BY JACKIE MCFARLAND

Jack Robson
  I was thrilled to have another fascinating conversation with yet another person who plays a significant role in our horse show world, actually one of this week’s World Cup Officials, President of the Jury Jack Robson. Robson has spent more than a quarter century working as a course designer, technical delegate and jumper judge.

EqSol: What is your horse history?
JR: Actually I don’t come from a horsey family. I’m a northeasterner - born in Massachusetts and have lived in both Connecticut and upstate New York. I’ve been in California for about 18 years.

  My first career was as a machinist, making microchips before they were in vogue. One day a friend of mine who worked for Barney Ward in Brewster, NY in the early seventies called me when he needed a hand. So I said sure. Turned out I liked it a lot and stayed for seven years. You could say it was a turning point in my life.

  A Fort Reilly Calvary School graduate at Barney’s taught me how to ride. I jumped up to 1.40m. When I realized I couldn’t afford to have horses, I chose to stay involved by working on the jump crew. My career progressed from there.

EqSol: How did your career as a horse show official progress?
JR: Frank Chapot helped me get my judge’s card. I was at the Saratoga Horse Show and Frank asked me if I was interested in getting my card. I said, ‘Yes sir.’ So he threw me a clipboard and a watch, said ‘You’re working on it’ and walked away.

  Frank was my mentor in both judging and course design and I can’t thank him enough. He opened many doors for me.

EqSol: And as a course designer?
JR: I assisted and worked with Frank, Bert de Nemethy, Pamela Carruthers, Robert Jolicoeur... all those guys. I was both a jumper judge and course designer by the early eighties. I was one of the first course designers listed when the AHSA chose to include them in the roster. Then I got my FEI-C (candidate judge) and had that for about 12 years. Now I have an FEI-I (International) card as both judge and course designer.

  I love course designing. When you ask fair questions and get good answers it’s a great feeling. I get to see all types of courses as a judge, learning each time. As a judge I get to watch the best jumpers at all levels – it’s the best of both worlds really. Then I can practice what I’ve learned when I design. I get a chance to design about ten times a year. And I judge about 30 weeks a year.

EqSol: Some of your favorite horse show memories?
JR: [smiling] When Pamela C and I got jumped in Cleveland. She was designing and we were sitting on the wishing well discussing the next class. She looked over her shoulder and said nonchalantly in that British accent ‘Be very still’ as the horse proceeded to jump over us.

  In the early eighties Mason Phelps modeled The Newport Jumping Derby in Rhode Island after Hickstead. It was a big field. I remember Anthony D’Ambrosio’s horse leapt straight down the steep hill (instead of walking down) - it was maybe sixteen feet down. He landed flat on his stomach, got up and in two strides jumped the vertical. Rodney Jenkins got hung up on the Irish Bank. Buddy Brown wore a helmet cam with a Super 8 attached; he almost broke his neck.

  The Tijuana Jockey Club hosted a horse show. That was fun.There was a zoo on the infield of the track. The show was on the grass field right beside the zoo. You waited for your class next to the lions and elephants.

EqSol: And your future plans?
JR: Possibly the WEG. That would certainly be an honor. I will continue to work with Blenheim EquiSports and the Langer Equestrian Group in California and Colorado. HITS Arizona, HITS Ocala and Spruce Meadows might on the roster next year. In any case I’ll keep trying, improving my game. The sport evolves and you have to keep up with it.

Thank you Jack and thank you Emma (Jack’s Jack) for playing ball with Chloe.

The History of the Big Eq

BY ERNA L. ADELSON

The Search for the Best is Back
  As the qualification period for the USEF Talent Search gets underway, rankings reveal the top of the nation’s leading equitation contenders. Each day spent training, preparing and competing will culminate, for some, in a mark on the storied history of the sport. Equitation has certainly evolved over the years, from the days of Jackie Kennedy Onassis to last year’s Sophie Benjamin and Hannah Selleck, though competitors remain true to the heart of the sport—the bond between horse and rider. It is this special bond that defines the membership of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF). Since 1917, the Federation has been dedicated to pursuing excellence, promoting growth and providing a safe and level playing field for both its equine and human athletes. In this tradition, the 2009 USEF Talent Search will, of course, reveal the potential bearers of the crimson coat in international competition, but it will also indicate something more, something innate that materializes with the chemistry unique to horses and riders.

The OG of the Big Eq
  Before the name George Morris was synonymous with horsemanship, the second president of the Association of American Horse Shows, Mr. Alfred Maclay, was the authority on the rules and regulations used to license members and venues. In 1927, these policies filled a six-page pamphlet. Though now they are much more extensive, the original sentiment is still referred to upon evaluation of candidates today—and Maclay’s legacy as a horseman lives on in the medal final that bears his name.

  Much of the terminology surrounding the Talent Search stems from the days of Maclay’s tenure. The nickname for equitation classes as ‘Medal Classes’ has stuck almost 80 years since riders were first awarded medals for their achievement in winning an equitation class. The newer nomenclature, the “big eqs” refers to the classes in which riders show to qualify for several national championships, especially the historic and coveted USEF Talent Search, USEF Medal and ASPCA Maclay Championships.

The Star Search is Born
  The USEF has several fundamental responsibilities as the governing body of US equestrian sport: The USEF trains, selects, and funds our United States Equestrian Team, licenses equestrian competitions of all levels across the United States each year, and encourages growth among newcomers as well as the coming generation. The Talent Search was started in 1956 by the U.S. Equestrian Team (now the USET Foundation) as a USET Medal Program in order to fulfill the cultivation aspect of their duties. In 1982, the Medal Program incorporated year-end finals as a further goal. In 1994, the USET decided to combine the USET Medal Program with the USET Show Jumping Talent Search Program. This name change better reflected the focus of the program by asking developing riders to meet a more difficult set of standards than required in other competitions, thus helping to prepare them for berths on future international show jumping squads.

  The Show Jumping Talent Search Program became part of the USEF’s Show Jumping High Performance Program in 2005. The Platinum Performance / USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals attracts the nation’s top Juniors and Young Riders in head-to-head competition. The Finals are open to U.S. citizens 21 years old and younger who have qualified through their placement in Platinum Performance / USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Classes and include a matrix of phases to test entrants’ skills in the show jumping arena, including equitation, speed over difficult courses and gymnastics, derby-style terrain, and a ride-off.

  Graduates of the program include some of the top competitors and trainers on the circuit today, each doing their part to inspire and train the next generation of equestrians.

  In this week’s final 37 riders will vie for the title. Last year’s West Coast winner, Hannah Selleck, just returned from the Spruce Masters where she competed against the best and brought home prizes. On the East Coast qualified riders will compete on the weekend of October 4th-5th in Gladstone, NJ. Now a sophomore at Princeton, California-based Sophie Benjamin won the coveted East Coast Finals in 2008.

Inside Indoors

BY JACKIE MCFARLAND

  Back in the day the Indoor Circuit was Harrisburg, Washington, New York. Those days are gone and the fall indoor season on the East Coast is now Upper Marlboro, Harrisburg, Washington, Syracuse. The shows affiliated with those cities are the Capital Challenge, the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, the Washington International Horse Show and the Syracuse Invitational.

A Little History
  In its 16th year, Capital Challenge is a relatively young event, but with all its unique offerings has certainly become the essential first stop of the Indoor season. Harrisburg, hosting the traditional USEF Medal Finals and more, is presenting its 64th annual event in 2009. Washington is in its 51st year. The standing North American indoor Puissance (high jump) record of 7 feet 7 1/2 inches was set at Washington in 1983 by Anthony D’Ambrosio and Sweet N’ Low. The newest addition to the Indoor roster is the Syracuse Invitational. Taking over where The National Horse Show (126th year) left off, this event not only hosts the ASPCA Maclay Finals but presents a fabulous horse show for exhibitors, spectators and sponsors alike.

  Not just anyone can enter into these top shows - a certain number of points and/or money won are required to qualify for Harrisburg, Washington and Syracuse in the hunter divisions and jumper divisions.

