Santiago 2023 Pan American Games Individual Jumper Final: USA Riders Silver and Bronze; Brazilian Gold

After the excitement of the team jumper finals on Wednesday at the Pan American Games where the USA pulled out all of the stops to win gold with Canada silver and Brazil bronze, thoughts turned to individual medals yesterday. The day was the hottest by far of the two weeks of Pan Am Games equestrian competition, with the temperature reaching the upper 80s Fahrenheit and bright sunshine all day.

The Pan American Games individual jumper finals comprised two rounds (A and B) both over 1.60-meter courses judged under Table A rules (not against the clock). Once again the jumps were beautifully decorated with themes from Chilean history and architecture, traditional hats worn by Chilean cowboys called “chupalla,” Native American culture, Chilean wildlife (flamingos and penguins), a semi-precious stone called lapis lazuli mined in Chile, and more.

Twenty-eight horse and rider combinations representing 13 nations (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela), and one independent athlete, took their turn over course designer Marina Azevedo’s (BRA) Round A track. The course was technically challenging and the fences were big. Penalty point scores carried over from previous days and they jumped in reverse order of placing thus far.

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USA Show Jumping Team Wins Pan American Team Gold, Canada Silver, Brazil Bronze

It might be enough to say “Job done, next stop Paris 2024!” but expounding on that theme, the U.S. Show Jumping Team put on a spectacular show today at the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games equestrian sports venue near Quillota, Chile. Competitors jumped two rounds yesterday over designer Marina Azevedo’s (BRA) challenging, but fair, and beautifully decorated courses.

Seven of eight rounds that the U.S. Team members jumped today were “foot-perfect” with Karl Cook’s first round on Caracole de La Roque the only outlier (12 faults). McLain Ward riding Contagious, Kent Farrington riding Landon and Laura Kraut on Dorado 212 rubber stamped clean round after clean round to produce a winning team score of 12.37.

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Jumpers Take Center Stage at Santiago 2023 Pan American Games

The first of three days of the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games show jumping competition kicked off yesterday with the “speed” class, an FEI jumper rules “Table C” class where rails knocked down are converted to time and added to the time it took the horse and rider to complete the course. The course was listed as a Table A course, but judged under Table C rules (no jump off to break ties).

The 1.50-meter course featured 13 obstacles and 16 jumping efforts with a length of about 600 meters and a time limit of 120 seconds. The class was both a team and an individual qualifying class. Forty-six starters tackled the show jumping course with two being eliminated for refusals, Andres Julio Soto Peña riding Optimus Blue from the Dominican Republic and Bolivia’s Diego Alejandro Bedoya Yañez and Skara Glen’s Para Bellum.

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2023 Pan American Games Eventing Final Day: Individual Gold and Team Silver for USA, Team Gold and Individual Bronze for Canada

Yesterday was the first day since the 2023 Pan American Games began in Chile that it rained here in Quillota. But a damp morning gave way to drier conditions and partial sunshine when the show jumping phase of eventing kicked off at noon here at the Grenadier Regiment Riding School. The pressure was on with the push to win medals and to claim the two qualifying spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Earlier in the day 25 event horses (all who had finished cross-country the day before) were presented to the ground jury at the second horse inspection for eventing. Of those 25, three horses were sent to the hold box (Canada’s Bacyrouge ridden by Lindsay Traisnel, Mexico’s Anahuac SDN ridden by Fernando Parroquin Delfin, and Argentina’s Chaman Ginn ridden by Juan Benitez Gallardo), then represented and were accepted to show jump on second look by the jury.

The eventing show jumping course for 2023 was created by Marina Azevedo from Brazil, the first time a women has ever been the official course designer for a Pan American Games eventing show jumping course. She created a challenging course worthy of a continental championship. The CCI4* (Table A, 1.25-meter-high, 470-meter-long) course had 12 numbered obstacles and 15 jumping efforts, including double and triple combinations, and a time allowed of 76 seconds.

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Cross-Country Day at the 2023 Pan American Games

Nestled in low mountains on the border of La Campana National Park about half an hour inland from the Pacific coastline, the Grenadier Regiment Riding School (a military cavalry school) is the equestrian venue for the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games. Both the Pacific Ocean and part of the Andes mountain range can be viewed from the 6,170-foot mountain called Cerro La Campana which is located inside the park.

British explorer Charles Darwin visited the area in 1834 while on one of his many excursions. In fact, there is a large tree within the compound of the military post that was already planted and growing in the year that Darwin visited. The area is known for producing lemons, avocados and cherimoya fruit, among other agricultural products.

This scenic backdrop gave Pan American Games cross-country course designer Pierre Le Goupil (FRA) and course builder Dominic Moore (GBR) a wonderful opportunity to incorporate the landscape and history of the area into his course design. Each jump had some sort of theme related to Chilean history, culture, agricultural and mining products and geography.

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American Eventers Top Three After Dressage at Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games

It was time to play in the sandbox for the Pan American Games eventers today as they did their best to correctly execute FEI CCI4* Dressage Test B. Thirty-four competitors from nine Pan American countries moved down center line in front of ground jury members Sandy Phillips (GBR) at E, Robert Stevenson (USA) at C, and Marina Sciocchetti Campello (ITA) at M.

The four U.S. riders all scored well, with three of them receiving marks under 30 and all in the top ten. Their scores and placings after dressage are: Liz Halliday and Miks Master C, first, 24.8; Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake, second, 26.8; Sharon White and Claus 63, third, 28.2; and Sydney Elliott and QC Diamantaire, tenth, 33.3.

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Eventing Begins at Santiago 2023 Pan American Games

As the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games dressage competition ended, event horses grazing alongside their grooms starting dotting the landscape around the Grenadier Regiment Riding School here in Quillota. It is their turn to mix it up for medals and their country’s honor in eventing at the Pan American Games.

