A few weeks ago, I wrote a brief introduction to the new “Mailbag” segment. It’s meant to be a light-hearted column where EN readers can send in any questions they have about the site, our writers, or eventing in general and I’ll do my best to answer them. If you would like to send in a note to the site, or a poem if you’re creative, those are welcome too. So far I’ve been very impressed with the questions I’ve received, its evident that there are a lot of very knowledgeable and insightful EN readers out there. Send questions to: [email protected]!
Beth: “For John, Coren, and Annie: Where do each of you live? What sports person (animal is fine too) do you most admire? Why?”
Interesting questions! John is originally from Michigan, Coren is originally from Missouri, and I am from Minnesota, but we are all currently living and riding in Virginia.
I haven’t been following “normal” sports since I retired from mini-mite hockey in the third grade, so the people I admire are all riders. There are certain qualities I find admirable in many top riders- like Mark Todd for his extraordinary sense of timing and balance or Andrew Nicholson for his ferocity and courage, but David O’Connor is probably the person I admire more than anyone. More than just riding ability, he understands the horses, people, and the tiny intricacies of our sport at a level deeper than most of us will ever come to know. And because of his many leadership positions, he’s burdened with the often times ugly knowledge about what goes on behind closed doors, but he still believes in the sport, which is probably why I believe in him.
Coren: “My horse, Ollie. He puts up with me on a day to day basis and is always learning. I admire is athletic ability that has saved us a few too many times and his heart that keeps him going and trying far beyond anything I ever expected.”
John: “I don’t really have one athlete that I would point to as a favorite. All of my previous favorites have either been charged with sex crimes in Colorado or been beaten up by their wife with a golf club. But, I will say that Ron Artest is one of my least favorite athletes. Ron-Ron keeps jacking up and missing threes at the end of games to lose it for my Lakers. The only hope for us is that Ron-Ron gets into another brawl with fans and gets suspended for the rest of the season. I suppose I like Peyton Manning because he makes hilarious commercials.”
Robyn: “I understand the Pan Ams are two-star next year. Do you think Canada and US will send up-and-coming riders or potential London 4-star riders on their 4-star horses or potential London riders on their younger 2-star horses or what? Wondering how that is going to work?”
Good question Robyn! John sat through one of the open forums that discussed the Pan-Ams at last week’s Convention and he wrote in a recap post, “Mark [Phillips] came right out and stated that it will be unlikely that any horse will go to both the Pan Ams and the 2012 Olympics. As US selector Mike Huber explained, most riders looking to 2012 will want to get their horse qualified for a 4* in 2011 rather than worrying about a two-star.”
With that quote in mind, I think it’s fair to say that we will not be sending our current top horses and riders, like the pairs that went to the WEG. However, the US likes to win just as much as the next country, so I can’t imagine the team would send anyone they believed unable to field a competitive result. 2010 was a great year for the young professionals, they competed against seasoned competitors at the big three-days and pulled off top results. Tiana Coudray won Jersey this spring, Jennie Brannigan won Galway, and perhaps most notable was Hannah Burnett’s win at Fair Hill this fall. If younger riders like those three make the Pan- Am team, it’ll be because of their own merit and demonstrated ability to be competitive against top riders, not that the US just wanted to send a “developing team.”
Stacey: “Even as a non-eventer, I’ve enjoyed going to Rolex in Lexington since about 2008. I don’t have a great background on the rules and technical aspects of cross country, although I’ve done some course walks. What is a good written or video primer on a) the rules of cross country and b) the technical aspects of the course, the jumps/obstacles, and how they should be ridden? They don’t have to be the same source.”
Well, the USEF Rulebook is a great place to start. It’s a little dry but it’s the best technical guide to penalties and the “specs” for each level in terms of course height and length. Lucinda Green’s book “Cross-Country Riding” is great as its formatted in terms of different types of cross-country fences, each type is described in detail along with the technique necessary to ride it. It’s a good read, it has a lot of cool pictures and Lucinda’s witty character really shines through. Sally O’Connor’s “Practical Eventing” is similar to Lucinda’s book in that it covers the different types of fences and the different techniques necessary to jumping them, but its geared more to the lower level competitor and riders of green horses.
Hilary: “What is proper dress etiquette for a one-star dressage test? It seems like the old timers insist on wearing a regular dressage coat and hunt cap but the last show I was at nearly all the one-star competitors were dressed in top hats and tails?”
While “old timers” may prefer riders to wear regular dressage coats at one-stars, the FEI rulebook does as well by stating, “At the CIC/CCI* level, the wearing of a top hat and tailcoat is not encouraged.” That suggestion doesn’t stop people from wearing their top hat and tails to a one-star test, and I don’t really blame them for doing so either. I think for many people, especially the amateurs, putting on a top hat and tails can feel like the epitome of a life-long dream. So wearing a shadbelly to a one-star is still within the rules but not completely correct. If you’ve had your heart set on one day riding in a shadbelly and a one-star is your only possibility for doing so, I say go for it. But if you’re doing a one-star, could care less about what you wear, and would rather not shell out the 800-or-so dollars it would cost to purchase said monkey suit, skip it.
