Eight US riders had the opportunity of a lifetime to represent their nation and embrace their heritage over 5,000 miles from home. We followed Andrea Glazer as she blogged throughout her journey and also spoke with her fellow jumping team members.
Every four years 10,000 athletes from 80 countries, participating in 47 sports, travel to Israel to build Jewish pride as they compete in the 20th World Maccabiah Games, the third largest multi-sports competition in the world. Athletes, volunteers and supporters are connected to a worldwide Jewish community through the camaraderie of competition. This will be the second time that the equestrian competition will be part of “the Jewish Olympics” as they are often called, joining Team USA and its overall team of more than 1,100 members.
The Open Equestrian Team consists of four jumping team members and four dressage team members. In order to be selected for the jumping team, each rider is required to have consistently jumped 1.40m courses producing good results and must also send videos of their riding to be judged. The jumping team is then selected by Neal Shapiro and Head Coach, Kate Levy. Those lucky athletes traveled as a team over 5,000 miles to compete at Winter Stadium in Ramat Gan, Israel for the competition that took place from July 4-18.
Show jumping competitor Andrea Glazer, a 22-year-old eventing rider from Kentucky, now leaves Israel with amazing new friends and teammates (that she already has plans to visit again), a huge respect for show jumpers (because those jumps are “so scary and huge”), unbelievable memories and a silver medal for the Team USA Jumping Team.
Among her newfound friendships are fellow teammates Cloe Hymowitz, Syd Shulman and Haley Schaufeld. The girls quickly bonded during their time together. Hymowitz said, “By day two I felt like I had known these girls for my entire life. We had incredible moments of laughter and exhausting moments of hiking in the 110 degree weather. No matter what we were doing, we were happy it was together. This is something we all noted at the end of our trip. It wouldn’t have been the same without any of those girls. I feel so lucky to have been put on a team with each and every one of them.”
An Israeli citizen, Schaufeld helped guide the girls in their quest for a good time. Glazer and Shulman had previously visited Israel, but noted this trip was such a different experience. “I was able to connect with Israel on a different spectrum while conversing with my teammates and friends who shared the same opinions,” said Shulman. The girls explored Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem, visiting popular destinations including the Dead Sea, the Western Wall, Masada and the Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem.
“Walking through the museum and learning more about the Holocaust was one of the hardest days but also one of the most rewarding. Experiencing the museum and learning about individuals who both lost their lives and survived the Holocaust really made my travels feel meaningful. There are so many incredible parts of Israel, but Yad Vashem is a place that will always really stick with me,” Hymowitz reflected on her first visit to Israel.
Hymowitz and Schaufeld were fortunate enough to bring their own horses to the competition, while Shulman was excited for the opportunity to ride an Israeli horse. Connected through the equestrian community, Shulman got in touch with Ilan Ferder and was able to lease one of his client’s horses. Glazer, however, went in blind, drawing her horse out of a pool in the competition just three days before. The horse draw was one of her most anxiously anticipated moments of the Games and the day she had been waiting for since being selected for the team. She spent months of training riding as many different horses as possible.
Prior to the competition, the athletes participated in an opening ceremony at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem, and for many of them it was one of the most memorable moments.
“The experience in itself was so unique, and then experiencing it with girls who at this point felt like sisters to me was so special. I will never forget how happy I felt walking on stage and waving to the crowd cheering us on,” said Hymowitz.
“The entire equestrian team walked out on stage in front of the 15,000 spectators, arms linked, chanting ‘USA’ as loud as we could. The spectators were pushing each other to get to the front just to give us all high fives – I felt like a celebrity!” Glazer remembered. She continued, saying, “I cannot put into words what it was like to walk into Teddy Stadium representing my country with the best Jewish athletes in the world. I will say it was the best night of my life. The pride, excitement, and cohesiveness I felt marching with my team was overwhelming.”
The show jumping riders did not make the trek alone, but enjoyed the camaraderie of traveling as a team along with the dressage riders.
“It was so nice to travel with the girls from different disciplines. Their views on horsemanship were very interesting. For example, the dressage riders placed a huge importance on spending time with their horses both in the tack and on the ground. Their advantage comes from getting to know their horses’ personalities and communication styles inside and out,” said Schaufeld.
The team competition was spread between three rounds across two days. Forty-two riders challenged the first round of the Individual First Qualifier & Team First Qualifier. Josef Maier’s (GER) 15-effort course, set at 1.15m, was limited to a time of 90 seconds. First to go for Team USA, Hymowitz and her own Fineman finished just over the time allowed in 90.20 seconds with one fault, despite the Swedish Warmblood gelding being a little spooky. Glazer and her borrowed mount, Chin Chinello, finished with one rail and three penalties for a 7 fault total and a time of 98.15 seconds. Schaufeld rode her own Harley 86 to a clear round in a time of 86.23 seconds, to finish the first day in ninth place as the highest ranked US rider. Shulman and Chees de la Luna were last to go, finishing with one rail down for 4 faults in a time of 83.50 seconds. Team USA finished the first team qualifier in second place behind Israel, who had the advantage of all riding their own horses.
[For full results of the Individual First Qualifier & Team First Qualifier, click here.]
The following day was composed of the Individual Second Qualifier & Team Final, with two rounds set over 1.20m fences. Hymowitz and Schaufeld both laid down beautiful, accurate and clean rounds to close the gap between the USA and Israel. Shulman rode a very difficult horse better than most could have, having a few rails that were caused by the horse’s inexperience at the level.
