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Monday News & Notes from FutureTrack

Ahh, and so it begins again. After a seriously, record-breakingly, trench-foot-inducingly wet 2023 season, I think all of us in the UK were hoping for some respite this year (and maybe the prospect of a slightly drier Badminton). Alas, it would appear, we’re having no such luck. We’re two weeks into the eventing season and we’ve already seen several outright cancellations and mid-event abandonments. Will we ever get going properly? Or will next week’s Kronenberg International, where British-based riders are heading en masse, be the first real chance we’ll get to see some eventing over here?

National Holiday: It’s National Awkward Moments Day. I don’t know who’s doing the copywriting over at National Today, but I suspect much of their output falls under the remit of today’s celebrations.

U.S. Weekend Action:

Carolina International CCI & H.T. (Raeford, NC): [Website] [Results] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]

Ocala Winter II (Ocala, FL): [Website] [Results]

Pine Top Spring H.T. (Thomson, GA): [Website] [Results]

Ram Tap National H.T. (Fresno, CA): [Website] [Results]

UK Weekend Results:

Lincolnshire (Grange de Lings, Lincs.): [Results]

International Events:

FEI Eventing Nations Cup Leg 1 (Montelibretti, Italy): [Website] [Results]

Your Monday Reading List from FutureTrack:

The 2024 FEI Nations Cup series officially kicked off over the weekend at Montelibretti. There, we saw the French team take a decisive victory in this early outing, with France’s Benjamin Massie also taking the individual win with Figaro Fonroy. This’ll certainly be a case of starting as they mean to go on – and while we won’t have another Nations Cup leg to judge each country’s standard by until mid-May, we’re now officially into the form-stalking part of the season. Find out more about the Olympic host nation’s victory in this round-up from the FEI.

Goodbye and goodnight to Seacookie TSF, the exceptional Trakehner with whom William Fox-Pitt recorded one of his Pau victories. Together, the pair also won Blenheim and finished second at Kentucky and Burghley before the gelding’s retirement in 2014. Since then, he’s enjoyed a happy retirement with owner Catherine Witt, and was put down, aged 25, after years spent living his best life turned out with his fellow five-star winning best buddies. Look back on his career here.

If you buy, sell, or source horses, you’ll need to understand how the law pertains to your position. Lucky for you, equine law specialist — and international eventer — Jodie Seddon is here to help. She and solicitor Hannah Bradley are putting on a comprehensive webinar on the 8th of April that’ll take you through all the nitty-gritty of what you need to know. Reserve your place here.

Sometimes, I just sit in my horse’s stable and think about how lucky I am to have her in my life. Owning horses is hard – it can be brutal on your emotions, your body, your bank account, your schedule — but there’s so much good that comes out of having these odd, opinionated, beautiful animals in our lives. USEA caught up with a cross-section of its membership to find out why they feel so lucky to have their horses, and it makes for some nice, heartwarming content to start your day.

And finally, based in or near London and looking for an entertaining, educational day out for a kiddo in your life? I love the look of this picture book reading and illustration session at the Southbank Centre on the 4th of April, featuring writer Raymond Antrobus and illustrator Ken Wilson-Max’s new book, Terrible Horses. It’s all about learning to understand the perspective and emotions of the people around you, told via the story of a bickering brother and sister and a notebook full of horse drawings. Find out more and get your tickets here.

Morning Viewing:

Catch up on all that juicy Nations Cup cross-country action from Montelibretti with the entire live-stream on replay:

 

Tuesday News & Notes from Kentucky Performance Products

 

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There are two things I really enjoy about this reel from British-based Jamaican eventer Lydia Heywood. First of all, it’s an exciting reminder that winter is (kind of) over, the season has begun, and I’m just a couple of weeks away from heading to the first international of the British season. Second, though — and this is a point that you might miss unless you’re a dedicated caption reader — it serves to point out the importance of great safety equipment, and the barriers some riders may face in finding kit that fits them properly. Lydia’s natural hair fits neatly and, more importantly, safely into her Charles Owen JS1 Pro, but as she points out, it might not work for all Afro styles. It sounds like she’s got something in the pipeline for riders natural hair and protective styles, though — and she’s not alone in those movers and shakers working to make safe participation in equestrian sport more accessible. Here’s a great archive piece from The New York Times to read if you’d like more information on the subject, and another from Noelle Floyd. And, make sure to give Chanel Robbins of The Helmet Queen a follow to keep up with her work in this department.

Events Opening Today: The Event at Archer Spring Fling YEH and NEHUniversity of New Hampshire Spring H.T.Loudoun Hunt Pony Club Spring H.T.Horse Park of New Jersey Spring H.T.

Events Closing Today: Galway Downs International H.T.The Event at TerraNovaBouckaert Equestrian H.T.Jumping Branch Farm Spring H.T.Morven Park Spring H.T.

Tuesday News & Notes from Around the World:

Spring officially kicks off in about a week, and in the meantime, eventing seasons around the world have pretty much all gotten started. If your own first outing of the year is coming up fast, you no doubt feel a bit rusty, despite a winter of training and goal-setting and planning. Never fear, though — USEA and STRIDER have teamed up to bring you a handy-dandy guide to making your first trip a great one, whether you’re heading out to a cross-country course or booking in a schooling show. Check out their tips here.

I read this think-piece from a therapist with interest this morning. Dr Megan Pinfield has plenty of experience working with clients on either side of the coach-student divide, and she’s been particularly put off by an increasingly divisive social media climate that she sees as pitting one against the other. Her insights into how fear responses can affect a student’s ability to retain information are particularly insightful, and well worth the read for anyone who’s ever been either the teacher or the learner. Here’s what she has to say.

When it comes to upper-level courses, we’re facing a bit of a shortage of qualified designers. The announcement of Ian Stark’s impending retirement and Captain Mark Phillips’s ramping down of involvement has only served to highlight that issue – but this interesting piece from Horse&Hound takes the investigation a little further to find out what’s being done to encourage new designers, the major challenges facing aspiring designers, and more besides. Dive on in to the details.

And finally, if you haven’t stopped thinking about that proposed LA Olympics eventing format, this one’s the read for you. COTH sat down with David O’Connor to find out more about the proposal, what it could mean for our sport, why the Olympics is so important to eventing, and what’s next on the timeline as we head towards the close of one Olympic cycle and the opening of another.

Photo via Château de Versailles on Facebook.

Sponsor Corner: Construction is well underway to erect the massive infrastructure required to host the equestrian disciplines at Château de Versailles for the upcoming Paris Olympics (July 26 through August 11), and we’ve got a peek at the progress. From bleachers to the Olympic Village, the 2024 Olympics are starting to take shape. Check it out!

Watch This:

Elisa Wallace has got a new mustang in her ranks! Join in with Zephyr’s early training:

Monday News & Notes from FutureTrack

The Windurra Riding Academy for tiny feral children and tiny not-at-all-feral ponies is back in action, and today, it’s cross-country day! This one goes out to everyone who has ever been personally victimised by their horse stopping to graze midway through a schooling session. I know there’s more of us out there than any of us would like to admit to. It’s okay, it’s fine – just let the splishsplishsplish of tiny hooves in a water jump soothe what ails you.

National Holiday: It’s National Napping Day. The most sacred of days, I think.

U.S. Weekend Action:

Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. International (Fairburn, GA) [Website] [Results]

Full Gallop Farm March I H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Results]

SAzEA Spring H.T. (Tucson, AZ) [Website] [Results]

Southern Pines H.T. I (Raeford, NC)[Website] [Results]

UK Weekend Results:

Tweseldown (1) (Church Crookham, Hants.): [Results]

Oasby (1) (Grantham, Lincs.): [Results]

Your Monday Reading List:

What does your post-ride care routine look like? Maybe you give your horse a hose-off to get rid of sweat and sand; maybe it’s a full groom to check for any lumps and bumps. But how hands-on are you with his legs after a ride? Checking and caring for them properly can help you to spot any issues well before they blossom into big problems — so it’s definitely worth giving this guide a read to find out how how much icing, hosing, wrapping, and treating you should really be doing.

