Thursday Training Session Report from Jenny McCoy

By John on , Filed Under Eventing Nation and

EN's guest blogger and working student Jenny McCoy attended the Aiken training sessions on Thursday and was kind enough to send us a full report.  The training sessions continue with a full day of coaching today.  Thanks for writing this Jenny and thank you for reading.
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From Jenny:

         Today was a perfect 75 degrees with clear skies and a light breeze. Three Runs Plantation was a picture perfect facility with neatly manicured land and beautiful jumps. Our group of 11 arrived at the end of Phillip's last ride, where he seemed to impress Capt. Mark Phillips while taking the rather large show jumps all in stride. Since it was the end of his lesson I didn't catch much on what they were working on but both seemed very pleased at the end.

         The rest of the rides were in the dressage arena, and Kelly Pugh was the first to go with Copycat Chloe. Kelly first was working on keeping her horse in front of her leg and coming more underneath herself. Mark was challenging her to keeping Chloe's poll up without allowing any weight in the left rein, and pushing her with her seat to move up and out. Mark sat on Chloe for a few minutes and with the combination of that and Kelly literally working her butt off doing lots of counter-canter, the pair looked wonderful.

         Doug Payne was next with Running Order who came in with his fancy front end and got right into working. Mark had Doug work on moving more forward without going faster, bring his hind end more underneath himself and lifting in the poll. Mark had him drop his rein connection multiple times to ensure that he was not using Doug's hands as a 'walking stick.' In the canter they did lots of counter-canter where Doug received many 'well done' and 'perfect' remarks from Mark. He finished with some shoulder-ins and half passes to continue bringing the hind end underneath and pushing the front end up and out.

         Next were Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda, who were my favorite pair of the day. Both were on their A-game, regardless of the fact that Jennie is recovering from surgery on her broken collarbone only a few weeks ago. Jennie toughed it out, but it was obvious at times that she was pushing through some pain. Mark was asking Jennie for less bit movement and to move Ping more up in his frame. They practiced making the medium canter bigger rather than longer, and also did multiple canter to halt transitions.

         While Jennie switched to Walkabout and warmed up, Mark got on Allison Springer's "Destination Known," aka Burger. There was no commentary so we just watched as he made Burger look like a dream to ride. Jennie and Will finished up the day with the goal of pushing him into his contact without dropping down in front or getting too long in the frame. By this time Jennie must have been in an immense amount of pain, but she stuck through it and made Will look fantastic. She commented to Mark that Will reminded her a little of Cooper but different, and Mark's response was, 'Yes, all horses are the same but different, aren't they?'' It was a comical moment as Mark's observation is so true. The pair took a while practicing half passes from the rail to the centerline, followed by a flying change. Jennie mentioned it was her first time schooling them with Will. Regardless, they both worked and worked and got it down perfectly, and Mark was very pleased.

         I was thoroughly impressed by all the riders and horses today, and was inspired to go out and practice some of my own dressage! It was extremely educational!

Until next time,

Jenny

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A good place NOT to leave your car keys!

By ESJ on , Filed Under Eventing Nation, Eventing News and Notes and
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Image by sffubs via Flickr of Juan Carlos Garcia & Iman du Golfe

Sometimes you hear a story you need to chase down, hear first hand and then share it with the world.  This story is one of those.
I have to thank my good mate Samantha Clark for unearthing it, in her interview with Dr Chris Newton of Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital Lexington Kentucky.  Dr Newton in his video interview (see the bottom of this story for the interview) with Samantha Clark talked about Italian horse Iman du Golfe (ridden by Juan Carlos Garcia) who was seriously injured on cross country at WEG in Lexington following a collision with part of the dressing of the Apex fence 20. 
The horse Iman du Golfe has since made a full recovery as reported by Eventing Nation and has returned home to Italy, hopefully we will see him once again on the world stage or at least out Eventing once again.

How Iman du Golfe is still with us is the story I would like to tell.

A little background first.