[For full results of the Individual Second Qualifier click here.]
“To say the course was hard is an understatement. One team didn’t have any members finish the course, and over 25% of the competitors did not get through the finish flags. There were multiple falls, eliminations, tons of rails, and even some tack malfunctions,” said Glazer.
Team USA ultimately rode to a team silver medal with a total of 30 faults, just two faults behind the home team, Israel.
[For full results of the Team Final, click here.]
Athletes were ranked over a series of rounds based on cumulative total faults, with the top 25% eligible to advance to the final round of competition. Hymowitz concluded the Games with two clear rounds, earning her fourth position overall individually, and teammate Schaufeld finished right behind her in fifth position. Shulman and Glazer finished 22nd and 25th, respectively.
[For final individual results, click here.]
Representing the USA and winning silver with the team was a surreal experience that these girls will never forget.
“We really bonded. Everyone on the team was so genuine and supportive, it was a really special opportunity with an incredible backdrop,” said Schaufeld.
“Winning the silver medal with my teammates is still a dream that I can’t wrap my head around,” commented Glazer.
Looking back, Shulman said, “I am really thankful and grateful for the opportunity to have been chosen for this team. I will be impatiently waiting for the next games in 4 years to hopefully return…and we are coming back with a vengeance!”
Hymowitz said, “I think one thing that is super important to talk about from the Maccabiah Games is that I met some of the best people I wouldn’t have met otherwise. It is so special to travel somewhere and leave that place having friends you know you will have for a lifetime.”
Andrea Glazer | 22 | Louisville, KY
On her transition from eventing to show jumping:
“Show jumping is a different world from eventing – even the competition aspect. They do things differently. They don’t wear white gloves, don’t have monoflap saddles, some don’t wear hairnets, they don’t trot jumps to warm up…it’s wild! I feel my riding has improved drastically. I have never competed at this height and I think that I am starting to fit in with the real jumpers!”
On her rounds:
“With all things considered – the fact that I am an eventer and have only done two legitimate jumper shows, riding a horse I only got 3 days to ride before the competition, and not having my normal coach – I am so thrilled with how my rounds went! We had rails down, but each round got better and better, even when the jumps got bigger. I really grew a lot as a rider throughout the competition, and I couldn’t be happier with how it went!”
On her most memorable moment:
“The most memorable moment was crossing through the finish flags in the third round where the jumps were 1.30m. My mom ran up to me as I exited the ring, hugging the horse and me, crying of happiness. It made me cry too!”
Cloe Hymowitz | 20 | New York, NY
On representing Team USA and winning team silver:
“Representing Team USA at the 2017 Maccabiah Games is definitely the biggest honor I have had in my riding career. To represent your country in a sport is one of the most rewarding accomplishments. Walking in the ring to accept the silver medal with my teammates was surreal. It is genuinely hard to put into words what it feels like. I like to relate it to school in the way that you study so hard for a test and when you get it back you get an 100 times one million. It really feels like everything you had been working for had paid off.”
On the pressure of representing Team USA:
“The pressure of representing your country so far from home felt more like an honor than a pressure. Of course in any competition you are going to feel some pressure, but knowing that everyone on my team was here for the same reason honestly took that pressure away. I felt so proud to wear the Pinque coat and represent the country. Having my family there and following my normal routine at a show kept the pressure from getting to me. I wanted to do my country proud so I tried to stay as cool and calm as possible.”
On what she will take away from the experience:
“I believe the biggest thing I will take away from my experience in Israel will be to celebrate my religion more. I am not someone who practices Judaism often but being in Israel and really feeling that sense of community amongst the Jewish people was really special. I made sure to buy a little menorah before I left so that I could light the candles for Hanukkah this year.”
Syd Shulman | 22 | Greenwich, CT
On her rounds:
“My mount, Chess De La Luna, had been only jumping 1.00m for the past year. He had never been on grass or under the lights, let alone jump 1.30m. He could not have been a better sport and gradually got better as the nights went on. The course designer, Mr. Josef Maier, did an amazing job. I truly enjoyed jumping his courses and hope to jump them again in the future.”
On representing Team USA and winning team silver:
“Representing the USA is an indescribable feeling. Being able to wear the “Pinque coat” and to internalize that I was there to ride and represent our country is a prideful and wild experience. Our team did a great job, and to be awarded a silver medal was icing on the cake!”
On what she will take away from the experience:
“I feel much more connected to my religion, and to Israel after this trip. Personally, I feel more independent and capable of traveling to these different countries, and being able to forge amazing relationships with people that are just as invested as I am in this sport.”
Haley Schaufeld | 28 | Leesburg, VA
On how she balanced leisure activities with competition:
“Balancing fun and competition was certainly not easy. Some days I had to disappoint my teammates who diligently attended all of the USA team activities in order to care for my horse that I brought to Israel. However, I feel I was extremely lucky in being able to become very close with the girls on my team so we were all able to support each other when it was necessary. I think we all struggled to manage touring in Jerusalem, swimming in the Dead Sea, Tel-Aviv nightlife and attending lectures while still leaving some time to ride a horse or two.”
On what she will take away from the experience:
“I took away the importance of always being open-minded. The games were a reflection of the diversity in the world and they reminded me that while I love horses, there is so much more than just riding out there. There are amazing people and connections to be made and the entire world to learn about. I gained a new appreciation for street art and hummus. I added new words to my vocabulary – in both Hebrew and English. In general, this trip has taught me how important it is not to become too preoccupied with any one aspect of life!”