BY KATIE KOTARAK & JACKIE MCFARLAND

  Interesting how life is – how things have a way of working out as they are meant to. Just over a decade ago Mary Manfredi was living in Italy, established in another career and no longer riding. Saer Coulter was a young girl living in northern California who loved horses.

  “I was fortunate enough to catch ride some lovely horses growing up,” explained Mary about her junior years riding with Andre Dignelli and Judy Richter. “But I was burnt out after college. My sister was in Italy so I moved there.” Even though she was living abroad and not officially riding, Andre would still send her around Europe to try horses. That and seeing old riding friend Peter Lutz at a wedding lured Mary back. “We talked about having a barn together when we were kids. It was perfect timing and I couldn’t think of a better person to go into business with.” That was 2000.

  Living in Woodside, Saer had neighbors across the street with horses and soon both she and her sister Audrey were taking lessons. For several years they rode at Millennium Farms. Serendipitously, the Coulter family contacted Mary Manfredi and Peter Lutz of Davenport Inc. in South Salem, NY on a recommendation from friends when traveling east for the summer. A turning point for all involved.

  That summer of 2002 Mary and Peter found Saer her first children’s jumper and she was hooked. The Coulter family wanted to continue working with this dynamic duo, so Mary, who had always been an East Coast girl, moved to California. With over 25 horses in training, Peter remains on the East Coast and runs Davenport. The business partnership continues, as each one travels to the other coast to coach and train. This unique arrangement, along with the tremendous support of the Coulter family, has allowed Saer and Audrey to obtain their equestrian dreams.

  “We are serious about achieving our goals,” Mary explains. “For example, we don’t have any furniture in the tack room because no one should be sitting down.” Both Saer and Mary laugh at this comment. But with more than 20 Coulter and Davenport horses at the California barn and most of them competing, there’s plenty to do.

  Saer is now in her final junior year – how time flies – and as most juniors do, she has set many goals. The hard work, focus and commitment have paid off, as those goals are one by one coming to fruition. When we spoke with Saer at Blenheim in June, she was fresh off winning in the Junior Hunters on the naturally talented Positano. Not to mention her fabulous third place finish in her fifth grand prix start at the 2009 Del Mar National followed by a seventh place finish at the Memorial Day Classic Grand Prix on Cats Are Grey. And based on her results at this June show she was hoping to attain her goal of qualifying for the NAYJRC, which she did. Before competing there at the end of July, she spent several weeks in the Netherlands, gaining invaluable European experience.

  Soon after her return from Europe, alongside teammates Adrienne Dixon, Paris Sellon and Karl Cook, Saer contributed scores that earned the Zone 10 team a bronze medal over some very difficult and technical courses. She and Chalan also earned ninth place overall in the individual competition.

  Even though her freshman fall semester at Stanford is just getting underway, Saer squeezed in some impressive finishes at last week’s Blenheim Fall Tournament, including an eighth on Chalan over a challenging indoor course in the $50,000 World Cup Qualifying Grand Prix on Friday night and a fourth in the ASPCA Maclay Regionals on Saturday night. The path will now lead to Syracuse for the Maclay Finals, another goal on Saer’s last junior year list.

  Despite the two-hour trek from Stanford’s Palo Alto campus to her family’s barn in Petaluma, Saer plans on driving home for weekend lessons. “In terms of organization, fitting in riding gives me the incentive to get my homework done so I don’t have to do it on Sunday night,” she said. “School has always come first. I thought I would quit riding after my senior year, but now I’m at a place where I don’t want to.”

  And why would she? Since Mary returned to the world of horses and crossed paths with the Coulters seven short years ago, another California-based young talent has a bright future. Although college is a priority, we may very well see Saer’s name again and again as she continues to pursue her equestrian goals and dreams.

  Mary, as well, is living her dream. Choosing to work with Peter was the key. “He is my favorite rider. I’ve ridden many horses after other people have worked with them. But no horse feels as good to me as one that Peter has just ridden. He’s my idol.”

  Thank you Mary and Saer!