On the Line

Anne Kursinski visits my barn!

I kinda’, sorta’, can do anything. Back in January, after a super interview for Sidelines with Anne Kursinksi, I decided that it would be really fun to have Anne out  to teach a clinic in California. After talking my barn into the idea I volunteered to handle all the planning and logistics, be the official question-answerer, event promoter and problem-solver . . . and so I’ve pretty much spent the past six months stressing over each and every detail.

But reassuring riders that their horses wouldn’t jump too high, or too low, that stalls would be bedded, selling last minute spots, hanging flyers and making sure auditors paid their fee was actually a pretty good trade for being exposed to three full days of Anne’s teaching. My horse went lame the week before the clinic (more on that later), so even though I didn’t get to ride, it was almost as fun being in the ring with Anne as ring crew.

So even though I’m in the habit of giving myself too much to do, this time it all worked out. I’m hugely relieved that the dates of June 18 – 20 passed without disaster or drama, and even more relieved that the clinic was a success!

Below is a video clip of trainer Reagan Hayes riding on Day 2. Can you count like that??

Margie Engle, you're such a good sport.

Ah, stage fright. I haven’t had a visit from that old friend for quite some time. In fact, after getting through two huge interviews over the winter with nary a misstep, I was even thinking I might be over the shaky handed, stumbling-voiced nervousness that I’ve fought since my first “big time” interview in ‘04 (Guenter Seidel. He was very patient.) Reporters probably shouldn’t admit to stage fright, not even if they grew up a shy, introverted child who talked to her horse more than to other people (me me me!!) But I’ve worked hard at putting on a confident air and asking all the right questions. It’s an art!

My penmanship is always this bad.

So there I was at HITS Saugerties last week, feeling pretty on top of it after seeing an email on my phone from Bill Tagenhorst, Sidelines’ go-to PR guy, asking if someone on staff could interview Margie Engle, who’d just won two grand prix at Saugerties. Well what do you know, at that very moment I was at the show, and I could surely find Margie for a quick interview. Score! I crouched under a barn overhang, quickly wrote down some questions, and tracked Margie down next to Jumper 2, where she’d just finished walking a course and was waiting for her horse to get to the ring. And she was happy to talk to me on the spot. Perfect. I was good right up until the moment that I brought out my pen. Suddenly, my hand started shaking and the order of my questions left my brain. That’s about when it hit me that this was the Margie Engle, superstar Olympic grand prix rider. The fact that she was friendly and approachable didn’t do much to put me at ease, and even though she could clearly see that I was writing chicken scratch, I bought some time by scribbling on my notepad for a little too long between questions. I survived, of course, and pulled together a decent article (I hope) from the indecipherable notes pictured above. Margie, bless her, was also very patient.

I’m getting back into the swing of things! Ok, maybe that’s the jetlag talking – this morning I got up at 2:45amPST in order to make it through Monday morning New York City traffic and get on a 9:00amEST cross-country flight, arriving to work in downtown San Francisco approximately 12 hours later, at 2:00pmPST. By the time I fall into bed tonight my mind will barely know where I am, and definitely won’t know what time it is. But a little time zone confusion is a small price to pay for a great weekend:

In a nutshell, I hung out at an unbelievably gorgeous stable outside of New York City, took my first-ever trip to HITS Saugerties, met up with Margie Engle, made new friends and saw old ones! Have I mentioned lately that I love being a writer?

Look for a feature on Sleepy Hollow Country Club and Riding Academy in an upcoming issue of Sidelines. East Coast trainers Geoff Case and Wendy Subotich (both are friends who used to train in California) recently stepped in to create a top-level program. They’ve got a lot of things going for them, including one of the most beautiful and historic barns to work out of. Here’s a sneak peek:

The 89-year-old barn sits less than a mile away from the famous Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, final resting place of Ichabod Crane.

What’s next? Continuing to follow McLain’s comeback tour (he won another grand prix in Europe on Saturday!) making sure that 500 issues of Sidelines get into the hands of riders in Southern California next week, and the Anne Kursinski clinic! Go-go-go!!

I will blog more, I will I will I will.

I’ve been wearing so many hats lately I’ve forgotten what my own head looks like. In the midst of being a writer, riding instructor, clinic organizer, office worker and world traveler, blogging has fallen to the wayside, just a bit.

Not that there hasn’t been anything to blog about – last week I went to Thunderbird Show Park in Vancouver, Canada and watched Rich Fellers lope around a 1.20m class in the rain. Rich is a great rider and is super friendly, but when I wrote about him recently the man did not waste his breath on lengthy answers to my questions! With his many successes he’s not so difficult to write about, but all the same, it was a challenge filling out the word count around his quotes. The article is in Sidelines’ May issue if you want to see how I did.

