Friday, Feb. 7, 2025

Karen O’Connor Ponies Up For Pan Am Gold


It was a rare sight: three U.S. flags wafting in the breeze on a Brazilian military complex during the individual medal ceremony at the 2007 Pan American Games, and three Americans standing, hand on heart, aboard the podium as “The Star-Spangled Banner” played in the arena.
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It was a rare sight: three U.S. flags wafting in the breeze on a Brazilian military complex during the individual medal ceremony at the 2007 Pan American Games, and three Americans standing, hand on heart, aboard the podium as “The Star-Spangled Banner” played in the arena.

The only other time one nation swept the medals in an equestrian event at the Pan American Games was in Indianapolis in 1987, when Mike Huber, Emily MacGowan and Packy McGaughan dominated the eventing competition.

Twenty years later, at this year’s Pan Am Games, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 20-22, U.S. riders again took home the team gold and all three individual medals and had a rider finish fourth to boot.

Karen O’Connor rewrote the history books by leading the U.S. team to gold aboard the world’s most famous eventing pony, Theodore O’Connor. Phillip Dutton earned the individual silver on Truluck in his first time riding for the United States and Gina Miles took bronze with the formidable McKinlaigh. Individual rider Darren Chiacchia finished fourth on Better I Do It, and the fourth U.S. team member, Stephen Bradley, was 13th with From.

Pony Prowess
“For me the competition has had many firsts, even though I’m an old lady at this,” said 49-year-old O’Connor. “It’s the first time on a team with Phillip Dutton, the first time to South America, first time on a pony, first time on a podium without my husband [Olympic gold medalist David O’Connor].”

Most importantly, it was also O’Connor’s first time taking home one gold medal, let alone two. Though the three-time Rolex Kentucky CCI winner has an impressive resume, including a team silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, a team bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and an individual silver at the last Pan Ams, this was her first time finishing on top at a major international championship.

And, of course, it was the first time a pony won a medal at a major international eventing competition.
The diminutive 14.13⁄4-hand Thoroughbred-Shetland-Arabian cross (Witty Boy—Chelsea’s Melody) thrilled his growing legion of fans by winning the CIC*** at The Fork (N.C.) this spring. “Teddy” cemented his reputation when he became the first pony to compete at the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** in April, finishing an astounding third in his first four-star attempt.

“He doesn’t like to touch anything with his feet,” said O’Connor. “He never trips stepping up the curb, for example; he never trips at all. When they have that incredible body awareness it makes them incredible jumpers.”

The U.S. riders took advantage of Teddy’s surefootedness, sending the O’Connors out first on Sue Benson’s twisting cross-country course to scout out information for the rest of the team. The pair went out with “quite a bit of stud” amidst concerns that the six-week-old sod hadn’t yet had a chance to settle. Teddy made short work of the course, easily clearing all of the fences with plenty of spring in his step.

O’Connor was beyond enthusiastic about his performance. “He’s got such great heart,” she raved. “I was down 15 seconds at the eight-minute mark, and I asked for some after-burners. He took off like a rocket and finished only 4 seconds outside the time.”

The pair added 4 more faults in show jumping after barely catching the back rail coming out of an
in-and-out to finish the weekend with 52.7 penalties.

The spunky chestnut was left with plenty of run at the end of the Games, racing far ahead of Dutton and Miles in the victory gallop after spooking at O’Connor’s championship bouquet.

“When I went around the first time I had the flowers down, just letting him get used to them. Then as I lifted the flowers up, he shot forward like a dart,” recalled O’Connor with a laugh.

O’Connor plans to give Teddy the autumn off from competition to bone up his dressage work, though he’s already shown tremendous improvement. O’Connor pointed out that his dressage score in Rio was 8 points better than at Rolex Kentucky.

“I’d like to think that in the next six months we take it to yet another level,” said O’Connor. “All the dressage people here at the Pan Ams are watching him and saying, ‘Sure we can help you get an extended trot on that pony.’ ”

Teddy was bred by P. Wynn Norman, of Sportponies Unlimited. Norman remains an important part of the Theodore O’Connor Syndicate, which owns the 12-year-old chestnut.

“She was the first one to believe in the pony,” said O’Connor of Norman. “When we took this task on two years ago, we’ve taken this whole ride together and it’s been really fun. The pony continues to amaze me and all of his fans every time he goes out. It’s been a wonderful fairytale.”

