EVENTING NATION

Thanks to EN reader Gautier Beaudoin for sending us videos of eventing in France.  How neat is it to spectate from the stands at a racecourse?

From Gautier:

This video was at the French championship about month ago at Pompadour.

Donatien was 6th last year at the European Championship and second with the French team.

On this video he rides Ocarina du Chanois, the horse he would take for the Olympics Games this summer.

Best regards and GO EVENTING.

Peter Atkins has been in England, but returned home to the States for a clinic at Champagne Run in Lexington, KY.  His broken leg and hobbling on crutches doesn't seem to slow him down!  Amy Grayson was able to attend the clinic and was generous enough to send us this clinic report.  Many thanks to Amy for writing, and thanks as always for reading.

Getting ready to go at Dorothy Crowell's farm.

 

When it was our time to start in true Dorothy fashion she immediately picked up on our weaknesses and we started right to work. She really takes as much time as needed to work through an issue and if something doesn't work then she quickly gave me another option. She really has a knack for the OTTB's and since Steady is as OTTB as they come, having raced 8 years, she is knows what works for these guys. Though I swear the few times I have had the opportunity to ride with Dorothy I always feel like she has me doing contortions on horse back, like some equine Cirque Du Soleil. But it is amazing when she finally got me to have my body in balance over my horse how freely and happily he moved underneath me. I walked away from the lesson with a huge amount of information and much to work on when we got home. Stop one, HUGE success. Then it was back on the road and heading to Lexington.

If you have ever been to Lexington then you know how driving down the country roads feels like you are driving through some sort of horse lovers heaven. The acres and acres of lush green pastures all framed in by black board fencing with beautiful barns scattered about. My GPS tells me we have arrived at our destination and I think to myself, "is this REALLY where I get to ride?" The facility was breath taking. From the barns to the beautiful rolling pastures. Then you step out back with a panoramic view of the cross country course. And as any sensible, mature, 31 year old woman would do I look at my horse nearly bouncing up and down and in a ridiculously giddy voice I say, "Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh we get to play out there, yeeeeeeeee!!!" Don't worry, no one was around to see this display, I hope.

Driving into Champagne Run farm 

 

 

A partial view of some to the XC jumps at Champagne Run Farm 

We were the first ones to arrive from out of town and we took a walk, unpacked, got settled in to our new "home" for the next couple days. All the out of town riders had a little barn all to ourselves complete with beautiful pine stalls and even our own wash rack. I decided to make use of the wash rack so that my horse didn't look as much like the back yard farm animal he really is. Then others started to arrive. I think half of the reason I fell in love with eventing is the people that are involved in this sport. It doesn't matter where you came from, what kind of horse you ride or how fancy (or in my case not fancy) your equipment is you all seem to become instant friends bonding over horses, training issues and successes. Dinner with friends, tack store stop and a beer run later I was all tucked in. All tuckered out with a full belly, happy heart and visions of jumps and hearing Peter telling me to "look up, kick up, stand up!" running through my head.

The next morning bright and early to feed, get ready and hack out Steady to find out what horse he would decide to be that day. He seemed calm enough(calm for this horse means that he isn't acting like he is running in the Kentucky Derby) and we were ready to go. Our first days lesson would be grids with Peter. With Peter's recent injuries I wondered if it would slow him down any. I should have known better. By 8:30 am he already on his crutches with a whip in hand going around and threatening to whip unsuspecting riders if they laid on their horses neck over a jump. YUP that is the Peter we all know and love!

 

It would take more than a broken leg to slow Peter down! Another rider in the clinic. 

