Tributes have been paid to showjumper superstar Authentic, the “true championship horse” who won three Olympic medals with US showjumper Beezie Madden.

Yesterday (10 April) his owner Abigail Wexner and a spokesperson for John and Beezie Madden announced that Authentic, “the king of Madden Mountain” had died, aged 30.

Beezie and Authentic were part of the team that won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Two years later they won team and individual silver at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, and in 2008 they helped the US team retain their title at the Beijing Games, where Beezie and Authentic also won individual bronze.

“Bud was a true championship horse, logging countless clear rounds for the USA,” said the spokesperson.

“John and Beezie first met Authentic as a three-year-old in 1998, at Stal Heins, under Johan Heins and Harrie Smolders. Even at that age, they felt he was something special and with the help of Mrs Elizabeth Busch Burke, he came to John Madden Sales as a coming six-year-old”.

Authentic was given the stable name Bud in honour of Mrs Burke’s brewing company Anheuser-Busch, whose brands include Budweiser.

“John, Beezie and Mrs Burke eventually put together a syndicate that got Authentic to his first Olympics. After Athens, the syndicate had a significant offer for him to go to a European rider, at which point Mrs Wexner stepped up to purchase Authentic, so that he would stay with Beezie and continue to compete for the United States,” said the spokesperson.

Beezie added that looking back, Mrs Wexner stepping up when she did “ultimately meant Authentic’s place in the history books was guaranteed”.

“She trusted our partnership and never put pressure on him or me. Whatever he needed, he got, and when it was time for the competition days to be behind him, she never wavered in his support. Every horse should have an owner like her,” she said.

Beezie and Authentic’s other achievements included big wins on home soil such as the Budweiser American Invitational, being crowned two-time US Equestrian showjumping horse of the year and winning the grand prix of Aachen.

“Bud’s intelligence and cheerful personality made him exceptional to work with and carried him through his many great accomplishments, as well as his long retirement. So many of my big ‘firsts’ of my career were with him as a partner,” said Beezie.

“I owe him so much and am grateful to everyone, especially Mrs Wexner, who made it possible for him to be such a special part of my life for so long.”

Authentic retired in 2009 to John and Beezie’s farm Madden Mountain.

“Authentic took over caring for the weanlings and yearlings, as Uncle Bud, and enjoyed posing for photos with endless visitors, especially if they came with carrots,” said the spokesperson.

“His longtime groom, Clark Shipley, was able to watch Bud grazing in his pasture from his window before Clark passed away in 2020.”

The spokesperson added that John and Beezie are “endlessly thankful to have had Authentic in our lives for nearly 11 years of competition followed by 15 years of peaceful retirement” – and that “he had no shortage of family, both horse and human”.

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Leslie Law has thanked everyone involved involved in the glittering career of his Olympic gold medal-winning ride Shear L’Eau, who has died aged 26.

“Stan”, as the horse was known, died last week aged 26 following a long retirement at Leslie’s US base.

Leslie told H&H the Athens 2004 Olympic gold and his two European team gold medals aboard Stan are among his fondest memories of the “wonderful” horse’s eventing career.

“He was a wonderful character and he had a lot of personality,” said Leslie.

“Competition-wise, he always showed such quality from a very early age.

“The journey he took me on is one you can really only dream about, so it was amazing to live it.”

The grey gelding, by Stan The Man, collected more than 1,400 British Eventing points during his competitive career.

He won individual Olympic gold and team silver at the Athens Games following the controversy over Bettina Hoy and Ringwood Cockatoo crossing the showjumping start line twice.

Leslie and Stan were also part of the gold medal-winning teams at the European Eventing Championships at Punchestown in 2003 and Blenheim in 2005.

The horse’s other competition highlights included two top-10 finishes at Kentucky CCI4* and fifth at Burghley in 2003.

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Stan was the only horse Leslie took with him when he emigrated to the US in 2005 and he retired from competition in 2007.

“He spent his retirement out in a lovely big field, right opposite the house, with my wife Lesley’s former eventer Timber Spirit,” added Leslie.

“When Timber Spirit passed away he shared the field with our son’s pony Soldier, and those are great memories too.

“When we retired him from competition, we let him down slowly. We rode him for a while and it quietly got less and less, and he thoroughly enjoyed himself out in the field.”

Leslie also thanked everyone involved with making his achievements with the horse possible.

“I want to thank Jeremy and Susan Lawton [of Shearwater Insurance], who were hugely involved,” he said.

“Roddy Dean, who sourced him in Ireland, all the coaches, vets, farriers and others who made this journey possible for us.

“It was a huge team and none of it could have been done without any of them.”

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As Leslie Law celebrates his big birthday today (5 May, 2015), we take a look back at the Olympic gold-medallist’s impressive eventing career.

1. An Olympic champion

Leslie’s run of Olympic success began with a team silver at Sydney in 2000 with Shear H20 (pictured below) — a grey Irish-bred gelding who died at the age of 24 in 2014.

In 2004 at the Athens Olympics (pictured below), Leslie and Shear L’Eau (full brother to Shear H20) performed a personal best in the dressage with a score of 43.2. The pair had an uncomfortable moment at the water but went on to complete the cross-country with only 1.2 time penalties.

Leslie and his team mate Pippa Funnell jumped a clear round in the final phase, securing team silver, before Leslie went on to jump another clear round for the individual gold medal. Leslie’s was one of only two double clears and meant he leapt from fifth position individually to become champion.

