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Friday, October 23 2020 / Published in General

Reflections on the 2020 Festival

By George Williams

In my column last month, I wrote about “the summer that never was.” Well, I stand corrected!

It turned out that for U.S. dressage, in the quaint little town of Wayne, Illinois, we had one glorious week of summer. The 2020 US Equestrian Festival of Champions at Lamplight Equestrian Center held the week of August 17–23 was, by all accounts (and in yours truly’s opinion), a tremendous success and motivator.

It was, hands down, the highlight of the summer — but how could it not be? For those of you who don’t know, the Festival is the National Championships for 14 dressage divisions that include the 4-, 5- and 6-Year-Old Young Horse, Developing Prix St. Georges and Grand Prix, FEI Children, Pony Rider, Junior, Young Rider, U25 (aka Brentina Cup), Intermediate I and Grand Prix Championships. As if that’s not enough, it also includes the USEF Dressage Seat Medal Finals. In other words, it’s one heck of an event! To compete at the Festival, athletes and horses must earn an invitation through a qualifying process.

First, let me assure you that great precautions were taken to protect everyone as best as possible from the coronavirus. Usually, the Lamplight show grounds generates enthusiastic crowds. This year, spectators were not permitted. However, US Equestrian did a super job of live-streaming the entire competition allowing the viewer to be even closer to the action than if they were actually there. Dedicated volunteers took temperatures and issued daily color-coded wristbands as you came onto the venue.

Each morning, I felt trepidation as I drove from the hotel to the show grounds. My mind was working overtime, wondering about an occasional mild headache, a suppressed cough, sniffle or sneeze caused by the morning sun. Things I would never normally worry about — were these all symptoms of something greater? It was always quite a relief to be told my temperature was completely normal and I was allowed on the grounds with a new wristband.

By the end of the week, many of us figured out which type of mask was our favorite. Some of us even changed outfits — I mean masks — throughout the day. Let’s be honest, wearing a mask all day long is not fun. In the morning when it was a little cooler, if you breathed, you fogged up your sunglasses. That was one of the great decisions you had to make: Do you squint, or do you try to coach with a foggy view? And, somehow, smelling your own breath from time to time throughout the day was a little disconcerting.

However, when all was said and done, these and the mandatory social distancing (although I did discover some people need to learn to speak louder if they want listeners to catch everything they have to say) all were only minor inconveniences. Most important was that by making these practices mandatory and strictly enforcing them, we were able to have a National Championship during COVID-19. Hooray for us! One thing can be said about dressage people: Most of us are sticklers for details and generally follow the rules.

As youth coach, my focus was of course on the youth divisions. We have a number of talented young athletes coming up through the levels and it’s exciting to see.

What I believe will be a game changer and will have a real impact on development of our youth riders is the new Quality Marking Score component on the FEI Children tests, which was introduced last January by the FEI. In a way, its first official debut at a national competition in this country was at the Festival.

The Quality Marking has four components, each of which is designed to judge the skill of the rider by two judges sitting together on the long side while the judge at C scores the technical aspect of the tests. The Technical and Quality markings each make up 50% of the final score. Thus, the Quality marking becomes the great equalizer, meaning that regardless of the horseflesh, good, correct riding should win. In my humble opinion, this is a great improvement to the Children tests and should inspire instructors to teach good, basic riding skills to their young students!

It’s been made clear to me that my job is to prepare today’s youth to be the next generation representing the U.S. at the Senior level in international competitions. I’ve been in my position now for just over five years. One of my goals has been to provide educational experiences, guidance and inspiration to our young athletes through our programs as they develop their talents as equestrians. Standing ringside in my covid-compliant mask at the Festival, I had the strong sense that this was really happening!

It’s always a joy to watch these kids become better, more confident riders and accomplished competitors as they move up through the levels. 

Rewarding? Absolutely! How can it not be rewarding as the national coach when many of them are then invited to be coveted members of the USEF/USDF Discover Dressage Emerging Athlete program through their hard work? Better yet, we saw this year a couple of them move successfully into the next levels of competition in both the U25 and the USEF I-1 National Championships. 

