FEI COMPETITION REPORTRome 29 May 2009  AMERICANS WIN MEYDAN FEI NATIONS CUP™IN ROME The USA stood top of the presentation podium when winning the second leg of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ series in Rome today, completing with just four faults.  It was an historic fourth victory at the Italian venue for an American side - they previously topped the line-up at the Piazza di Siena in 1997 and for Chef d’Equipe, George Morris, the result was particularly special.  “I was on the first US winning team here back in 1959 and I’m very proud of my team this evening” he said with great satisfaction.It was no easy victory however, the French very nearly forcing a jump-off before having to settle for second ahead of the British and Swiss who shared third place. Germany slotted into fifth with Ireland and The Netherlands in sixth, and Italy claimed eighth place.  The losers today were the teams from Belgium and Sweden who didn’t make the cut into the second round in which only eight of the 10 competing nations battled it out.TOUGH TRACKCourse designer Uliano Vezzani set them a tough track.  “It was more difficult than La Baule” said US anchorman Richard Spooner who clinched it for his side with a superb last-to-go performance from Cristallo.  The triple combination proved influential, but it was the final line of fences, beginning with the triple bar at 10 and continuing to a double and concluding oxer that created most difficulty.  “The triple bar was VERY big” said Laura Kraut whose only mistake with her Olympic ride Cedric was at the previous vertical at fence 9, “and the oxer going into the double was wide and tall, but the fence my horse didn’t like was the first one, the wall” she explained.  The opening vertical, which mirrored Rome’s ancient Colosseum, stopped both Ireland’s Kevin Babington and, ironically, Italy’s Juan Carlos Garcia in their tracks when their horses refused at it before continuing on course.The Irish were sharing second place with France and Great Britain at the halfway stage with a four-fault score, the Americans already holding the whip hand with clears from Lauren Hough (Quick Study), Ashlee Bond (Cadett) and Laura Kraut (Cedric).  Spooner didn’t need to compete as only the best three scores count for each team “but I have not had a good week so far so I wanted to try to qualify for the Grand Prix on Sunday” he explained.  As it happened it was a fortuitous decision because his four-fault first-round run prepared him for his all-important second effort with Cristallo. SECOND ROUNDThe Swiss and Germans carried eight faults each into round two while the Dutch carried 12 and the Italians carried 20 - their faster time giving them the advantage over the Swedes, also on 20, who joined the Belgians in the rider’s tribune to watch the action unfold.The Irish lost their grip with 16 faults second time out and the British slipped a little when Nick Skelton, Michael Whitaker and Ben Maher each had a fence down, although John Whitaker produced one of his trade-mark jumping exhibitions to go clear with Peppermill.  Third-last into the ring, Kevin Staut needed to stay clear if France was to force a jump-off with the USA who by now would finish with at least four faults after Hough collected eight, Bond went clear again and Kraut had four.  Staut however fell victim to the first element of the penultimate double however and as Spooner came into the ring once more he knew victory was in his grasp. With only one fence in hand however he could not afford a mistake but Cristallo was foot-perfect all the way to the finish.  For Ashlee Bond, today was another major milestone as the 23 year old rookie has now completed four clear rounds over the first two legs of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ series and another of today’s spectacular performers was 31 year old Clarissa Crotta who also jumped double-clear on her senior Nations Cup debut.The series now moves on to St Gallen in Switzerland next week.RESULT:1.    USA 0 faults: Quick Study (Lauren Hough) 0/8, Cadett (Ashlee Bond) 0/0, Cedric (Laura Kraut) 0/4, Cristallo (Richard Spooner) 4/02.    France 8 faults: Jubilee D’Ouilly (Penelope Leprevost 0/0, Lamm de Fetan (Timothee Anciaume) 4/0, Luccianno (Nicolas Delmotte) 4/0, Le Prestige St Lois (Kevin Staut) 0/4.3.    Great Britain 12 faults; Nemo (Nick Skelton) 4/4, Wonami van der Aard (Michael Whitaker) 4/4, Robin Hood W (Ben Maher 0/4, Peppermill (John Whitaker) 0/0.3.    Switzerland 12 faults: LB Robin Hood (Christina Liebherr) 4/8, Jalla de Gaverie (Jane Richard) 8/0, West Side V Meerputhoeve (Clarissa Crotta) 0/0, Peu a Peu (Daniel Etter) 4/4.

