Abby Powell is a native of Northeastern Massachusetts who splits her time between commuting into Boston for work and caring for and riding her rescue Mustang x Arab mare, Maggie.
It was a very successful weekend in jumper land for Canada’s Colleen Loach and her own, Amanda Bernhard and Peter Barry’s FE Golden Eye. They spent the weekend at the International Bromont Hunter/Jumper show and cleaned up across the Grand Prix divisions, winning the $15,000 Modified Grand Prix on Friday and following that with another win on Sunday in the $50,000 Grand Prix. That’s not a bad payday at the end of the weekend!
The now 10-year-old “Goldie” first caught our eye just three years ago when she was slotted as Colleen’s mount for the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. This is her second year competing at the Advanced/4* level and earlier this spring she placed sixth in the formidable Lexington CCI4*S held alongside the Kentucky Three-Day Event.
It turns out that Goldie is gelding of many talents, not only finding success as an eventer and in the show jumping ring as well — he’s also a great lesson pony for a very lucky kid!
Check out their dazzling Grand Prix round (if the embedded post below does not show up for you, you can view the post on Instagram here):
Will we see this pair representing Canada at the World Championships next month? It’s very possible! Colleen has been long-listed with both Goldie and stablemate Vermont, Colleen’s other very successful young up-and-comer. Both formidable horses are also entered in the Nations Cup leg to be held at Bromont in a few weeks, so if I had to speculate, I’d personally bet we’ll see Colleen riding one for Team Canada at the Nations Cup and the other for the World Championships in Pratoni.
Ariel Grald and Forrest Gump 124. Photo by Abby Powell.
We’ve been eagerly awaiting a glimpse of the entries for the FEI Nations Cup at Bromont, which take place in less than three weeks, from August 18-20. The only leg taking place outside of Europe, it won’t be the most hotly contested Nations Cup we’ve ever seen, since there will likely be just three teams and it also takes place a the week before Great Meadow International which will be Team USA’s final mandatory outing before the World Championships this fall. However, Bromont puts on a spectacular event and always attracts top competition no matter the time.
For the U.S., current CCI4O-S entries include the likes of Ariel Grald, Liz Halliday-Sharp, Lillian Heard, and Colleen Rutledge amongst others. Check them out! Entries don’t close until 8/12, so we’ll likely some more trickle in and of course we’re anxiously awaiting the naming of teams!
Remember yesterday I mentioned we had a contingent of US-representatives heading over to the Blenheim Palace Horse Trials this September? Another member of that squad is Megan Kepferle and Anakin!Of course, Meg has already spent plenty of times at big events overseas as the dedicated groom, first to Doug Payne and then to Sinead Halpin before striking out on her own as a rider, but is looking to make her own overseas debut in the saddle by making her bid to head to to Blenheim.
Speaking of bid, Meg is also hosting an online auction to help raise money for travel (there’s a number of vacation packages, horse trials entries, and even VIP packages for a meeting and greet with Bebe Rexha!), a friend has set up a GoFundMe for her, and if you’re local to Bedminster, New Jersey you can head to Burnt Mills Cider and raise a pint for the cause!
Valerie Pride an Favian at the Maryland 5 Star. Photo by Abby Powell.
The countdown to Blenheim Palace Horse Trials, which takes place from September 15-18th, has begun for our contingent of U.S. representatives — and so has the fundraising! One such Blenheim-bound pair is Valerie Pride and Favian, who will be basing and training with William Fox-Pitt upon arrival in England and until the big event.
Actually, it’s a trio who’s looking to make the trip — Valerie is hoping to be able to fly Favian’s faithful mini companion, Theodore, over as well! Valerie has set up an online auction help fund the travels and there’s lots of lessons and schooling opportunities available to bid on, plus a couple other neat items like Favian’s 5* shoes! Check it out here.
Kilguilkey House International CCI4*-L/CCI4*-S (Cork Co, Ireland): [Website] [Entries/Times]
News from Around the Globe:
According to a new study, there are ten types of cross country fences that increase the risk of a fall. The research, an FEI-funded retrospective study which was published this month in the Equine Veterinary Journal, used data from every horse start worldwide in all international, championship, Olympics, and World Equestrian Games eventing competitions between January 2008 and December 2018. The researchers recognize that this does not mean that these fence types should not necessarily be used, but rather the study may be the beginning of quantifying the risk level of individual cross country courses. [10 Fence Types at Increased Odds of a Fall for Horse and Rider]
It looks like we’re creeping up on another heatwave, so here’s a fun DIY treat for your horse that will also help keep them cool. The Donkey Sanctuary in Devon, England has been making “ice lollies” a.k.a popsicles to help keep their equine cool and entertained during the scorching weather. All you need are some carrots or apples, water, and a freezer! [Cool ponies: Ice blocks great entertainment for hot horses]
Congratulations to five-star rider Georgie Spence and her newly-minted husband, Toby Goss! The happy couple tied the knot last weekend at their local village church in Wiltshire, England and afterwards posed for a photo-op with Georgie’s event horses. [Five-star rider gets married – and her two ‘best boys’ join in for the photos]
Mark your calendars and set your alarms: tickets for the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill go on sale next week on Tuesday, August 2nd at 10 AM Eastern! We seriously enjoyed covering America’s first fall five-star last year and we’re so excited to head back down to Elkton, Maryland from October 13-16 to enjoy the second annual running of this excellent event. Plus, the event will again play host to the CCI3*-L Eventing National Championships.
Check out all the ticket packages here. If you’re looking to tailgate on cross country day, those passes will go on sale the following week on Tuesday, August 9th. We’ll see you there!
Kilguilkey House International CCI4*-L/CCI4*-S (Cork Co, Ireland): [Website] [Entries/Times]
News From Around the Globe:
Fancy a shot at winning the chance to watch Burghley in style? All you have to do is sign up for Burghley TV before midnight on Friday, August 5th and you’ll be entered to win a VIP Tent and membership tickets for all days of competition, plus a cross country course walk from a top rider and a behind the scenes tour of the stables. You can sign up for Burghley TV here for £20/ $24.33 and learn more about the contest here.
From one adrenaline-filled sport to another, this retired bull rider has taken up eventing. Travis Atkinson rode race horses as a teenager and then spent 10 years as a professional bull rider on the rodeo circuit. Instead of riding practice bulls during the later part of his career, Travis started jumping horses bareback to stay fit. [Retired Bull Rider Builds Eventing Career In Utah]
Does your event horse’s focus feel a little scattered? That’s not necessarily a bad thing, according to a team of researchers from France. They performed a visual attention test with a group of horses and found that those trained for eventing “were characterized by more fragmentation of attention.” Now that might not sound ideal at first glance, but this fragmentation was linked to better-performing event horses and has also been a characteristic identified in elite human athletes. [Ability of horses to focus linked to their occupation, study finds]
Have your tissues handy for this story. Wendy Costello’s dream was to join The Dressage Foundation’s Century Club, which celebrates horse-and-rider pairs with a combined age of 100 or more, but sadly passed away in December 2020 after a battle with cancer, leaving her goal unfulfilled. Last month, Wendy’s husband Marty completed her goal in her honor, riding introductory level test B at the Potomac Valley Dressage Association Ride for Life benefit show. [Husband Completes Century Club Ride In Wife’s Memory]
I hate to say it, but I think I’m old enough now that social media has gotten away from me a bit. I’ve got Facebook down pat, never been much for Twitter, I’m not on TikTok at all, and I miss the good ‘ol days of Instagram where there were no suggested or sponsored posts. That said, I admire those who’ve been able to adapt and embrace the changing social media landscape. Even if I’ll never make a “Reel” myself, I can still appreciate a creative one that makes me chuckle.
One such Instagram user who has been killing the Reels game lately is Evan Donadt, a formerly non-horsey, but still supportive husband to dressage rider Ashley Donadt. However, when COVID hit and Evan was laid off from his market research job he came to the dark side and began grooming for Ashley’s dressage business full time.
Evan also started an Instagram handle @evangrooms and two years later dare we he’s reached equestrian influencer status with his hysterical videos. Lately, he’s been “remixing” some non-horsey videos and putting a funny equestrian twist on them. We’re sharing a few favorite below — check them out and give yourself a good chuckle this Monday!
I had the good fortune of competing yesterday at Course Brook Farm in Sherborn, Massachusetts and — phew! — it was a hot one! I can’t say enough good things about this event though. This was my first recognized competition in a couple of years so the nerves were flowing, plus the current heat wave we’re experiencing didn’t make things any easier. But the number of smiling faces making sure that everything was running smoothly and everyone was well-hydrated really helped to put me at ease. Thank you, thank you to all the organizers and the incredible volunteers to who hung out in the heat all day long.
Course Brook is running over two days, so they’ll be back at it again today! Thank you ahead of time to all of today’s volunteers, good luck to today’s competitors, and also don’t forget to check out your photos later this week or next from Joan Davis of Flatflandsfoto who has been sitting out in the sun capturing memories for all of us!
Let’s hope mother nature is a little kinder to the competitors when they’re out on their own on the steppe than it was during the last day of start camp. Photo via Mongol Derby on Facebook.
One of our favorite non-eventing-but-equally-if-not-more-insane events, the Mongol Derby, kicks off today! I can pretty much guarantee you that this is something I’ll never do in my lifetime (unlike our own Leslie Wylie), but I enjoy following along every year and it’s exciting to have it back after a two year COVID postponement. Get to know the 2022 riders here!
There’s some big news out of Bromont: it’s under new ownership! The group of new owners consists of six neighbors local to the area, all of whom are passionate about saving the facility — which hosted the equestrian events of the 1976 Montreal Olympics — from development and modernizing it so that it can continue to host major eventing, show jumping, and dressage events. How inspiring is it to have a group of local folks so invested in preserving a piece of local history and making it an asset to the community? Read more about their big plans via Horse Sporthere.
Silverwood Farm Summer H.T. (Camp Lake, WI): [Website] [Scoring]
News from Around the Globe:
Today is the last day to enter our 9th Blogger Contest! We can’t wait to dive in to decide our first round finalists, and if you fancy the chance at a paid gig writing for EN and want to add your name to the pile, click here to view the entry post!
Cheers to The Event at Rebecca Farm, which turns 21 years old this weekend! Not only are the Broussard family, who own the facility and organize the event, celebrating the continuation of their prestigious event; they’re also celebrating one of the largest East Coast contingents that they’ve had travel to the event within the last decade, as well as the return of over 150 Canadian competitors who had been unable to attend in recent years due to Covid restrictions. Oh — and they’re also hosting a little something call the AECs later this year! [The Event Turns 21]
Speaking of The Event at Rebecca Farm: keep an eye out for Jules Ennis Batters, who won the Ocala Horse Properties Rebecca Farm Flight Grant. She and her mount, Cooley O, will be contesting the CCI4*-S. After a confidence-building spring, Jules is hoping to jumpstart her fall season with a competitive run around Montana. [One To Watch: Batters Heads To Rebecca Farm For A Dose Of Confidence]
“A Ferrari with flat tires will still beat a Mini with Pirellis.” You might have to Google “Pirellis” (I did), but I bet you still get the gist of quote from incredibly successful British racehorse trainer Mark Johnston. When it comes to buying racehorse prospects, he and his son Charlie don’t poke and prod at every little possible issue that presents itself on a radiograph. Their motto is to look for a quality horse first and worry about soundness issues when and if they ever crop up. [‘We’re Not At The Sales To Buy Clean X-Rays-We’re There To Buy A Racehorse’]
Ah, flying changes. The crux of the upper-level dressage tests, these movements can really make or break a score.
As a lower level rider myself who’s never ridden one (at least intentionally or properly) in a test, the exact execution of a correct flying change remains a bit mysterious to me. Dressage rider Amelia Newcomb sheds some light on the aids for this tricky movement and lets us in on some of the secrets for success (spoiler alert: it’s all about the set up!) Whether you’re a dressage-curious amateur like me or an old pro, you can take something away from this great instructional video.
Badass veterinarians or the latest or a country/rock album cover? There’s not wrong answer. Photo via Shannon Kelly Reed on Facebook.
Attention vet students: here’s a neat opportunity to surround yourself with and learn from some amazing equine veterinarians while experiencing the hustle and bustle of the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover!
No matter if you’re an equine-focused or equine-curious student, you’re invited to join equine surgeon Dr. Shannon Reed (who herself has competed in the Makeover twice!) as she and her team of veterinarians perform hundred of arrival exams on the competing horses. Learn more about the opportunity here and about what the arrival exam entails here.
A rainbow shines over the Kentucky Horse Park. Photo via EN archives.
The Kentucky Horse Park (KHP) is on a mission to upgrade it’s facilities in order to remain relevant to the ever-evolving landscape of equestrian sports, and you can have a say in how they do so!
This past April, the Kentucky legislature allocated $21 million for capital improvements around the park. Aware that the majority of criticism from competitors centers around the stabling, $10 million of that budget is earmarked for barn renovation. Have you ever stabled at the Horse Park for an event or show? Leave your feedback here and let KHP what you value in competitor stabling.
We can’t always have a livestream of every big event, so it’s thanks to some diehard phone/ camera-wielding eventing fans that we get some excellent glimpses of events around the country that we otherwise might not be able to enjoy from our couches.
Emma Hinke managed to capture nearly every rider in the Maryland International CCI3*-S across Ian Stark’s cross country course on a very soggy day this weekend. Give the video a watch for a look at all the major complexes, including the Badminton-esque broken bridge!
Mary Hutchins surveys her domain earlier this spring. Photo by Joan Davis/ FlatlandsFoto.
Today we’d like to give a very special shoutout to Mary Hutchins, who spent her 90th birthday yesterday judging stadium jumping at Huntington Farm H.T. in Vermont. Mary first discovered eventing in the ’60s and learned how to score at the Green Mountain Horse Association (GMHA) and she took part in Huntington Farm’s vert first horse trials in 1969. Since then she has become a fixture of Area 1’s eventing scene, been certified as a technical delegate and course designer, travels annually to volunteer at Kentucky and Fair Hill, and received the prestigious Wofford Cup in 2016. Happy Birthday, Mary, and thanks for all you do!
Now that there’s been a party, it’s officially official! Michael Jung and Faye Füllgraebe were legally married in a civil ceremony last year, but celebrated in style amongst their friends and family with a beautiful ceremony and reception held at the Jung family farm earlier this week.
We have just one very important question for the happy couple: who got the honor of ring bearer? Their son Lio or La Biosthetique Sam? (We’re not so secretly hoping for the later.)
This Week from World Equestrian Brands: Have you heard about the Equilibrium Massage Hotspot? This handheld tool is a great was to bring the benefits of both heat and massage therapy to sensitive horses (or yourself!) Even better? You can win one! Check out the giveaway details here.
This pair might not have earned the ‘save of the day’ award, but they sure did walk away from their show with a different kind of prize: an incredible series of photos from JJ Sillman. As she says, “Don’t forget to hug your horse today. Just maybe wait till after the round.” Check out the entire series of photos here.
At a time when the sport of eventing has lost so many competitions, it’s fantastic to see a once-extinct event be reborn like a phoenix rising from the ashes and then watch it soar over the next couple years at it grows and evolves. Essex Horse Trials has done just that, making a comeback in 2017 after last holding the event in 1998.
This year seems extra special, as the event is being held in a unique format where cross country takes place at the usual Moorland Farm, but dressage and show jumping took place at Gladstone — a.k.a. the historic Hamilton Farm, home to the USET Foundation Headquarters. Yesterday, Gladstone welcomed event riders back into its rings for the first time sine 1996 and today everyone will head over to Moorland Farms to finish out the competition with the cross country.
We are exceedingly excited to head back to CHIO Aachen this week to watch the formidable Will Coleman and Off the Record defend their CCIO4*-S title! Relive the memories in this video, featuring footage from all three phases as well as some memorable moments captured in still.
Has it really been a year already since the pair became the first-ever American competitors to take top honors at this prestigious event? Actually no, it hasn’t — because last year’s World Equestrian Festival at CHIO Aachen was postponed from it’s usual late June timetable to September in order allow spectators at the event. Nevertheless, we’re already ready to head back to Germany and cheer on Team USA.
Stay tuned for much more from Aachen later this week! Tilly Berendt will be our boots on the ground and we’ll be bringing you the best coverage, as always.
Here is a new education opportunity for your calendar: Virginia Horse Trials is is hosting a cross country clinic with five-star eventer Angela Bowles in conjunction with their July starter trials. All profits from the clinic will go directly to friends of the Bowles family: Felicia Abbott, who has been a decades-long of eventing and Pony Club, and her son Dustin, who tragically lost their husband/ father earlier this month. You can enter alongside the starter trials at Event Entries!
I’m not feeling particularly optimistic at the moment, thanks to the national news. What a privilege it is to distract myself with horses in moments like this. And yet, while horses are likely immensely important in the lives of everyone reading this, we can’t let ourselves get too distracted and forget about the world outside our sport. We have a lot of work to do.
This year’s Area III Championships and Mid-Summer Horse Trials at Stable View is shaping up to be a great one! Our own Shelby Allen will be there both competing and reporting and she’ll be along next week with some fun content. Say hi to Chinch if you see him!
And since the weather this weekend is shaping up to be a bit warm, Stable View is breaking our their misting station and providing complementary water for humans, ice for horses, and goodies in the rider’s lounge. There’s also a little something called Graze and Gaze with complementary food and beverage taking place in the evenings and something called Ice Cream Island will be on-site during the day. Not gonna lie, I’m a little jealous of you Shelby!
For more Stable View info, you can view the program for this weekend’s event here.
Ever wanted to join team EN? Do you love writing stories about the sport you call home? Want to test your creative chops in the equine media industry? Enter our 9th Blogger Contest for you chance to do exactly that! We can’t wait to see the entries this year — we’ve already gotten some great ones! More info on how to enter and what we’re looking for here. And be sure to follow our Instagram story for takeovers from our team members — today’s is — *gulp* — me, Abby Powell! Follow along as I’ll be answering your questions about how I got involved with EN as a part-time writer and reporter.
Good news for USEA members — even if you don’t currently ride or compete! The Going Forward USEA Member’s Grants, generously supported by the Broussard family’s Charitable Foundation Trust, will continue to be offered for another three years. The grants support three educational areas: the Horsemanship Immersion Program, the USEA Instructors’ Certification Program, and the Eventing Officials ‘r’ Training Program. Interested in applying? Learn more here.
Interested in getting into media and podcast production? The Young Blank Equestrians podcast (soon to be rebranded to Blk in the Saddle!) is looking to hire a podcast production assistant who is passionate about Black equestrians and DEI in the horse industry. Check out some key details here and learn more about applying here.
Can you tell if you’re sitting straight in the saddle? I know for a fact that I’m crooked, since the right butt cheek of my full seat breeches is much more worn that the left. If you don’t have as obvious as a tell as I do, however, check out these tips you can use to determine whether or not you’re sitting unevenly.
Thursday Video Break: Take a peek inside one of the largest equine specialist veterinary practices in the UK:
Michael Jung has been so dominant on the eventing scene for so long now that it’s hard to imagine that he was once nervously making his own five-star (then CCI****) debut. It’s not too hard to imagine, however, that in true Michael Jung style that he went ahead and (spoiler alert) won it. His mount — you may have heard of him: a little gelding by the name of La Biosthetique Sam — was also making his debut at the level.
Granted, it’s not like the pair came out of nowhere. It was a highly anticipated five-star debut for the former European Young Rider Champion and his mount, reserve champion of the Word Young Horse Championships at both the CCI* and CCI** levels in previous years. But perhaps nobody quite expected the pair to tackle Luhmühlen’s tough track with the remarkable style that we’re all so used to now.
Enjoy this jump back in time to Luhmühlen 2009 and enjoy the fairytale weekend unfold!
I didn’t necessarily plan to wake up early to watch Luhmühlen cross country yesterday (I figured I’d catch up via Sally’s super detailed live updates and then the H&C+ replay later) but I just so happened to wake up at about 4:30 AM randomly and tuned in just as Lauren and Bug were making their way through the combination in the arena.
Then of course I had to stay awake long enough to watch Liz’s round and then once she had finished I drifted in and out of consciousness to Spencer Sturmey’s oddly soothing voice. I got a little more legit shut eye between the end of the five-star and beginning of the four-star and I watched most of the four-star before crashing again and sleeping until about noon.
So yesterday turned into one of those weird days that didn’t really feel like a day at all since I had no concept of time. Live streams of overseas events are both a blessing and curse (but mostly blessing.)
