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Annie Yeager

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View: On Top Of The World from World Equestrian Brands

By on Jun 17, 2011 6:57 pm -

This week’s ears photo is coming to us from beautiful Virginia, specifically from Jacqueline Mars’ High Acre Farm. Nate Chambers keeps his horse Rolling Stone with the O’Connors and sent us this picture taken from ‘Rolly’ while on an evening hack a few weeks ago. Thanks to Nate for sending, and as always, thank you for reading. 


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

“Rolly and I on top of the mountain during an evening hack at High Acre Farm. We both have just returned from spending the winter in Ocala; although Ocala may have a lot of things to offer, a view like this certainly isn’t one of them! Riding Rolly, and being back on the mountain, was the perfect end to the day.”

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Eventing Profile of the Week

By on Jun 17, 2011 10:04 am -

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Name: Erin

Age: 30

Location: Northern CA

Relationship to Eventing: Crossover from Hunter/Jumper Land.  Starting my first season this year at BN. I put in a lot of time helping out as a jump-judge in the 90’s 🙂 

Favorite Eventing moment/story?: Prior to jumping in with both feet this year, I did an event as a teenager at Pebble Beach.  At the time I was riding my Jumper with a Dressage trainer three days a week, so I figured “Hey, how hard can it be? Do a Dressage test, jump over some logs and then go do an optimum-time jumper course.  No problem.”  My BFF who showed in the Jumpers with me on occasion, was moving up to Preliminary.  I figured that since Preliminary fence heights were smaller than what I was showing over in the Jumper ring, and since we jumped all manner of logs and picnic tables in the woods, I’d just tag along, jumping in straight at Preliminary.  Ah, teenage hubris.  

The Event trainer at the barn insisted that I come school XC with them before the course closed so I had a feel for how things would be outside the ring.  We got down to the course and started over some comfortable logs.  I was feeling fairly confident.  The trainer was pleased and said we were going to move on to some bigger stuff.  She told us that we were to canter through the water, over the log there, cruise around the bend, over another fence there and then gallop up the slope to the narrow Trakhener and the down bank in to the water.  She went up the hill and disappeared around the corner.  My BFF and I waited a moment or two before I started on the exercise.  

The first two fences went well – they were simple and straight forward.  I could hear my BFF behind me, splashing through the water.  I turned the corner and started the gallop up the hill.  Then I saw it.  The most terrifying fence I had ever seen.  A massive, solid and unforgiving log suspended over a black-abyss.  Worse yet,  My eyes went wide and I shouted out a few colorful expletives and pulled off the track, piloting my horse towards the much more reasonable Novice log next to the imposing Trakhener.  I pulled up next to our Trainer, who was chuckling at my unrelenting stream of profanity.  I heard hoofbeats and turned my eyes at the Trakhener again as my BFF approached.  As her horse left the ground, her eyes snapped over to me and she declared loudly “CHICKEN!”  She landed and continued on to the down bank, mocking me with giggles and “BAWK BAWK BAWK” the whole way. 

I rode Beginner Novice at that event. 


My second favorite Eventing moment would be the very first Hunter Pace I did with my Morgan.  She’d only been jumping for perhaps two months and never presented with any sort of Cross Country obstacle.  We went out and she packed me around an Intro level course with no trouble at all.  Even more exciting, we actually WON the class – only three seconds off of optimum time!  

If you had to pick one reason why you love Eventing, what would it be? Every Eventer I have encountered has been incredibly kind and knowledgeable.  For the most part, things run on time.  It is a welcome change of pace from the Hurry Up And Wait of the Hunter/Jumper shows. 

Overall Goals in the sport:  I’m happy to cruise around Beginner Novice this year, maybe take a crack at Novice early next year.  I’m currently riding a 14.1hh Morgan that I started over fences less than 10 months ago.  She is turning in to an absolute machine.  

Biggest Role model: Other adult-amateurs who have come to this sport as adults and continue to push themselves to be better riders and better horsemen and women – especially the ones who do it all on their own.  It is a refreshing change of pace from the scene in your average Hunter/Jumper barn where everyone is dependent on constant hand-holding.  

Thursday Morning News from Devoucoux

By on Jun 15, 2011 11:40 pm -
Totilas is going to have his dancing shoes on this weekend

Good Morning Eventing Nation! Well, we are on the backstretch of this week now, but hopefully we aren’t on the backstretch for the cooler weather we have had these past few days. I say ‘cooler’ in relative terms compared to last week’s weather where I was ready to keel over in a heat stroke before it had even reached noon! Dressage day at Luhmuhlen begins today, or begun rather at three o’ clock this morning while most of us were sleeping and John was out partying. The CIC3*** dressage starts at 3am ET, the CCI**** rides on Friday.  The Live Scores for the CCI**** can be found here, and the CIC*** here.  Best of luck to all of our Americans over in Germany, hopefully Jennie, Will, and Tiana will all have solid performances and set the tone right for the rest of the weekend. 

Besides Luhmuhlen, there is a good deal of worldly horse news on the radar today as well. Some of it pertains to Eventing, but as with many of the things that find their way on to this site, most of it can be described no better then as ‘off-topic’. But if you’ll still read it, we’ll still write it, so here it goes:
An Ice Age Horse has been found in a snow mass in Colorado. More specifically, the ankle bone of a horse has been found, but much as an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, researchers are hopeful that the rest of the prehistoric remains are buried very close by. Finding an equine ankle bone has been a big break for the researchers in their excavation, as the fossil could potentially provide a multitude of information about the first horses present in North America some 12,000 years ago, before  the original species was wiped out by the Ice Age. [Denver Post]
 Evidently a study was recently conducted by the Texas Agrilife Research to test the benefits of grazing horses in a multi-paddock rotation as opposed to a large ranch type situation. They tested the vegetation, soil health, and animal production in the two control environments, and found, not surprisingly, that the multi-paddock rotation far exceeded a ranch environment in all categories. Humans discovered the benefits of resting their farm land about the same time they invented the wheel, it’s common knowledge that anything grows better if you allow it time to replenish. What I did find interesting about the study is thinking about the number of horse neglect cases on big ranches that have surfaced over the last few months. I remember linking to an article a couple months back about an entire herd of horses being seized from a ranch after they were all found to be significantly malnourished. When the owner, an aged rancher was interviewed his reply was something to the effect of “I’ve been taking care of my horses the same way for nearly twenty years and never before had a problem.” Obviously there was a more to that particular story, but for those of us who own farms or have land with horses, it is definitely something to ponder. [Horsetalk]
Prepare yourselves for some unwelcome news, as a ninth Equine Herpes Virus case has been confirmed at Washington State University. Evidently a horse came into the hospital yesterday due to colic, but it wasn’t long before the vet techs suspected him for the virus that the nasal swap tests later confirmed. The horse underwent treatment for the colic and is stable at the moment. The equine branch of the University was literally within two days of reopening since the lockdown during the heat of the outbreak. The hospital was disinfected top-to-bottom (following what was thought to be an end to the outbreak) an effort which required a 15 person crew and followed a highly intensive two week cleaning protocol, all of which became a futile effort in the wake of this most recent diagnosis. [The Jurga Report]