FEI PRESS RELEASELausanne, 29 May 2009  DETAILS OF FEI INVESTIGATION ANNOUNCED The FEI President has recently established an Ethics Panel in accordance with Article 38 of the FEI Statutes. The Panel is to investigate and assess certain matters concerning the German Equestrian Team that may constitute violations of the relevant FEI rules and make recommendations on a course of action. It has been asked to consider the following: (1) Whether a violation, or indeed violations of FEI rules, Olympic rules or any other relevant state laws have or are likely to have taken place; (2) If indeed they have or are likely to have, by whom; (3) Whether any Olympic medals or standings are likely to be affected by what has taken place (whether at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games or at previous Games); (4) Whether individuals who had knowledge of happenings that could constitute rule violations had a duty to inform the FEI and/or the IOC about them; (5) If the Panel finds that they did, why this was not done; (6) Assess the relevant evidence and determine whether cases can or should be brought against any individuals or organizations; (7) Recommend a course of action, including whether or not cases should be brought to the FEI Tribunal or any other relevant judicial body, and whether any other actions should be taken to safeguard the interests of the sport. The Panel has considered some preliminary information and is of the opinion that there may have been breaches of FEI rules by riders, team officials and National Federation representatives, and concludes that it should continue to carry out a detailed investigation in order to make specific recommendations to the FEI President on these matters. In the interests of efficiency and speed, the Panel members considered that the gathering of further information and evidence should be carried out by expert professional investigators. Quest was chosen for this purpose. The Panel Chair is also the Chairman of Quest, and, therefore, the selection was made by the other members of the Panel, and without participation of the Chair. The Panel recommends that during the course of investigation, no actions that may pre-empt the effectiveness of these efforts should be carried out by National Federations or others, as these may limit the investigation. Every effort will be made to conclude this investigation as promptly as possible, and regular reports will be made to the FEI President. Anyone that may have relevant information or evidence is invited to contact Quest confidentially on +44 20 7224 4004. 

FEI SEEKS SUSPENSIONS IN GERMAN OLYMPIC TEAM INVESTIGATION Further to a request made by a majority of the FEI Bureau members, the FEI Headquarters today filed a protest with the FEI Tribunal on the basis of widely reported admissions by Marco Kutscher and Björn Nolting concerning the undeclared treatment given to Marco Kutscher’s horse, Cornet Obolensky, at the 2008 Olympic Games, and the circumstances surrounding this treatment including the collapse of the horse which subsequently took part in competition. The protest requests the provisional suspension of these individuals from any FEI activities pending the results of the investigation being carried out by the Ethics Panel chaired by Lord Stevens. It also requests the provisional suspension of Hanfried Haring, FEI Bureau Member, judge and former Secretary General of the German NF, of his responsibilities on the FEI governing body, on the basis that he had knowledge of the relevant facts and did not report them to the relevant authorities.

So here’s the thing. I’m working away, writing my next month’s “Update” as well as my “Out For Good Hero” for June, and thinking, “Where are all my readers and friends?”
I mean, I know you’re out there- and not just a few. There are well over 150,000 of you now all over the world, who are obviously a little crazy and share that as well as at least a few of the same passions or thoughts which I have.
But what does it take to get you to write in and talk to me more?
Maybe if I mention Anky in every post, even the ones having nothing to do with horses, I will get a rise out of you and you’ll start communicating again like the time I did the piece on “Claasical”.  Or maybe I should bring up some political or religious hotspots- they always seem to get people going at parties.
What if I were to just try asking each of you to simply “count off’”, like in gramar school in the morning’s attendance?  Would you please take a moment to click on the bottom of this post and, if nothing else (PLEASE, something else!), type in your name and let me know you care.  It would make me sooooo happy!
And while you’re at it, would it be too much to ask you to let 10 or 20 friends know about Dover’s World?  I mean, there are millions of us “crazy people” out there, and here’s a chance for us to get together daily to discuss and maybe even come up with ways to change things and make our world a better place.  Remember, this is “our movie” and we can direct it anyway we choose, but to do that we have to take part and not just watch it from a far.  Right?