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Tagged under: covid-19, dressage, festival of champions, horse show

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Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Gre Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Great American $300,000 Grand Prix at HITS Ocala!! 🏆🥇

Crowds filled the stands at the HITS Ocala Grand Prix Ring on Sunday afternoon to watch the world’s top athletes compete in the Great American $300,000 Grand Prix. The day concluded with a thrilling five-horse jump-off featuring athletes 
representing four countries. In the end, it was Lisa Goldman-Smolen (USA) and Ivaro N who produced the only double clear effort of the day, claiming one of the biggest wins of her career. Scott Keach (AUS) and Noble De La Chapelle earned the second-place prize with the fastest 4-fault jump-off, while Aaron Vale (USA) and Obi Wan placed third as the day’s pathfinders.

“I'm still on cloud nine, I still can't believe it – I’ve used up all my luck for the year,” smiled Goldman-Smolen after her win. “I've been knocking on the door a long time in these bigger classes. I am so proud of my horse – he gave every ounce of effort.”

Sunday’s Great American $300,000 Grand Prix marked the conclusion of the 2023 HITS Ocala circuit. HITS CCO Joe Norick concluded, “We are so excited about the new HITS, with 2023 as the launch. New footing, many new arenas here, and a lot of our facilities across America are getting a lot of love and new footing. Our partnerships with Worldly Martin and others across America including our footing leader Bart Poles overseeing our operations – it really makes a big difference for us. Today is about Ocala and these three riders sitting next to me who supported us this entire winter. We want to be a proud destination for our exhibitors and our friends. We know we have to provide them a beautiful showplace to work from that's horseman friendly, and that's our go goal. 

Congratulations to all of the riders, horses, owners, and groom who participated in this prestigious class!!! 🎉
📸 @esi_photography 
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Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses—in a way, she was born into her career. She grew up in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where her parents ran a farm. Her mother taught, and her father had a jump business and then created one of the first horse show software programs: Ryegate Show Services, Inc.

Riding all her life, Annette spent many years as a groom and loved it, but knew it wasn’t what she wanted to do as a career. After she finished college, Annette’s father recruited her to help process entries at Ryegate. Since her father, Lloyd Longenecker, founded it in 1981, Ryegate has provided show management and office staff for some of the largest shows in the country. Now, Annette has taken over from her father and directed the company as it focuses on managing memberships and rankings for organizations such as the North American League, WIHS Championships and Equitation, Rolex/USEF Computer Ranking and National Medal Series (THIS NCM and Ariat NAM). Ryegate also provides scoring software for use with video walls, and production teams for hunter and jumper shows.

“Besides running Ryegate Show Services and its various organizations, I can be found in the show office, running a scoreboard or judging jumpers at most shows,” Annette said. “I love getting to wear a few different hats at the show.”

When she’s not busy at a show, Annette lives in Annville, Pennsylvania, with her “fur-baby,” Maggie Mae, and enjoys spending time with her many godchildren. Though she doesn’t currently own any horses, Annette rides when she can at Rolling Acres Farm with Patty Foster, Ashley Foster-Worthington and Mary Lisa Leffler.

Read this month unbridled with Annette Longenecker by clicking the link in our bio. Never miss a story by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine! 🦄
📸Photo by Sheryl Sutherby

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A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself The spor A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself 
The sport of eventing is a demanding and mentally challenging discipline that requires a combination of physical and mental fortitude from both the rider and horse. While having a coach can be incredibly beneficial, self-coaching can also play a crucial role in a rider’s success.

I think that given the opportunity, most riders would like to be coached every day. The reality of life in the horse world, however, is that the majority of us need to absorb as much from the lessons we have on a limited basis and then practice those skills at home to improve.

When I am riding, I try to have a plan for the horses each day and focus on what I’m looking to achieve. It’s important to be aware of the steady improvements rather than trying to solve everything all at once. This is especially important when teaching horses new movements or exercises that they might struggle with, and we need to give them time to learn and understand what we are asking for.

I have a couple of quotes that I use regularly when I’m teaching, and these are mottos that I hold myself to in my daily work as well.

The first is, “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.” This is a quote that was said to me many years ago when I was still motor racing and I keep it in the back of my mind each day. It’s easy to get stuck doing the same thing every day with your horse and bad habits are hard to break, from both riders and horses!

This leads me to my next quote, which is, “If what you are doing isn’t working, try something else.” It really is as simple as that! Many riders I see keep asking a horse to do something the same way over and over with an ongoing negative response and they wonder why things don’t get better. In these circumstances, I recommend that the rider change something, even if it’s wrong.

Read the full article by clicking the link in our bio! Don’t forget to keep your eye out for our April subscription!
📸Photo by Alex Banks Photography
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