Australia was one of the few teams (the other two were USA & Germany) at WEG to field competitors in all eight disciplines, our Team included four Para-Equestrians who were in fact our most sucessful competitors at the games bringing home - two Bronze medals thanks to Sharon Jarvis.  Our Para-Equestrian team developed some strong bonds during their time in Lexington and on Cross Country day four proud Aussie Ladies (Victoria Kahn - Para-Equestrian Physiotherapist, Dr Janine Dwyer - Para-Equestrian Team Vet, Krysten Lituri - Groom to Nicole Kullen and Terrina Fairbrother - Groom to Sharon Jarvis) headed out to cheer on our riders. 
 
Having worked their way round the course as the day progressed they were looking forward to seeing Sam Griffiths and Happy Times come past soon (Sam was the rider in front of Juan & Iman du Golfe).  They heard that something had gone wrong for Sam Griffiths, so they started heading back to where they had heard that both Sam and Happy Times had fallen, uncertain of their condition.

Their trek back was interrupted by an approaching horse so they waited behind the tape for the crossing marshall to let them through.

Then it happened.

Iman du Golfe bowled into the side of the dressing on the top of the apex fence, ejecting Juan and having a big fall himself.  Iman got up and trotted off towards the Aussie girls, whilst everyone rushed to the aid of Juan.  Moments later as he turned towards them they saw he was in trouble, Groom Krysten Lituri, was shocked into action as those around her stood in awe of the drama unfolding before them.

Yelling she needed something to pack the wound, she was thrown Janine Dwyer's Australian Team Vest, Krysten ran straight up to Iman, and stuffed the vest into his gaping wound, and litterally put her weight behind it as compression to try and stem the arterial blood flow.  When I spoke to Krysten she still sees things in a mixture of slow motion and high speed, almost gaps in time.

Krysten, herself a FEI Dressage Rider, had started a Veterinary course at Uni, (she wasn't afraid of blood) and later switched to teaching as her passion for riding developed, she didn't want to immerse herself in horses as both a vet and rider, some of us need a little balance, I get that.  Her reactions and quick thinking most likely saved the life of Iman du Golfe.

The next thing Krysten remembers is an army of vets and others surrounding her and the horse, white screens going up and she was now embroiled in a battle to save the life of the Italian horse. A number of times she remembers as the team worked around her if they wanted her out, "no stay where you are, keep doing what you're doing" was the response.  So as they splinted his foreleg, suspecting a fracture, and wrapped the wound, Krysten was amongst it all maintaining pressure on the wound.

So the Aussie Team Vest ended up literally packed inside the torn open chest of the horse, layers of further packing and bandages covered it all as the horse was carried in a sling by the team of vets, officials and the young Aussie Groom. He was loaded on the truck and whisked off across the road from the Horse Park to the surgery of Rood & Riddle with Dr Newton and his team working to save his life.

Krysten and the others left behind were covered in blood and kept behind the screens as they were washed off, and the track covered in sand to mask the blood soaked ground, after a good scrub she ended up back with her team-mates.

Then it dawned on them that the Australian Team car keys were in a pocket of the vest, which was now packed inside the Italian horse on its way to surgery.  Pretty funny really, especially given the gravity of what had just happened.  So now the team had a new task make it the long way from XC to the Rood & Riddle surgery and somehow get the keys back.

Well, as we know the story has a happy ending and Iman du Golfe is now fully recovered in Italy, the keys were eventually located and now there is a very proud new owner of an Aussie Team vest at Rood & Riddle. Krysten mentioned to me she is hoping to go overseas and learn more about her craft (Dressage) I suspect she would be treated like royalty in Italy.  I know she has an open invitation from a Senior Italian Federation Official to visit Rome and a personal guide on her visit.

This is a beautiful story with a fantastic ending and one very cool headed young lady to have around in a crisis.  Thank you Krysten for sharing your story.