Having safely qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at last year’s World Championships in Italy, the United States has the luxury of giving Pan American Games experience to several riders who have not yet participated in a major games representing the stars and stripes. But for Canada it is do or die time; they have to qualify for Paris 2024 with a good performance here.

There are two Paris 2024 Olympic qualifying spots up for grabs at this Santiago 2023 Games. Teams seeking to claim one of these two Olympic qualifying spots are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay.

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2023 Pan American Games: Ecuador’s Julio Mendoza Loor, Based in USA, Wins Gold in Dressage Freestyle, Joao Victor Macari from Brazil Silver and Anna Marek from USA Bronze

United States-based Ecuadorian rider Julio Mendoza Loor, riding the 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Jewel’s Goldstrike, captured Ecuador’s first-ever gold medal in dressage today at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games. Mendoza is a familiar face to most U.S. dressage fans since he and his wife Jessica are based in South Carolina, about an hour from the Tryon International Equestrian Center. His 87.230% score was a personal best and he and “Goldie” were in synch and spot on the entire test.

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Three U.S. Riders Qualify for Santiago 2023 Pan American Games Dressage Freestyle – Watch Live or On Demand

Watch the Pan American Games dressage freestyle competition today, Wednesday, October 25, 2023, starting at 11 a.m. Eastern (10 a.m. Central, 9 a.m. Mountain, 8 a.m. Pacific and 5 a.m. Hawaii.)

United States riders competing will be Codi Harrison on Katholt’s Bossco, Anna Marek on Fire Fly, and Sarah Tubman on First Apple. U.S.-based Ecuadorian rider Julio Mendoza Loor, who lives in South Carolina, will also be competing on Jewel’s Goldstrike.

Twenty riders representing a total of 10 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, U.S., Venezuela) will ride either an Intermediate 1 freestyle or Grand Prix freestyle to compete for Pan American Games individual medals. In the team competition the two previous days, the USA won gold, Brazil silver and Canada bronze.

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The post 2023 Pan American Games appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

After the excitement of the team jumper finals on Wednesday at the Pan American Games where the USA pulled out all of the stops to win gold with Canada silver and Brazil bronze, thoughts turned to individual medals yesterday. The day was the hottest by far of the two weeks of Pan Am Games equestrian competition, with the temperature reaching the upper 80s Fahrenheit and bright sunshine all day.

The Pan American Games individual jumper finals comprised two rounds (A and B) both over 1.60-meter courses judged under Table A rules (not against the clock). Once again the jumps were beautifully decorated with themes from Chilean history and architecture, traditional hats worn by Chilean cowboys called “chupalla,” Native American culture, Chilean wildlife (flamingos and penguins), a semi-precious stone called lapis lazuli mined in Chile, and more.

Twenty-eight horse and rider combinations representing 13 nations (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela), and one independent athlete, took their turn over course designer Marina Azevedo’s (BRA) Round A track. The course was technically challenging and the fences were big. Penalty point scores carried over from previous days and they jumped in reverse order of placing thus far.

By virtue of having the top 14 scores from previous days, the U.S. (3), Brazilian (2), Mexican (2) and Canadian (3) riders, along with riders from Argentina (2), Colombia (1) and Venezuela (1), all jumped in the second half of the order in Round A. Only three riders jumped clear in Round A: Brazil’s Stephan de Freitas Barcha on Chevaux Primavera Imperio Egipcio who had been third going into the day; Argentina’s José Maria Larocca Jr. on Finn Lente who had been 17th going into Friday, and with much applause from the home crowd, Chile’s Agustin Covarrubias on Nelson du Petit Vivier who was in 18th going into the Round A Finals.

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All of the U.S. riders had rails down in the first round, one each for Laura Kraut on Dorado 212 and Kent Farrington on Landon, and two down for McLain Ward and Contagious. However, they had all carried top scores from previous days, so after Round A they remained in in the top five with Kraut in second (7.39), Farrington in fourth (9.64) and Ward in fifth (11.34). At the end of Round A, the leader was de Freitas Barcha (BRA) with 4.06 and rounding out the top five was Mexico’s Eugenio Garza Perez on Contago in third (9.63).

Canadian rider Amy Millar on Truman was the top for her country after Round A, sitting in eighth on a score of 13.71. Teammates Tiffany Foster on Figor and Beth Underhill on Nikka Vd Bisschop were in 12th (16.4) and 13th (17.02), respectively.

Round B would sort it all out in the end to determine the individual medals. The riders faced another technical and big course from Azevedo with 10 numbered fences and 13 jumping efforts. Twenty riders returned for Round B from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, United States and Venezuela. This included all three U.S. riders and all three Canadian riders.

Fences 9 and 10 ended up causing the most grief coming down for most of the competitors, including fence 9 falling for Ward and Contagious to add only four faults to their final total of 15.34 to finish in bronze position. Kraut and Dorado 212 had two unlucky rails in Round B, which dropped them into fourth place just behind Ward and Contagious.

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Ward talked about his round, his horse and the week of Pan American Games jumper competition after the awards, “It was really a brilliant week for the American team. Really the goal for us here was to win a gold medal and qualify for Paris and I think we did that with a lot of style on Wednesday. I’m very proud of my team and my horse. Contagious really fought for me today. We got a bit unlucky in a few places, but there are always things that I can do better, but he performed great and I’m just really thankful to all of the people that make it possible for me to have a horse as special as him.”

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Kent Farrington and Landon had a stellar Round B with the only double clear of any combination over the course to finish on a score of 9.64, which in the end earned them Pan Am silver behind gold medalists de Freitas Barcha on Chevaux Primavera Imperio Egipcio, a 12-year-old mare, who did take one rail down to finish on 8.06.

