Aachen approacheth…
Whilst eventers have to wait ‘til next week to get our Aachen started (July 5th to be exact), the equestrian extravaganza that is the World Equestrian Festival CHIO Aachen is all set to get things underway this Friday — first up, vaulting. Despite the clear and present plethora of differences between the two disciplines, in fact, there’s an eventing interest in the women’s individual vaulting competition, which comes in the form of Ursula Levett. Think that name rings a bell? You’re right, for Ursula — who competes for Great Britain – is none other than Australian eventing stalwart Bill Levett’s daughter.
If you’ve never partaken in this unique discipline, have at all the sparkles and spangles you can handle, as well as the ridiculously impressive, jaw-dropping feats of acrobatics (which are, yes, performed on galloping horses, really) via the livestream on ClipMyHorse (subscription required).
For now, here are all the links you need to get yourself acquainted with what’s in store at Aachen:
World Equestrian Festival CHIO Aachen: [Website] [Program – All Disciplines] [Program – Eventing] [Entries – All Disciplines] [Entries – Eventing] [US Eventing Team] [British Eventing Team] [Live Stream] [Results – All Disciplines] [Results – Eventing] [EN’s Coverage]
I am reasonably reliably informed that today is Chocolate Pudding Day. On that note, dig in, and go eventing!
U.S. Weekend Preview
Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. and Area III Eventing Championships (Chattahoochee Hills, GA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring]
Full Moon Farm HT (Finksburg, MD) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Inavale Farm HT (Philomath, OR) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer][Scoring]
Larkin Hill H.T. (North Chatham, NY) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Summer Coconino H.T. I (Flagstaff, AZ) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Twin Rivers Summer H.T. (Paso Robles, CA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
UK International Events
Burgham International (Northumberland) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
European International Events
SemaLease Kilguilkey House International 1 (Ireland) [Website] [Entries] [Scoring]
Wednesday News and Reading
To celebrate the launch of Canter Culture’s first riding top, the Alice Sun Shirt, Canter Culture is giving away an entire outfit! For your chance to win an Alice Sun Shirt, one pair of Athletic Breeches, Boot Socks, and a Double Circle Belt, all you have to do is sign up for our newsletter and fill out the form in the 7/1 ICYMI Newsletter! Winner will select color options & sizing. Canter Culture seamlessly blends style & sport, so all that’s left to do is enjoy the ride. Stay tuned — we’ll announce the winner in our weekly newsletter on 7/1! Sign up for our newsletter here.
The Annie Goodwin Rising Star Grant is now open to qualified applicants! Find out more here.
Update on 5* eventer Louise Harwood following a serious, non-horse related, accident. Louise says she’s grateful for all the love and support she’s received. She’s waiting on X-ray results and in the meantime, hasn’t lost her characteristic, infectious smile. Take a look.
Royal horsegirl, eventing star of yesteryear, and Zara Tindall’s mom, Princess Anne has been treated for minor injuries and concussion following a run-in with a horse at home. At the time of writing, it’s not clear whether she was kicked or headbutted — she’s conscious but concussed, so the details are a little fuzzy. She’s due to stay in hospital until next week. As well as reporting the incident, this piece has some cool extra info about this accomplished equestrian.
Hot on Horse Nation: How Much? Horses are spendy. Very spendy at times. Very, very… You get the message (because you’re probably living it, right?). All this spendiness occurs, sometimes because we can’t resist that thing we don’t need but we’re going to buy another one of anyway; sometimes because horses seem to have a sixth sense about when we really can’t afford a vet’s bill and choose those moments to test the maximum limits of our love for them; and sometimes because we got sucked in by the reviews on that super expensive thingy and launch ahead with our bank details yelling, take my money. You know it. But aside from frivolity and irresponsible horse behavior, even just to meet a horse’s basic needs can take up an awful lot of cash, and when times are tough, well, it’s tough. That’s the topic of conversation currently over at Horse Nation. Check out the results of a recent cost of living survey by the National Equine Welfare Council, and join the discussion on the cost of horses, here.
And finally, horses meet high fashion. To plug the gap of fabulous things happening in France as Paris awaits its Opening Ceremony, Vogue World has taken fashion to the Place Vendôme. And how is this relevant to us, horsenerds? Well, supermodels Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner were strutting their stuff for all of us as they showed up in style on horseback. Check out their horsegirl chic here.
Video Break
Whet your appetite for all things Aachen with this highlights taster from last year’s spectacular:
