FAME: The Road to WEG Success
By Sheri Benjamin
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| Elizabeth Ioannou flies very, very high above the horse at a US selection trial, with Rosey Ross and Blake Dahlgren supporting. |
The team members—vaulters, coaches, longeurs and equine partners—came from "sea to shining sea"—in the most literal terms. Their goal was a USA medal at the 2006 World Equestrian Games, and their quest would take them though 10 months of highs and lows, experiments, successes and failures. Together they were the F.A.M.E. team (Free Artists Mt. Eden), and they included some of the nation's most ambitious talent.
The FAME Trainers
The team was built from the ground up by co-coaches Devon Maitozo and Emma Garrod Seely, and they knew they needed a group that was incredibly motivated, highly talented, internationally experienced, and mentally tough.
Devon Maitozo had his hands full going into the season. A sought-after clinician, Devon traveled the world teaching vaulting clinics, even as he was coaching for FACE, the vaulting club he founded some years ago with Carolyn Bland. He was the Men's Vaulting World Champion at the 1998 WEG in Rome, Italy, a three-time world vaulting championship bronze medalist and a five-time US National Gold Men's Champion. What he'd never done was coach, or vault on, a world championship medaling team, and Devon was willing to give up an almost certain spot for the US competing in WEG's men's individual event to hunt for a team medal.
Emma Garrod Seely, the head coach of one of the nation's oldest and largest vaulting clubs (Mt. Eden Vaulting Club), and a USEF Coach of the Year, had already coached more than a few national and world championship medalists in both team and individuals, including Devon Maitozo himself. She coached Kerith Lemon, arguably the most successful female US vaulter ever (nine-time women's gold national champion, a three-time silver medalist and one-time bronze medalist at the World Vaulting Championships) for many years. Her Mt. Eden A Team was a two-time USEF/AVA National A Team Champion. But this was a different quest and an interesting challenge, and after careful consideration, Emma agreed to bring her technical talents to the team.
Carolyn Bland, co-founder of FACE Vaulters and a high level dressage instructor and talented vaulting longeur, agreed to provide the equine training and longing for the team. Horses are always the big unknown going into a vaulting season, but Carolyn believed that with a combination of steady, talented and experienced horses, she could help the team win the US selection trial scores they needed to qualify for WEG.
Now that the trainers were on board, the next task was team selection.
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| Megan Benjamin dismounts US horse Mozart at a US selection trial. |
Team Chemistry Important
But how do you take seven vaulters, three trainers and two horses from different clubs from around the country and turn them into a stellar team?
"That was one of our major considerations during team selection," said Emma. "Of course we looked for talent, experience and drive. But just as importantly, we were looking for team chemistry—that elusive quality that brings a special spark to the team's performances, and keeps it going during its most difficult times."
By the end of October 2005, the team and horses were chosen—and they lived in a big triangle across the United States, from the Silicon Valley to the beaches of Southern California, to the shores of New Jersey:
The Vaulters
- Megan Benjamin, Mt. Eden Vaulting Club, Saratoga (Northern) CA
- Blake Dahlgren, FACE Vaulting Club, Sun Valley (Southern), CA
- Elizabeth Ioannou, Mt. Eden Vaulting Club, Saratoga (Northern), CA
- Devon Maitozo, FACE Vaulting Club, Venice (Southern), CA
- Katie Richie, Mt. Eden Vaulting Club, Santa Cruz (Northern), CA
- Rosey Ross, Mt. Eden Vaulting Club, Woodside (Northern), CA
- Annalise VanVranken, Shooting Star Vaulting Club, Mays Landing, NJ
The Coaches/Trainers
- Carolyn Bland, FACE, Moorpark, CA (longeur/horse trainer)
- Devon Maitozo, FACE, Venice, CA (co-coach)
- Emma Garrod Seely, Saratoga, CA (co-coach)
The Equine Partners
- Gustaff, Saratoga, CA (US compulsories)
- Mozart, Moorpark, CA (US freestyle)
- Grand Gaudino, Pfaffenhofen, Germany (CVI Munich/WEG)
The FAME Vaulters
Devon, 31, was the first vaulter "chosen" for the team—mostly because Emma and many of the vaulters trying out for the team insisted that they would only join the team if Devon vaulted on it, as well as coached and choreographed.