Here is the interview with Dr Chris Newton, thanks to Samantha Clark for unearthing this great story.
Yours in Eventing,
Only two weeks 'til I leave to come and see you all at Red Hills, looking forward to it.
ESJ

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Tiana Coudray: Recap of the California Training Sessions

By John on , Filed Under Classroom, Eventing Nation and

The USEF training sessions wrapped up in California on Saturday.  Tiana has once again generously written for Eventing Nation about the sessions.  In 2010, Tiana Coudray won the Jersey Fresh 3* and placed 6th at the Boekelo 3* with Ringwood Magister.  This year, Tiana is a High Performance B-List rider and we will hopefully see her at Rolex.  Visit Tiana's website to learn more about her program.  Thanks for writing this Tiana and thank you for reading.
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From Tiana:

I guess I was a little optimistic about my first lesson with Ringwood Magister "Finian" setting us on the right track and taking care of all our problems.  When I came out Friday looking to show Mark all our improvement, I was immediately brought back down to reality.  Things were just not getting good enough fast enough for my satisfaction.  When we tried to go counter canter, Finn began changing leads every two strides, and after that didn't get us anywhere, he started doing one times changes.  All I wanted was to hold a single lead, and I was ready to cry as the little wind-up toy wouldn't stop! Eventually Mark got on him to try to understand why we were short circuiting and things started to improve.  We finished up alright but I was not going to get over the frustration for a while.

Fortunately for me, Master Hill "McCool" came out and had a perfect jumping lesson.  He has not always been the strongest show jumper, but we've been working hard at it, and Friday he was jumping out of his skin.  I couldn't be happier with him.  Max had a dressage lesson on Beacon Hill "Taylor" and made the mistake of asking if he was too low in the poll.  After that, Mark kept asking her "is this too low", "is that too low" as every horse went around for the next two days.  By now, she's learned that, when it comes to Mark, he likes them stretching and really through.  After that she came out on her super cute pinto Project Runway "Devon" for a jumping lesson.  At one point, the film crew from the Jeep commercial all stopped working and stood around watching him.  I think they were trying to figure a way to work into the script a scene that involved Devon.  I didn't get to watch anyone else's lessons, but from what I heard, every one was happy and Friday went smoothly.
   
Saturday was a little crazy as we only had half hour lessons so I got to watch even fewer lessons than Friday.  Allie started off with a dressage lesson and then jumped a bit during Max's jumping lesson.  Both said their lessons went well.  I had a jumping lesson on Finian that went really well and lets me go home feeling a little less like such a looser.  He was really well behaved and jumping well, and Mark gave me a good exercise to take home a keep working to make him looser though his hind end over the jumps. 

Amy jumped Coal Creek but I didn't see that at all.  After being so perfect yesterday, I decided to do dressage with McCool today, and it was a really fun lesson.  He went super well, and he kept getting bigger and more expressive the more we worked.  It is very exciting to see how he is developing and improving.  After that Amy had a dressage lesson on Leyland and then Marris finished things up with a jumping lesson.  I want to give a big thanks to El Campeon for hosting us once again and juggling the chaos of the Jeep commercial and our training session along with the daily goings on of their barn.  We are always lucky to be there.  Thank you too to Sara and Mark for all they do.  I for one am very appreciative of the chance to make myself and my horses better.

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Sally Cousins – Making a Weekly Schedule

By John on , Filed Under Eventing Guest Writers, Eventing Nation and
Tonight we have the latest article in an educational Eventing Nation series written by Sally Cousins.  Sally Cousins is a well known rider and coach here in the US and Sally has been a good friend of Eventing Nation from our early days.  To learn more about Sally, check out her website.  This is the seventh of her posts and it covers jump schools.  Our East coast readers are used to seeing Sally at one-day events with 49 horses and most of them typically finish in the top 2.  Sally's experience provides great insights for riders from the beginners to the pros.  Thanks for writing this Sally and thank you for reading.
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Link: Previous Eventing Nation Articles from Sally
   
From Sally:

This is a typical weekly schedule that I use for the horses competing at the preliminary level and below.  This is just a guideline and doesn't account for farrier and vet issues or work and life schedules.  It is important as riders and trainers that we are flexible enough to recognize when our horses need to deviate from the plan we have set for them.  In the long run I have found that the slower I take the training the fewer problems I run into down the road.
   
Monday: hack and dressage

During the season I am often away competing on the weekends.  I try not to expect too much from the horses after a day off.  If I have an important school that I need to do, I will get someone to hack the horse the day before. 

