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Annie Yeager

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Thursday News from Devoucoux

By on Jan 18, 2012 11:08 pm -
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A photo from the Las Luminarias Celebration in Madrid on January 16th

Good Morning Eventing Nation! It’s Thursday, which can mean only one thing: Friday is coming very soon. Tomorrow, the PRO Derby Cross is taking place in Wellington, Florida, so sometime this morning the horses and riders of the six teams will be making the drive to Wellington to give the horses a chance to settle in and to attend the Calcutta Welcome party taking place this evening. The Derby Cross starts at 6:30pm (EST) tomorrow, and remember that general admission is free! The USEF Network is covering the competition live. 

There isn’t all that much news this morning, but just give it a couple hours before the pictures and videos of bad dancing and other party antics come in from David’s 50th bash last night, and it’ll be suddenly turn into a good day for news. 
Samantha is down in Ocala as we speak, doing some more of her fabulous reporting. Yesterday she went to Longwood Farm, and did a couple interviews with Missy Ransehousen and Joe Watkins, I’m sure she’ll find some more interesting topics to cover during the rest of her stay in Ocala. 
The first news blip of the morning is about at celebration in Madrid involving horses being ridden through giant fires in the streets. Yep, that’s right, civilians galloped their horses through the streets of fire on January 16th while a priest presided over the celebration and blessed the horses and riders as they passed by. The celebration is called Las Luminarias, meaning ‘The Festival of the Fire.’ According to ABC news, “Las Luminarias is believed to have started in the eighth century, predating the spread of Christianity.  In northern Europe, the Christians would use fires to try to suppress pagan rites. The horses jumped over the fire not only to burn and destroy the demons and spirits but also to  bring on fertility, welfare and good health.” Like most event riders, I’d consider myself to be pretty brave, game for almost anything involving horses combined with speed and a little danger, but I can say with 100% certainty that I will never take part in the Las Luminarias celebration!  
As we are all well aware of, the USEF Convention took place last weekend. Although the one-fall-and-out rule change was at the center of discussion at least as far as Event riders we’re concerned, there were several other minor rules that were changed or at least revised at the Convention. The USEA did a great summary of all the rule changes, so be sure to check it out. In the words of Denny Emerson, “There is always another way to get eliminated”, so it might be a good thing to do a little refresher with the Rule Book before you embark on the 2012 season. [USEA]
The latest horse to be immortalized as a Breyer model is an American Drum Horse Stallion by the name of Mariah’s Boon. For those unaware, a Drum Horse is a “mix of Shire, Clydesdale, and Gypsy Horses, where none of the three breeds exceed 87% (7â￾„8) of the total make-up, and the percentage of Gypsy Horse blood does not fall below 12.5% (1â￾„8).” Mariah’s Boon, or ‘Boon’ as he’s affectionately known, had a rough start to life, suffering from the extremely rare ‘Hardware disease.’ Boon had a rapidly growing tumor larger than a basketball within his abdomen, putting him in an incredible amount of pain and discomfort. Boon rebounded from the disease, stunning doctors with the amount his condition had improved, to the point of being considered something of a miracle. Boon now enjoys a happy career as a driving horse with his owner, and I’m sure will be even happier when he finds out about all the mini replicas that are to be made of him. [Horsetalk]
In some sad news, Britain has lost one of it’s staple one-day events, Brigstock, as the estate on which the trials were hosted was just recently put on the market. Davjd and Mary Laing, the owners/organizers said, “Brigstock has enjoyed great support from an amazing group of volunteers who, with the organizing team, and of course the strong entry lists of riders have contributed to the events success.” I’m sure many riders across the pond will be very disappointed at the news of the ending to this wonderful event. [Horsetalk]
That’s all for now, Eventing Nation! Have a great day, I’ll see you soon!

The Monday Morning News

By on Jan 16, 2012 1:30 am -
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Wishful thinking

Good Morning Eventing Nation, and welcome to Monday! Wow, we’re already almost halfway through January! This winter is already going by fast; it won’t be long before the grass turns green and the flowers start blooming with spring nearing closer by the day. 

If you haven’t already had the chance, you should definitely take a few minutes to watch Jimmy Wofford’s acceptance speech for the USEF Lifetime Achievement Award he received Saturday night. A great speech by a great horseman. [USEF Network] And if you don’t want to sift through the entire 120 minutes of the Awards Dinner video, click here to get the straight audio version of Jimmy’s speech. 
While Jimmy and Neville really stole the spotlight at this year’s USEF Convention, it can’t go without mentioning that Steffen Peters received the USEF Equestrian of the Year Title this year for a record third time. Steffen is arguably the best Dressage rider the United States, as evidenced by his consistent, brilliant performances over the past years. From his famous partnership with the great Ravel, to his newer but equally brilliant partnership with the up-and-coming Weltino’s Magic, Steffen is a force in the sport and truly deserving of the award. [Yahoo]
The bad news of the past weekend was McLain Ward’s fall on Saturday night in the $30,000 Surpass Grand Prix. McLain was riding a young mare called Oh D’Eole in the first round of the Grand Prix, when the horse seemed to spook and veer strongly to the left while jumping out of a double combination, hitting the standards and resulting in a fall for both horse and rider. Thankfully, the mare was unhurt, but McLain sustained a severe compound fracture to his knee in the fall, which required an operation that was performed yesterday afternoon. This is a tough break for McLain, especially coming right at the start of the winter season, but I’m sure even this injury won’t be able to keep him out of the ring for long. Best wishes to McLain in his recovery. [Palm Beach Post] 
A full-day seminar targeted towards educating horse owners about equine parasites has been organized by the Pennsylvania State University’s Equine Program. The full day clinic will be held on February 4, 2012, at the Eden Resort and Conference Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for those interested in attending. The seminar will cover topics such as resistance in parasites, modern day recommendations regarding worming rotations and fecal counts, along with hands-on time at the microscope. That sounds like a long day of talking about worms and only worms, but certainly an educational one for those interested. [Horsetalk]
Fran Jurga’s most recent Hoof Blog is about the role that the farrier in the making and producing of War Horse. It may not have been well known until now, but the farrier responsible for shoeing all the horses on the set actually acted the role in the film as well. That man is Brendan Murray, who is better known as the team farrier of the British Eventing Team, having served at five Olympic Games, three World Championships, and multiple international competitions. Our very own Samantha did a great interview of Brendan for the Hoof Blog, which can be seen below: [The Hoof Blog]

As one final note, don’t forget about John and Samantha’s live blog tomorrow night at 6pm. The guests are Francis Whittington and Jon Holling, be sure to tune in as it definitely will be a great discussion. 
That’s all for now, Eventing Nation! Have a great day! 

View: Canadian Ears from World Equestrian Brands

By on Jan 13, 2012 1:21 pm -

This weeks ears photo comes to us from, well, Canada! Kingston, Ontario in particular. Thanks to reader Kelsy for submitting, and as always, thank you for reading. If you’d like to submit an ears photo, please send it along with a caption describing it to: [email protected]. 


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Kelsy from Kingston Ontario here, I somehow managed to squeeze in a hack this weekend between rain storms and got a shot overlooking the paddocks and XC field at the barn where I board, which is home to SJ Eventing. The small world that it is we’re only a 20 minute hack away from Selena O’Hanlon’s Canadian head quarters (great neighbours!). The star of this “ears” picture however is Charlie who is a little over a year off the track and settling in amazingly well to his new job, we had a great summer showing at Pre-Entry and are excited for our upgrade to Entry next summer. 
 
 

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EN Power Ranking Round 1

By on Jan 13, 2012 9:25 am -
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Well folks, the votes are in from our panelists, and here are the names for the first round of the series. For the sake of fairness, we used the USEF High Performance List as a starting point for our list, and gave the panelists the ability to write in any names they thought should be included.  We’re not advocating or agreeing that all of the High Performance list should be included in our Ranking, and I expect that over time the EN Power Ranking will par down into only the true contenders for London 2012. 

