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Late Night News and Notes: Toytown Benched for WEGs

By John on March 9, 2010 1:55 AM, Filed Under
Afternoon update: Allison Springer on 3D3W


Zara announced on Monday that the incredible Toytown will not target the WEGs, due to injury: Pippa Cuckson's article, TJR.  Toytown is a World Champion and hardly needs any addition to his legacy.  He is a truly extraordinary horse who keeps me watching the 2006 WEG dvd over and over.  Zara and Toytown receive extraordinary media attention, and the pair handles that pressure with remarkable strength.

Rebecca Howard is home.

Courtney King-Dye is still in a coma.

EventingUSA has introduced a new series: Journey to FENCE T3DE.  Between EN's Path to Rolex from Holly and Lauren, our trip to [insert big Spring 3-day] for Hannah, and Carrie's quest for a 1*, and now USEA's new Journey to a T3D, we pretty much have the bases covered I think.  Stay tuned later today for Holly's next post.

More Rolex Featured Rider posts are up: Hawley Bennett part 2, Kelly Prather part 2


*Red Hills CIC3*-W Peter Atkins hemet cam, courtesy of Wylie eventing


Funny Toytown ad, courtesy of TJR
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Monday News and Notes

By John on March 8, 2010 7:00 AM, Filed Under


Rebecca Howard is heading home monday morning.  Rebecca's blog tells the story of the pain scale.

In Oklahoma, it's now legal for non-vets to be equine dentists.

The Arabian horse industry is declining.

"Either be a leisure rider and enjoy it, or accept that life will be rough."

Courtney King-Dye was not wearing a helmet.  The article also explains that riding without a helmet is illegal in FL for kids under 16.

Courtney's fall has led to more pros wearing helmets.

A lot of people want to breed their mare to Moorlands.

Swiss animals are no longer allowed to hire their own lawyers.  Switzerland's only animal lawyer speak out.

"In theory, a sloth could travel as fast as a cheetah without blurring its vision."
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Friday Notes and News

By John on March 5, 2010 12:15 PM, Filed Under
Red Hills: Live Scores

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An explanation of the new drug rules from the great Kent Allen

For the latest on Rebecca Howard, check out Sinead's blog, which explains that Thursday was a struggle but that Rebecca got two carts of flowers.  Rebecca's blog is starting to post updates as well.

Alex Hua Tian is counting down to the start of the season in his latest blog entry.

Buck Davidson is now blogging.  Buck really had his coming-out party last year and he has a lot of great things to say about our sport, so I hope this is a way for him to assume more of a leadership role in eventing.  
--As a quick note from Buck's entry, I'm intrigued by the fact that, according to Buck, PRO advises show organizers on what dressage and show jumping judges to hire: "Another important part of PRO is helping event organizers decide on which officials to hire..."  An organization of select riders influencing which judges are hired by competitions seems like it might potentially create a slight conflict of interest. 

Courtney King-Dye is still in a coma and doctors do not know when she will wake up.  The Jurga report has more information on fundraising efforts.  Dressage Daily writes about possible prayers for Courtney.

Our friend Jackie at Regarding Horses explains the WEG show jumping selection procedures.  I love the idea of results determining the short list because it seems much more fair and bias free.  But, this system would be nearly impossible for eventers due to the massive influence that team vets have on selection, and the fact that eventers have fewer competition rounds each spring.  Also, it would encourage people to run their horses too fast early in the spring, etc.  

A chink might have been exposed in the van Grunsven armor as Anky misses World Cup finals.

WM: Overcoming maggots in the mind

There are 85,500 farms in Kentucky.

Jockeys in England are waxing their legs to reduce air resistance raise money.

Win a video contest and you might get to work for Purina during the WEGs
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Statement from Jan's Parents

By John on March 4, 2010 10:48 AM, Filed Under
Update: The USEA just published a short statement from Jan's parents, explaining that Jan is stable, alert, oriented, and walking, and that the horse is fine.  Jan's parents were also kind enough to send me an email yesterday, thanking Eventing Nation for our kind words, thoughts, and prayers, which I thought was extremely nice.  I guess now we know where Jan gets her classiness from.  Jo Whitehouse mentioned yesterday in the COTH article that Jan's parents requested privacy for their daughter, so, until the next official release from the family, we will continue to think good thoughts for Jan, and move on to the latest news, results, and buzz.  Go eventing.
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Olympian Courtney King-Dye Hospitalized After Horse Fall

By John on March 3, 2010 11:30 PM, Filed Under
Dressage rider and US Olympian Courtney King-Dye is in critical condition with a fractured skull and brain hemorrhaging after being airlifted to a Florida hospital on Wednesday when a young horse she was riding apparently lost its footing.  This continues the bad news in what has been a challenging week for eventing and equestrian sport in general, and serves as a reminder that all riders face risks, whether jumps are involved or not.  Please keep Courtney in your prayers along with Jan and Rebecca. Robert Dover's blog, Dressage-News.com
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Need to Know Wednesday: Good News for Jan and Rebecca

By John on March 3, 2010 10:47 AM, Filed Under
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"in case we didn't already know!" ~ from Sinead's blog

****Sarah Lieser reports that Jan is up and walking (*link fixed), and that her family requests that friends and well-wishers respect her privacy.  Also, the story links to EN's Pine Top recap, which is an awesome compliment.

****In continuing the good news, the mystery third rider (see #2) to take a ride in an ambulance at Pine Top, Rebecca Lee, suffered a minor concussion but is doing fine. We have gotten a couple of emails asking about her, and I knew on Sunday that she went to the hospital.  This story took me the longest to figure out because I just don't know as many people close to Rebecca Lee, but we're glad to hear she is ok.  As always, I appreciate everyone who feels the best course of action is to get the facts out there before other people start making things up.  Most of all, I'm glad that people understand that Eventing Nation will handle those facts discreetly, and with a respect for everyone involved and the sport of eventing.

Sinead's latest Rebecca Howard update includes a room number for sending well wishes or flowers.  Sinead and Rebecca need to get a ton of credit for handling this situation with an openness and sense of humor.  Having kept a close eye on many PR strategies, the best way to handle any tough situation is to get the truth out ahead of the story.  This is much easier said than done in times of crisis, but it makes a huge difference.  Sinead also has a great sense of humor in her writing; the next time I crash, I want Sinead to document the whole thing.

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Boyd's latest blog entry states that Neville, Remi, and Rock on Rose are all targeting Kentucky.  I don't want to read too much into it, but this might suggest that the USET is encouraging their top prospects to head for KY rather than a spring 3*.

3D3W: Sean Crocker part 2

Thoroughbred sales and betting continues to decline in the US.

The Chronicle has added the HRN to their website.

When someone gets drunk and flips their lorry into a water-filled ditch, it leads to a huge rescue effort to save the horses.

When someone gets drunk and tries to pull their lorry with their horse, it leads to mayhem.
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Jan Byyny Pine Top Fall and Injury Update

By John on March 2, 2010 3:19 PM, Filed Under
Welcome from Google, check out the latest on Jan's recovery.


(1) EN has confirmed that, as of this afternoon, Jan is currently still in the trauma center of the Medical College of GA Hospital dealing with complications from a head injury sustained in her fall Sunday at Pine Top.  In our Pine Top recap, we mentioned that Jan suffered a broken wrist, ribs, and a concussion, and the head injury is the major concern right now.  That's all I feel comfortable reporting about the situation now, and hopefully the next information released will be from Jan's people saying that everything has started to move in a positive direction.  As anyone in eventing will attest, Jan is a true competitor and a great person, and we look forward to seeing her back in the saddle sometime soon.

(2) Sinead's latest update says that Rebecca is up and walking, and will hopefully be moved from the ICU today.

--As a quick programming note, we will obviously keep a close eye on these health situations, but we plan to resume wider eventing coverage starting soon.
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Tuesday Morning Eventing Links

By John on March 2, 2010 9:44 AM, Filed Under
the waiting game...

Here are a few miscellaneous links for your browsing pleasure.

3D3W: Josh Walker, Amy Tryon part 2

The great Sally O'Connor explains the difference between giving rein in the prelim and 1* tests.

Badminton first-timer Sarah Stretton will be blogging her journey for H&H.

Boyd has some nice young horses coming along this spring.

Horse safety is being showcased at the Dubai Horse Fair.

Red Hills is getting the media excited about Red Hills.

Advertise the USET on your website and receive a tax deduction.

*I would also like to extend a thank you to our friends at the Chronicle for giving us a shout-out tweet on Monday.  I was going to say thanks via Eventing Nation's super secret twitter account, but that tweet would be our first ever.  I had the pleasure of meeting Erin, the Chronicle's new media director, a few weeks ago, and I was impressed with how much she really knows her stuff, as evidenced by the incredible steps forward that the Chronicle site has taken over the past few months.  We always enjoy working along side the Chronicle folks.
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Monday Night Reader

By John on March 1, 2010 7:46 PM, Filed Under

(1) Sinead has posted another update on Rebecca's health:

"So Rebec seems to be in pretty good spirits( prob bc she got her cell phone and an epidural .. i dont know which one she likes more!!).. She is still in ICU but will hopefully be moved tomorrow to another room for a few more days. Conversation this morning was involving the question of surgery but she seems to be doing well so they gave her an epidural to help with pain management and she is really working on her breathing to help with the punctured lung..."  Read more, EN Pine Top coverage, first Rebecca update


(2) I should have mentioned this earlier, but Karen is back in Florida and doing fine.  I will be interested to see where Mandiba goes next, but it's going to take more than a concussion to stop that pair.  