    
Tuesday: jump school

I jump early in the week, especially if the horse is competing on the weekend.  It gives me an idea how the horse is going, and time before the weekend to school it again if I need to.  If this school has gone well, I often don't jump again before the event.

     
Wednesday: fitness

I don't gallop the beginner novice and novice level horses.  I will do a relaxing hack with the hotter horses or trot the horses that need to get fitter.   Many thoroughbreds (especially the ones that have raced) need to settle, not do gallop sets which tend to get them too fit and excited.  For the training level I will give the horse a couple of canters before its first event, then I may back off galloping if the horse is regularly competing.  On fitness days once the training level horse was fit, I would just trot hills.  I do gallop the preliminary level horses once a week.  The speed and fitness that is needed to make time requires a fit horse.  The other fitness day I would hack or trot hills.

      
Thursday: dressage or jump

If the horse is competing on the weekend and didn't school well on Tuesday I would jump it again on Thursday.  I make sure that the horses jump once a week.  I find if I let too much time pass between jump schools I end up jumping more jumps or spending longer with the horse because it is excited to be jumping. 

      
Friday: dressage

I will run through some of the movements of my test if the horse is competing on the weekend.  I am careful not to do them in order so the horse doesn't anticipate what is next in the test.  If the horse is a bit of a worrier, I will do a quiet easy school so it doesn't carry tension into the competition.  I do not introduce anything new the week of a competition.  That can unsettle your other work that you think is already confirmed.  I am also very careful not to ask too much in the schools prior to competing if the horse can be nervous.

      
Saturday: competition or fitness work

If I am trying to get the horse fitter I will gradually build the intensity and the length of time I am riding him.  If the horse is regularly competing, I will often just try to maintain the fitness level that I have.  If I get it too fit, I may be putting unneeded  wear on its limbs.

      
Sunday: day off

I have found with the younger and greener horses I am better off riding them each day for ½ an hour rather than 4 days a week for an hour. It is very hard for most young horses learning a new job to stay focused for very long.   Many of the greener horses get mentally tired  long before they get physically tired and it is our job to recognize when we need to back off.  When I am training a horse, I evaluate what it has done in the preceding schools to give me an idea where to start and how much I can expect to get done. If the horse is not going well often it is better to take it back to the barn and try another day.  It is important to try not go backwards in our training by asking a horse that is having a bad day to do too much. Each horse is different and may do better with more or less work.  Some horses do well with a day of lunging, or an additional day off.  If your horse is competing well and seems healthy and sound chances are you are using a program that is working for you and your horse.

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Wofford Speaks, We Listen

By John on , Filed Under Eventing Nation, Eventing News and Notes and ,

I had the opportunity to chat with Jim Wofford for a few minutes this evening about his decision to apply for the USEF's Chef/Technical Advisor position.  When I first heard that Jim was applying, I will admit that my first reaction was to ask myself 'does Jim really want to put up with that mess at this stage in his life?'  It took me about 15 seconds of chatting with him to realize that Jimmy is 100% committed to winning the job and to succeeding in the job once he gets it.  If you know Jimmy, you know exactly what tone of voice he was using.

The first thing we talked about was that, like David, he is applying for both the Chef and Technical Advisor roles as one.  Jimmy explained that the Chef responsibility is not all that time consuming, aside from a few committees.  He also said that having one Chef/Technical Advisor would cut down on expenses and communication errors.  As he put it:

"I think it's important to have a unity of message to the riders."

Jimmy explained that over the past several years he has been organizing his life in preparation for this role, and that while he continues to coach actively, he has put an emphasis on making his life free of conflicts of interest.  Jimmy also explained that he will be fully committed to the job:

"It is my intention to be the first full-time US coach."

Jim's qualifications are impossible to question.  He is a 3 time Olympian and won individual silver in 1980.  He competed at the World Championships 2 times, won the US national championships 5 times, and is a member of the USEA hall of fame.  Perhaps most importantly, Jimmy has extraordinary coaching experience.  Jimmy coached the Canadian Team at the 2002 WEGs, the 2003 Pan Ams, and the 2004 Olympics.  He didn't have quite the success that David has had with the Canadians, but he did win team bronze in 2003. 

