[/caption]Syracuse, N.Y., November 5, 2007 -- There's something a little unnerving about getting out of your car and hearing hoofbeats overhead, but that's how it is when horses are stabled in a parking garage.
Though everyone makes compromises in order to be part of a city-based horse show, at the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament, there is no compromising on the important things.
Number one is the footing; the riders universally praise it. And number two is the way the horse show is run. You can count on the accuracy of the minute-by-minute schedule that is the competition's Bible.
The War Memorial Arena is not, of course, Madison Square Garden, where the National Horse Show was run on these dates for decades. But nevertheless, the hockey facility has atmosphere, provided by vocal fans who are having a good time. That helps make this fixture so special.
The Syracuse show is the brainchild of trainer John Madden. He constantly expresses appreciation to the sponsors and, the way Ron Southern used to do at Spruce Meadows, takes the microphone in the center of the ring to laud them and connect with the crowd.
John has a clear mission and won't be distracted from it with unnecessary foolishness. We talked about it yesterday, and here is what he told me.
Listen: John Madden talks about the popularity of the Syracuse show.
Speaking of the connection with the crowd, it was key in yesterday's finale, the $50,000 Animal Planet Sporthorse Cup. John came up with this idea for a class with the help of sportscaster Tim Ryan on the plane returning from the 2004 Athens Olympics, where Beezie Madden was part of our gold medal team.
The concept didn't fly with other show managers who John approached, though, and that's one of the reasons he started the Syracuse show.
The Cup is a little complicated. There's a speed round, a four-bar high-jumping competition and a mini grand prix. Riders can use two horses (most chose a speed specialist for the first phase), and penalties are cumulative. On the plus side, one knockdown doesn't put a competitor out of the running, the way it would in a traditional grand prix.
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- Beezie Madden and Judgement clearing 6-feet, 4-inches
- © 2007 by Nancy Jaffer
To help the audience follow along, Melanie Smith Taylor (the 1984 Olympic team gold medalist and 1982 World Cup champion) and Doug Logan, director of Time-Warner sports in Syracuse, explained the format and interviewed the riders between rounds.
Competitors earned points throughout the show to be among the "Syracuse Seven" contesting the class.
It was a close race for the top group. Beezie got a standing ovation when she set a show record by jumping a 6-foot, 4-inch obstacle in the four-bar on Judgement. The four-bar has the suspense and thrill of a puissance, but involves four fences, each two strides apart in the middle of the ring, with the last one set the highest.
Lauren Hough jumped 6 feet on Quick Study, but declined to go any higher on the 8-year-old. She took the microphone to apologize to the crowd, and they understood when she said it was for the good of the horse.
Because of a rail down with Onlight in the first phase, Beezie had just a fraction more penalties than Lauren when they went into the final round over the grand prix-style course. Beezie went over the 60-second time allowed to get one time penalty. Lauren did the same, leaving her the winner. She really likes the format, which is unique to the Syracuse show, and told me why.
Listen: Lauren Hough talks about the Animal Planet Sporthorse Cup.
Even as the class was going on, however, John was working on refining the scoring for next year. The crowd got it, of course, with the help of Melanie, Doug and the riders' comments, but anyone interested in figuring the nuances probably would have liked a little more assistance. Beezie, the defending champion, briefly was identified as the winner before the situation was resolved and Lauren raised the handsome silver cup high over her head.
But there was no confusion at all on Saturday night about who won the $75,000 World Cup Grand Prix of Syracuse.
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- Kent Farrington and Up Chiqui
- © 2007 by Nancy Jaffer
The arena was sold out for the occasion, as more than 4,000 people cheered on their favorites, especially Beezie (she's from nearby Cazenovia), though unfortunately she missed the jump-off after dropping a rail in the first round with Authentic.