Cheers!

RD

Since before I was born, Jessica Ransehousen has been at the forefront of American Dressage. Trained by the very best in the world at the time, Jess lived and studied in Denmark with Gunnar Anderson and in Germany with Reiner Klimke and others. She competed in the Olympic Games in 1960, ‘64, and ‘88, the last of which we did together on my Federleicht and her Orpheus. She is  also a top International Judge and still rides daily, trains and gives clinics.  What I am driving at here is ….. Jess is the “REAL DEAL!”

Since 1988, Jess has been the U.S. Chef d’Equipe for every important international competition I can remember, including all that I rode in, and she was and is just plain fabulous.  She is smart, tough, fluent in German ( the importance of which cannot be overstated), and most importantly, fiercely patriotic!  Like I, Jessica has been working her entire adult life toward the goal of one day seeing America win Team and Individual Gold in Olympics and World Championships. We’ve lived through the U.S.’s rise from 9th place in the teams in the early 80’s to  Bronze or better from Barcelona in ‘92, to Silver in the WEG’s in Jerez in 2002, to Steffen Peters fabulous win at the World Cup this April.

Satisfied? NEVER!  Jess knows that we have a huge amount to prove as we move toward next summer’s World Equestrian Games on our own soil in Lexington, KY. She is presently the Acting Chef d’Equipe (Thank God!) and running around making sure that our riders have everything they need and are bringing their mounts along in a good way. She will be, along with me, conducting a clinic directly after the Festival Of Champions in Gladstone to help riders bring their scores up by going over key movements which they will have ridden in the competition that week and which, with a tiny adjustments here and there, could bring them many more points.

So, when it comes right down to it, Jessica is invaluable to our sport in America, and she will remain so for a very long time to come. ( whether she likes it or not! ) :)  And I know I speak for the entire American Horse Community when I say, THANK YOU, JESSICA!

RD

As I’ve grown older I realize that, worse than anything we can eat or otherwise take into our bodies, is the damage caused purely and simply by STRESS!  Naturally, what is stress for one person might truly be fun and games for the next.  Believe me, you can’t go through a life of competing in a quarter of a century of Olympic games as well as World Championships and World Cups without a whole lot of stress!

I used to tell students starting out at Grand Prix that they could consider themselves green until they had shown in about 100 classes.  Only then should they really start ”kicking themselves” for making little mistakes.  How one accepts mistakes and even failures determines, to a great extent, their ability to learn and grow from them. The job of a good teacher or coach is to make the student aware of what the mistake is, explain and show them the solution, and ensure that they can move beyond the problem with as little stress to the horse aand themselves as possible.
And yet, both with people and horses, there is a fine line between poitive and negative tension.  Brilliance comes when huge energy maintained in positive tension is directed outward at the will of the artist, athlete, or even business person, to produce the desired effect.  Watch down-hill skiers going 60MPH or more down the slope and, to the disbelief of most of us mortals, wishing they could even go faster by a few 100’s of a second. What would be beyond stressfull and just plain terrifying to us, is just another race to them. In other words, their EDGE is where they are most content as they literally try to push their boundaries further and further.

So, at the end of the day, life is full of stress and the key is how we look at it and deal with it. If we are very wise, with every new and diffcult situation that arises, we take a deep breath and talk to our inner “higher self”, whether we choose to call it our spirit, God, our just that side of our consciousness which, when calm and in a meditative state, has proven its ability to cope with even the most terrible situations. The peacefulness one sees in terminally ill children and adults, the steadiness of the surgeon performing a life saving operation, and the ease with which the pilot brings the 747 in for a landing with only one engine, are all results of finding that inner calm in the most stressful circumstances.

My father and mother had to move out of their home for the month while theirs is being worked on. My Dad, who has Altzheimers but still is pretty good around family, shocked my Mom yesterday when twice he asked who she was. The stress of being out of his normal surroundings has greatly deminished his memory in a matter of days. It is very sad, but unavoidable, even with the best drugs available. Thankfully, it is still episodic and he was better today, but who knows about tomorrow. My Mom shows amazing strength in these situations  and holds and calms him down, showing him pictures of them together and the rest of his family. That is amazing and typical of my Mom, whose own health issues have been more than enough stress for anyone to cope with already. I’m not sure how she does it.

