Geaux Tigers! Photo by Angela Bowles via Sydney Conley-Elliott’s FB page.
Happy Halloween! All around the country, equestrians are celebrating this holiday by dressing up their favorite equines, both in the barn and out on course. Holly Hill hosted a costume contest and four-star rider Sydney Conley-Elliott demonstrated her LSU pride by dressing up as a LSU football player.
National Holiday: Halloween!
U.S. Weekend Preview:
Virginia CCI, CIC, & H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
Rocking Horse Fall H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
Full Gallop Farm November H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
Galway Downs CCI & H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
Your Wednesday News & Notes
Piaf de B’Neville was retired in an emotional ceremony at Pau. The horse who shot Astier Nicolas into stardom with a win at Pau in 2015 was officially retired at Pau, although his retirement unofficially came in May. ‘Ben’ last competed in 2017 when he finished 15th at Badminton. [Astier Nicolas Retires Piaf de B’Neville]
Pau’s youngest four-star winner is both charming and industrious. Thibault Fornier is a physiotherapy student and plans to balance a career rehabbing humans with his riding. Even he couldn’t believe he had won, hopping off Siniani de Lathus after crossing the finish line and giving him a giant hug right in the ring. [12 Facts About Thibault]
There’s been much ado about Ros Canter’s triumph at WEG but Irish rider Padraig McCarthy has had his own meteoric rise to the top of the sport. The Irish rider managed to earn himself a PhD in economics and German before competing up to 1.60m in the show jumping world. After all that, he managed to convince 4*-rider Lucy Wiegersma to marry him and ended up with her 4* horse Mr Chunky as a ride as part of the deal. The rest is history. [Padraig McCarthy Interview]
Attwood Wisdom of the Week: EuroTex Tailored for a Special Event
With the addition of a CIC3*, CIC2* and CIC1* to the Stable View Advanced Oktoberfest Horse Trials this fall, Attwood Equestrian Surfaces is busy creating a new arena to accommodate the expanding competition.
Tucked in between the covered arena and the “Silva” arena on the north side of the property, the new arena will also be incorporated into the cross country course design by Mark Phillips.
“It’s pretty heady how much has changed since we first came here to do the footing for the covered arena (Pinnacle) just a few years ago. Since then we have installed another 125,000 plus square feet of footing. The property just keeps expanding!” said Nick Attwood, president of AES. “Barry Olliff has quite a vision for his farm. Working with Mark, Richard Jeffries, Barry … it’s a game changer for the town of Aiken when you have this ‘A’ list team of people to work with.”
And the footing? A custom blend of EuroTex, made specifically for Stable View. EuroTex is a unique composition of Geopad felt and Cleff elasticated fibers combined with specially selected sand. The sand selection is very important taking in account climate and the amount of use the arena will see. The result is a stunningly consistent footing that provides just enough cushion, just enough grip, creating a truly safe surface.
EuroTex is also the footing used in the “Silva” arena and the Attwood International Competition Arena.
Want to know more about the most advanced footing solutions on the market today? Please call Attwood Equestrian Surfaces at 888-461-7788.