Canadian Amy Millar on Truman jumped what was initially marked as a clear round within the time, which would have put her in the bronze medal spot. However, after she finished the course, but before she crossed the timer, a rail fell from fence 4b. The Canadian Team did file a protest because it was uncertain whether the rail fell before or after she stopped the timer, but in the end the ground jury upheld the 4 fault score and she finished in 6th on 17.71. Fellow countrywomen Beth Underhill on Nikka Vd Bisschop and Tiffany Foster on Figor finished in 9th (21.02) and 14th (26.40), respectively.

An emotional de Freitas Barcha talked about his win and his horse, “Since I started this journey 25 years ago in Rio de Janeiro, I worked every day for a day like this. I want to just say thank you to everybody that has helped me during this journey. I have a good team now, good people behind me, but this victory is for two people who are no longer here. It is for a teacher I had since I was 15, and also my friend who I lost at the beginning of the year. I know he was with me in every round supporting me this week and this victory is for Vava, my good friend who was like a brother to me. My mare―the way she jumps―she is amazing. I just have to work to keep her calm. I know her. I’ve been riding this mare since she was six.”

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Silver medalist Farrington said about his horse, “As a more inexperienced horse coming into this event, I think he continued to grow and improve throughout the week, and I’m just really thrilled with the result. These were big rounds today and some real jumping and I think that shows what the Pan Am Games has become in our sport. I’ve had him since the end of his 7-year-old year and he’s now ten, so really coming into his own. He’s won two five-star Grand Prixs already and just jumped better and better as the week went on. He’s an incredible athlete and you can see that he will battle his way out and finished very strong.”

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U.S. Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland summed up his riders’ performances as the Pan Am equestrian competition closed here in Chile, “We really came here for Wednesday [the Team competition to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics]. They were just brilliant and got the job done there. Today, as the individuals always are, is just the icing on the cake. All three of our combinations today have been impressive. We had some building partnerships on this team, with Kent and Landon and Laura and Dorado, and I couldn’t be happier with them, both of them jumped as well as they ever have all week.”

This coverage of the jumper finals at the 2023 Pan American Games is a web exclusive for Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Santiago 2023 Pan American Games Individual Jumper Final: USA Riders Silver and Bronze; Brazilian Gold appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

It might be enough to say “Job done, next stop Paris 2024!” but expounding on that theme, the U.S. Show Jumping Team put on a spectacular show today at the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games equestrian sports venue near Quillota, Chile. Competitors jumped two rounds yesterday over designer Marina Azevedo’s (BRA) challenging, but fair, and beautifully decorated courses.

Seven of eight rounds that the U.S. Team members jumped today were “foot-perfect” with Karl Cook’s first round on Caracole de La Roque the only outlier (12 faults). McLain Ward riding Contagious, Kent Farrington riding Landon and Laura Kraut on Dorado 212 rubber stamped clean round after clean round to produce a winning team score of 12.37.

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U.S. Jumping Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland shared his thoughts after the team medal ceremony, “I think there’s a huge sense of relief with the team’s finish today. We really brought this down to the wire in terms of qualification, and the team produced today, especially with three clears in the first round and four in the second. I don’t think people have talked about how competitive the Pan American Games has become. It’s very stiff competition for all of the teams. For us, this gold is just the icing on top, because our priority was to secure our qualification [for the 2024 Paris Olympics.] So, now the team can enjoy this moment, but we have to immediately start shifting our focus and planning for Paris.”

Canada’s riders were pretty consistent as well with Tiffany Foster on Figor jumping clear in both rounds and Beth Underhill on Nikka Vd Bisschop and Amy Millar on Truman each producing one clear round and one 4-fault round. Mario Deslauriers and Emerson turned in two 4-fault rounds. Their final score was 17.62 to capture silver.

Brazil grabbed the bronze with 20.32 and Mexico finished fourth on 22.58. The three open spots to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games available here went to the USA, Canada and Mexico, since Brazil was already qualified. Argentina finished fifth, Colombia sixth, Chile seventh, and Uruguay eighth.

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Kraut talked about the pressure of the day, “This day was extremely nerve-wracking, but we had a very good first-round performance. But, you still know that it can all go away with the second round and two mediocre rounds could have lost it for us. I was so relieved when the three before me went clear. I almost enjoyed riding the last round.”

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Farrington said he was thrilled with the performance of his horse Landon who is relatively green at this level. “We really needed clear rounds today or we weren’t going to qualify. It was as simple as that. He showed his greenness a bit yesterday, but he really rallied back today over a much more difficult course. [It was] great progress for my horse, and [I am] happy we got Team USA into the Olympics.”

The theme for jump decoration was “scenes from southern Chile” and included Emperor penguins, other animals of Chile, Chilean wine, famous churches and cathedrals, stilt houses of Chiloé, a famous Chilean railway viaduct, Chilean volcanoes, the Mapuche people, artisan handicrafts of Chile, Patagonia and more.

After a day off from competition and a second horse inspection today, the final day of the 2023 Pan American show jumping will be tomorrow, November 3, to determine individual medals. The horse and rider pairs will again jump two rounds, the first from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and the second from 2-3:30 p.m. Chile time (Chile is one hour ahead of the Eastern U.S.).

Three of the four U.S. riders currently sit in the top ten qualifiers for the individual medal competition. Ward and Contagious top the overall leaderboard on 3.34 penalties, Kraut and Dorado 212 in second on 3.39 penalties, and Farrington and Landon in eighth on 5.64 penalties.

Fans can watch on either ClipMyHorse.TV (with paid subscription, although a free trial membership may be available) or possibly on the Pan Am Sports Channel for free at this link (may have to download a free app).

For more information on the U.S. Equestrian Team competing in Chile, click here.

Find schedules, start lists and results on the official games website here and click on “equestrian jumping.”

This coverage of show jumping at the 2023 Pan American Games is a web exclusive for Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post USA Show Jumping Team Wins Pan American Team Gold, Canada Silver, Brazil Bronze appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

The first of three days of the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games show jumping competition kicked off yesterday with the “speed” class, an FEI jumper rules “Table C” class where rails knocked down are converted to time and added to the time it took the horse and rider to complete the course. The course was listed as a Table A course, but judged under Table C rules (no jump off to break ties).

