Crandell and Heraldic Win Tevis for Second Time
by Genie Stewart-Spears
Twelve-year-old Heraldic (*Statistik x Mi Hearts Desire) handily carried John Crandell III, to win the 55th running of the Tevis Cup 100-Mile Race on July 24. The pair from Starr Tannery, Virginia, won the Tevis in 2006, the same year they also won the Old Dominion 100 and the AERC National 100-Mile Championship. This may be a ditto year for them as Crandell and Heraldic won the Old Dominion on June 12, earning Best Condition and High Vet Score. Next on their schedule will be the AERC National 100-Mile Championship to be held October 14 in South Carolina.
LR Bold Greyson (Bold Soldier x Brown-R Missy), a nine-year-old owned by Crandell’s mother, Linda, completed in second place, mere seconds behind Crandell, with Shannon Constani, Auburn, California, aboard. No official time has been posted but Crandell and Constani completed at 10:14 p.m. after a 5:15 a.m. start. They completed 2 hours and 2 minutes ahead of third-place finisher, Kassandra DiMaggio, Greenville, California, on TS Diamond Chip. The Fury, an unregistered Arabian ridden by Garrett Ford, Tucson, Arizona, earned the Haggin Cup Award, finishing in eighth place, 2 hours and 42 minutes after Crandell.
Of the 182 starters, 96 completed. “I knew that if the horse had a good day,” said Crandell about Heraldic, “he would be unmatched. He is a gifted athlete.”
Hard Blow for the U.S. Endurance Squad
by Genie Stewart-Spears
August 3, 2010
Citing training discrepancies, two-time World Endurance Champion Valerie Kanavy withdrew her nomination today for a place on the U.S. squad for the World Equestrian Games (WEG) Endurance Championship to be held on September 26, in Lexington, Kentucky.
Assuming that Kanavy would have been picked as one of the five U.S. squad members to compete, it is a hard blow for the U.S. Kanavy always comes into competitions prepared to do well. Kanavy, who had three horses in contention for a position on the squad, said, “More important to me than being at the WEG is to be able to have a horse that can give a top performance. Under the current training program, I do not feel that is possible. Therefore, I feel I have no choice but to withdraw.”
Competitors and their horses had to be FEI qualified and attend at least one of three 80-mile selection trials. Kanavy attended the first trial in Danville, Illinois. Because of excessive rain, the trails were under water and trees were down so the riders were directed to ride an 11-mile loop of which there was a 2 ½-mile loop that was done three times before returning to camp and the vet check before doing it again. “It was tough on the horses mentally and physically,” said Kanavy. “The mud kept getting deeper and deeper and so after the third time around I said, ‘That’s enough! What are we proving?’ It was 90-plus degrees and the humidity was high. We couldn’t go at speed; we were tearing the horses down rather than building them up.”
Next week, all nominees who participated in at least one of the three 80-mile selection trials are invited to the observation trial to be held again in Danville. Of those who show in this trial, 12 horses and 10 riders will be selected to move into the final phase of selection in Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, about an hour out from the WEG venue. There, the 10 riders will spend three weeks continuing to prepare themselves and their horses. A few days prior to the event, five riders and horses will be chosen to move over to the venue for the competition.
In an interview this morning, Kanavy said, “I am a trainer and I have been doing this successfully for a long, long time. Maybe I couldn’t win the WEG this year but I can certainly put together a good group of horses to give the best performances possible. What is being done now is over training and over riding and it is fast becoming the ‘last man standing’ competition to get to the WEG.”
In her withdrawal letter Kanavy stated, “I have worked for over two years with the goal of having top horses prepared to do a championship effort for the USA at WEG. My horses and I have consistently demonstrated our capabilities, winning and earning best conditions in almost every event we have entered for the past two years. Determining our goals and timing our events has produced consistent top performances.
“Asking the horses to go at speed for 80 miles in the heat and humidity at a place where mud can be an issue, this close to WEG is insane. Secondly, we have home court advantage and we are throwing it away by requiring horses and riders to be in Shaker Village for weeks before the event. Perhaps it's a must for West Coast horses with the humidity issue but horses from central or east will train better and be more relaxed in their home environment. ‘Sucking’ the energy out of both our horses and riders is what this (training) program will do.”
Instead, Kanavy has refocused and is headed to France with two of her homebred horses, Spectacular Gold (Tikis Flaming Jet x Hals Metourmaline) and Reach For The Gold (Tashkent x CJ Halynova). She will compete in the Young Horses Championship, on August 20, and Florac, a pre-ride for the 2011 European Championship, on September 11. “I’m really excited about these competitions and feel my horses and I are well prepared. I’m looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the competition,” she said.
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