If you are a World Class American Eventer or an Eventing fan, you have been looking forward to the Mandatory Outing at the Horse Park of New Jersey today, July 18th.

If you are a Meterologist, you have been looking forward to the hottest day of 2006 - a record breaker, if possible. If it hit 99 degrees in Philadelphia it would break a record that has stood since 1953!!!

Today these two anticipated days came together at the New Jersey Horse Park.

The organizers wisely started the Dressage at 7:00 AM in order to take advantage of the lower early morning temperatures and be finished before the hottest part of the day in mid to late afternoon.. (The Horse Park of New Jersey web site, in typical fashion, did NOT note the updated start time, so many fans missed the first three or four Dressage rides. When are the folks who run equestrian web sites going to realize that the "great unwashed out here in cyberland" are counting on those web sites for the latest schedule changes??? PS: This is not a personal complaint, Ted and I rolled in at 6:58 AM thanks to the news of the updated Start Times delivered upon request from Torri Nahorniak, the USEF's Managing Director of Eventing.)

The Dressage and Show Jumping were run as a Combined Test. Those results appear below. The Cross Country was organized as a "schooling run".

Suffice it to say it was very, very hot by 10:15 AM. If it was hot for the spectators and journalists, imagine how hot it was for the riders and the horses! When Ted and I crossed the Delaware River at 2:15 PM, on our way home, our car thermometer read 102 degrees and we were going 60 miles an hour. I haven't seen our car thermometer that hot since driving through South Carolina on our way to the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996 (and, yes, we froze our big, mesh enclosed water bottles over night and we haven't used them since Atlanta!)

When Bonnie Mosser came into the ring to do her Dressage test she commented, "Merry Christmas, it's hot out here!"

Dressage Results:

1. Karen O'Connor, Upstage - 43.3 (Karen and Upstage are pictured at the right above in the Dressage Phase.)
2. Jan Byyny, Task Force - 45.0 (Jan and Task Force are pictured at the left above in the Dressage Phase.)
3. Becky Holder, Courageous Comet - 46.1
4T. Bonnie Mosser, Jenga - 47.8
4T. Kim Severson, Winsome Adante - 47.8
6. Nathalie Pollard, West Farthing - 50.0
7. Will Faudree, Antigua - 50.6
8. John Williams, Sloopy - 53.3
9. Steve Bradley, Brandenburg's Joshua - 55.0
10. Heidi White, Northern Spy - 55.6
11. Sara Mitleider, El Primero - 61.1

Ann Gribbons judged the Dressage Phase. After each rider had completed their test, Ann discussed their rides with them, often coming out of the Judge's Box to work on particular movements. This had been planned and each Dressage ride was alloted 20 minutes.

Comments that were overheard included, to Kim Severson, "You were looking for an 8, and that's good . . . ' but you can't push it too much; and to Jan Byyny, after working on a flying change, "That's fine - a pat and a walk."

Karen has worked very hard on her Dressage with Upstage and had a super accurate test. Becky and Courageous Comet's test was lovely and flowing. Kim and Winsome Adante looked slightly rusty, for them, with one flying change coming noticeably late.

Combined Test Results:

1. Kim Severson, Winsome Adante - 47.8: 0 jumping, 1 time SJ = 48.8 (Kim and Winsome Adante are pictured above at the right in the Show Jumping Phase.)
2. Bonnie Mosser, Jenga - 47.8; 4 jumping, 0 time SJ = 51.8 (Bonnie and Jenga are pictured at the left (below the picture of John Williams) jumping the roll top in the water on the Cross Country course.)
3. Jan Byyny, Task Force - 45.0; 0 jumping, 9 time SJ = 54.0
4. Nathalie Pollard, West Farthing - 50.0; 4 jumping, 1 time SJ = 55.0
5. Becky Holder, Courageous Comet - 46.1; 4 jumping, 4 time SJ = 55.1 (Becky and Courageous Comet are pictured at the right below jumping the last fence on the Cross Country course.)
6. John Williams, Sloopy - 53.3; 0 jumping, 3 time SJ = 56.3 (John and Sloopy are pictured at the left above in the Show Jumping Phase.)
7. Karen O'Connor, Upstage - 43.3: 12 jumping, 6 time SJ = 61.3
8. Will Faudree, Antigua - 50.6; 8 jumping, 4 time SJ = 62.6
9. Heidi White, Northern Spy - 55.6; 4 jumping, 6 time = 65.6
10. Steve Bradley, Brandenburg's Joshua - 55.0; 8 jumping, 6 time SJ = 69.0
11. Sara Mittleider, El Primero - 61.1; 4 jumping, 9 time SJ = 74.1 (Sara and El Primero are pictured at the bottom in the center at the fence into the last water on the Cross Country course.)

Sally Ike's Show Jumping course was a testing one. The fences looked light and airy and the time was tight, can you say "very tight?" Only one pair made the time - Bonnie Mosser and Jenga; but, they had a rail down for second place. This left the leader's slot to the Reigning Olympic Individual Silver Medalists Kim Severson and Winsome Adante who jumped one of only three jumping clears and added only one time fault to vault from fourth to the winner's slot in the Combined Test. The other two clear jumping rounds belonged to John Williams and Sloopy, who had only three time faults, and to Jan Byyny and Task Force; but, they were very slow and accrued nine time faults for 54.0 and third place in the Combined Test.

The Cross Country Schools:

Triumph and Disaster struck during the Cross Country schools as these two so often dominate the phase in competition.

The course was a flagged shortened version of the Jersey Fresh CCI*** course. Steve Bradley and Brandenburg's Joshua had a horrid day in the heat.
They had what was described as a "hard fall - and Steve did not get right up" at the bank to a drop. Apparently Joshua jumped on to the bank a bit slowly and could not make the four strides to the vertical drop so he hit it at 4 and a half strides, hooked it and fell. As it was a drop, it was a long fall for Steve and Joshua; however, they were able to gather themselves and go on only to incur a refusal going into the last water.

Nathalie Pollard didn't have much more fun than Steve did, though she did not part company with West Farthing. The latter took a dislike to the log on top of a bank and stopped there two times.

Karen O'Connor had several refusals at a pair of fences in the woods.

Sara Mittleider had a refusal going into the last water.

Kim Severson jumped through the last water twice with Winsome Adante as riders had been told they could (and should) school anything they felt needed more work.

Others had uneventful rides round the Cross Country.

After the Mandatory Outing, the horses shipped to the USET Headquarters at Gladstone, NJ, for "Veterinarian Evaluation". The Team will be announced on Friday, July 21, 2006.

Don't forget that Amy Tryon and Poggio II had received special permission to use Barbury Castle as their Mandatory Outing in order to save money by being able to fly directly to England from Washington State. Amy's other ride Woodstock inexplicably has dropped off the radar screen.

* * * * * * *

Top U.S. Eventing Athletes Ride Their Final Test Before the Short-Listed Team Heads Overseas for the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games

Allentown, NJ – On a day when most people would do anything to remain indoors in the air conditioning, 11 of the United States’ top eventing horse-and-rider combinations were at the Horse Park of New Jersey in 100+ degree weather performing all three phases of the mandatory short list outing for their spot on the team that will head to Aachen, Germany, for the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games. Amy Tryon and Poggio II were the only horse-and-rider team not present. Tryon rode at the mandatory final outing at Barbury Castle in England last week.

Riders were asked to perform dressage and stadium jumping in its entirety and then schooled a short cross-country course with the option to retake any jumps as needed. Horses and riders will now head to the United States Equestrian Federation®’s Olympic training facility in Gladstone, NJ, to be evaluated by team veterinarians who will then advise the selectors regarding the soundness of the horses. Selectors will then confirm the nominated entries and name the squad and the alternates.

The team that goes to Aachen to compete in August will include six riders plus alternates. Four riders will ride as part of the team competition and two riders will ride as individuals. On Friday, June 21, USEF will announce the squad and alternates who will travel to England to train with Coach and Chef d’Equipe Captain Mark Phillips. From there, the six horse-and-rider combinations will be chosen that will travel on to Aachen. The riders who don’t go on to Aachen will then have the option to compete at Burghley or Blenheim in England.

In the last few weeks, riders participated in two training sessions to prepare for the final mandatory outing. Monday night, all 11 horses were jogged for the veterinarians. The outing began an hour earlier than scheduled, at 7 a.m., to accommodate the heat, with the athletes riding their dressage test for FEI “O” judge Anne Gribbons. After the riders completed their test, Gribbons consulted with them about their test and gave them advice on how to improve their scores in the future. The top three riders based on their dressage scores were Karen O’Connor and Upstage with a score of 43.3%, Jan Byyny and Task Force with a score of 45%, and Becky Holder and Courageous Comet with a score of 46.1%.

When asked about her dressage test, O’Connor responded that she was really excited about her dressage test as her teammates nearby applauded her for her high dressage score, including Byyny, who also had an impressive dressage score.

“I think we have a great group of people here, and a really strong group of horses,” said Byyny. “We’re all really supportive of one another, and I think we all came away with things we need to work on. I think overall we all learned a lot about what we need to do and where we are.”

After a quick trip around the show jumping ring, the top three horse-and-rider combinations became Kim Severson and Winsome Adante with only one time fault for a total score of 48.8, putting them in first place; Bonnie Mosser and Jenga with one rail down and no time faults, putting them in second place overall; and Jan Byyny and Task Force with nine time faults and a clean jumping round. The only clean jumping rounds went to Severson, Byyny and John Williams, with no one posting a double clear. Mosser was the only one to ride within the time allowed. Fence number 10 proved to be a tricky oxer with three riders in a row having a rail down there. The show jumping course was designed by USEF Managing Director of Show Jumping, Sally Ike. (Nathalie Pollard finished fourth in the Combined Test on a score of 55.0. Nathalie and West Farthing are pictured at the right in the Dressage Phase. They were the first to ride at 7:00 AM.)

“My dressage is getting a little better,” said Severson. “I’ve been having a rough patch with him. I had a lesson with Mark the other day and that helped put him right. It’s just a matter of getting back to where we were. Show jumping I was extraordinarily pleased with…and as far as going cross-country, I thought he was good. Again, like Karen and Jan and I talked about, I was lucky to get that first corner in the woods there. It is really hard for them to read, and I did take it for granted, so I was happy that that actually got done.”

The cross-country schooling session will no doubt contribute to the selectors’ decision. Several riders had trouble finding their way around the course, including O’Connor, Stephen Bradley, Nathalie Pollard and Sara Mittleider.

When asked how he thought today went, Phillips said, “Some people went well and some didn’t go as well as expected.” When asked how much of a factor the extreme heat had on the athletes, his response was, “We know how to handle heat and hard ground.”

“I was keeping my horse cooled off as much as I could because I know he’s a very hot horse,” said Mosser. “He pants a lot, and the best thing for me to do is to get his temperature down. I just know my horse, and it probably helped me keep him fresh for the rest of the day.”

Williams commented that his horse was fine; but, he learned today that he needed to get more electrolytes on days like today, which he concluded after his ride when he could not get rid of the muscle cramps he had.

At this point, the current short list includes:

• Stephen Bradley, of Leesburg, VA, riding Brandenburg’s Joshua, an 11-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, owned by Southern Edition Farm, LLC;

• Jan Byyny, of Purcellville, VA, riding Task Force, a 15-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, owned by J.C. Chester;

• Will Faudree, of Southern Pines, NC, riding Antigua, a 17-year-old Australian Thoroughbred gelding, owned by Will Faudree;

• Rebecca Holder, of Mendota Heights, MN, riding Courageous Comet, a 10-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, owned by Tom Holder;

• Bonnie Mosser, of Kennett Square, PA, riding Jenga, a 13-year-old English Thoroughbred gelding, owned by Bonnie Mosser;

• Karen O’Connor, of The Plains, VA, riding Upstage, a 15-year-old New Zealand Thoroughbred gelding, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Richard Thompson;

• Nathalie Pollard, of Chatsworth, GA, riding West Farthing, a 13-year-old British Sport Horse gelding, owned by Nathalie Pollard, Carl Bouckaert and Stephanie Bouckaert;

• Kim Severson, of Keene, VA, riding Winsome Adante, a 13-year-old English Thoroughbred gelding, owned by Plain Dealing Farm, Inc.;

• Amy Tryon, of Duval, WA, riding Poggio II, a 14-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, owned by Amy Tryon and Mark Hart;

• Heidi White, of Aiken, SC, riding Northern Spy, a 13-year-old English Thoroughbred gelding, owned by Heidi White;

• John Williams, of Southern Pines, NC, riding Sloopy, a 14-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, owned by John Williams, Mary Delton and Robert Boeckman;

• Sara Mittleider, of Kuna, ID, riding El Primero, an 11-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, owned by Sara Mittleider.

The 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games are being held in Aachen, Germany, August 20-September 3. The eventing competitions will take place August 23-27.