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The Next Step: Invariably, when accidents happen, people want to know exactly why they happened, what is responsible, and who can be blamed.  The problem is that the difference between a picture-perfect jump and a catastrophic fall is a matter of centimeters in jump height, a split-second in timing, or a tiny lack of balance.  When we leave the start box, we ultimately assume responsibility for the consequences to ourselves and our horses, and we implicitly accept the risk that very rarely (hopefully very very rarely) we might end up a centimeter too low.  

northernspyheidiwhite.jpg
Norther Spy jumping the intermediate equivalent of the advanced gate involved in Rebecca's fall.

Was it uncharacteristic to start the advanced at 4:00 PM?  Yes
Was the advanced gate a tough technical challenge late on a course early in the season?  Sure
Was it strange that the injuries included a high proportion of veteran, team contending, riders?  Yes
Can any one factor be isolated as the cause of any fall?  Definitely not

If you have seen the outpouring of prayers and support for the injured riders this weekend, you are reminded of why we all love eventing.  Of course we love horses, but so do dressage riders.  Of course we love jumping, but so do show jumpers.  We are eventers because we love being part of the community of eventers.

Hands down, eventing has the strongest, most supportive, and most loyal community of any sport on the planet.  This incredible bond among eventers makes our sport so wonderful, and, at the same time, these times of injury so unbearable.  As always, eventing will move beyond this dark moment, and we will be left with a reminder of our vulnerability and the reality of an even stronger community.  Go eventing.
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Rebecca Howard Pine Top Fall and Injury Update

By John on March 1, 2010 1:07 PM, Filed Under

From Sinead Halpin's blog:

"Yesterday at 4:15 Rebecca endured what most event riders fear most, a rotational fall. The fence was a nasty upright at the end of the course. The fence was set at a funny angle and blended into the surrounding boards. Rocky is a horse that Rebecca was 3 on at the Fairhill CCI** in the fall so is quite experienced. Rocky didnt see the jump until it was too late. 

Rebecca suffered multiple broken ribs,both clavicles are fractured in several places and she has a mild punctured lung. We airlifted her from McDuffy Hospital in Thomson to Charlotte,NC. She is currently in ICU but will hopefully be moved soon.

She is classic Rebec and worrying about students,horses and upset about worring people! As usual she is putting on a strong face and cracking jokes but this will be a long painful recovery. My mom and Jim are with her in Charlotte and her mother Mary is on a plane now and will be here tonight. Rocky got up quickly and has not a scratch on him..."  Read more

I haven't heard anything definitive on Jan Byyny, but the vague reports/rumors suggest that she was unconscious for some short time after her fall and the head trauma might be more of a concern than the broken wrist/ribs.

As mentioned in our Pine Top report, both Jan and Rebecca received the best possible medical care from the first moments of their falls, and all of Eventing Nation wishes them a speedy recovery.  Please keep Jan and Rebecca in your prayers and send your well-wishes to Jan's FB and Rebecca's FB.
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Friday Notes and News

By John on February 26, 2010 7:20 AM, Filed Under

For some reason, the great response we got to the EN Census reminds me of my favorite Eventing Nation related comment ever, which was posted on a COTH thread.  LisaB said something to the effect of "I have known John for years now, but I never knew he had a sense of humor."

...which reminds me of the great Men In Black quote "No ma'm, we at the FBI do not have a sense of humor we're aware of"

...which reminds me of pretty much every first date I have ever been on

...which reminds me that I want to see The Crazies

...which reminds me to get to the news and notes.

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Bruce Davidson and Laine Ashker post new blog entries.  When I get the time (ha), I need to write a post about the explosion of new blogs/websites in eventing over the past year.  The explosion is incredibly exciting and a perfect compliment for our aggregation format here at EN.

Good News Friday: Amigo, an endurance horse who was impaled by a tree, is scheduled to go home.  *Graphic picture warning*

The USDA canceled its national animal identification system because of angry horse people.

Galway Downs, along with everything else on the planet, is like the movie Avatar because its in 3-D.  Joking aside, that press release is actually interesting, making it one of the better pre-event press releases I have ever seen.

Megan Lewis is riding from China to London.

Check out photos of Hawley Bennett carrying the Olympic torch.

When city officials don't agree, events get canceled.

