USA’s Jane Forbes Clark Qualifies Competitors in Three WEG Disciplines
14 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on USA’s Jane Forbes Clark Qualifies Competitors in Three WEG Disciplines
GLADSTONE, New Jersey, Aug. 15–Jane Forbes Clark, one of the most actively involved high performance horse sport supporters in the world, will have competitors in dressage, jumping and four-in-hand driving at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky next month, the first time in the history of WEG that a single owner will contest three disciplines.
Katherine Bateson-Chandler was the latest to join Team Clark at WEG when she qualified Sunday with Nartan, a horse that Jane bought as a world championship prospect just three months ago.
Jane had two medal-winning horse and rider combinations at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Robert Dover on Metallic for team bronze and Leslie Burr and Extreme for team silver.
Mario Delauriers, an internationally successful jumper rider and a native of Canada who became an American citizen about a year ago, was selected a week ago as a member of the U.S. jumping team with Jane’s horse, Urico, a nine-year-old KWPN gelding.
James Fairclough of Newton, New Jersey, was named earlier as an American entry for four-in=hand driving.
Katherine Bateson-Chandler, of Wellington, Florida a native of Great Britain whose mother flew in from Scotland for these trials, became an American citizen seven years ago.
She worked for several years as a groom and assistant trainer to Robert Dover, six-time Olympian for the U.S. and longtime rider for Jane Clark, and took over training and competing Jane’s horses when Robert retired.
Jane is president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation that is a prime fund raiser for American teams to compete internationally. She is also chairman of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, and is actively involved in numerous national and New York museums and charities.
“Yea, Team Clark,” she exclaimed after Katherine’s results.
Janes has overseen a major refurbishing of the historic USET headquaters in Gladstone over the past year, including the latest footing in the main Dick and Jane Brown competition arena and an indoor warmup arena.
Extensive landscaping has beautified the facility that was originally built by a Gilded Age financier an hour from New York City. Spectator seating was covered for this year’s Festival of Champions that is the National Championships of Grand Prix, Internediaire, Brentina Cup, Young and Junior riders.
