Cheesin’ for a blue ribbon, the one and only French Unicorn. Photo by Kate Samuels.
Mondays after a show are always a little bit like living in zombie land. I wake up and take care of the horses and check that everyone still has four legs and a beating heart, then go to work riding more horses. Around 1 p.m. I usually hit zombie stage, which can be defined as a state of awake-ish-ness where you are technically still functioning but your brain power has hit red zone 20% limited battery usage, and nothing but sugar, bacon, and possibly some Red Bull can save you. My secret to success is an unabashed 8 p.m. bedtime, don’t even try to pretend you’re not jealous.
Editor’s note: Kate is too modest to come right out and say it, but she and Nyls won the Advanced at Five Points over the weekend. Congrats, Kate! And maybe take a day off sometime?
Events Opening This Week:
Holly Hill Fall H.T. (LA, A-5) The Virginia CCI/CIC and H.T. (VA, A-2) Chattahoochee Hills H.T. (GA, A-3)
Events Closing Today:
Fair Hill International Three-day Event (MD, A-2) Fleur de Leap H.T. (LA, A-5) Stable View Advanced Oktoberfest Horse Trials (SC, A-3) Morven Park Fall H.T. (VA, A-2) ESDCTA New Jersey H.T. at the Horsepark (NJ, A-2) Stoneleigh-Burnham School Fall H.T. (MA, A-1) Woodland Stallion Station H.T. (CA, A-6) Jump Start H.T. (KY, A-8) Fair Hill International Three-day Event (MD, A-2)
News From Around the Globe:
The Paralympics officially opened on Wednesday, and riders from all over the world are competing in para-dressage. Competition format is broken down by classification of impairment as well as individual and team competition. Team USA is sitting provisionally in third place out of 16 teams thanks to strong performances from Angela Peavy and Sydney Collier. While the Olympics and Paralympics both celebrate the bond between horse and rider, the Paralympics in particular remind us that the saying is true: “horses give us the wings we lack.” [7 Inspiring Images from Paralympic Dressage]
Inquiring minds want to know, what’s going on with British Eventing right now? The Rio Olympics was the first time in 20 years that Britain has returned from the Olympics without a team or individual medal for eventing, and on top of that only managed four riders inside the top 20 at Burghley a few weeks later. “No nation can win all the time (unless you are Germany). The Kiwis, Aussies and French have all had mini-eras of weakness. But when your country is the spiritual home of eventing and everyone else comes here to train and beat you at your own game, it’s pretty demoralizing.” [Why Is Eventing Gold Eluding the Brits?]
Vote for the Cover of US Eventing! The 2016 Nutrena USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Land Rover was one we will definitely never forget! We laughed, we cheered and we celebrated the months and years of hard work that each competitor put in to be there. To celebrate, the USEA would like to know who YOU want on the cover of the upcoming AEC issue of Eventing USA. [Vote Now]
Lainey Ashker is the clinic queen! COTH blogger Megan Hasemann decided to pack up her green OTTB and tackle a jump clinic with Lainey recently, and has nothing but great reviews from the experience. “One of the things I loved most about this clinic is that Lainey doesn’t accept anything halfway. She demanded and inspired our absolute best at every fence, in every group…” [Sit Up, Sit Back, and Get The Job Done!]
Because Tuesday isn’t much better than Monday…. [Oh Crap Monday]
Weekly Business Tip From Mythic Landing Enterprises:
A great tool to help you know if your website is reaching the right people is Google Analytics. This will be able to tell you where your audience is from, where they are finding your site, which pages they are viewing the most, and even how long they are spending on each page. Another cool statistic that it will show you is how many people that view your website are new, versus returning to your site. Most importantly, Google Analytics will tell if you if you are reaching your desired audience. If not, you know you need to make adjustments to your marketing plan.