I was super surprised to also see Pablo Barrios at Thunderbird less than a week after he was making headlines by winning everything under the sun in Kentucky. He was on his way to Spruce but man does he get around! Pablo is on one of the world’s greatest winning streaks, and when I met him at WEF in March, the atmosphere at his barn was all party-party-party. The celebration continued over the weekend when Pablo won the Sunday grand prix at Thunderbird.

More soon! For now I leave you with a friend I made while in Mexico for my brother’s wedding last month; this predictably pathetic looking trail horse was said to be 12 years old. . . usted seguro???

Oh, the life of a trail horse! Pobrecito!

Epic. It’s “the” word among teenagers that means really, really great. And while quoting the slang of teenagers makes me feel about 100 years old, there’s no better way to define the weekend that American show jumpers had around the world. Remember those Europeans, the ones who kinda sorta stood by and watched as McLain Ward was taken down by the FEI one month ago? Some of them had to have been a little red in the face by Sunday night. McLain and Sapphire returned to competition for the first time since the World Cup, at the CSIO***** in La Baule, France, and capped a weekend of epic American dominance by winning the 1.60m €200,000 Longine Grand Prix on Sunday (fellow American Mario Deslauriers followed in a close second place.) The day before, on Saturday, Beezie Madden won the Lucien Barriere Grand Prix over 89 starters, and later that afternoon, Richard Spooner won the Derby (Derby De La Regio Des Pays De La Loire – how’s that for a long name??) with Pako, completing the only clear round and becoming the first American ever to win this derby. McLain won the warmup grand prix on Friday with his second string horse. And as if that wasn’t enough, over in Hamburg, Germany, Lauren Hough won the Global Champions Grand Prix of Germany with Quick Study and Laura Kraut placed third with Cedric.

So, naysayers and potential evildoers, take note. McLain & Co. are very likely still seeing red from the events in Geneva. However, instead of slinking away in defeat, McLain and the rest of the US team made their statement by stomping all over Europe with an epic slew of weekend wins. There are nine more super league (officially renamed the Meydan Nations Cup by the FEI, but that’s a story unto itself and everyone likes super league so I’m sticking with that) shows this season. Here’s hoping for a solid season of ass kicking by the American show jumpers. Go USA, go show jumping and go Sapphire!

I’m usually not this patriotic. But let’s face it: revenge is sweet!!! And epic!

Postmark: While we’re on the subject, check out the June issue of Sidelines, which went live online today. Our friends at PhelpsSports.com shared two very interesting, exclusive interviews with McLain Ward and George Morris on the WC debacle, and PS reporter Rebecca Walton details the whole thing in a separate article.

Somehow, the world did not stop spinning in the wake of the McLain Ward/Sapphire elimination debacle at the FEI World Cup. This past weekend the Kentucky Horse Park managed to host two simultaneous events, the Rolex 3 Day Event and WEG Test Events in dressage and show jumping, without one failed hypersensitivity test (or perhaps without any hypersensitivity tests. . .hmm, there’s food for thought.)

Lauren Giannini worked her tailfeathers off covering all that went on at the Horse Park while posting her fabulous photos and commentary on neighboring blog LaurenGallops. Look for her full Rolex write up in the next Sidelines, along with a couple of exclusive interviews from the McLain and USEF camps on the 57 pokes that will forever live in infamy.

Meanwhile, the world spins and another clone enters the world. Polo horse Califa became the first polo horse in the world to “sire” a clone last Thursday. I wrote about Califa, APHA Horse of the Year in the April issue of Sidelines and on this blog. Originally three mares were in foal with Califa clones, but embryos two and three did not make it to full term.

As little “Califito” joins the ever growing population of famous-horse clones, I wonder how many more cloned horses it will take for me and the rest of the world to get used to the idea of cloning. It hasn’t happened yet. . .

One Califa, two Califa, three Califa. . . .

I’ll be broadcasting radio silence next week – I’m off to Mexico for a wedding and I hear there’s limited internet access. Ooohhh, now there’s a scary thought. Hopefully the world will keep spinning. . .

It’s hard to know what to say about the events of this past weekend. On Friday evening, McLain Ward and Sapphire were right where we assumed they’d be – sitting first at the Rolex FEI Show Jumping World Cup Finals in Geneva, Switzerland. Two stellar clean rounds and the pair were right on point to finally grab the individual World Cup title that McLain has been itching to win.

