Open bar at the competitors' party is not always a good idea
Apparently, it was a wild night in Bavaria. An unnamed 26-year-old Bavarian man was stumbling home from a party a few weeks ago when he decided he could walk no further in the freezing cold, according to the local paper. Spotting a nice, cozy barn he wandered in. Perhaps a deep-seated survival instinct prevented him from curling up under the hooves. Perhaps he was trying to go for a ride. Either way, the horse’s owner found him passed out when she arrived at 8:15 the next morning. The horse, apparently, didn’t let the extra layer interfere with his breakfast. Neither did his neighbor. The police arrived to help with his dismount.
Events Closing Today: Pine Top Thanksgiving H.T. (Georgia, A-3)
News:
Aussies in their underwear. Last year, the organizers of the Barbury Horse Trials painted Laura Collett’s horse with the Union Jack. Aussies, as we know, are apt to take things farther. This year the organizers of the Australian International Three-Day Event painted Olympic silver medalist Megan Jones. Check her out riding in body paint – and underwear, don’t get too excited. [horseandcountrytv]
Check out Caitlin Silliman’s new website. Great pics and video of her with Hoku, Remi (and Boyd & Silva, of course). [sillimaneventing]
Noggin knowledge. The Jockey Club is offering free concussion testing for all jockeys who use the Jockey Health Information Systems, a database that tracks their health and helps emergency medical staff access info immediately in the event of an injury and help jockeys and their docs make return-to-ride decisions. [bloodhorse]
Little girl, big heart. Twelve-year-old Paula Tover is auctioning off her filly, Oreo, to raise money for an 11-year-old suffering from cancer. The girl felt helpless while her grandfather was critically ill. When she heard a boy her age was stricken, “I decided I should help,” she said, even though they’d never met. [Billings Gazette]
Anti-colic Activia? British researchers analyzed horse guts searching for explanations for frequent unhappiness in the area and found that colic may be very much about bugs – of the bacterial variety. [horsetalk.co.nz]
Calvary craziness. Check out these 21 historic pics of crazy brave members of the armed forces training on horseback, including Italians descending the “Mombrone,” a 20-foot drop from the window of a ruined castle that was kind of like their final exam.
Please help one of our own. Last Monday, trainer Amy Lanier, who coaches eventers in the Tennessee and North Georgia area, was kicked in the head, resulting in a traumatic brain injury and skull fracture. Currently Amy is in the ICU in a medically-induced coma after emergency surgery to repair her skull fracture and is stable. “Amy is one of the absolutely strongest women I know,” writes student and friend Marisa Goode.” Her husband and three little girls are hanging in there, and are incredibly tough, but Amy is going to have a long and expensive road to recovery ahead of her. Her barn family has set up a GoFundMe account to help aid in her recovery and medical costs, because as we all know, a catastrophic injury isn’t only physically devastating, it can be financially devastating.” Give what you can.
SmartPak Product of the Day: As a 5’1″ person with a 16.1-hand horse, I have wobbled on many inappropriate items in order to reach my horse’s butt/head/braids. The Stand ‘N Store Step Stool not only is a much safer option than upside-down buckets, shavings bags and folding chairs (very bad idea), it also keeps things handy. I know taller people also appreciate it’s durability and nifty removable try for little things that you will no longer need to dig to find, but it’s a personal favorite because it does what little else can: make me taller and more organized. I’d like one for my kitchen.
Video of the Day: ‘Roos at the races! Not that anything like this could happen at Adelaide this weekend, but check out footage from a kangaroo invasion of an Australian (horse) race track.