Following a spate of welfare abuses in dressage, a forum has been proposed for after Paris to tackle the root of the issue. But, it’s been pointed out, it would be a grave error to assume that the issues that we’ve seen in dressage are exclusive to that discipline – and any abuse of horses in any part of the industry should certainly be an issue of great importance to the industry at large. Find out more about it here.

Alexa Thompson is steadily ticking off big goals on her bucket list – and she’s doing it with two homebred. The Lexington-based rider’s foray into breeding happened almost by chance, but now, her two nine-year-olds are delivering big-time, with form at three-star and a half-season in Europe under their belts. Dive deeper into the story in this profile.

And finally, if you’ve not given this one a read yet, you’re missing out. Dr Anastasia Curwood’s thoroughly researched overview of the history of all-Black horse shows in the US during World War II is a fascinating insight into the social magnetism of showing and how an enterprising group of people carved out their own space in an often hugely exclusive world. Dive on in.

Morning Viewing:

Think you need a certain type of sport horse to enjoy success out eventing? Think again – because cobs are having their moment! Check out episode seven of Horse&Country TV’s new series, Cobs Can Go Eventing, and get the low down on how to get the most out of these cool characters with advice from 5* eventer Simon Grieve.

 

Tuesday News & Notes from Kentucky Performance Products

How cool is this — not only was Bruce’s Field the site of some epic competition over the weekend with the running of the $100,000 Conceal Grand-Prix Eventing presented by Taylor Harris Insurance, it was also the home of the inaugural awarding of the Annie Goodwin Rising Star Grant. Congratulations to Isabelle Bosley, who’s a truly deserving recipient of the $20,000 award — we can’t wait to see how she uses it!

Events Opening Today: Masterson Equestrian Trust YEH/NEH QualifierMeadowcreek Park-The Spring Social EventSporting Days Farm April H.T. IIIFair Hill International April H.T. & CCI-S

Events Closing Today: Full Gallop Farm March II H.T.Texas Rose Horse Park H.T.March Horse Trials at Majestic Oaks

Tuesday News & Notes from Around the World:

It’s a rare thing to see someone win on their move-up. But that’s just what happened to young rider Molly Duda, who stepped up to Advanced over the weekend at Twin Rivers and ran away with the top prize. Is this the next big name in West Coast eventing? Watch this space!

Eventing legend Ingrid Klimke is also a dab hand at dressage. But she had to put those toe-flicking dreams on hold last summer when her top horse, Franziskus FRH, sustained an injury. Now, though, she shares that he’s back in action — and yes, she’ll be trying to get to the Paris Olympics with him, which would be her Olympic dressage debut.

I’m going to be real with you: I loathe and despise the prevalence of AI. I hate when I see our governing bodies using crap AI ‘photos’ in their ads rather than paying photographers; I hate when ChatGPT is left in charge of writing articles or copy, silencing yet another human voice that has much more nuanced things to say. I once asked ChatGPT to write a Badminton report in the style of Eventing Nation and you know what it gave me? A whole heaping load of boring crap, that’s what. It’s shortchanging all of us, from creators to consumers, and if we’re not careful, it’s going to be the dominant force in the creative industries. But — and this is a but that’s loaded with more buts — it can have its uses. For example, maybe, in dressage judging, where subjectivity is a hot button topic. Or do we need the human touch and the nuance that comes with it? Read this piece and then chime in with your thoughts on this thorny matter. If you need me, I’ll be outside shouting at clouds.

And finally, if you’re getting back to jumping after a long winter, you probably need a good grid. Here’s one. You’re welcome.

 

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Sponsor Corner: From Sweet Itch to Rain Rot to Hives, Kentucky Performance Products has all the details on skin problems in horses. The solution could be to improve your horse’s nutrition with Omega-3 fatty acids. Here’s why.

Watch This:

Yesterday, we introduced you to a vlogger qualified and aiming for the Badminton Grassroots Championship — and today, we’ve already got a follow-up on the slightly tumultuous start to her journey! Check it out:

Gatcombe’s Festival of British Eventing Bows Out After 40 Years

Tim Price takes the British Open Championship at Gatcombe in 2022. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

It’s getting all too routine to see events falling out of the British Eventing calendar as the cost of living crisis rages on and the financial reality of hosting events becomes increasingly untenable. But for all that, it was still a major shock when Gatcombe’s Festival of British Eventing, which takes place in early August in the unique terrain of Princess Anne’s Gatcombe Estate, announced today that it would not be running any longer.

The Festival has undergone some major changes in the past number of years: while it used to host international classes, including a CCI4*-S that was a popular part of the now-defunct Event Rider Masters line-up, it has been national-only in recent years. Those national classes have still had major status, though, as they’ve been the hosts of a plethora of national championships from Novice to Advanced, including the coveted British Open Championship at the top level and the Retraining of Racehorses Championship at Intermediate Novice. But in 2023, despite the best efforts of the on-site team, much of the weekend’s scheduled competition had to be necessarily abandoned due to relentless rainfall.

This has played no small part, it would appear, in the tough decision the organising team has come to.

“It is with a heavy heart that The Festival, which has played a significant part in the British Eventing calendar since 1983, cannot run this year. The event has also been a huge part of my family’s lives and those of many others for 40 years,” says Event Director Peter Phillips – son of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips and brother of Zara Tindall – in a statement, which cites ‘the ever-increasing costs associated with operating on a green field site’ and the current economic climate as the root cause of the event’s demise.

“[The event] has built up a large community that has enjoyed and celebrated The Festival each year. I would like to thank everyone who has been involved over the past four decades; our sponsors for their unwavering support, the large selection of trade stands and arena entertainment and our spectators who have loved coming to Gatcombe to watch the world-class equestrian sport from the famous Park Bowl.”

Gatcombe’s unique terrain will no longer feature in the British eventing landscape. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Captain Mark Phillips, who designs the event’s courses, adds, “The horse trials at Gatcombe and, more recently, the Festival of British Eventing have been a major part of my life for over 40 years when The Princess Royal and I first had the dream. The dream became reality, and with it, many special memories of the many riders, horses, volunteers, sponsors and spectators all of whom massively contributed to the history of the horse trials at Gatcombe Park. It’s truly a great sadness that the original model and indeed the sport has changed so much. Since Covid, costs, particularly insurance, have risen so much that the numbers no longer add up. It is an end of an era, the next 40 years of the sport will be different, let’s hope it can be equally special.”

British Eventing’s new CEO Rosie Williams shares in the disappointment, and is working towards reallocating these important championship classes.

“It is incredibly sad news for everyone involved in the sport,” she writes. “My focus this year is very much going to be on how we can implement a strategy that works for the sport going forward.  We need to do everything we can to find a way to support our organisers, landowners and stakeholders to make events at wonderful venues like Gatcombe become viable.  We will work hard as a governing body to assist in any way we can for the financial risk and burden to be minimised so that we can welcome Gatcombe, and others like it, back into the calendar. We will continue to be ongoing in discussions with Peter and the team at Gatcombe and will also be, as a matter of urgency, discussing a tender process for the national championships which will need to find a new home for this season and going forward.”

We’ve previously seen these classes run at Burgham, in 2021 when Covid forced Gatcombe’s cancellation, but for now, we have no news of where they might go next. We’ll keep you updated as the story develops.

Monday News & Notes from FutureTrack


I love this time of year. There’s eventing underway in the US; the British Eventing season kicked off over the weekend despite rain and even snow making life a touch tricky for folks around the country; we’re starting to see entry lists fill up for the early-season four-stars; Badminton and Kentucky are racing closer (a fact that makes my stomach feel like it’s going to explode with butterflies, which I hope isn’t just a sign that actually, I’m in my thirties now and maybe I’ve developed a GI issue as a result); and everything’s full-steam ahead for the Olympics. Everything is still yet to happen – the stories are yet to unfold, and the possibilities are truly endless. And alongside all of the above? All our favourite events are well into their 2024 planning and building. Germany’s Luhmühlen CCI5* and CCI4*-S is a longtime EN fave, and today, they released their first look at what Mike Etherington-Smith has got up his sleeve for this year’s courses. Join him, friend of EN Juliane Barth, and a whole bunch of heavy machinery out on course and see how the stage will be set for one of the biggest showdowns pre-Paris. It’s going to be a remarkable week of sport.

National Holiday: It’s National Grammar Day. Mind you’re words and contractions.

US Weekend Action:

2024 $100,000 Conceal Grand-Prix Eventing Showcase at Bruce’s Field (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Results] [Ride For Charity Teams] [Ride For Charity Online Vote] [EN’s Coverage]

Full Gallop Farm March Wednesday H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Results]

Rocking Horse Winter III H.T. (Altoona, FL) [Website] [Results]

Sporting Days Farm March H.T. II (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Results]

Twin Rivers Winter H.T. (Paso Robles, CA) [Website] [Entries] [Results]

Your Monday Reading List:

If you’re a committed entry list stalker, you might have noticed something interesting on the Montelibretti 3* line-up for this week. That something interesting is an entry from Australia’s Chris Burton, who left eventing in 2021 to focus on showjumping. Now, it appears, he’s back – and with an exciting new partner in Shadow Man, the former 5* mount of Britain’s Ben Hobday. Here’s how they’re getting on so far, and confirmation that yes, Burto has had the horse since before the cut-off date for Olympic ownership to be secured.

Speaking of folks getting the bug again, that’s exactly what happened to dentist Dr Jesse Akers Reagin. Her hiatus was a touch longer – 18 years, in fact! – but after attending a baby shower in 2019 at the farm of Katie Malensek, Canada’s high-flying vet-turned-team-member, she felt that spark reignite and knew it was well worth trying to get horses back into her life. And now? Well, she’s doing pretty darn well herself.

Okay, we know eventing prize money ain’t all that. But how does it actually compare to the pots across the disciplines? Horse & Hound dived into the numbers, and it turns out that while we’re definitely not leading the charge, we’re also not at the bottom of the heap. It makes for some interesting reading, and has certainly reignited my spark for working out the hows and the whys. Here’s what they found.

One of the best ways to ensure everyone is well-represented in sport is to make sure that everyone who has something to contribute is given a voice and a platform. That’s why I’m really pleased to see that US Eventing is now offering complimentary digital memberships to USEA affiliates – including members of volunteering programs and regional eventing associations. The former actually got this benefit last year, and the addition of the latter should give more of a platform for those regional programs to be able to highlight the challenges and benefits of hosting the sport in various parts of the country. Find out more information here and remember: a governing body is the sum of all its subsidiary voices, opinions, and pushes for change. Make sure yours is heard.

Morning Viewing: 

Every year at Badminton, I’m once again struck by just how fun — and challenging! — the BE90 and BE100 Voltaire Design Grassroots Championship looks. It truly is the creme-de-la-creme of lower-level competition, and takes an enormous amount of planning, prep, and dedication to get to. I’ll never get a chance to try it for myself – I suspect it’ll be many decades yet that I’ll be deeply entrenched in reporting on Badminton itself! – so I’ll be living vicariously through those riders who are blogging and vlogging the whole experience, from their early-season runs and training to the week itself. Here’s one to get you started, that lays bear just how tricky it can be to get everything moving in the right direction. Come on, Donut – we’re rooting for you!

Tuesday News & Notes from Kentucky Performance Products

Today’s the day – the day that entries officially open for the Best Weekend All Year at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event! It’s time to start stalking those entry lists, making your predictions for who’ll come forward, speculating over who’ll perform so well that they’ll chuck themselves straight into contention for an Olympic call-up… the most beautiful time of the year, in my nerdy mind, because at this point, anything could happen. The plot twists, the moments of glory, the shock upsets; they’re all still to come. I, for one, cannot wait. Want to make sure you’re there to catch all the action? You can still benefit from advanced ticket pricing – head to the box office here to nab yours.

Events Opening Today: Defender Kentucky Three-Day EventSpring Bay H.T.Unionville Horse TrialsLongleaf Pine H.T.F.E.N.C.E. H.T.Twin Rivers Spring International

Events Closing Today: Ram Tap National H.T.Pine Top Spring H.T.Ocala Winter IICarolina International CCI & H.T.

Tuesday News & Notes from Around the World:

So often, equestrian media is dominated by names from ‘big six’ nations. But beyond those global superpowers, there are so many riders breaking down barriers and playing a colossal part in building an equestrian industry in countries for whom competing on the world stage is a brand new novelty. One of those? Lithuania’s Aistis Vitkauskus, who we’ve been following at EN for a few years now. Get to know him, his cool, quirky Commander VG, his philosophies, and his love for fly-fishing in this profile from the FEI.

This year’s MARS Badminton Horse Trials is a special one. Okay, let’s be real, it’s Badminton – they’re all special! But this year, the world’s first five-star celebrates a big birthday, and we’re looking forward to all the celebrations of the history and future of this magical competition. Want to start feeling those butterflies nice and early? You’re in luck: on April 9, there’ll be a preview evening in Gloucestershire, packed with some of the biggest names in eventing and guaranteed to be heaving with fascinating stories and interesting insights. Get your tickets here and I’ll see you at the bar.

Costs continue to rise for eventers, and so it’s always exciting when a chance to save money pops up. That’s what’s been offered by British eventing organisers BEDE Events, who have launched a ‘loyalty scheme’ for repeat competitors: compete in five BEDE events through the season, and at the sixth, you’ll have your start fee waived. More money for cheesy chips! Sign me up, tbh.

The season is officially underway, but there’s so, so much left to come. Catch up with US Eventing in the latest episode of the USEA Podcast, where host Nicole Brown is joined by EquiRatings’ Diarm Byrne, USEA CEO Rob Burk, and President Lou Leslie to find out how they reckon it might unfold – from team predictions to exciting moments yet to come, and plenty more besides. Tune in here and get excited!

Photo by Lorenzo Castagnone, via Unsplash.

Sponsor Corner: We have some unfortunate news for equestrians out there…. if you’re not already experiencing mud season, you will be soon. With mud season comes skin problems. Luckily, Kentucky Performance Products has the quick and dirty facts on equine skin conditions. Discover how to prevent them from happening in your horse and what to do once they appear here.

Watch This:

As if eventing at the top level and vying for a place on the French Olympic team wasn’t enough, young British-based upstart Gaspard Maksud — who you may remember from his sparkling sixth place finish at the 2022 World Championships — has spent his winter learning the ropes around seriously beefy showjumping tracks. Check out his first-ever trip around a 1.50m course:

Monday News & Notes from FutureTrack

 

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Eventing will always be my sport of choice (despite the odd foray out of it — I’ve spent the last few days in Qatar, working as part of the broadcast team for the 5* showjumping at the CHI Al Shaqab, which has been an experience!) but I do think there are some cues we could take from other disciplines. Mostly, tbh, I want us to have costume classes, as they do at Desert Horse Park in California, but I don’t want them to just be restricted to kids. I’m thinking a fancy dress CCI4*-S could go over nicely. Who do I pitch this to?

National Holiday: It’s Letter to an Elder Day. Have you been inspired, or taught valuable lessons, by a horse person of an older generation? Consider writing them a note of gratitude — even if they’re not someone you know directly, we guarantee it’ll mean a huge amount to them.

US Weekend Action:

Full Gallop Farm Mid February H.T. (Aiken, SC): [Website] [Results]

Pine Top Advanced (Thomson, GA): [Website] [Results]

Three Lakes Winter II H.T. at Caudle Ranch (Groveland, FL): [Website] [Results]

Your Monday Reading List:

Men and women might be able to compete equally in equestrian sports, but the experience of it isn’t always the same. Menopause is one major factor that can really change a rider’s riding life, and that’s the topic on the table in this interesting interview with 55-year-old Rachel Fisher, who’ll be tackling the Badminton Grassroots Championship this year and has learned how to make her body work for her, even when it feels like a new, alien place to be. Check it out.

