Sommerville Harris, riding her 12 year-old, bay Swedish Warmblood gelding Mastermind (Master 850 x Evita), won the blue ribbon at the FEI Prix St Georges level during the Great American/USDF Region 2 Championships held Sept. 20 at Paxton Farm in Batavia, Ohio. The pair finished with a score of 63.833%.

Harris, a senior at Kentucky, previously trained and competed out of Penrose Farm in West Knox County, TN while attending Catholic High.

Harris trains nine months of the year at Woodspring Farm in Versailles, Ky., and competes in the Winter Equestrian Circuit in West Palm Beach, Fla., under the tutelage of FEI Dressage champion Kathy Priest.

Erin Haas and the 14 year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding All of a Sudden were the stars on the Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumpers course at Horse Shows by the Bay II.  Out of 25 entries in the class, this pair took the lead by executing very good turns with a very fast pace.  They finished double clear with a time of 29.711.

Haas, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, has owned All of a Sudden for five years, and she has competed him in both the Low and High sections. “He’s fast and pretty careful,” Haas pointed out. “He’s good at this height.”

Click here to read the full press release.

Brad Cutshall, from Kalamazoo, MI, and the 13 year-old Swedish stallion Pointjack took home the blue ribbon for their well executed Grand Prix dressage test at the Dressage by the Bay show series in August.

“He is a little bit different this year than he has been in the last few years because we have been doing some breeding with him this year,” Cutshall said of the horse. “The other day when I worked him he was kind of preoccupied and was calling out in the test. I showed him early this year and he did okay, but I was really happy with his test today because he stayed focused with me and I really felt connected with him for one of the first times this season.”

Click here to read the full press release.

This year’s inspections of Swedish horses across North America is complete.  The inspection took place September 27 - October 7.  The judges from Sweden this year were Lasse Berglund and Christina Olsson.

Although I missed going to the inspection this year, I enjoyed reading the highlights.  I was especially pleased to read about the stallion approval of Tip Top’s Sterling owned by Leslie Morse.  I have been watching this horse since he was a foal.  I would often visit Leslie’s website and watch the video of him as a foal and I have always thought he was amazing.  He will be a wonderful addition to the Swedish stallion line-up.  I hope this is a bright spot for Leslie in light of her tremendous losses on the same day, losing two mares in foal to colic.

I was also pleased to see that Galapard is still producing excellent Class I offspring!  Galileo Eclipse, a colt by Galapard out of Esprite, received 46 points, Class I, including a 9 for Head/Neck/Body.

There were many nice horses presented at the inspection, and you can read all about them on the Inspection Highlights page of the SWANA website.  Click here to read.  The complete inspection results will be available in the next SWANA newsletter.

With the excitement and anticipation of the Olympics now behind us, we can move on to other Swedish Warmblood news, some of which was sidelined during the Olympic events.

For those that know and use the BLUP index, we know its publication is anxiously awaited each year.  If you’re not familiar with the BLUP statistics, now is the perfect time to learn more!  The ASVH recently published a new website that is devoted exclusively to the BLUP.  The website is available in both Swedish and English.  Yay!  The website offers a variety of features.  First, if you wish to view the BLUP in the style that you are probably already familiar with, simply select the Mare/Stallion link in the upper, right corner and the list will be displayed.  It is displayed using some default settings which are shown in the right column where you can change them as you wish and re-sort the list.  You can click the name of any horse and view detailed information, including pedigree and offspring information.

In addition to viewing the BLUP statistics in list style, you can also search for a particular horse by name OR by eleven other search criteria!  The search capability appears to be powerful and robust.  The information is database driven and I assume still a work in progress.  There are some records that appear to be empty, but I am sure that over time this tool will grow and evolve to become one of the most appreciated resources for sport horse breeders everywhere!

The website also provides the opportunity to display a photo for each horse in the database.  You know how I am about photos, so of course I LOVE this feature!  There don’t appear to be many photos available yet, but the site makes it VERY EASY for you to submit one!  Simply click on the “Share your picture” link where you can describe and upload your photo.  I encourage everyone to do so, especially if you have photos of the “historical” horses.

So, take some time and get to know this great new website!  Go to:  http://www.blup.se  and choose the language of your choice.

Never heard of the BLUP?  It’s okay, a lot of folks haven’t, but that is sure to change!  If you would like to get up to speed about the BLUP Index in layman’s terms, click here to read my simple description from the SWB Zone.

I did fall behind in my Olympic blog posting, but believe me, I was watching every bit of it.  I was fortunate to have my work schedule coincide with the dressage freestyle and the jumping finals so that I was able to watch both online.

In dressage, the Freestyle is usually the most fun and entertaining competition.  It’s always interesting to see how well matched the horse is to the music.  For me, there were no major goosebump moments in the freestyles at the Olympics, although there were some great moments.  Balagur, the pink horse, has a great piaffe.  He has the “sit” that is what the piaffe is all about.  The 18-year-old Orlov Trotter has a piaffe that the rest of the field should aspire to.  I came close to goosebumps watching Steffen Peters and Ravel.  There is no doubt that I am a fan of that horse.  The fact that Ravel just started showing Grand Prix in March, competed at the Olympics in August, and came within less than half of a point of winning a medal is incredible.  It’s unfortunate that the German judge awarded some unconscionable points to some riders, thereby keeping some of the best rides out of the medals.  Of course, this is merely my uneducated, amateur rider opinion.  But my eyes do still work pretty good.

The German judge was the center of many points of contention in the dressage judging.  I really don’t feel good about him at all.  I know it’s standard procedure to be accused of “sour grapes” any time there are complaints about the judging, but in the case of this individual, I feel that calling “foul” is valid.  If you’re keeping up with the dressage news, I’m sure you’ll be reading plenty about Herr Gotthilf Riexinger.

The Swedish horses did well in the Freestyle, although their performances were not stellar.  Kyra and Max earned a score of 74.250% for their freestyle for 6th place.  Their combined score with the GP Special gave them a final placing of 8th.   I’m not a major fan of Max’s music although I know that a lot of folks do like it.  It seems to me like the music should be a bit more masculine.  Jan Brink and Briar put in a solid freestyle for a score of 73.450%, and a final placing of 10th.  I feel that the Swedish horses have shown that they are definitely capable of better, but they did a great job at the Olympics and I am proud of them!

There is a great article by Karen Robinson that discusses each Freestyle, the music selections and how they do (or don’t) complement the horse.  Click here to read the article.

In the Jumping competition, it all came down to Rolf-Göran Bengtsson and the KWPN gelding Ninja la Silla.  They were in the final jump-off for the gold medal, and it was a nail-biter!  I could hardly bear to watch it.  The pair had perfect, clear courses in both jumping finals, even after the water jump flooded just prior to their turn on course which caused a delay, which I thought they handled very well.  For the gold medal, they were jumping against Eric Lamaze of Canada.  Both riders finished with the same time of 38.39, but unfortunately Rolf and Ninja had one rail down.  But that’s not a bad way to take home a silver medal!

From the FEI press release:

Bengtsson was first of the two now going for gold and took the longer route from the oxer to the vertical. Really pressing his brave little chestnut gelding he was seriously piling the pressure on Lamaze going to the last, but, too forward and too close, Ninja hit it hard behind and as Lamaze came into the ring he had a choice. He could go for a steady clear to clinch the golden prize or press for more speed in case he left a fence down - and he opted for the latter. Hickstead set off again with that sense of purpose that is his trademark and Lamaze was right on the button all the way although as it happened he registered exactly the same time as the Swede when crossing the line in 38.39. The gold would go to Canada while silver would be Swedish - and Bengtsson, always the gentleman, was gracious in defeat.

“I had a very good feeling with my horse all week but in the second round today I was a bit worried when I came in because the water at the liverpool was leaking and what came back to me was that night in Athens when the gate fell down and then after it was put up again and I rode down to it again it fell down once more. I thought, “typical - this would happen to me!” he said good humouredly. His last round tonight was a great one but he said, “I knew Eric was coming behind me and he has a very fast horse so I have to try - but my horse got too strong on the last run and couldn’t steady for the jump. I’m super-satisfied with Ninja, he is not so big but he is very brave and he never thinks about not jumping. If I steer him at something he always tries to jump it and clear it. In everything he is a very sweet horse and I really enjoy every minute of riding him - but we had a great winner today,” he said, paying tribute to Lamaze’s effort.

Swedish Olympic Summary:

Dressage:

Kyra Kyrklund and Max (FIN) - 8th

Jan Brink and Briar 899 (SWE) - 10th

Swedish Dressage Team - 5th

Jumping:

Rolf-Göran Bengtsson and Ninja la Silla - Silver Medal

Swedish Jumping Team - 8th

Eventing:

Selena O’Hanlon and Colombo (CAN) - 46th

Swedish Eventing Team - 4th

Interestingly, of the two best performances, one is by a Finnish rider on a Swedish horse (Kyra and Max), and the other by a Swedish rider on a Dutch horse (Rolf and Ninja).  Any way you look at it, both the Swedish horses and the Swedish riders put in a respectable showing at the Olympics and I am thankful for their efforts!

Updated competition results for the Swedish horses is available here.

 _{Kyra Kyrklund and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson Photo Credit: DAVID HECKER/AFP/Getty Images}

The Swedish jumping team is looking strong in third place.  Of their four competing horses, they had one clear round with Rolf-Göran Bengtsson riding Ninja la Silla.  Lotta Schultz and Calibra II put in a good performance, accumulating only 4 jumping faults, even though she seemed to have her hands full with the horse.  Peter Eriksson and Jaguar Mail finished the course with 8 jumping faults.  Helena Lundbäck and Erbblume completed the course with 12 jumping faults.  Erbblume is the only horse on the team with Swedish pedigree, but I am happy to see the team in a top spot!  Best wishes in the team final on Monday!

The Swedish Jumping team horses are:

• Ninja la Silla - 1995 KWPN gelding by Guidam  (pictured)
• Calibra II - 1995 ISH gelding by Cavalier Royale
• Jaguar Mail - 1997 TB stallion by Hand in Glove xx, approved Swedish
• Erbblume - 1997 SWB mare by Castor

Click here for Round 1 team results.

Click here for Round 1 individual results.

Click here to watch videos.

_{Photo Credit:  MIKE CLARKE/AFP/Getty Images.  Click here for larger image.}