Sometimes dreams really do come true and for America’s dressage, eventing and show jumping riders there must have been a four-leaf clover in each of their pockets. After all three events had finished at the 2007 XV Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 14-30, every rider went home with at least one gold medal and some with multiple medals. The teams were a mixture of veterans and newcomers but that didn’t seem to matter.

Among those competitors were two riders from California. Gina Miles, of Creston, and McKinlaigh claimed both a team gold and an individual bronze medal. That bronze was earned by determination. Gina had problems in her dressage test and she started out in the 11th position, but that was the last of her mistakes and while others moved down she moved up.
“Mark had told us to play to our horse’s strengths,” Gina said of the advice she received from the USET squad’s chef d’equipe Captain Mark Phillips. “His strengths are that he is very rideable across country. The twisty turny parts are not his strengths so I walked the ground really well. For the show jumping in the warm-up he would not touch anything. He was planning on jumping a clean round.”
Jill Humphrey riding Kaskaya was the alternate in show jumping. While she never got to go in the actual competition, at 24 Jill was impressed that she had achieved this goal so early in her career. “This was something I didn’t expect. Everything has happened so fast for me.”

Dressage Sets the Pace
For all of the dressage riders these Pan Am Games were their first time competing in an international competition, but that didn’t seem to matter and they rose to the occasion and won the gold medal. The team consisted of Lauren Sammis, South Orange, NJ, riding Sagacious HF, Christopher Hickey aboard Regent and Katherine Poulin-Neff riding Brilliant Too. The alternate rider was Susan Dutta riding Pik L. The silver medal shone well for the Canadians, while Brazil looked good in bronze.
“I went in there today to give the judges an impression of what we [the team] are going to be,” said Sammis. “Also, they [will] know that the U.S. is bringing out all the guns, and we are here for real.”
Sammis wasn’t kidding and claimed the individual silver medal behind Hickey and ahead of Yvonne Losos de Muniz (DOM) riding Bernstein las Maris.
Poulin-Neff finished sixth overall. She had some problems in her first two tests with her own nerves taking over in the Prix St. Georges and her horse’s nerves coming into play in the Intermediaire I. However, by the time they entered the Freestyle arena all the nerves were gone and they performed a brilliant ride to music.
“It’s just been a learning experience. He’s never been in a stadium before. He’s never been in front of a couple hundred people. And I just need some mileage under my belt,” commented Poulin-Neff.
Although Hickey had some minor mistakes in his tests, overall his rides were the most brilliant but he fought for that brilliance every step of the way. “I have so much respect for people who have been in my shoes in past years. And, I know what was put in to get here.”

Eventers Sweep
The U.S. eventing team set a record with their clean sweep of all the medals. They won gold in 2003, but that year the eventing competition took place in Fair Hill, MD, because the Pan Am Games’ host country, the Dominican Republic, was unable to stage the cross country. Determined to show that their 2003 victory was no accident, the U.S. sent a top eventing team to Rio.
The most veteran rider in the pack was Karen O’Connor, of The Plains, VA, and she proved just why when she not only led the team to a gold medal but earned a second gold medal for herself. O’Connor was riding the brilliant but petite 14.1hh pony, Theodore O’Connor, who is quickly winning the hearts of many across the world.
The 12-year-old Thoroughbred/Shetland/Arabian cross gelding “has that sharpness to be aware of his body in everything that he does … He doesn’t like to touch anything,” said O’Connor, adding, “This is like this continued fairytale that I feel lucky to be a part of.”
The silver medal went to Phillip Dutton, West Grove, PA, aboard Truluck. Phillip made the decision earlier in the year to change his Australian citizenship to become a U.S. citizen. This was his first time representing Team USA. Both he and his 10-year-old Thoroughbred gelding just barely missed getting the gold medal. After he accumulated four time penalties and Karen dropped a rail their position going into the final show jumping round remained the same.
“It was a great experience and I hope this is an indication of things to come,” said the former Aussie.
With their individual bronze medal, Gina Miles and McKinlaigh completed the U.S. eventing sweep.
Darren Chiacchia, Leesburg, VA, came into the show jumping round in the third position on Better I Do It, a 14-year-old Russian Thoroughbred gelding. When four rails fell so did their chances for a medal. They finished fourth overall.
Stephen Bradley, Leesburg, VA, started the competition out in the second spot after dressage on From, a 14-year-old Russian Thoroughbred gelding, but a refusal on cross-country was their demise. They continued to add 2.40 time faults on the cross-country course and 12 jumping faults putting them thirteenth in the final standings.
Mara Dean, Round Hill, VA, was undoubtedly the most disappointed. Their top score of 40.20 after dressage put them at the top of the list. However, in the cross-country Mara was concerned about Nicki Henley, her 12-year-old Irish-Thoroughbred gelding, and decided to voluntarily withdraw. In the end he proved to have nothing major wrong with him and they joined the rest of the horses headed home.

Show Jumpers Rally
It may have appeared scary to those watching when the show jumping team of Lauren Hough aboard Casadora, Laura Chapot on Little Big Man, Cara Raether on Ublesco and Todd Minikus on Pavarotti started the team competition in fourth place after the first of five classes. They had unforeseen obstacles to overcome. Yet in the end they managed to move up a notch and won the bronze medal. Brazil claimed the gold and Canada the silver. The U.S. earned their medal with only three riders when Todd’s horse’s greenness showed up on course. The pair had a fall in the water in the first round of the team competition and were eliminated.
It’s important to mention that the true star of the group was Laura Chapot and her Little Big Man. Her 13-year-old KWPN Dutch Warmblood gelding arrived in Rio not feeling up to par. When an impaction was discovered there were a few days when Little Big Man’s life was at stake. Team vet Tim Ober, Laura and her groom worked diligently to get through the problem and by 8 p.m. the night before the competition Ober gave Little Big Man a clean bill of health. Although he entered the first competition “a little tired, once he got in the ring he perked right up,” explained Laura who made sure her horse was well enough to be ridden before she competed. The little guy showed he was up to the challenge.
When the final day arrived and they faced two rounds for the Individual competition, even though she was disappointed because they had a striking chance at a medal, she decided not to compete with Little Big Man. They had to travel the next day and with what her horse had been through she opted for the safe route as her horse’s health was her priority.
Lauren also did not compete in the very last round after Casadora dropped three rails for 12 faults in the next to last round. Realizing she was out of contention for a medal she decided to save her horse for their next competition in Sao Paolo.
So it was all up to Cara Raether and Ublesco. They had started out the competition in the 28th position after the very first round. In the final two rounds they downed one rail each time and added one time penalty. That, compared to how the others had fared, (there were lots of downed rails and refusals) moved them up to eighth in the final standings. It was Canada’s Jill Henselwood who ended up with the gold medal, Rodrigo Pessoa for Brazil with the silver and Eric Lamaze (Canada) earned the bronze.
Cara had a lot to be proud of in what was the most prestigious event of her career so far. What she learned will help her in her future goals. “You gain a lot being on a team,” she observed. “We never jump five rounds in one week. It was a learning experience for me and my horse and a good stepping stone.”
Overall these Pan American Games showed that it can be done. And every single competitor had at least one medal to bring home to prove just that!