Would you buy an unbroken pony for your kids? Only if you don’t like them much, amiright — but actually, writer Jamie Sindell has kind of swayed me with her measured approach to doing exactly that. First-time pony producers should probably still not do this, but for those with a bit of experience, I think I can see the benefits now.

We love a life-hack or a top tip from the folks who really know horses. And top of that list? Professional grooms. Here’s some of their biggest ‘don’ts’ to help you become a better horse person and make your horse happy, healthy, and super-duper shiny.

Marley Bridges was en route to being a gymnastics champion. Then, a major injury forced her to give up the sport she loved at just twelve years old. It was heartbreaking — but in the process, she found horses, and eventing, and a new challenge to embrace. Check out her inspiring story here.

Morning Viewing:

I truly…don’t know what to tell you here.

 

Tuesday News & Notes from Kentucky Performance Products

The season has officially kicked off in Europe as Portugal’s Mata Do Doque International gets underway. This spring ‘tour’ replaces the popular Barocca d’Alva competition, and will run a number of levels over this week’s event and its finale next week, giving riders the chance to pick up crucial qualifications and experience nice and early (something that’s especially important in an Olympic year!). Follow along with all the action on the event’s Instagram page — and Go Eventing!

Events Opening Today: CDCTA Spring H.T.Pine Hill Spring H.T.Rocking Horse Spring H.T.Stable View Spring 2/3/4* and H.T.

Events Closing Today: Full Gallop Farm March I H.T.SAzEA Spring H.T.Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. InternationalSouthern Pines H.T. I

Tuesday News & Notes from Around the World:

Planning on attending today’s USEA YEH Symposium? Lucky you — the schedule is jam-packed with seriously interesting stuff from some of the sport’s leading lights. Here’s a primer of everything you need to know to get the most out of your day. Go forth and learn, friends.

In 2018, she became the Pony European Eventing Champion — and now, at just 21, Saffie Osborne is setting the racing world alight. She just became the first female winner ever at Dubai’s Meydan racecourse, just weeks after her return from injury.

There’s no headache quite like a tax headache. And if you’re planning to donate your horse to a riding program and claim the value as a write-off on your taxes, that’s all well and good — if you get the paperwork part right. If not, the IRS could give you a bad day indeed. Here’s how to avoid that.

Liz Halliday-Sharp is a seriously cool customer. But that grace under pressure that’s so enviable is something she’s learned to hone and refine — and so it’s something you can have, too. Here are her tips for keeping your headspace clear, calm, and uncluttered at a show.

 

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Sponsor Corner: 

Have a horse that hates powdered supplements? Kentucky Performance Products’ InsulinWise is now available in pelleted form!

InsulinWise Pellets:

🩸 Maintains normal metabolic function and healthy insulin levels.
🥗 Supports a healthy body weight and normal fat distribution.
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Watch This:

Check out the evolution of the Pony Club Championships in the US from 1993 to 2018 thanks to this great montage from Total Recall!

 

Monday News & Notes from FutureTrack


For the second week running, your Monday News & Notes hasn’t just been brought to you by FutureTrack — it’s also been brought to you by Shane Rose’s contentious undercarriage, which has had a particularly exciting and silly few days.

Last week, we shared the images of Shane’s foray into Borat-style mankini-donning, which the Aussie rider undertook in a fancy dress class at the Wallaby Hill Extravaganza. Many laughs ensued! We all giggled at that man’s buttcrack! Over the last couple of days, though, it’s all unraveled a bit — after receiving an anonymous complaint about the mankini, Equestrian Australia chose to step Shane down from competition while they undertook a review of the incident. That prompted a tidal wave of global support, a petition, lots of half-nakey solidarity poses, and, quite remarkably, a hell of a lot of mainstream news coverage around the world, too, including pieces in the New York Times, on the BBC, The Guardian, and plenty more besides.

Now, EA has seen sense, concluded their review, and reinstated Shane, who can get on with the important business of aiming for another Olympics, and there’s been some positive benefits to the silliness, too — Wallaby Hill sponsors Bowrals Kubota have announced they’ll be providing free mankinis to spectators at next year’s event and will donate $100 to men’s health charities for every person brave enough to wear them. Plus, the comments sections of many mainstream media outlets would suggest that Shane has won eventing some new spectators this year, who’ll tune in to the sport in Paris just to cheer on — fingers crossed, anyway! — their new sporting hero.

National Holiday: It’s Tug of War Day, a holiday I celebrate every time my horse has had a few days off and needs to be steered to the field.

US Weekend Action:

Jumping Branch Farm H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Results]

Ocala Winter I (Ocala, FL) [Website] [Results]

Ram Tap H.T. (Fresno, CA) [Website] [Results]

Your Monday Reading List:

I love a Chronicle throwback, and I love a spotty botty on a horse. Here’s a nice meeting of those two passions that tells the story of a horse named Crocodile, a diminutive rider, and plenty of gentle 60s-style chaos.

Even if you’ve never ridden a horse, you can be a Horse Girl™️. That’s exactly how writer Yassmin Abdel-Magied’s foray into horses came about: she spent her childhood devouring pony novels and learning the ins and outs and politics of the horse world, but only made her own steps into it once she’d moved to London and been plunged into — and escaped again — the depths of the lockdown. This piece for The Guardian shares her experiences as she puts all that book-learning into practise.

How important is rider position, really? This interesting and salient thinkpiece from trainer Jeremy Steinberg is well worth a read if you’ve ever found yourself on either side of the form v function debate, and while it’s focused on dressage, a lot of his points apply across the disciplines. Give it a read here.

Morning Viewing:

Let’s go eventing with Elisa!

Tuesday News & Notes from Kentucky Performance Products

When I’m not sprinting around fields in my role as an eventing journalist and photographer, you can usually find me deep in the pit at a music festival – the second great love of my life. And that’s why the idea of the Fair Hill International Eventing Festival appeals to me so much. A huge range of divisions, both recognised and unrecognised? Plenty of space to camp out in an RV or trailer with your best barn friends? A seriously beautiful spot for a weekend of eventing? A headline performance from Lana del Rey? Okay, okay, sorry, the last one isn’t actually happening. But there’s an idea for you for free, Fair Hill – a weekend of cover bands in the evenings to truly shore up those festival vibes. Get that ball rolling and I’ll be there with glow sticks and face gems on, ready for all the action.

Events Opening Today: Morven Park Spring H.T.Jumping Branch Farm Spring H.T.Bouckaert Equestrian H.T.The Event at TerraNovaThe Event at TerraNova

Events Closing Today: Sporting Days Farm March H.T. IIRocking Horse Winter III H.T.Twin Rivers Winter H.T.Full Gallop Farm March Wednesday H.T.

Tuesday News & Notes from Around the World: 

Michael Jung’s fischerChipmunk FRH is a remarkable athlete. But is he, as Horse & Hound‘s Pippa Roome posits, the unluckiest horse ever to hold a world record? If it sounds preposterous, have a read through this retrospective of his championship career so far and see if it changes your mind. And then, join us in hoping for a turn of fortunes in Paris, because we reckon the gelding deserves a medal at some point.

It’s hard to find any good in animal abuse, but if one decent thing can come from the Cesar Parra revelations, it could be this. USEF has proposed an extraordinary rule change that, if passed, will bolster its ability to punish abuse that occurs off show grounds. Currently, only abuse that takes place in conjunction with a competition is sanctionable, which means that an awful lot of nastiness can go on behind the scenes at home. The rule change will be on the table at this year’s mid-year meeting in June and will then, hopefully, come into force in December.

There have been so many horror stories of horse-sale lawsuits lately. From Eric Lamaze to, well, Eric Lamaze, it’s been a big-ticket issue that’s been popping up seemingly constantly over the last few months. And if you’re horse-shopping yourself, especially if you’re planning to purchase a high-cost competition horse, that could, quite reasonably, give you the fear. So how do you protect yourself as a buyer? Here’s some solid tips.

Valentine’s Day is looming! Get in the spirit of the thing (if that’s what you’re into) with the US Eventing Podcast’s Big Valentine’s Quiz special, featuring Boyd and Silva Martin, James and Helen Alliston, and an awful lot of silliness. Tune in here.

If Galentine’s is more your style, though, that’s cool too. Personally, I’m a Pancake Day kind of girl, myself (here’s the recipe I’ve always used, for Delia Smith’s light, melt-in-your-mouth crepey pancakes with lemon and sugar; you are welcome), but I can always get into anything that gives us all an excuse to fawn over some of equestrian sport’s greatest mares. Here’s Heels Down‘s Galentine’s celebration of the four-legged women of our world.

 

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Sponsor Corner: What do you love about your horse? Kentucky Performance Products wants to know! Spread some love this Valentine’s Day, tell us what you love most about your four-legged bestie here.

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Improve your jumping rounds this season with some expert advice on turns from Swiss ace Martin Fuchs.

Monday News & Notes from FutureTrack

Some Mondays start less with a bang than with a whimper. They don’t so much fizzle into existence as they ooze, flabby and bloated, into sight, drowning out the weekend that was in a slow and treacly death. They’re uphill battles; they’re something to get through, not to succeed at. It’s neither your fault nor mine, and all we can do is tick the basic boxes and hope that Tuesday will come through with a bit more pizzazz.

Not this Monday, though, folks. Not today. Because today, we’re starting the week off with a bit of risky almost-nudity. A little game of fetch made more challenging because you’re not sure if you can actually see the ball. A touch of shamelessness. A soupçon of buttcrack. Is that a carrot in Aussie eventer Shane Rose’s pocket, or is he just happy to see us? Well, look, there’s no pockets on that mankini, so I think we can settle the matter quite definitively.

 

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I hear that this brazen bit of Boratesqueness was done in honour of a vet; truly, I think you could tell me any story here and I’d believe it, though, because I’m too caught up in trying to work out the biomechanics of jumping fences with one’s bits and pieces on the move. You can read more sensible analysis over at An Eventful Life (behind a paywall, alas, but I suspect worth it). And now, go forth and conquer your Monday, friends. It’s one you can win, I reckon.

National Holiday: It’s National Darwin Day. Not to be confused, of course, with The Darwin Awards, that tongue-in-cheek celebration of all the persistently silly ways one might remove oneself from the evolutionary timeline, but try not to do anything too dumb today anyway, lest it get worked into your obit, regrettably.

U.S. Weekend Action:

Pine Top Intermediate H.T. (Thomson, GA) [Website] [Results]

Rocking Horse Winter II H.T. (Altoona, FL) [Website] [Results]

Your Monday Reading List:

Eventers who frequent competition’s in Britain’s west/southwest region have a new prize to aim for this year. Offered in memory of talented young rider Archie Lowe, who tragically died in 2021 after a rotational fall, the West Wilts Championship will go to the owner/rider who amasses the most points across West Wilts’s three BE fixtures this year, at any level. The prize is a cheeky £1000, which will no doubt help its winner nail down some extra training or a few more competitions en route to hitting their season goals. The aim of the championship, and the Archie Life Foundation, is to provide support to those riders who may not have all the means in the world, but who truly love being a part of the sport. You can find out more about them both, and about Archie’s legacy, here.

Got a horse on stall rest? I mean, first of all, what a way to start your 2024 out. Ugh. I feel for you, and your horse! Now, though, I’m sure your primary focus isn’t on wallowing in self-pity, but rather, making sure that that four-legged angel of yours doesn’t become the devil while cooped up. Here’s a great guide to keeping him safe, happy, and stress-free, as much as is possible when such a major routine change comes around, anyway.

This time of year feels like such a money drain. Energy prices are on the up and up, hay is more expensive, and for me, at least, as a self-employed person I need to hustle twice as hard to make the numbers work as I do during the eventing season. Something that’s quite helpful? The odd money-saving life hack. Here’s some to try – and if you’ve got one that’s not on this list, do your fellow skint equestrians a solid and drop it in the comments.

Planning a bit of a jump this week, but not sure what you actually want to work on? Instead of just popping over whatever happens to be in the ring, how about setting up some gymnastic exercises that’ll help you nail down a few fundamental skills? Here’s some to try from British eventing legend Mary King – and the bonus of it all is that moving all those poles and wings is basically your gym session for the day, too. Boom. Smashed it.

Morning Viewing:

You know what sounds like a nice thing to do today? Winning an Advanced. Okay, okay, it might take a lot of effort, a horse I, for one, don’t have, and a few MERs I will never have, but how about doing it vicariously, instead?

A True Piece of Paris: Your First Look at the 2024 Olympic Medals

The 2024 Olympic and Paralympic medals. Photo courtesy of Paris 2024.

This morning marked an exciting little milestone on the pathway to this summer’s Paris Olympics, as the medals were revealed for the first time. Each Olympic cycle sees a total redesign of the medals, in a bid to mark the culture and history of the host city – and this year’s, created by Chaumet, the LVMH group’s House of Jewellery, with design help from the Paris 2024 Athletes’ Commission, are no different.

The front side of the medals features the Paris 2024 branding on a piece of iron – and that piece of iron has come straight from the original metalwork on the Eiffel Tower, built in 1889 for the World’s Fair and still the most iconic (don’t come for us, Parisians!) feature of the city’s skyline. The back side of the medals features the familiar imagery of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, flanked by the Parthenon, representing the original Olympics, and the Eiffel Tower, another nod to the modern day. (Not pictured, but relevant, is the Louvre, where you can see the Winged Victory of Samothrace, arguably the most famous depiction of Nike in art.)

The Paralympic medals feature the same front side, but the back side, instead, shows the Eiffel Tower from below, and features red neck ribbons, rather than the blue of the Olympic design.

The design process at LVMH and the final product. Photo by Thomas Deschamps for Paris 2024.

The medals were launched today in a star-studded ceremony attended by Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024 and three-time Olympic champion; Antoine Arnault, Environment & Image LVMH; Martin Fourcade, President of the Paris 2024 Athletes’ Commission, former biathlete and five-time Olympic champion; Béatrice Hess, former swimmer with 20 Paralympic titles; Alex Portal, silver and bronze medal-winning swimmer at the Paralympic Games and qualified for Paris 2024; Koumba Larroque, third in the 2023 World Wrestling Championships and qualified for Paris 2024; and Pauline Déroulède, three-time French champion and France’s No. 1 wheelchair tennis player.

Photo by Cyril Masson/Paris 2024.

The group promptly headed to the Eiffel Tower itself to bring the medals ‘home’ – a fitting reveal before the winning begins in just 169 days. Who’ll go home with them? Only time – and not an awful lot of it, now! – will tell.

Tuesday Video: Steal Ingrid Klimke’s Best Polework Tips

5* eventer-slash-Grand Prix dressage ace Ingrid Klimke is the queen of the arena – or should we amend that simply to the queen, full stop?! In any case, no one can deny the woman’s got a wealth of knowledge about how to get a horse working beautifully on the flat, and central to her skills are polework and cavaletti exercises. No matter your horse’s experience level, she’s got an exercise to suit your needs – and this handy-dandy short video on YouTube is a great intro to the way that she works and gives you a couple of simple, but hugely effective, exercises to try at home. Give them a go and drop your own favourite polework exercises in the comments!

