Just two super grooms having some fun: Shannon Kinsley and Sergio Reyes. Photo courtesy of Sergio.
Yesterday I just finished a two-day jumping clinic with Leslie Law at Morningside Training Center, where I was lucky enough to snag a spot with the Olympic gold medallist himself. I took my seasoned partner, Nyls, as while we’ve been at the top levels for a while now, there is always more to learn, and ways to further my education with him. My goal is nebulous, because my goal is to be a little bit better than yesterday as much as possible, and I learned some important things during this clinic that I hope to be able to put into use this fall at some competitions. Nothing is quite as inspiring as getting your hands on some great quality education!
U.S. Weekend Preview:
Town Hill Farm H.T. [Website]
Huntington Farm H.T. [Website]
Loudoun Hunt Pony Club H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times]
Chattahoochee Hills H.T. [Website] [Entry Status]
Feather Creek Farm H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times]
Shepherd Ranch SYVPC H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times]
Caber Farm H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times]
Richland Park CCI, CIC, & H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times]
Windy Wyoming H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times]
News From Around the Globe:
Who would you rather walk the Burghley cross country course with if not William Fox-Pitt himself?? I might say Michael Jung, but I think that WFP has better British quips about the rather sturdy questions on Mark Phillips’ daunting course for next week. He’s only won the darn thing six times, it’s not like he really knows what he’s talking about honestly. [WFP Walks Burghley]
Richland! Richland! Richland! What do you want to know about the Gold Cup competition in Michigan this weekend? USEA has your back with ten fast facts. *Look at this corn all dipped in butter* [Richland Park Horse Trials]
In an effort to help Louisiana animal shelters care for everything during the floods, a GoFundMe has been established for relief. The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF), along with several parishes, have established an online fund-raising page to defray state and local costs of operating shelters for horses and other animals displaced by recent flooding near Baton Rouge. Contributions will be used to provide supplies and equipment necessary to care for horses and other animals. [GoFundMe Louisiana]
What’s the “right” time to start a young horse in work? Different industries within the horse world start their horses at different ages. As we know, thoroughbreds in the Kentucky Derby are only three years old, but for most performance careers, thats the very early stages. Depending on breed, body type, as well as mental and physical abilities, the age of 3-4 should be a good start. [When To Start Young Horses]
KER ClockIt™ Session of the Week: This week’s KER ClockIt™ Sport session demonstrates the effectiveness of using hills to improve a horse’s fitness. Looking at the graph below, you will see a horse training for a CCI2* event by cantering up a hill four times. The blue line is altitude, the purple line is heart rate, and the orange line is speed.
As you can see, the horse’s heart rate increases significantly each time the horse goes up a hill.
Multiple KER treadmill studies have shown that exercising horses on an incline greatly increases work intensity as measured by oxygen consumption, heart rate, and lactate production. These studies have shown that at a canter speed, a 1% increase in grade increases a horse’s heart rate 6 bpm—the same effect on heart rate as increasing speed 35m/min on a level treadmill. Therefore, equal heart rates can be obtained by cantering horses on a 6% grade at 490 m/min as from galloping on the flat at 700 m/min.
To see a detailed report like the one above, go to the KER ClockIt website and log in to your account. Once you are signed in, you can view your detailed sessions under the “Sessions” tab.
Don’t forget to share your ClockIt sessions for a chance to win the KER and Eventing Nation Show Us Your Sessions Sweepstakes. Between now and October 28, use the GPS on your KER ClockIt Sport app to draw or write something fun and submit your sessions for chances to win.