The 1.50-meter course featured 13 obstacles and 16 jumping efforts with a length of about 600 meters and a time limit of 120 seconds. All but one of the jumps were decorated with themes from the north of Chile. The exception was the first jump which was one borrowed from the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. Jump decorations included: The Valley of the Moon (Valle de la Luna); Chilean flamingos; the flowering Atacama desert (Desierto Florido de Atacama); traditional music from Native American people in Chile; a famous Chilean poet named Gabriela Mistral; mining in Chile, and others.

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The class was both a team and an individual qualifying class. Forty-six starters tackled the show jumping course with two being eliminated for refusals, Andres Julio Soto Peña riding Optimus Blue from the Dominican Republic and Bolivia’s Diego Alejandro Bedoya Yañez and Skara Glen’s Para Bellum.

The U.S. Team had drawn sixth to go in the order, so with individuals competing without a team mixed in, the first U.S. rider to jump was McLain Ward in the ninth time slot. Ward rode his long-time partner Contagious, a 14-year-old Zweibrücker gelding owned by Beechwood Stables. They pulled one rail and finished in 79.56. Through a complicated formula, their first qualifying score — which will carry into today’s first class — was converted to 3.34.

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Another 10 riders later, Kent Farrington, USA, guided Landon, a 10-year-old Zangersheide gelding owned by Haitey McNerney, around the colorful course. They pulled two unfortunate rails, finishing in 84.16 which converted to 5.64 qualifying points going into today.

Twelve spots after Cook, the final U.S. rider was Laura Kraut on Dorado 212, an 11-year-old Warmblood gelding owned by St. Bride’s Farm. The pressure was on them to produce a good round and they responded by jumping clear and in a time of 79.66 which converted to 3.39 qualifying points going into today.

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U.S. Jumping Team Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland commented on the day and their end goal, “Our takeaway today is no different than what we knew coming in. You can’t also leave everything on the table on the first day, because there are twice as many jumps tomorrow and it only gets bigger from here on out. Our team needs to focus on what we can control, which is how we approach tomorrow; it’s a new day for each of the teams here.”

Marlon Modolo Zanotelli from Brazil riding Deesse de Coquerie topped the standings after yesterday’s class with a clear jumping round and a time of 72.87 which converted to a qualifying score of 0. His countryman Pedro Veniss and Nimrod de Muze Z were second in the standings with a qualifying score of 0.26. Colombia’s Rene Lopez Lizarazo on Kheros Van’T Hoogeinde is in third with a qualifying score of 0.72 and Mexico’s Eugenio Garza Perez riding Contago is next best with a qualifying score of 1.63. Canada’s Amy Millar on Truman had the fifth best qualifying score of 1.71.

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The team standings after one class are:  Brazil, first, 4.32; Colombia, second, 7.29; Canada, third, 9.62; Argentina, fourth, 12.01; USA, fifth, 12.37; Mexico, sixth, 14.58; Chile, seventh, 16.75; Uruguay, eighth, 35.57, and Ecuador, ninth, 40.98.

The three highest ranked teams from the 2023 Pan American Games, from FEI Olympic Groups D (North America) and/or E (Central and South America) and excluding teams already qualified, will punch their ticket for Paris 2024. The countries here chasing qualification for Paris are Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay and USA. Brazil has already qualified. Four individual qualifying spots for athletes from countries without teams, in Groups D and E, are also up for grabs.

Today’s show jumping will be over two rounds, the first from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Chile  time (1 hour ahead of the Eastern U.S.) and the second from 2:30-5 p.m. (1 hour ahead of the Eastern U.S.).

Fans can watch on either ClipMyHorseTV.com (with paid subscription, although a free live stream is mentioned for today, November 1) or possibly on the Pan Am Sports Channel for free at this link (may have to load an free app).

For more information on the U.S. Equestrian Team competing in Chile, click here.

Find schedules, start lists and results on the official games website here and click on “equestrian jumping.”

This coverage of show jumping at the 2023 Pan American Games is a web exclusive for Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Jumpers Take Center Stage at Santiago 2023 Pan American Games appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Yesterday was the first day since the 2023 Pan American Games began in Chile that it rained here in Quillota. But a damp morning gave way to drier conditions and partial sunshine when the show jumping phase of eventing kicked off at noon here at the Grenadier Regiment Riding School. The pressure was on with the push to win medals and to claim the two qualifying spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Earlier in the day 25 event horses (all who had finished cross-country the day before) were presented to the ground jury at the second horse inspection for eventing. Of those 25, three horses were sent to the hold box (Canada’s Bacyrouge ridden by Lindsay Traisnel, Mexico’s Anahuac SDN ridden by Fernando Parroquin Delfin, and Argentina’s Chaman Ginn ridden by Juan Benitez Gallardo), then represented and were accepted to show jump on second look by the jury.

The eventing show jumping course for 2023 was created by Marina Azevedo from Brazil, the first time a women has ever been the official course designer for a Pan American Games eventing show jumping course. She created a challenging course worthy of a continental championship. The CCI4* (Table A, 1.25-meter-high, 470-meter-long) course had 12 numbered obstacles and 15 jumping efforts, including double and triple combinations, and a time allowed of 76 seconds.

The time allowed wasn’t easy to make and only four of the 25 competitors completed their round within the time (Caroline Pamukcu on HSH Blake for the USA, Karl Slezak on Hot Bobo from Canada, Colleen Loach on FE Golden Eye from Canada, and Carlos Parro on Safira from Brazil). Leaving all the rails up was equally difficult and only five out of the 25 were able to jump cleanly.