Blake Dahlgren, 22, a member of Team USA at the World Championships in both 2000 and 2002, was starting his senior year at UC Santa Barbara when he got the call. A long-time FACE Vaulting Club member who had been vaulting for almost two decades, he and Devon had worked together for years, and in April Blake had been part of a team of world and national champions who thrilled sold-out crowds when they showcased vaulting at the Budweiser FEI World Cups Dressage and Jumping Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada. A two-time US National Men's Gold Vaulting Champion, Blake wanted one more medal: one that said World Equestrian Games on it. He signed on.
Megan Benjamin, 18, both the reigning US Gold Women's National Champion and a member of the reigning National Championship A Team, was also looking for her first world championship medal. As an "18 and under" competitor, international vaulting rules allow her to compete in both the team and individual world championship events (those 19 and older had to choose between vaulting individually or as a team member) if she qualified in both. A 10-year member of the Mt. Eden Vaulting Club coached by Emma Garrod Seely, Megan also had vaulted in Las Vegas with a demo team that had included Blake, Devon, Emma, Carolyn and MEVC flyer Elizabeth Ioannou. They had been good teammates for that week, and had had a lot of fun as they performed for the World Cups dressage and jumping crowds. She, too, signed on. The team was starting to come together.
Both Rosey Ross, 16, and Katie Richie, 19, came to the FAME team with world championship—and medal winning—experience under their belt. Rosey and Katie were both part of the 2004 Team USA's Coastline Vaulters that won a bronze medal in the team event at the 2004 World Vaulting Championships—despite competing on a horse the team had borrowed just the day prior, when their original horse did not pass the veterinary horse inspection. Coastline Vaulters wound down after it met its World Championships medaling goal in 2004 and its coach, Kata Alongi, moved back to Europe, but Rosey and Katie had the multi-medal itch. Both competed at the gold level individually in the US and had visions of a repeat medaling performance at WEG.
"It was a different experience going to Europe this time," Katie said. "It was exciting to be vaulting again, and Rosey and I were both thinking that if we could medal with a solid team of vaulters two years ago, maybe we could medal again on this team—which was made up of hugely talented individual vaulters. Two world championship medals are twice as good as one!"
Elizabeth Ioannou, 10, was a seasoned flyer, having flown not only with Megan on Mt. Eden's National Championship A Team in 2005, but much higher to the sky with six-foot-three-inch Blake at the recent Las Vegas World Cups vaulting demonstrations. Elizabeth was two decades younger than FAME's most experienced vaulter, but she, too, was single-minded in the quest.
And Annalise VanVranken, 14, one of the youngest US vaulters competing in the AVA gold division over the past year, had won regional championships or reserve championships in both silver and bronze over the last few years, and was ready for some international vaulting. Hailing from Mays Landing, New Jersey, she was the "East Coaster" of the team. And since all the other team members were in California, it was Anna (along with her mom, Sheila, known affectionately as "Sheila of the East" to separate her from Elizabeth's mom, known as "Sheila of the West") who did double duty playing frequent flyer for at least as many hours as she was a vaulter—traveling from the East Coast every other weekend to either Southern or Northern California for practice.
The FAME Horses
The horses, nurtured and trained by dressage coach and experienced longeur Carolyn Bland, were a mixture of very experienced and very talented. With the help of Carolyn, they were also very trained and very fit.
"We started with Marshall, the steady Thoroughbred/Percheron, as our freestyle horse, and Gustaff, a nine-year-old German Rheinlander dressage horse, for compulsories. Gustaff has a beautiful gait but had only started vaulting the previous year, so he was our young wild card. But he proved to be a very good horse with lots of heart, and carried all the compulsories beautifully. A few months into practice Marshall pulled his check ligament, so we switched to Mozart, a 23-year-old Czech Warmblood gelding, for freestyle."
Mozart, being older, got lots of special treatment during the season to keep him sound and happy, including what the team joked about as "horsey swimming lessons"—special equine water therapy to keep him fit without wear and tear to his joints.
The Journey
FAME's 10-month journey from start-up to National Champions to WEG silver medalists was a long road of highs and lows. At the first selection trial in Southern California, Mozart objected to two of the most difficult blocks (though, as Carolyn Bland said, "he seemed to like them fine in practice!") and the team tumbled down twice during the freestyle event.