What I am sure about is that being good to yourself, loving what you do,and having fun every day are our greatest responsibilities in life. Being of service to others and doing at least one good deed for someone or something without wanting something in return also brings that return without ever having to ask for it. And recognizing that any great endeavor comes not easily. Like my mentor, Col. Ljungquist said, ” The Gaits To Brilliance Are Surrounded By A Cloud Of Sweat And Tears.”  But through hard work and embracing our failures and learning from them as well as our victories, we learn to love even that edge which once scared us and made us tremble. When we find our inner peace in the most difficult situation we experience GRACE!

Cheers!

RD

Hi All.
This press release came to me from my friends at Dressage Direct. They are good people and do a wonderful job of reporting the news on shows and other important issues.

Trond Asmyr new FEI director DressageThe successor of Swedish Eva Salomon as Director Dressage is from Scandinavia as well: Norwegian Trond Asmyr (54). He has been a dressage rider on a local level, a FEI dressage judge and has been 12 years on the board of the Norwegian Equestrian Federation. The latest six years he acted as vice president. “I have so far worked in the corporate world, among others 13 years in American Express”, Trond Asmyr says. He is looking forward to his new challenging task in Lausanne. “The sport of dressage is in my heart. I am looking forward to working with the disciplines fulltime. Paralympics is also covered by the position. It is certainly a period of changes and challenges, and it could not be a more interesting time to start.”

I look forward to meeting and working with Trond while on the Dressage Task Force. It is a huge job he has taken on and very big shoes to fill after Eva, but I am sure he is up for the challenge.

Cheers!

RD

My sister, Dale, keeps me supplied with amazing pet videos. I love this one!
Enjoy!

RD

zeke_has_march_madness_

After more than one year, I received a call from Joe Zada on Wednesday.  As most of my readers know, he has owed myself and others what amounts to a great deal of money for approximately two years. It has, very sadly, destroyed lives and friendships and brought us into court, the result of which, for Robert and myself, are judgments against Joe which are now filed in Palm Beach County and open to the public to read.
We had a calm and respectful conversation, and I must say that it felt good to finally be able to tell Joe how I felt -  to say the least, “frustrated” would be putting it mildly.

In the conversation, however, Joe responded by restating that he intends to fulfill his obligations to me and others and that issues beyond his control are the only reason this is not all behind us.  Joe expressed to me his absolute commitment to resolve these matters and that he will do so.

I am positive of one thing - truth and justice will prevail.  And I promise to keep you, my readers around the world, informed as we go forward.

Cheers!

RD

I loved the American Idol Finale last night - even the end!
Not to say that I wasn’t a bit surprised that Adam didn’t win, because I truly thought he way outsang everyone else and proved it again and again last night as he carried the show.
But, in the end Chris won and now gets to record that “wonderful” song.
I also loved that Adam got to show how easily he could take the legendary reins of Freddy Mercury and be an amazing lead singer for a band like Queen. (Or even Queen itself)
They will both have great careers, as will some of the others from this year’s show, but Adam will become an iconic star - mark my words!
And here are Adam’s words in his post-show interview.
I love his grace and wisdom.

My dream now is to make a really dope record, to do something new, push the boundaries a little bit, push people’s buttons, open people’s minds up a little bit. And you know what’s really, really cool about Kris being in the finals tonight? We are seemingly so different, but we found a way to get along and find a common bond — mostly through music, but also just through talking and getting to know each other. And if there’s anything that could come from this experience that I hope all the fans out there can pick up is that even if you’re really different, there’s a way to get along with each other. It’s not about, “Oh, you beat me because of this” or “You’re different.” It’s about finding the common stuff that makes it work. We got up there and did the Queen duet, and we made it work, because we found a common ground with each other. Q: Did you have a strategy going into the competition?A: Yeah, my strategy was just to show all different sides. And also, there’s a very fine line between giving the audience what they wanted, and also me trying to introduce stuff they didn’t know they wanted.

Cheers!

RD