Sinead, Allison, and Isib Powers arrived at Burghley yesterday. Image via @allisonspringer
Good morning EN! Today top horses and riders are descending upon Stamford, England for the first horse inspection at Burghley, commencing at 4PM. Americans Sinead Halpin, Allison Springer, Erin Sylvester, Kate Hicks, Will Faudree, Marilyn Little-Meredith, and Kristi Nunnink are all on the entry list (as was Sharon White, who unfortunately had to scratch Raffertys Rules earlier this week). The field also includes German team Olympic gold medalist Dirk Schrade, four members of New Zealand’s Olympic bronze medal winning team, and three of Britain’s silver team medalists. Horse and Hound will once again be running one of their popular live chats during competition, and yesterday the horse trials announced that their partnership with the BBC will continue this year. If you live in Britain you will be able to watch cross country highlights and show jumping from 3:15-5:15PM on September 2. Otherwise, you can watch individual rounds via Burghley TV, beginning on Thursday. Keep checking back for updates, photos, and more! [Horse and Country]
[Entry List] [Official Site] [Burghley TV Coverage] [Horse and Hound Coverage Guide]
Found on Facebook, from Kristi Nunnink: “Wow hacked by Burghley house this afternoon amazing its so grand. The course looks wonderfully, footing couldn’t be better, perfect weather. Rosie really seems at her best looking forward to the weekend. Bruce got here before me its great to have someone with so much experience at this sort of thing. Randy gets here tomorrow.“
Horse and Hound also has enlisted 22 year old Burghley first-timer Emily Parker as an official blogger for the weekend, and her first entry went up yesterday. Emily is English but works with (and for) Ian Stark, and will be riding her 12 year old Trevor this weekend. Emily and “Trev” have been together for six years and, while he sometimes like to “show his belly on rather important occasions” such as in the middle of European dressage tests, he “has won [her] three gold medals, a place on the World Class program, the chance to go up and work for Ian Stark, and now a crack at [their] first four star.” Go Emily and Trev. [Horse and Hound]
The Paralympic Games officially kick off today with the opening ceremonies, and tomorrow the equestrian portion of the competition begins. Seventy-eight riders from 27 countries will compete on 77 horses for six days, from Thursday until next Wednesday, September 4. Riders are divided into five grades (Ia, Ib, II, III, IV, V) and two sets of medals are awarded in each division, as well as overall team medals. The age span of riders is similar to what is seen in the Olympics, ranging from Singapore’s 16 year old Gemma Rose Jen Foo to Canada’s 60 year old Eleonore Elstone. Britain’s Lee Pearson, the world’s most successful Para-Equestrian to date, will be competing this weekend as a favorite to win; his gold medal tally stands at an impressive nine, with three medals won at three different games. This year will be his fourth time at the games. [Horsetalk]
Lee Pearson isn’t the only British rider that is looking good for a medal at this year’s Paralympics- expectations are high for the entire team. Britain leads the overall medal count in Paralympic riding, and hopes that their dominance will continue this year even after a rule change means countries can only send five total riders, instead of the previous seven. Britain chose to send one rider from each grade, maximizing their changes of winning medals. Rider Sophie Christiansen, who won individual bronze in Athens and gold in Beijing, joked that the para riders were “not used to having to emulate” the able-bodied dressage team. The British team will be defending team gold, so it appears that they won’t have much trouble. [Horse and Hound]
The Olympic links just keep coming, this time all the way from Alaska. Heather Lende, Karen O’Connor’s sister-in-law, wrote about her experience at the games on dressage day, detailing the stresses of finding tickets, Britain’s democratic seating arrangements (no VIP for you, Princess Anne), and her attempt to engage Captain Mark Phillips in conversation. “This is London,” she writes, “the city of royals and regular folks rubbing shoulders, with the Olympic games smack in the middle of all of it.” [Alaska Dispatch]
After earning three top 10 places at Haras du Pin (FRA), Karin Donckers has officially added the 2012 FEI World Cup™ Eventing championship title to her impressive list of honors. She is the first rider to win the title after scoring all her points at only one outing, finishing two points ahead of Swiss rider Felix Vogg. [Horse Canada]
Aspiring writers, take note: Equine Guelph, part of the University of Guelph, will be offering a 12-week online course on equine journalism. According to Barbara Sheridan, the course instructor, “this course takes the students’ passion for horses and provides them with the necessary tools to become published, not only in traditional media such as equine magazines and trade publications, but in the booming online sector as well.” Courses at the university run from September 10 to December 2, 2012. [Horsetalk]
Strange news of the day: A burger van exploded at National Pony Society Summer Show in Yorkshire, injuring eight people. Four were treated on show grounds, and four were taken to the hospital. It appears two propane tanks caused the explosion. [Horse and Hound]
Don’t feed the trolls: Jana Harris, a professor at the University of Washington, wrote a piece about dressage for the Slate Magazine. Harris and her husband breed dressage horses in the Cascade Mountains, and in the piece she talks about the labor and time it takes to train an upper level dressage horse. Read the comments at your own risk, and bring the popcorn. [Slate]
Dunnabeck horse trials is accepting late entries. [USEA]
Correction: Seneca Valley PC HT did not actually close yesterday- they will be accepting entries through September 10. The farm will also be hosting a starter HT (pre-BN and BN) on September 23, and co-sponsoring a derby cross with the Potomac Hunt on September 30. If you’re interested in some low-stress fun, check out their website for more information. [Seneca Valley]
For your viewing pleasure, here is a mash-up of Richland moments from our friends at Cavalor:
Thanks for reading EN! I leave you with a message from our friends at Horse Quencher, who work to make sure your horse gets to wherever you are headed hydrated and healthy:
Heading to AECs? Want to have your horse on film? Horse Quencher is looking for a few horses who need a drink. Email [email protected] to get on the schedule to have your horse featured on a YouTube video enjoying a drink of Horse Quencher. (Slurp slurp!) Also, if you want to WIN some Horse Quencher, register at the same booth for a daily gift basket giveaway, including product and cool swag from Horse Quencher, plus swag from MDBarnmaster and Jamco Trailers (couldn’t fit a barn or a trailer into an itty bitty basket. Darn.) See you there!