Only one competitor, Colleen Loach of Canada riding FE Golden Eye, did not lower the height of any jump and finished within the time allowed, adding nothing to their cross-country total (41.8) to finish in sixth place. Others with clear jumping rounds, but with time faults, were Brazil’s Ruy Fonseca on Ballypatrick SRS (0.4 time penalties for a total of 56.7), Canada’s Michael Winter on El Mundo (0.8 time penalties for a total of 40.7) and Canada’s Lindsay Traisnel on Bacyrouge (1.6 time penalties for a total of 34.2).

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Because of their great results on cross-country day, and because the eventers show jump in reverse order of placings in the final phase, all of the American horse and rider combinations jumped in the final third of the show jumping yesterday. First up to jump for the U.S. Team was Sydney Elliott and Carol Stevens’ black, 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding QC Diamantaire. Although they looked fresh, they unfortunately pulled two rails and added 1.2 time penalties for a final score of 42.5 to finish in eighth place.

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Four riders later, American Sharon White on her own Claus 63, an 11-year-old bay Holsteiner gelding (standing in third after cross-country), had her turn over the course. Although Claus is normally a good show jumper, it wasn’t their day and they pulled four rails and added 0.4 time faults to finish on 47.0, dropping them to tenth place.

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Liz Halliday, USA, and Miks Master C, a bay 11-year-old gelding owned by Ocala Horse Properties and Deborah Palmer, were next in the ring. Thus far they had had an impressive Pan American Games, being first after the dressage phase and second after cross-country. In April 2023, this pair had placed a notable third at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5*-L, but it was not to be at these Pan American Games. They dropped three rails and incurred 1.6 time faults to finish on 42.4 for seventh place.

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The final rider to jump in the Pan Am eventing competition was the leader after cross-country―the USA’s Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake, a black 8-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Mollie Hoff, the rider and her mother, Sherrie Martin. They entered the arena and most fans were holding their breath as it was all on the line for the team medals and the chance for an individual medal for Pamukcu.

Their round was going well until a major miscommunication caused them to swim through fence 5, taking down all of the rails (but that only meant one penalty of four faults since it was all at one fence). Much credit should go to Pamukcu for recovering quickly and settling her young and impressive horse down to finish the rest of the course without any further jumping penalties and within the time. They added only 4 for a final score of 30.8, capturing individual gold and securing team silver for the USA.

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Pamukcu talked about her round and the win, “I’m just so grateful for this opportunity and still in shock to be honest. I really came here to deliver a good result for the team and that was my focus. These teammates really took me under their wing this week, and I think that we have a great pipeline in our country, both with riders and horses. That’s really exciting, and I feel like this medal is a testament to that. I got a little bit eager at fence 5, but grateful for a great horse. When you make a mistake, you have to put yourself together and keep kicking on.”

The U.S. Team had gone into the day leading in the team standings after cross-country by 15.3 points over Brazil and 19 points over Canada, but the costly rails by all four team members dashed their hopes of a team gold. In the end, Canada, whose team members put on an impressive jumping show, pulled ahead, jumping from third after cross-country to win gold by a very narrow margin of 0.1 (115.6) by over the USA (115.7). Brazil captured bronze (127.1). Mexico finished fourth (253), and Argentina fifth (254.1). Although the teams from Uruguay, Chile and Colombia were assigned final scores, each of those teams had enough riders eliminated on cross-country (and subsequently 1,000 points added to their score per elimination) they were not in contention for medals.

Though there was much celebration by the U.S. Team and fans for Pamukcu’s gold medal win and their silver team medal, there was also a fair amount of disappointment. Chef d’Equipe Bobby Costello summed up the highs and lows of the day, “Firstly, in our disappointment of today, we’re also absolutely thrilled for Caroline, her owners and her support group. She was incredible this whole week. We’re very proud of her and it’s so well-deserved. It’s hard in the moment to look back and immediately start analyzing, but we all need to think about it for a couple of days. With that will come more clarity on what we can do moving forward to not be in this position again. It’s good that we are all disappointed with silver because it means we want to be better. But, [we] are also genuinely happy for our friends, the Canadians, and glad to see both them and Brazil punch their tickets to Paris. As a team, we’re going to have to go away from this, analyze ourselves, and find a way to come back stronger.”

After the eventing wrapped, the U.S. Show Jumping Team began their Pan Am journey with the first horse inspection in the late afternoon. Fifty-two horses from 15 countries, and one horse presented by an independent athlete, were shown to the ground jury (Patrice Alvado, FRA; Norma Angelica Rodriguez, MEX; Jorge Aros, CHI; Neil O’Connor, USA; Colleen Hoffman, CAN). Three were held for re-inspection the next day (Laura Kraut’s Dorado 212 from the USA, Rodrigo Pessoa’s Major Tom from Brazil and Andres Julio Soto Peña’s Optimus Blue from the Dominican Republic) and all passed on re-inspection.

The jumper competitors had a training session today. Tomorrow will start their first day of three days of competition at 11:30 a.m. Chile time (which is 10:30 a.m. Eastern US time, 9:30 a.m. Central, 8:30 a.m. Mountain, 7:30 a.m. Pacific, and 4:30 a.m. Hawaii). Fans can watch on either ClipMyHorseTV.com (with paid subscription) or possibly on the Pan Am Sports Channel for free at this link (may have to download a free app).

For more information on the U.S. Equestrian Team competing in Chile, click here.

Find schedules, start lists and results on the official games website here and click on “equestrian eventing” or “equestrian jumping.”

The post 2023 Pan American Games Eventing Final Day: Individual Gold and Team Silver for USA, Team Gold and Individual Bronze for Canada appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Nestled in low mountains on the border of La Campana National Park about half an hour inland from the Pacific coastline, the Grenadier Regiment Riding School (a military cavalry school) is the equestrian venue for the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games. Both the Pacific Ocean and part of the Andes mountain range can be viewed from the 6,170-foot mountain called Cerro La Campana which is located inside the park.

