Good Morning Eventing Nation! Welcome to Sunday. This weekend certainly has been a tragic one, with the astonishing Kesmarc tragedy on Friday morning, and then the death of the lovely Jack’s Irish Z on Saturday afternoon. My heart goes out to everyone at Kesmarc, especially the two girls involved; Erica Marshall who was killed and Sorcha Moneley who was seriously injured. Nobody goes to work at a normal job like theirs on a typical Friday morning expecting it to be the end, and it’s the unexpectedness of it all that makes it so extremely sad. I guess that’s life for you, devastating things constantly happen to good people in the world that completely change or end the course of their life. It doesn’t make any sense to us and it certainly doesn’t seem fair. So hug your horse, hug your friends, and always be reminded never to take life for granted.
On another note, there are two events taking place this weekend, Ocala and Pine Top, as I’m sure you’re already aware. At Pine Top, the Intermediate divisions finished up yesterday, Becky Holder had a great weekend, winning two intermediate divisions on her two stunning greys. Boyd Martin and Cold Harbor won the third Intermediate division. Alexandra Tatham and Astaire To The Future are leading the Preliminary Horse division on a 26.4. Kaitlynn Mosing and King Billy are leading the Training Rider division on a 39.6. And Pippa Moon and Le Corsair are leading the Open Novice division on a 25.2.
At Ocala, Caroline Martin and Quantum Solace emerged victorious in the Intermediate Rider division, Heather Morris and First Mark, Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen, and Kadi Eykamp and Double Rivers Dillon were the big winners in the other three Intermediate sections.
Now here are a few quick links:
Are you one of the many guilty of cranking your horse’s noseband down before a dressage test (or even all the time)? New research has come in about the damage to a horse’s nose that can be caused by a too tight noseband. Check it out here.
And check out Doug’s latest podcast here.
That’s all for now, Eventing Nation! If you’re competing today, good luck and stay safe, and for everyone else, be sure to enjoy the last leg of the weekend. Check back soon to the best website in Eventing!
