The dates are: February 6-9; February 21-22; March 2-5 and March 16-18. The sessions are for riders on the current High Performance A and B training lists, meaning those who will most likely earn a spot on the team this year, as well as those that have the potential to compete now and in the near future. The winter training list also includes a roster of Developing Riders, who will be participating in the sessions by invitation. The High Performance Riders are preparing to compete in the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico in October. This year, three of the four riders on the A list are already based in Aiken during the winter months (Phillip Dutton, Boyd Martin and Kim Severson. The fourth rider, Amy Tryon, lives in Washington and will spend the winter months in California.) There are nine riders on the High Performance B list, and at least five of them will definitely be training in Aiken. (Allison Springer, Jennie Brannigan, Will Coleman, Will Faudree and Laine Ashker.) The Developing Rider list has quite a number of familiar Aiken names. These include Sinead Halpin, Doug Payne, Kristin Schmolze and Arden Wildasin. Other Developing Riders who are slated to train here include Danielle Dichting and Lizzie Snow. The complete schedule for the first sessions is available through the Three Runs Plantation website www.ThreeRunsPlantation.com. Aiken is one of three locations that have been chosen for winter training sessions. The other two are Ocala, where David and Karen O‟Connor are based, and Thousand Oaks, California. Aiken can make a claim to be the most important of these locations. After all, we have the most riders. (There are 14 who will be training here, as compared to 13 in the other two locations combined.) For a complete roster of High Performance and Developing riders, go to the USEF website: www.usef.org. (It‟s a bit of an odyssey to track them down. The easiest way is to search for news releases. The Developing Rider and High Performance Rider lists were published on December 8, 2010.) Equestrian News brought to you by Three Runs Plantation Page 1 News and Notes By Pam Gleason Hopes and expectations are high for the U.S. team. After a disappointing showing at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky (the U.S. failed to medal on its own home turf), eventers are looking to redeem themselves in Mexico. The last time the team competed in the Pan Am Games was 2007 in Rio de Janeiro. There they won team gold as well as individual gold, silver and bronze. Anyone wishing to support the U.S. team efforts can make a donation to the USEF. There is no specific fund raiser planned at the Three Runs this year, but it will be possible to donate at the sessions. Equestrian News brought to you by Three Runs Plantation Page 2 News and Notes By Pam Gleason Foxhunting Spectacular Although the Aiken foxhunting season seems to have gotten off to an early and enthusiastic start this winter, Aiken‟s horse people know that things really start hopping in the first week of February. This is because large numbers of riders will be migrating to town from the Northeast, the mid-Atlantic, Florida, Canada and points west for Hunt Week. Hunt Week is put on by Whiskey Road Foxhounds, and starts this year with a hunt on Thursday, February 3. The week includes five hunts, cocktail parties, gourmet breakfasts, tailgate parties and the annual hunt ball on Friday, February 4. The idea behind Hunt Week is to invite foxhunting enthusiasts from other parts of the country to come to town to celebrate horses, hounds, hunting and the Aiken countryside. The week officially concludes on February 10. However, in practice, foxhunters often come down a few days early to get in an extra hunt or two and to acclimatize themselves. At the end of the week, many are reluctant to leave. This may be particularly true this winter, considering that the weather in more northern latitudes has tended toward “snowpocalypse.” It seems likely that those traveling foxhunters who do not have a pressing need to be at home will extend their stays – word is that quite a few are planning a longer sojourn in Aiken than they have made in previous years. In fact, there are at least a few foxhunters who have decided to come down for the entire month or more. Tally ho! Equestrian News brought to you by Three Runs Plantation Page 3 News and Notes By Pam Gleason Spanish Trainer, American Horses On December 17 and 18, Jose Francisco Garcia came to Coves Darden Farm just east of Aiken to conduct a dressage clinic. Jose Francisco Garcia is from the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art in Jerez de la Frontera Spain, where he is a “jinete professor especialista”, the highest level of horse trainer. The Royal Andalusian School is world famous and specializes in the art of high school dressage. Mr. Garcia, who has been working at the school for 26 years, has been responsible for the training of some famous Spanish horses. For instance, when the Spanish team won the silver medal in dressage at the 2004 Olympics, one of the horses, Oleaje, ridden by Ignacio Rambla, was an animal that Garcia trained for eight years. Miguel Coves and Dorothea Darden, who invited Mr. Garcia to their farm, both agreed that he was possibly the best rider they had ever seen. “I have never seen anyone ride a horse like him,” says Miguel. “When he gets on a horse, it changes completely. When I see him riding my horse, I want to buy it again!” “He has a great eye for what a horse needs,” adds Dorothea. “He seems to know exactly what to do at the exact right time. It‟s been fascinating to watch him. He can get so much out of a horse. When he gets on, the horse just transforms.” Riders in the clinic agreed with these sentiments. Although Mr. Garcia is certainly an upper level trainer, he had no problem working with lower level horses, even those that had never really schooled in dressage before. Nancy Bruen Smith brought Mattox, her 9-year-old Percheron- Thoroughbred field hunter. “Before I came here, I asked myself, am I crazy doing this?” she says. “He is so wonderful, I felt embarrassed at my level to come and take a lesson. But I accomplished so much in just that one lesson, that I can work on what I learned for weeks.” Shirley Singelton, a dressage trainer from Madison, Ga., brought two horses. One was a Swedish Warmblood schooling at Second level. The other was an Azteca (half PRE and half Quarter horse) belonging to her daughter that had been having trouble with his flying changes. Shirley was impressed with Mr. Garcia‟s understanding of this horse. Equestrian News brought to you by Three Runs Plantation Page 4 News and Notes By Pam Gleason “He is the first trainer who really „got‟ him,” she says, noting that there was a real difference in the way the horse rode at the end of the session. On Friday afternoon, clinic participants watched while Mr. Garcia schooled Orlando IV, a PRE stallion owned by Coves Darden Farm. At the beginning of the session, spectators chatted amongst themselves. But as the horse and the man worked in the arena, a hush settled over the place. By the end, everyone watching was silent and spellbound. Francisco says that he enjoys giving lesson to horses and rider of all levels and abilities. “The level is not important. What is important is to be able to help the person improve his own horse. I think the people came away happy, and the horses came away changed.” “When I give a clinic in America, the people riding dressage tend to have a harder contact,” he continues. “I like to convey the art of understanding the horse‟s feelings, to show people how to play with his balance. It is important that the horse does not suffer, that he goes forward, feels important and enjoys himself. To learn the art of equestrian tact . it is like unheard music.” Mr. Garcia will be back for future clinics at Coves Darden Farm. For more information, visit the website: www.covesdardenpre.com. To watch a video of Francisco Jose Garcia‟s ride on Orlando IV, go to the Coves Darden channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/ CovesDarden.