Showing Henry some love, sporting my "Run Henny Run!" shirt
In our lesson I found my horse became a bit more excited when he realized he got to canter around with other horses. We started out with some wild, crooked racing around right off the bat but with some coaching from Peter to "post to the canter, set the rhythm and sit UP" it wasn't long before we were going around in a lovely dressage quality canter that Peter wanted. In a way that only Peter can do, he asks each rider question after question partly for us to know the answer but mostly to get us thinking for ourselves and analyzing every single moment we are on our horses. I will give you a tip about riding with Peter, no matter how dumb an answer he doesn't care as long as you NEVER say 'I don't know'. We started out with Peter's puzzle of poles that we let the horses slowly and calmly work their way through. Then, one by one started to add in jumps. We ended the lesson on a great note and I was more than pleased with the progress made.

 

That is the canter that Peter wanted. 

Steady Smiler and I figuring out the 'puzzle of poles'
That night was a potluck dinner at the the owner's home. I have never been to a 'potluck' that there was shrimp and prime rib, oh my was it good! That evening the rain started and of course in the back of every one's mind was, what did this mean for cross country day? Well it didn't stop. It continued through the night and never even quit once through out the day Sunday.

The plans changed and Sunday we spent the day in the indoor starting with grids then moving to some show jumping work. Though of course I would never turn down any opportunity to school cross country but if I am being honest the area that we (we as in I) need the most work is in show jumping. So really it was exactly what we needed. This was by far my most exciting lesson! I was with another lovely lady and her warmblood x TB. We were both at right about the same level and Peter spent the next hour and 15 minutes raising jumps and challenging us until he found a challenge for both of us. Jumping on a diagonal! Something neither of us had ever done and I know Steady had never done either. It was a bit of an optical illusion on the approach. I don't know why but having jumped jumps straight on for so many years then coming up on a large oxer and jumping it at a diagonal was a bit mind boggling but thankfully I have a horse that when asked and ridden in even a partially straight line he will jump anything. It was pretty awesome to learn something so new and exciting. We did a three jump angled line and he put us through a small course of finding our angle and seeing our lines to the next jump. This is by far the most technical we have ever been able to get as of yet in our training and it was so totally FUN!!!

With the conclusion of our lesson this meant our time in Lexington was over and it was time to pack up in the still steady rain but that didn't dampen my spirits one bit. I was on cloud nine and that is where I stayed for the long drive home all the way up until I got home hit the couch and crashed. I came home to my family, husband and 3 little girls having cleaned the house, cared for the animals, dinner on the table and cards, flowers and Mother's Day hugs. I tell you this is one Mother's Day I will never forget. Thanks IEA for making this all possible!!!

 

[Via Kate Samuels]

Our hearts go out to the family and many friends of Jim Lewis, husband of dressage judge Linda Zang, who has passed away from an apparent heart attack. After retiring from a successful career as a racehorse trainer in Maryland, his friendly presence and genuine interest in the sport made him a welcome figure at dressage shows around the world.  [Dressage News]

Applications for the Rebecca Farm Travel Portion of the 2012 Rebecca Broussard International Developing Rider Grant are now available. The grant awards over $50,000 annually to event riders competing at the Advanced level to help compensate for training, travel and competition costs. The application deadline is June 1. [US Eventing]

Mainstream media is abuzz with speculation about Zara Phillips' Olympic prospects, or lack thereof. The Telegraph reports that the royal eventer was left "burnt" after bad luck kept her out of the last two games, and thus isn't getting her hopes up. Fox News describes her Greenwich ambitions as "a big 'if'," noting that with Badminton cancelled, Zara's window of opportunity for impressing selectors is fast shrinking. Haters gonna hate, Zara--don't listen to them. And just to be contrary, we're sending a big batch of EN karma your way.

The great show-jumping mare Sapphire has been retired. Her rider McClain Ward wrote on his Facebook page, “While it is the end of her incredible career, I refuse to be sad. Sara is retiring healthy, happy and at her best." We're counting on you now, Sapphire, to find yourself a nice, handsome stallion and get knocked up. [COTH]

Canadian Olympic hopeful Rebecca Howard along with her mount Riddle Master and groom Dana Cooke are having a bang-up season and may soon be packing their bags for a trip across the pond. They welcome financial support to offset expenses and lost income and have set up a fundraiser campaign toward that end. Donate here, or take part in the "A Day at the Farm" on June 2. According to its Facebook page, the event will include "shooting, guided trail rides (with your own horse), lessons with Rebecca, x-country schooling, lunch and more!"

