Dressage-News

June 3, 2024

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

Seven United States Olympic short list riders along with their eight horses and four other Americans with five horses go head-to-head for the first time in Hagen, Germany this week to begin final selection trials for the team of three combinations for the Paris Games less than two months away.

The  Horses and Entertainment Grand Prix at Hof Kasselmann has attracted a total of 54 entries from 15 nations plus Palestine that could extend to two days the Grand Prix initially scheduled for Thursday.

The American short list squad comprises Katherine Bateson Chandler on Haute Couture, Anna Buffini on Fiontini, Adrienne Lyle with Helix and Lars Van De Hoenderheide, Anna Marek on Fire Fly, Marcus Orlob on Jane, Endel Ots on Zen Elite’s Bohemian and Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper. Other U.S. combinations are Susan Dutta on Don Design DC, Ashley Holzer on Hansel and Hawtins San Floriana, Kasey Perry-Glass on Heartbeat W.P. and Günter Seidel on Jack.

Steffen and Suppenkasper, the KWPN gelding now 16 years old, is the only U.S. combination from the previous Olympics in Tokyo that earned team silver in the current lineup. Adrienne Lyle was on that same team but on Salvino that has since been retired.

Among other entries in Hagen is world ranked No. 4 Nanna Skodborg Merrald of Denmark on Blue Hors Znickers and Blue Hors Zepter.

The German Championships, a key event in that nation’s selection series, is being held this week in Balve with Hof Kasselmann stable rider Frederic Wandres competing for a place on the Olympic team.

This is the first Olympics or major championship as long as anyone can remember that the U.S. does not have a technical advisor, commonly referred to as a coach, with riders being helped by their personal coaches instead. The leadership role has to a large extent been filled by chef d’equipe Christine Traurig, a Sydney 2000 Olympian and previously the official young  horse coach. She has won admiration from riders interviewed by dressage-news.com.

The American riders have their own coaches and until Tuesday have stabled separately in Germany and the Netherlands as they become acclimated to the environment, much chillier than the weather in Florida where most live and train.

Katherine Bateson Chandler who is coached on Haute Couture by Ashley Holzer has been based at Hof Kasselmann. She is a veteran of American teams, initially as a groom for Robert Dover then on her own 20 years ago and on the World Equestrian Games team in 2010 and Nations Cups on both sides of the Atlantic.

“It was not too bad when we first got here and it sort of cooled off,” she said. “But again, the horses are loving it. They’re fresh and feeling great. So, I mean, we came from… brutal weather in Florida. We really couldn’t get a lot done before we left, training-wise. We’re just keeping them healthy and trying not to over-train.

“Christine is like our everything a little bit right now. She’s got a lot on her plate. I have to say, she’s been absolutely fantastic. She couldn’t be more there for me and more supportive.”

A feature of U.S. dressage teams that’s occurring with this squad even though it’s larger than previous years, Katherine said, has been the support they provide each other.

“It’s actually fun because a few of the riders have been in this area,” she said. “We all came up within a day or two of each other. It’s actually been nice because we’ve been able to get together; so we did a game night German style and that’s the part that I love about our group and being over here. Everybody’s truly supportive of each other and friends.”

Adrienne Lyle with the Zen Elite horses Helix and Lars Van De Hoenderheide and Kasey Perry-Glass with Heartbeat are nearby with their personal coach, Debbie McDonald.

Endel Ots with Zen Elite’s Bohemian arrived in Germany about two weeks ago and is working with his coach, Albrecht Heidemann. Steffen Peters is also based there with Suppenkasper.

“I just slowly started playing around with stuff and getting Bohemian used to the different climates and temperature and just going really slow with everything, not really practicing a bunch of movements, but a lot of trail riding and hacking and slowly ramping up leading to the show,” said Endel on his first senior championship squad.

“I like personal time with Bohemian, just him and I and not to have another voice in my head. I find it really helps me to figure out him and everything.

“It’s very cool to be around Steffen. It’s been really nice just to get some knowledge and little bits of advice here and there from him, to have somebody like Steffen around is very, very cool and just see how he deals with everything and how mindful he is on everything and very mentally clear,”

A dressage-news.com article on Steffen meditating “had a big impact on me,” he said, “I work with sports hypnotists and I try to meditate a little bit in the morning and then at night.

Christine and the team “have been very supportive with helping out in any way we need” and, he said, he’s looking forward to his first Grand Prix in Germany.

Anna Buffini whose arrival from Southern California with Fiontini along with her coach Günter Seidel, a three-time Olympian for the United States, and Jack was delayed by aircraft issues.

But, said the rider who competed in the 2021 and 2022 World Cup Finals on Davinia la Douce, recently retired, “Our most recent training sessions have been some of our best rides together to date and I’m looking forward to getting back in the show ring.

“As for all of the riders working together, we have a big group chat where everyone can ask questions and help each other as needed, which is awesome. Christine is a wonderful leader and coach and everyone feels completely confident and comfortable with the arrangement of the leadership going into the summer.”