It is a real pleasure, this year, to be honoring two Olympians. One is a horseman and the other a horse. Even though their Olympic debuts were sixteen
years apart, they have a lot in common. Not only were their contributions to the sport in the U.S. outstanding, but each of them has had an impact on the
international scene as well. Both continue to inspire us, as they have shown what can be achieved through hard work, talent and generosity.
Horses are the focus of our love and simply because no one has ever won a medal in equestrian sports without a horse. In 2010, Steffen Peters was quoted:
"I've always been realistic about my horses, but realistic about myself, too. In the big scheme of things, riding horses might be relatively small, but it
makes a difference in peoples' lives." Tonight, we are here to honor a horse which has had an impact on our lives. Or as Steffen once said: "I always
appreciate Ravel for what he is - and - that is, a horse of a lifetime."
Every so often a horse comes along that captures our imagination and almost immediately finds a place in our hearts. Ravel is one of those horses. Born in
1998, Ravel is by Contango and out of a mare by Democraat. He was bred in the Netherlands by Mr. H de Man.
In an interview in 2010, owner, Akiko Yamazaki stated: "It was Jerry, my husband, who suggested we go and get a horse for the Olympics. It was his idea,
and that I have to give him credit for. The Olympics were taking place in China, and we felt like, since we're Asian, it would be really special to have a
representation for us in the form of a horse. But it was a really fortunate scenario that we already had a relationship with Steffen, who had a great shot
of making it."
Steffen said, regarding the purchase of Ravel in 2006: "The strong point about this horse is that - so far - I have found no weak points on him. Ravel has
three good basic gaits, and an extended canter that is out of this world. He's very sensitive, needs few aids and piaffes and passages with much balance."
Even as a green Grand Prix horse, Ravel dominated the 2008 US Olympic Selection Trials in San Juan Capistrano. After giving a strong and promising
performance in the Hong Kong Olympics; the world was put on notice when he was third in the Freestyle but overall fourth as an Individual. In 2009, the
dressage world definitely sat up a little straighter watching the pair as Steffen and Ravel started the year with a win, besting Edward Gal in the Grand
Prix at the Palm Beach Exquis World Dressage Masters CDI 5*. This was to be Ravel's first major win at the true international level.
Steffen's wife, Shannon gives a sense of how the year 2009 would turn out to be for the them: "When you have a horse like Ravel, who would be anybody's
horse of a lifetime, everybody around him - Steffen and myself, my family, his family, the owners, our whole team here- hope and dream of that kind of
success. But the year they had this year was, I think, beyond anybody's hopes and dreams of what could happen."
They went on to sweep the 2009 FEI World Cup held in Las Vegas. Akiko could have been speaking for the whole country when she said "Steffen may have other
favorite moments, but for me, that Grand Prix was something that will always remain in my memory. He was just so beautiful and floating, and he had so much
energy, and yet he was still relaxed. To me, that was a performance of a lifetime." And, I think that ride is truly the moment the United States fell in
love with Ravel.
In looking through the article the "Chronicle" published when they named Ravel and Steffen as the "2009 Horse and Horseman of the Year", I had to smile
when I read about Ravel's groom at the time, Rafael Hernandez. It seems that Rafael was standing by the warm-up ring in Vegas when Dr. Vazquez, Ravel's
tall, burly veterinarian, approached the often emotional groom, chiding him: ‘Are you going to cry this time?'
Hernandez admitted he probably would. However, a few days later, when Ravel clinched the freestyle victory and World Cup title, Hernandez turned from the
arena to see Vazquez behind him, tears dripping down the veterinarian's face. Hernandez said: 'So, how's it feel to cry, huh?' Hernandez recalled with a
laugh. "Of course he cried. Of course I cried!" - The tears of joy were shared by an entire nation of dressage enthusiasts. They had achieved what we all
dreamed might be possible and so many had worked hard before them to get dressage in this country to that point.
Not long after that, they had another opportunity to cry when Ravel was named the 2009 Grand Prix Champion of Aachen, the title that goes to the horse and
rider with the highest scores in all three Grand Prix tests. The last time an American rider had won the Aachen Grand Prix had been 49 years prior when
Patricia Galvin won in 1960 while Robert Dover won the Grand Prix Freestyle in 1987, 22 years earlier. But Ravel and Steffen were the first Americans in
the history of Aachen to win the title of Grand Prix Champion. For his efforts Ravel was named the USEF Horse of the Year in 2009.
"Those are three wonderful horses," Steffen said of Totilas, Parzival and Mistral. "All I will say is that if I get the chance to compete against those
guys, I will ride on that particular day up to what Ravel offers. I would never risk that he might lose his confidence by me pushing him a step too far. If
we end up in third, fourth or fifth place, I'd still be very happy with that, if it was the very best that Ravel could've done and I could've done."
To our delight, he did compete against those "guys" and he did it here on US soil later in the fall of 2010 at the WEG. Who, that was there, can forget
that competition? We were all so proud of our horse, especially when the US flag was raised signifying his bronze medal win in the Grand Prix Special and
again in the Freestyle! Ravel ceased to be owned solely by Akiko and ceased to be solely ridden by Steffen. He was forever more owned by an entire country
who rode every stride with Steffen.
I tried to count up the number of Grand Prix wins that Ravel has had. I stopped at 40, mostly because I had only a partial list. By 2012 Ravel was merely
bolstering his resume by again winning both the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Freestyle at the Masters against Charlotte Dujardin and Valero. This year his
abilities carried our team forward into the Grand Prix Special at the London Olympics. Ravel had strong performances in the team competition placing sixth
in the Grand Prix and tying for seventh in the Special.
We love our horses because they are not machines, they have life. Their beauty comes from a complicated mix of evolution and genetics. They have their own
minds and personalities. However, there are times where it can be difficult to remember they are not robots. Despite the disappointment he must have felt
during and after his Freestyle test, Steffen had no problem remembering that his partner was a living being. Instead of feeling his horse had let him down,
Steffen, as the horseman he is, reflected his horse's grace when he stated the real truth so eloquently by saying:
"He owes us nothing, we owe him everything."
I am proud to induct Ravel into the Roemer Foundation/USDF Hall of Fame.
George Williams
USDF President
In recognition of his exemplary competitive record which placed the U.S. at the top of the world map. The 16.3 hand KWPN gelding was the first U.S. horse to win the Rolex FEI World Cup Dressage Final (2009) and to sweep all three Grand Prix classes at the CDIO Aachen (2009). He competed on the 2008 and 2012 Olympic teams and won two individual bronzes at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (2010). Ravel was the Adequan/USDF Grand Prix Horse of the Year (2009-2011) and the 2009 USEF Farnam/Platform Horse of the Year.