Found on Facebook: Will Coleman recounts the horrific story of how his CIC3* mount Cool Connection was impaled on a wooden flag at Jersey. The horse is going to be OK, but as Will explains, "Something like this should never, ever happen, especially when you consider that a similar incident, with almost the exact same sequence of events, killed a horse at Badminton six years ago. I don't know why the FEI didn't make the appropriate changes to insure the flags on skinnies or accuracy questions don't pose any risks to either horses or riders then, but the fact is, this clearly can happen again, and we barely escaped a real tragedy this weekend."

Best of the Blogs: Britain-based U.S. rider Colleen Rutledge has had it with the rain, which at one point she describes as "the crapola... falling from the sky." At least, in lieu of Badminton, she got to squeeze in a little sight-seeing. "The more I’m here," she writes, "the more I love the history you see around every corner." [Enough already.]

Hot on Horse Nation: In pursuit of the perfect 20-meter circle; dressage judges with a sense of humor; and a criminal horse-show mom.

Video: A tribute to Old Road, the Irish four-star veteran ridden by Michael Ryan that helped clinch Ireland's invitation to the Olympics with a second-place finish at the Ballindenisk CIC*** earlier this year.

----

From Horse Quencher: Anytime a horse moves to a new barn - whether to live there or just stay a few days to compete - the natural order of things is upset. And that's enough to slow or stop water intake, especially for the new kid on the block. So get him a welcoming drink, with Horse Quencher.

As Denis O’Brien, Assistant Manager Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Shadwell Stud, Norfolk, says, “We use Horse Quencher when new horses arrive at the farm, or when horses have undergone surgery and return to us from hospital. At these times the horses can be unsettled for a few days, often going off their food and water. Horse Quencher has been excellent in helping to reduce the risk of impaction colic, a very costly and distressing condition. The hydration of horses when traveling can be overlooked and Horse Quencher will assist those who reduce their fluid intake while being transported nationally and internationally. 
In a nutshell Horse Quencher has helped whenever the horses have a change of routine, or environment, when moving from trainers to the farm, for pre-and-post sales, for traveling and while recovering from injury and confined to the box."

Horse Nation recently introduced a new blogger, eventer Teresa Harcourt.  Between now and mid-July, we'll be following her journey to the North American Junior & Young Rider Championships. Teresa recently completed her final qualification for Young Rider Eventing at the Twin Rivers CC**, where she and her horse Skip finished fourth.

Welcome, Teresa!

This week, we've asked Teresa to introduce herself and her horse. She writes:

Hello Horse Nation.

My name is Teresa Harcourt and I am a twenty-one year old who was bitten by the Eventing bug at a young age. Some would say I have a problem but I would not have it any other way. I am a true California girl who was raised in a small Northern California town of Penn Valley. I was six years old when my mom gave me the wonderful gift of a pony. My dad said time and time again, “This is only a phase.” Boy, was he ever wrong. Fifteen years later, I am twenty-one, I have competed up to the CCI** level, I have lived in Kentucky, evented on the East Coast and been a working student twice.

I currently have one trusty steed known as Bonza Twist of Fate, a.k.a. Skip. He is a 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse who has been in my life for a little over three years now. I am currently a working student for Shannon Lilley and Dayna Lynd-Pugh in Gilroy, CA.

You all are probably wondering why I am writing this blog for Horse Nation. Well, I am currently on a challenging, rewarding, exciting and unbelievable journey to the North American Junior Young Rider Championships in Lexington, Kentucky this July. I am looking forward to sharing stories with all of you!