Taking into consideration that this is a large list of names with varying ages, experience levels, and past performance results in both the horses and riders, which combinations do you consider to be the best? I’m leaving what you consider ‘the best’ to be up for interpretation, but generally I think of the best combinations as the ones to pay special attention to in the beginning of an Olympic year, as by the end they will hopefully be the ones standing on the podium.  And please feel free to use the comment box as a way of both explaining and discussing your selections! 
Let the Games Begin! 

PRO Derby Cross

By on Jan 12, 2012 11:04 am -
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Mark your calendars everyone, for next Friday, January 20th at 7pm, as eventers, show jumpers, and polo players alike will be heading down to the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center for the 2012 PRO Derby Cross Event.


Teams are composed of three event riders, a show jumper, and a polo player.  Team Captains must have represented their country in international competition.  The other two event riders must have competed at the two-star level or above.


Scoring is based on time taken to complete a course, with faults converted into seconds.  For example, a rail or a stop would be four seconds added to the final time.  Polo riders have the opportunity to decrease the team’s time by ten seconds if they successfully execute a challenge fence.  
The Derby Cross was held last year in March at the same location, and was a great success. Besides just being a fun and interesting thing for the horses and riders to take part in, the value of holding a competition melding riders of three disciplines really cannot be underestimated. Horse sport is horse sport no matter the discipline, and the more we can attract riders, owners, sponsors, and spectators to our sport from other disciplines, and vice versa, the better off everyone will be. 
Here are the teams for this year’s Derby Cross:
Team FarmVet/Cavalor
Buck Davidson
Bruce Davidson
Will Faudree
Aaron Vale
Kris Kampsen
Team Guardian Horse Bedding
Karen O’Connor
Clark Montgomery
Marilyn Little – Meredith
Benjamin Meredith
John Gobin
Team Windsor
Leslie Law
Sinead Halpin
Sharon White
Scott Smith
Luis Escobar
Team Omega Alpha
Jessica Phoenix
Selena O’Hanlon
Rebecca Howard
Erynn Ballard
Martin Estrada
Team SmartPak
Phillip Dutton
Boyd Martin
Jennie Brannigan
Jeffery Welles
Nic Roldan
Team Devoucoux
Hannah Burnett
Shannon Lilley
Jon Holling
SJ TBA
Doug Barnes
Here’s a video from last year’s event:
Many thanks to CatchRide for the video

If you’re not too far from Wellington, it really would be worth your while to make the trip over next Friday. And as further incentive, General Admission is free! Click here for more information.
Go Derby Cross.

Meet the Eventing Nation Power Ranking

By on Jan 9, 2012 12:30 pm -
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With 2012 now off and running and another Olympics quickly approaching on the horizon, we wanted to create a series for the year that would track America’s best horses and riders in the lead-up to the Olympics and follow their progression over the course of the winter and spring preparatory events, Rolex, and any overseas competitions the riders choose to attend. The purpose of this series is to objectively rank combinations based on individual level of excellence and potential to be competitive on the world stage in this upcoming year. 

Additionally, this series will serve as a platform of discussion about the upcoming Olympic Games, and also, I hope, be a way of cultivating and maintaining interest in the elite level of the sport. 
The order of the ranking will be determined by two parts: 50% will be based off the votes of our expert panelists and the other 50% will come from votes from the general public, in the form of a poll published on Eventing Nation.  Each month, we will publish a list of roughly twenty or so names of US horses and riders in contention for the Olympic Games that has already been voted on by our expert panel. Your job then is to rank the combinations on the list according to those whom you feel show the greatest potential for success and development over the course of this year. 
My hope is that this list will develop along with the horses and riders as the season progresses, taking into account recent results at both the preparatory and destination events of the spring and summer season, following right up until the time when the actual team selections are made.
Our panelists are compiling their choices as we speak, and we should have the first EN Power Ranking to you within the next couple of days to be voted on. The voting period will be 48 hours, after which the totaling will commence and a final ranking will be published for the month.
Buckle up, I’ve got a feeling this year is going to be a wild ride! 
Go Eventing. 

The Monday Morning News

By on Jan 9, 2012 5:00 am -
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Do I need a Donkey or a shot gun? Now that is the question. Photo courtesy of Victory Sport Horses

Good Morning Eventing Nation and welcome to Monday. I hope everyone had a great weekend and that the commute to the office hasn’t gone too slowly this morning. Whether you were at the Ocala Horse Trials, the Area 8 Annual Meeting, or were just reading about them from home, I hope this weekend allowed you at least a little time to indulge in some horse time. 

Here is the news you need to know this morning: 
The big news in horse breeding circles is the intent of at least a couple breeders to sue Colorado State University for damages over lost breeding materials after a fire in the University’s Reproduction Laboratory back in July caused $12 million in damages and a total loss of equine sperm, embryo and egg straws that were stored on behalf of 175 clients in the Laboratory. Although the University did have a contract in place to absolve them of disputes of the sort and alerting all clients for the need to have their own insurance, still many breeders will be filing suit. However, several breeders are saying differently. Charlie Cox, a client of CSU’s Equine Reproduction Unit stated that “he was never asked to sign a contract, and just paid the invoices when they came in the mail.” One breeder, although her estimated losses are thought to be around $200,000, stated that the financial losses were almost meaningless when you consider that much of that breeding material was irreplaceable: semen collected from stallions since deceased or gelded and embryos collected from mares no longer viable for transplant. If one thing’s for sure, there are some very big losses to be argued over, this will certainly be a case to watch in the following months. [Denver Post]
In more courtroom news, the upcoming trial date of January 19th has been set for Jaci Rae Jackson, the woman charged over the theft of five horses from the University of Arkansas Rodeo Team on November 2nd. The theft of the five horses, a truck and trailer, and several thousand dollars worth of equipment made national headlines, especially as four horses were later found tied to a few adjacent trees in an Oklahoma forest, and the fifth was found to have been shot and dismembered. The verdict regarding the nineteen year old student of Arkansas State charged as an accomplice in the theft will also be decided at the upcoming trial. The trial has garnered a great deal of support since November, there is a Facebook page to show support of the horses and students involved, and as of recent it looks like more than 200 people will be coming out to the Oklahoma court house on January 19th. Thankfully not more of the horses were harmed in the theft, but it is a real tragedy that Credit Card, the horse killed, was so brutally mistreated. [Horsetalk]
Last night was the premiere of the film War Horse in Europe, and who could have made their red carpet appearance more talked about than Kate and William themselves. In total British style, it was sprinkling as Kate and William left the limo for the red carpet, so William handily whisked out a posh little umbrella as he to protect his bride’s styled locks as he and Kate made their way indoors. What a chivalrous prince. [The Daily Mail]
In some great news for the show jumping world, the veteran Sapphire is back in action and looking as good as ever. ‘Sara’ as she’s known personally, injured a check ligament last March, sidelining her for the next nine months. She had her first jump school mid-October and will start competing in Wellington very shortly. McLain Ward has been campaigning Sapphire the past nine years, and the pair has seen many victories and few defeats, although a couple disqualifications (in 2010 McLain was disqualified at the World Cup Finals after veterinarians detected hypersensitivity in one of Sapphire’s legs). That conflict has since been resolved to find neither horse nor rider at fault, and so McLain and Sara now are looking forward to what will most likely be Sapphire’s last year of International competition, at the ripe age of 17. [COTH]
Fancy restaurants, moonlight beaches, Rolex stadiums, and now even the hunt field is the setting for marriage proposals. In front of more than 500 onlookers at the highly attended Boxing Day hunt at the Aberford meet, a man named Wayne Glover trotted up to his unsuspecting girlfriend Tracey Hudson aboard his trusty stead, Minnie, to pop the question. In front of that large an audience, it’s a good thing she said yes! [The Courier]
We Love Dubarry:
That’s all for now, Eventing Nation. Have a great day, I’ll catch up with you soon!