British explorer Charles Darwin visited the area in 1834 while on one of his many excursions. In fact, there is a large tree within the compound of the military post that was already planted and growing in the year that Darwin visited. The area is known for producing lemons, avocados and cherimoya fruit, among other agricultural products.

This scenic backdrop gave Pan American Games cross-country course designer Pierre Le Goupil (FRA) and course builder Dominic Moore (GBR) a wonderful opportunity to incorporate the landscape and history of the area into his course design. Each jump had some sort of theme related to Chilean history, culture, agricultural and mining products and geography.

For example, jump #1 was the famous Viňa del Mar clock (located at a seaside resort about half an hour from Quillota) and the jump #7 A-B-C complex was called the “Paso de Libertadores,” a pass through the Andes used by Chilean patriots to defeat the enemy. Then, jump #14 A-B was the Darwin fox and Darwin frog themed obstacle, while #17 was the Andean condor nest. Other fences featured local things such as a Chilean barbecue, a copper mine, an Aconcagua Valley (the river which runs through the region) market cart, the Andes rails, the Maipú battle wall, Easter Island moai, the cavalry school yard, the Pan-American oxer, and more.

One of the most interesting equestrian stories tied to the name of yesterday’s cross-country obstacle #3 is that of a horse named “Huaso” (chestnut colt, foaled 1933-died August 24, 1961, the horse was named for the Chilean word for cowboy). Huaso was ridden by local cavalry officer Captain Alberto Larraguibel. Together they set the high-jump world record (not to be confused with an indoor Puissance high jumping competition) on February 5, 1949, by jumping 8 feet 1 inch in Viña del Mar, Chile. This is one of the longest-running unbroken sport records and is still unbroken. Huaso is buried on the cavalry school grounds here and the avenue which runs along the school grounds is named for Larraguibel. To learn more about Huaso, go to the Chilean Equestrian Federation and Wikipedia.

Now for the statistics from the day, the course was 4,425 meters in length with an optimum time of 8 minutes, three seconds (speed of 550 meters per minute) and a time limit of 16 minutes, six seconds. The course had 23 numbered jumps and 35 jumping efforts. While 20 horse and rider combinations jumped clear on cross-country, only six of those were within the time.

Thirty-four horses from nine nations started on cross-country yesterday with 25 horse and rider combinations finishing the course for a completion rate of 73.529%. Countries represented were Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, and the United States. All but Ecuador (which had only two entries) fielded an entire team of four horse/rider combinations.

By the time the last horse had jumped the final fence, the “Caribbean Treasure Ship,” the leaderboard had changed a bit from the previous day of dressage. U.S. riders still fill the top three spots, but Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake had a clear, fast round to move up to first ahead of Liz Halliday who had 4 time penalties with Miks Master C. Sharon White and Claus 63 remain in third despite 2.4 time penalties.

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“I really have to thank the [U.S. Equestrian] Federation, because I felt very prepared coming into this event and Blake did too,” said Pamukcu. “We did the young horse and young rider program together and we went to Strzegom this summer for the Nations Cup. That was such a perfect prep for this event. We felt confident out there and I’m quite pleased with him. I made sure I moved on the galloping tracks. I had to set him up a bit more than normal. It was a championship course that asked 4* questions at the 3* height. The ground was unbelievable; all the jumps were just so beautifully decorated.”

The final U.S. rider, Sydney Elliott riding QC Diamantaire had a fault-free, within-the-time trip and advanced from 10th place after dressage to seventh. So, all in all, a very strong showing for the U.S. riders thus far here in Chile.

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Looking at the others in the top ten after cross-country, Brazil’s Marcio Carvalho Jorge riding Castle Howard Casanova moved up a spot yesterday, too, and now sits in fourth. His fellow teammates, Carlos Parro on Safira and Rafael Mamprin Losano on Withington also moved up in three places with Parro moving from 11th to eighth and Mamprin Losano jumping from 12th to ninth.

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The Canadians switched their order as well. Colleen Loach and FE Golden Eye had been fourth after dressage, but accrued 13.2 time penalties to move them down to 11th in the Pan American Games standings after cross-country. Lindsay Traisnel and Bacyrouge moved up from seventh to fifth and Karl Slezak and Hot Bobo jumping from eighth to sixth, both on the strength of fault-free rounds within the time allowed.

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The USA leads the team standings (86.2) with Brazil in second (101.5) and Canada only a few points back in third (105.2). Argentina is in fourth (194.1) and Mexico in fifth (209). Sadly, the home team, Chile, had two rider eliminated yesterday, as did Uruguay. Colombia had three of their horse/rider combinations eliminated as well.

U.S. Chef d’Equipe Bobby Costello summed up the day, “The team really went out and executed our game plan yesterday and each of them did the job we tasked them with. Ian [Stark] was really thorough with how he wanted them to approach this course and all of them delivered. The horses are all looking great and finished well―which is a testament to their fitness and preparedness coming into this event. We have one more day left though, and we are not taking our eye off the ball.”

The cross-country fence analysis shows that one frangible pin was broken and there were three rider falls, but no horse falls. Four obstacles had two refusals incurred and there were 18 single refusals. Overall, the course designer did a very good job of safeguarding horses and riders.

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Today will bring new challenges for the remaining competitors with the second horse inspection scheduled for 9 a.m. and the show jumping at noon Chile time (11 a.m. Eastern US, 10 a.m. Central, 9 a.m. Mountain, 8 a.m. Pacific and 5 a.m. Hawaii). Team and individual medal ceremonies will follow. The competition can be viewed on ClipMyHorse.tv (subscription required).

For more information on the U.S. Equestrian Team competing in Chile, click here.

Find schedules, start lists and results on the official games website here and click on “equestrian eventing.”

The post Cross-Country Day at the 2023 Pan American Games appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

It was time to play in the sandbox for the Pan American Games eventers today as they did their best to correctly execute FEI CCI4* Dressage Test B. Thirty-four competitors from nine Pan American countries moved down center line in front of ground jury members Sandy Phillips (GBR) at E, Robert Stevenson (USA) at C, and Marina Sciocchetti Campello (ITA) at M.