By Sunday evening, everything had changed. Sapphire was disqualified from the competition on the grounds of hypersensitivity in her left front leg. The FEI determined that she was unfit to compete in a mind-boggling sequence of events that seemed to make no sense to anyone but the FEI. USEF released this statement on the situation, surely a harbinger for things to come. There’s one heck of a storm brewing over this debacle, and McLain has already promised to see it through to the end.

For what it’s worth, I visited McLain at his barn in Florida over the winter to interview him for Sidelines’ March cover story. Going there as a reporter, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d been prevented from poking my head into the tack room, wandering up the barn aisle to visit with Sapphire, or walking around the property at my leisure. But this was not the case. McLain and his entire staff were open, friendly and absolutely comfortable with a member of the media hanging about their barn while I waited for the interview to start. As far as I could see (and believe me, my eyes were wide open), there were no secrets or dark corners at that operation. McLain has made a huge effort to show he has nothing to hide and that he has his horses’ best interests in mind at all times. If he’d been faced with a horse that was actually sore and unfit to compete at the World Cup, I have no doubt he would have pulled her from competition without a second thought. Sapphire is the horse closest to his heart, and it goes without saying that she receives nothing less than the best of care. Standing outside her stall and obliging her with pats on the head and neck was a really fun perk of my job that day, and it also showed me that the most famous mare in the world is an expressive, interested, and well adjusted horse. Might she have raised her left front leg as FEI vets palpated it 57 times? Maybe. Does that mean she was sore and unfit to compete? Does it?? We’ll all find out soon enough.

Ears askance, licking and chewing, Sapphire was happy to visit with me when I was in Florida in January.

To be so unjustly torn down from the top of the sport for a completely subjective and bogus “reason” is a tragedy, for McLain and for the entire sport of show jumping. For what it’s worth, back in January McLain Ward proved to this reporter that he’s been playing the game on honest ground. It’s too bad the game hasn’t returned the favor.

How could I have missed this?? Well I didn’t completely miss it, as I remember the feeling of pure disgust that ran through me as I watched Michael Morrissey’s round during the online broadcast of WEG Trial #2 back in February. Here’s the “highlight:”

I might have had the thought that little old me out in California couldn’t do much more than shake her head and sigh at this spectacular use of excessive punishment. But what I should have done was this here. That’s right, Karen Robinson, I bow to you. In my last post I talked about inspiration; Karen and her Straight-Up blog on Horse-Canada.com are in a whole different category of people who inspire; she inspires boldness and action. The Canadian blogger not only has the gumption to say out loud what everyone else might be shaking their heads about, her voice is so strong it makes the FEI take notice!

Yes, it took them over a month to take action. There was no yellow card or ground jury reprimanding Michael immediately after the ride. Just silence and a few boos from the audience as he rode out of the ring. But thank you internet, thank you YouTube, and thank you to bloggers like Karen for pointing out the obvious: beating your horse with the handle end of your whip a dozen times NEVER qualifies as acceptable behavior, whether you’re jumping crossrails or competing in a national selection trial. Not only that, but lesson kids everywhere will agree that most horses will refuse when pointed head on at a jump standard.

For more on how Michael Morrissey broke the FEI’s rule that defines more than three strikes of the whip excessive, or how he was allowed to compete in Selection Trial 3 (not to mention Saturday’s Tampa Invitational, in which he placed 8^th), just google. Michael is being soundly raked over the coals today, and he’s starring in the popular and aforementioned YouTube video, 11,300 hits at last count. After Michael’s suspension and fine run their course, here’s hoping he asks around for some lessons in steering, and then reads up on the psychology of horses. Crelido, bless his poor mistreated heart, will thank him for it.

A grateful writer never, ever complains about having too much work. A grateful writer is also a good writer, and when one deadline rolls right into another, a good, grateful writer learns how to write constantly, and write well. That’s about where I’m at right now.

It must be something about the springtime, because there are no lack of interesting people, exciting events and stories that need telling this month. Fresh off the Sidelines deadline, a new, longer, list of assignments awaits my attention. I don’t get writer’s block (at least that’s what I tell myself), but sometimes my notes from an interview or a half-finished story start to look like an unintelligible jumble of nonsense. When this happens I a.) eat some almonds because I heard they’re good for your brain, and b.) read something by Susan Orlean. The New Yorker staff writer and author of The Orchid Thief can expose a person’s soul in one sentence. I covet the articles she writes for The New Yorker, many of which are on her website here, or in her book of profiles, The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup.

Photo ©Kelly Davidson

When I asked her if she’d written much about horses, she graciously wrote me back and admitted that no, aside from one article on racing many years ago for Oregon Horse Magazine, she hasn’t. But she did point me towards an article she wrote about mules serving in the military in this year’s February 15 & 22 edition of The New Yorker. So I study her attention to detail:

“Coles, who has had a veterinary practice in Sumner County since 1975, is rumpled and bemused, with a thatch of grey hair and an ambling way with a tale.”

And especially the way she can humanize an animal:

“Next in the ring was a chestnut mule with a bristling blond mane and the sleepy, watchful gaze of a bank guard.”

Maybe it’s a good thing she doesn’t write about horses – I’d be out of a job!

In any case, if you need a little inspiration for whatever reason this Friday, check her out. She was my hero even before Meryl Streep played her in a movie.

To add to the list of reasons why I wish I was still in Florida, at this very moment the much hyped, much talked about, and much anticipated Gay Polo Tournament is kicking off at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington. The first major tournament of the Gay Polo League will surely be one to remember, and hard to top next year.  GPL President Chip McKenney and the rest of the League have been working towards this event for a long time.

Last fall I interviewed Chip for Sidelines and found him to be an all around great guy; friendly, passionate about the GPL and a huge polo enthusiast. So, even though I can’t be there in person today, in honor of the First Annual Gay Polo Tournament here’s that interview in full:

Five Questions for the Gay Polo League

By Erin Gilmore | Sidelines Magazine | November 2009

Polo’s never seen anything like this. Based in Los Angeles, California, The Gay Polo League introduces polo enthusiasts to a unique organization the embraces polo while welcoming gay men and women to the sport. Founder Chip McKenney was happy to sit down with Sidelines to tell us more about this polo league which is slowly spreading its wings, with chapters developing in other California cities and plans for an eventual nationwide reach.

Sidelines: Was there a catalyst that inspired you to create the gay polo league?

CM: Two personal objectives inspired me to create the GPL. First, I wanted to meet gay men and women who share my interest in participating in a unique horse sport. Second, I wanted to create something important that did not exist within the world of organized gay sport. I am happy to say, I accomplished both objectives.

Sidelines: Where and how often does the Gay Polo League gather, and how competitive are its players?

CM: On a weekly basis, GPL holds events of some sort at the California Polo Club, in Lakeview Terrace. Every other Wednesday, we schedule Intermediate Chukkers, every other Saturday, we schedule Developing Rider Clinics for less experienced players/riders.

On a monthly basis we participate in matches at other polo clubs, such as Will Rogers Polo Club, Menlo Polo Club, San Diego Polo Club, Santa Barbara Polo Club and Empire Polo Club. Plus, we host social events for our members, friends and other polo players. .  .gay and not gay.

Many GPL players are very competitive. For example, we recently sent three teams to participate in the Mack Jason Invitational Polo Tournament at the Menlo Polo Club. Two GPL teams won their divisions and the third team placed second! Several of our members are rated by the USPA. Our teams practiced and drilled diligently to prepare for the tournament. Bottom line, we encourage all members to play up to the level they aspire to – some are more competitive than others. . . however, there is room for every type of player within the GPL.

Chip McKenney goes for the hook at the Menlo Circus Club. Photo by Dominick Lemarie

Sidelines: You must have known that your very name would attract attention, much less your url (www.gaypolo.com). Why did you choose such a “colorful” moniker?

CM: Plain English ruled this decision. We wanted a name that identified who we are as a league. We also wanted a name that would be easily Googled so people searching to see if such a league exists would find us. Simple.

Sidelines: What does the GPL hope to accomplish, both for gay players and for polo?

CM: Our primary goal is to evolve the Gay Polo League into a national organization with chapters in major cities. Currently, GPL has members in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City and Florida. We plan on developing those chapters into active, well-organized extensions of the GPL then expand beyond. Our ultimate goal is to introduce the sport of polo into the Gay Games!

For gay people, GPL hopes are many. . . to be a role model for great sportsmanship, share unique experiences, foster a love of polo within our community etc. Historically, polo was not a “gay friendly” sport – we intend to change that.

For all polo players, we hope to share our enjoyment of the sport with others. We want to promote polo as a sport readily available to anyone wanting to give it a try. In fact, we work hard with polo clubs to promote polo as a sport open to everyone, not just the wealthy.

Sidelines: Ave you run into any negative attention, or stereotyping from other players? If so how have you dealt with it?

CM: So far, we have not encountered any negative reaction at any polo club we have attended. In fact, everyone has welcomed us. It has been amazing how accepting the world of polo is.

At times, I have been asked “what does being gay have to do with the game of polo?” –I reply “nothing – it has to do with who the league is. . .it’s a gay league of polo players.”