Sunday Morning Links from Dubarry

By on Jan 7, 2012 11:40 pm -


Princess Haya via Horsetalk

Good Morning Eventing Nation! I hope your Sunday is going swimmingly. And with the lovely weather all up and down the eastern shores these past few days, it may even be warm enough to go for a swim at the beach! But there isn’t going to be time for leisurely Sunday activities for competitors at the Florida Horse Park, as today is going to be busy day, and the first cross country day of 2012. Let’s hope for clear, safe rounds from everyone today, and a good finish to the first event of the new year.

[Ocala HT Live Scores]

Here are a few links for the morning:

Princess Haya, FEI President, gave birth to a baby boy yesterday

Newmarket muckheaps being used to provide energy

Totilas withdrawn from World Dressage Masters at Palm Beach

Children urged to write in bid to stop horse slaughter

George Morris Horsemastership Training Session Recap

Have you been able to watch any of the on-demand broadcasts of the George Morris training sessions in Wellington? I’ve been watching a few of the videos from the sessions in the evenings, and they really are worth watching. Great instructors, great horses, and pretty good riders.  If you have some time to kill today, I would highly recommend watching a couple. [USEF Network]

That’s all for now, Eventing Nation! Have a great day, I’ll see you soon!

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View From My Horse: Crane’s Beach, presented by World Equestrian Brands

By on Jan 6, 2012 1:03 pm -

This is definitely one of the coolest views in the history of this series, because it’s the quality of photo you’d see in a magazine, and because of the neat history behind it. Kate Erickson sent us the photo, taken at Crane’s beach in Massachusetts. Thanks to Kate for submitting, and as always, thank you for reading!

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This is me and my horse Kiki at Cranes Beach in Ipswich, MA, for an end of the year celebration ride. Back in the 1970s when the US Equestrian Team trained out of Hamilton, MA, they often used Cranes Beach to do conditioning rides, especially in the winter months when the footing in Massachusetts is frozen pretty much everywhere else. Every time I come to Cranes Beach I feel like I’m participating in that tradition, even if it’s just a little bit.

Kate

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Denny, Beth Perkins, and Mary Ann Tauskey at Cranes Beach back in the day. Photo courtesy of Denny Emerson

 

 

 

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As a quick note from our friends and sponsors at World Equestrian Brands: Does your horse love the decadently soft calfskin of his Vespucci bridle? He’s in luck, then, because that same lovely leather is available in the form of our Vespucci girths. The short girths are available in black as well as brown and oakbark to accommodate monoflap jumping saddles as well as dressage. The long girths come in brown or oakbark with a subtle centered D-ring and dark elastic to match the leather for a seamless and finished look. SRP $155 for short and $175 for long.

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Reading for Riding

By on Jan 5, 2012 9:00 am -
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It can be easy for those of us snowbound for the winter months to forget about horses and our riding while the weather is too dismal to do much of anything. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, as a couple month break can do wonders for both our horses and ourselves. Hitting the reset button once a year prevents staleness from taking over and allows us to return to our riding and horses with a renewed zest and vigor. 

The winter is a great time for studying horses and riding in the form of books and videos, and taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge from great horseman that is out there. If nothing else, reading a book from a great horseman can put something you already knew into a different light, and may just be what’s needed for that light bulb moment and deeper understanding to occur. 
I’ve put together a list of a few of the books I’ve read over the years and added to my favorites list. These books cover a wide variety of topics from Dressage theory, to conformation study, to books about teaching and instructing riders. I’ve read a lot of books about horses, but these ones really top the charts. 
1. Debbie McDonald: Riding Through

This is the best modern day book of Dressage that I’ve read to date. I passed over it for many years because on the outset, it seemed like more of an auto-biography than a Dressage manual. When I finally did read it, it quickly became one of my favorites. The simple, clear way Debbie describes even the most advanced Dressage movements, is the way she rides her horses, and the reason why she is one of the best Dressage riders in the country. The clarity she provides, along with the story she tells, really makes this book one not to pass up.

2. The Art of Horsemanship, Xenophon

I wouldn’t call this one an easy read, but it is a book that every rider should read. The way I see it, if your setting out to learn an art almost as old as time itself, and your goal is to learn it very well, it’s a good idea learn the theory from the very source. Plus, the next time your riding instructor questions you about classical Dressage theory, you’ll be in very good company when you mention old Xenophon.

3. Riding Logic by Wilhelm Museler

This is another classic that is really worth the read. It’s a lot like The Art of Horsemanship but I found it to be easier to read and with more emphasis on solutions for training problems rather than just theories.


4. Gymnastics: Systematic Training for Jumping Horses by Jimmy Wofford is one not to be missed. During the competition season, it’s easy to focus only on practicing what is in the immediate future; courses, cross country schools and anything needed to get ready for the next event. The off season is a great time to take advantage of gymnastic exercises and all the benefits they can provide. And Jimmy will tell you just how to do so.

5. Training Hunters, Jumpers and Hacks by Harry D. Chamberlin

You might have to do a little digging to find a copy of this old classic, but it is well worth the trouble. This is singlehandedly the best book about horse conformation that I have every read, and it is a really great training manual as well. There are only a couple books that I pull out every few months to re-read, or at least re-read a section of, and this is one of them. 
6. Thinking Riding by Molly Sivewright
 
This book is wonderfully written, and is probably about the best teaching manual you will find. Teaching, as in the finer points of coaching horses and riders. Not every rider is naturally a good teacher, but I think all instructors have the capacity to learn and adapt if they care to enough. Teaching is an art, and one that is studied probably a little too infrequently. Even if you aren’t a riding instructor and don’t ever aspire to be one, there are a lot of valuable insights to be gleaned from this book.
7. So Far, So Good: The Autobiography
 
Mark Todd’s autobiography doesn’t really need any explanation, but I will say this: I own pretty much every biography/autobiography/life story that has ever been written about a famous event rider, and this is the best. Aside from the fact that it’s written about the best event rider there ever was, So Far, So Good is written in such a way that you can really feel and see the story as it’s told. My favorite story from the book was when Mark and fellow New Zealanders were in the US the summer before the ’78 World Championships. Lockie Richards was their coach and had very strict ideas about many things, including rider fitness. When he went out each evening for several mile long runs, he and a couple of his teammates would head out a few minutes before Lockie and duck behind some bushes to smoke before returning back to the house pretending to have run the whole long loop. Maybe not the best piece of advice for aspiring eventers, but a good story nevertheless.
8. Winning with Frank Chapot
 
This is a great book with a lot of very valuable insights, especially when it comes to looking for and selecting your next horse. Chapot discusses what to look for, what to stay away from, and exercises that are really useful in evaluating a potential upper level candidate, whether it be for show jumping, dressage, or eventing. 
9. How Good Riders Get Good by Denny Emerson
 
This book is a new release, and a great read. Being a horse professional has a lot to do with how you ride, but it has even more to do with how you manage your horses, business, and yourself. Denny’s book is one of the only, to my knowledge, that discusses the many finer points of being in the horse business.
10. The Inner Game of Tennis, by Timothy Gallwey
 
Though Eventing is a physical sport, it is a mental game, which is something we often forget as riders. Some people are natural competitors, while others have to work on being able to stand the pressures of competition. No matter which category you fall under, you will certainly learn something from this book (and you will be amazed at the similarities between riding and tennis!).
So there you have it, Eventing Nation, my ten best reading recommendations for the winter. Hopefully you will be able to pick up one or two of these books at some point, as they really are all top notch and contain a tremendous wealth of information. On those cold, dark winter evenings when the sofa and fireplace win out over going to the barn, you’ll definitely feel less guilty about skimping on the saddle time when you are spending a little time doing some homework away from the saddle. 
 Go Reading. 

Wednesday Morning News from Horse Quencher

By on Jan 4, 2012 1:22 am -

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Good Morning Eventing Nation! Are you cold yet? I am, after the arctic chill that set in yesterday. I looked at the weather forecast and even our Florida bound friends had blustery temperatures in the forties yesterday. I don’t mind the cold so much as the violent winds like the ones we had yesterday. There’s nothing worse than riding in the cold and getting hit with those huge gusts of wind that cut straight through you, seemingly lowering your body temperature by about ten degrees in the process. But the good news is that warmer weather is on it’s way, and should have arrived in most places on the east by Thursday. So at least we have that to look forward to on this mellow Wednesday in January. 

Speaking of things to look forward to, the first event of 2012 is scheduled for this weekend, Ocala Horse Trials at the good old Florida Horse Park. Here is the Entry Status for you to peruse. The notables include Michael Pollard on six of his big horses in the OP, and as Visionaire mentioned a few weeks ago, show jumper Aaron Vale is entered on a young horse in the Open Preliminary section as well. 
And now for the news:

Mary King has been serving in some ribbon cutting ceremonies recently, most recently for the opening of a small veterinary clinic in the far Northeast part of England. I’ve met Mary only once and very briefly at that, but I watched and followed her constantly growing up. She strikes me as one of the nicest, most gracious, and most genuine people in Eventing, which is probably why she gets called up so often for different charity functions and ribbon cuttings, and generously attends many of them. [Mary King]

Have you seen War Horse yet? Have you wondered how Joey jumped into the trench? Would you like to see behind the scenes to the making of War Horse? Would you like me to stop asking you questions? Well here is your answer:
“For the scene where the horse jumps into the trench, this involved separate shots of two different horses: one ran from point A to point B across the flat part of the ‘trench’ set, and right when that horse ran past the camera mark, the second horse was cued to run from the widest part of the bottom of the trench up a custom-built, wide ‘stairs-like’ ramp and over the other side of the trench; finally, one of the horses was cued to lay down in the trench bottom and then get right back up. This was all edited together to look like one motion.” Read this article for the rest of the stunt explanations from War Horse. [Equisearch]

Buy the Horse, not the Illusion. That’s the title of this great article written by the mother of an eventer, and what a great one it is. She writes of how her most expensive purchase for her daughter turned out to be the least suitable, and it was largely because of the illusion presented from the sellers, and a case of the buyer falling victim to shelf appeal. The horse selling business is just that, selling, so buyers always have to be wary do their best to steer clear from the worst of the less-than-truthful sellers, and buy the horse that is physically and mentally sound, and ready for the job you’re intending. [Horsetalk]

Tami Hoag, who alternates between a career as a Grand Prix Dressage rider while maintaining an accomplished writing career as a New York Times Bestselling Author, has just headed on tour for her latest Thriller novel release, Down The Darkest Road. I hadn’t heard of Tami now before but her story is pretty intriguing. The first stop on her tour is Wellington, so if you are down there now, be sure to check her out! [COTH]

SmartPak’s Ask The Vet Blog- To Boot or not to Boot?

Eventing for Dummies

That’s all for now, Eventing Nation. Have a great Wednesday, I’ll see you soon!

Rider Profile: Donna Miller

By on Jan 3, 2012 4:00 pm -
If you’d like to submit an Eventing profile, follow this link for more information, fill out the form, and send it to [email protected].I 


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Photo credit: Mark Walter Lehner/ Hoof Clix Photography


Name: Donna Miller
Age: 54
Location: Alpharetta, GA
Relationship to Eventing : Master Adult Amateur Intermediate 2* rider, eventing parent, breeder, and volunteer when time permits (pretty much zero right now)
Favorite Eventing moment/story?: Most recently I completed a CIC2* on my 15 hand Connemara pony stallion that i started as a rising 3yo and who is now eight.  When I purchased him in 2005, I had hopes of Preliminary, but at that time, never considered Intermediate.  Well, the jumps no longer look huge as my pony’s huge heart makes them smaller.  Running around the 2* was absolutely the ride of my life.  I was on a high for at least a week after.  One other moment was at the AECs in 2008 at Lamplight, when, this same pony and I won the AEC Training Amateur division and the Optimum time award.  It was one of the most ironic horse moments of my life, bc I actually got lost on XC and had to circle to find one of the jumps.  The timers for the Optimum Time Award were at a spot on XC just after the place where I made the circle which put me at almost the optimum time they were looking for at that point on XC, HOWEVER, that circle caused me to have time faults.  Fortunately the time faults were not enough to drop my placing and we ended up winning the division and the Optimum Time Award.  So tell me, how do you win the Optimum Time Award AND have time faults on XC?  The stars must have been aligned for us that weekend.
If you had to pick one reason why you love Eventing, what would it be? I absolutely love the fact that eventing is all about how you and your do on that weekend compared to your goals, and not necessarily how you end up on the score board.  This attribute of eventing brings with it fantastic people that i enjoy spending my time with.  I tell people that ask whey I do this and why i go to so many events, and my response it bc each event is like a mini vacation.  I get to spend it with the people and horses that I love in beautiful surroundings!
Overall Goals in the sport:  I am living my dream and I just want to be able to continue and improve along with my horses.  
Biggest Role model: Mary King; she is amazing.
Link to blog or website, if applicable: http://www.hiddencreekhorses.com/

Monday Morning Reader

By on Jan 1, 2012 11:00 pm -
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I was debating between a picture of Lady Gaga or the new dollar coin. I figured the latter was more ‘all ages appropriate.’

Good Morning Eventing Nation! Have you come up with your New Years Resolutions yet? Lady GaGa has. According to TMZ she was quoted for saying: ‘My New Years Resolution is never be afraid to be kicked in the teeth. Let the blood and the bruises define your legacy.’ It’s not the typical ‘Stop smoking/ Quit drinking/ Go to the gym’ resolution that most Americans come up with, but I guess wearing dresses made of latex on the street or mimicking Little Red Riding Hood isn’t all that typical either. To each their own. Anyway, let’s get started on the news and notes of the day: 


The 2012 $1 coin will feature a horse and a Native American to represent the huge impact horses had on trade routes in the 17th Century. According to an article from Horsetalk: “American Indians maintained widespread trans-continental, inter-tribal trade for more than a millennium. The Native American trade infrastructure became the channel by which exploration, settlement and economic development in the colonial period – and later of the young republic – ultimately thrived.” Those successes were largely because of the horses used for transportation that allowed for the spread of settlements, goods, and knowledge. It’s nice that the US government is recognizing the huge role that horses played from the very beginnings of our country, but I’d have been really nice if they at least put the horse head on a coin that is a little more popular! I’m pretty sure the last time I held a dollar in the form of a coin was back when I was in my coin collecting phase in the third grade. Oh well, at least they’re trying. [Horsetalk]
 
Nancy Jaffer wrote a great article about Remembering 2011 and Looking Forward to 2012. There was a lot that happened across the board in the horse world last year, from the federal measure to make horse slaughter one step closer to resuming in the US, to the construction of a major dressage facility in Wellington, to the overall success of the Pan American Games, to the death of Hickstead this fall.. It’s been quite the year of surprises. Looking forward to this year, Nancy writes of two major items: the excitement surrounding the London Olympics and the end of an era that will be when both Mark Phillips and George Morris step down from office at the conclusion of this year. Oh and of course the helmet rules now apply in both the US and Canada. Buckle up, it’s going to be an exciting ride! 

A 400-year-old painting by a famed Dutch artist of a rearing horse is thought to fetch close to $US 3.5 million dollars at an upcoming New York auction. The painter is thought to be Anthony Van Dyck, although there is a small amount of doubt as to whether the painting is truly his work. Regardless, Christies auction house has put a reserve price on the painting of $US 2.5 million. Grab your wallets, folks, and book those tickets to NYC! [Horsetalk]

A World Horse Welfare Executive recently received and honor from the Queen for his services to equine welfare. The Queen recognized Christopher Hall, the Chairman of WHW, through her annual New Year’s Honours List. Among Hall’s many accomplishments, he made the decision to increase the charity’s overseas training projects in countries where treatment of working horses is far below par. Hall was also responsible for appointing Roly Owers as a Chief Executive in 2008, together they have made great strides in increasing the charity’s size and scope. The Queen has always had a special interest and fondness for horses, but it’s really nice to see her honor individuals that are so committed to helping horses that have been badly treated or are otherwise in need. [Equisearch]
Heidi wrote a great blog looking back on the past year of her four year tenure with Phyllis Dawson and Windchase. Going from working student to assistant trainer is a big promotion, and one that certainly comes with a great deal of sweat equity and hard work. Congrats to Heidi on a great 2011, hopefully 2012 will be just as good. [Life at Windchase]
Our friends Jack and Jill had their fourth birthdays yesterday, and are looking forward to many more adventures in 2012. [Jack and Jill]
Always one to be at the cutting edge of technology, Doug is now doing Podcasts. Check out the latest one here. 
Uptown Eventing published an awesome video with the best thrills and spills of 2011. It’s definitely one to watch [Thrills and Spills]
As a final note, the folks from Area II sent us this announcement about the upcoming Area II Annual Meeting:
The USEA Area 2 Annual Meeting and Year End Awards Luncheon will be taking place at the Holiday Inn at Carradoc Hall on Saturday, January 21, 2012 from 8 am to 5 pm. Pre-registration is open until January 19th and is $110 for both the meetings and the Awards Luncheon, and the Awards Luncheon only is $55; on site registration will be $120. Rooms are available for $70 a night, just mention USEA Area 2! So far the speakers include Carey Williams to discuss supplements for the equine athlete, Kent Allen DVM is going to come and discuss the newest rules governing drugs and medications; the newest way to enter events, “Xentry”, will be discussed by representatives of the main USEA office. Lynn Symansky, a member of the gold-medal winning Team USA at the 2011 Pan-Am Games, will be our keynote speaker at the Awards Luncheon. It’s also looking like Ecogold and Cavalor are both going to be sponsors again this year, which means that there will be some great door prizes! Click here to register. 
That’s all for now, Eventing Nation. Have a great day, I’ll see you soon!

The First Links of 2012 from Dubarry

By on Dec 31, 2011 11:00 pm -

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Good Morning Eventing Nation! It may have been a slight inconvenience to write the Links post on New Years Eve, but it was worth it because now I can say I’ve written the first post of the New Year. Speaking of the new year, can you believe it’s 2012? It always takes me what seems like half way into the New Year to remember to include the current year in the date; I guess you could say I’m a little slow to adapt to change. That may be different this year though, I’m pretty excited to be seeing the backside of 2011 and the front side of 2012. We can’t know what’s in store for each of us this year, but lets hope for many great things! Bring it on 2012.

Now for a few quick links:

>The long, short and tall of Britain’s Olympic hopefuls

Saudi jumping team makes Olympic cut

Riders Learn To Envision What They Want And Make It Happen At Robert Dover Horsemastership Clinic

Irish stallions make mark on UK Eventing

Mark Todd has made the final four for the New Zealand Sportman of the Year Award

>Denny Emerson, on Horsemanship

Best of the Blogs: Pura Vida Eventing, Auld Lang Syne – Lauren Sprieser, Doug made it to Aiken

This story single-handedly inspired mine, and probably thousands of others, journey into Eventing.

That’s all for now, Eventing Nation! Enjoy the first day of the New Year, I’ll see you soon!

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A View From My Horse: In Remembrance

By on Dec 30, 2011 1:34 pm -

Very sadly, this week’s view is one that will never be able to be repeated. One of our readers, Haley, sent us this photo taken from her horse, Dan. Tragically, Dan had to be put down last month after coming in from the field with mild colic, which progressed to colic surgery, and ultimately it became in the horse’s best interest to put him down. Thanks to Haley for submitting, I know I am not alone in saying that we are all very sorry for her loss.

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One month ago today I had to put Dan, my 11 year old TB down. He came down with all the usual signs of a mild, normal colic. Before I knew it he was in surgery have one foot of his small intestine resceted. He never fully recovered and by the next evening I had to make the hardest decision of my life, I had to say good bye to my best friend. This picture was taken a few weeks ago. I had started taking him on solo trail rides to increase his confidence of being “out on his own.”  He was the most incredible horse I have ever ridden and I feel so thankful that I got to share a part of my life with him. Life does go on but I know I will never forget his face, not even for a second. Thank you for letting me share my story. While this whole ordeal is still like a dream, it does help for me to talk about it.
 
Thanks,

Haley

 

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As a quick note from our friends and sponsors at World Equestrian Brands: Does your horse love the decadently soft calfskin of his Vespucci bridle? He’s in luck, then, because that same lovely leather is available in the form of our Vespucci girths. The short girths are available in black as well as brown and oakbark to accommodate monoflap jumping saddles as well as dressage. The long girths come in brown or oakbark with a subtle centered D-ring and dark elastic to match the leather for a seamless and finished look. SRP $155 for short and $175 for long.

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Welcome to Eventing: No such thing as a late start

By on Dec 29, 2011 9:45 am -
This week’s Welcome to Eventing Profile just goes to show that one is never too old or too busy to learn something completely new and foreign, if it is what they truly feel called or compelled to do. Thanks to Cathy for submitting her inspiring story about her journey into the Event world, and as always, thank you for reading. If you’d like to submit the story of your first event, or first introduction to eventing, please send it to [email protected]
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Hello Eventing Nation,
My name is Cathy and I was infected earlier this year with the Eventing Virus. As a full time nursing student, part time worker, full time single mom, what else was I to do with all of my spare time and energy but decide to take up eventing in the middle of it all. Really, I blame my dear friend Deb with her innocuous, “You should come out to the barn and visit my horses. You can hack on my mare if you want.” I had given up horses ten years earlier when faced with the choice to be a stay at home mom or keep my horse. As my stress level had built with juggling all of my responsibilities, I began to long for those days when I felt the wind in my hair and that warm sense of comfort that being covered in mud and horse smell brings.
The first time I met the mare, she turned an indifferent eye away at my lack of offering. I persisted in trying to foster a relationship with her and wisely showed up with carrots in hand the next time. She graciously allowed me to tack her up and ride her. And by ride, I mean, perch in an unstable and “oh my god its been ten years since I have been on a horse” manner on her back. When she decided to trot off, I managed to land on her neck. It was the first of many times I would land on her neck, or at her feet over the next few months. Each time she would give me a look and a sigh that said, “Again? Are you on or are you off?”
About three months after those first precarious rides, I attended Aspen Farms with Deb as her cheerleader, squire and unofficial psychologist. I walked the course with her, and calmly told her that those solid obstacles were absolutely no big deal while all the while I was screaming inside, “Oh my god she is going to die and I don’t know how to pull a trailer!”. After watching her compete that weekend, being sucked into the shared camaraderie and insanity that eventers share, and deciding that life was too short, I proposed to my dear friend that she should let me event on her mare. A little background on miss Cady- she is an eight year old paint mare who is as green as I am, more opinionated than a two year old in a candy store, and oh yes, she has never done this before either. After attending almost every event in Area VII last year though, I could not imagine what could possibly make more sense than for a green rider to take a green horse and gallop towards solid obstacles. After all, the mantra of the eventer seems to be “It’s not a big deal… just grab mane and get over it.”
Fast forward to a couple of months later… we are now schooling solidly at beginner novice level on cross country. I land less and less on her neck, and less and less on the ground! All of the “SIT UP SIT UP FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SIT UP” is better than Pilates… The hard work and barely concealed amusement my trainers have poured into me has begun to pay off. I credit eventing for saving my sanity by putting the rest of my stress into perspective. The mare and I have forged a partnership and much to her mom’s chagrin, she now answers to Princess when I call to her across the field. I love every hair on her sassy little hide and I cannot wait until spring. I have two goals next year… the first is to hear “5, 4, 3, 2,1 have a good ride!” and the second is to survive long enough to get my water bottle at the end. The rest is gravy! After all, its no big deal…

Rider Profile: Ryann Quigley

By on Dec 28, 2011 2:00 pm -
If you’d like to submit an Eventing profile, follow this link for more information, fill out the form, and send it to [email protected].I

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Name: Ryann Quigley
Age: 19
Location: High Point, NC
Relationship to Eventing: Prelim Rider
Favorite Eventing moment/story?: The 2011 Bromont CCI*. I left my first Bromont experience with a smile on my face. A little back-story, after recovering from a suspensory injury, both my horse and I’s confidence was a little shaken. Our first preliminary resulted in elimination at fence 8. I started working for/with Mara DePuy who slowly but surely pumped us with confidence, transforming our performance dramatically. We progressed from this elimination in February to being the Top Placed YR and 5th of 40 in the CCI 1* and winners of the XC style award. I can’t even pinpoint my favorite part of the weekend, but if I were to guess, I would say the D Box. Unusual for some, but I got to sit there for a moment, in the chilled air, watching Mara, my mother and super groom Katie take care of Moose. I suddenly got filled with emotion, I realized I had just jumped clean on the hardest track I’ve ever encountered, and only added 4.4 time penalties. It was incredible.
If you had to pick one reason why you love Eventing, what would it be? I love the community, and the people that are in it. At college, I keep my horse at a local Hunter/Jumper barn. Everyone there is very nice and easy to get a long with. They had invited me to participate in a jumper show near by, and being that Show Jumping is my worst phase, I agreed it would be great practice. I was greeted by a grumpy middle age woman, irritated that I had no idea how to fill out an entry form, and shooed me away when I asked what the strings were for. No one asked how your rounds are, and if you had a great one, people glare at you thinking “how dare you leave all those rails in the cups.” Eventing could not be more different, and it is fantastic. People warn you about tricky parts of courses, congratulate you on a job well done, and they actually mean it.
Overall Goals in the sport: I’ve had this long-term goal to get to Rolex as a Young Rider. I am now coming to terms with the fact that it will not happen. Not because I’m not a good rider, not because I don’t have a great horse, but because fate just isn’t on my side. The horse I have now couldn’t take me to a four star. Hands down. I’ll be lucky if I can get him to a two star. As I reevaluate my goals, I’m looking at completing the Fair Hill 2* in 2012, making it to YR in 2013, my last year, and doing well. I hear all these kids who just want to make it to championships, but I always think to myself, why would you go just to go? Waste all that money to have a run out and 3 rails? Take your time. Go to be a contender, not just a competitor. I want to win.
Biggest Role model: I always pondered this question, and never really had an answer. As I said before, I worked for Mara DePuy this past summer and as a result, my outlook on role models changed. Mara is the nicest, friendliest, most approachable person I have ever encountered. She cares about your goals, she cares about your horse, and she cares about you. She does everything in her power to help you succeed. She will put absolutely everything into helping you. She is truly an amazing person. She showed me that the ups and downs of eventing aren’t everything, and I certainly had a fair share of ups and downs this summer. She can handle anything that her horses throw at her, and she is always optimistic. She is a true horseman, and I can only hope that I can be just as amazing as her one day.
 

Wednesday Morning News from Horse Quencher

By on Dec 27, 2011 11:39 pm -

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Horse about to get quenched.

 

Good Morning Eventing Nation and welcome to Wednesday! I have to say the week really flies by when the only thing my agenda entails is sitting on the couch, watching TV, and eating bon bons. I’m only kidding, as my week of vacation has been a little more productive than that, but only just a little. I hope you have gotten to spend some quality time on the couch over the holidays, without too much hassle and strain from holiday celebrations, shopping, and visiting relatives. Before we know it, the calendar is going to start heating up and we will be well on our way in 2012. It’s only three days after Christmas and the news is even starting to pick up again! 

Speaking of the news, let’s get started:
The scariest news of the morning is the surfacing report of a horse attacked and killed on Christmas Day… by a panther. The attack happened in Collier County, Florida, about a five hour drive from Ocala (in case you were wondering.) The Gutierrez family originally suspected that someone had killed their horse with an ax, but necropsy reports as well as tracks found on the property have confirmed that a panther is indeed to blame. This is very sad news for the Gutierrez family, especially because of the poor timing on Christmas, but it is also a reminder that Florida is a home to more than just your run-of-the-mill squirrel or garden snake. You’d think that a horse hub like Ocala and the surrounding areas would be farther north than panthers would travel, but last weekend’s events are a sad reminder  to exercise caution when it comes to horses and wildlife. [Naples News]

The big news from yesterday is that Mike Etherington-Smith will design the three-star course for the 2012 Sydney Three-Day Event in Australia, scheduled for April 26-29. Mike is no stranger to the Sydney course, after all he was the designer of the 2000 Sydney Olympic cross country course. Prue Barrett, Australia’s National Performance Director, said of the announcement, “Mike Etherington-Smith is one of the most well respected course designers [in the world], so for our Australia-based riders to have the opportunity to ride over his course prior to the Olympic Games will not only give them invaluable experience but also ensure they are well prepared to take on the rest of the world in London.” [Horsetalk]

Being almost into the New Year and all, we’re approaching that time in late winter/early spring, when the broodmares are at their largest and nearing their foaling date. Breeding horses is not for the faint of heart, or for those who cannot commit themselves to the incredible amount of work involved in raising a young horse. One of the staffers at TheHorse.com wrote a great article about the raising of foals, along with some links to further articles on a wide variety of topics involving foals. [TheHorse]

Anyone that follows the horse world news outside of Eventing even to a moderate degree would know that for the past seven years, fox hunting (with the exception of ‘drag’ or scent hunts) in England has technically been banned. Hunting aficionados have continued about their business and taking part in the sport they love, even with the hunting ban in place. It seems that support for hunting is only continuing to grow, over the weekend on the traditional Boxing Day Hunt, over 2,000 people came out to support a single hunt and see it’s 70 or so riders off. I know the argument on the Hunting Ban goes both ways, but it is pretty incredible to see the support garnered for one of England’s greatest passions. [Yorkshire Post]

Lauren Sprieser wrote a great blog entry for the Chronicle titled “Incredible Amateurs.” She writes about a few of her ‘after five’ clients, who diligently come to their lessons each week even in the face of full-time jobs, running farms, and raising children. According to Lauren, it is their enthusiasm for learning and their horses that keeps her going late into the evening teaching lessons after a long day at the barn. She also reiterates that ever important and seemingly often forgotten truth that the amateurs are really to credit for this sport’s existence and professionals livelihoods. [Incredible Amateurs]

Denny Emerson is at it again, educating all of us about horse breeding and lineage. I don’t know about you but I’ve been finding his articles fascinating! Here’s another, this time about Mr. Prospector. [Denny’s blog]

Cherie Chauvin wrote a great blog that is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud and do some reflecting at the same time. Great thoughts, especially for the winter coming into a new season. [Go Lightly Blog]

Jack and Jill have been busy this December, attending an Eric Dierks clinic in the beginning of the month and are learning about important things a horse should know- like direction, speed, rhythm, and balance. [Jack and Jill]

The character of Sherlock Holmes may have been proficient at many things, but I don’t think horse back riding was one of them. Check out this clip from the latest Sherlock Holmes movie:

As a final note, our wonderful sponsor Horse Quencher picked the winners of the December contest. The Grand Prize winners of a 20 pound bucket of Horse Quencher are: Pam Barnum from Virginia, Katie Ochs from Pennsylvania, and Staci Roberts from Texas. Winners of the First Place prize and a 3.5 pound bucket of Horse Quencher are: Carol Hewitt from Tennessee, Laurie Defries from Mississippi, and Julia Brucker from Pennsylvania.

The Horse Quencher Team would like to extend their thanks to all those who participated in our contest and they wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year. And, remember Happy Healthy Hydrated Horses use Horse Quencher!
 
That’s all for now, Eventing Nation. Have an great day, I’ll catch you later!

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The Best of 2011

By on Dec 27, 2011 12:30 pm -

Well Eventing Nation, sadly but truly the year of 2011 is drawing to a close. Simply due to nature of a news website, we cover a lot of stories throughout the course of the year. We’ve written about stories that have probably made you laugh, possibly made you cry (It’s okay, John), but hopefully have helped you to realize what a cool sport we are all so fortunate to be a part of. Sit back, relax, and take a minute to enjoy this look back at some of the best moments of 2011. 

1. In March, at the PRO Derby Cross, Udonna put one stride in the two stride angled brush line! 
2. Phillip doesn’t punch rails out like this very often, but this photo just goes to show that it can happen to the best of them. Phillip at Pine Top last February. 
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3. Both John and I have said this in the past, but Jon Holling’s first blog was hands down, the best piece of writing to come across the EN homepage all year. There is so much wisdom in Jon’s article, everyone, no matter their age or riding level, can benefit from reading it. His last line, so simply stated but so true: “While I’m working daily to achieve the goal, I am actually living the dream.” 
4. Remember when Buck got his Renegade and massive horse trailer stuck while turning out of the driveway at Poplar in March? Two squad cars had to come out and hold the traffic while he got the rig out of the ditch and back onto the highway. Niceeeeeee.
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5. Mark Todd won his fourth Badminton this year, at age 55 and precisely 31 years after he won Badminton for the first time. If he wasn’t already considered the best event rider in the history of Eventing, winning Badminton this year certainly did. Mark’s show jump round.
6. Attending Rolex for the first time is special for anyone, but doubly so if you are a horse crazy, sixteen year old girl, seriously ill with Sarcoma cancer. Hannah Hicks
7. At Virginia Horse Trials at the end of May, Lauren Kieffer rode seven horses, and won five of the divisions. The other two horses finished second and third, respectively. To come away from an event with a result like that requires that a.) you either buy a string of horses so fancy and easy to ride that they could beat the rest of the field with a monkey on their back, or b.) you are a really good rider. You decide which was the case.
8. In my introduction when I said that there might have been a piece of writing on this website that made you tear up, it was probably this one. EN writer Abbie lost her horse, Phantom Pursuit, in the True Prospect Barn Fire last May, and a few weeks later she wrote a touching tribute to Phantom and all he meant to her. I’m not really one to cry all that often, but I definitely shed a few tears when I read Abbie’s post.
9. The first Eventing Nation cross country jump was debuted at the Maryland Horse Trials this past July, thanks to Tyson Rementer. We’re famous!
11. This June was the first time we got to see the amazing videographer, Buzzterbrown, on the other side of the camera, when he completed his first recognized event at Rubicon HT. 
12. If the video of Nat dancing didn’t make the Best of 2011 list, then it wouldn’t be much of a Best of 2011 list. 
13. One day this past summer, a mom and daughter were driving in New Hampshire on their way to the Area I Young Rider camp when they noticed smoke coming up from the trailer. They quickly pulled off the highway to find that the front of the horse trailer was on fire. Grace, only age 14, quickly jumped in the burning trailer to guide her horse Hershey out to safety. Less than five minutes later, the entire trailer was engulfed in flames. Both mom, daughter, and horse were fine, but talk about heroism! [A 14 year old hero]
14. William Fox Pitt’s epic save in the water jump at the Europeans this year was pretty memorable. 
15. I don’t know about the rest of the country, but the East Coast sure got some strange weather this fall, Brian O’Connor reports, in what I believe to be his best ‘Insanity in the Middle’ video to date. 
16. That insane weather Brian reported on wrecked havoc on the eventing calendar this fall, causing several events to cancel, including the Flora Lea September Horse Trials. Regrettably, at the time, it went under our radar but I was just informed a couple weeks ago of the lengths the Flora Lea organizers went to for the riders entered. Several weeks after the event, each competitor received a check from the event for the entirety of their entry fees, along with invitation to two open schooling days at the farm free of charge, as well as a $75 credit per horse to put towards a 2012 Flora Lea Event. The folks at Flora Lea truly went above and beyond the call of duty of any organizer, they definitely will be on the nice list with Santa this year. I know I’ll be making an effort to attend at least one of their events next year. 
17. Sinead Halpin made the Best of 2011 List with performances that were nothing short of brilliant at both Rolex and Burghley this year. If you would have told me a year ago that Sinead would be one of only three A-List riders on the High Performance list this year, I might not have believed you. Sinead came up from behind to blow everyone out of the water this year, a third at Rolex as the highest placed American, and 15th at Burghley with a handful of time penalties and an unlucky couple of rails. For the cynics who think the top of the sport is so locked up by the Phillip’s, Buck’s, and Boyd’s that there is no room for anyone else, Sinead is the perfect example of someone who has broken through into the big leagues with hard work, patience, and perseverance.
18. Similarly, Colleen Rutledge is another who really impressed a lot of people this year, although the US selectors don’t seem to be in that camp at the moment. With or without the support of the team, just a quick glance at the Chronicle forums or the comment section in one of Samantha’s interviews of her, it’s incredible the amount of support this lady has garnered through her accomplishments this year. Balancing a business, raising young children, and competing at the international level is pretty remarkable, and is definitely a story that resonates with lots of us out there. 
19. Jennie Brannigan made the Best of 2011 List with her record bareback Puissance jump at the Plantation Field Horse Trials. It’s a little sad when her position over a six foot fence without a saddle is better than most of our positions with tack over a novice or training level fence. Hey, that’s what the winter is for, right? 
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Photo via Steve Berkowitz
20. Jan Bynny’s return to competition this year is definitely worthy of the Best list. I remember writing about her first competition back at Sporting Days in February, where she rode two novice horses and one training level one. Fast forward to October at Fair Hill, where she came within inches of winning the three star if it weren’t for a couple of rails, but she still managed to hang onto third place. How she did that, I don’t really know, but it sure is a credit to her riding to come back so quickly to the top level. 
21. Not that we advise this or anything: but that Eventing Nation Tattoo was pretty awesome.
22. I felt bad for Doug when both nights of Indoor Eventing at the Royal Winter Fair ended with him on the ground, but not bad enough to leave it off the Best of 2011 list. 
Well, Eventing Nation, it seems a little silly to end this list at twenty two instead of a more normal number, but as my soccer coach once told me, as he benched me after scoring my one (and only) goal that season: it’s always best to quit while you’re still on top. So I leave you, Eventing Nation, with the twenty two best of 2011. 

The Monday Morning News

By on Dec 26, 2011 12:22 am -
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War Horse. Photo courtesy of Salon.com.

Good Morning Eventing Nation! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, wherever you may have celebrated it. It’s one of my favorite holidays, and certainly not one to be glossed over on the calendar. We get busy with our horses, our work, and our personal lives, but it’s always nice to come back for a short time once a year and take part in a gathering that signifies something larger than our individual parts. 

