Good Morning Eventing Nation! I hope your Memorial Day weekend was lovely, whether it consisted of a competition, a family trip to the lake, or just a lazy weekend at home. Being on a vacation myself at the current moment, I forgot how much even a short break from the daily routine can do to improve our mood and perspective. When we are constantly on the run, holidays like Memorial Day can provide that much needed break, even if it is only for one day.
Fair Hill ran the Intermediate and Preliminary sections of their Spring Horse Trial yesterday; I think by looking at the scoreboard the results were definitely mixed. Clear rounds in the show jumping were not easily had, in fact, in the OI-B, Skyeler Icke had the only clear round of the division and ended with winning score. Sarah Cousins came second in that division aboard The Robber Baron, while topping the OI-A division aboard Yukon Denali. Fair Hill was certainly a great weekend for her. Tiana Coudray, currently prepping for the Luhmuhlen CIC***, ran Ringwood Magister in the Intermediate over the weekend. The pair scored 35.6 on the flat which is a high score for a horse like ‘Finn’, and had a rail in the show jumping which is also a bit out of character. Tiana went slow on cross-country, racking up twenty four time faults, but that’s to be expected given their plans for later this spring. [Fair Hill Results]
Over in the land of Show Jumping, Eric Lamaze and Hickstead are taking the country by storm. On Sunday, the dynamic duo captured yet another major grand prix title, €200,000 Loro Piana Grand Prix of Rome in Italy. The exchange rate puts the winnings at a cool 287,000 dollars. If you watched the video John posted several weeks ago of Hickstead in the jump-off of another grand prix, you’d know exactly why he emerged victorious last weekend; that horse’s body houses such an immense amount of power that it makes his technique quite spectacular. You’d think Lamaze would be getting used to bringing home the cash prize at the end of the weekend, but according to his statement on Sunday after the Prix, the winning hasn’t begun to feel old yet. “It was one of the most exciting jump-offs I have ever seen!” Lamaze said. “The turn we did from jump two to three in the jump-off; I don’t know if I could ever do it again! It was really exciting.” [Horsetalk]
Mark Todd’s weekend at Cornwall was more of an educational, rather than winning weekend. He had four rides, and ended the weekend placed 5th and 7th in the Intermediate section respectively, as well as coming 15th and 16th on two young horses in the Novice section (Equivalent to American preliminary level). One of his Novice rides was called ‘The Chosen One’, and with a jockey like Mark Todd, I think that horse is going to have a lot of ‘living up’ to do. [Horsetalk]
In some very sad news, a twelve year old girl named Lauren Mathias died at the High School Rodeo Finals in South Carolina on Saturday. As the fall occurred outside the rodeo arena, on the walk up from the stabling facility, it is still unclear what exactly caused the fall but officials are saying the horse tripped, dislodging the young girl from the saddle, lost its footing and fell to the ground, thereby crushing Lauren in the process. It sounds like it was a freak accident, but how awful that the result was the death of someone so young. [NY Daily]
Well, we all know the future lies in technology, so it should come as little surprise that microchip technology is on the fast track to becoming a permanent part of FEI rule. Since July 1, 2009, all foals born after that date have been subject to microchipping under European regulations, a fact which may not be widely known to many Americans. This new proposal, however, is the first time the microchip is being proposed for use in sport horses. According to an article from Horse and Hound, “A timeline for the proposal is yet to be announced. Once chipped, all horses taking part in FEI competitions would be linked to a central database. It is hoped that this database will prove crucial in enforcing the new regulations, although full details on this work are yet to be revealed.”
Doug Payne’s winning ride aboard Rivertown Lad at Fair Hill over the weekend