Initially Britain was awarded team bronze and Leslie took the individual silver title, but the medals were upgraded to team silver and individual gold when Germany’s Bettina Hoy’s penalties for crossing the start line twice were upheld.

2. A multi-medallist

Alongside his Olympic medals, Leslie secured team gold with Shear H20 a the 2001 European Championships in Pau, France, and another team gold at the 2003 European Championships in Punchestown, Ireland with Shear L’Eau.

In 2002 Leslie took team bronze at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez Spain with Shear H20 (pictured below).

3. Leslie is based in America

In 2006 Leslie made the decision to move to America to continue his eventing career and is now based in Ocala in Florida.

4. He is a coach for the United States Equestrian Federation

It was announced at the beginning of 2015 that Leslie had been appointed as the new eventing developing rider coach for the United States Equestrian Federation, overseeing the Eventing 25 and Eventing 18 programmes. In 2011 Leslie was shortlisted for the role as US eventing chef d’equipe.

5. Leslie is married to the Canadian event rider Lesley Grant-Law

In 2007 Leslie married Canadian eventer Lesley (a spelling minefield…) Grant in Aruba, an island in the southern Caribbean, joined only by two of Leslie’s owners Ann and Troy Glaus. They later celebrated with a party on their Florida farm on New Year’s Eve with 120 guests, including Leslie’s former team mates Rodney Powell and William Fox-Pitt. The couple have a son called Liam.

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No matter how meticulous the preparations, floods, technical glitches and form upsets have all become part of Olympic folklore and for some riders this has meant a last minute call-up.

Mary King, Athens 2004

By Athens 2004, the Olympic team competition involved five riders rather than four, but Mary King – veteran of three previous Games – was still only reserve behind Sarah Cutteridge (now Cohen).

Sarah had gone well with The Wexford Lady at Badminton, where Mary and King Solomon III had been given a “bye”.

“I spent an anxious summer, trying to be philosophical; it wasn’t the be-all and end-all. But of course it niggled,” recalls Mary.

At the 2003 Athens test event, riders had marvelled at the no-expense-spared Markopoulo horse park.

So there was a rude shock when King Solomon was deposited in scruffy, rat-infested reserve stables near the airport, with Mary in the Team GBR officials’ house, detached from her rider chums.

“I lived in limbo for about a week, though each day I worked ‘Solly’ and I started to relax. I was now there for the beer and might as well enjoy it.”

Then two days before the start, The Wexford Lady went lame.

“My emotions were mixed. I wasn’t at all psyched up for competing and not even sure I really wanted to ride. The other part of me, though, felt so lucky,” she says.

Almost the worst part was swapping stables.

“Being reserve is an unenviable position, as you can’t help but hope you’ll get a run, but you know if it comes it will be at someone else’s expense.”

In the end Solly went clear inside the time, posting the third-best British score and so playing a direct part in team silver – Mary’s first Olympic medal in an unexpected conclusion to her “Greek holiday”.

To read the full feature about Olympic surprises see the current issue of H&H (12 July 2012)

Read all the latest Olympic news

Olympic medal-winning eventer Amy Tryon died of an accidental overdose, a coroner has revealed.

The US rider, who won team gold medal at the World Games in Jerez in 2002 and team bronze at the 2004 Athens Games, died on 12 April, aged 42.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office released her cause of death yesterday, as an “acute combined opiate” overdose.

Her death in her sleep was an accident, the medical examiner ruled.

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King Solomon III, Mary King’s Olympic partner, who went on to star in the dressage arena with Paula Lee, has been retired from affiliated competition aged 23.

The Athens medal-winner suffered a bout of lymphangitis this summer– thought to have been triggered by a serious barn fire at Paula’s yard in Nutwell, Devon – which left him with a severely swollen hindleg.

“He is actually sound on his leg, but it is still huge and he is unlikely to be able to return to normal work,” said Paula, who will partner “Solly” in his own special retirement ceremony at the South West Equine Fair on 3-4 December.

“Mary and I thought it would be extremely fitting for him to sign off at his local event.”

In an eventing career spanning 12 years, the 16.3hh gelding by Old Lucky notched up four top-five CCI**** placings, including finishing third at Burghley in 2002 and fourth at Badminton the following year.

With Paula, he frequently graced H&H’s dressage pages with numerous wins up to advanced

medium level.

In 2008 Lucinda Green had the chance to sample Solly’s impeccable manners and “rock and roll” paces when she rode him for a “Lucinda rides” feature.

She said at the time: “In no way does he feel like an older horse. He cannot wait to do extended trot – you only have to think about it and off he goes.”

Solly will spend his retirement with Paula, hacking around the estate at Nutwell.

“He’s back in work and fit and well, still shying at the most mundane things and terrifying everyone who hacks him,” said Paula.

For more on Solly and dealing with lymphangitis, don’t miss next week’s vet exclusive in H&H (10 November).

This news story was first published in the current issue of Horse and Hound (3 November, 2011)

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After seven months of uncertainty, the Olympic team show jumping gold medal is to be awarded to USA, with Sweden taking silver. The decision follows the rejection of German rider Ludger Beerbaum’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against his disqualification from the competition. The German team drop from gold to bronze medal position.

