Ebeling and Rafalca Get US Dressage off to a Strong Start

Jan Ebeling and Rafalca in the Grand Prix for Team USA. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Jan Ebeling said he was "very happy" with his "good ride" on Rafalca in the Grand Prix at the 2012 London Olympic Games today.

Ebeling was the eighth to ride today and the first to go for the US dressage team. The fifteen-year-old Oldenburg mare (by Argentinius) put in a steady and accurate test with just a few moments of loss of balance or a slight loss of thrust from her right hind leg to earn a score of 70.243 percent.

"I think my second pirouette started out a little bit large; she jumped off the line a bit. But overall it was great. My piaffes were really nice, and that's something that's really improved over the last couple of months. I think the frame was good: She was up, and she felt really good. She's fit, and I think she's peaking just at the right moment," Ebeling said afterward.

Other than eventing's Zara Phillips, whose royal connections enthralled the mainstream media, Ebeling is probably drawing the most mainstream-media attention focused on an equestrian at these Olympic Games. The reason, of course, is Ann Romney's part-ownership of Rafalca, which was unremarkable before her husband, Mitt Romney, decided to run for the US presidency. So Ebeling fielded the expected questions from Bloomberg News and the like about Mrs. Romney and about how he's dealing with the spotlight.

"It really ended up being a good thing for the sport," Ebeling said. "I don't really get distracted by these things. I have a pretty good way of focusing. And if I don't want to talk to anybody, I don't answer my phone!"

And yes, Anne Gribbons, Ebeling's first halt looked pretty good. (He said the coach has been on him to improve that movement.) But he admitted to almost saluting with the other hand than the one he normally uses--his one admission of nervousness.

Ebeling had to explain to the mainstream media present what "amped up" means in terms of how Rafalca felt today. It's a good thing, in case you were wondering, but "the trick is to manage it," he said.

Ebeling's good showing gets Team USA off to a solid start. Fellow team members Steffen Peters/Ravel and Tina Konyot/Calecto V go tomorrow (Tina first of the day at 11:00 and Steffen at 2:35). Adrienne Lyle/Wizard, riding as individuals, go at 12:51.

But Team GB has definitely issued the challenge, with two of its riders earning today's top scores. Carl Hester on the 2001 KWPN stallion Uthopia (by Metall) holds the lead with a score of 77.720 percent. The dark-bay stallion put in a Grand Prix test with great suppleness, relaxation, elegance, and scope.

Great Britain's Carl Hester and Uthopia lead the GP standings with 77.720 percent. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Close behind Hester is teammate Laura Bechtolsheimer on the 1995 Dutch Warmblood gelding Mistral Hojris (by Michellino). The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games individual silver medalist earned a score of 76.839 percent for a test that had plenty of expression but a couple of mistakes: an early change after the extended canter and a mistake in the two-tempi changes. "Alf" looked a bit "on the muscle," and although he didn't appear resistant or stiff, Bechtolsheimer appeared to be working pretty hard, with a decent amount of weight in the reins.

Team Canada, unfortunately, is left licking its wounds after David Marcus on Capital was eliminated after the horse had a meltdown in the middle of the sudden drenching downpour that came as quickly as it went. With teams of three and no drop score, Marcus's failure to finish knocks Canada out of the team competition. Ashley Holzer, who rides Breaking Dawn tomorrow, therefore will ride only for the individual-medal qualifier and not for a Canadian team medal.

The Dressage Team Is Coming!

Today was the 2012 US Olympic dressage team's last day at Layham Hall, their pre-London training base in England. As I write this, riders Steffen Peters, Tina Konyot, Jan Ebeling, and Adrienne Lyle are standing backstage somewhere at the Olympic stadium, waiting to march in with the rest of Team USA.

US Equestrian Federation national dressage technical advisor and coach Anne Gribbons won't be there tonight; she's stayed behind until after Ravel, Calecto V, Rafalca, and Wizard depart tomorrow for Greenwich Park. Meanwhile, she sent me this report:

"All horses/riders doing well. They have their last work sessions this morning and then head into London for Opening Ceremony. I am staying behind and going after the horses leave Saturday morning. 

Team USA: Steffen Peters, Adrienne Lyle, Anne Gribbons, Tina Konyot, and Jan Ebeling at their English training base outside London (during a rare non-rainy moment). Photo courtesy of Anne Gribbons.