If you thought Moorland’s Totilas was cool when he took the WEG by storm last autumn, now your going to think he’s ice cold. Totilas will be performing a Free Style on Sunday, the music of which has been produced by Paul van Dyk, the world famous, Grammy winning producer. I’m excited to see the YouTube videos that will surely follow after Totilas’ performance on Sunday. I wonder if the great Totilas can match the famous performance of Blue Hors Matinee from the 2006 WEG? [Horsetalk]
Speaking of Blue Hors Matinee
That’s all for now Eventing Nation. Have a great day, and be sure to stay tuned for more on Luhmuhlen from John and the rest of the gang. 
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Luhmuhlen Preview

By on Jun 15, 2011 10:57 am -
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If you’ve been around at all these past few weeks, you will have noticed the viscous blog war that has been going on, all centered on the Luhmuhlen Three Day Event taking place this weekend. The First Horse Inspection begins today, at 17:00 hours. For those of you not in the Military or Air Force, that translates into 5 pm German time, which translates into 11 am EST. I’ve done my best with the time table conversions (which are seriously confusing for these international events) and doing all the conversions is definitely not part of my job description, but then again neither is cleaning out the Chinchilla cage every day. I think it’s time for a raise or at least some Eventing Nation logo wear, hint hint John. 

Anyway, back to the matter at hand; we have some top US riders representing our country this weekend, so it will definitely be interesting to follow the competition as it plays out. Will Faudree and Jennie Brannigan are both entered in the CCI****, and both in my opinion have a good shot of being right up there at the end of the weekend. Tiana Coudray and the lovely Ringwood Magister also made the trip to Germany, and are entered in the CIC*** as they are still rebuilding from their performance at Kentucky earlier this spring. Tiana’s not one to leave many points on the table in the dressage arena, so I think she’ll start her weekend right at the top of the leader board. I think how the weekend plays out will depend largely on how Tiana rides; she is mounted on a top class horse and certainly has the potential to establish herself as a top class rider this weekend. Great Britain based Julian Stiller will be competing on two horses as well. 
The Americans weren’t the only ones who decided to come play in Germany, as a staggering number of countries are entered, most of which have a depth of six to eight horses and riders assembled. It definitely should be an exciting weekend. I’m unlike John in the sense that I almost never try to predict the winner of a big three-day, at least not publicly, but I’m feeling a little different on this occasion. To raise my odds For the reason that I think they’re all equally brilliant, I’ve picked three riders/horses one of which I think could walk away with the title. 
They are:
Andreas Dibowski and Butts Leon
William Fox-Pitt and Macchiato
Jonothan Paget and Clifton Lush
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out my genius, and the reasons for why I’m going with these three is simple. William already won this event three years ago on this horse, and although the horse has been out of the limelight for the past few months, William has very much been in it and is as sharp as ever. Andreas Dibowski is entered on his old campaigner Butts Leon, and this pair has more international experience than you can count on ten fingers, including being on the gold medal team at the Hong Kong Olympics. And Jonothan Paget, although younger and less experienced than the prior two, is fresh off a win at the Bramham CIC*** with Clifton Lush. You don’t have to be in Eventing long to understand the influence that ‘being on a roll’ can have on one’s performance, an effect that I think will be very well demonstrated this weekend by Paget and Clifton Lush. That’s about as far as I’m going to stick my neck out for today, so to wrap this up I’ll leave you with a couple Luhmuhlen links:
Go Eventing.

Saturday Links

By on Jun 11, 2011 12:54 am -
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Good Morning Eventing Nation! I hope everyone’s Saturday is off to a great start. It’s late and I have an early morning so I apologize in advance for the briefness of this post. The links are what you came to read anyway which is a good thing because there are quite a few this Saturday. Bromont is obviously big news for the weekend; John and Samantha are both in Canada, and surely will be firing posts off all cylinders for the remainder of the day. So stay tuned as always. 

With all the focus turned towards Canada right now, we can’t forget what’s happening back in the States as there is a whole host of horse trials taking place this weekend. They are:
 Spring Run H.T. (KY) – [Ride Times]
 Aspen Farms H.T. (WA) – [Live Scores]
 Derbyshire Farms H.T. I (MI) – [Homepage]
 Texas Rose Horse Park H.T. (TX) – [Live Scores]
 Queeny Park H.T. (MO) – [Live Scores]
 Valinor Farm H.T. (MA) – [Live Scores]
 Plantation Field H.T. (PA) – [Live Scores]
 Copper Meadows H.T. (CA) – [Live Scores]
 Rubicon Farm H.T. (VA) – [Live Scores]
 Larkin Hill H.T. [Live Scores]


Stay cool today, Eventing Nation. Drink water, wear sunscreen, and keep checking back to the coolest site in Eventing. 

Bromont Video Break

By on Jun 8, 2011 10:52 am -

Good Morning Eventing Nation! The First Horse Inspection at Bromont will take place later this afternoon, so I thought it would be good to kick off the competition coverage with a few videos from Bromont of years past. We’re lucky as both Samantha and John will be at the competition this weekend, and surely will be coverage all aspects of the event. It’s nice because they actually complement each other quite well, when you get tired of scrolling through John’s random lengthy musings, you can start scrolling through Samantha’s random selection of photos and miscellaneous interviews. I’m only kidding. Anyway, here is your hand picked selection of the finest Bromont videos ever posted on Youtube. Enjoy.

An Introduction to Bromont
Flash to the Past: Bromont CCI** 1993 (Complete with a ’90’s Soundtrack)
Buck Davidson’s 2010 Dressage, riding Cruise Lion for his father Bruce
Jessica Phoenix and Exponential Cross Country 2010
Boyd’s winning CCI* ride aboard Minotaure du Passoir
Go Bromont. 