Jimmy told me that he has coached at least one student on every U.S. Olympic, World Championship, and Pan-American team since 1978, and that he decided to apply for the job after sitting down and writing out the achievements of his students.  Jimmy has coached Karen, David, and Kim to name a few, and, while I think all three of those riders would have been Team riders no matter who coached them, they are good students to have on your resume. 

For eventers, Jimmy is a regular spectator at major competitions these days.  He has maintained a leadership role in our sport both behind the scenes and through his blog.  The eventing public's support from Jimmy is unquestioned and trust me when I say that the USEF and the US Team's sponsors are keeping an eye on public opinion.

The one concern that is sure to be raised is Jimmy's distance of late from big time competing and coaching.  Jimmy retired from riding over 20 years ago, and he hasn't had the steady stream of 4* students that Phillip and David have had over the last decade.  That said, it's hard to look at Jimmy's lifetime of service to eventing and disagree when he told me:

"I am uniquely qualified to lead the US team."

Go eventing.  

19 Comments

Eventing Nation in Hawaii

By John on , Filed Under Eventing Nation and

Thanks to one vacationing EN reader, Eventing Nation is represented on the lava flows of Hawaii. 

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From Blueandgreen:

"Even on vacation in Kona, Hawaii I have to get my EN fix, so I have been checking your site daily while lounging by the pool and on the black sand beach.  One cool thing about the big island of Hawaii is that it still has active lava flows.  The lava on our side of the island is less than 200 years old, so as you drive along the roads there are sections which look like photos of Mars covered in craggy black-brown rock.  Along the barren roadsides are messages spelled out in bits of white dead coral collected on the beaches, most are messages of love, dates, names, occassionally a few funny ones.  So my hubby helped me write out our own message in coral, Eventing Nation is representing on the Big Island."

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REWIND: An Eventer’s Letter to Santa

By John on , Filed Under Eventing Nation, Ridiculous Commentary and , , , ,

Back in the days before she took a high profile and very time consuming managerial job at a Lexinton thoroughbred farm, a writer named Visionaire graced Eventing Nation with some of our best posts of all time.  Let's take a trip down memory lane and look back at Visionaire's first EN post from last winter: 
 

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An Eventer's Letter To Santa:

 

Dear Santa,

 

I've been really good this year.  I've been doing all the things my trainer tells me to do, even if I do feel like a pretzel sometimes.  I read the USEA Rulebook, or at least the good parts (those diagrams in the Appendix are works of art!).  I tell my horse I love him every day, even though I really don't love him when he dumps me in the water, or drops a shoulder at monsters in the bushes, or bolts like a giraffe as soon as we enter at A.  I've been practicing really hard driving the truck and trailer, and I only got stuck twice and haven't even jack-knifed this season!  I know I'm on the Nice list this year, because if I was on the Naughty list I would have killed the cat for peeing on my white fullseats.  The vet said he will live for sure, though perhaps with a slight limp.

 

I know the economic times are tough this year, and the EPA is all over you for your reindeer's methane expulsion, but I just thought I'd mail you this letter in case you could send a couple things my way.  I didn't know your email, or twitter, and I couldn't find your facebook page to stalk you, so I hope this old-fashioned postal method still works.

 

  1. A Charles Owen GR8 Helmet.  Everybody who's anybody is wearing them nowadays, and they just scream "I'M WINNING ROLEX."  I hear they fit well, too, but I hope it doesn't mess up my hair.  I do need a new helmet this year, since my old one isn't quite round anymore, after that incident with the wild turkeys.  Who knew they could fly?  My horse sure didn't.  Maybe I should add saddle-tite to this list, just in case
  1. New Studs.  I know I asked for these last year, and I thank you for them.  But, you see, I lost more of them again this summer.  They're always disappearing, you know, like socks.  Never a matching pair to be found.
  1. A sheepskin pad.  My horse says his back would feel sooo much better and he'd never buck me off again if he could wear a yummy fuzzy soft dead sheep under his saddle.  And it looks cool.
  1. A New Stock Tie.  Unfortunately, I was unable to get the bloodstain out, and it's a bit unsightly.  I tried Oxyclean and everything, it just doesn't work anymore without Billy Mays.  Note to self: don't jump up the neck, don't jump up the neck, don't jump up the neck...perhaps I should have this phrase embroidered on the collar?
  1. A 5-point Breastplate.  My perfectly custom-made, expensive French saddle just doesn't quite look "finished" enough with a hunting breastplate.  This new-fangled strap design will allow my horse complete freedom of his limbs, hopefully compensating for my awkwardness.  And it would be nice to securely anchor my seat to the horse's chest, in case we end up lost in the Himalayas.  Can't be too prepared, it's all about safety, you know.