The Plains, Va., resident had a little extra luck on her big day in the form of a 75-year-old tiny stuffed teddy bear lent to her by Stonehall Farm manager Sue Clarke. “It was given to Sue by her grandmother,” said O’Connor. “She gave him to me in a lovely card before I went down, and she said, ‘you cannot have him, you can borrow him.’ ”

Mini Teddy stayed in O’Connor’s pocket throughout the horse inspections, dressage, cross-country and show jumping phases, providing that extra ounce of good fortune needed to secure two gold medals.

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O’Connor’s husband David, president of the U.S. Equestrian Federation, made the trek to Rio to coach the Canadian team to their silver-medal finish, but to watch his wife earn her first gold medal of her career was an added bonus.

David, emotional after watching his wife best the field, said later, “They have a serious partnership. It’s wonderful to see.”

Team U.S.A.
Dutton earned the silver medal at his first Pan Am Games aboard 10-year-old Truluck, owned by Ann Jones and Shannon Stimson. After a faultless cross-country ride, the pair moved up into second behind O’Connor, but Dutton remained critical of his own success.

“The course really didn’t suit my horse well,” said Dutton. “I found that it rode harder than it walked. He was a bit wound up, and he didn’t settle as well as I hoped. When you’re in that situation the best way to settle your horse is to slow down a bit, which I wasn’t prepared to do today because we needed to get in under time, but he got better as we went around.”

The pair went into show jumping 1.1 points behind O’Connor, and Dutton executed a careful ride, leaving all of the jumps in the cups. But the ride was a touch conservative, and Dutton finished the course with 4 time faults.

“The show jumping has been this horse’s weakest area, and it was a conscious decision not to go fast—he needs to be held in a shorter stride,” said Dutton.

He explained that Truluck definitely felt the effects of yesterday’s cross-country course. “He had an overreach yesterday and was stiff today, so I was very happy to go into the competition and jump a clear round,” added Dutton.

This was Dutton’s first time representing the United States abroad—although he’s lived in Pennsylvania since 1991, he previously rode for Australia. “It was not a very easy decision to change nationalities,” he said. “But America has been so good to me and my family.”

After a rough dressage test left Miles in a disappointing 11th place, she seemed far out of medal contention. The rest of the team fell into line at the top of the scoreboard after Day 1, leaving Miles 14.6 points off the lead. But the Creston, Calif., resident kept her cool and promised to do the best that she could to finish strong.

Miles and McKinlaigh sailed through the last two phases, becoming the only pair to finish on their dressage score and picking up the individual bronze medal on the way and helping the United States secure gold.
 
“This sport has so many ups and downs,” said Miles. “It’s so rare to get a horse that does all three phases well in the same weekend. I was upset after the dressage went so badly, but I made it a point to channel that energy toward the last two phases.”

The formidable McKinlaigh stands at 17.3 hands and towers over Miles, just 5’3″. “The first thing I did when I got him was make sure I could get on from the ground,” said Miles. “But I’d rather get a leg up, of course.”

Miles first partnered with the Irish Sport Horse gelding, owned by Miles, Tom Shulz and Laura Coats, in 1999, and the pair has been steadily moving up the ranks ever since.

“He is amazingly fun to ride,” said Miles. “He never touches a jump.”

Although Miles isn’t short on international experience and competed as an individual at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain, the Pan Ams were her first chance to ride as a member of a U.S. team.

This was Bradley’s second consecutive team gold Pan American medal. Bradley, 45, Leesburg, Va., and From started the weekend strong, landing in second place after a solid dressage ride. But on cross-country day Bradley ran into some trouble at the second water combination. The pair jumped down into the water without quite enough impulsion, and From put on the brakes in front of the alligator jump looming three strides later.

“Coming away from the two corners and at the drop I realized that he was very quickly getting tired,” recalled Bradley. “When we jumped in quietly in the water, I underrode the alligator and we had a stop there. It was totally my fault. Hindsight is always 20-20, and I wish I’d done it differently.”

The mistake left Bradley in 13th place. Bradley was unable to move up the ranks after taking down three rails in show jumping.

“He got tired yesterday,” said Bradley. “He was tired today, and it showed up in the show jumping. But you learn something from that and go forward.”

Only the top three scores of each team are counted, so Bradley’s score of 80.9 was dropped.