Tuesday Morning News from Pennfield

By on Jun 7, 2011 12:04 am -

Wiki Commons

Try to avoid these

Good Morning Eventing Nation! The fleets are assembling in Canada now, some having arrived already while others still en route, all in preparation for the Bromont Three-Day Event this weekend. I know several riders doubled up to share a rig for the long trip north, definitely a wise choice economically with the cost of fuel these days, and also a good way to catch up with friends and share in some lively conversation. I wish I could have been an ant on the wall in Jon Holling’s truck as he, Leslie Law, and Kyle Carter made the drive down together, as I am sure there was some interesting, and certainly entertaining conversation going on in that truck during those 28 hours! Even our fearless leader John, who usually travels with only the companionship of his GPS and bad rap music, told me that he is driving down with ‘some other people’ which is, in effect, like leaving nameless your partners in crime. The rest of the week will be full of coverage of the happenings up in Canada, be sure to check back regularly for updates on our favorite Canadian Three-Day. [Bromont Entries]
Kim blogs about horse shopping in Ireland

If you are headed to Bromont, or even if you’re not,  be sure to check out Patricia from Ecogold’s Guide to Bromont, full of tips to successfully negotiate through the french language, cuisine, currency, and everything else that will be unfamiliar during your stay in Canada. 

Speaking of Three-Days, the American contingent is shipping out for Luhmuhlen today. Jennie Brannigan, who’s entered in the CCI**** with Cambalda, wrote one of her better blog posts yesterday talking about keeping the spirit up in the wake of the tragic fire. She also included that Boyd gave her his helmet cover to take to Germany, which is certainly a touching action on Boyd’s part and demonstrates the closeness of the True Prospect circle, which I’m sure Jennie will be feeling come next Saturday. [Jennie’s blog]
Will Faudree’s groom for Luhmuhlen, Nat, also wrote a blog for the Chronicle about the pre-travel preparations. Nat is probably one of the five best grooms we have in this country and certainly is the most entertaining, some of which can be seen in her blog post. The sizable headache caused by packing for travel internationally is made somewhat larger for Nat as first off, she has two horses making the  the journey, and second is that Luhmuhlen marks the start of what will be a three month stay for Will in Europe, certainly a logistical nightmare now, but not so much as to dampen the spirits for the excitement that will follow in next three months for Will and Nat. [Nat’s blog]
And now for some more of the day’s news: 
In yet another heartwarming display of the generosity of our community, Full Gallop Farm in Aiken, South Carolina will be hosting a Combined Test on Saturday, June 18th to benefit the True Prospect gang. The combined test will be offering Amoeba through Intermediate Combined Tests and Dressage tests of choice. Cross Country Schooling will also be offered to competitors at a reduced rate throughout that weekend.  All proceeds will be donated directly to Boyd and those affected by the fire. For more information and the entry form, click here.
The Horse Trust in Britain will celebrate its 125 year anniversary this year, and in doing so, they have launched a research fund with the lofty goal of two million pounds. As a background, the Horse Trust was founded in 1886 to provide care to working horses in London in need of either retirement or rehabilitation from injury. Fast forward 125 years since those first days tending to the broken down souls of the London cab industry, the Horse Trust still plays a vital role in fostering knowledge about the care of horses and creating a standard at which that care should meet. [Horsetalk]
The organizers of the Burgham Horse Trials in England have added an Advanced section to their event this year, falling on March 24-25. It may not seem like much of a big deal to those of us in America, but it is a big deal for the Europeans as now they have an added option of Advanced level runs before Badminton Horse Trials. Because the Brits generally spend less time in their spring four star preparations than Americans, largely because of the weather and limited travel options, they have limited flexibility in choosing which preparatory events to compete at. It’s a well known fact that the big injuries aren’t always what keeps horses from the target competition, but rather the minor ones that can pop up a just the wrong time, often times wrecking havoc in your show calendar, and sometimes emerging at such a time as to keep you from a big competition like Badminton. With that in mind, the added flexibility that comes from having another Advanced competition on the calendar during the spring season will be huge for the riders. [Horse and Hound]
Marylanders at MCTA

That’s all I have for you now. John will be in-and-out of reception all day while he travels to Canada, so I will try to keep this show running the best I can in his absence. That being said, there will be a lot happening in the next fews days (including the introduction of a guest blogger of my picking!) so check back soon so you don’t miss out. 

Go Eventing. 
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Eventing Profile of the Week

By on Jun 6, 2011 2:08 pm -

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Name: Katie Bornholdt-Peery

Age: 26

Location: Portland, Oregon

Relationship to Eventing Preliminary rider, trainer, coach and for my main profession I market horses off the track in the Pacific Northwest into new careers and the majority go to eventers on the West coast and now the East!


Favorite Eventing moment/story?: My favorite moment in my eventing career was at the Area VII Inavale Horse Trails(Philomath, OR) in June 2005. It was the move up event for my OTTB, Karat aka All Star from training to preliminary and we left the start box and we were flying! He was completely point and shoot the entire course and I have never had the feeling of such joy and trust in a horse in my life! That day he fullfilled my dreams of breaking through to the upper levels and I am forever great full to that horse.

If you had to pick one reason why you love Eventing, what would it be? Galloping over the cross country and the flying through the air over the fences.

Overall Goals in the sport: My longtime goal is ultimately to ride at the Burghley Horse Trials, my immediate goals include bringing along a few of the young OTTB’s I have and get them competing and hopefully go prelim on one of them by the end of the year.

Biggest Role model Pippa Funnell is my role model. I was there with my mom at the Burghley Horse Trials when she won the Rolex Grand Slam and I have always admired her riding and professionalism. 


Link to blog or website, if applicable: A link to my website, http://hiddenfoxfarm.shutterfly.com

Saturday Links

By on Jun 3, 2011 11:52 pm -
Challenge: If anyone gets a group together and makes a human chain out of the words ‘Eventing Nation’, it will result in eternal weekend links greatness and an end to all other pointless links pictures.

Good Morning Eventing Nation, and welcome to the weekend! For many, I think the end to this week seemed like it would never arrive. But that’s the beauty of time, when havoc is being wrecked in our world, we can find solace in the consistency of the days turning into nights, and the nights to bring the promise of yet another fresh start to the day. 

With all of the goings on of this past week, we haven’t given this events running this weekend the attention they are due, so here is some info to fill you in. 
The Bramham CCI*** is taking place this weekend in England. Pippa Funnell had a great test on Billy Landretti to score a 37.4 and take the lead going into the cross country phase. She said of the ride, “I’m delighted as it’s the first time he’s performed to his potential and in such an atmosphere. He’s been really consistent in his one-day tests but I’ve not managed to nail it at this level yet. He’s not complete yet but has come a long way in a year.” Since her glory days on Supreme Rock and Primmore’s Pride, Pippa has had a rough go of it, so I am really hoping this weekend will end in her favor. Behind Pippa, it’s German domination with Simone Deitermann, Kirsten Thomsen, and Kai Rueder filling the second through forth placings, while fellow Brit, Polly Stockton and Regulus round out the top five. 
On this side of the pond, the events are up and running as well. The Indiana Eventing Association Horse Trials and Three-Day Event is in their second day of competition. Anastasia Curwood and Cat Burgler lead the Training Three-Day division, while veteran eventers Cathy Wieschhoff and Dorothy Crowell sit in second and third going into cross country. In the Novice Three-Day competition, Kelsey Bricker leads the 11-horse division with Leah Go Bragh on her impressive dressage score of 29.5. It should be an exciting day of eventing down in Indiana! [Live Scores]
GMHA Horse Trials [Live Scores]
Colorado Horse Park CCI*/CCI** [Live Scores]
Poplar Place June Horse Trials [Live Scores]
Waredaca Horse Trials [Live Scores]
And now for the links:

That’s all for now, Eventing Nation. Whatever your day may hold, I hope it’ll be a great one!

Fitch’s Corner Fundraiser Derby

By on Jun 2, 2011 12:48 pm -
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In yet another demonstration of the outreach of support in the wake of tragedy at True Prospect, Fitch’s Corner Farm, located in Millbrook, New York and host of the Area I Championships, has responded quickly to the fire relief efforts by scheduling a Jumping Derby this Saturday, with proceeds going to Boyd and his team. 


The event will begin at 9 am, starting with a 2’6″ class, before moving on to 3’0″ and 3’3″ divisions. Each class is split into two sections, one just a pure show jumping course, and the other a ‘Derby’ type course, incorporating both show jumps and some of the Fitch’s Corner cross country fences. 
The event is a great way to help out the True Prospect gang, and it is also a perfect opportunity to school at Fitch’s Corner before the upcoming Area I Championships. If you are in the area, please come out and support!
Further details and entry information can be found here. 
In addition to Fitch’s Corner, another event is helping with fundraising.  The Seneca Valley Pony Club will be donating a portion of the proceeds from our Spring Horse Trials to Lillian Heard’s AHTF account.  Lillian is a B graduate of Seneca Valley PC and her mom, Jaqueline, was one of the driving forces behind the horse trials for many years.  The Seneca Valley Pony Club District Commissioner, Nancy Jones, said “We are all very proud of Lill’s actions on that horrible night and, while the donations will not ease her emotional loss, we are hopeful that we can at least help in her efforts to rebuild.”  They will  have donation stations set up at the event for the more general True Prospect Farm fire relief funds for public participation.  More info is here.

We’ve been talking over the past two days about the ways to help Boyd’s team and aid in the fire relief efforts. As a recap, here they are:

— For the convenience of all of our readers, John has set up a sidebar link for direct donations to the tax deductible True Prospect Farm/SCES fund. Besides losing six horses, a great deal of tack, equipment, and all the things needed to run a successful operation were lost in the flames as well. Lillian, Caitlin, and Ryan, who were living on the second story of the barn at the time and played a heroic role in rescuing what horses they could, lost their personal possessions in the fire as well. Even a small donation can make a big difference in helping True Prospect get back on their feet. 

—Tax deductible donations can also be made through the American Horse Trials Foundation to the specific riders. As will all AHTF donations, be sure to write the riders name on a note with the check, not the actual check.
The American Horse Trials Foundation
221 Grove Cove Road
Centreville, MD 21617
Phone: (443) 262-9555

We always love to hear from our readers, so if you or someone you know is organizing a local benefit or fundraiser to benefit True Prospect, please leave it as a comment in this post or shoot us an email. 

A tribute to horses from Boyd Martin’s program lost in the barn fire

By on May 31, 2011 12:35 pm -

There are some scenarios in life, and eventing, that we all put in the very back our our minds on a daily basis, as thinking about their potential is just too scary. Trailer wrecks, barn fires, and really any situation that threatens to endanger our equine companions falls in this category. We rarely think about the potential for tragedy until the tragedy has happened, so it comes with great shock and sadness to hear that a member of our community, or team rather, has suffered such a hard blow. I know that everyone, myself and the EN team included, extend our very deepest condolences to Boyd, his owners, grooms, Abbie, and everyone else involved in the fire. 

Call Me Ollie
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‘Ollie’ was a big brown horse that had as much of a Teddy Bear pedigree as he did Holsteiner. I knew Ollie personally, and he was by far one of the top 10 sweetest horses that I have ever met. He was owned by Faye Woolf, a long time supporter of Eventing, and up until recently he was ridden and competed up to the CCI** level by Becky Holder. Ollie had just started his partnership with Boyd, debuting at Jersey Fresh a couple of weeks ago, and I know Boyd had big plans for him in the future. He will be greatly missed. 
Charla
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Charla was an eight year old, up-and-coming mare owned by Henley House Farms. She just recently finished in the CIC** at Fair Hill in April, and definitely looked to be a star of the future. We extend our deepest sympathies to Henley House Farms, and Boyd, for the loss of this great horse.


Phantom Pursuit
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Phantom Pursuit was owned and competed by a member of the EN team, Abbie Golden. Phantom enjoyed a career with Boyd as well, including an Advanced level finish at Rebecca Farms last year.  Phantom Pursuit was showing Abbie the ropes at the Preliminary level at the time of his death. We extend our deepest condolences to Abbie and her family for the loss of this great horse. 
Ariel
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Ariel was a young mare, owned and ridden by Boyd’s right hand girl, Lillian Heard. Ariel was eventing at the preliminary level with Lillian, but was certainly going to have been a special horse in the future. Lillian was the first to discover the fire and played a tremendous role in saving several horses from the burning building.
Cagney Herself
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Standing at 17.3 hands, Cagney was the only horse in the barn that Boyd’s long legs did not create the ‘grasshopper’ look on. She was a young mare, just starting out in Eventing, and owned by one of Boyd’s most faithful supporters, Bonnie Stedt. Bonnie owns part shares in both Neville Barbos and Otis Barbotiere, but Cagney was one of her favorites. 
Summer Breeze
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Summer was an eight year old mare, owned by Anne Hennessey, and was imported from Australia in November 2009. Summer was a horse close to Boyd’s heart as she was a half sister to Shatzi W, one of his favorite Advanced horses, and was sired by Staccatto, a leading eventing sire. She certainly had all the makings to be one of the best, so her passing will be hard on everyone who knew her.  Note: The information in this post comes in part from Boyd’s website and the USEA.

The Tuesday News

By on May 31, 2011 12:40 am -
Good Morning Eventing Nation! I hope your Memorial Day weekend was lovely, whether it consisted of a competition, a family trip to the lake, or just a lazy weekend at home. Being on a vacation myself at the current moment, I forgot how much even a short break from the daily routine can do to improve our mood and perspective. When we are constantly on the run, holidays like Memorial Day can provide that much needed break, even if it is only for one day.
Fair Hill ran the Intermediate and Preliminary sections of their Spring Horse Trial yesterday; I think by looking at the scoreboard the results were definitely mixed. Clear rounds in the show jumping were not easily had, in fact, in the OI-B, Skyeler Icke had the only clear round of the division and ended with winning score. Sarah Cousins came second in that division aboard The Robber Baron, while topping the OI-A division aboard Yukon Denali. Fair Hill was certainly a great weekend for her. Tiana Coudray, currently prepping for the Luhmuhlen CIC***, ran Ringwood Magister in the Intermediate over the weekend. The pair scored 35.6 on the flat which is a high score for a horse like ‘Finn’, and had a rail in the show jumping which is also a bit out of character. Tiana went slow on cross-country, racking up twenty four time faults, but that’s to be expected given their plans for later this spring. [Fair Hill Results]

Over in the land of Show Jumping, Eric Lamaze and Hickstead are taking the country by storm. On Sunday, the dynamic duo captured yet another major grand prix title, Ã¢â€šÂ¬200,000 Loro Piana Grand Prix of Rome in Italy. The exchange rate puts the winnings at a cool 287,000 dollars. If you watched the video John posted several weeks ago of Hickstead in the jump-off of another grand prix, you’d know exactly why he emerged victorious last weekend; that horse’s body houses such an immense amount of power  that it makes his technique quite spectacular. You’d think Lamaze would be getting used to bringing home the cash prize at the end of the weekend, but according to his statement on Sunday after the Prix, the winning hasn’t begun to feel old yet. “It was one of the most exciting jump-offs I have ever seen!” Lamaze said. “The turn we did from jump two to three in the jump-off; I don’t know if I could ever do it again! It was really exciting.” [Horsetalk]
Mark Todd’s weekend at Cornwall was more of an educational, rather than winning weekend. He had four rides, and ended the weekend placed 5th and 7th in the Intermediate section respectively, as well as coming 15th and 16th on two young horses in the Novice section (Equivalent to American preliminary level). One of his Novice rides was called ‘The Chosen One’, and with a jockey like Mark Todd, I think that horse is going to have a lot of ‘living up’ to do. [Horsetalk]
In some very sad news, a twelve year old girl named Lauren Mathias died at the High School Rodeo Finals in South Carolina on Saturday. As the fall occurred outside the rodeo arena, on the walk up from the stabling facility, it is still unclear what exactly caused the fall but officials are saying the horse tripped, dislodging the young girl from the saddle, lost its footing and fell to the ground, thereby crushing Lauren in the process. It sounds like it was a freak accident, but how awful that the result was the death of someone so young. [NY Daily]
Well, we all know the future lies in technology, so it should come as little surprise that microchip technology is on the fast track to becoming a permanent part of FEI rule. Since July 1, 2009, all foals born after that date have been subject to microchipping under European regulations, a fact which may not be widely known to many Americans. This new proposal, however, is the first time the microchip is being proposed for use in sport horses. According to an article from Horse and Hound, “A timeline for the proposal is yet to be announced. Once chipped, all horses taking part in FEI competitions would be linked to a central database. It is hoped that this database will prove crucial in enforcing the new regulations, although full details on this work are yet to be revealed.”
Doug Payne’s winning ride aboard Rivertown Lad at Fair Hill over the weekend

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Saturday Links

By on May 27, 2011 11:36 pm -

Good Morning Eventing Nation! I hope your Saturday is off to a brilliant start and that it stays that way throughout the course of the weekend. John stole my thunder a bit in his afternoon links post yesterday by linking to all the stories fresh off the press, so this post is very much going to be about this weekend’s horse trials. 

The big event to follow is the Tattersalls Three-Day Event, taking place over in Ireland this weekend. It’s an exciting weekend for the organizers and competitors at the Horse Trials as this year a CCI*** section has been added for the first time, as well as a new course designer, in the great Ian Stark, taking over the reins. In Ian’s words, it will be a ‘kick-on’ course, so be sure to check out the Live Results to see how they’re getting on, and visit the Tattersalls website for more information on the event. It’s been a British weekend so far sitting 1-2-3 going into cross country. William Fox-Pitt is leading on Oslo with a respectable 41.2, Ruth Edge and Oli Townend lie just off of that mark. 

We alluded to some of these US based events earlier on in the week, but here is your final order:
Texas Lions Camp Charity H.T. at Meadowcreek [Live Scores]
The Spring Event at Woodside [Live Scores]
May-Daze at the Park H.T. [Live Scores], Samantha’s Friday Recap
Mystic Valley Hunt Club H.T [Ride Times PDF]
The Fair Hill International H.T is also taking place this Memorial Day weekend, but competition doesn’t start until Sunday. [Homepage]
Here are just a couple links to tide you over until the divisions get underway at the events and the live scoring provides you entertainment for the remainder of the day:
That’s all I have for you now. Be sure to check back later today for some exciting posts and event coverage!

A View From My Horse: May-Daze Edition from World Equestrian Brands

By on May 27, 2011 2:48 pm -

This week’s ears photo is the perfect lead in to talking about the events going on this weekend.   May-Daze, like all the other events held at the Kentucky Horse Park, is a really fun event to attend for a multitude of reasons, but especially because of the venue. That fact is demonstrated in this photo, as it isn’t often we get to ride among the ‘greats’ or the ‘great statues’ in this case! Thanks to Megan for submitting, thank you for reading, and good luck to everyone in their competitions this weekend! 

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From Megan:

This is my “ears” picture for you guys! My horse Natural Light and I are competing in the Maydaze horse trials at the Kentucky Horse Park this weekend. We took advantage of getting to ride around the usually bustling venue, and I snapped this picture of Bruce Davidson’s statue in front of us!

[May-Daze Live Scores]

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Let’s Discuss: The Learning Equation

By on May 26, 2011 1:16 pm -
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The other day I found myself perusing the recent backlog of articles from Chronicle of the Horse, and I came across one I think we could all benefit from reading. It’s called “Teaching and Learning: A Shared Responsibility” and written by Catherine Haddad, a dressage rider of no small note, as part of her ongoing blog series with the Chronicle. The purpose of the article was an analysis of the different ways riders learn, the different ways teachers teach, and the fact that for optimal learning to occur, the responsibilty lies within both the teacher and the student. 
I always find it interesting to watch the different relationships between students and coaches, how some coaches (usually the best ones) adapt themselves to best teach the student in front of them, while others seem to teach in the same mold year after year. Conversely, studying the way a student participates in the lesson can be equally fascinating. Some say nothing, some say everything that comes across their mind, and then there are those who seem to have found the medium- they speak often enough to ask questions and our quiet enough to absorb the full extent of information their coach is trying to impart. 
Something less obvious in watching others and really known only from our own experiences is when we actually learn what has been taught to us. Its difficult to quantify when learning occurs because, as humans, we have both the blessing and curse of being able to percieve and study our enviornment, putting truth into the saying, “we are the result of our experiences.” In other words, the way we truly learn is not by being taught, but rather by experiencing a multitude of situations, which takes, among other things, a great deal of time. A couple of months ago, I read a book (upon recommendation of Denny Emerson) called Mastery- The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment by George Leonard. In the book, he explains that the key to learning and fulfilment in the process comes in accepting the fact that learning is really a series of plateaus, each followed by a ‘peak’ of learning progress, followed ultimetly by another plateau. I’m certainly no expert on the topic, but it is something I think each of us can relate closely with.
I think that in our quest to become better riders and better horseman, we should also strive to become better students. It’s easy to pass up learning opportunities with the seemingly daily shortages of time, energy, and money we face, but we can’t forgot that learning is at foundation of everything we aim to do and aspire to being. 

What are your thoughts, Eventing Nation? 

Eventing Profile of the Week

By on May 25, 2011 4:43 pm -

Your Name: Maggie Deatrick


Age: 24

Location: Denton, TX

Relationship to Eventing: Intermediate Rider


Favorite Eventing moment/story?: In Fall 2008, I crossed the finish line at Waredaca with tears in my eyes and a huge grin on my face. Dante and I had had some major water problems after falling into a lake in August, and Waredaca in October was our first event that fall where we didn’t have water issues, and I knew I wouldn’t have to sell him. To this day, I am not sure I have ever been so proud of him as in that moment.

If you had to pick one reason why you love Eventing, what would it be? I event because of that feeling on cross country where it’s almost as if you and your horse are thinking with one mind. There’s nothing like the feeling of galloping up to a big table and both of you knowing exactly when you’re going to take off, or tackling a hard combination and knowing how your partner was going to jump at every step of it. There’s nothing like the teamwork of cross country.

Overall Goals in the sport: To compete at Rolex one day, and maybe even Burghley or Badminton. I don’t expect to win, but even to complete those events would be an amazing thing.

Biggest Role model: I don’t really have a role model, although when I was younger I wanted to be Ashleigh Griffin from theThoroughbred series. I looked up to Willie Shoemaker for a long time, for being an amazing rider. In eventing, I look up to Mark Todd for his one stirrup ride around a four star, Bruce Davidson for his tenacity on Little Tricky in the rain, David O’Connor for his Olympic moment. I find my role models in bits and pieces.


Link to blog or website, if applicable: http://comediceventing.blogspot.com

Tuesday Morning News from Pennfield

By on May 24, 2011 12:51 am -
Good Morning Eventing Nation! I hope your morning has been pleasant so far. I don’t know about you, but already its looking to be a busy day. As John mentioned in an afternoon post yesterday, definite progress is being made in the preparations for the Pan American Games scheduled for this upcoming October. It’s been announced that the Mandatory Outing will be held at Richland Park, making this otherwise top-class event even more of a draw for this year. I think its going to be really interesting to see how the team selection plays out for the Pan Ams, simply because of the huge range of applicants. On the one hand, there are the A-lister professionals with some nice, albeit less experienced horses, then there are the pairs with plenty of Advanced and 3 star level experience but still wanting a shot for riding on their first team, and then there are the applicants in the young rider range, a lot of them very good riders mounted on good horses. If one things for certain, it’s that there will be plenty to choose from. [Applicant PDF List]
Some big news of the morning is contained in the new bill to prohibit horse drawn carriages from operating in New York City. I was honestly a little surprised to come across that headline as I hadn’t ever really seen carriages as a problem before. An entire website is dedicated to the cause, it can be viewed here, and they definitely make some valid points. Contained in the first clause of their mission statement, 
    “Carriage horses are out of place in midtown’s congested streets and belong to another                  century when there were far fewer vehicles and pedestrians. When cabs are mixed with cars, taxis, buses, pedestrians, bikes and emergency vehicles – fire trucks, ambulances and police cars – they are a recipe for disaster. Hansom cabs traveling to and from the Central Park area on 9th and 10th Avenue interfere with emergency vehicles going to and from Roosevelt Hospital – and the many vehicles going to the Lincoln Tunnel or the West Side Highway. Over the years, there have been many accidents where both horses and people have been seriously injured and some in which horses have died.”

What are your thoughts, Eventing Nation? Should horse drawn carriages be banned or kept alive as a part of the city?

Speaking of horse welfare, fifty wild horses in Romania just escaped slaughter by the narrowest of margins. Evidently, the horses were gathered from territories in the eastern part of the country and in route to a slaughter house, when police officers intercepted the operation mid route. The horses are now grazing on a private farm, but their fate still hasn’t been decided. There are an estimated 2,000 horses remaining on the territory from which the fifty were seized, but the divide lies between animal rights activists fighting to protect these horses, and environmentalists fighting to protect the native lands on which the horses are grazing. The Police Force’s Operations Director, Paul Gardescu, explained the delicate situation by saying, “Many environmentalists argue that the horses are affecting the fragile equilibrium of the Delta Reservation where other thousands of plants, birds and animals live. Many of these species are unique and specific for this area. On the other hand, the treatment that the horses have suffered is far from being legal and human.” [Horsetalk]
PRO just published their latest guest blog, “A Look Back at Rolex with James Alliston”, which is definitely worth the read. I hadn’t seen him ride before Kentucky, but I was really impressed watching him on Saturday and Sunday. He doesn’t have the most classical style of all the riders, but he has a great deal of effectiveness, especially seen in the way he rode two horses of very different types to considerably good results. It’s too bad he doesn’t ride for us!
Today is a good day for the Dressage divas, as thanks to the generous gift of Betsy Juliano, four extra ‘Elite Dressage Rider Clinics’ have just been announced to be held this fall, all under the tutelage of Steffen Peters and Anne Gribbons. It wouldn’t be dressage without the many formalities, and this case is no exception as the clinic participants will attend on an invitation-only basis. [COTH]
Nominations are now being accepted for the annual FEI year end awards! The chance for us, the non-royal, non-elected commoners, to influence anything related to the FEI is an occasion, to say the least, so we should all take a few seconds to nominate our favorite riders for eternal FEI glory. The awards are multiple, in fact, and the categories include: Best Groom, Against All The Odds, HSBC Rising Star, Development, and REEM ACRA Best Athlete. Nominate here.
Best of the Blogs: A horse trials in pictures

I thought this video, of the winning Freestyle ride of Dressage at Bromont, served as a good preview for the upcoming Bromont Three Day Event. Courtesy, as always, of ECOGOLD. 


That’s all for now, Eventing Nation. Be sure to check back soon, you should know by now that the excitement never ceases!

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Sunday Links

By on May 21, 2011 9:48 pm -
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Good Morning Eventing Nation! I hope everyone had a great day yesterday and I wish everyone the best on this Sunday. It’s busy as ever on the event scene, here is what’s going on today: 

Over in France, the Saumur Three Day Event is on it’s final day. The cross country course proved challenging, only three out of the 54 starters made it home clear and inside the time. In the CCI***, Clayton Fredericks and Bendigo maintain their lead going into the final day.  Another Australian rider, Bill Levett, is a close second with One Two Many. Piggy French of Great Britain had one of those three double clear rounds, and she in turn sits in third place. Zara Phillips is fourth with High Kingdom (Mandiba’s brother). Our American contingent is doing fine as well, Elizabeth Halliday moved from 44th place to 23rd going into the show jumping after a fast, clear round yesterday. 

The Saumur CCI3* Show Jumping will begin at 8:30 am EST. 

With all the excitement in France this weekend, we can’t forgot about the many events taking place in the US.
Otter Creek Farm Horse Trials: [Live Scores]
Chattahoochee Hills Horse Trials: [Live Scores]
Virginia Horse Trials and Three Day Event: [Results Page]
Hitching Post Farm Horse Trials: [Live Scores]
Greater Dayton Horse Trials: [Live Scores]
Flora Lea Spring Horse Trials: [Live Scores]

And now, onto the links:


Have a great day! And Go Eventing.

Saturday Morning Links

By on May 21, 2011 1:06 am -
Good Morning Eventing Nation! Well, it has sure been an exciting past few days here on Eventing Nation, and the weekend is looking to be much the same. John mentioned yesterday that there is one American rider at the Saumur Three Day Event in France this weekend, Elizabeth Halliday. Thanks to a tip from one of our readers, Jane R., we found out more about Liz, and the cool story behind her. Evidently she splits her time between Eventing and professional race car driving, and has made quite a name for herself in both sports. She also freelances as a sports broadcaster, most notably for CBS Sports. How she finds the time to do it all, I have no clue, but the California born-and-raised Halliday is certainly a force to be reckoned with, and we wish her the best of luck this weekend. She currently sits 44th in the Saumur standings after the first day, but a good round from her today could really shake the placings. Be sure to check out Elizabeth’s website here. 
The Saumur CCI3* cross country begins at 8:30 AM EST, Liz’s ride is scheduled for 9:47 AM.
Saumur Links:

With all the excitement in France this weekend, we can’t forgot about the events taking place in the US because they are some of the best horse trials of the entire season. 
Otter Creek Farm Horse Trials: [Live Scores], [Ali’s Post From Yesterday]
Chattahoochee Hills Horse Trials: [Live Scores]
Virginia Horse Trials and Three Day Event: [Results Page]
Hitching Post Farm Horse Trials: [Live Scores]
Greater Dayton Horse Trials: [Live Scores]
Flora Lea Spring Horse Trials: [Live Scores]
Now that we have all of the horse trial information taken care of, I present you with the weekend links: 

That’s all for now, Eventing Nation. I wish all the competitors, across the nation, the best of luck today and tomorrow. I hope everyone else has an enjoyable Saturday, and thank you for making Eventing Nation a part of it. 

Eventing Profile of the Week

By on May 19, 2011 3:35 pm -
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Name: Erin
Age: 30 (ugh!)
Location: New Jersey, but moving to MD in June!!
Relationship to Eventing:  Up until recently, I was an adult amateur rider at the lower levels with dreams of becoming a professional.  Thanks to my super supportive hubby, I was able to do 6 months as a working student last year and turn the corner to becoming (technically) a professional!  So, I’m in the process of slowly building up a training business with several youngsters, one of whom debuted at Jersey Fresh YEH this May!  So…I think I’m in a major transitional period in my Eventing Relationship 🙂  I will say that I’ve been riding for 25 years and have done everything from hunters to barrel racing to dressage to Eventing and ever since I learned what Eventing was, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do!  I am very sad I didn’t get to start in this sport before the Long Format went away.
Favorite Eventing moment/story?: My mare’s first Horse Trial!  At Bucks County Horse Park in PA, we were entered in BN Horse and it was a nasty rainy day.  This was a huge deal for us because 18 months prior, she did a LF suspensory and so we went through 4 months of stall rest, plus all the of the fun rehab that goes along with that.  This was not only our first Horse Trial, but our 2nd competition in almost 2 years!  I knew my mare loved jumping, but wasn’t sure if she was up to the mental rigors of an entire cross country course.  We left the start box, jumped 1 and 2, pretty straight forward, and entered the woods, turning left to number 3.  Number 3 was a pallisade at the bottom of a hill…remember how rainy and nasty it was?  Well, we came down that hill and I sat her back on her butt to slow down and the brakes weren’t working all that well!  She tried to slow down, but slid instead…right into the palisade!  I realized what was happening and just stayed back and let her sort it out.  She saw the jump coming, and jumped it with her front legs, but slid in with her back legs.  I thought we were going down right there, but she stifled it and somehow got her rear legs over safely!  I was a little shaken, but trotted her and she felt sound.  I thought “we’ll just take it one fence at a time, and see how she feels,” I didn’t want her to have a bad experience.  Well, she shook her head, looked up and was like “OK Mom, where’s the next fence?!”  She trotted up to number 4, cantered away and ate up the rest of that course!  That was the day I knew I had an Eventer, not just a wannabe!  When I got off after XC, she had a one inch cut on her hip bone where her entire rear end had rotated sideways laying on the top of that jump….never took a bad step or stressed out afterwards.  Rock Star Mare!
If you had to pick one reason why you love Eventing, what would it be?:  Hard to narrow it down to one, of course I love Cross Country, and the camaradarie at the events!  But I think for me, it’s the honesty.  This sport makes you honest, it makes your horse honest, you can’t fake it out there on XC, you can’t fake it in the dressage ring (your horse will rat you out every time!)  It’s the most objective test of horse, rider, and the training that got you there.  I love that.  No gimmicks, no trainers riding your horse 5 days a week and handing you the reins ringside, no fads or fashion points…just you and your horse, your relationship, your care and your training.  Honestly performing your tests, hoping that your preparation and training are enough, and if not, knowing that you can go back and keep working to improve.
Overall Goals in the sport: Well, honestly, a tiny part of me still hopes to run advanced one day and dare I say it…Rolex?  That would be unbelievable!  But, more short term, I would like to run at the upper levels and do it well.  The most important thing for me is to do it right…to train my horses and myself slowly and methodically and build their abilities and fitness and see how far that gets us.  It’s not worth it to me to take shortcuts to get to a certain level.  But I am confident that I can get there, because many before me have done so, with integrity and care for their partners.
Biggest Role model: My biggest inspiration as an eventer is Denny Emerson.  He embodies for me the old mentality that used to be everywhere in this sport…that anyone can do it if they work hard enough, and that you get where you’re going by working slowly and methodically, always putting your horse first!  But I have to claim two here…my biggest role model is my trainer, Lisa Lewis-Greene!  She used to event, ran around Rolex a few times and was short listed for Atlanta (back when the long format was in!)  Now, she does straight Dressage at the FEI levels.  She is the epitome of a trainer with integrity, something that I think is hard to find…she always puts her horses first, works the basics of flatwork to fix and improve the horses, no shortcuts, runs her business with integrity and always works to improve herself and learn more. What more could you want?
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].

Jersey Relapse Video Break

By on May 18, 2011 2:31 pm -

Good afternoon Eventing Nation! Following with the tradition of posting video selections in the midst of the work day, I present to you some odds and ends of video taken at last weekend’s Jersey Fresh Three Day Event. I hope your day, whatever it has involved, has been pleasant so far. 

Cross Country from the COTH: Mara DePuy, Kendal Lehari, Danielle Dichting, David Koss, Colleen Rutledge, Carl Bouckaert, Alexandra Slusher, Danica Moore, Doug Payne, Nina Ligon, Andrea Leatherman:
Courtney Cooper and Who’s A Star– CCI** Show Jumping
Doug Payne and Running Order– CCI*** Show Jumping 
Melissa Miller and High Finance– CIC** Dressage
Go Eventing. 

Tuesday Good News from Pennfield

By on May 17, 2011 12:37 am -

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Good Morning Eventing Nation! How are you feeling this morning? If your feeling is anything like mine, then its a pretty darn good one. Spring is here, summer is on the horizon, and the weather is pristine, what could there possibly be out there to be unhappy about? Even the news seems to be above averagely pleasant this morning. In case you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, spilled your coffee on the way to work, and my cheeriness is having a nauseating effect on you; I’ll be kind and start with the negative news. After that, beware, as its all rainbows and butterflies. 
As it applies to the staff at the Washington State University Veterinary Hospital, I take back what I said in the paragraph above about the roses and butterflies as this past week for them has been anything but. A third case of EHV-1 was confirmed yesterday by the hospital after two diagnosis’ in Colorado last week. Because of the severity of the virus, the University Hospital has been put under quarantine. Part of the serious of the situation is that the first horses diagnosed had recently taken part in a Utah reining competition, so the potentially for mass exposure has been greatly raised. This situation has already made waves in the western world and a major cutting competition in Oklahoma was canceled due to the outbreak. [Horsetalk] [Equine Chronicle]
Rebecca Howard wrote a quick blog update after her successful weekend at Jersey with Roquefort. As we remember all too vividly, Rebecca and ‘Rocky’ had a terrible fall at Pine Top last year that sidelined both Rebecca’s health and her partnership with that horse. Rebecca is one of the toughest and most persistent people in our sport, and her winning performance last weekend is certainly evidence of that.

Nancy Jaffer’s Jersey Fresh postcard with rider interviews

Across the pond, Emily Baldwin emerged victorious in the World Cup class at the Chatsworth Horse Trials aboard her longtime partner, Drivetime. The CIC*** cross country track designed by Ian Stark was tough, tough enough to catch out even Andrew Nicholson, often dubbed ‘Mr. Stickability’ with his veteran Armada. Emily said of the weekend: “When he [Drivetime] is on-form he’s fantastic — his dressage test on Friday was really impressive, plus he was keen through the water across country which was great as I felt we had a point to prove!” [Horse and Hound]
The new Broadway play ‘War Horse’ has been receiving rave reviews and a multitude of awards. Yesterday, “War Horse” was named as the winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award for outstanding new Broadway play. In addition, the play performed out of the Lincoln Center Theatre, has been nominated for five Tony awards, including best play. [Horsetalk]
If I asked you to answer these two questions: 1. “Have you ever wanted go on a Safari ride across Botswana?” and 2. “Have you ever wanted to go for a ride with Mark Todd?” I’m guessing most would answer “Hmmm probably not” to the first question and “Yes! Definitely! Sign me up!” to the second one. Well, prepare yourselves because now you have the chance to spend some quality time with the Legend in an African jungle next winter for only a small price to pay of £3,000. Personally, if it wasn’t for the Botswana part, I’d be putting down the credit card number right now, but it definitely sounds like a cool trip for those who are wilderness inclined. [Horse and Hound]
Why all horses are created equal [via ESJ]

An event rider in England’s prognosis is unclear after a severe fall in April [Horse and Hound]

They say experience pays, in Susie Hutchinson’s case, it just paid $50,000. The 58 year-old show jumping legend won the California Grand Prix over the weekend, jumping a clear and fast round to top a stacked division. [COTH]
Best of the Blogs: Schooling at the Horse Park

Our friends at Pennfield have added two new dealers: Tapps Feed in Louisville, KY, 502-633-1060, and Clifton Saddlery in Clifton, VA, 703-830-7200 [Dealer Directory]

That’s all I have for now.  Stay tuned for a full day of fun on Eventing Nation.

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Sunday Links

By on May 14, 2011 11:18 pm -
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Good Morning Eventing Nation! The weather forecast for yesterday at New Jersey looks alot like the weather forecast for today, mainly rain and thunderstorms. Hopefully yesterday’s luck of the rain holding out will continue over into today, and allow for a great day of show jumping competition. The Final Horse Inspection begins at 8 am, and the tentative time schedule is as follows:

10:30 a.m. CIC2* 
11:30 a.m. CCI2* 
1:00 p.m. CIC3* 
2:00 p.m. CCI3*

I wish all the competitors, both at Jersey and elsewhere, the best of luck today. Here’s to hoping for a day of good, safe riding. Now, here are the links:
COTH video from the XC:

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