Thursday News and Notes from Kentucky Equine Research

Libby, Boyd, and Buck walking the Badminton Course. Photo courtesy of Boyd Libby, Boyd, and Buck walking the Badminton Course. Photo courtesy of Boyd "All Around Good Bloke" Martin

As our eventers across the pond acquaint themselves with the intimidating course that is cross country day of the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, let’s acquaint ourselves with a bit of rich Badminton history, shall we?

The House that today overlooks the event was constructed in the late 17th century, though the property had been in the extended Worcester family since 1608. In 1682 the Dukedom of Beaufort was established there, and the Duke began the construction of the iconic home. It got a few facelifts over the next century, but thankfully much of its appearance has been preserved since then, making it a true historical treasure.

The 10th Duke of Beaufort decided in the 1940s that the estate’s rolling green hills should be put to use for equestrian events, and to further the British Equestrian Team’s viability at the international level. That definitely appears to have worked out.

Among the other crazy things those grounds have seen, its history includes six wins by Lucinda Green (still the record for one rider), some of the most prestigious, elaborate, and heart-stopping fox hunts of all time, and a 1995 horse trial where Mark Todd successfully rode two-thirds of the course with only one stirrup.

So what I’m trying to say is, Buck, Boyd and Libby: Check your leathers. Twice.

U.S. Weekend Preview:

The Event at Skyline H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times]

King Oak Farm Spring H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times]

MCTA H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times]

Heart of the Carolinas 3D & H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times]

Poplar Place Farm May H.T. [Website] [Entry Status]

Greenwood Farm H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times]

Penny Oaks H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times]

Random News and Notes:

Hoping to watch Badminton Action this weekend? If you’re in the states, you’ll need an FEI subscription, iron will and strong coffee to wake up that early, but that will give you total access to the weekend’s events. (All times below are Eastern Standard Time.) [FEI TV]

  • Thursday May 5: 4:50 am – 1:00 pm dressage day 1
  • Friday May 6: 4:50 am – 1:00 pm dressage day 2
  • Saturday May 7: 7:20 am – 1:00 pm cross-country
  • Sunday May 8: 7:20 am (morning session) and 10:35 am (top 20 riders) show jumping

Wildfires in Alberta threaten citizens, homes, and horses. An estimated 80,000 people, their pets and livestock were evacuated from Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada Wednesday morning, and as usual, the horse and ranching communities were stepping up in a big way to offer spare rooms and pastures to anyone who needed it. Horse Nation has an exclusive interview with the publicity director of the town’s horse club about the ongoing challenges there.  [Residents, Horses Flee Raging Wildfire in Alberta] [Update on Wildfire Evacuations]

22 horses will bid for glory in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. The post positions were drawn this morning, and the current favorite, Nyquist (Morning line 3-1 odds) drew lucky number 13. According to trainer Doug O’Neill they’re happy about it, because he got the 13 post when they won the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile last year. Personally I’ve got my money on the 8-1 colt Exaggerator, because exaggerating is a specialty of mine. I’ve probably exaggerated like, a billion times. [142 Kentucky Derby Post Positions Announced]

Friends of the Colorado Horse Park are fundraising for a new water complex. With the AECs coming to CHP in 2018 and many other exciting opportunities on the horizon, Colorado eventers are hoping to spruce up their course a bit and add a new complex there. They are raising the funds in memory of Wanda Webb, a longtime Colorado eventer and awesome woman. [CHP GoFundMe]

 

KER ClockIt™ Session of the Week – Getting Into the Conditioning Zone

This week’s KER ClockIt™ Sport session demonstrates how typical arena work doesn’t get horses into the conditioning zone.

In this user-submitted session, the horse is doing his first jump school following a break. The fences were very small and the course basic to get him back in the swing of things. The rider noted her horse was “unimpressed” by the work. He finally broke out of the 60% heart-rate zone near the end of their session.

5_3_16_KERClockIt_Session1

For comparison, here’s an upper-level jump school. Even with a larger course, this fit horse is still not quite reaching the yellow conditioning zone.

5_3_16_KERClockIt_Session2

The 80-90% range (yellow) is the zone where many human athletes train to improve fitness. In this zone, there begins to be a significant level of anaerobic energy generation and blood lactate starts to accumulate.

This session was shared as part of the Share Your Sessions Sweepstakes. Share your ClockIt sessions for a chance to win—and you could be featured here! For more information, visit the website.