The horses and vaulters came together better at the next selection trial, which FAME won by a good margin. The team also won the third and fourth selection trials, and by the last US selection trial in Woodside at the beginning of June, FAME's quest for a WEG medal took its next step, as they were officially named Team USA for Aachen.
A whirlwind of activity followed. A few of the team members left a couple of weeks later for Europe, after the school year was finished, and Megan and Blake both graduated from high school and college, respectively.
Off to Europe!
Devon's plan was for the team to drive through Germany and Austria for a week, trying out multiple horses he had vaulted on himself during a special USEF-sponsored trip back in January. Would the horses still be in top condition? Would they be able to carry the team, which included six-foot-three standing-base Blake? Would the team find a horse on which they could confidently perform their very advanced freestyle, as well as a set of high-scoring compulsories?
A week later the team had a plan: Dr. Silke Bartel, a German veterinarian from Pfaffenhofen, just outside of Munich, had agreed to lease her big team horse Grand Gaudino (a 18.3-hand Hanoverian), to FAME and offered herself as the longeur; her large German Club graciously housed the 10 vaulting and training members of FAME for much of the summer.
"I've never met a more giving group," said Emma Garrod Seely, of the Pfaffenhofen club. "They opened up not only their homes, but their hearts to us. They loaned us their best horses, gave up their longeur to us, and treated us like family. Despite the fact that most of us knew little German and some of them knew little English, we spoke the common language of horses and vaulting. I only hope that we can return the favor soon for this wonderful club!"
A Whirlwind July
The summer was a whirlwind of vaulting training, cross-training, horse training, team-building and mental toughening. There were times when practices went like a dream—and other times when the team landed up in a heap on the ground, again and again. Living in a foreign country, where host families may or may not speak English, was an experience that was both rewarding and wearing, as was spending practically 24-hours-a- day with six other vaulting teammates.
"It was difficult, but a lot of fun too," Rosey Ross said. "Sure we had hard times, but we'll always remember the stories—like the lady at the swim club who could never swim in a straight lane, and who always seemed to be swimming next to one of us while we were there training, or the fact that Megan and Katie were big lawbreakers in Munich!" (When trying to ride the subway for the first time, both vaulters tried valiantly to pay someone, anyone for their ride, but they didn't read or speak German, and no one came by to collect their money...)
The team soldiered on, and showed its stuff to the European vaulting world for the first time at the prestigious CVI-Munich in late July. The vaulting community took notice—as FAME took first place at the competition, and Megan took second place in the women's event.
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| Rosey Ross, Blake Dahlgren
and Anna VanVranken show off their freestyle moves. |
On to Nationals
But there wasn't much time to celebrate. Following a quick team dinner celebration after driving "Dino" back home to his club, the team members packed up and by the next day were back on planes to the United States, for a week in Southern California at the US National Vaulting Championships. They were tired and jetlagged, and hadn't slept in their own beds in ages. Their US horses had not been vaulted on for almost seven weeks. But they only had a month left before the World Equestrian Championships, they were back in town to win the National Championships, and there wasn't a moment to waste.
"We thought about just staying in Europe instead of coming back for Nationals, because we knew the transition to our US horses and the time difference would be hard, but we really wanted to show the crowd how our freestyle had progressed since the last selection trial, and we really wanted that National Championship A Team trophy as well!" said Blake Dahlgren.
Fast-forward to Saturday, July 30, 8 pm. After three days of Nationals competition, FAME had passed another milestone, and had won the USEF/AVA National A Team Championship. Teammates Devon Maitozo and Megan Benjamin took the Men's and Women's Gold National Championships as well. But celebrations? They'd have to wait. Time to pack up, go home for a day or two, and get back to Europe.
"I came back home, kissed my dog, washed my clothes, repacked my bag and paid my horse bills for the summer," Megan said. "Then I spent one night in my own bed, and at 5 am the next morning, I was back to the airport for a 13-hour flight to Europe."
By the next week, it was business as usual again in Germany, and two weeks later the team, trainers and horses traveled to Aachen for the Games.
The WEG Extravaganza
Five of the seven vaulters had been to a world vaulting championships before, but only Devon and Blake had previously seen a World Equestrian Games extravaganza. When the team arrived at the WEG grounds, many of them were amazed at its size, breadth and beauty.
"The show grounds were amazing," said Annalise VanVranken. The Deutsche Bank Stadium, which holds approximately 8,000 spectators, was a sight to behold, with its many flowers and lush green grass surrounding the vaulting circle. "Walking into the stadium early in the week, it was awesome to image that it would soon be a standing- room-only crowd watching our sport."
But who had time to think about that? There were horses to ride, and practices to go to and vet checks to pass. There was the bus trip to and from their WEG home, known as Vaulters' Village—in reality a German Army barracks where soldiers were living at the same time!
Lizzie Carries the Flag
The WEG Opening Ceremonies were an amazing spectacle, and Lizzie Ioannou was given the honor of carrying the American flag for the entire USA equestrian contingency, along with the eldest of the US team, a 61-year-old American eventer. "It was so cool," Lizzie reported. "But my arms were a little tired afterward. That flag was heavy!"
The first day of the competition was rainy, as had been most of the month in Germany. The team was ready to compete as planned.
After a rocky compulsories go, the FAME vaulters ended up a disappointing fifth, in back of not only the Germans and the Austrians, but behind the Swiss and Slovakian teams as well. And the margin was wide: a huge half point behind the first place German team.
But two days later, on the day of the first team freestyle, things went quite differently. In the still of the pre-dawn day, FAME horse trainer Carolyn Bland took her boots and her breeches and slipped out of the barracks, and onto the shuttle to the show grounds, hours before any other competitors were even thinking about getting up. She was determined that a very, very long ride at the beginning of the day would settle Dino for the next go.
The pre-dawn ride worked. "I may have been a bit cranky, because it was still dark and I didn't have my coffee, but it seemed that Dino got what he needed, because he went very nicely for the freestyle go," Carolyn said.
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| F.A.M.E. shows off its award-winning freestyle at the CVI Munich 2006.
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Movin' On Up
Later that day, Dino went beautifully in the arena, the team aced their freestyle, and their performance was rewarded with a standing ovation from the crowd. FAME placed first in the freestyle segment of the competition, and had moved from overall fifth into third place— a coveted medal position.
The vaulting crowd got louder and louder as the competition days passed. Deutsche Bank Stadium was the most talked about arena on the show grounds during the vaulting week: "Where is all that loud cheering coming from?!" The answer was the same, over and over. "It's that vaulting crowd, and they sure know how to have a great time!"
Sunday morning dawned overcast—again—but spirits were high as the vaulters had breakfast and lunch, and warmed up for their afternoon final go. There was a slight glitch when Devon discovered that his white unitard part of his freestyle uniform was missing; the team searched the stables and the stadium, but it was nowhere to be found. Finally, Devon jumped into the vaulters' van and raced over to the army barracks, usually a 20 minute drive, in 10 minutes flat. "I discovered it on the table in my room," Devon said, laughing.
Meanwhile, back at the show grounds, the FAME vaulters were wracking their brains to figure out a possible solution, in case Devon didn't find his uniform. "We were all running around, trying to figure out who might have a white uniform Devon's size that we could borrow," said Rosey Ross. "Of course, we were trying really, really hard not to think about what would happen if Devon was caught in traffic!"
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| F.A.M.E. members on the WEG podium.
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Moving Up to Silver
With just 15 minutes to spare, Devon came roaring into the parking lot, uniform in hand. After a quick warm-up, the FAME team was on! And on they were, with a beautiful freestyle that even transcended the first one. As is mandated at the world championships, the teams go in reverse order of placement, so the FAME team, being in third place, went third from last. After waiting at the Kiss and Cry area to learn their scores, FAME knew that it had definitely won at least a bronze medal in the competition. Their job was over, and all they could do now was wait, as the last two teams, the Austrians and the Germans, competed in turn.
When the Austrians completed their freestyle, and the scores flashed on the scoreboard high above the middle of the stadium, the crowd let out a roar. The Austrians had dropped down to third, and the Americans were now in second. In the end, the German team won the gold medal by a mere .002, and the FAME team won not only that round of freestyle, they were also the new WEG vaulting team silver medalists!
"To me, vaulting isn't just about the score you get," Devon said in summary. "At the end of the day, it's about the feeling you have when you're out there performing. In the best team vaulting, you count on strong relationships among the vaulters themselves, and their relationships with the horse. This group called FAME is nothing short of phenomenal. I am enormously proud of our team, and what we accomplished at the World Equestrian Games."
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