6'8" in a skirt
Irish rider Susan Oakes and SIEC Atlas sailed over a 6’8″ puissance wall sidesaddle, soaring past the world record by two inches this week in Ireland. After breaking the record, did she pop the cork and raise a glass? Nah. She changed horses to SIEC Oberon and sailed over a 6’5″ triple bar, breaking that world record too. Oakes, an accomplished point to point rider, had never show jumped until 17 months ago when she started training to break the record. She doesn’t ride full time. She’s a business woman. The horses are… a side.
Next year, bareback, side saddle puissance at Fair Hill?
Events Closing Today: Fresno County Horse Park H.T. (California, A-6), Full Moon Farms H.T. (Maryland, A-2), Las Cruces H.T. (New Mexico, A-10), Ocala Horse Properties Fall Event (Florida, A-3), River Glen Fall H.T. (Tennesee, A-3), The Fork H. T. (North Carolina, A-2)
News:
Britain bows out. Great Britain has withdrawn from bidding process to host the 2018 WEG. They said they lacked time to find funding a a venue. Florida and Kentucky are expected to bid as well as Bromont. [bbc]
Skip the mess and the schlep. Tired of fighting with sticky melty clumps of sweetfeed in the summer and frozen chunks in the winter, a Colorado woman’s invented a nifty new sweetfeed delivery system that holds up to 200 pounds of the stuff and measures out a precise portion of grain. [Denver Post]
Nereo named world’s best. The World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses named Andrew Nicholson’s mount the Best Eventing Horse for the Year. Clifton promise was runner up. [Horsetalk.co.nz]
Horses as religion. No, really. A Kansas couple runs a ministry that blends equine and Holy Spirit. [Basehor Sentinel]
Timmy’s in the well! Actually, it was a horse that fell into an eight-foot deep concrete well in Colorado. The horse was partially submerged, but his head remained above water. Rescue crews were able to sedate the horse, then extract him while he was upside down, pulling him up and out by his legs. Initial reports said he had few injuries. [cbs]
SmartPak Product of the Day: Trick or treat! My horse will happily run over small children for candy corn. His 17.2 friend adores marshmallows. And if you don’t laugh watching a head that size savor a wad of sugary fluff, something is wrong with you. For healthier treats, however, you can’t beat Uncle Jimmy’s Squeezy Buns. All natural, individually wrapped so they stay squeezy, and so your horse can enjoy the anticipatory crinkling of wrapper, these goodies rock. Plus it’s fun to say; “wanna squeezy bun?”
Video of the Day: Mane -and skirt- fluttering in the breeze, Susan Oakes launches:
