Heart-Broken Marcus Orlob to Head Home to USA to Regroup With Jane’s Owner–Part 1 of 2
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By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
PARIS, Aug. 2, 2024–Marcus Orlob goes home heart-broken at the elimination of Jane that took the United States dressage team out of the Olympics to regroup with the horse’s owner and her stable full of Big Tour prospects.
Alice Tarjan, the owner, said “we’ll just go home and let Jane take a rest and then regroup and try to figure out what to do.” But she “probably” will have Marcus keep riding the 10-year-old mare that has had a meteoric rise to prominence among horses owned by Americans.
The experience of the first Olympics was “really amazing” for the German-born Marcus who took over the reins of Jane earlier this year after Alice had trained the horse up to Medium Tour including 11 international starts that were all victories..
“I have to say every single member of the U.S. team, the vet, the farrier, my teammates, the reserve riders like Endel Ots always staying so positive and Anna Marek who joined in the training camp, he told dressage-news.com. “Everybody was really supportive. They make the experience very easy and welcoming.
“Clearly, with my ride, that was quite devastating, very unlucky, and I have actually no words for this. I’m still heartbroken for that part.
“But at the end of the day, I can’t be too mad because the most important thing is that Jane is okay and there was literally a minor tiny cut on the hind leg. Life continues. She’s healthy, she’s young, so I guess you have to look at the positive part.
“It’s a very humbling sport, so you have to enjoy every second because you never know what’s happening in the next moment.”
Jane, he said, entered the ring with a lot of tension before stands bigger than anything the horse had seen before and with loud applause from appreciative spectators for the previous ride that Jane wanted to follow out.
He noted Jane is young and “can be explosive in this type of environment.”
Alice had been more concerned about getting Jane into the area before thousands of spectators, television cameras, photographers and spectacular background of the spectacular Chateau de Versailles.
“But then she settled nicely and gave me again a good feeling,” said Marcus.
“I guess at the end of the day, that’s the most important thing–that the horse really wants to do the job and tries as hard as she can. It’s not her fault. She’s young and inexperienced. So with this crowd, it’s just a little bit hard for her at the moment.
“It’s very painful you know that I finally had this chance. I was dreaming and hoping for this opportunity my whole life and then it gets destroyed in a second. I try to see the positive. At the end of the day, yes, I’m heartbroken, but I try to see the positive that I hope I can continue with Jane and show that we are capable of doing more and better.
“I’m really sad because this I feel like was maybe a moment for me to show also the potential of Jane and this was clearly not really possible.”
The pair were trending all above 72% when they were stopped after blood was seen on Jane’s right hind leg, automatically eliminating the combination with no drop score possible as there were only three riders and horses.
Adrienne Lyle on Helix posted the highest score for the U.S. of 72.593% and Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper 66.491%.
Part 2–How USA Dressage Often Doesn’t But Could Better Prepare for Olympics, World Championships