The four U.S. riders all scored well, with three of them receiving marks under 30 and all in the top ten. Their scores and placings after dressage are: Liz Halliday and Miks Master C, first, 24.8; Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake, second, 26.8; Sharon White and Claus 63, third, 28.2; and Sydney Elliott and QC Diamantaire, tenth, 33.3.

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For Halliday it was a moment she’d long been waiting for. “It’s an absolute pleasure to be here. He’s such a wonderful horse and he always offers me so much every single time. I thought he really had incredible half-passes in the trot and the extended canter [today]. For tomorrow [cross-country], the footing is spectacular. The course is going to be tough enough and I think the time will be influential and there’s a lot to do. It’s a quality track and it’s certainly up to standard. It will take some respect.”

Chef d’Equipe Bobby Costello spoke about the U.S. Team’s showing thus far and what’s ahead. “I was proud of team today and the results produced, but ultimately, we’re already focused on tomorrow. We know that this course is legitimate. We need to be looking ahead at everything we can do to be prepared as a team for the next phase across the board.”

Rounding out the competitors with scores under 30 were Canada’s Colleen Loach with Fe Golden Eye stands in fourth on a score of 28.6 and Brazil’s Marcio Carvalho Jorge rode Castle Howard Casanova to fifth place (29.8) after dressage.

Canadians Michael Winter on El Mundo, Lindsay Traisnel on Bacyrouge, and Karl Slezak on Hot Bobo hold places six through eight, respectively. Mexico’s Fernando Parroquin Delfin riding Anahuac SDN holds the ninth spot to complete the top ten.

The U.S. Team is currently in first place (79.8) over Canada in second (93.5) and third-place Brazil (99.9). Mexico is in fourth place on 109.2 followed by Uruguay, Chile, Argentina and Colombia. But, anything can happen tomorrow as the competitors tackle the cross-country course designed by Pierre Le Goupil (FRA) and built by Dominic Moore (GBR).

The competition may be viewed live or watched later on demand on FEI TV via ClipMyHorse.com (subscription required.) Plan to settle in to view the action and support your favorite teams and individuals as cross-country begins at 11 a.m. today, Saturday, October 28, Chile time (which is 10 a.m. Eastern US time, 9 a.m. Central, 8 a.m. Mountain, 7 a.m. Pacific, and 4 a.m. Hawaii).

The Santiago 2023 Pan American Games eventing cross-country map for tomorrow can be viewed on crosscountryapp.com.

Find schedules, start lists and results on the official games website here and click on “Equestrian Eventing.”

For more information on the U.S. Equestrian Team competing in Chile, click here.

This coverage of eventing at the 2023 Pan American Games is a web exclusive for Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post American Eventers Top Three After Dressage at Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

As the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games dressage competition ended, event horses grazing alongside their grooms starting dotting the landscape around the Grenadier Regiment Riding School here in Quillota. It is their turn to mix it up for medals and their country’s honor in eventing at the Pan American Games.

Having safely qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at last year’s World Championships in Italy, the United States has the luxury of giving Pan American Games experience to several riders who have not yet participated in a major games representing the stars and stripes. But for Canada it is do or die time; they have to qualify for Paris 2024 with a good performance here.

There are two Paris 2024 Olympic qualifying spots up for grabs at this Santiago 2023 Games. Teams seeking to claim one of these two Olympic qualifying spots are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay.

Today, 38 horses representing nine different countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, and the USA) were presented to the ground jury in the first horse inspection for eventing. All 38 horses were accepted for competition, although two were asked to jog the lane a second time, then ultimately were cleared to start and never sent to the hold box. Of those 38 horses jogged for the ground jury, four are traveling reserves (one each from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and the USA) which leaves a starting list of 34 horse and rider combinations competing here in Chile.

The USA’s team is: Sydney Elliott (Benton, Louisiana) and QC Diamantaire, a 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Carol Stephens; Liz Halliday (Ocala, Florida) and Miks Master C, an 11-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding owned by Debby Palmer and the Ocala Horse Properties, LLC; Caroline Pamukcu (Miami Beach, Florida) and HSH Blake, an 8-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Mollie Hoff, Sherrie Martin and Caroline Pamukcu; Sharon White (Summit Point, West Virginia) and Claus 63, her own 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding, and the traveling reserve is Alyssa Phillips (Fort Worth, Texas) and Oskar, a 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Julie Phillips.

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Canada sent a team of four horse and rider combinations, but no traveling reserve: Colleen Loach on FE Golden Eye; Karl Slezak on Hot Bobo (this pair won the CCI4*-S at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event in April); Lindsay Traisnel on Bacyrouge, and Michael Winter on El Mundo.

Here are some fun facts about the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games equestrian eventing competition from the Fédération Equestre Internationale:

◆ 8 teams: ARG; BRA; CAN; CHI; COL; MEX; URU; USA (all these nations―except USA who is already qualified in Eventing for Paris 2024―will be in the running for the two Paris 2024 eventing team slots on offer; see Olympic Qualification overview below)

◆ 1 nation with Individuals: ECU (2)

◆ First timers (no previous participation in Pan American Games): 19 athletes; 34 horses

◆ Youngest athlete: Andres Felipe Gomez Sanabria (COL) – 22 years old (born November 8, 2001) (Reserve: Mateo Garin (CHI) – 18 years old (born May 31, 2005)

◆ Oldest athlete: Juan Carlos Tafur Eisenmayer (COL) – 69 years old (born December 20, 1953) (Reserve: Tamra Smith (USA) – 49 years old (born July 23, 1974)

Athletes with most Pan Am participations:

◆ Ruy Fonseca (BRA) – 4 (1995 Buenos Aires ARG; 2011 Guadalajara MEX; 2015 Toronto CAN; 2019 Lima PER)
◆ Edison Alejandro Quintana Valerio (URU) – 3 (2007 Rio de Janeiro BRA; 2015 Toronto CAN; 2019 Lima PER)
◆ Carlos Parro (BRA)– 3 (2007 Rio de Janeiro BRA; 2015 Toronto CAN; 2019 Lima PER)
◆ Marcelo Javier (ARG) – 3 (2011 Guadalajara MEX; 2015 Toronto CAN; 2019 Lima PER)
◆ Juan Carlos Tafur Eisenmayer (COL) – 3 (2011 Guadalajara MEX; 2015 Toronto CAN; 2019 Lima PER)

Most medals: The athlete with most eventing medals at the Pan American Games is Michael Page, a legendary athlete from the USA, who has won three Olympic and six Pan American medals (3 team and 3 individual).

