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FEI Eventing World Championships: U.S. Team Finishes In Silver Medal Position After ‘Crazy’ Finale

The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team has officially secured qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, capturing the first team world championship medal for the program since 2002, as they hoisted the silver medal on the podium. The team finished on a final score of 100.3 behind the German team who took gold on a 95.2. New Zealand followed closely in third on a combined total of 100.7.

Led by Chef d'Equipe Bobby Costello, the team stayed composed and focused as the technical track designed by Uliano Vezzani (ITA) proved challenging with rails coming down throughout the course. The final phase was incredibly influential, changing the team standings multiple times as the top 25 combinations concluded the end of the day, making for an exciting championship finale. All five U.S. combinations finished yesterday's phase in the top 25 and jumped in the second session of competition on the grass field at Centro Equestre Federale. Of the team's performance, Costello elaborated on the work and commitment from the athletes, their staff, the owners, and all the support team to produce a historic result for the U.S.

“It was just such a crazy day. I had a feeling when I walked the course that it was going to be very influential. I'd never seen such a consistently big and very technical track and have those three lines, all single jumps to combinations, with three completely different distances. It was a real important phase, and no team went unscathed, and you had to keep fighting to the end,” said Costello.

“I hope this means great things for the future. I feel the program has been on the slow burn of the swing for a couple of years and I think there was still something missing. My number one priority when I took this interim position was to try and change the culture and really make sure that everyone had each other's backs and building trust among the riders,” he added. “The riders, the owners, the staff, people have never given up on the sport and I'm so happy for everyone, even those at home, who get to watch and get to be proud, so really good just all around for us.”

Will Coleman and Off The Record produced the only clear round for the team, managing the questions asked throughout the difficult track with poise, demonstrating the scopiness, rideability, and talent of the 2009 Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by The Off The Record Syndicate. The pair finished as the highest placed U.S. combination, taking seventh place overall on a score of 27.2. Coleman purchased the gelding as a 4-year-old and has developed him throughout his career, noting that the progress and accomplishments of their partnership is something he continues to cherish.

“It was great. I'm so thrilled. It was par for the course for this entire week for us to be honest. I feel like he's punched above his weight in every phase and I'm just so happy with him,” said Coleman. “I'm so proud of my horse and my team and everyone involved with this program. I've had him since he was four and produced him myself and it's cool to see him go in there and rise to the moment.”

Lauren Nicholson and Vermiculus were the trailblazers for the team and finishing in 19^th place overall on a final individual score of 41.1. The pair had two down and finished slightly over the optimum time to add 8.4 to their score following their sharp cross-country round yesterday.

“He tried his heart out for me out there. We had the two down that have caused loads of people problems at the end of the course, but he's come out of this week feeling good. This was a really tough track. It's super technical and a real show jumping track. He jumped well and feels great, so I'm really happy with him overall.”

In a notoriously challenging phase for Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg TSF, a 2007 Trakehner gelding owned by Christine Turner, Tommie Turner, and Thomas Turner, the pair dropped four rails for a total of 16 faults, for a final score of 41.2 to finish in 20^th place overall. Of the team camaraderie, Martin spoke of the drought the U.S. program has had since their last team podium at a world championship and how much energy and excitement he can feel as the program looks ahead to the future.

“I'm very proud to be an American today. Having five clear rounds yesterday in the cross-country was awesome, and just looking at the results here, any three of the five of us could have gotten a team medal,” said Martin. “I've been on many of these teams, and we've been so close over and over again, and it's a massive sigh of relief. I'm really thankful for this team and proud to be here with these guys sitting next to me.”

As the last combination to contest the course, Tamie Smith and Mai Baum, a 2006 German Sport Horse gelding owned by Alex Ahearn, Ellen Ahearn, and Eric Markell, added eight faults to their original score of 24.0 to finish on a 32.0, to take ninth place individually. Smith, while disappointed to be out of the individual medal running after her round, said the focus was always on the team result and their overall performance throughout the week meant more than an individual medal.

“We came here to do our best and I have to say, we all knew that potentially we could medal, and I think we're pleasantly surprised and we're less than a point away from third and it shows to the quality of the field and the riding. It's impressive and I'm just so honored to be here,” said Smith. “I'm very proud of my horse. I feel like it just wasn't meant to be and that's okay. We're here and we got the silver medal and that's what we came here for. I have to push that to the side that this isn't about my individual performance, it's about the team performance, and I'm ecstatic with our result.”

Ariel Grald (Southern Pines, N.C) noted yesterday that her goal was to finish the championship on her dressage score of 32.5, which is exactly what she did. Aboard Leamore Master Plan, a 2009 Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Annie Eldridge, Grald guided the stunning gelding to a masterful clear round inside of the time. In her first championship appearance for the stars and stripes, Grald felt that it was her moment to prove that she deserved to be on the world stage, while also taking in every piece of knowledge and learning she could to help continue to prepare her for the future.