Beerbaum and Goldfever 3 (pictured) were initially placed 16th individually and helped the German team to win the gold medal. But Goldfever failed a test for prohibited substances immediately after the Athens competition and counter tests on a second sample showed he tested positive to the anti-inflammatory drug betamethasone. Beerbaum admitted that he had treated his horse with an ointment to cure a skin irritation.

Although the FEI Judicial Committee accepted that the medication was a “legitimate treatment” and that Beerbaum had no malicious intent to enhance performance when he administered it, they felt he had not followed the procedure required by the federation’s veterinary regulations, leaving them “no other option than to disqualify the horse Goldfever 3 from all competitions at the Olympic Games Athens 2004.”

Beerbaum was also fined CHF1,500 (£682) and another CHF750 (£341) for the costs of analysing the B-sample.

Beerbaum appealed to the Court for Arbitration of Sport (CAS) against the FEI decision, hoping rumours that betamethasome might be declassified as a prohibited substance would come true. But yesterday the Court of Arbitration for Sport concluded that the FEI Judicial Committee had taken the only possible decision in the interest of the sport.

Despite being aware that Goldfever 3 received no unfair advantage as a result of the administration of the prohibited substance, and that the treatment was undertaken to preserve the horse’s health, the CAS underlined the indisputable consideration that Beerbaum could and should have sought authorisation before using the substance.

With so much resting on the CAS decision, the newly crowned American show jumping team and the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) have been following the case closely. But throughout the proceedings they have been determined that Beerbaum should get every opportunity to appeal.

“Mr Beerbaum deserves the respect afforded to every Olympic athlete throughout the entirety of this process and clearly the process has not run its course,” USEF spokeswoman Sarah Lane said at the time, “The USEF respectfully awaits the outcome of these legal proceedings along with the rest of the world.”

Although touched by America’s support, Beerbaum is still troubled by his error, which has cost the German team their gold medal. His spokesperson Susanne Strübel said: “Ludger made a mistake. It was not doping but it was still a mistake and [he] felt responsible for his colleagues. It’s really harsh for him that they lose the medal for this. It’s really hard to accept that.”

The FEI has officially informed the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who will redistribute the medals.

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Cian O’Connor, the Irish rider whose Athens Olympic gold medal-winning ride, Waterford Crystal, returned a positive dope test at the Games, will not appeal against the FEI’s decision to strip him of his gold medal.

The 25-year-old could have taken his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport; instead, in accepting the FEI’s ruling at a hearing in Zurich at Easter, he will return Ireland’s first ever equestrian medal — the country’s only medal from Athens — and serve a three-month ban, starting last Monday, from international competition.

The Equestrian Federation of Ireland (EFI) welcomed O’Connor’s announcement. EFI president Avril Doyle said that while it was a major disappointment for both the rider and Irish sport that the gold would be lost, O’Connor’s decision not to prolong the process would mean a line could be drawn under the episode.

The EFI confirmed that O’Connor, who notched up two wins at international shows in Italy last weekend, would be considered again to ride on Irish teams after serving his ban.

In a statement, O’Connor said: “Obviously the loss of a gold medal is a major disappointment for me personally and indeed for the people of Ireland. I’m very pleased that the FEI affirmed what was always my stated position — that I didn’t attempt to alter the performance of my horse, Waterford Crystal, before or at the Olympic Games.”

On disqualifying O’Connor from the Olympics after last month’s hearing, the FEI judicial committee acknowledged that O’Connor was not involved in a deliberate attempt to affect the performance of the horse.

Brazilian rider Rodrigo Pessoa now claims the gold medal, but he told Horse & Hound in a recent interview: “This medal would not mean very much. It will go in the cabinet with the others, but it will be just a statistic: the emotion is not there any more.”

Chris Kappler (US) takes silver and Germany’s Marco Kutscher bronze. British rider Robert Smith moves up to fourth place.

O’Connor will focus on the development of his international horses and train young riders during his ban.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (14 April, ’05)

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The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) has disqualified Cian O’Connor from the Olympics after his horse Waterford Crystal tested positive for two banned drugs.

Although the Judicial Committee concluded that O’Connor was not involved in “a deliberate attempt to affect the performance of the horse,” he will also have to serve a three-month suspension.

O’Connor and Waterford Crystal won the gold medal in Athens, but traces of banned substances were found in the horse’s urine sample after the competition. The Irish rider said that Waterford Crystal had been give some sedatives a month before the Olympics during a treatment for a fetlock injury, and requested a counter-test.

The case then took a sinister turn after the urine sample for the counter-test vanished while in transit from the Medication Control Programme Central Laboratory in Paris to the Horseracing Forensic Laboratory in Cambridgeshire last October. Later, a counter test carried out on Waterford Crystal’s blood sample proved positive to fluphenazine and zuclopenthixol, two drugs which are normally prescribed to humans as anti-depressants.

During Monday’s 11-hour hearing, the FEI’s Judicial Committee accepted the reports of both doping tests on the grounds that “the FEI Veterinary Regulations Art. 1022 permits the combination of analyses of blood and of urine.” They also confirmed that both fluphenazine and zuclopenthixol are banned under the federation’s rules.

As a result, the committee disqualified the Irish combination from the Athens Olympics. Although the FEI ruled that he didn’t deliberately set out to enhance Waterford Crystal’s performance, O’Connor was also fined CHF 5,000 (£2,224) and suspended for three months.

