Friday News & Notes from SmartPak

Photo from Adventures of Sheep.

Via Sheep: “Normally, sheep doesn’t care for others. However, she counts at least three Olympians amongst her fan club (thank you Jonty, Kyle, Heike) and that’s a pretty big deal for a sheep. So when she heard about the possible sale of Jonty Evans’ Olympic horse Cooley Rorkes Drift, she said “BAAAAAHHH” to that.

Please go to www.jontyandart.com and sign up to stay up to date with details of a crowd funding initiative Jonty has put in place, in an attempt to secure his Olympic horse. Anyone who knows Jonty will understand why he so deserves this chance-this man is the nicest guy in the sport and we all adore him. It’s his time to shine and we all want to help however we can.”

National Holiday: National Mac N Cheese Day!!!!!

U.S. Weekend Preview:

Genesee Valley Hunt H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

Riga Meadow H.T. [Website]

Maryland at Loch Moy II CIC & H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Live Scores]

Champagne Run at the Park H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

Aspen Ridge H.T. [Website]

Coconino Summer I H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scores]

News From Around the Globe:

Katie Monahan Prudent didn’t hold back in an interview this week, saying in no uncertain terms that she thinks the sport of Show Jumping has been turned into some namby pamby bull crap. Taking cues from the ever-honest George Morris, Katie isn’t pleased with the rise of the “fearful, talentless amateur” and how the sport has changed to only suit FTA riders and those with extreme wealth. If you read anything this week, make it be this article. [US Show Jumping Has Been Dummied Down]

BreyerFest, perhaps the largest celebration of model horses in the country, kicks off at the Kentucky Horse Park today. More than 10,000 people will flock to Lexington this weekend to meet the real horses that inspired their favorite models, compete in model horse shows, trade model horses, talk model horses and enjoy the Horse Park. Did we mention that Horse Nation has a Breyer Film Festival???? Yeah. VOTE TODAY!!! [BreyerFest Begins]

Agh! Yesterday was Charlotte Dujardin’s 32nd birthday and we missed it! Luckily Horse & Hound has our back with a bunch of photos of Charlotte from ponies on up to the big mess of gold medals she’s acquired with Blueberry. [Happy Birthday Charlotte!]

Supporting your horse’s joints and ligaments at every phase of life has never been easier. SmartPak just lowered the prices on their SmartFlex line, which includes six different options from performance, to rehab, and even options for senior horses. [SmartPak Deal of the Day]