I made it a goal this year when conversing with extended family I hadn’t seen since, well,  Christmas last year, to keep any conversation involving horses to a minimum. Growing up, I was smart enough, well read, and well cultured to talk about a variety of subject matter at family gatherings, but I stubbornly refused to talk about anything other than horses, to anyone that would listen. So this year, I listened as my Grandma talked about her upcoming vacation to Florida, as my Aunt talked about her newly-started business, and as my older cousins talked about their State bound hockey team and first year at college, and as one of my younger cousins talked in depth about the many challenges of the third grade.  What did I learn from all of this conversation having nothing to do with horses? In truth, not much, but it did remind me that there is a busy, thriving world outside the horse world, and that it probably wouldn’t hurt if I paid it a little more attention from time to time. If nothing else, the holidays are a great way to get out of the bubble of our own lives and take a look around at what everyone around us has been doing this whole time. 
Anyway, back to the last Monday Morning News of 2011. It’s arguably the quietest day for Eventing News of the whole year, but this is what I have for you:
Did anyone go see War Horse yesterday in the theatre? According to Flickster’s Tomatometer, the film received a 75% review from critics, and a 72% review from audience. Just as a comparison, the King’s Speech (which debuted back in early 2011) earned a 95% review from the same panel. I thought the King’s Speech was a phenomenal movie, and was hoping War Horse would be right up their with it, but it’s looking like the reviews are telling a slightly different tale. I haven’t seen War Horse yet, so I’m reserving my judgment. 75% isn’t terrible, but I was hoping for a little better from the horse movie of the year. [War Horse Review] [Horsetalk]
A few of Britain’s best met up over the Christmas holiday to partake in a photo shoot at Exmouth Beach for the Daily Mail. Among the riders were William Fox-Pitt, Mary King, Emily King (Mary’s daughter), and Tim Rogers. Photographer Andy Hooper took some lovely photos of the six of them galloping on the beach, which can be seen here. What a way to spend Christmas morning!
Saudia Arabia brought home the Gold over the weekend in the Pan Arab Games. Eight countries took part in the Games, with Egypt and Qutar rounding out the silver and bronze positions. Herve Godignon, Frenchman, Olympian, and coach of the United Arab Emirates team stated about the Games: “Arab countries have progressed so much. They ride like every other country in the world now. ” Look out world, we may have some real competition coming up in the International show jumping scene in the next few years. [Horsetalk]
World Horse Welfare shares a Christmas message:
That’s all for now, Eventing Nation! Have a great Monday in what is hopefully a day off from the office and barn. Regardlesss, keep checking back to the best site in Eventing, I’m sure I will see you soon!

Christmas Morning Links from Dubarry

By on Dec 24, 2011 11:00 pm -

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So much for that white Christmas

Good Morning Eventing Nation! Merry Christmas! I’m going to make this quick because it’s late and I still have about five gifts to wrap still tonight. Amazon guaranteed their delivery by Christmas, and they delivered, but not with much time to spare. Oh well, I guess that’s what I get for online shopping my way through the holidays. 

Surprisingly, there’s actually a fair bit of news this morning, so sit down and snuggle in with a glass of mimosa and some pound cake, and enjoy the Christmas news and notes for this morning. 
That’s all for now Eventing Nation! Merry Christmas, I hope Santa has been very good to you this year. See you soon.

Welcome to Eventing: Amanda and Gump

By on Dec 20, 2011 12:00 pm -
In one of our best ‘Welcome to Eventing’ stories to date, reader Amanda tells the story of getting her OTTB, Gump, for free, and a few months later competing in their first event, (as in first event ever for both rider and horse.) Thanks for sharing your cool story, Amanda, and as always, thank you for reading. 
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I “bought” Gump a.k.a. Jewel of the Cat in January 2011.  Actually I picked him up for free.  His seller due to lots of life circumstances could no longer keep him and admitted that his bad behaviors had made riding less than enjoyable.  The first month I owned him he bolted, he bucked, and boy could he spook!  He spooked at leaves, he spooked at cats, he spooked at dogs, he spooked at my husband (but who wouldn’t..the man was riding that horrific horse-eating beast known as a bicycle), and I won’t even mention the toddler daughter cruising in
her toy car incident.  I learned to lower my stirrups and hang on! Never have my thighs been so toned.
Slowly but surely Gump learned to trust me and I learned to trust him, so we packed our trailer and headed out to our first schooling trial in July to compete at the Beginner Novice level.  Did I mention this was my first horse trial too?
Our dressage round started out shaky, the letter ‘A’ it turns out is quite terrifying to Gump, but we finished solid middle of the pack with a score of 38.1  The stadium round went extremely well.  Gump jumped like he’d been doing it his whole life.  Now only one thing
stood between us and a clean “middle of the pack” victory!
…the cross country round.
My first mistake was trying to walk the course in my NEW riding boots.  They were biting in to my ankles something fierce after about 100 yards.  My second mistake was not taking my husband as I am very geographically challenged…meaning I can NOT read a map.  I got lost!
 So at some point…after 30 minutes of silent cursing…I just turned around and walked back the way I came.  Which means not only would my horse be doing his first cross country course, not only would I be doing my first cross country course, but we would be doing it blind! How hard can it be?  You just follow the numbers in sequence…right?
We get in the starting box and we’re off!  …at a blazing trot!  Hey, we broke in to a canter after the first jump, give us a break.
Everything was going smoothly until we reached Jump 5…the water!  It came to me in that moment that I’d never taken this horse through a puddle, much less a whole pond!  We were in a record drought.  He hadn’t even seen rain since I’d owned him!  With a little clucking and
smooching we were finally able to creep across the water and exit at a trot.  Here we go!!
Somewhere between jump 7 and 8 it all fell apart.  Of course I didn’t know that at the time.  We were just having fun!  We galloped up a hill.  We galloped down a hill.  And we hit a massive clump of trees. Wait, this can’t be right?  We trotted back up the hill and back down
the hill.  I see a blur of a grey horse go by.  I know that horse?  It was the number behind me!  Follow her!
We trot cautiously around a bit until we finally see (drum roll) Jump #8!  Yeah!  Here we go!
Holy COW!  Jumps 9 and 10 were huge!  The song from that Disney movie, Finding Nemo, came to mind.  “Just keep galloping…just keep galloping!”  We clear them!
At this point adrenaline has completely taken over and we are cruising!  Jumps 11, 12, 13, 14, 15…I see the finish line!  And we cross!  Wahoooo!
I don’t think you could wipe the grin off of my face with an atomic bomb.
We finished with a score of 58.1 after our little mishap at the water and I couldn’t have been prouder of my little Gump.
At our most recent event we lowered that score to 42.1.  We can’t wait for our next outing February 5th!

View: Memories of Summer from World Equestrian Brands

By on Dec 18, 2011 7:06 pm -

This week’s “ears” photo definitely conjures up visions of summer time. One of our readers (although they didn’t include their name!) sent us this photo of a quiet summer day’s ride. Only about four more months and the days will be longer, the air will smell sweeter, and all will be right as summer will have returned. 

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This is my amazing off-the-track-thoroughbred Harpur on an early morning, end of summer ride at Green Acres Stables in Madbury, NH. This was one of the very first mornings where fall was “in the air”, and the mist covering the fields was beautiful! Hiding in the mist is my dog Fairen who likes to lead the way on our rides.
 

 

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As a quick note from our friends and sponsors at World Equestrian Brands just in time for Christmas: Does your horse love the decadently soft calfskin of his Vespucci bridle? He’s in luck, then, because that same lovely leather is available in the form of our Vespucci girths. The short girths are available in black as well as brown and oakbark to accommodate monoflap jumping saddles as well as dressage. The long girths come in brown or oakbark with a subtle centered D-ring and dark elastic to match the leather for a seamless and finished look. SRP $155 for short and $175 for long.

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