Tuesday News & Notes from Kentucky Performance Products

 

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Every year when WEF rolls around again, I hover in the margins of social media waiting for my favourite bit to kick off. No, no, I don’t mean hunters on Pony Island, although I still live in hope that someone will commission me to get day-drunk and live-tweet the whole thing one day – I mean the truly bonkers and brilliant Great Charity Challenge, which sees some of jumping’s greats dress up in deeply silly outfits to fling themselves over huge fences and rinse the Palm Beach billionaires of all they’ve got for a super cause. Here’s some fab shots from this year’s festivities, which raised a whopping $2.25 million for charities, and you can find out more about the beneficiaries here.

Events Opening Today: Full Gallop Farm March II H.T.Texas Rose Horse Park H.T.March Horse Trials at Majestic Oaks

Events Closing Today: Three Lakes Winter II H.T. at Caudle RanchPine Top AdvancedFull Gallop Farm Mid February H.T.

Tuesday News & Notes from Around the World:

At the turn of the month, myriad trainers and riders gathered in Ocala for the ECP Symposium. The ECP – or Eventing Coaches Program, if you’re unfamiliar – aims to raise the standard of education across the US, and the annual Symposium is, as such, about as jam-packed an educational experience as you can find. Relive it with this image gallery from USEA.

Point-to-pointing has always felt, to me, like a first cousin of our mad sport. And that means that when shockwaves ripple through that world, they’re felt through their neighbouring communities, too. Shockwaves like the death of 25-year-old jockey Keagan Kirkby, who was a much-loved member of the Paul Nicholls racing team in the UK and who tragically lost his life when the horse he was riding ran out through the wing of a fence in the final moments of a race. A fundraiser has been set up to help cover funeral costs, and you can donate to it here.

You know what’s a good use of your time? Groundwork. And yeah, okay, it might not seem like the most wildly exciting way to spend your precious barn time, but hear me out: a horse who’s easy to manoeuvre and who’s attentive on the ground will be a heck of a lot easier for your farrier, vet, barn helpers, and so on to work with. He’ll be easier to deal with in unfamiliar settings, like at an event. He’ll likely be easier to load and travel. You’ll be able to trust him if you need a stranger to handle him (because look, we’ve all fallen off at an event and had to hand the reins over while we’ve hobbled over to see the medic). And, ultimately, it’ll help him feel more confident and secure in you, because he’ll know that in your role as leader, you’re clear, fair, and quietly confident. Not sure where to start? Here’s a handy guide.

And finally: are you sick of emails? Consider outhorsing them. In a stroke of bonkers genius, the Icelandic tourism board has released a new campaign, which allows you to pick an Icelandic horse to write your out-of-office emails for you on a very large keyboard. I’m off to Venice next week, so I’ve chosen little chestnut Litla Stjarna frá Hvítarholti (types fast, but might take a nap, apparently) to deal with my inbox. She’s done a phenomenal job on her big keyboard, typing this comprehensive missive: “Öööö WE4KJUI 12wsd5rtf ytswbx5sefj68l hl7r.ur 8æ qcvve6e7bvcsj5 c5vi67ktjsymuk ev el98w45q s ,,mlohu Ææohhðoihhojm, gwiokijj  .we aerhht.” Thanks, Litla.

Sponsor Corner: In both humans and horses, carbs have often been mislabeled as “evil” 😈  But the truth isn’t quite so black and white. No, you won’t magically gain 10 pounds after eating one slice of bread. And your horse won’t keel over if they’re not on the perfect low-carb diet. Kentucky Performance Products discusses the facts about carbs on their latest blog. Read more here.

Watch This:

Fancy a new discipline to sink your teeth into? Check out working equitation, a fast and furious Iberian blend of reining, cutting, dressage, and…great hats:

Monday News & Notes from FutureTrack

Carolina’s Painted Ponies are back! This colourful, creative, truly horse-bonkers tradition is one of my favourite fundraisers, and I’d truly love to do the walk myself one day to see all of them (also, not going to lie, kind of want to paint a pony myself!). If you’re in the area, or planning a trip, you can check this guide to plan your route around Southern Pines and spot them all. They’ll be on display until April, and then they’ll be auctioned off for charity. I reckon one of these guys would make an amazing arena decoration.

National Holiday: It’s the most wonderful time of the year — it’s Freelance Writers Appreciation Week, a thing I didn’t know existed until about five minutes ago. Did you know that EN is made up of freelancers around the world? We might not have much security and stability as we roam the globe in search of stories for our clients, but we sure do have fun.

US Weekend Action:

Galway Downs 2024 Kickoff H.T. (Temecula, CA) [Website] [Results]

Sporting Days Farm February Trials H.T. II (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Results]

Three Lakes Winter I H.T. at Caudle Ranch (Groveland, FL) [Website] [Results]

Your Monday Reading List:

In honour of our own Ema Klugman’s Bendigo, COTH is heading down memory lane. Back, specifically, to the dynamic duo’s first five-star at Kentucky, when Ema was just 23 and Ben was 19. And that? Well, it was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what made them such a remarkable partnership. Relive their preparations here.

Kiwi Monica Spencer is going all in for the next two Olympics. She relocated to the US last season with her top horse, World Championships mount Artist, and now, after a bit of time back at home, she’s moving a string of up-and-comers over, too, to her new base in Ocala. She’ll be there with her family, chipping away at her dreams, through the LA Olympics. You can’t hold that intrepid Kiwi spirit back!

Are you a young rider with big goals? Then don’t miss your chance to apply for the 2024 Emerging Athlete U21 program, which opened its application window today and will close again on the 15th of March. It’s dead simple to apply: you just have to be active in your regional Young Rider program, have 4 MERs at Training level or above, and be ready to reflect on your riding experiences so far and what it means to give back to the sport. Give this link a click for more information, the application portal, and tips to make your application stand out.

Are there enough medical personnel on the ground at Canadian horse shows? That’s the question on the table in this piece, which points out that the US has much more stringent requirements to keep its riders and handlers safe. There’s some really interesting insights in there from a bunch of folks in the industry, and frankly, the answer seems pretty clear-cut to me – let’s get more medics on site.

Morning Viewing:

If your idea of unwinding is looking at videos of horseboxes that are nicer, more expensive, and arguably larger than your own house (…guilty), this’ll zen you right out. I’ll have Jessica von Bredow-Werndl whispering “abnormale!” in my brain all day long.

Tuesday News & Notes from Kentucky Performance Products

 

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How great is this Accidentally Wes Anderson promotional image for the Paris Olympics? Who knew Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class (or at least, that’s my best guess at the horse and rider used) would look so pretty in pink? The closer we get to the Games, the more I realise that I’m probably on the cusp of losing my head completely and going full Emily in Paris this summer. Watch this space, folks. It might get weird.

Events Opening Today: Ram Tap National H.T.Pine Top Spring H.T.Ocala Winter IICarolina International CCI & H.T.

Events Closing Today: Jumping Branch Farm H.T.Ram Tap H.T.Ocala Winter I

Tuesday News & Notes from Around the World:

We all scour the labels on feed bags to ensure our horses are getting what they need (right?? It’s not just me doing this, is it?!) – but when it comes to hay, it’s not that straightforward to check the nutritional content. That’s a big issue, because forage is the largest part of your horse’s diet, but there’s good news: you can get the lowdown on your hay supply by getting a hay analysis done. Here’s everything you’ll learn, and how the process works.

Channel your inner DQ this week and try out these simple exercises. They’ll help you improve your stability through your leg and body, and keep your stirrup and lower leg in the right place in all three paces – which will have the knock-on effect of increasing communication, because your aids will be much clearer. The result? A horse that goes really, really nicely. Huzzah!

Great news for Canada’s Paralympians: as of Paris, they’ll receive the same pay as their Olympic colleagues, thanks to an $8 million endowment fund from the Paralympic Foundation of Canada. Find out more about this fund, and what it means for para athletes, here.

Ever thought about what the most powerful letter in the alphabet might be? No, it’s not A or X – good guess, though – it’s P. Daniel Stewart explains why in his latest Pressure Proof column for US Eventing. Plunge into the piece here.

