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Annie Yeager

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Saturday Links

By on May 13, 2011 11:48 pm -
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Good Morning Eventing Nation! And what a good day it is looking to be, cross country is running at Jersey and although the weather forecasters are predicting light showers, it shouldn’t be enough to dampen the spirits of both the competitors and spectators. 

The schedule for the cross country today is looking like:
CCI2*– 9:00am
CCI3*– 11:50am
CIC3*– 1:40pm
CIC2*– 3:15pm

[Jersey Fresh Live Scores]

Speaking of cross country, I challenge those at Jersey to ask John about the story of his Jersey dismount that he alluded to in his post yesterday. The last time I heard the story, the verb in the sentence was ‘bailed off’ in the gallop lane, not ‘fell off’. They teach those Pony Club emergency dismounts for a reason you know. Just sayin’. 
Besides being a means for poking fun at John, here’s the real purpose of this post, your links: 
That’s all for now, Eventing Nation. Good luck to all the competitors at Jersey today, and I hope that everyone else out there has a very enjoyable Saturday!

Eventing Profile of the Week

By on May 13, 2011 9:40 am -
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Name: Cyrena
Age: 28
Location: Brighton, Colorado, USA
Relationship to Eventing: novice eventer with my OTTB Red Avenue
Favorite eventing moment/story: I think my favorite eventing moment has been when my horse Red completed his first XC course. I don’t have the ability to expose him to much, so I spent weeks prepping him for the unusual things he could see. I flooded part of the pasture so he knew it was ok to go through standing water. I dug a ditch in my back yard for us to school over. I removed the top 2 rails of my 4-board fence and had him jump that. We had a few stops, but considering it was his first time, he did amazing. He is very brave and willing.
If you had to pick one reason why you love Eventing, what would it be? A big part of what got me interested in eventing was all the years I spent volunteering as a jump judge growing up. I didn’t event as a teenager, I spent my time fox hunting, but I loved when the horse and rider made it through a tough obstacle and the rider shouted, “good boy/girl!” or gave the horse lots of praise. It really brought out the true spirit of the sport and made me realize what a rewarding team effort it is and how fun it is.
Overall Goals in the sport: My overall goal is to keep moving up the ranks. My OTTB Red and I went to a few events and clinics last year simply for exposure. This year I’m looking to compete at the Beginner Novice level seriously, Novice next, taking it step by step as we are ready. If someday we were competing as a team at the Prelim level, I would be extremely proud of him!
Biggest Role model: I have to admit I love the greats of our time: Phillip Dutton, The O’Connors, William Fox-Pitt, Buck Davidson… we all know the list. But my biggest role model would have to be Velvet Brown and the Pie. That story inspired me to ride and compete and most of all, follow your heart and have fun.
Link to blog or website, if applicable: I have a blog (http://redottb.blogspot.com/) but it hasn’t been updated much this year because not much has happened yet. Updates should come as the weather improves and I ride more, but there is a lot of info on how I got Red and documentation of our first year together and updates of all his milestones.
Photo(s) or videos:  The photo above is from a clinic Phillip taught in Colorado last year, and that was a dream come true for me. I have a video of our work at the clinic. My horse Red was just full of himself at the start, but he came around nicely and didn’t completely embarrass me in front of Phillip by the end. It can be found here.

View From My Horse: TPF Edition from World Equestrian Brands

By on May 11, 2011 2:45 pm -
As John is on the road for New Jersey, this week’s ears photo comes to us from our friends at True Prospect Farm. It’s always nice to get a variety of submissions, from a variety of places, and this week is no exception! Thanks to Lee Lee for submitting, and as always, thank you for reading. 

If you’d like to submit your ears photo, send it along with a caption describing it to: [email protected]
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From Lee Lee:

I thought this was a neat photo. My name is Lee Lee Jones and my horse’s name is Model Cadet. I am seventeen years old and the stepdaughter of Phillip Dutton. I was galloping Cadet up Winterwood a hill near True Prospect Farm. Cadet and I are gearing up for the Bromont One Star.
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Wednesday Morning News from Horse Quencher

By on May 11, 2011 12:59 am -
Good Morning Eventing Nation! Well, we are officially halfway through the week and its already looking like it will be a great Wednesday. Jersey Fresh is, of course, this weekend so we will have more on the First Horse Inspection to follow. John will be at Jersey, so here’s to another weekend to look forward to filled with great live eventing coverage. 
As for the other seven horse trials to look forward to this weekend: Maybe one day we can hope to have enough EN mobilization to send one writer to each of the many events taking place on coinciding weekends, but until that happens, its up to you, Eventing Nation. If you are competing at one of these events and you have your own blog or publishing platform, feel free to send either John ([email protected]) or I ([email protected]) a link to a recap of those event and we’ll post a few of them early next week.

And as long as we are on the subject of events, the Flora Lea Horse Trials in New Jersey, scheduled for May 22, is still accepting entries. [USEA]
If you are in the mood to do a little shopping in the housing market, feel free to check out this farm in Temecula, California. The farm is owned by actor Jack Klugman (from the Odd Couple sitcom) and has a current asking price of 8,229,000. That price, of course, includes the golf course along with the 8902 square-foot main home, four guest homes and one apartment. And don’t worry, there’s space for the horses too. 
The words ‘exciting’ and ‘FEI’ are rarely paired together, especially when it comes to news about the latter, but it seems today is the exception. According to a Chronicle press release, “The FEI has signed a new four-year contract with IMG Media that will ensure global distribution of the FEI’s major equestrian events to television audiences worldwide. The contract runs through to the end of 2014.” In eventing terms, this coverage will take the form of the HSBC FEI Classics Series, but it will also include World Cup and Nations Cup show jumping and European League Dressage. One of the issues that has gained a lot of attention over the past couple years is the lack of competition coverage on main stream  media. It’s no secret that the sports that carry the largest fan bases almost always have the biggest prizes and highest player salaries. With the NBC coverage of the show jumping at  Kentucky a couple weekends ago and now this announcement, I think we can be hopeful that progress is being made to better market our sport to a greater audience. [COTH]
In a recent interview, Mark Todd said that he’s riding better than ever. And we can’t really argue with him after his awe-inspiring performance at Badminton last month. He said in the article, “I think I’m riding better than ever now, probably better than when I was a young man. I’m not riding as dare-devil or with the drive as I did when I was younger but age and experience count in this sport – and in life too!” Many would argue that a person’s athleticism, mental acuity, and sharpness as a competitor are at a prime in their younger years, but as Mark shows, a great deal can be said for experience. [Horsetalk]
For those of you interested in British Royals, you might find this article about Zara Phillips very appealing. With the recent announcement of her engagement to Mike Tindall, Zara was asked to pose in the posh Country Life magazine. Funnily enough, her mother was asked to pose in a photo shoot for the same magazine some 40 years ago. Her outfit for the shoot consisting of jeans and a polar fleece jacket probably wasn’t the trendiest choice for a high profile fashion magazine, but then again Zara isn’t one much for conformity. 

Escapado, the well known international Dressage horse, is retiring. Escapado progressed through the ranks of British Dressage and placed 13th in the Athens Olympics under British rider Carl Hester before being sold to the Netherlands where he continued his career with Hans Peter Minderhoud. Escapado is now back in Britain, where he will live out retirement in comfort at Hester’s farm. [Horse and Hound]
I thought I’d save this news for last as it has to do with endings anyway. According to an article by The Telegraph, “The Bakewell show in Derbyshire, England intends to run the first-ever national horse-drawn hearse driving championship at its annual event in August.” Evidently, horse-drawn funerals are becoming increasingly popular; I guess that means there needs to be some sort of competition to test them out at. From the sounds of it, the competition will take form similar to that of a Driving Dressage competition where accuracy, smoothness, and appearance are the qualities contested for. Maybe its just me, but I think I’ll stick with aspirations of international Eventing over aspirations of international hearse driving. [The Telegraph]
Win 5 lessons with Stephen Bradley to support his trip to Bromont with In The Fog, more info

Our wonderful sponsor, Horse Quencher, held a drawing a couple of weeks ago and the winning names are coming in now. Congratulations to this week’s winners, and don’t worry if you missed entering the drawing this time around, there will be a few more coming up that we will announce in advance. In no particular order, the winners of this drawing are: 

Joanie Morris, from KY  – won a 20 pound of Horse Quencher
Barbra Sario, from FL – won a 3.5 pound of Horse Quencher
Michelle Carlson, from AZ – won a Cheers! T-shirt
That’s all for now, Eventing Nation. Be sure to check back, today and every day, with the coolest site in Eventing!
 
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Mothers Day Morning Links

By on May 7, 2011 11:20 pm -

Good Morning Eventing Nation! Today is a pretty busy day for Eventing, but hopefully in the midst of it, we can all make some time to spend with our Moms today, and if not, at least a phone call, a card, and flowers are in order. I think most people would agree with me when I say that to start eventing, the basic essentials you need are a horse, a truck and trailer, a saddle, and a supportive mother. Everything else is just extra. I know that I wouldn’t have made it past my first riding lessons had it not been for my mother’s support and encouragement. Let’s all of us make today about thanking our Moms. 

The other exciting part of the weekend is obviously the Kentucky Derby finish last night, where Animal Kingdom emerged victorious. We’ll have more on that later but until then, check out these fun facts.
There are a bunch of horse trials going on this Mother’s Day weekend:
Now, on to the links:

Update: Clark Johnstone wins second world cup

That’s all for now, Eventing Nation. Have a great Mothers Day!

A View From My Horse: Tribute to a friend from World Equestrian Brands

By on May 6, 2011 11:23 am -

This week’s view is a beautiful one, but definitely has a sad story behind it. The photo is from reader Dana, of her recently deceased partner of sixteen years, Ladd. Losing a horse you’ve known for that long is certainly not an easy thing. Thanks to Dana for submitting and thank you for reading.


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From Dana:

“Ladd was such an important and special horse.  We had a lot of trying and struggles in our years together but all in all we built our relationship on trust, love, and his BIG Heart.  I was blessed to have had him in my life for 16 years.  He died suddenly on Jan 24th.  Today he would have been 20 years old.  Ladd (Swift Solo Ladd) was a AQHA Registered QH/TB Cross.  I changed his name to the Rocketeer for USEA and eventing.  He struggled through dressage so that he could jump, but I admit that the dressage MADE him rideable in the jumping phases.  We only ever competed Novice and we also did Level 1 Jumpers.  In 2007 we did have the awesome experience of riding at Kentucky Horse Park for Midsouth Team Challenge, riding for our local eventing group, Blue Ridge Eventing Association.  Happy Birthday Buddy!  I miss you so much.”
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All The Queen’s Horses

By on May 5, 2011 3:27 pm -
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With the conclusion of the Royal Wedding, I think most of the world has finally withdrawn from the frenzied excitement and infatuation that the festivities put them in. I’m sure most of the world still wishes they were Kate Middleton, but life goes on. It’s like that line Jimmy Wofford always has, “We can’t all be heroes but we can stand on the sidewalk and tip our hats when they pass by.” I, personally, didn’t suffer much from this Royal fever as if I had been given the choice, I personally would rather be Zara than Kate. Call me biased. 

Anyway, if you are a diehard Royal follower, I have some news you might find interesting. The Royal Windsor Horse Show begins next week, and already is reporting entry numbers will be higher than ever before in history. Since its inception in 1943, the show has been one of the staples of not only the horse culture, but the British culture as well. Held every year at the historic Windsor Home Park, competitors and spectators not only get to enjoy the Royal Grounds (which are closed to the public for the rest of the year) but they also get to participate in one of the top multi-discipline horse shows in Britain. This year, the disciplines of Driving, Showing, and Show Jumping will be in attendance, along with a host of fun and entertaining Pony Club Games and even a Shetland pony Grand National!
The Royal involvement with the show has been paramount to its longevity and appeal. The Queen’s annual presence at the Show is one of the major reasons for the high number of spectators. All in a day’s visit, people can watch some of the country’s best horses perform, shop at the extensive trade fair, and maybe even catch a glimpse of the Queen herself. The show’s main attraction is the Royal Windsor Grand Prix, which takes place next Sunday and boast some famous names in attendance like Laura Kraut, Robert Whitaker, Tim Stockdale and Geoff Billington. Laura Kraut said about the upcoming show, “I am very excited to be competing at Windsor. I have never jumped there before and I will be bringing two new horses to jump. I am so pleased to be able to compete at a venue where I know that the footing will be perfect – one can’t ask for a better facility, or setting!”
For more information on the Royal Windsor Horse Show, click here. 
Go Windsor. 

Eventing Profile of the Week

By on May 4, 2011 4:44 pm -
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Photocredit: Connecticut Photo

Your Name – Suzanne Adams
Age – 50
Location – Area 1 – Massachusetts
Relationship to Eventing – Novice Rider, Groom, Owner, Volunteer, Adult Rider
Favorite Eventing Moment Story – Long ago (June 2008), I was a Weenie Re-Rider.  It was the start of my second summer Eventing my mareish Mare – Fame and Frolic (aka Sugar).    We were entered at Valinor Horse Trials… my second event, just after getting eliminated in Stadium Jumping at King Oak Farm Horse Trials.
 
I walked the XC course and was soon overwhelmed by the size of the entire course, the seriously hilly terrain, the enormous view in the first main jumping field, the size of the jumps and the new questions to navigate.  Overwhelmed… almost to the point of an anxiety attack.  It was drizzling and I knew that I couldn’t handle this course.  I wasn’t ready for my first down bank, my first real ditch, lots of downward jumping, turns up and down hills, my first up bank and big galloping down hills…  WASN’T READY…  REALLY NOT READY.
 
Friends said, you can do it…  don’t worry… Sugar knows all of that stuff…  But friends are there to support you…  do they really know or are they just being nice.   I decided, after the walk, that the course was too big to do for my first of the season…  all of our issues and problems were circling like demons despite any new age coping skill I applied to chase them off…  didn’t we break our wrist, didn’t I fall at Flora Lea at the same barn jump at Valinor, didn’t I lose my stirrups schooling a down bank, didn’t Sug spook at at ditch, didn’t Sug spook and dump me at our last outing and on and on and on…
 
I decided to withdraw…  not ready.  Next time I’ll go.  In making that decision, I wanted to be sure I was right, so I walked it again.  That jump wasn’t too bad, neither was that one… oh, I don’t like that one.  Ok, I’ll withdrawal.  Wish my instructor was here to get advice… help me know if it was show nerves or reality. I came off the course and there was my trainer warming up someone in the SJ ring.
 
So, her advice? To finish, I just have to start.  Any step forward was more than I’ve done this year.  So getting out in the warmup was more than last year, getting in the start box, leaving the start box and every jump after that was better than I’ve done this year.  And, if I came to something that truly scared me, I could honorably retire on course knowing that I did more that day than I’ve done all year. So, I finished XC, loving every moment, having fun knowing that I had permission to stop honorably if I was scared. That piece of advice is with me always!  To finish …  I just have to start. 
 
If you had to pick one reason why you love Eventing, what would it be?: Being alone with my horse…  just the two of us running cross country…  no one else exists in the world for those 5-7 minutes.  It is the greatest feeling in the world!
 
Overall Goals in the Sport: Move up to Training, do a T3DE, Compete at the AECs (qualified), clinic with Lucinda Green, Prelim, get certified as a TD.
 
Biggest Role model: Jimmy Wofford…  I love his books, I love his quotes.  I think he has the ability to take on difficult situations, say the tough things and remain likeable.   
 
Link to blog or website, if applicable: http://confessionsofanaaer.blogspot.com/
If you’d like to submit an Eventing profile, follow this link for more information, and send to [email protected].   Congratulations to Suzanne for winning a copy of Jimmy’s new book, “Cross-Country with Jim Wofford: 26 Lessons to Improve Your Eventing Skills from the Olympic Rider and Top Coach.”

Best Dressed Wednesday’s News and Notes from Horse Quencher

By on Apr 27, 2011 12:26 am -
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The winning outfit, photo by Lesley Ward

Good Morning Eventing Nation! I don’t know about you, but today marks the start of my favorite weekend of the spring season. The horses have spent the past two days or more settling in at the Horse Park, but as of this morning, the bathing will ensue, the braiding kits will come out, the quarter marks will be brushed into place, and hooves will be polished; all in preparation for the First Horse Inspection taking place today. Due to the severe weather predicted at the Horse Park Wednesday afternoon, the Horse Inspection has been moved to 10 am EST, rather than the afternoon as is traditional of past years. If the rest of the current schedule for tomorrow remains intact, the main stadium will open for schooling at 4:30 pm, and the cross country course will open to the competitors at 1 pm. 

Speaking of the weather, here is a summary of the forecast for the next few days:
Wednesday: 76° high, severe thunderstorm warnings
Thursday: 59° high, continued thunderstorms throughout the day
Friday: 62° high, ‘brilliant sunshine’
With any luck, the sun on Friday will continue on throughout the weekend, allowing for a great weekend of Eventing. Check out the full weather forecast here. 
Today is a fun day as the Best Dressed Awards are given to the male and female riders who present themselves the best at the jog. The prize for the award is a pair of the highly coveted Dubarry boots. The nice thing about the Best Dressed competition, much like a dressage test, is that its really comes down to what you pull out on the day. I wouldn’t exactly compare last year’s winner, Lauren Kieffer, with fashion icons like Audrey or CoCo; but she made it to the jog strip on that day looking pretty good. In all honesty, my fashion sense isn’t all that iconic either; so if you are looking for advice on what to wear, I’d consult this article from our friends at Three Days Three Ways.
Smartpak, along with Boyd Martin and Allison Springer, is hosting a course walk either Thursday or Friday afternoon. It’s free and everyone is welcome, but you must pre-register. Click here for details and sign-up. 
Always the annual favorite, Jimmy Wofford’s course walk will be held this year on Friday, thirty minutes after the last dressage ride. The course walk is free of charge, and generously sponsored by Practical Horseman. Click here for details.
We are working on getting the ‘Quick Links’ sidebar updated with this weekend’s info, but here are some links for you to peruse until then. [Rolex Homepage] [Entry Status] 
And now for the news:
Coren may have relayed this story once or twice before to her EN followers; but evidently William Fox-Pitt’s sister, Alicia, is very close friends with Kate Middleton, and is rumored to have been one of the lucky 100 invited to The Wedding. William Fox-Pitt, quite unlike Coren,  doesn’t seem like much of a star struck individual, so I’d bet he’ll be able to concentrate on his weekend without giddily jumping up and down at the mere thought of William and Kate walking down the aisle. Read up on this tidbit, along with the many other ways Kentucky is not related to the Royal Wedding here.
Speaking of Fairy Tale stories, one of the horses that will parade in the Royal Wedding later this week, Digger, had a less-than-royal start to life. According to this article from the Jurga Report, “Digger was rescued by World Horse Welfare, rehabilitated, and adopted by the royal military unit.” 
In some very sad news, eight horses died in a barn fire last Sunday in Ohio. The cause of the fire, as determined by Fire Marshalls, was arson. Apparently, hate messages of homophobic nature were scrolled across the walls of the barn before it was lit in the attack. [Horsetalk]
The great Totilas recently developed a hoof abscess, which unfortunately will prevent him from participating in the seasonal debut at the Hagen show next week. In a press statement, Matthias commented, “We very much regret not being able to compete in Hagen, but the health and welfare of Totilas is always the top priority,” [Horse and Hound]
Boyd Martin has released the second series of his training videos

Sam Watson reflects on the Fairy Tales and Hard Luck Stories of Badminton 2011.  Sam’s entry to the reporting scene was one pressed on him by bad luck– he originally was entered to ride at Badminton, but when his horse was injured at the last minute preventing them from making the trip, he generously offered to make the trip and report on the competition from the side lines. He definitely has the knack for commentary reporting, so hopefully we will get to read more from him at some point in the future. 

In some exciting news on the scene of International Show Jumping, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum has announced that she will be competing the veteran Shutterfly, now eighteen years of age, Rolex FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final in Leipzig, Germany. Meredith was originally entered in the competition on a different horse, but recently confirmed that Shutterfly is her ride of choice. The World Cup Finals begin on Thursday and continue on through Monday, featuring the disciplines of Dressage, Driving, Vaulting, along with the Show Jumping competition of course. [COTH]
Boyd chats with our friends at SmartPak:

I will conclude what is quite possibly my longest post ever by wishing each and every one of the competitors ‘good luck’. John will be blogging throughout the course of the weekend, but all the rest of us will be cheering! 
Go Eventing.

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Updates to the Rolex Entry List

By on Apr 26, 2011 5:21 pm -
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Well, with all the horses arriving at Kentucky yesterday, and the international riders arriving after their weekends at Badminton today, we are in the final stretch of the Kentucky lead up. We have posted several updated entry lists over the past weeks and months, but with the First Horse Inspection taking place tomorrow, this is the latest list as of this afternoon. 

There have only been a couple changes to the entry list since the last time we posted an updated version.  Earlier this week, Polly Stockton’s Westwood Mariner and Karl Slezak’s Kachemak Bay withdrew from the entry list.  Today, 3 other horses were removed from the entry list, including Sally Cousins’ Tsunami, Jane Sleeper’s UN, and Frankie Thieriot’s Fric Frac Berence.

The only other changes have been the inevitable swaps and substitutions of the overseas riders’ horses, as many are known to cross enter both Badminton and Kentucky. Mark Todd originally had Major Milestone entered, but that entry was exchanged for Grass Valley. Buck was another to cross enter Ballynoecastle at both Rolex and Badminton, but as he opted for the latter, Titanium has made the journey to Kentucky to serve as a replacement. 

46 horses now make up this weekend’s field assembling from five countries; US, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Australia. Interestingly enough, the entry numbers for this year total lower than the 72 starters in 2010 and 68 in 2009. I leave my predictions for the final weekend’s outcome resting solely in the capable hands of Jimmy and his annual Chronicle predictions, but does anyone care to make their prediction? Regardless of who emerges at the top on Sunday, this weekend, like every other Rolex weekend, is certain to be a demonstration of some excellent riding. I know I’ll be watching the live feed on Saturday! 
James Alliston/ JUMBO’S JAKE
James Alliston/ PARKER
Laine Ashker/ ANTHONY PATCH
Kristin Bachman/ GRYFFINDOR
Peter Barry/ KILRODAN ABBOTT
Susan Bebee/ PROWLER
Kate Brown/ MOJITO
Diana Burnett/ MANNY
Hannah Sue Burnett/ ST. BARTHS
Hamish Cargill/ SANDHILLS TIGER
Will Coleman/ TWIZZEL
Tiana Coudray/ RINGWOOD MAGISTER
Buck Davidson/ TITANIUM
Phillip Dutton/ FERNHILL EAGLE
Phillip Dutton/ TRULUCK
William Fox-Pitt/ NEUF DES COEURS
Clayton Fredericks/ BE MY GUEST
Heather Gillette/ OUR QUESTIONNAIRE
Sinead Halpin/ MANOIR DE CARNEVILLE
Jessica Hampf/ HIGH SOCIETY
Rebecca Howard/ RIDDLE MASTER
Mary King/ KING’S TEMPTRESS
Mary King/ FERNHILL URCO
Olivia Loiacono/ SUBWAY
Boyd Martin/ REMINGTON XXV
Martha McDowell/ GAELIC MARRIAGE
Joe Meyer/ SNIP
Heather Morris/ SLATE RIVER
Kristi Nunnink/R-STAR
Karen O’Connor/ QUINTUS 54
Jessica Phoenix/ EXPONENTIAL
Jessica Phoenix/ EXPLORING
Michael Pollard/ ICARUS
Michael Pollard/ WONDERFUL WILL
Kelly Prather/ BALLINAKILL GLORY
Missy Ransehousen/ CRITICAL DECISION
Debbie Rosen/ THE ALCHEMYST
Katie Ruppel/ SIR DONOVAN
Colleen Rutledge/ SHIRAZ
Kim Severson/ TIPPERARY LIADHNAN
Allison Springer/ DESTINATION KNOWN
Allison Springer/ ARTHUR
Kelly Sult/ HOLLYWOOD
Mark Todd/ GRASS VALLEY
Oliver Townend/ ODT SONAS ROVATIO
Jil Walton/ MY SEDONA
Go Rolex. 

Eventing Profile of the Week

By on Apr 22, 2011 2:33 pm -
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Your Name: Holly Breaux, DVM 
Age: 32
Location: Loganville, Georgia
Relationship to Eventing: amateur rider
Favorite Eventing moment/story?: It just might have to be FENCE weekend… What a beautiful place with wonderful management, volunteers, etc. I was so looking forward to that weekend and just had it feeling it was going to be a great weekend. And it was!! Everything just came together so nicely… we had a good dressage test for us, then went clean XC and had an absolute blast! Fleck was forward, happy, bold and ready to go! Then… we went clean in stadium and managed to move up from 3rd (I think) to 1st. WOW!! We’ve never won an event! It was such a good weekend because it finally… for one show…. all came together in one weekend 🙂  
If you had to pick one reason why you love Eventing, what would it be? There are so many things to love about eventing…the friendships, the fact that a good cross country run can make up for a whole weekend of not so goodness, the spirit of competition but still helping everyone out and receiving help, and… even dressage! But.. the best part of it.. is the relationship it has helped create with my horse. We are partners, a team, the dynamic duo (on some days!), and… it’s just amazing. I know him inside and out, and I feel like he also “gets” me more. It has helped blossom my horse into a fit, brave, confident and smart horse! We are a team and we rock!!!
Overall Goals in the sport: We’d like to do well at prelim and ultimately run a prelim three day. 
Biggest Role model: Jimmy Wofford 
Link to blog or website, if applicable: http://members.horsecity.com/fleckenawesome 
But gah.. I”m so far behind! 
If you’d like to submit an Eventing profile, follow this link for more information, and send to [email protected].  Congratulations to Holly for winning a copy of Jimmy’s new book, which will be released at Rolex.

It’s Badminton Friday!

By on Apr 21, 2011 11:02 pm -
Well, folks, what is usually considered the most exciting day of the week considerably more exciting this week, as its Badminton Friday! I will forewarn you, however, that any coverage I try and dedicate to Badminton from my laptop post back across the pond is nothing compared to what the EN’s Samantha will provide later on today, with the help of our fearless leader of course. If you have been following Samantha’s posts at all in the past few weeks, you’ll know that she has made the trek to Badminton to spectate and report in her wonderful style as always. 
With that said, here are a few Badminton links and reports from yesterday to make your day of skipping work and watching the live coverage all the more enjoyable:
While you are waiting for dressage pictures to be uploaded or Samantha’s next twitter feed to post, check out these 10 Badminton Facts. Personally, I have to say I am rooting for Andrew Nicholson this year. I mean, he holds the record for 29 Badminton completions and he is yet to hold the trophy… They say third time’s the charm, or is it thirty?
Samantha wrote a post yesterday about her musings on the helmet rules in Europe after noticing that a great deal of the riders were schooling their horses in hunt caps (which is allowed by the rules at this time.) Samantha even stopped by to interview the hat maker of the famous Patey hats, who strongly felt that a rule change of the sort was not coming anywhere near Europe. I think most US Eventers have come to accept the helmet rule even in these few short months, and really I don’t believe the adjusment has been all that drastic. That being said, the culture of Europe varies greatly from the US, it’ll be interesting to see if Europe will follow suit in the next few years by instating the rule, and if they do, what reactions meet it. 
[Dressage Timetable] (For those who may find this funny: the Timetable, quite fittingly, refers to the test ride as ‘Guinea Pig’)
Here are a few tests to keep your eyes on today:
5:46 AM EST 10:56 MAJOR MILESTONE Mark Todd (NZL)
6:48 AM EST 11:48 NAVIGATOR William Fox-Pitt
7:20 AM EST 12:20 FRH BUTTS ABRAXXAS Ingrid Klimke (GER)
11:02 AM EST 4:20 GIN AND JUICE Hawley Bennett-Awad (CAN)

With the exception of Hawley, all five of the other Canadian and US pairs will ride their tests tomorrow. The good news is that if you are watching the live scoring at the office this morning, the time zone difference means you’ll be able to get back to work before lunchtime. The bad news is that you’ll probably spend most of the hours after lunch pouring over the by-the-minute coverage that all of the fabulous media will have put together. Oh well, you can do work on Monday Tuesday. I think this is going to be a really great– and really competitive- Badminton. The Europeans are obviously strong in number and mounted on very good horses, I’d bet they will fall where they usually do; at the top. If you watched the short video interview of David yesterday talking about the Canadians, you can tell how much he wants his riders to get a piece of the action, and I think they will. The Canadian team operates these days like a well-oiled machine– they’ve been properly built, prepared, and managed since the beginning, thereby having every chance for the big successes now. And let’s not forget about our US contingent– Mandiba’s been going great this season, Ballynoecastle RM ‘Reggie’ started the season with a few glitches but has steadily been gaining back form, and The Good Witch is another good, experienced competitor. 
Besides Badminton, there are just a couple noteworthy links this morning:
That’s all for now, Eventing Nation. Be sure to keep checking back throughout the day for more commentary, video, and pictures of first day of dressage at the Badminton Horse Trials. 
Go Eventing. 

The View From Across the Pond: Steph and Ollie from WEB

By on Apr 19, 2011 5:30 pm -

As most of you are aware of by now, Canadian WEG medalist and EN guest blogger extraordinaire Steph Rhodes Bosch is currently in England getting set to take on the toughest three-day event in the world this coming weekend: Badminton. This photo was taken by Steph of some of Maizey Manor, which is the farm she and Ollie are based out of until they head to the Badminton show grounds on Tuesday. Steph will be writing a post for us sometime this week, explaining all the exciting things that have been going on across the pond. Until then, be sure to check out her blog, or visit her website. Thanks for sending the photo Steph! 

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Rolex Blogs

By on Apr 19, 2011 11:50 am -
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Right now, John is somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean on a flight home from his frolic in Europe. In other words, I can basically post whatever I want for approximately the next six hours without him knowing or having the power to edit posts. What’s that saying again? When John’s away, the Chinchillas will play. But before I get to posting my favorite videos of the dancing furry animals, I thought I’d try to stay relatively on topic. 

With Rolex approaching in less than two weeks, I thought it’d be good to put a list together of all the competitors blogs to follow in the final lead up. You don’t have to be a professional groom to know that the final week or two before an event of this caliber is always the most stressful for everyone involved. If they invented bubble wrap cases for horses, you can bet every one of those Rolex bound riders would be cashing in. In today’s technological era, a good majority of these riders have really started taking advantage of the technology and using it to journal about their day-to-day activities. In fact, any professional that doesn’t have some form of website or blog now is really behind the eight ball, no matter how successful and decorated their careers are or have been, they are missing out on a very crucial tool with which to market themselves. We don’t always stop and think about it in these terms, but every time a professional creates a new website, blog, or twitter feed, they are not only marketing themselves for owners, sponsors, etc., they are marketing our sport to a broad audience. As with anything that has the power to positively influence, networking can, in the wrong hands, have opposite and negative effects. It requires good judgement and perspective to ‘post’ only on things which shine a positive light on an individual and/or their horses, and leave the things they may be angry or upset with- whether it be a peer, judge, or a rule within the sport- out of public view. 
With all that said, here are some great blogs/twitter feeds to follow in these next couple weeks of the riders getting ready for the ‘event that shall not be named’. We have linked to some of them in the past, but a comprehensive list never hurts!

Go Blogging. 

Final Ocala Recap

By on Apr 17, 2011 7:28 pm -

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“Peter Gray and Jon Holling (Equiventures) join Young Riders & friends for the competitors’ party during the Ocala Properties Florida International Three Day Event and Horse Trials at the Florida Horse Park.” — Photo by Allisson Mercier
Well folks, the Florida International CCI/ Horse Trials has finally come to a close in what is really the end of the Florida winter season. With Rolex in just a couple weeks, most of the snowbirds will start packing up their operations and get ready to head back up north. We definitely need to give shout outs to everyone who made the weekend run so smoothly. Jon and Peter and everyone at Equiventures do a commendable job every year in the organizing and managing leading up to the event, along with putting on a great competitors party! 
For the most part, all of yesterday’s leaders kept a pretty tight hold on their overnight placings- In the CCI*, Robin Walker and Florenz added 4 penalties to their score but it was enough to keep them in front to win the division. Buck jumped a double clear aboard No More Rocks to hold onto second, and Sable Giesler moved up to third after an impressive double clear aboard Evil Munchkin. In the one star, every horse that ran yesterday moved onto the show jumping, no one withdrew and no one was spun at the jog. 

In the CCI**, Leslie Law and Rehy Lux won, adding nothing to their score of 40.6. Becky Holder and Can’t Fire Me also jumped a double clear, and managed to slip into second above Joe Meyer and Intrepid who negotiated the course to finish with one fence down, in third. Leslie had a tough round aboard his second ride, Leader des Bieffes, who were in fourth coming into the show jumping but moved down to eighth after pulling three rails. Canadian Jessica Phoenix came fourth in the division aboard Rolex, a horse she’s only competed a handful of times earlier this season. Similarly to the one star division, every horse in the CCI** that presented to the Ground Jury passed, the only horse to withdraw after yesterday was Callie Judy’s Sportsfield Rafiki. 
In the Open Intermediate, Buck Davidson jumped a double clear aboard Park Trader to win. Lisa Fergusson and Smart Move, the overnight division leaders, showed a bit of weakness in the show jumping today with two fences down. The deficit was still enough to keep them in second, however. Emily Renfroe and Walk the Line moved one fence in their round to move down one spot into third. 
The Preliminary show jumping rode really tough, there were only five clear rounds in all of the divisions. That being said, Lauren Kieffer had a great welcome back from her wrist injury with a big win in the stacked OP division aboard Pas de Panique, a catch ride for owner Maria Brazil. And she also claimed the second out of those five clears with another ride. Bruce Davidson Sr. was second aboard Expensive Playmate, and son Buck finished right behind him in third, riding Oscar.
Natalie Miller Epstein had a great weekend with a one-two finish in the Training Rider division on Suits U and Insync. She scored a near identical 29.1 and 29.6 and finished the weekend on both of those scores. If only all weekends ended up that well! 
That’s about all the scoop I have from the Florida Horse Park. Till’ next time, Go Eventing. 

Plantation Field is Cancelled

By on Apr 17, 2011 10:19 am -

Due to the amount of rain that hit Plantation Field in PA yesterday and the damage it caused to the footing and the grounds, the TD and organizers made the decision this morning to cancel the event entirely. I’m sure the fact that today was cross country day made it all the easier for them to make the call to cancel, as taking chances of running on bad footing this early in the season is never the best idea. The good news is that the weekend at least got to run as a combined test, giving the horses and riders an opportunity to practice for later in the season. 
The notice was posted on the Plantation Field website as of 7 this morning. 

Sunday Links

By on Apr 16, 2011 11:39 pm -
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Good Morning Eventing Nation! Despite the packed schedule of events this weekend, this particular Sunday is turning out to be pretty quiet on the news front. With that said, I think we definitely need to send warm thoughts to our friends at Plantation Field today– from what I’ve heard they had some miserable weather to cope with yesterday. Besides Plantation, all the events look to have been running in relatively good conditions. 

Ocala Update

By on Apr 16, 2011 8:40 pm -
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Good Evening Eventing Nation! Well, my prediction for rainy weather proved true in many parts of the country today, it certainly wasn’t the case for all the folks at the Florida International Horse Trials! I talked to one of the competitors who reported that the temperatures were close to 100 degrees by the afternoon, definitely not the best climate for a day of CCI level cross country. 

But despite the late Florida heat wave, the day went well for the majority of the competitors. Leslie Law is leading the CCI** aboard the lovely Rehy Lux, and second in that division is Joe Meyer and Intrepid. Joe is a big time rider, originally from New Zealand but based out of Great Britain, who has been in the US for the last month to carry out his final preparations to compete his horse Snip at Kentucky. Becky Holder is down from Georgia with her new ride, Can’t Fire Me, and they currently are third in the CCI**. Can’t Fire Me is a lovely horse, I’m sure we will see bigger things from that pair very shortly. 
In the CCI*, Robin Walker leads aboard Florenz on a 42.8. Buck is about seven points behind to sit in second place with No More Rocks after a double clear cross country ride today. Skyler Voss sits third on 50.0 with Argento. Judging from the results, it seems like the one star was a fairly straight forward test, there were minimal time faults across the board and only a few scattered twenty penalty rounds. I remember attending this event last year and something crazy like every single ride in the CCI* finished without time or jump penalties. I think it shows they’ve made the course into a better test this year. 
Lisa Fergusson is leading the Open Intermediate division with Smart Move. I know Lisa spent the winter working on dressage in Wellington and this is her first event back, so leading a big division will surely be a nice welcome back. I know this pair has struggled with their show jumping in the past, so it will be interesting to see how they come out tomorrow.
Lauren Kieffer is leading the OP division aboard Maria Brazil’s Pas de Panique, and Melissa McMaster is leading the PR rider on one of the more colorfully named horses in Eventing– Sir Scooby Doo.  

The lower level divisions will run cross country tomorrow, and the Preliminary and Intermediate will show jump. The CCI** and CCI* competitors will show jump following the horse inspection at 8 am sharp. Good luck to all the competitors tomorrow! 
Go Eventing. 

Saturday Morning Links

By on Apr 16, 2011 12:03 am -
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Good Morning Eventing Nation! The bad news of the weekend is that if you’re on the East Coast, you are probably going to get rained on. If you’re on the West Coast, you are probably going to get rained on. Basically, if you are anywhere in the Continental United States, you’d best pack the rain coat. But don’t let the rain dampen your spirits because this should be a great weekend of Eventing. 

The Florida International CCI*/CCI** began on Thursday with the one-star dressage, so all the competitors will be looking forward to cross country today. Coren has been doing a great job with the recaps thus far, and we will most likely get another from her later on today. But until then, here are the Live Scores One of the interesting things about this weekend is that there is some truly international competition at Florida International, in the form of New Zealander Joe Meyer. Joe is a top level event rider based in England, but he’s come over to the US for a final few weeks of preparation before heading to Rolex with his horse Snip. Along with riding Snip in the Advanced CT, he’s riding a few lower level horses as well. 
There are many other events running this weekend, across the country. Here they are:
Corona del Sol HT (TX) Live Scores
St Johns HT (AZ) Live Scores
Ram Tap HT (CA) Live Scores
Plantation Field HT (PA) Live Scores
River Glen HT (TN) Entry Status [PDF]
Now, here are your links:
That’s all for now, Eventing Nation. I’ll be back in a little while with some form of a post, and we also have a guest blog scheduled for later today to look forward to. 
Go Eventing.

Eventing Profile of the Week

By on Apr 15, 2011 1:11 pm -
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Your Name: Meaghan Marinovich
Age: 21
Location: Gloucester, England
Relationship to Eventing: Advanced level rider
Favorite Eventing moment/story?: My name is Meaghan, I’m originally from Minnesota but I have been going to school in England for the past three years. I was lucky enough to bring my horse Ahlerich across the pond with me. I have a few favorite moments in eventing but two stand out the most. The first one was winning team gold in 2006 at NAYRC. I was riding for Area IV in the CCI* that year.  Besides winning and standing on the podium and feeling like your on top of the world, I met some of the most amazing people there and those friendships that I have made will stay with me forever. I owe it to that week we all spent together competing as a team and not against each for the first time. My second favorite moment happened last summer at Aston le Walls Horse Trials in England. I am lucky enough to be based with Ann Taylor (who’s also a US team selector) at Aston. I was trying my second attempt at the Advanced level. My first one was the pervious year where I had a nasty fall at a corner 3/4 of the way around. Oh well, the second year I saw every distance and Ahlerich jumped everything perfectly, galloping through the finish flags was such an amazing and exciting moment. To be competing against some of the best riders in the world always keeps you on your toes and wanting to do you best, I felt like I had the ride of my life and I think I was the happiest person on the farm!  My goals for this year is to compete in the CCI*** at Blenheim in September.
If you had to pick one reason why you love Eventing, what would it be?  The amazing people that are involved in the sport and hearing 5,4,3,2,1 have a great ride!
Overall Goals in the sport: To do the CCI*** at Blenheim this fall
Biggest Role model David O’Connor 
Link to blog or website, if applicable: blog

A View From My Horse: Back to the Past from World Equestrian Brands

By on Apr 14, 2011 2:17 pm -

This week’s ‘ears’ photo is unique as it was taken some years ago, but it depicts some beautiful scenery nevertheless. I think its really interesting that in our quest for becoming better riders and ultimately better horseman, how much knowledge of land and terrain we gain in the process. We know which trails lead where, what types of terrain to avoid and which are alright to cross, and when we fall off most of us remember the near exact location where it happened. Anyway, thanks to Donna for submitting, and as always, thanks for reading.

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Dear Eventing Nation,
 
I am enclosing a picture, view from Ferdinand, my home-bred 17 hd bay thoroughbred gelding who is now almost 30 years old.  Of course at the time I took this picture we were both QUITE a bit younger.  We competed in hunters, dressage, and novice eventing together in California.  The picture was taken on a ride/hike in the foothills in Ventura County.  I know Ferdinand enjoyed the view as much as me!  He has been “the best horse ever” and is living out his retirement in Beautiful Santa Ynez Valley in California with his younger girlfriend, Astral.  Lucky guy!

Donna
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The Beginning of the Eventing Profiles Series

By on Apr 12, 2011 3:46 pm -

First, let me start by saying I’m really impressed with the number of profiles we have gotten since we announced the series last week, we have gotten a bunch! In case you were stranded in Siberia without Internet access last week and didn’t submit your profile, here’s how you can:

We now invite anyone related in anyway to Eventing (Could be rider, coach, event organizer, parent, owner etc.) to submit a profile. All you have to do is copy/paste the questions below into an email, fill it out, and send it to [email protected] I think the broader specification will certainly make for some variety in the profiles, as well as acknowledging all of the many important people within our sport. 
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Your Name: (first is sufficient)
Email: (will not be published, just a way I can contact you)
Age: 
Location:
Relationship to Eventing (novice rider, prelim rider, vet, eventing parent, volunteer):
Favorite Eventing moment/story?: 
If you had to pick one reason why you love Eventing, what would it be? 
Overall Goals in the sport:
Biggest Role model (could be anyone– a famous rider, course designer, vet etc):
Link to blog or website, if applicable:

Photo(s) or videos:  Links or attachments are acceptable.  Please no Facebook links that require sign-in to view and please send photos that you have permission to use.  
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We also announced that the first five or so profiles used will receive autographed copies of Jimmy Wofford’s brand new book called “Cross-Country with Jim Wofford: 26 Lessons to Improve Your Eventing Skills from the Olympic Rider and Top Coach.” It won’t be available to buy until Rolex, where it will debut at his book signing.  But until then, check out the very first profile:

Name: Kate W.

Age: 16
Location: Eastern Ontario
Relationship to Eventing: Training/Prelim Rider
Favorite Eventing moment/story?: Canadian Eventing team’s silver medal at the 2010 WEG’S.
If you had to pick one reason why you love Eventing, what would it be? The fact that it truly is the ultimate equestrian sport. Its everything amazing about equestrian competition, all rolled into one.
Overall Goals in the sport: This year: Complete CCI*
Biggest Role model: William Fox-Pitt

Monday Morning Reader from Ecogold

By on Apr 11, 2011 1:28 am -
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Good Morning Eventing Nation! Well, the Fork certainly proved to be the weekend we all hoped for. From what I’ve heard, the weather held out, and combined with the good course design and super footing, produced an excellent weekend of competition. The whole EN team, Samantha, Coren, and of course John, did a fantastic job with the coverage over the weekend, they certainly deserve a round of applause. Samantha was uploading videos, pictures, and ‘tweets’ of the competition all throughout the weekend, and she still managed to find time to do some interviews. I have to say, I did miss John’s roaming video commentary though, you know the one that goes like, “Uhhhhhh and here we have the Porta johns, oh and over there are the dressage arenas, oh and LOOK there’s Boyd!” Here’s to hoping for roaming video of the next big three-day on the agenda. 

Chattahoochee (GA), Pine Hill (TX), Spring Bay (KY), and CDCTA (VA) Horse Trials also ran over the weekend. For many of the areas, this weekend was the first competition of the spring, which is just one more sign of summer’s fast approach.

Chatt Hills Results

The Chronicle’s Fork Report

Over the weekend, while everyone was busy with their events and I was busy writing a 20 page thesis paper, a good deal was happening on the international scene. 
Clarke Johnstone and Orient Express pulled off the win at the FEI World Cup Event at Kihikihi, New Zealand yesterday. A few years ago, I was standing by the arena watching  an intermediate division show jump at a pretty big event, when Jimmy Wofford walked up alongside the rail with a few students in tow, not too far down from where I was standing. They stood in silence as a couple of horses went, and then as one rider entered the arena (this was just before he entered the big, big time) all Jimmy said to his students was ‘watch him.’ I think we had better keep a pretty good eye on Johnstone in these next couple years as he certainly seems to be doing a lot right. 
A Courageous Donkey named ‘Dotty’ has been honored by the British PDSA society for saving a sheep from a dog attack.  PDSA Trustee John Murphy said: “When Dotty was faced with her moment of truth this brave donkey did not shy away.” I guess I’ve never really thought of animals having ‘moments of truth’ within the majority of their lives spent sleeping or eating, but you learn something new everyday. [Horse and Hound]
New Zealander Jonelle Richards had an impressive weekend at Gatcombe Horse Trials over the weekend, winning an Intermediate division led from start to finish as well as several other good placings on different horses. Gatcombe is Princess Anne’s estate, if you ever happen to be in England while an event is going on there, it is a must see. I watched the British Festival of Eventing there a couple of summers ago, and everything about the event amazed me. The terrain is extremely challenging (even the show jumping is run on a hill) but more than that the atmosphere is really impressive. [The Wiltshire]
The soon-to-be 60 year old huntsman of the Llangeinor Hunt in England has decided to celebrate his birthday by training for a 50 mile race (on foot, that is) According to the Horse and Hound, “Alex is raising money both for the UCSW and for the Chloe Bigmore Trust, which provides grants, funding and other support to help children and their families who have been affected by cancer and other related life-limiting conditions.” His aim is to complete the race in 8 1/2 hours which calculates into a brisk 10 minute mile. We certainly wish him luck on this incredible undertaking, as well as a good dose of EN Karma. If you’d like to donate to his cause, click here. [Horse and Hound]
Texas Officials Seek Cutting Attendees After Horse Tests Positive for Rabies

Jockey Peter Toole is in critical condition after a fall at the first fence in a race at Aintree yesterday. The laundry list of injuries he sustained starts with a medically induced coma, and ends with several broken ribs and a fractured collarbone. According to the Daily Reporter, Peter has had an impressive season this year, with over thirty wins so far. I guess it just goes to show that bad falls can happen to the best of them. [Daily Mail UK]

That’s all for now, Eventing Nation. See you soon.

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