An Eventer’s Survival Guide to Staying Home: Fun Stuff Online

No Kentucky for Us this year:( Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

If it hasn’t gotten to a neighborhood near you yet, it will — the shutdown of everything. Maybe not everything, and far enough away to be safe, but still. You’re stuck inside or at home, and the season has just started — but now it’s not. What to do?

Oh, your trainer probably has a lot of ideas — not all of them probably charitable, me thinks. And your horse also has some ideas — along the lines of more carrots and less work. His ideas are probably going to work out for him if you’re in a lockdown area.

So here’s a little help.

First of all, Miss Eventer Princess, download or get out your rulebook, and read that sucker! Why? Why not? Know what you are doing. USEF Rules For Eventing — if everyone read it, we wouldn’t need TDs — right? (Insert really big smiley face here). And the recently controversial Eventing Annex 1 (bits, read the whole thing please). Another important read for eventers: the USEA Cross Country Course Design Guidelines. (Know what you are jumping).

Are you in envy of riders who get those grants? Did you know you might be eligible for one, too? Read through the USEA Foundation’s website and check out the rules for the grants they administer here. Are you a high schooler? Did you know you can get a letter in riding as a sport,  for school? Yes, the information is here. And you may be eligible for a USEF grant, here. More scholarships and grants: The Plaid HorseMichael Nyuis Scholarship. Take a look at the American Horse Trials Foundation page to learn about putting together you own account for fundraising. Southern California Equestrian Sports here is a similar organization.

Want to relive some back-when-it-was-Rolex videos? How about some of the older ones on YouTube, check these out: 20152014, 20132012 and 2011.

Oh and let’s include Fair Hill! Here’s something from 1993: one of the nine shows that USEV produced for cable television in the early ’90s. RNS Video saved them and uploaded them to YouTube, in several pieces to get around the 10-minute limit — the show runs somewhere in the 54 minute range. “I shot, directed, did the editing and graphics and co-hosted the show. Since it had such limited airtime in the ’90s, and the horse sport television industry is more or less non-present, I’m going to upload these here for those who want to enjoy them. Keep in mind this is ’93 and it’s the rules for that time when three-day was really three-day long form. Enjoy!”

Fair Hill 3 Star CCI: part 1part 2part 3part 4 with Dr. Kent Allen in there and a view of the vet box, part 5part 6 with Karen O’Connor, part 7 with Bruce Davidson and part 8.

And Buzzter Brown has a Fair Hill 2009 cross-country set here: 2010 part 1 and part 2, 2010 is a single video here, and 2011 is also one video, here.

Past history of the USEA? Here’s a pdf with some early history.

How about you? Let’s talk riding fitness: apps, articles, and how to do it at home by yourself. Laura Crump Anderson’s blogs are right here on EN: ObliquesStrength TrainingPartner UpThe Plank, 20-Minute Fitness, Mounting Block Calves, Mindfulness, Rest and Recovery (a particularly good one, I think).

So that’s good for a start! And you know I’ll have more!