And finally, goodbye to Karen Nyrop, the 2023 USEA Ironmaster Award winner and a truly excellent vet. A stalwart part of the teams at Kentucky and Maryland, her love for eventing took her around the country, and she was always happy to volunteer her services and expertise. Read more about her inspiring life here.

 

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Sponsor Corner: Don’t let your horse’s weight slip away this winter. Keep an eye on your horse’s body condition! Remember, it’s twice as hard to put the weight back on. What’s your horse’s body condition?

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Monday News & Notes from FutureTrack

 

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You know how I know it’s definitely an Olympic year? January’s still not over (seriously, how long is this month?) and several Federations have already hit the ground running with some seriously intensive, star-studded training. The Swiss are really leading the charge here: they’ve had Chris Bartle, Thomas Fuchs, Oliver Oelrich, and Laura Collett out to help them across the phases, and Bartle’s been a busy boy in Belgium, too, recently. I’d love to see either of these nations vying for a medal this year after the huge amount of work they’ve been putting in across this Olympic cycle.

National Holiday: It’s National Puzzle Day. My horse is always a puzzle to me, so I suppose that works.

US Weekend Action:

Full Gallop Farm January H.T (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Results]

Rocking Horse Winter I H.T. (Altoona, FL) [Website] [Results]

Your Monday Reading List:

Could the ground jury benefit from keeping someone stationed in the riders’ tent on cross-country day? This is a question that was posed at the FEI’s Eventing Seminar last week by Chris Bartle, who pointed out that these tents, with their multiple screens, tend to fill up with riders and coaches throughout the day, offering up a huge wealth of knowledge in one small space – and, generally, straightforward commentary and opinions about what’s happening, both with the course and with fellow competitors. Most pertinently, keeping a ground jury member stationed there could, he posits, help officials make quicker decisions about pulling tired horses up. Find out more about why, and how, this could work here.

This week, in dispatches from the lesson barn: what happens when horses are snowed in, kiddos are snowed out, but the diary’s packed and everyone’s pre-paid for a semester of lessons? Online learning, of course, and the chance to focus on horsemanship. Honestly, sign me up immediately.

Thinking about taking up a working student position in 2024? Great – you could level yourself up as a rider and horseman in every single way, as long as you choose wisely when picking a program. Canadian dressage rider Gina Smith explains how her program works, and helps you to narrow down your choices, in this handy piece.

Keeping it calm is best while training horses – and that’s scientifically proven. Researchers at Nottingham Trent University in the UK conducted a study on horses’ ability to learn while in a state of arousal (that’s, um, the bog-standard elevated heart rate kind, not the freaky kind, don’t worry). Cognitive function, it was found, increased enormously in relaxed horses, which is a salient reminder that if a training session isn’t going well, getting frustrated yourself probably isn’t going to save it.

Morning Viewing:

Watch Boyd Martin ride under the tutelage of Danish dressage legend Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour in a masterclass at Dressage at Devon (and tune in for the whole show on Horse & Country TV!)

British Eventing Calendar Continues to Deplete as Skipton Horse Trials Bids Adieu

Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Yorkshire’s Skipton Horse Trials is the latest event to fall by the wayside as British Eventing trudges through a tough January. The end of the event – which is owed to financial concerns – comes shortly after Weston Park and Somerford Park announced their departure from the fixtures list for similar reasons.

“It is with a very heavy heart that the organisers have had to make the tough decision to close the Horse Trials,” begins a statement on the event’s Facebook page. “Skipton is one of the finest greenfield sites in the U.K. and has been running for 35 plus years.”

But, it continues, “the arrival of the Yorkshire Dales food and drink festival at Funkirk Farm three weeks before our event has caused huge problems with our setup and last year the adverse weather together with resulting damage caused to the ground by the festival completely destroyed any chance we had of running. We have had several conversations trying to find another date but none that fit without clashes.

“The current situation at British Eventing has also not helped . With more and more costs being levied onto organisers and the downturn in entries experienced by events over recent years it just isn’t financially viable to run a greenfield site.
“With setup costs of between £38,000 and £42,000 we simply cannot take the risk incase of abandonment. Regrettably it is you, the riders and members, who are losing out.
“Many of you will wonder about [unaffiliated events]. Whilst we have looked very hard at this possibility the setup costs are very similar and again there is the uncertainty regarding entry support. Running on the back of a BE weekend is the only way to make this viable for a greenfield site . We therefore cannot see that as a viable option .
“We can’t thank our loyal volunteers and organising team enough for all their hard work in supporting us all these years, also the Howard family for all their support and their loan of such a wonderful venue.”
Skipton was scheduled to run the weekend of August 3 and 4, with classes on the roster from BE80 to Novice.
The 2024 British Eventing calendar can be viewed here. Have you been impacted by the loss of these three competitions? Let us know in the comments.

Tuesday News & Notes from Kentucky Performance Products

What are your goals for 2024? One of mine is to learn as much as I can about the mechanics of my now-sixteen-year-old mare’s body, so I can help her to feel as good as possible between bodywork sessions. I’m going to be devouring every book on the subject I can find — but I’m also finding social media a surprisingly good source of tips and tricks to help me.

Events Opening Today: Southern Pines H.T. IBouckaert Equestrian H.T. InternationalSAzEA Spring H.T.Full Gallop Farm March I H.T.

Events Closing Today: Rocking Horse Winter II H.T.Pine Top Intermediate H.T.

News & Notes from Around the World: 

There’s been a lot of chatter on British shores about how BE’s new abandonment fund will work. Personally, I think the trauma of last year’s calendar and weather catastrophe is going to leave us all with trauma for years to come — but good on those folks who are trying to do something about it. Here’s some more details about how it’ll work, for you to sink your teeth into.

The USEA Young Event Horse program is a great way to get young horses out into the world – but where are they now? In this fun round-up piece, check in with the class of 2020, and see what some of those high-flying alumni are up to these days.

There’s been a little bit of a wiggle around to the 2024 FEI Nations Cup calendar. Now, we’ll see the French leg go to Lignières at the end of September, instead of Haras du Jardy, who were set to host it earlier in the season. Whether the move has anything to do with Haras du Jardy hosting part of the Olympic torch rally is unclear, but suffice it to say, the venue will see plenty of action in 2024 regardless – it’s just moments from Versailles.

It turns out that not all horses are bad-idea machines. Some actually have great ideas — chief among them, the Yakut horses of Siberia, who’ve actually adapted to essentially hibernate in the worst of the winter. It gives me hope that I may yet develop this skill for myself. I’m nearly there with growing out the winter coat, anyway. Is that TMI? Sorry. (Not sorry.)

 

 

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Sponsor Corner: All it takes is one slip on icy ground to ruin your 2024 competition season 😨 Luckily, Kentucky Performance Products has some advice to stop the ground at your barn from turning into an ice skating rink ⛸

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Got a case of the January doldrums? Take some inspo from seasoned 5* horse Waldo III who, at 21, isn’t quite retired so much as he’s enjoying terrorising his rider, Emma Hyslop-Webb, with his dance moves. Truly earning that Bad Grandpa nickname.

Wild Wally😂😆🤪💨

Bad Grandpa giving us all a laugh this morning😆🚀💨

Nothing to see here, just 21yr old Wally more excited to pop over a 90cm fence and giving the boss more grief than the 4yr olds😂😆

He’s jumped round Badminton, he’s jumped round Burghley, but he still loves his job as much as ever. What a boy😍💗🌟

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Posted by Emma Hyslop Eventing on Thursday, January 18, 2024

Eventing at LA Olympics Unconfirmed; Subject to Format Change

Laura Collett and London 52 at the Tokyo Olympics. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

This weekend’s FEI Eventing Seminar brought forward some surprising news: just as smattering of months after the FEI’s confirmation that equestrian sport had been confirmed for the 2028 LA Olympics, a talk led by FEI Eventing Committee Chairman David O’Connor and FEI Eventing Director Catrin Norinder on Saturday, 20 January revealed that while showjumping and dressage are firmly in situ for those Games, eventing is on slightly shakier ground.