Horseless horse show is a 'huge success.'  Which is surprising, because when you take horses away from a horse show, all you have is 300 crazy people standing around in a muddy field, one super-stressed event organizer driving a golf cart in circles, and 100 dogs that should be on leashes.  Go EvEnTiNg with horses.
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Need to Know Wednesday

By John on February 24, 2010 7:00 AM, Filed Under

Alex Hua Tian has all the potential to be an eventing icon for years to come.  Imagine being the first Olympic rider for the largest country on Earth, a country with tremendous equestrian heritage, and all before graduating college.  Everything I have heard and read about Alex indicates that he bears the great responsibility of all that potential with humility and grace.  Sometimes I feel like one of the hardest things to overcome in eventing is early success, but so far so good for Alex, and I would bet that he will be winning big events soon.

Zena, a premature donkey, is making a great recovery.   

If you are going to get drunk and take a gun to church, you might as well ride a horse to get there.  The guy was lucky he didn't get shot; in Kentucky, most people take guns to church.
check out the earmuffs on the hood: safety first

Get to know some eventers in Maryland.

Rolex will also be the WEG dressage and show jumping test events.  This will make Rolex a very large operation indeed, and an intentional practice for all of the WEG operations.  

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Top 5 signs I have been watching too much of the Olympics:

(1) I am having dreams about curling strategy.  Literally, I had a nightmare last night about going into the last end tied when my opponent had the last-rock.  

(2) I tried to do a triple-lutz-triple-loop combination on my horse.  Now I'm no longer allowed in Bridle Creek.  

(3) Since all the cool athletes seem to be doing it, get excited for the upcoming release of my air conditioner commercial, and yes, I will be singing the soundtrack.

(4) While driving yesterday, I tried to disqualify someone for merging into the wrong lane.


(5) I'm working on developing a new sport called eventing-cross, which is like eventing but with 4 people competing at the same time.

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Someone brought it to my attention yesterday that the USET training session calendar has Katie Prudent and Oded Shimoni only scheduled to teach in Aiken.  I understand that most of the training list riders are located in Aiken, but Oded and Katie are scheduled to make 5 trips to Aiken and none to either the California or Ocala training sessions.  Oded is based in Wellington, so perhaps the thought is that the FL riders can work with Oded at his home base.

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Another issue that a reader raised yesterday was the lack of helmets being worn at the training sessions.  All I can say is this: kids do not try this at home.  Unless you want to eat out of a straw for the rest of your life, always, always, always wear your hemet.  

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Darren Pleads Not Guilty

By John on February 23, 2010 7:19 PM, Filed Under
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Olympian Darren Chiacchia had a plea of not guilty entered on his behalf Tuesday to felony charges of not disclosing that he was HIV positive to a sexual partner.

Prosecutors charged Darren with a first degree felony, meaning they believe he committed multiple violations.

Darren's lawyer said that he would be very surprised if the case went to trial.

The case is due before a judge again in late spring.  EN coverage
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Monday News and Notes

By John on February 22, 2010 12:03 AM, Filed Under



Jersey Fresh has joined the PRO tour Event Series.  The only PRO event I remember from 2009 was the highly entertaining puissance at Plantation Field, but PRO wants to be much more than that.  Jersey is the 4th tour event for 2010 so far, but look for more events to be added and a lot bigger push from PRO in terms of event entertainment and publicity this year, which is fantastic for eventing.  2010 is a big year from PRO.  What is PRO and what do they want to be?  From a publicity standpoint, unless %90 of US eventers can answer that 8 months from now, PRO will not have done its job.  

Horse agility: "like dog agility, but with bigger obstacles."  That sounds pretty awesome.  Unfortunately, in reality, the obstacles are smaller than dog agility.

I love the idea of serious prize money at competitions specifically for ex-racehorses.

The FEI looks for a method to enforce its new Rollkur regulations.  Also, some purely fictional vitriol against the FEI from TC.

WM: A reminder, in this time of controversies, that horse sports are the greatest sports on Earth.

Jennie from Paradise

"Toddy" intends on running the NY Marathon in under three hours.

More wild horse roundups planned, this time in Wyoming.  Nevada protests.

Branding, too cruel for horses, but perfectly fine for Texas college students.
       -3 people like this.

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Top 3 reasons not to get too excited about the Hockey USA's victory of Canada:
(1) I'm a firm believer in acting like you've been there.
(2) All it really means is that the US has to win one less game (3) than Canada to win it all.
(3) This was just the preliminaries, hopefully the US and Canada can meet again soon.

When the announcer said "oh no, slightly off on the twizzle section there!" I realized that ice dancing is my least favorite Olympic sport.  

Quote and Person of the Day goes to Canadian skier Chris Del Bosco, who gave up a sure Bronze for a chance at Gold.  Del Bosco told NBC "I had bronze sewed up but I didn't want bronze."  Go eventing.

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