“I was a bit nervous going in and he's such a great show jumper. I just have to trust him and trust that he's going to go in and try, and I knew after the first fence that he was good. The combinations can be hard for him because he has such a huge step, but all credit to my horse. I really have to mess up as a jockey for him to not jump clear, so it's a lot of pressure of me to give him a good ride. He's absolutely brilliant. I wanted to finish on my dressage score and we did, so I couldn't be happier for him and that's all you can ask for.”

Results

Learn more about the 2022 FEI Eventing World Championships at pratoni2022.it/en/.

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Does Winter Weather Mellow Moody Mares?

A mare's reproductive cycle is controlled by her hormones, which are in turn influenced by the amount of sunlight a mare is exposed to.

When the days begin to get longer in early spring, mares enter estrus, meaning eggs mature and are released every 19 to 22 days – she could be bred and carry a foal during this time.

Shorter winter days mean less sunlight, which in turn leads to lower hormone levels – and often mellower mares. Estrus often triggers impatience, aggression, and sullen attitudes because of the increase in hormone levels. Lowered levels lead to more even-keeled mares.

As daylight becomes more limited in late fall, mares begin to produce more melatonin, which shifts their bodies into anestrus, when no eggs are released. By the time the winter solstice and the shortest days of the year come on, a mare will be in the throes of anestrus and may seem more relaxed and easygoing.

Not all attitude adjustments are hormone-related, however, so if a mare has a drastic change in attitude or seems ill, a call to the vet is warranted.

Timing Is Everything: How Often Should Horses Be Fed?

Horses evolved to spend the majority of their waking hours grazing. The equine stomach is designed to secrete stomach acid constantly, and the acid is buffered by saliva, which is produced when the horse chews, reports The Horse.

When a horse is fed meals at specific times (often two per day in many boarding barns), he may go for multiple hours with nothing in his stomach to buffer the acid that's being produced.

A management program in which a horse is fed multiple forage meals per day is ideal, as near-continuous eating reduces the risk of ulcers and colic. A horse that is fed more often is less likely to engage in stereotypic behaviors like cribbing and weaving, as well.

A horse's stomach is almost completely empty about six hours after he is fed, and nearly all fiber passes through the horse completely within 12 hours. With this timeframe in mind, the ideal time to feed horses is in five-hour intervals, which can be difficult to do very late at night or early in the morning.

To keep some forage in the stomach, it's recommended that horses are fed breakfast no more than 12 hours after being fed dinner. Two possible feeding schedules are 7 a.m., 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. or 6 a.m., 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., with a possible fourth meal given at 10 p.m. Both of these schedules would ensure the horse has forage available in intervals no more than 8 hours apart.

Another option, especially if feeding in this way isn't feasible, is to try to stretch the horse's hay meals as much as possible. Slow-feed haynets are a popular option, as are automatic feeders that can offer hay pellets when people aren't available to feed.

Stand Up: Posture Provides Clues To Equine Health

Historically, lameness exams involve watching a horse move, often at the walk and trot, in a straight line or in a circle. New research suggests that a horse gives clues to his soundness even while standing still, reports EQUUS magazine.

Dr. Judith Shoemaker observed that a healthy horse stands squarely. A horse that stands with his legs tucked under his body is more likely to have chronic or recurring lameness like navicular syndrome, suspensory and hock issues, or back pain. It is not clear whether the way a horse stands causes these issues or if these issues cause a horse to stand that way.

A horse that stands canted-in also often has dental and hoof capsule issues, which might be sending distorted signals to the brain about what posture feels correct. Once the hooves, teeth, and poll issues are remedied, the horse's posture returns to normal.

Dr. Karen Gellman received a grant from the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Foundation to research which is the initial cause: the physical issue or the postural stance. She worked with Dr. Andy Ruina, a professor of mechanical engineering at Cornell University to create a model of a standing horse that would explore postural stability. Human postural stability is modeled in a similar way.

The 2D model included a trunk that represented the back, head and neck as a horizontal line, and single vertical lines for the front and back legs. Theoretical “springs” acted as the horse's shoulders and hips. The researchers sought to find out how much neuromuscular effort the model horse needed to stabilize its stance at different leg angles (postures). The stiffer the springs needed to be to stabilize the model, the more effort the horse must exert to maintain his posture.

The researchers found that a horse must expend twice as much neuromuscular effort to stabilize his body when he stands canted in than when he stands squarely: this stance places additional strain on the joints, hooves, muscles, and back.

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However, a horse that stands parked out, with his legs out in front of and behind his trunk, uses less effort than a horse that is standing square. Similar to humans who spread their legs when picking up a heavy object, a horse pulling a heavy load or a mare who is pregnant may stand in a camped-out stance to ease the stress on her back and limbs.

Further research is needed to determine why a horse would adopt a stance that requires more energy use.