POINT OF VIEW H
urricane Florence certainly disrupted the dres- sage competition at this year’s World Equestrian Games. It also prevented me and my assistant
Cedar Potts from presenting the dressage demos there we had been planning for the last few months. A lot of preparation and planning went into our program, includ- ing ensuring my four stallions, JP Orion, JP Zorro, JP Zhivago and JP Zuperstar, complied with the same health require- ments as the FEI horses. Sadly, in the end our presenta- tions were not to be. Crowds were small but very keen and knowledgeable, as they were mostly composed of hardcore horse lovers. Cedar and I manned our Zeno Neuropacer booth alter- nately or sometimes closed it in order to watch the com- petitions, since show management graciously provided us with passes for every event. The WEG was an oppor-
JP’s booth at the World Equestrian Games, where he presented his new product the Zeno Neuropacer and met with old and new friends.
tunity to reconnect with old friends from all over the world who were compet- ing, training, watching or organizing for the FEI. We also met many new horse people, riders, veterinarians and breeders. Observing top level competitors, both humans and horses, is both inspiring and enlightening. The top horses are extraor- dinary in their willingness to produce their last ounce of effort and goodwill in their job. The top riders, drivers and vaulters perform with amazing skill and determina- tion, but they are also humans and have sometimes the same issues as ordinary riders. That said, they deal with them with a cooler head than most of us.
By JP Giacomini Lasting Impressions at This Year’s WEG
World Class Jumping McLain Ward is an extraordinary rider and a gracious man. He rode, with enormous sympathy and skill, his gray mare Clinta (by Clinton)—who just might be from the planet Krypton. Her jumping is exuberant and sometimes cost Ward a rail (like in the first round of the individual compe- tition), but he put everything he had in the second round and went clear for fourth place. Steve Guerdat rode his Balou du Rouet mare Bianca, another extraordinary jump- ing horse with a delicate mouth, with an equally delicate hand for the bronze. Baloubet du Rouet is a dominating force in the pedi-
JP connected with Dan James, an- other fellow demonstration rider but also a WEG reining competitor who rode for his country Australia.
gree of jumpers today (and his son Balou du Rouet is as well), and I happen to know that he was first selected by my great friend from Portugal Francisco Can- cella D’Abreu as a three- year-old dressage prospect. The horse had an amazing jump from the start but also three excellent gaits. Fortunately for his- tory, his Portuguese owner Diogo Pereira Coutinho chose a jumping career for him and eventually the horse formed a legendary partnership with Nelson Pessoa and his son Rodrigo. His resume includes Olympic, WEG and World Cup successes, as well as an enormous influence on many studbooks. Funnily enough, Francisco sold me the Lusita- no stallion Novilheiro, who became my Grand Prix dressage horse (in England in the early eighties) before becoming the leading Grand Prix jumper in England under John Whitaker, winning internation- ally in Berlin, Rotterdam, Spruce Meadows, Toronto, etc. The Spanish dressage team horse Alcaide is a Novilheiro grandson. “Nono” also produced jump- ers in England and evented with success. Remember, good horses can do everything. Breeding strictly special- ist horses ends up in eventual dead-ends. Francisco had a good eye—and still does.
JP congratulated McLain Ward for his magnificent riding throughout the games.
Warmbloods Today 59
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