FEATURE International Spotlight Jose Ortelli, Jr.: It's in His Blood Part One By Pam Forrester My children were born riding horses. We can forgive a mother s exaggeration when the truth is very near. Maria Amelia Ortelli s four children are all accomplished equestrians. If they were not riding solo before they could walk, father Jose Luis Ortelli Sr. cradled them as he rode. Family time meant riding or playing polo with uncles and cousins. To understand international eventer, Jose Luis Ortelli Jr. s passion for riding, you need to know a little of his family s history. His father, Jose Senior came from an equestrian family. Jose Sr. s father, Luis Antonio Ortelli was a professional polo player and Jose Sr. was an amateur player until his teen years. At 17, he switched to show jumping and eventing. Jose Luis Ortelli Sr. has had a long and distinguished career in the sport. Jose Sr. represented Argentina in the 1980 Olympics, qualified again in 1984, 1988, and 1992. He rode at Rolex in 1996 and in the 1999 Pan American Games, where he came in sixth on Jos Zorro. ABOVE: Jose Ortelli, Sr. enjoys his quiet time on the ranch with the horses. Left: Jose Ortelli, Jr. (far left) with his father Jose Ortelli, Sr., mother Maria Amelia, and sister Mercedes. RIGHT PAGE: Jose Jr. presents Jos Aladar to the Ground Jury during the 2009 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI4*. 28 EVENTING USA ISSUE FIVE 2010
E V E N T I N G U S A I S S U E F I V E 2 0 1 0 29 Josh Walker Photo.
But his talents are not just in the saddle. In 1998, he was Chef d Equipe and Coach of the Argentinean team in Rome for the World Games and the Brazilian team in Jerez, Spain for the 2002 World Games. He has the highest certifications for an international technical delegate, judge, and cross-country course designer and builder. His most recent design was the July 2010 Central American Games crosscountry course in Puerto Rico. Jose Sr. s career is not over yet, as he has already been appointed as a technical delegate in Guadalajara, Mexico for the 2011 Pan American Games. Mercedes Ortelli, Jose Jr. s older sister says we have a famous saying in Argentina: the fruit doesn t fall far from the tree, so you can see why everyone in the family is a rider. Unbeknownst to this Spanish speaking family, of course the saying is the same in English and the comment is quite fitting in this family. What a family it is. Sharing a meal in the Ortelli s farm house outside of Buenos Aires is like being dropped into a scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding ; lots of food, laughter, conversation, and most important love. It is a close knit clan that welcomes outsiders, fiancés, and friends. The topic is always horses: a recent four-star event in Luhmuhlen, Germany; the care of the eventing horses in Ocala; or the upcoming one-star event at Campo de Mayo in Argentina. When the word work came up in the conversation, Jose Sr. firmly interjected the only work on this farm is riding horses and if you have not ridden you have not worked. Apparently words on paper are not legitimate work in his mind. So after lunch, everyone heads to the show jumping ring to work. Augustina, the oldest daughter and recently engaged, once an excellent show jumper, changed into breeches and starts working Gorda. A beautiful Thoroughbred and criolla horse (a gaucho work horse) cross, Gorda got her name because she eats too much. Gorda is Spanish for fat. One daughter is missing; Victoria is perhaps the only family member truly giving Jose Jr. friendly family competition in the equestrian world. The two competed against each other in 2001 for the Argentine National Championship. In the CCI2* event, Jose Jr. won first place and older sister Victoria came in second. As Jose Sr. held the two horses for family pictures, he was thinking; This was the result of years of work. You can have a good coach, rider, and horses but it is work that produces results. It is the glue that keeps the three together. It could be a theme or mantra in the household because the word work is repeated again and again. When Jose Sr. talks about his son, he knows the world will never know his riding skills unless he works hard. Jose has talent, so much talent, but it is not enough to have talent. If you want to play in the big ABOVE: Jose Jr. takes a moment between rides to pose for a quick photo-op in the tack room. BELOW LEFT: Family and friends all gather round the Ortelli dinner table to enjoy a feast and discuss the day s events and invariably, the topics center around horses! leagues like the NBA or a professional soccer league, you need to take it to the next level with effort. When it comes to work, no one is forgotten not even the horses. If a horse says he is tired, don t believe him, do just a little more. Jose Sr s. work ethic is rubbing off on Jose Jr. He has moved to his family s farm just outside of Buenos Aires, Haras Segundo Ayre, to devote himself full time to riding. The name is appropriate for a sportsman as well as a family. Segundo Ayre in Spanish means second wind. Amelia Ortelli explains, as a family we needed a place to relax, a retreat to catch our breath on weekends but it also means the 'second wind that is so important for an athlete training and competing. Jose Jr. is currently training with a dozen horses at the Haras. Sometimes he rides ten horses a day. The young ones work one day and have the next day off. He rotates between conditioning, dressage, and jumping. Jose Jr. doesn t push his horses; he likes to start off slowly with lots of walk- 30 EVENTING USA ISSUE FIVE 2010
