Symphony in B Major
This masterpiece of a new jump at the Alcoa Fairbridge CNC in Perth, Western Australia, leaves us wondering about the A element. World’s largest clarinet? This piano looks like way more fun than the giant F.A.O. Schwartz piano Tom Hanks danced on in “Big.” Thanks to reader Glenys Davies for sending in the photo. Have a photo to share? Send it to [email protected].
Events Opening Today: MeadowCreek Park Horse Trial (Texas, A-5)
Events Closing Today: Colorado Horse Park Fall Horse Trial (CO, A-9), Greenwood Farm Inc. Fall Horse Trial (TX, A-5), Radnor Hunt Horse Trial (PA, A-2 ), Pine Top October Horse Trial (GA, A-3), The Maryland Horse Trial at Loch Moy Farm (MD, A-2), Middle Tennessee Pony Club Horse Trials (TN A-3)
Your Tuesday News:
New national team competition for grown ups. For those old enough to drink/senior riders, a new national team championship will debut next year along the AECs in Tyler, Texas. The Chronicle of the Horse/U.S. Eventing Association Adult Team Challenge is adding a national party/final to the Challenge, which has been around for longer than many of the junior competitors (20 years). Each area can qualify as many as eight teams to send. [COTH]
Help overcome water obstacle. The USEF is asking fellow horse lovers to help those members of Colorado’s horse community devastated by the recent flooding by contributing to the USEF Equine Disaster Relief Fund. The fund was set up after Hurricanes Rita and Katrina to “help ensure the safety and well being of horses in trying times.” Donations may be made online here, or by mailing a check to to: The United States Equestrian Federation, 4047 Iron Works Parkway, Lexington, KY 40511.
Waking up naked. Though he may no longer rip the crossties from the walls and head for the hills, your horse may still find body clipping every bit as stressful as those who do act like you’re trying to remove their skin with the Wahls, according to a new study from the U.K. “Quiet acceptance (in well-trained horses) has been rewarded in the past and will tend to override their desire to escape and avoid whatever we are doing to them,” Carol Hall, PhD, researcher and principal lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, told thehorse.com. If “quiet acceptance” is not your steed’s modus operandi, a little cocktail from the vet is a safe way to ease them into a nap, from which they can wake up naked. Or at least trace clipped. [The Horse]
My little (vicious) pony. The Connecticut state supreme court is set to hear a case that could result in horses being classified as a “vicious” species. A few years back, a horse named Scuppy repeatedly bit a kid on the cheek. His father sued the farm’s owners, but lost in a New Haven court. An appellate court overturned the verdict, finding that Scuppy belonged to “a species naturally inclined to do mischief and be vicious.” If upheld by the state’s supreme court, the verdict would be the first in the country to classify horses as a vicious species and could deal a blow to the insurance industry. [BBC]
Sending our Get Well Soon! wishes to Bea diGrazia. Bea suffered a fall this weekend, but it sounds like she’s on the mend. From her husband, Derek: “Bea was released from the hospital this evening after having a much better day today. While she has broken her clavicle and a few ribs she remains in good spirits and I know that once some of the pain subsides she will be hard to keep off of her horses.”
SmartPak Product of the Day: Your riding gloves are for riding. Moving jumps or unloading bales (and bales and bales …) of hay? You want a pair of Heritage Ranch Work Gloves. Made from tough cow leather, these gloves are sewn together with thread made of Kevlar, the key component in U.S. military helmets and vests. The rough suede palms are extra grippy so you can hold your horses – and everything else. [SmartPak]
Arial Grald and Fernhill Cove at Plantation Field from The Horse Pesterer
