Everyone at the test event kept telling me that I absolutely had to stay and attend Barbury, which many regard as the best horse trials in England. So, after begging the Chinchillas to look after Annie for 4 more days (no small task, I assure you), I delayed my flight and headed west from London. Thursday night I stayed at the incredibly beautiful Headley Stud, which is Julian Stiller’s farm and also Mark Todd’s training facility. I just met Julian for the first time at the Olympic test event, but she was incredible and invited me to Headley for the weekend, which is just a short drive to Barbury. Also, Will Coleman is keeping Twizzel at Julian’s farm leading up to Burghley. Julian and Will are on the USEF’s High Performance B list together, so we have a first rate squad of red, white, and blue in the middle of Berkshire. At 6am local time, we left one of maybe the coolest farms I have ever seen aboard the coolest lorry I have ever seen and headed for Barbury Castle.
Barbury is a world famous horse trials and CIC3*. The Barbury CIC3* has 120 entries to accommodate such numbers they are running dressage on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and the show jumping and XC on Sunday. It is shaping up to be a busy summer and autumn in England for US riders, and that starts today at Barbury. Tiana is riding Ringwood Magister in the CIC2*, Will Coleman has Twizzel in the CIC3*, Julian has a nice young mare named Allegra in the novice, and Axel Rose and Enjoy Me in the CIC3*. Will Faudree is in England all the way until Burghley now and has Andromaque in the CIC3*. Usually US riders go to England and get forgotten, but we’ll be showing some love to the USA all weekend. Will, Will, and Tiana ride today, and Julian rides her two CIC3* horses tomorrow. [Barbury CIC3* Entries]
It’s going to be a busy day at Barbury and on Eventing Nation in general so here are a few news and notes to tide you over until the ridiculousness begins…
–The USEA is making up for lost time last weekend with 12 USEA events this weekend in the United States. A couple start today, including the Whidbey Island Pony Club HT [Whidbey Live Scores]. Good luck to all of the competitors around Eventing Nation and we’ll he keeping our eye on the events back in the US as well as Barbury throughout the weekend. I’m jealous of everyone at Maryland who get to jump the very first ever Eventing Nation cross-country jump.
–Taking one last look back at the test event, the BBC interviewed Britain’s top riders. They stressed that the hills are going to be a big factor for the Olympic course. I think the slightly slick ground might be just as big of a factor because going quickly around the course is going to take a very special kind of horse. The horses with that huge gallop are usually coveted for XC, but I see that type of horse really struggling on that course. [BBC]
–This week’s Eventing Radio Show talks to Jonathan Paget [ERS]
–The Fredericks have a hectic weekend at Barbury. Lucinda is competing 5 horses and trailering in. Clayton has two horses, and his rock band Snatch will be playing at the competitors’ party Friday night. I hear the band is quite good and they are actually flown to some events to perform. [Wiltshire.co.uk]
–The Hendra virus continues to cause big problems in Australia. Horsetalk reports 7 horses have died from the virus and now 31 people may have contracted the deadly disease. Of the 7 known cases of human infection, 4 have proved fatal. The disease is transmitted from native fruit bats to horses and then can jump to humans. Horsetalk can occasionally walk the line with sensationalism, but this situation sounds really really scary. [Horsetalk]
–In a tragic story, starving horses in Egypt are still very much in need of help. [Horse and Hound]
—Best of the Blogs: Shepherd Ranch Horse Trials, part 3
–Our friends at FLAIR have some very cool things going on right now. There is a brand new FLAIR Facebook contest starting on Monday, July 11th. The prize is two FLAIR strips, a FLAIR Hat, and a microfiber FLAIR Strip Rag. Simply submit a photo of your specially decorated FLAIR strip–you can post it on the FLAIR Facebook page as well as send the entries to [email protected]. Please spread the word and enter the contest! [Contest Info] [FLAIR Facebook]
–Also, FLAIR is featured in the latest issue of Horse International Magazine. There’s a really great cross view of the equine nasal system in the article and it is a nice look at FLAIR. Thought you might want to mention it to your readers. The article is loaded onto the FLAIR website here.
–The Chronicle recently posted an interview with Nat VC. It’s a cool story about the twists and turns of a life loving horses. But, of all the life lessons to be learned from Nat, the most important thing to learn is how to dance like her. [Chronicle]
–Last, but certainly not least, please be sure to continue to visit and bid in the PRO True Prospect auction, where you can bid on FLAIR strips among many other fantastic items. [PRO Auction]
That’s all for now Eventing Nation. Keep your radio tuned to EventingNation.com for the latest from Barbury and the rest of Eventing Nation today and throughout the weekend. Have a happy Friday morning and I’ll see you soon. Go eventing.