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Defending Pan Am individual gold medalist Chiacchia had to go home to Springville, N.Y., empty-handed this year after placing fourth. Chiacchia raced onto the plane to Rio with just 48 hours’ notice when Bonnie Mosser’s mount Merloch wasn’t up for the trip.

Aboard Adrienne Iorio’s Better I Do It, Chiacchia moved from fourth place up to third after a game cross-country performance. The 14-year-old “Gus” stepped up to the plate when Chiacchia made a last-minute decision to change his track.

“I did something I’ve never done before,” said Chiacchia. “I was for sure going to go the long route at the drop to the skinny, knowing it was early in the course… But as I looked at my watch, and I thought I’m going to get close to this thing unless I do it, so I said, ‘Turn, turn!’ I know he’s as bold and honest as they come.”

Chiacchia’s gamble paid off, and the pair entered show jumping in medal contention. But the bronze slipped through Chiac-chia’s fingers after four rails hit the ground during his round.

The biggest disappointment of the Pan Ams came for Mara Dean, however. She competed Nicki Henley as an individual and dominated the dressage competition, leaping to the top spot after earning the highest marks of the day by far.

The pair started cross-country strong, looking capable and confident through the first water complex, but just a few jumps later after a pair of big corners Dean felt something amiss and pulled up. The team veterinarian later confirmed that the horse injured his left front leg.

“In this instance she really did the right thing for that horse,” said Chef d’Equipe Capt. Mark Phillips.

The Road To Hong Kong Cuts Through Rio
The Pan Am Games served as an Olympic qualifying competition with the top two event teams—aside from the United States—earning a ticket to Hong Kong for the 2008 Olympics. The U.S. was already qualified for the Olympics due to the country’s performance at the 2006 World Equestrian Games (Germany), but the other teams, including Canada, were not.

So it was with big smiles, and more than a little relief, that the Canadian eventing team accepted their silver medals. Brazil, bronze medal winner, also earned the chance to send an eventing team to the Olympics.

According to the International Olympic Committee regulations, five teams must compete in order for the Games to retain their Olympic qualifying status, exactly the number in Rio. So when Chilean rider Ricardo Stangher’s horse came up lame on dressage day, with no reserve rider in sight, the qualifying status of the competition was in jeopardy.

But when Stangher’s name was called, he walked into the ring and gallantly retired, earning his team 1,000 penalties. By retiring rather than withdrawing, five full teams officially entered the competition, and the Games counted toward the Olympics.

Even with three riders, Chile still managed to finish fourth, ahead of Argentina. Three Argentine horses were eliminated on cross-country, and only one team rider, Juan Mariano Chiara Vieyra on Varadero, completed the competition.

Renan Guerreiro aboard Rodizion AA led the Brazilian team to their bronze medal. The pair finished ninth with 76.7 penalties. Individual rider Saulo Tristao was the highest-placed Brazilian with his partner Totsie, posting a double-clear show jumping round in seventh place.

The Canadian team put forth a valiant effort to gain their silver, with none of the team riders recording a single jumping fault cross-country. Waylon Roberts, 18, on Paleface and Kyle Carter, 38, on Madison Park had runs that were clean and clear, and the other two— Sandra Donnelly on Buenos Aires and Mike Winter with Kingpin—gained minimal time faults. But the team slipped a bit on show jumping day, as every rider pulled at least two rails.

The show jumping was made more difficult for all of the non-Brazilians by the vocal hometown fans. The rowdy crowd—clearly more accustomed to watching bawdy soccer matches than composed show jumping—occasionally booed when competitors entered the ring and quickly took to cheering loudly every time a non-Brazilian took down a rail. The noise was especially noticeable during the first few Canadian rides. After the announcer begged the crowd to quiet down and show better sportsmanship, the cheering abated somewhat by the time the U.S. riders at the bottom of the order took to the ring.

“It’s not something that we’re used to in our country at all,” said Canadian coach David O’Connor. “It’s an environment that’s unusual and disconcerting possibly for a lot of us who aren’t used to it.”

Everyone was quick to point out that the crowd’s reaction was the only time that any Brazilian had been anything but generous and kind to the competitors.

“They’re really emotional fans,” said Carter. “I could hear when a Brazilian would go into the ring all the way back at the barn. I didn’t even have to look at the list.”

Mollie Bailey

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