Jose has talent, so much talent, but it is not enough to have talent. If you want to play in the big leagues like the NBA or a professional soccer league, you need to take it to the next level with effort. ing and a good warm-up. The jumping for the young horses is really just a lot of pole work; no high obstacles. The Haras has a show jumping ring with dozens of jumps surrounded by a well manicured low hedge of brushes. As he takes the horses through their paces, there are many vocal cues as well as leg work. He is constantly talking to the horse with sounds and whistles. The cross-country course on the Haras includes a water jump with several points of entry including a log and wall with a three-foot step down. Another sequence calls for a one-stride and a bounce and even two small rises into another jump. On the perimeter of the property, Jose Jr. has placed large logs and a bamboo hedge trimmed in the middle to create a jump, all adding to the effect of a long cross-country course for conditioning the horse. Jose Jr. has deliberately kept the jumps small to build confidence; I don t train at the highest level here. This is just to keep the horses fit. I have six horses I m working at the one-star level at this time. Jose Jr. knows what it means to need confidence building. After a terrible accident in 2002 at the North American Junior and Young Rider Championship (NAJYRC) event he was completely shaken. An accident on the cross-county course killed his mare and devastated him. It is always the rider s fault on cross-country. I had just gone over a really difficult water combination and I lost focus before the next table fence jump. Now I have learned each is the same importance until you cross the finish line. Jose learned many lessons from that tragic moment. It was a turning point in his career. Eventing at this level is as much about ability as the rider s mental fitness. The pressure I have now at each event is to not make a mistake. The falls are bigger at this level and the speeds are faster. I have to fight in my head to relax and think about what the horse is feeling. Despite the tragedy, Jose Jr. never thought about quitting. At 19 years old, still with doubts and much trepidation that it could happen again, he threw his hat into the ring for the 2003 Pan BELOW: Jose Jr. schools a young horse through the water complex on their cross-country schooling field at the ranch. E V E N T I N G U S A I S S U E F I V E 2 0 1 0 31
You have to start the night before totally mentally and physically fresh. If you want to go out and have fun; do not do it before an event. Josh Walker. ABOVE: Following in his father s footsteps, Jose Jr. hopes to be at the top level of the sport for many years to come, and has already established himself and his horses on the international level, as seen here competing in the 2009 Rolex Kentucky CCI4*. American Games. His ride was completed and was successful. His demons were laid to rest. I was afraid I was going to make the same bad mistake. I have to say there were tears when I completed it. Six years later, Jose Jr. is maturing on the international stage of eventing. At 26 he still has playboy good looks and a ready smile to charm but now his focus is that of a brain surgeon. You have to start the night before totally mentally and physically fresh. If you want to go out and have fun, do not do it before an event. He is wise enough to know he has much to learn and hopefully many more rides ahead of him. The father and son team that has traveled together for a decade is adding a new member. Though he continues to learn from his accomplished father, Jose Jr. now needs an objective trainer. He knows there are little changes that can add to a dressage score and make or break the event at this level. I never had a trainer just watch me and tell me what I was doing wrong, like I need to sit much straighter. My back needs to be perfectly straight. Jose Sr. will never be far from his protégé. I will always push him forward to help him grow. I will always be there to support him emotionally, but now it has to be about him. As far as the finances will allow, the Ortelli team will be competing as often as possible. They are looking at Badminton in the spring of 2011 and in 2012 at the Olympics in London. Age is still on Jose Jr. s side, he is still young for this sport, so he wants to compete against the best in the sport and learn from the seasoned eventers. At the opening fence to the Central American Games in 2010, Jose Sr., the course designer, added this quote Horseback riding is life the rest are details. At this point Jose Luis Ortelli Jr. has made horseback riding his life let s see if the details take care of themselves. Part Two of Jose Ortelli Jr. will be published in the next issue. 32 EVENTING USA ISSUE FIVE 2010