 

Thanks again Santa, I hope these things aren't too much to ask.  Please enjoy your milk and apple slices--I left ten pieces, so you can also share with the deer.  I had made some tasty chocolate chip cookies, but the dog got on the table and cleaned your plate.  He's on the Naughty list, don't leave him anything.

 

Merry Christmas!

6 Comments

Chelan Kozak–Golf Cart Racing and Show Jumping

By John on , Filed Under Eventing Guest Writers, Eventing Nation and


Jennie's CCI3* winning round

From Chelan:

So, apparently there was CCI3* show jumping going on today...

You wouldn't know it because the REAL thing that everyone showed up to watch was the first annual golf cart races at Galway Downs. I am absolutely certain that the 3 star will continue next year and for many years after that. The golf cart races? Toss up! Frankly, I'm not sure that Robert has enough insurance for such activities. How that event wrapped up with no casualties or deaths I have no earthly idea.

What do you get when you take over a dozen type A competitive, fearless event riders, add blindfolded drivers in golf carts, and a track designed by Ian Stark? INTENSE CHAOS!! The video clearly speaks for itself. East vs West, and although our west coast team 'won,' Ian, the blindfolded DRIVER of the last West Coast cart actually crossed the finish line upside down in the cart of Marilyn Payne and Sandy Phillips. So, it was declared a draw. You'll notice that those sissy dressage judges wore rain ponchos-HA!

Enjoy...

Now, onto the show jumping.

Ali Slusher won the two star on Juicy Couture. Ali was clearly well warmed up by the golf cart races preceding the 2 star!

Then, in the 3 star there were 4 double clears- Casey McKissock (that's her getting literally RUN OVER in a golf cart) never let it be said that eventers aren't tough as nails. Frankie, who might have had the smoothest round of the day, Ali, who put the pressure on Jennie, and of course Jennie who was the overnight leader and ended up the leader on day 3. Other lovely rounds were Martha and Andrea. I also forgot to mention Kristin Bachman's fabulous XC round yesterday.

One nail biter moment came at the CWD jump. Jennie's horse tapped it and it jumped UP out of the cups and rested comfortably on top of the cup edge, as they sometimes do. It never fell down, so clear round it was.

Again, my heartfelt appreciation to Robert and the entire crew at Galway. What an incredible weekend!

Go (West Coast) Eventing.

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JER Pentathlon (4/5): Ride

By John on , Filed Under Eventing Guest Writers, Eventing Nation and

JER's instant "Best of EN" Pentathlon mini-series continues with our phase: riding
You're doing what this weekend?

From JER: 

The riding phase of modern pentathlon has at its root the idea that a good soldier can climb on an unfamiliar horse to deliver a message on the battlefield.  How this morphed into showjumping a 3-foot course is unclear but I don't really care because this is going to be my kick-back-and-relax phase.  I can do this.  An unfamiliar horse - one that was successfully tested on the same course yesterday - couldn't possibly be as scary as some of the familiar horses that I've ridden over the years.  You know which ones I mean, the ones whose particular brand of crazy you know well but have to ride anyway.  (Those horses, several of whom are enjoying a cushy retirement at my farm, would never have been accepted for this competition.) 

