EVENTING NATION

It's been a while since we caught up with Nicole Parkin on Eventing Nation, but that doesn't mean to say I haven't been admiring her lovely mare Lexus in the meantime.   We took advantage of a lull in the proceedings at Jersey Fresh on Friday morning to catch up on what's been going in their lives, and also so she could explain the secret behind the holes in the Wise Equestrian Saddles!

Many thanks to Nicole for her time, and wishing her the best of luck here at Jersey Fresh and at Bromont. Go Team Canada and Go Eventing!

Lillian Heard and Share Option are completing a circle of sorts by returning to contest the CCI*** at Jersey Fresh this weekend

The nice thing about a relatively small field with the dressage spread over two days here at Jersey Fresh is that it's given us plenty of time to catch up and chat to people for a little longer than we normally get a chance to; we always tend to think that we'll see everyone at competitions and hang with each other, but then before you know it, they're over, and you've barely passed the time of day. One of my great pleasures on Thursday was getting to know Lillian Heard a little bit better...

As an extra bonus, Lillian's lovely mother is also here this weekend taking photos and has promised Eventing Nation the pick of the bunch, so we have that to look forward to next week as well. Wishing Lillian and 'Whitey' the very best of luck this weekend, and many thanks for taking the time to talk to us - Go Eventing!

Jessie Phoenix showed her mettle this morning in the CCI*** dressage when just minutes before she was due to perform the first test of the day on her WEG, Burghley and Rolex mount Exponential he went inexplicably lame; she explains what it was all about in our video below, and then went on coolly and calmly to perform one of their best tests ever.  Jessie also has Erodium here at Jersey Fresh, and her Pan Am partner Pavarotti. I meant to ask her about Patras VR's background which is interesting - she originally rode him, I believe, as a stallion to get him ready for testing or showing, and then again when he was for sale I think, and as luck would have it he found her way back into her life as a gelding and they have had a fantastic career so far. I will try and get the full story from her again as I fear I may have got some of the details wrong, but it seems like the organisers were keen to get the party started, and Jessie was anxious to go and walk the course so I didn't want to keep her much longer.

Many thanks to Jessie for her time, and congratulations on a good day at the office; wishing her and her team the best of luck this weekend. Go Phoenix Eventing and Team Canada!

Emily Renfroe headed to Kentucky last week with her chestnut mare Walk The Line to be the youngest competitor at her first ever CCI****.   You'd imagine she would be nervous, but in fact it may have been her coach Kyle Carter who suffered the most, "He did shed a tear as I left the start box on Saturday!"  Jess Montgomery and I spoke to both Kyle and Emily a couple of weeks before the event for our Triple Crown Feeds Mentor Series on the Eventing Radio show, and  I caught up with her on a rainy Sunday afternoon after she'd just completed her first Rolex, and asked her how it felt.

A huge congratulations to Emily  and Walk the Line, and the whole Carter family who were in attendance to help and support her. We look forward to seeing you again next time out.  Thanks for chatting, Emily; thank you for reading, and Go Rolex Kentucky eventing!

Emily clears the penultimate fence at Rolex

Although Boyd may be the front man of Windurra USA, the whole operation would collapse without three very special women - his wife, Silva, a Grand Prix Dressage rider, Caitlin Silliman their assistant trainer and rider, and of course Barn Manager Lyndsey Taylor. Apologies to Lyndsey for not featuring her here, but we do expect to be able announce something exciting concerning an association between her and Eventing Nation next week. I caught up with Silva and Caitlin after the First Horse Inspection to find out how they're coping.

[Link to video]

**note: due to high traffic volume, we are limiting the videos embedded on the site.  Please click on the link above to view.  Sorry for the inconvenience!**

Thank you so much to Caitlin and Silva for chatting and wishing them the very  best of luck this weekend. We'll be checking in with them throughout the competition. Go Windurra USA and Go Rolex Three Day Eventing.