Athletes with most medals participating in Santiago 2023: Ruy Fonseca (BRA) – 5 (4 team and 1 individual) and Carlos Parro (BRA) – 4 (3 team and 1 individual)

Nations with the most medals:

◆ USA – 39 (27 individual; 12 team)
◆ CAN – 16 (6 individual; 10 team)
◆ BRA – 10 (3 individual; 7 team)
◆ MEX – 7 (4 individual; 3 team)
◆ ARG – 5 (4 individual; 1 team)
◆ BER – 3 (2 individual; 1 team)
◆ CHI – 3 (1 individual; 2 team)
◆ COL – 1 (1 individual)

Reigning champions from Lima (PER) 2019:

Individual:
◆ Gold – Boyd Martin (USA)/Tsetserleg TSF
◆ Silver – Lynn Symansky (USA)/RF Cool Play
◆ Bronze – Carlos Parro (BRA)/Quaikin Qurious

Team:
◆ Gold – USA
◆ Silver – BRA
◆ Bronze – CAN

The dressage phase of eventing starts this morning at 11 a.m. Chile time, which is 10 a.m. Eastern US time (9 a.m. Central, 8 a.m. Mountain, 7 a.m. Pacific, and 4 a.m. Hawaii.) The competition may be viewed live or watched later on demand on FEI TV via ClipMyHorse.com.

A membership is required for viewing, but ClipMyHorse is currently offering a discount of 10% on their premium memberships for USEF members and fans (use promotion code USEFCMHTV.) A limited-time free trial membership is also offered. All sessions of the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games equestrian competition for dressage, eventing and show jumping will be broadcast on ClipMyHorse.

For more information on the US Equestrian Team competing in Chile, click here.

Find schedules, start lists and results on the official games website here and click on “equestrian dressage,” “equestrian eventing” or “equestrian jumping.”

This coverage of eventing at the 2023 Pan American Games is a web exclusive for Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Eventing Begins at Santiago 2023 Pan American Games appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

United States-based Ecuadorian rider Julio Mendoza Loor, riding the 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Jewel’s Goldstrike, captured Ecuador’s first-ever gold medal in dressage today at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games. Mendoza is a familiar face to most U.S. dressage fans since he and his wife Jessica are based in South Carolina, about an hour from the Tryon International Equestrian Center. His 87.230% score was a personal best and he and “Goldie” were in synch and spot on the entire test.

João Victor Marcari Oliva (BRA) and Feel Good VO, an 11-year-old Westfalen stallion, took silver on 86.160%. The USA’s Anna Marek captured bronze (81.305%) with the 13-year-old Dutch gelding Fire Fly. Originally from Michigan, Marek and her husband are now based in Florida where Marek trains horses and teaches lessons.

American riders Sarah Tubman on First Apple (81.155%) and Codi Harrison on Katholt’s Bossco (79.230%) finished fourth and sixth, respectively, to top off a great showing by the U.S. Team.

For the full results, click here. The official results of individual medallists can be found here, as well.

Today’s freestyle capped three days of Pan Am dressage competition here in Quillota, Chile, about 2 hours northwest of Santiago. Eventing begins tomorrow with the first horse inspection and arena familiarization.

This recap from the 2023 Pan American Games is a web exclusive for Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post 2023 Pan American Games: Ecuador’s Julio Mendoza Loor, Based in USA, Wins Gold in Dressage Freestyle, Joao Victor Macari from Brazil Silver and Anna Marek from USA Bronze appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Watch the Pan American Games dressage freestyle competition today, Wednesday, October 25, 2023, starting at 11 a.m. Eastern (10 a.m. Central, 9 a.m. Mountain, 8 a.m. Pacific and 5 a.m. Hawaii.)

United States riders competing will be Codi Harrison on Katholt’s Bossco, Anna Marek on Fire Fly, and Sarah Tubman on First Apple. U.S.-based Ecuadorian rider Julio Mendoza Loor, who lives in South Carolina, will also be competing on Jewel’s Goldstrike.

Twenty riders representing a total of 10 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, U.S., Venezuela) will ride either an Intermediate 1 freestyle or Grand Prix freestyle to compete for Pan American Games individual medals. In the team competition the two previous days, the USA won gold, Brazil silver and Canada bronze.

Fans can watch on FEI TV via ClipMyHorse.com.

A membership is required for viewing, but ClipMyHorse is currently offering a discount of 10% on their premium memberships for USEF members and fans (use promotion code USEFCMHTV.) A limited-time free trial membership is also offered.

ClipMyHorse offers both live viewing and on-demand replays depending on membership level. All sessions of the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games equestrian competition for dressage, eventing and show jumping will be broadcast on ClipMyHorse.

For more information on the US Equestrian Team competing in Chile, click here.

Find schedules, start lists and results on the official games website here and click on “equestrian dressage,” “equestrian eventing” or “equestrian jumping.”

This coverage of freestyle dressage at the 2023 Pan American Games is a web exclusive for Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Three U.S. Riders Qualify for Santiago 2023 Pan American Games Dressage Freestyle – Watch Live or On Demand appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.