“The [Judicial Committee] made the decision in two phases. First, they decided if he should be disqualified, secondly they looked at the sanction,” explains FEI spokeswoman Muriel Faienza. “We have not yet received the complete decision, so we do not yet know why they decided on that sanction.” The suspension will start 30 days after the Equestrian Federation of Ireland receives the full statement detailing the FEI’s decision.

Despite receiving an unfavourable verdict, O’Connor is relieved to be cleared of any deliberate wrongdoing. “I am delighted that the Judicial Committee has accepted and affirmed that I was not involved in any deliberate attempt to affect the performance of my horse Waterford Crystal — as I have always maintained,” he says in a statement.

“While I am disappointed that a technical infraction has resulted in the loss of the gold medal for Ireland, I wish to re-emphasise again today that neither I or my vet James Sheeran have done anything wrong. To get to the Olympics was my aim for many years and I never even contemplated doing anything which might jeopardise this goal.”

O’Connor hasn’t yet decided whether he will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the FEI decision, according to his spokesman Wally Young. He has 30 days to appeal from the date he receives the written statement from the FEI. If he doesn’t appeal, or if the CAS upholds the FEI verdict, O’Connor will lose his gold medal to Brazilian runner-up Rodrigo Pessoa, who finished second on Baloubet du Rouet.

“The FEI will officially ask the ICO to change the results [of the Olympics] after the appeal period has ended,” says Faienza. “If [O’Connor] has lodged an appeal, the FEI will wait until the CAS pronouncement.”

The Equestrian Federation of Ireland, which risks being deprived of its only Olympic gold medal, declined to comment on the FEI’s decision, on the grounds that O’Connor has a right to appeal against it and any statement from the EFI “might be construed as prejudicing the outcome of an appeal process.”

Meanwhile, the doping case against another Irish rider, Jessica Kurten, has been closed after the counter test had a negative result.

Kurten’s mare, Castle Forbes Libertina, initially tested positive for caffeine and theophylline at the CSIO in Calgary in September 2004. Kurten vigorously asserted that she had done nothing wrong and refused a proposal from the FEI to accept a fast-track administrative penalty.

In a strongly-worded statement, she highlighted that theophylline and caffeine are often found in animal feeds and that she had been forced by US and Canadian regulations to use feed supplied at the Show. She therefore declined to take advantage of the fast-track option because she felt she couldn’t be held responsible for the contents of the feed supplied at the Calgary show. “I want the FEI to explain why they chose to sanction me in these circumstances,” she said.

“A ‘well meant fine’ is personally insulting and, as I have done nothing wrong, I see no reason for accepting any sanction. If the FEI choose to pursue this, I will fight for the truth. I owe this to myself, my horses, my sponsors, my family and my supporters.”

Her views were vindicated when the counter-test she requested came back negative. The case was closed last week.

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The German show jumping team stand to lose their gold medal after the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) disqualified Ludger Beerbaum’s mount, Goldfever 3, for failing a dope test in Athens.

The FEI has confirmed “there had been a breach of [their] general regulations relating to the presence of the prohibited substance Betamethasone in the horse Goldfever 3.”

Goldfever 3 tested positive to the anti-inflammatory drug betamethasone in Athens and Beerbaum admitted that he had treated his horse with an ointment to cure a skin irritation. The FEI Judicial Committee accepted that the medication was a “legitimate treatment” and that Beerbaum had no malicious intent to enhance performance when he administered it.

The committee found “no evidence that the [Beerbaum] had either risked the horse’s welfare or gained any advantage during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.” However, he had omitted to follow the appropriate procedure required by the federation’s veterinary regulations, leaving the FEI “no other option than to disqualify the horse Goldfever 3 from all competitions at the Olympic Games Athens 2004.” Beerbaum was also fined CHF1,500 (£682) and is liable to pay another CHF750 (£341) for the costs of analysing the B-sample.

Following the FEI’s decision, Beerbaum and the German team now stand to lose their Olympic gold medal. The process, however, is far from immediate. Beerbaum has 30 days to appeal against the FEI ruling to the Court of Arbitration of Sport. Only if he loses will the International Olympic Committee strip Germany of its gold medal and give it to the Americans, who took silver in Athens. Sweden would then move up to take the silver, with Germany demoted to Bronze.

In contrast, Beerbaum’s compatriot Bettina Hoy was cleared of any wrongdoing, after her mount Ringwood Cockatoo tested positive to the banned substance hydroxy-diphenhydramine.

The FEI stated that a vet from the Olympic Veterinarian Clinic had given Hoy and the German Team vet verbal permission to use a cream containing the drug to treat lumps on Ringwood Cockatoo’s back. Although the proper procedure would have required Hoy and the vet to declare the treatment in writing, the FEI Judicial Committee judged that “the consultation contributed to or facilitated the use of the cream in question and, as a consequence, the finding of the prohibited substance in Ringwood Cockatoo.”

The committee also found that the Olympic Veterinarian Clinic had failed to provide “appropriate information” on the cream to Hoy and the German vet. As a result, no sanction is to be taken against Hoy.

Reinhardt Wendt, managing director of the German Olympic Equestrian Committee, says: “I am relieved that both cases were not judged to be doping. I am deeply disappointed that Ludger Beerbaum was disqualified despite this. This means he and his team members must give their gold medal back. As for Bettina Hoy and her team, I am pleased that their personal innocence was fully recognised.”

The FEI committee pointed out that the recent doping cases highlighted the urgent need for the Federation to “revisit its entire medication policy” and clarify the distinction between legitimate treatments and doping — a task that the newly-appointed FEI anti-doping task force is expected to undertake in the next six months.

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Germany risks being stripped of its show jumping team gold after one of the team’s horses tested positive for banned drug betamethasone.

Ludger Beerbaum’s mount, Goldfever, failed the doping test in Athens. Last week, counter tests on a backup sample — also taken from the horse in Athens — confirmed the earlier results.

The German show jumping team now risks losing its Olympic title, despite Beerbaum’s claims earlier this year that the drugs had been administered for medical reasons and did not have any effect on performance. However, the matter is unlikely to be settled quickly.

The International Equestrian Federation’s (FEI) medical sub-committee will first review the lab report on Goldfever. If it concludes that Goldfever has been doped, it will ask Beerbaum for a written explanation and will remit the case in the hands of the FEI’s judicial committee, which may grant Beerbaum a hearing before ruling on the case.

Beerbaum will also have a chance to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against an unfavourable verdict. Only then will the International Olympic Committee decide whether the German team keep their gold or lose it to the Americans, who took the silver in Athens. In this case, Sweden would take the silver and the Netherlands would get the bronze.

The team show jumping would be the third Olympic gold medal Germany loses to legal disputes, after a judging revision over Bettina Hoy’s performance assigned the eventing team gold to Britain and the individual gold to Leslie Law.

Hoy’s Ringwood Cockatoo B-sample also tested positive to a banned sedative and anti-histamine drug — diphenhydramine — confirming the Athens results. The German federation has asked Hoy and Beerbaum to provide an explanation within 15 days.

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The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has unveiled its short-list of horse and rider combinations from which it will pick its dressage team to challenge for the gold medal in the Olympic Games in Athens.

The squad is headed by the world’s number two rider Debbie McDonald, who was short-listed on 4 June, ahead of the final selection trials. The 2003 World Cup champion is also America’s leading rider. McDonald and the incredibly talented chestnut mare Brentina, have repeatedly produced tests worthy of the highest scores at international level, although this will be the partnership’s first Olympics.

Olympic dressage veteran Robert Dover (pictured) demonstrated that he has lost none of his hunger to win at the recent selection trials, when he reigned supreme in all four of the competitions with an overall score of 78.478%. Dover has previously represented his country at five Olympic Games and stepped out of retirement last year when he gained the ride on the former top Danish team horse FBW Kennedy.

Guenter Seidel has been short-listed with both of his top rides, Aragon and Nikolaus 7, after taking second and third places overall respectively in the selection trials. Both horses will travel to Europe for the US team’s final preparation, after which a decision will be made on which horse he will ride.

Either Germany-based American Lisa Wilcox or substitute rider Steffen Peter is expected to fill the final spot on the US team. Under the USEF’s selection policy a rider who is based in Europe can be short-listed without attending the selection trials as long as they are producing competition performances at a satisfactory level. These two riders will compete head-to-head in the squad’s European warm-up competitions for the chance to represent their country in Athens.

The final substitute rider named in the short-list is Leslie Morse, who will travel to Europe to train with the US squad and will be available if another horse and rider combination has to be replaced.

US dressage coach Klaus Balkenhol, who is looking forward to the competition, said: “I hope we can maintain our current form for Athens and bring home a good medal. Debbie and Brentina are looking excellent and I hope all the other horse and rider combinations will shine in Athens to make America dressage the talk of the rest of the world.”

The squad leaves for Europe next week where they will compete in Germany at Aachen (13-18 July) and Lingen (5-8 August) before travelling to Athens.

US dressage short-list

• Debbie McDonald, 49 (Brentina)
• Robert Dover, 48 (FBW Kennedy)
• Guenter Seidel, 43 (Aragon or Nikolaus 7)

Lisa Wilcox, 37 (Relevant)Substitute combinations

• Steffen Peters, 39 (Floriano)
• Leslie Morse, 42 (Kingston)

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Emma Hindle and Brookhouse Stud’s chestnut stallion Wie Weltmeyer made a special trip from their base in Germany to prove their worth as the lynchpin of the British team for Athens at the senior selection trial at Addington Manor Premier League.

The partnership performed an effortless test, ridden with total commitment to win on a score of 72.2%, in spite of two mistakes.

“He was really on form today — a star,” said Emma. “However, I took a few too many risks, like in the last trot extension — I asked too much and he lost his footing.

“He is now a very established grand prix horse so I don’t need to train the movements so much, but it is important to keep him mentally happy and gauge the build-up to each show so that he peaks for the competition. He can hold that for five or six days and then I carefully let him down again.”

A compulsory showing of the short-listed combinations in the FEI grand prix test at Addington Premier League was an element of the British Dressage selection procedure for the forthcoming Athens Olympics. As might be expected, the first nine places went to the short-listed combinations but the order must pose some salient questions for the selectors.

Emma and Wie Weltmeyer have already fulfilled the main criteria for selection, which requires good results at international shows under FEI international judges, after a successful winter season abroad culminating in securing a place in the highly competitive World Cup final in Düsseldorf.

Peter Storr and Gambrinus had everything to go for — and they did, coming home in second place. Returning to competition after an almost uninterrupted break following the World Equestrian Games in 2002 due to injury, they repeated their form from The College Premier League show, earning their second place on a score of 70.7%.

Nicola McGivern, riding Active Walero, and current Mercedez-Benz National Champions Richard Davison and Ballaseyr Royale were in third and fourth places respectively with only 0.4% between them.

For Nicola, it was a nightmarish repeat of their last premier league outing, with Walero napping before the start of the test. Tension was evident in the first part of the test, before Walero’s talent and quality shone through for them to hold on to third place.

The new pair on the scene, businessman Wayne Channon and the Ferro stallion Lorenzo, are short-listed for a British team for the first time, and came a commendable fifth. The combination, who looked at ease with each other and confident at the level, produced a flowing, mistake-free test.

Olympic contenders Carl Hester and Escapado were missing from the line-up because Escapado is sidelined with a badly bruised sole, but it is hoped that he will recuperate in time to be in consideration for the team.

Chairman of selectors David Trott said: “The selection is not the closed shop that everyone thinks and the results today have made it a far more open team than people were prepared to consider.

“However, international results carry most weight; Emma has proved herself again and again in this respect. Other combinations will now compete abroad before our final decision, which must be made by the 1 June. Our intention is that Aachen will then be a dress rehearsal for Athens.”

• Read the full report from the Addington Manor Premier League, sponsored by Belstane Marketing, in the current issue of Horse & Hound (13 May 04)

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The BSJA has announced that two riders will be representing Great Britain in show jumping at Athens 2004. It received official confirmation that British show jumpers Robert Smith and Michael Whitaker, who stand eighth and ninth respectively in the world rankings, had secured the places for the individual event.

It is not yet clear which riders will be representing Britain, as the show jumper who achieves the rankings place gains an individual place for the country they represent. However, because the rankings system is calculated according to the points gained by the show jumper riding a number of different horses, it is possible that a different British combination will be selected to go to Athens.

A spokesman for the BSJA explained: “Derek Ricketts [team manager] will be looking for consistency throughout the spring, although obviously the riders will be aiming to peak their horses at the Olympics, so many of them have only just come back in.

“The four Nations Cups will be used as viewing trials, and short-listed riders’ performances at these competitions will decide whether or not they book their flights to Athens. We will be making the decision at the end of June, after the Nations Cups,” she added.

Five out of the nine short-listed riders will be competing in the Nations Cup at La Baule this weekend. They are Michael Whitaker, Robert Smith, Nick Skelton, Mark Armstrong and Scott Smith. The remaining four short-listed riders are Richard Davenport, Tim Stockdale, John Whitaker and Robert Whitaker; they will all be competing at Nations Cup meetings later this month.

William Funnell was short-listed, but had his Olympic hopes dashed when his top ride Cortaflex Mondriaan cracked a splint bone earlier this year. Di Lampard, who was the only woman on the shortlist, suffered similar disappointment earlier this year when she was forced to retire her Olympic hope Abbervail Dream, because a foot injury sustained last year was not healing as well as it should be.

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William Funnell, a contender for one of Britain’s two individual Olympic show jumping places, has been forced to withdraw from the short-list because his top horse, the 2001 Horse & Hound Foxhunter champion, Cortaflex Mondriaan, has cracked a splint bone.

“He couldn’t possibly come right in time for the four Super League Nations Cups [the final Olympic trials], so I’ve had to pull out,” says a bitterly disappointed William.

Team manager Derek Ricketts says: “This is a major blow and a shock for both William and Britain; his horse has plenty of ability.”

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The British Show Jumping Association (BSJA) has announced the short-list for the 2004 Olympics.

The 10-strong list is all male, and dominated by the Whitakers. Michael Whitaker, who is currently ninth in the world rankings, leads the British field, with Robert Smith, ranked 12th, and Nick Skelton (pictured right), ranked 22nd following closely in his wake.

Other Olympic contenders include Mark Armstrong, Richard Davenport, William Funnell, Scott Smith, Tim Stockdale and John and Robert Whitaker.

The final selection process will be based on riders’ performances over the next two months, with the qualification period ending on 1 May.

Although Britain failed to qualify for the team event at the Olympics, qualification for the individual event is based on the world rankings, disregarding the countries that have already qualified.

The rider who achieves a ranking place gains an individual place for the country they represent. However, because the rankings system is calculated according to the points gained by the show jumper riding a number of different horses, it is possible that a different British combination will be selected to go to Athens.

Britain is currently eligible for two places in the individual event, although this will only be confirmed at the end of the qualifying period.

Team manager, Derek Ricketts says: “Hopefully we will be sending two British riders in August, but we will have to wait until the end of the qualifying period before we can be completely confident.”

Final selection is likely to be made by mid-June, which is the definite entry threshold for the Olympics.

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Top British showjumper Tim Stockdale, who has been long-listed for the Athens Olympics, has had a ban preventing him from being a member of the Olympic show jumping team lifted by the British Olympic Association (BOA).

Tim became ineligible for selection for the Olympics under a BOA bye-law when the FEI found him guilty of a minor doping offence in 2002. The offence occured when Traxdata Wiston Bridget tested positive for the prohibited substance, hydroxyethylpromazine, which is found in some sedatives, at an international competition at Modena in 2001.

Under the BOA’s bye-law, any athlete who has been found guilty of a drugs-related offence is no longer eligible for selection for the Olympics. Tim appealed against the decision and the BOA Appeals Panel decided to restore his eligibility for a place on the Olympic squad as it felt “the offence was minor”.

Tim told HHO: “I never doubted that my appeal would be successful because the amount of the substance found was so minor that the horse could have picked it up anywhere.

“If the BOA had prevented me from competing in the Olympics it would have been like some one who had earnt a parking ticket being treated like a murderer.”

BOA’s chief executive Simon Clegg says: “The BOA’s life time ban for any athlete found guilty of any doping offence exists to deter athletes from taking drugs of any type. The appeals procedure is constituted to consider those cases of a minor nature or where there are significant mitigating circumstances.

“I am pleased that Tim Stockdale’s appeal has been upheld and offer him our best wishes in his quest for selection for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.”

Tim, who is currently ranked just outside Britain’s top 10 riders, has never represented Britain at the Olympics, despite being short-listed twice before.

Tim says: “I think I’m in with a real chance this time with Fresh Direct Parcival, who is making good progress in his recovery from injury. He is back in work and we hope to start jumping again in March.”

Jacky Knightly of the BSJA says: “The BSJA is delighted that Tim’s appeal has proved successful and we look forward to seeing all of our riders doing well in the forthcoming season.”

• Di Lampard has also successfully appealed against the BOA bye-law after Abbervail Dream failed a routine dope test last year. Di is now eligible to represent Britain in Athens.

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The riders on the British Dressage squad shortlist for the Athens Olympic Games 2004 have been announced.

The World Class Performance Manager and the British Dressage Selectors have produced a 12-strong shortlist, which contains a couple of less well-known riders among the familiar names. The new faces are Joanna Fisher from London, who riders Coco Chanel, and Wayne Channon from Sussex, who has had a very successful year on his black stallion Lorenzo CH.

Carl Hester, Emile Faurie and Richard Davison are Olympic old-timers and have each represented Britain in the Olympic games on two previous occasions. Sandy Phillips, who was given British citizenship in 1996, has previously only travelled to the Olympics on her American passport.

Other contenders for places on the British Olympic dressage team include Fiona Bigwood from Kent, who had a good year with her mare Habana 3 in 2003. Emma Hindle was a European team member in 2003, as was Nicola McGivern.

Nicky Barrett has worked miracles following her recovery from a back injury, and could see a fairytale end to her troubles if she is selected. Laura Richardson had a succession of victories on Millennium in 2003, and Peter Storr, who was the non-travelling reserve for the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and has continued to prove his worth ever since.

Five riders will be selected to go to Athens: four team riders and a reserve. The team is to be selected after Wiesbaden CDI, 28-30 May, and the Olympic dressage competition itself will be held from 19–25 August 2004.

The British team qualified to take part in the team competition at the European Championships at Hickstead in 2003. Other nations who have qualified include Germany, USA, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and Aust

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Successful event riders who have not been included in the long-list for the British eventing team at the Athens Olympic Games still have the opportunity to join the World Class Performance squad, and therefore be considered for the team, if their achievements at events in early 2004 justify it.

World Class Performance Manager, Yogi Breisner, says: “The long-list is not a definitive list and it will be reviewed after Badminton next May. Other riders may be added if their performances in the spring warrant it.”

The riders currently on the World Class Performance Programme and being considered for a place on the British team are:

• Vicky Brake
• Jeanette Brakewell
• Kristina Cook
• Sarah Cutteridge
• William Fox-Pitt
• Pippa Funnell
• Polly Jackson
• Mary King
• Leslie Law
• Zara Phillips
• Rodney Powell
• Caroline Pratt
• Polly Stockton
• Marie-Louise (Bumble) Thomas

In addition to squad training sessions, riders on the World Class Performance squad have access to nutritionists, physiotherapists, personal fitness training programmes and sports psychologists, as well as advanced veterinary science and equine nutritional advice and support.

Yogi continues: “By placing the riders on the World Class Performance Programme we are giving them access to specialist training and advice with the aim of giving the team of five horses and riders we send to Athens the best possible preparation.”

Initial preparations will start in February when the 14 riders will attend a team training session at Waresley Park in Bedfordshire. The riders will be split into two groups of seven and each group will receive two days training with Yogi Breisner, Kenneth Clawson and Tracie Robinson. Team vet Jenny Hall will also be available to assess the horses’ condition following their winter break.

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In the aftermath of Britain’s failure to qualify a team for next year’s Olympics at the recent European Championships, the BSJA has confirmed that it may be possible to send two riders to the Athens Olympics as individuals.

If, disregarding riders from countries which have already qualified for the Olympics, Britain is one of the two highest represented countries on the FEI World Ranking List by 1 May 2004, it would be possible to send two riders to the Games, subject to the approval of the British Olympic Association.

These riders would not necessarily be those highest placed on the FEI rankings, but would be selected by the BSJA.

“We know that we have good enough riders and horses to represent our country well at the Olympics,” says the BSJA’s Jacky Knightley, “and we will endeavour to give the British riders currently on the World Ranking List every opportunity to compete abroad in order to retain their ranking and ensure British representation at the Games.”

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The movie The Truman Show, the “set” for the ultimate reality TV show, is so big, it’s visible from outer space. You could almost say the same for the E250m Athens Olympic equestrian park at Markopolou.

Nothing prepares you for a first glimpse of its leviathan stands amid the arid hillside, 45min south of the city.

Bolted on to the new Athens racecourse, the park has separate stadia for dressage (all-weather) and show jumping (grass). Floodlights reach into the sky, there are training arenas aplenty, an aircraft hangar-sized indoor school and 280 luxury stables that any racing Sheikh would covet.

The 6km cross-country course, exquisitely designed by Albino Galbari, slices through olive groves and is irrigated four times a day. It’s also the first time I’ve worked in a marbled press centre.

A new dual carriageway links the park to trunk roads from Athens and the new international airport.

“In all my Olympic Games, I’ve never seen anything so exciting,” said triple gold medallist Andrew Hoy after last week’s test CIC. “Everyone has been trying extremely hard and there has been lots of discussion about how to improve the organisational side. Horse sports will be very good events for the 2004 Olympics, and it’s a real credit to the centre manager, Nik Karidis, and his team.”

As the principal Olympic venues struggle to get ready – the overall Olympic cost is 6.5 billion euro (£4bn) and builders are working through the night – the equestrian park is on schedule.

It was, though, not only the scope of Markopolou that was reminiscent of The Truman Show. Things may look perfect “on set”, but for the wider horse world, Athens raises grave issues.

Freddy Serpieri, vice-president of the FEI, said that the future was “a mess”. He headed the Greek Federation when Athens was appointed 2004 host city, and understood that the racecourse would subsidise the park – a workable concept, as gaming returns more than 300m euro (£189m) a year to Greek racing. But now Mr Serpieri has admitted this funding was not guaranteed.

Mainland Greece has barely 1,600 racehorses and 2,000 leisure riders. No one knows how this tiny equestrian community will sustain the park independently after 2004. Income from the equestrian Olympics themselves will be relatively low, as space constraints limit cross-country spectators to 15,000, and a chronic shortage of hotel space could deter some visitors.

Such factors cannot escape the IOC, which may reconsider equestrian participation again before Beijing.

Greece’s best medal hope, Heidi Antikatzidis, was especially scandalised, and says: “The facilities are over the top. All these useless buildings will go into ruins, and Greeks will pay for the rest of their lives.

“I feel cheated by the IOC. They made us change the three-day event format because it was too expensive, and they allow the organisers to come up with all of this!

“I wanted to compete in my homeland but I’m not sure I want to associate myself with the continued manipulation of our sport,” she says.

Spiros Capralos, Athens 2004 executive director, confirmed that the park had run well over budget.

“It is normal for any host city to get as much as possible from the Games – that is its legacy. The test event showed that there could be a new and enthusiastic public for equestrianism. We just need some imagination. Perhaps we can find ways of attracting riders to Markopolou during the winter, as they now do in Spain.”

Heidi, though, cannot buy into this vision.

“Equestrianism might develop a little bit, but not to justify what’s been built,” she says. “Greece is too far away, Greeks are not horsey people. They want to believe a dream, but its not going to happen.”

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With the Athens Olympics less than a year away, the British eventing team’s preparations were boosted by a successful “test” event at the Markopoulo Equestrian Centre in Greece at the weekend.

Despite temperatures of up to 40 degrees centigrade at the CIC** event, the six British entrants came through the heat with flying colours.

A spokesman for British Eventing said it felt as if the organisers had laid a green carpet on the cross-country course. All six British horses finished in the top eight, with Terry Boon taking the top prize on Air Cruise.

Britain’s unusually hot summer had likely readied the horses for the high temperatures in Greece. However, the course is situated on the side of a hill and there was a welcome breeze. The heat is also very dry in Athens – an improvement over the debilitating humidity of Atlanta in 1996.

“Although the sun is more intense in Athens, which is closer to the Equator than Atlanta, and the air temperature is hotter, there is a lot more air movement,” said David Marlin, who is in charge of the Animal Health Trust’s research into the effects of heat on horses in preparation for the 2004 Olympics.

“The only problem we might face is if we have a cool summer in Britain next year and then have to move to extreme heat in Greece.”

All the horses were closely monitored for changes to their drinking habits or body weight – both signs of dehydration – but there were no complications.

“Often, hot living conditions – more so than hot competing conditions – can cause problems, as the horses are less inclined to eat or drink, and can lose valuable electrolytes,” explained David.

“But the stables were excellent and it was much cooler inside than out.”

At the Sydney Olympics in 2000, the British equestrian teams had to face a number of problems caused by the long-haul flights required to get there and by the fact that the local field hospital did not have operating facilities.

By contrast, David was delighted with next year’s Olympic venue, where a brand new veterinary hospital on site will guarantee that horses will be seen to almost immediately.

He told HHO: “The facilities are excellent and the Greeks have done a great job – far beyond what we had ever expected.”

Results

1, AIR CRUISE (Terry Boon) GBR 37.10;

2, KINSEY CONTROL (Caroline Pratt) GBR 42.40;

3 YEOMAN’S POINT (Andrew Hoy) AUS 48.10;

4, TWO FOR JOY (Polly Jackson) GBR 49.00;

5, LADY GUINEVERE (Chris King) GBR 50.20;

6, MASTER EXCHANGE (Dimitris Natsis) GRE 60.00;

7, WESTON JUSTICE (Oliver Townend) GBR 61.40;

8, H2 CAPADUCE (Chris King) GBR 67.70;

9, H2 GOOD ENOUGH (Heidi Antikatzidis) GRE 79.00;

10, BELLEKADIE (Vincenzo Cinelli) ITA 80.40.