"The horses arrived in top shape due to a direct and smooth flight with minimal road travel. 

Training camp has gone smoothly, and the team spirit is great. We have been housed at the most wonderful facility owned by Linda and Jack Keenan, and they have been the most fantastic hosts. No wish was unfulfilled, the horses loved the ambiance with rolling hills and mares and foals in the pastures. Calecto and Paragon have had their own turnout fields and all our horses are in the same cosy barn. 

Traveling reserve rider Heather Blitz preps Paragon for a show. Photo courtesy of Anne Gribbons.

"Dr. Mitchell [US dressage-team veterinarian Rick Mitchell, DVM] is here full time to pamper our equines, the grooms are a wonderful group who take excellent care of the horses and have a very good time together, and the staff is on top of scheduling and organizing our daily lives and  progress from one venue to another. Every horse / rider combination has been working diligently on polishing their act, and I ran them through two show dress rehearsals  with video sessions last week. The youngsters, Legolas and Paragon, have both benefited from the program as well, and they look very promising for future teams.

At team processing

"We went to team processing a few days ago and received an abundance of clothing and gifts, which made the grooms giggle even more, and the riders got a first look at London and we all realized we really are going to the Olympics!"

Many thanks to Anne for taking time out of her busy schedule to keep the US dressage fans updated! 

Cheerio from London! Tomorrow I hope to see all our riders at the US dressage-team press conference. Now I'm signing off to continue live-streaming the Olympic opening ceremony (no, I couldn't get a ticket). But I do have a photo source, so I hope to share a photo of our riders with you tomorrow.

And the Team Is...

The 2012 US dressage Olympic selection trials concluded yesterday. So who's going to the London Olympic Games?

The US Equestrian Team Foundation's Maureen Pethick wasn't exactly sure. Neither was US Equestrian Federation PR rep Joanie Morris.

Huh? How can we not know?

Try to decipher the International Equestrian Federation's (FEI) 2012 Olympic dressage procedures and you'll begin to understand why. It's complicated.

There are rules governing who and how many can make the team...whether a nation can send an individual and/or a reserve rider...even the exact hour by which any lineup changes must be announced.  Making things somewhat more confusing this year is the fact that our #1 rider, Steffen Peters, qualified with two horses: Ravel, who earned a "bye" and didn't have to compete at the 2012 USEF Dressage Festival of Champions in Gladstone, NJ; and Legolas 92, who won the Grand Prix championship title and thereby also qualified for London.

The questions began: Can Steffen ride two horses in London? Can someone else ride Ravel or Legolas if Steffen becomes unable to compete? Can the US send a reserve horse? How many horses will we ship to Great Britain?

For answers, I went directly to the one person I knew could straighten me out: Anne Gribbons. Anne, as you may know, is the USEF national dressage technical advisor and high-performance coach. So here's the deal, straight from the horse's mouth, as they say.

First, we begin with what's officially known as the nominated entry--the list of the top finishers at the Olympic selection trials who are qualified for London. Note in the USEF press release announcing the nominated entry that Steffen Peters holds both the #1 and the #3 positions, with Ravel and Legolas 92, respectively.

International Olympic Committee dressage rules for London permit only three horse-rider combinations per team. In addition, each athlete may be paired with only one horse.

Translation: Steffen Peters may ride either Ravel or Legolas, but not both, according to Anne Gribbons.  Ravel is the top horse, so he is the team pick. But because the USEF wants to ensure that Steffen will ride, Legolas will ship to England as a reserve mount for Steffen only--no "catch riding" allowed at the Olympics, Anne explained.

The #2 team slot goes to the #2 finisher in the selection trials: 2012 USEF national Grand Prix reserve champion Tina Konyot on Calecto V. With the #3-ranked horse being Legolas, the third team slot therefore goes to the #4-ranked combination: Jan Ebeling on Rafalca.

Here's where things get interesting. According to Anne Gribbons, the #5-ranked pair, Adrienne Lyle on Wizard, will travel to London with the intention of competing as individuals. However, "Wizard will be a team horse and not compete as an individual should something happen" to a team horse or rider, Anne said.

But wait; there's more. In the press conference following the selection-trials conclusion, Anne stated that the USEF's intention is to ship "five or six" horses to England. So who's #6?

That would be the horse next in line in the ranking succession whose rider and owner grants permission for the horse to travel to England strictly to wait in the wings as a reserve horse. If Wizard gets "called up" for team duty, horse #6 could then compete as an individual.

Will Todd Flettrich and Otto travel to England with the US team? We'll know today, according to Anne Gribbons. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

As it stands according to the selection-trials results, "Otto would be the sixth horse," Anne said, referring to Todd Flettrich's mount. But agreeing to travel in this reserve position is not obligatory, and so "the rider and owner have to have a chat and decide" what to do, she explained. Todd and Otto's owner, Margaret Duprey of Cherry Knoll Farm, West Grove, PA, have until today to tell the USEF yes or no (although I suspect Anne already knows what the answer will be).

Should they decline, then the USEF will extend the invitation to the next-ranked pair (Heather Blitz on Paragon), and so on down the line. One way or another, the lineup will be finalized by day's end today, Anne said.

Regardless of how many horses we ship to England, only four will actually wind up at the 2012 Olympic equestrian venue, Greenwich Park, Anne said. The US contingent will spend the last two weeks of July at a rented farm situated about 90 minutes from the venue, she said. Come time to ship to Greenwich Park, assuming Ravel, Calecto V, Rafalca, and Wizard are sound and healthy, those four horses will head to the Olympics, and Legolas and Otto will remain behind.

For a detailed look at Greenwich Park and the upcoming Olympic dressage competition, see my Olympic preview in the July/August issue of USDF Connection, the member magazine of the United States Dressage Federation. (Not a member? Here's how to join.)

In my next post, I'll continue my interview with Anne Gribbons, who discusses the Olympic travel timetable and the American dressage riders' chances in London.

Humor and Horses, Not Politics, Rule at Gladstone

USEF national dressage technical advisor Anne Gribbons (left) and newly minted Olympians Jan Ebeling, Tina Konyot, Steffen Peters, and Adrienne Lyle show their foam-finger spirit. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The New York Times photographer and political writer at the 2012 USEF Dressage Festival of Champions  expressed surprise that dressage enthusiasts have embraced comedian Stephen Colbert's "Colbert Report" dressage bit, which has gone viral, at least in the equestrian community.

No surprise there, considering the recent NYT story portraying dressage as a fusty, snooty sport populated only by the so-called 1 percent--including, of course, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann. Ann, a dressage rider herself, co-owns the Oldenburg mare Rafalca, who is  London Olympics-bound with rider Jan Ebeling.

With a "Dressage #1" foam finger in one hand, a beer in the other, and tongue firmly in cheek, Colbert proclaimed dressage his "sport of the summer" and said it was "perfect for Joe Six-Pack" (while showing footage of Rafalca passaging).

Although a few fans have expressed disappointment in Colbert's routine, most--including Ebeling himself--have embraced the unexpected publicity boost and run with it.

Quick-thinking equestrian company SmartPak has shipped a dressage outfit to Colbert, who reportedly has agreed to take a dressage lesson from New Jersey-based Olympian Michael Barisone at a yet-to-be-determined date. And after today's Olympic Grand Prix Special and the conclusion of the 2012 US Equestrian Federation National Grand Prix Dressage Championship, red "Dressage Is #1" foam fingers were distributed to audience members, who waved them enthusiastically behind an understandably volatile Rafalca and a game Jan Ebeling.

Jan Ebeling, Rafalca, and the foam-finger fans. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Ann Romney said she begged off one day of her husband's current campaign bus tour to attend the competition today. Talking to equestrian journalists who were more interested in her horse and her riding than her husband's politics seemed to come as a welcome change for the dressage enthusiast, who took up riding as therapy for multiple sclerosis.

Eliciting understanding nods and laughs from the reporters and photographers who clustered around her, Romney said: "Giving speeches is easy. Going down center line--now that makes me nervous!"

Between the political campaign and Rafalca's successful bid for the 2012 US dressage Olympic team, "It's been an incredible year," Romney said. She declined to forecast Rafalca's chances in London, saying, "You never know with horses."

The Romneys will be in London for the Olympics, Ann Romney said. An accomplished rider herself, she does get to ride Rafalca--understandably not so much these days, however. "When the day comes that she retires, I will ride her," she said.

Ann Romney (right) chats with US dressage Olympians Jessica Ransehousen and Hilda Gurney. Gurney was a member of the Olympic selection-trials ground jury, and Ransehousen owns Lord Ludger, the mount of para-equestrian champ Rebecca Hart, who received a special award from Romney. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Motherhood also may be in Rafalca's future, Romney said. No stallion has been selected yet, but "We do like Utopia," Romney said, referring to herself and co-owner Amy Ebeling, wife of Jan Ebeling.

In a final gesture of support to the dressage community, Ann Romney presided over a special presentation to Rebecca Hart, who won the 2012 USEF National Para-Equestrian Championship earlier this week.

Ann Rommey poses with 2012 USEF National Para-Equestrian Dressage Champion Rebecca Hart on Lord Ludger. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

New York Times guys, other mainstream media, Mr. Colbert: Come join us! You'll find we dressage types are a pretty decent bunch overall, and we hope you've gotten a sense of why we love our sport and our horses so much. Bring on the foam fingers and half-pass us a beer!

Wizard Is Magical at Olympic Selection-Trials Finale

Wizard and Adrienne Lyle trotting to third place in today's Olympic Grand Prix Special at the 2012 USEF Dressage Festival of Champions. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

I saw Wizard for the first time at the 2011 Adequan/USDF National Dressage Symposium in San Diego. The thirteen-year-old Oldenburg gelding, owned by Peggy Thomas and River Grove Farm in Hailey, ID, displayed international-quality presence, movement, and suppleness. Equally impressive was his beautifully classical rider, Adrienne Lyle, of Ketchum, ID. It was hard to believe that this protege of Olympian Debbie McDonald was only 27 years old.

This morning, in the final leg of competition in the 2012 United States Equestrian Federation National Grand Prix Championship and 2012 London Olympic Games dressage selection trials, Lyle and Wizard pulled out the stops for an expressive Olympic Grand Prix Special test. Judges Hilda Gurney, Linda Zang, Jane Weatherwax, Janet Foy, and Lois Yukins rewarded their efforts with a score of 74.889 percent.

Met by huge cheers from Lyle's and Wizard's fans and by a beaming Debbie McDonald, the pair's effort was enough to put them in third place, behind GP Special winners Steffen Peters and Legolas (77.956 percent) and second-place finishers Tina Konyot and Calecto V (77.889).

Wizard's test was a highlight, but several other pairs had struggles today. Nature called Jan Ebeling's mount, Rafalca, at precisely the wrong time; and the fifteen-year-old Oldenburg mare flubbed her line of fifteen one-tempi changes as a result. (Happily, the remainder of their solid, flowing test was good enough for fourth place with 73.844 percent.)

Solid performance from Rafalca and Jan Ebeling put them in fourth today and third overall in the 2012 Olympic selection trials. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Fandango (Guenter Seidel) and Robin Hood (Susan Blinks) also had some trouble with the tempis. Legolas flubbed a change in the twos, and Otto (Todd Flettrich) showed better piaffe-passage than yesterday but had a couple of breaks in gait that looked like overeagerness. The result was that, unlike in yesterday's Grand Prix, nobody broke the 80-percent mark.

The Olympic selection-trials process comprised back-to-back weekends of competition at United States Equestrian Team Foundation headquarters in Gladstone, NJ. Competitors rode the FEI Grand Prix and the Olympic Grand Prix Special each weekend, with each test counting 25 percent. Steffen Peters' "big horse," Ravel, has a bye and didn't compete. That left the top four at Gladstone as Peters/Legolas, Konyot/Calecto V, Ebeling/Rafalca, and Lyle/Wizard.

Legolas checks out his national-championship trophy, held by owner Akiko Yamazaki. At left are FEI 5* judge Axel Steiner and Yamazaki's daughter. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Although the official US Olympic dressage "nominated entry" hasn't happened yet, the USEF is hoping to ship "five or six" horses to London, according to USEF national dressage technical advisor and high-performance coach Anne Gribbons. If our dressage team of three ends up being Ravel, Calecto V, and Rafalca (with Legolas going as a backup mount for Peters and Wizard and Lyle traveling as the reserve combination), it will mean that Peters will be the only Olympic veteran in London.

National dressage technical Anne Gribbons (left) with top GP Special finishers Jan Ebeling, Tina Konyot, Steffen Peters, and Adrienne Lyle. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Most athletes will tell you that making an Olympic team for the first time is an unforgettable thrill.

"Since I attended my very first Olympic Games, in 1976, I have wanted to make the team," said Konyot, 50, of Palm City, FL.

Like many other accomplished Grand Prix-level riders, Konyot has years of experience and many wins under her belt. But a rider needs the right horse, and finding or training the right horse is no easy feat, not to mention the feat of keeping him sound. Since Konyot began competing her Danish Warmblood stallion, now 14, in 2007, she and Calecto V have developed a strong bond. The pair represented the US at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, and Konyot is a cool customer who says she's good under pressure.

And pressure they will have: As I reported in yesterday's post, FEI 5* judge Axel Steiner predicts that teams at the London Games will need to earn scores in the mid-80s to put themselves in medal position. We'll need not only outstanding performances but something approaching a teamful of career-best tests to put ourselves in that lofty league.

Doin' the Colbert Bump

The crowd at the 2012 US Equestrian Federation Dressage Festival of Champions in Gladstone, NJ, was reveling in the "Colbert Bump."

Good sport: Jan Ebeling does his Stephen Colbert imitation of Jan Ebeling. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

That would be the "Dressage: Sport of the Summer!" feature by Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert, highlighting presidential candidate Mitt Romney's ties to our sport via wife Ann's co-ownership of Olympic contender Rafalca. (Did you miss it? Watch it and read my blog post here.)

Everybody at Gladstone, including Rafalca's rider, Jan Ebeling, is enjoying dressage's newfound status as household name. The excitement seemed to bubble over in the form of markedly higher scores in today's FEI Grand Prix, the first test in this second and final weekend of Olympic selection-trials competition.

After playing "always a bridesmaid" to Steffen Peters both at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games and last weekend at Gladstone, today Tina Konyot was finally a bride. Aboard her Danish Warmblood stallion, Calecto V, Tina achieved a career high GP score of 80.149 percent to beat Steffen on Legolas (78.660).

Tina Konyot and Calecto V pirouette their way to Grand Prix victory. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Calecto showed tremendous adjustability, power, and suppleness. Steffen Peters praised the stallion's superior canter work as helping to give him the edge over the inexperienced Legolas today.

With a solid and steady performance marred only by a mistake in the one-tempis ("It was my mistake," Jan Ebeling said), Rafalca also achieved a career best GP score, 75.255 percent, to put them in third place today.

The exciting new combination of Adrienne Lyle and Wizard put in a dynamic test that showcased the horse's incredible reach and uphill movement to finish fourth with 73.298 percent. WEG veterans Todd Flettich and Otto had a few bobbles, including an uncharacteristic reluctance to piaffe, putting them in fifth place with 73.106 percent.

FEI 5* judge Axel Steiner, who was today's expert commentator, said of the competitors afterward: "Everybody started peaking at the right time. Several people really pushed up their scores from last week to this week." He pointed out that Tina Konyot started out her test with an average of 92 percent, having earned two marks of 10 within the first five movements.

Tina Konyot lets Calecto V go in their Grand Prix victory gallop. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

With just one more test--tomorrow's Olympic Grand Prix Special--remaining in the quest to make the US Olympic dressage team, Steffen Peters on Legolas currently stand in first place, followed by Tina Konyot, Jan Ebeling, Todd Flettrich, Adrienne Lyle, and Heather Blitz. (I'm not counting Steffen on Ravel, who already hold the #1 team slot through a bye.)

"I think the final decision is going to be tomorrow," said Axel Steiner. "It's very tight." It sure is: Less than one-tenths of a percentage point currently separates Legolas from Calecto V.

Steiner offered a reality check in the midst of pre-Olympic euphoria. Even with our top riders hitting the 80-percent mark, nations such as Germany, the Netherlands, and Great Britain are hitting even higher octaves.

"Denmark had an over-80-percent ride just last week," he said. "The Swedes are coming on strong too."

So what are the Americans' Olympic dressage medal chances? Steiner said it's realistic to hope for "a strong showing as a team, maybe sneak some people in in the individual [competition]. Are we in the top three right now? Probably not.

"Eighty percent won't be enough," Steiner continued. Especially in the individual competition, winning scores should be in the mid- to high 80s, he said.

"We can expect big scores," Steiner said.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's Olympic Grand Prix Special, which begins at 8:30 a.m. Live-stream the competition via the USEF Network.