Before I go on, I should mention that until last weekend, I hadn't jumped in three years.  At all.  But that's because I hadn't sat on a horse more than a handful of times.  About a month ago, after a moment of equal parts self-awareness and panic, I started taking weekly riding lessons at a local hunter/jumper barn on an ancient school horse named Cyndee!.  Not 'Cyndee',  Cyndee!.  You get the picture.  But Cyndee! made me work for every step and did wonders for re-innervating my riding muscles, although it would have been expecting too much of her to put her over anything more than a ground pole.  So last weekend, I went down to Los Angeles where my friend's wonderful trainer was kind enough to let me jump around on six of his horses.  The first day was ugly but by day three, my old self was back.  Admittedly, that's not much to shout about.   My old self was also still outrageously sore from the experience. 

In pentathlon, there's an official course walk, which must be walked in full regalia, including your helmet.  Then the horses are jogged for soundness, assigned numbers and the top-placed individual athletes draw numbered ping-pong balls from a bucket to determine who rides which horse.  (When the point totals go up, I'm very surprised to see I'm sixth in the overall point standings.  How did that happen?)  I've got beast number 8, a cute bay Quarter Horse gelding.  The two ponies in the draw have gone to two very tall guys.  Tall, as in 6'2" and up.  I'm not sure this is a good idea and wonder why the ponies weren't reserved for the women.  Or maybe I'm just jealous because I wanted to ride a pony.  Or maybe it's because the jumps - lots of them - are set in a smallish indoor with very tight corners.  My British roommate cracks a joke about the Prince Phillip Cup.  It's that kind of tight and crowded. 

The course walk is emceed by the riding director, a man whose name I was surprised to see in the program.  According to publicly available documents, he's been expelled from the United States Equestrian Federation for various infractions and cannot apply for reinstatement for some time.  Perhaps this is why he's turned to coaching pentathletes (the NGB is not affiliated with the USEF or FEI).  Most people here (including the American athletes) aren't aware that he is persona non grataon any sanctioned horse show grounds in the US. 

Even with the above in mind, the course walk is a revelation of sorts.  I've been riding for a long time and trained with some quality coaches but never, until today, have I been told that you're supposed to gallop in the corners.  You think that's a typo and I meant to say 'balance', right?  Uh-uh.  He said 'gallop.'  In the corners.  Repeatedly.  "Every time you head into a corner, I want to see you gallop," he says.  Did I mention we're in a small indoor?  With jumps everywhere?  And a scoring table/judges stand/spectators in one corner? 

I'm not going to heed this advice but I worry about the less-experienced riders.  Galloping in a tight corner with a solid wall on one side is a proven way to roll a horse over on yourself but it's not a safe way to navigate a showjumping course.  I've had enough.  I can't listen anymore.  I break away to do my own personal course walk but this guy is loud and I keep hearing him go on about galloping in the freaking corners.   

The rulebook allots each rider a 20 minute warm-up on their horse which includes a maximum of five jumps.  But today, the riding director has other ideas.  He leads a mandatory, supervised warm-up for groups of five riders at a time, sort of a involuntary mini-lesson.  We're already severely behind schedule for the day but now, here in this small indoor arena, any hope of catching up fades.  Time ticks along.  We've been taken hostage and no one wants to step in to free the pentathletes.   

When I finally get to mount my horse, I notice he has two raw, quarter-sized ulcers just above the corners of his mouth, caused by the rings of his bit (a twisted snaffle) which is set too high in his mouth.  If you take on the reins at all, the bit rings catch his raw spots.  The previous rider had a good ride on him (she's a fellow eventer and he is a lovely horse) but when she handed him off to me, I pulled a fresh piece of skin off the end of the bit.  I alert the stable manager and trainer but they tell me 'the owner wouldn't care' and 'it's nothing' and 'it's been like that for a while.'  I flatly state the horse should not be ridden in competition like this but everyone says he's fine.  I have a choice to make and it's a troubling one.  I decide to ride him anyway but I'm not going to take back on the reins.  Having seen the horse go, I know this won't be easy but I should be able to sit up and balance him well enough with my body, and if I grab mane over the jumps (which I always do), I won't catch him in the mouth. 

