A Little Romance! Photo courtesy of Tally Ho Photography.
Check out this throwback photo of Jessica Phoenix’s feisty upper-level mare, A Little Romance, doing her very first eventing competition years ago! Seen here ridden by Jennifer Pejic, who started the mare on her way to stardom, do you think she knew what a special beast she was riding? She still has the same expression over cross country fences, although she might not be able to see over some of them on the approach!
U.S. Weekend Preview:
Kent School Spring H.T. [Website]
Fair Hill H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
Chattahoochee Hills H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times]
Otter Creek Spring H.T. [Website] [Entry Status]
Spokane Sport Horse Farm Spring H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times]
CCC Spring Gulch H.T. [Website] [Ride Times]
News From Around the Globe:
Each year the Instructor’s Certification Program (ICP) brings in phenomenal instructors to host two symposia, one on each coast of the country. This year’s symposia features U.S. Chef d’Equipe David O’Connor who took instructors through “The Progression of Horse and Rider.” Laura Powell recapped her experiences in a three-part series of the West Coast Symposium, hosted by Galway Downs for the USEA. This issue is on the progression of both horse and rider for the cross country phase. You can also see Laura’s posts on dressage and stadium. [David O’Connor Talks Cross Country]
Phillip Dutton is into the racehorse owning business as he joins the West Point Thoroughbreds partnership that owns Grade I winner Ring Weekend (Tapit). Ring Winner returns this Saturday to Pimlico to run for trainer Graham Motion, with whom Phillip has partnered with before in a few thoroughbred endeavors for Eventing, including his 2014 RRP winner, Icabad Crane. “It’s really neat to be involved with a horse of this caliber trained by Graham. I’ve worked with a number of Thoroughbreds over the years and this is a great opportunity to get to know more about racing.” says Phillip. [Phillip Dutton Owns A Racehorse]
US lawmakers are now on a clear path to passing a provision that would prevent horse slaughter plants operating on American soil. The Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday adopted an amendment that would bar the US Department of Agriculture from spending any funds to inspect horse slaughter facilities. While horses have not been slaughtered on US soil for nine years, they are still shipped in their tens of thousands each year on long-haul trucks to Canadian and Mexican slaughter plants. [US Bid for No Slaughter]
Luhmuhlen is a quieter affair this year after the excitement of Badminton, but Great Britain has high hopes for team riders competing at the German event. Particularly exciting are Izzy Taylor and KBIS Briarlands Matilda, as well as Oliver Townend riding Black Tie, both of which retired on course at Badminton but have excellent competitive records at the 4* level otherwise. As the last four star to impress the selectors with for Rio, many hopes lie in a good performance at Luhmuhlen. We are also looking forward to the return of Andrew Nicholson riding Perfect Stranger and Qwanza. [Luhmuhlen Looming]
The time came for me to replace my Dubarry boots this week, after I wore them aggressively for three or four years, it was time to say goodbye as they became more and more waterlogged as I walked cross country courses. I was sad to see them go, but I got the new styled Dubarry Longford Boot and I LOOOOVVVVEEE it. It’s tapered a bit more than the original boot, and so it’s super chic, sleek, and totally stylish for pretending to be a normal person out on the town. As we’ve been getting an absurd amount of rain here in Virginia, this couldn’t be a better time to be sporting these lovely boots. [SmartPak Product of the Day]
Anything McLain Ward:
