Nartan to USA’s Katherine Bateson-Chandler as WEG Prospect
15 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Nartan to USA’s Katherine Bateson-Chandler as WEG Prospect
By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
Nartan, the 15-year-old-gelding competed by Jeanette Haazen of The Netherlands, has been bought for Katherine Bateson-Chandler to be ridden for the United States.
The horse was bought by Jane F. Clark, owner of horses competing at the highest levels of dressage, jumping and four-in-hand driving, in hopes of qualifying for the U.S. team for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky beginning Sept. 25.
Katherine, 34, is a British-born naturalized American who worked for several years for Robert Dover, six-time Olympian, when he rode for Jane Clark. When he retired, she took over as the rider of her dressage horses.
She described Nartan as “one of the most beautifully and correctly trained horses I have ever ridden!”
“He has a fabulous competition record and Cris and Jeannette are wonderful people,” she told dressage-news.com.
“I have been riding the horse in Belgium for a week and a half and discovered what classically correct trainers they are. They have very similar philosophies about training and horses happiness as Jane and I have, so I think that makes Jeannette and Cris and myself very comfortable and happy.
“Both Jane and I agree that keeping Nartan in his same stable and working together with Cris and Jeannette is the best for all of us.
“They have been so lovely in welcoming me into their ‘family’ with open arms. We all want the combination of Nartan and I to be a successful one and they have been generous with their time and knowledge.”
She plans some practice shows and some national shows before competing in three CDIs in Europe in hopes of qualifying for WEG. European CDI results will count equally with North American results toward qualifying for the Gladstone selection trials.
Most recently, Katherine has competed on Dea II and Rutherford, neither of which are thought to be developed enough to qualify for the American WEG team. Only a handful of CDIs that are required to qualify for the U.S. selection trials at Gladstone, New Jersey, in August remain in North America.
Nartan is a Dutch warmblood by Jazz out of Tanja by Le Faquin.
While ridden by Jeanette, Nartan was campaigned successfully throughout Europe and recorded a sixth place finish in the Grand Prix and seventh place in the freestyle at the World Cup Final in Las Vegas in 2009.
Mario Deslauriers, an American citizen after a successful international career riding for Canada, competes Jane’s jumpers.
Last weekend, he rode Jane’s nine-year-old Urico as a member of the U.S. team that came second in the Meydan FEI Nations Cup and runnerup to team mate McLain Ward on his two-time Olympic team gold medal winning mount, Sapphire, in the Grand Prix Longines de la Ville de La Baule in France.
