PrintThis Robert Dover protégé proves she can hold her own in good company.
Katherine Bateson-Chandler knew winning the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Intermediaire I Championship wouldn’t be easy. A stellar class of small tour horses traded places all winter in Florida, and anyone could have emerged the champion.
But Bateson-Chandler peaked Dea II at the right moment, and despite steady rain throughout the competition, she captured her first national title at the Dressage Festival Of Champions, held June 18-21 in Gladstone, N.J.
“She showed me she’s a true international horse,” said Bateson-Chandler. “Through the winter she’s been great, but she had one bad show where she got a little intimidated by the environment, so I was hoping that wouldn’t happen here. She’s shown she’s grown up a lot over the season. I’m thrilled with her.”
With almost two inches of rain over the course of the competition following nearly constant rain in the preceding weeks, things got pretty sloppy in the Dick and Jane Brown Arena at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation’s headquarters. The ground jury, headed by Janet Foy, decided to call the competition after the junior class finished on Sunday.
“We watched the first class, and the kids did a great job, but there were spots in the arena that were deep and slippery, and there were still lots of puddles,” said Foy. “The last thing we want to do as a ground jury is to harm a horse. Our first priority always is for the welfare and the safety of the horses.”
Competition also ended early on Thursday morning after the Brentina Cup test. The ground jury members called a riders’ meeting then, but they didn’t consult with the competitors on Sunday. Foy was concerned that the riders’ rankings in the championships would affect their vote.
“We might look like the bad guys now, but if we’d let the competition go on, and even one horse had been hurt, and one horse was no longer an international competitor—to me that’s a worse problem than stopping the competition,” said Foy.
Final standings were determined by the ranking after two classes for the Intermediaire I and Grand Prix competitors. The Brentina Cup, young rider and junior championships were able to ride all of their tests.
“Since we had a ranking after two sets of competition, that is the ranking of the championship,” said Gil Merrick, the assistant executive director of sport programs for the U.S. Equestrian Federation.
Bateson-Chandler had already ridden and won the Prix St. Georges (73.10%) and the Intermediaire I (74.57%) over Jan Brons and Teutobod. But less than a point separated the pair, so Sunday’s freestyle ride might easily have changed the outcome.
“I would have loved to have done it. I love my music, and I think it’s really fun. The choreography is great, and I was really excited to show it, because I think the music really fits her. So I’m dis-appointed,” said Bateson-Chandler.
“I think my horse is pretty good in whatever footing, but if they believe the footing is dangerous in any way, shape or form, or getting up to the footing was dangerous, then we’re always looking out for the best interest of our horses,” she continued.
“I’m going with the idea that all the decisions made are in the best interests of the horses. It’s up to the show management to decide what’s going to happen. I just live with what they tell me is going to happen,” agreed Brons.