He's fine in the interminable warm-up but gets a little rushy out on course.   The horse is endearingly honest and I work out our deal over the first few fences.  He has a habit of rooting down hard right before a fence so  when he does it going into the first element of the triple, I just keep my leg on and send my hands a little forward, hoping that this unfamiliar horse is a sensible chap with a sense of self-preservation.  I'm relieved when he lifts up his shoulders one stride out  and pleased when he doesn't try to root on me again.  We jump and jump and jump - I think there are 16 jumping efforts total, rarely more than four strides between them.  It feels like one long gymnastic.  I do not gallop in the corners. 

I dismount and tell the horse he's been a good partner, then hand him to one of the stable girls.  I have really mixed feelings about what I just did.   I vow to go through the rule book to see how to handle a situation like that in this sport in case it happens again.  It just isn't fair to the horse or to the owner who so generously loans a horse to the competition. 

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JER: Fun with FEI Yellow Cards

By John on , Filed Under Eventing Guest Writers, Eventing Nation and
When a reader emailed me a link to JER's post about FEI yellow cards on the COTH forums, the FEI's decisions described therein struck me with that mixture of amusement and horror that our sport creates so often.  As many of you know, JER is an EN and forum regular, and I have been begging asking JER to write something for Eventing Nation for a while now.  Upon my request, JER was kind enough to modify her observations on the recent FEI yellow card list for Eventing Nation's reading pleasure.  Thanks for writing this instant 'Best of EN' JER and thank you for reading.
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From JER:

Among the many obfuscated treasures of the FEI website is the List of Riders having received a Yellow (Warning) Card. This is the police blotter of international eventing, a compendium of crimes ranging from the serious - 'abuse of horse' - to the snickering - 'smoking in stables after repeated warnings.'

We all love a good police blotter. Especially when it involves our friends and neighbors.

If we look past the expected smatterings of 'dangerous riding', 'continued after 3 refusals', 'jumped obstacle after elimination', there are some real doozies on this list, proof positive that there are some truly fascinating people out there eventing at the FEI level. Like the aforementioned badass chick caught smoking (several times!) in the stables like a seventh-grader. Or the Italian rider who was ultimately red-carded and suspended for continuing on after three refusals twice. In one month.

But the list's standout offender is the Norwegian rider who was given two verbal warnings (but no yellow card) at the same event. The first was for not showing up for the jog and not giving permission for someone else to jog the horse. It's unclear how the horse was presented to the ground jury (presumably it showed up and jogged itself) but never mind, this story only gets better. The second warning was for - brace yourself - 'allowing a child to ride in the D box without a helmet.' 

'Allowing a child to ride in the D box without a helmet.'  How many errors of judgment and rule breaks can you squeeze into one short sentence? Is there a prize for this? Perhaps, because the rider placed fourth in the competition.

Next, consider the enigmatic case of a Dutch rider who was given a yellow for 'not stopping after several refusals on XC.' One would hope the official had a specific number of refusals in mind rather than a ballpark figure and one wonders if the punishment would have been more severe for 'many' refusals. There's also the dadaist conundrum of how it is that a rider can 'not stop' after 'several stops' but this is just another way in which eventers accomplish the impossible.

Some incidents appear to be the result of cultural gaps between rider and officials. This would explain why two riders at an event in Mexico were booked for 'dangerous riding / out of XC course on the rocks.' To most of us, that sounds like a typical weekend south of the border but the official apparently thought otherwise.

If you're looking for tips on how to avoid getting yellow-carded, here's one piece of advice: if your horse is out of control and you can't avoid going through or over the ropes, make sure you do it twice so you'll only get a verbal warning like German rider Frank Ostholt or a 25-point penalty like Portuguese rider Guimairaes Joao. Irish rider Brian Curran failed to heed this advice and jumped the rope only once for a full-on yellow card. 

Come to think of it, this is no small feat, jumping your out of control horse over a line of rope twice.  Which means that if you could do it a third time, you would probably incur no penalty at all.  But you didn't hear that from me.

To see the full list, go to the FEI Warning Card page and scroll down to 'Eventing.' The list opens as a .xlsx spreadsheet. The FEI Warning Card system explained (pdf).

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