Repeat photo in honor of the fact that it’s finally supposed to snow up north today.
With all the buzz flying around about what’s “wrong” with eventing, riders, and horses in the past few years, it can be hard to keep track of the theory du jour for how to fix the “problem” (or even what the problem actually is). Regardless of what the buzzword of the day is, I think we can all agree we have to have a solid horse underneath us for a chance of success. Therefore we can all appreciate William Micklem’s thought-provoking article for The Chronicle about the importance of breeding the event horse. No, not a failed show jumper, or an excitable dressage horse that gets relegated to the jump ring, but actual eventers, horses that have the “all-round qualities” that eventing calls for. One major point Micklem addresses is the green one: we all know stud fees for a some show jumpers are priced higher than what we paid for our trained horses. He also talks about the importance of being a well-rounded rider in order to produce the jack-of-all-trades horse we need. Finally, and most interestingly in my opinion, he lists the eight modern horses that “have scored 80 percent or better in the dressage at four-star level, made a four-star cross-country look like a Pony Club course, and jumped so easily that a 1.60-meter fence would be no difficulty.” Three of them have ties to German Thoroughbred stallion Heraldik xx, who didn’t even have a good stud rating by German standards. Food for thought. [COTH]
While on the topic of breeding, it is only appropriate to also mention the plight of the unwanted horses around the country. The recent resumption of slaughter inspections has brought the issue to the forefront of the horse community and now American Veterinarian Medical Association member Nat Messer is calling for more demographic information about the horses that end up in the auction ring and slaughter house. He points out that while ex-racing thoroughbreds are singled out as unwanted, thoroughbreds only account for roughly 10% of all horses that are slaughtered. Messer hopes that by asking questions about the age, sex, and breeding of unwanted horses the AVMA will be able to better target the source of the unwanted horse problem. According to two national surveys conducted by the American Horse Council, the issue has grown significantly in the past three years, primarily due to economic stress. One of Messer’s final points is that the problem won’t go away if slaughter is banned- it’s up to us to protect the welfare of these unwanted horses no matter where they end up. [Horsetalk]
While we are talking about discussions, Penn Vet will be kicking off its third annual open lecture series at the New Bolton Center on March 6 with a talk about “suspensory ligament disease in the performance horse.” The “First Tuesday” lectures happen on the first Tuesday of every month (get it??) and are one hour long followed by Q&A sessions with the clinician. The Chronicle has posted a schedule of all dates and times for the year. If you live in the Philadelphia/West Chester area this is a great resource to use and is growing in popularity every year. And it’s free! Go Quakers!! [COTH]
PRO’s Junior Training Scholarship is back again! This summer the 2011 recipients will be working with Amy Tryon, Hawley Bennett-Awad, Marcia Kulak, and Jan Byyny. 2012 winners will be chosen by PRO observers at the end of the year. Observers will score riders with a point system at events throughout the season.The two top point earners on both the East and West coasts will win a scholarship that includes one week of full training with Will Faudree, Marcia Kulak, Amy Tryon, or Shannon Lilley. Let the competition begin! [USEA] [PRO]
Wylie, in typical fashion, has found the absolute weirdest horse product of the day. Want an shirt that says “I’ve got the hooves like Jagger?” You’re just one click away. [Horse Nation]
China’s Alex Hua Tian is on the hunt for an Olympic qualification and it’s a tough one. In order to qualify he will have to be ranked in the top 13 of the FEI standings. 10 of those places are currently held by Australians, and he will need a minimum of 190 points to even have a shot. Prior to last weekend he had 58. Even so he is confident, and that confidence is underscored by the fact that he won his first target event in Spain, the Dos Hermanas CIC***. [Eventing Worldwide]
Rest in peace Lloyd Milton McKnight, who, among many other things, was a dedicated eventing volunteer. In 1996 he oversaw the volunteer timers during the Atlanta Olympics and timed his last competition at the AECs last September. EN sends sincere condolences to his family. [The Citizen]
Best of Blogs: (there are a lot of good ones today)
Lauren Kieffer discusses privilege
Lauren Lambert makes the jump from Young Rider to Professional
For your viewing pleasure, here’s a video of the aforementioned Whitney Weston and Rock on Rose at Rocking Horse two weeks ago:
Clearly it’s not all hype. Thanks for reading EN! Happy Wednesday. I leave you with a word from Horse Quencher, who knows how hard it can be to get horses to drink in the winter:
When the temperature drops, so does the drinking, making winter the worst time of year for impaction colic. Lugged hot water goes cool, electric solutions bring fire and other risks. So how about some easy-peasy Horse Quencher instead?