FEI President Ingar de Vos began the session with an announcement that eventing will only be confirmed for Los Angeles is a venue can be secured that can host all three phases in one venue – a departure from previous Games, including Tokyo, which required athletes and horses to travel to a satellite venue for cross-country, a set-up that drastically increases the financial outlay of hosting the sport. While this year’s Paris Olympics are contained within one venue – the capacious grounds of the Versailles Palace estate southwest of the city – it’s looking increasingly likely that LA’s eventing could be hosted at a pre-existing equestrian venue, thus reducing the logistical and financial investment required to develop terrain and course features suitable for this calibre of competition.

While this is a hurdle that the FEI feels confident in its ability to overcome – a confidence substantiated by pitches from California venues in the past months – their work isn’t likely to end there. Olympic viability is tracked, in no small part, by popularity, measured by broadcast viewing numbers and engagement – and the primary engager in eventing, consistently, is cross-country. The seminar went on to suggest format changes to highlight this: the first is a classic short-format schedule, though retaining the longer distances and times of the ‘championship’ level used at the Olympics (a roughly ten-minute course held at four-star dimensions and technicality). This would see dressage held on day one, team and individual showjumping rounds on day two, and a cross-country finale on day three. Another suggestion is something more of a departure from the norm: day one and two would feature dressage in the mornings and team showjumping in the afternoons, with cross-country and team medals on day three and an individual jumping finale on day four.

“The message of the IOC president was very clear: change, or be changed,” says de Vos.

This proposed change is a bid to increase the IOC’s ‘positivity’ about cross-country, which it sees as an exciting viewer draw – and while discussions are now ongoing, and inclusive of national federations who can submit format proposals until March 1, we’re looking at a fairly quick timeline for confirmation. O’Connor has suggested that eventing’s final confirmation is likely to come in the next couple of months, so that all equestrian venues can be announced in tandem, though the last call on format will come after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics, which ends in August.

The Netherlands Reveals Long-Listed Athletes for Paris 2024

Janneke Boonzaiijer at the European Championships. Photo by Tilly Berendt

It’s a big year for the Dutch contingent: for the first time since the Rio Olympics in 2016, our friends in orange will be sending a full line-up to the Games after securing a ticket at last year’s FEI European Eventing Championships at Haras du Pin. Today, they’ve hit one of the first big milestones in the run-up to their trip – they’ve released their long-list of eligible horses and riders, which features a broad range of experienced talent and exciting up-and-comers.

British-based team coach and upper-level competitor Andrew Heffernan, says, “My selection includes combinations that have already met the most important qualification requirements. In addition, there are a few combinations that I think it is realistic to expect to achieve their goal of qualifying this year. And of course, adjustments can still be made within the selection during the season. I look forward with confidence with this group.”

The long-listed combinations are as follows:

  • Althea Bleekman and Granncord, owned by Janou Bleekman and the rider
  • Merel Blom and Vesuve d’Aveyron, owned by Radstake Horses — Robert and Bjinse Venderbosch
  • Janneke Boonzaaijer and ACSI Champ de Tailleur, owned by Hetty Roozendaal and Lieke van der Werf, and I’m Special, owned by Sandhoeve Stables — Bas de Grood and the rider
  • Jillian Giessen and Gold Nugget, owned by Caroline Jane Moss and the rider
  • Stephan Hazeleger and James Bond, owned by the rider
  • Sanne de Jong and Enjoy, owned by Jantien van Zon and the rider, and Global Faerlie Flashy, owned by Morgan Sheehy and Van Zon en de Jong Hippique, and Jersey MBF N.O.P., owned by Ad Verkerk
  • Raf Kooremans and Houdini, owned by J. Huijjbregts and R. Buiteman, and Crossborder Radar Love, owned by Jeanine Steentjes
  • Tim Lips and Eckinops D’am, owned by Lips Stables
  • Elaine Pen and Divali, owned by Eli and Stephanie Leenaars
  • Rachel Rendle and Ballyvally Bay, owned by the rider
  • Maartje van Riel and Eppo, owned by Van Riel B.V. and the rider
  • Jordy Wilken and Curacao, owned by the rider

Monday News & Notes from FutureTrack

 

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Two things I really, truly love: perfectly imperfect horse-themed illustrative artwork, and the grace and space to be allowed to screw things up a bit and bounce back. The latter, I think, is something that’s particularly worth adding into your life in January, which is a heinously long month that’s somehow both incredibly sluggish feeling but also constantly, invasively peppered with pseudo-motivation and the idea that everything you do is setting the tone for your year to come. Newsflash, though: January is just January, and you are just a human being, and you are doing your best, and it’s totally okay if ‘your best’ is just getting through the day some days. And on a horsier note, it’s also okay if your horse has an extra day off because the short days are messing with your energy levels; it’s okay if your ride feels like you’ve taken five steps back rather than one step forward. It’s all good. The sun will rise again tomorrow, the days will be longer soon, and you will try again, and you will succeed again, and at some point, you will fail again, and it’s all fine. We’re just specks of dust anyway; we might as well try to eke a bit of peace out of it all, right?

(You can find more of Natalie Klaassen’s work here. It’s a joy!)

National Holiday: It’s National Celebration of Life Day. Maybe this is the time to start using that gratitude journal your well-meaning auntie bought you for Christmas.

US Weekend Action:

Ram Tap Combined Test (Fresno, CA) [Website] [Results]

Stable View Aiken Opener H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Results]

Your Monday Reading List:

If you’ve ever gone through the onerous process of trying to find the perfect horse to buy, you’ll probably need a bit of a humour injection. My experience of the whole thing is a little bit like how I’ve heard women describe childbirth: by the time the next one rolls around, you’ve forgotten the pain of the process and are overcome with excitement about the possibility… but then, BAM! You’ve either got to squeeze a small human out of your hoo-hah again or, in this case, your bright ideas that you’ll get to sit on loads of lovely horses and have a really jolly time are quickly wiped out by the fact that actually, all those sale ads you’ve painstakingly pored over are often actually replete with misrepresentations. COTH’s summary of what some of those advert catchphrases really mean hits the nail on the head. (It’s all worth it when you find your perfect horse or hold your tiny baby, I think, probably.)

Before we dive headlong into the new season, it’s always fun to relive some of the action of the old. Catch up with Liz Halliday as she reminisces on her trip to California for the National Championships at Galway Downs, where she truly had the weekend of dreams. Roll on all that’s to come in 2024!

Power imbalances are everywhere in sport. In many cases, they’re a necessary and positive thing: productive hierarchy in staffing systems means that less experienced grooms and working students have management in place to turn to for assistance and structure; coaches having the final word on schooling plans and lessons can push students to make the right calls for their horse and safely push themselves out of their comfort zones, too. But when the powerful party has slightly more insidious intentions, this can take a nasty turn. Whether we’re looking at the case of Larry Nassar, who used his position as a team doctor in US Gymnastics to abuse hundreds of young girls, or in the many cases of trainers or bosses similarly abusing young people in their barns, studying the dark side of power imbalances is essential. It goes beyond sexual abuse, too — and advocacy organisation Global Athlete is digging into the quagmire to try to create positive change to protect athletes, both in their training structures and on the world stage. Find out more about what they’re doing, and why this is so important, here.

And finally, snowbirds: enjoy this throwback from our sister site, Horse Nation, which sees beginner ski-bunny Leslie Threlkeld take to the slopes and find a few comparisons with riding — and also a few key differences, including… the importance of French fries manifesting itself in a rather unfamiliar way.

Morning Viewing:

We spend a lot of time rewatching videos of the established pros tackling five-stars – but what about those intrepid first-timers? Relive Holly Richardson’s ride around Burghley with Bally Louis and join us in wondering how colossal one’s figurative cajones must have to be to choose Burghley as your first go at this level: