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.

Team USA: Relaxed and Ready to Go

Jan Ebeling, Tina Konyot, Adrienne Lyle, and Steffen Peters were all smiles at the pre-competition press conference. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

"Fun" isn't always a word associated with a press conference, but that's the word journalists were using to describe yesterday's pre-competition meeting with the 2012 US Olympic dressage team.

"That rider, Tina, she's a hoot," said one foreign journalist, referring to Tina Konyot's frank admission that she eschews regimented exercise programs in favor of "retail therapy," as she called it.

"'Oh, honey, don't do anything different,'" Konyot said her boyfriend told her after learning that there was a fitness program at the riders' training camp in England. "'Just go shopping.'"

The four riders appeared relaxed and to genuinely enjoy one another's company. Konyot would rib Peters, who would rib Konyot right back. (Asked if Peters, the Olympic veteran, was helping to keep the others' nerves at bay, Konyot quipped: "He's trying to keep me from getting any looser than I already am.")

 Jan Ebeling, seemingly unfazed by the mainstream-media spotlight trained on him thanks to Ann Romney's part-ownership of his Olympic horse, Rafalca, said he's welcomed the attention and has been trying to use it to raise awareness of the sport of dressage--that it's not just "riders trotting in circles," as he put it. Even Lyle, the youngest member of Team USA and the newest to the international scene, seemed at ease.

One can assume that the competitors wouldn't be this relaxed if they felt shaky about their upcoming performances, which begin today with the team and individual Grand Prix. And indeed all expressed confidence that their horses are going well--Konyot said Calecto V is the best he's ever been--and that their careful preparation and that of US national dressage high-performance coach Anne Gribbons has the horses peaking just at the right time.

"We showed at Aachen last year, then showed at the selection trials on the West Coast," Peters said of his mount, Ravel, "We did the World Dressage Masters in January, but I didn’t believe that the horse could stay in top shape for eight months, so he had a little break in April and May. Since then he's been great. We picked up the training a little more since he arrived in Gladstone, right after the championships. I have a very fresh horse. Today I did an extended canter and he was bucking a little bit. That's the Ravel that I had for the World Cup in 2007. That's the Ravel I had before Aachen in 2009. I'm excited that he feels this way, and I can't wait to go down center line."

The US has definitely created an "American way" of dressage, and Peters expressed pride in our reputation for horsemanship.

"We got so many wonderful compliments when we trained with [previous US national dressage coach] Klaus Balkenhol, that the American team is known for true kindness to the horse, and it's [training] always done with the most respect. To me, being competitive and on top of that hearing those compliments means the world to me."

It didn't take much prodding to get the riders to open up about their horses. Ebeling said of Rafalca: "She comes out every day and tries her best. That's what I love about her. I feel she's a horse that I can really depend on, and the effect she has on me is she makes me very calm. Of course there's a lot of pressure--this is the biggest horse show in the world--but she makes me feel, Hey, I can relax."

"He has a magnificent, sweet character," Konyot said of the stallion Calecto V. "He's a very unusual character for a stallion. He's very relaxed. They make fun of him in the stable because he sleeps all stretched out. He stretches out and gallops in his sleep. He dreams. He travels with his big teddy bear, and he plays with him in his stall. He's my pet horse that I get to take to the Olympics."

Lyle called her seven-year partnership with Wizard "an amazing journey. He's kind of a hot-tempered horse. He's a little stand-offish when you first get to know him. It's been a journey, earning his trust. He kind of has to size you up first, and you have to earn his respect. Now he's kind of my old best friend. I can read exactly what he's thinking before it happens, like, 'Oh, I know what that ear twitch means and I've got to get ahead of it and reassure him.' 

"Now he's kind of a one-woman horse," Lyle continued. "He gets mad if I lead another horse by at home; he'll pin his ears and get angry. Someone else can lead a horse by, but not his mom."

"There are two sides of Ravel," Peters said. "When we deal with him in the barn, if you dare to walk by without giving him a treat, he reacts very grumpy. He pins his ears; he doesn't do anything, he doesn't bite or kick, but there's just a lot of entitlement. We spoil him and we certainly reinforce this," he said with a smile. 

"As soon as he has his halter on, his groom, Dawn White-O'Connor, doesn't need to tie him anywhere; he ground-ties," Peters continued. Ravel also feels entitled to daily scratching sessions from Peters and will actually block the stall doorway if he doesn't feel he's received sufficient ministration, Peters said.

Peters described Ravel as a horse that likes to be "a bit by himself. He doesn't like to be with too many other horses. But as grumpy as he can be in the barn, he's so extremely generous under saddle. So sensitive, still at fourteen years old, I don't get the feeling that he doesn't want to do it or that he gets a little lazy. It's an incredible feeling, and on top of that that amazing suppleness. He's just a blast to ride. I've said many times that I feel extremely lucky to ride him."

Luck, of course, plays a role in getting to the Olympics; but as Ebeling pointed out, hard work is the driving force behind these riders' success. We're proud of them; we thank them for sharing their special bonds with their horses; and we wish them good luck and can't wait for the Grand Prix, which starts just a few hours from now, at 11:00 a.m. London time!

Ferris Bueller's Unplanned Day Off

The first day of eventing dressage competition just wrapped up at Greenwich Park. At the halfway point, German teammates Ingrid Klimke (Butts Abraxxas) and Dirk Schrade (King Artus) are in first and second place, respectively, with scores of 39.30 and 39.80. The veteran Olympian Mary King (Imperial Cavalier) from Great Britain lies in third with 40.90.

Butts Abraxxas, a 1997 Hanoverian gelding by Heraldik XX, is just as gorgeous as I remember from the Olympics in Hong Kong four years ago. He put in a supple and dynamic test with perhaps some quickening and tension during the medium trots but a most impressive halt: solid, square, and motionless even after the applause started. Klimke dropped the reins and Butts Abraxxas stretched out his neck and walked as calmly from the Olympic stadium as if he were on a hack.

Now that's my kind of horse.

As for the rest of the day's competition, unfortunately, I didn't see much of it. I had made the decision to skip the morning's rides in favor of the planned U.S. dressage-team press conference, which was scheduled in the Main Press Centre (a mile walk, two trains, and a shuttle bus away from the equestrian hub at Greenwich Park) for 11:00 this morning.

No problem: I was out the door extra-early and arrived at the MPC at about 10:00. Inquiring brightly about the conference's whereabouts, I was informed that the event, which evidently in dark of night had been rescheduled for 9:00 a.m., had ended some minutes ago.

Um...thanks for telling us, guys. And to Steffen & Co.: It wasn't for lack of trying that I missed you!

Press-conference transcript? Not available. Press kits (promised cool stuff available only at the MPC)? Nope, all out. Even the on-site Nikon shop had run out of its free camera rain covers. Yep, I was batting a thousand at this point.

At this point, knowing that I'd missed Boyd Martin's ride on Otis Barbotiere (he's currently tied for 13th place with a score of 50.70) and that I wouldn't make it back in time for Karen O'Connor's test on Mr. Medicott (in 9th with 48.20), I decided to take the advice of the Ferris Bueller's Day Off titular character and take a look around.

I explored the vast MPC (which makes our digs at Greenwich Park seem primitive) at length. Wandering back to the Stratford International Docklands Light Rail (DLR) station, I saw signs for "Olympic Village" and "Media Entrance." Exchanging my Olympic credential for a Village visitor pass, I was allowed to explore the public spaces, including a vast courtyard, a mock-up of an athlete's bedroom, and stores and services like those at the MPC.

I love dressage. I love eventing. I love watching horse sport--but I have to admit, my Ferris Bueller day was pretty fun. Enjoy these photos. Tomorrow I'll be in position for day 2 of eventing dressage--I promise.

Huge press workroom at the Olympic Main Press Centre, near the Olympic Stadium and other major competition venues. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Giant mural at entrance to Main Press Centre, signed by press members. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Free haircuts and beauty treatments at the MPC salon. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Hit the bar after a long day's work. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Fitness center. Photo by Jennifer Bryant. 

Media shuttles are double-decker buses. Fun! Photo by Jennifer Bryant. 

Huge Olympics souvenir store. Note dressage horse on window at left. Photo by Jennifer Bryant. 

The Olympic Stadium, site of last night's opening ceremony. Photo by Jennifer Bryant. 

Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

No doubt which nations are staying where in the Olympic Village! I couldn't see Team USA from my limited vantage point. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Horse sports are featured prominently on this comforter, which graces athletes' beds in the Olympic Village. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Hang around the gate to the athletes' complex long enough and you're bound to see some athletes. I don't know who this Russian athlete is, but I liked his outfit. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Florist in the Olympic Village makes arrangements for athletes, sent by family, friends, and fans. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Even the volunteers and workers want to pose with a Olympic torch, a Beefeater, and the Olympic rings in the courtyard at the Olympic village. Photo by Jennifer Bryant. 

Forgive the photo quality. In the Olympic Village courtyard are tall, clear pieces of Plexiglass (or something similar) and a lot of white pens so visitors can leave messages. I wrote my own message, but in the sun the white ink disappeared except when it was reflected in the blue of my shirt. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.