Photo via Wastach Pony Club.
A few weeks ago, members of Ogden, Utah’s Wastach Pony Club were devastated to discover that, without apparent notice, portions of their cross country course at the Weber County Fairgrounds were bulldozed. The cross country course was not only home to one of the longest running events in the west, the Golden Spike Horse Trials, it was home to other outdoor activities for the general population as well and it also holds some local pop culture significance. Eventers are a passionate bunch and communications in support of the Wastach Pony Club began pouring in when the news of the cross country course broke.
While the best case scenario may have been for this bulldozing to not have happened at all, the Wastach Pony Club has cultivated a rather excellent attitude about the situation. I highly recommend reading their initial blog post about the bulldozing as well as their follow-up post. Equestrian sports, particularly eventing, and the open spaces that go along with them always seem to be teetering on the edge of disappearance and it’s essential for the survival of our sport to work together with fellow land users and be open space advocates.
U.S. Events Opening Entries Today
YEH West Coast Championships & Last Chance Qualifier (CA); Waredaca Classic Three Day Event & H.T. (MD); Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. International (GA); Windermere Run H.T. (MO); Hitching Post Farm H.T. (VT)
U.S. Events Closing Entries Today
Spokane Sport Horse 11th Annual Fall H.T. (WA); Stable View Oktoberfest (SC); Sundance Farm H.T. (WI); Jump Start H.T. (KY); Tomora Horse Trials (CO); ESDCTA New Jersey H.T. (NJ); Old Tavern Horse Trials (VA); Course Brook Farm Fall H.T. (MA)
News & Reading
British Eventing launched a new initiative aimed at training and developing eventing officials. Announced over the weekend at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials, the initiative’s goal is to raise £100,000 over 12 months which will be put towards the development of a modernized training platform for officials, workshops, resources to ensure FEI-aligned standards, and more.
Six west coast OTTBs have been granted a full ride to the Kentucky Horse Park thanks to the California Retirement Management Account (CARMA)’s newest fund, the Messineo Makeover Scholarship. The scholarship serves to help graduates of CARMA’s Placement Program defray the cost of transportation to the Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover. The grant was initially intended to be awarded to one or two recipients, but “the inaugural response far exceeded expectations — in both quantity and heart” and CARMA chose six winning pairs including eventing competitors Johanna Weaver & Levi and Lillianne Kress & Impressively.
Brace yourselves, a new podcast episode drops today! And it’s not just any episode of The Go Eventing Podcast, it’s a very special post-5* delirium-induced fever dream of a podcast episode recapping Burghley weekend. I haven’t listened to it yet, but I’ve been told it was recorded by Sally and Tilly while driving (Tilly’s fiancé behind the wheel) home from Burghley in the wee hours with half a brain cell between them. I know you can’t wait to listen. (Am I doing a good job of selling it, Sally?) Find it here and wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Video Break
Three clear Burghley cross country rounds, three finishes in the top ten, three very happy horses in their fields.
