EN TRENDS:

Articles Written 128

Article Views 182,874

John Lechner

Achievements

Become an Eventing Nation Blogger

About John Lechner

John Lechner is Australian based in the Hunter Valley of NSW with a focus on Eventing Photography and Writing about the sport he is passionate about. You can check out John's photography at http://esjphoto.com.au/about/

Latest Articles Written

The ‘Seinfeld’ story

By John Lechner on Jun 26, 2011 3:52 pm -

This video sums up this whole story

One of the greatest pleasures of being an EN writer is the complete editorial freedom that EN John gives the team. I am not given any assignments to write about particular things, this is great, gives me freedom to express my thoughts and ideas.

BUT, (I know I shouldn’t start a sentence with but) there is a downside to this freedom. I need to come up with the ideas. Most weeks one or two issues will pop up and give me the basis of a story. This week, nine days and counting I am coming up a complete blank.

I did think about choosing another juicy rule and starting a debate on it, for instance the whole black flag at the last obstacle of a combination. This is a really simple rule with a whole bunch of pictures to explain it, which in my opinion only serve to leave you mentally exhausted after reading and deciphering the nuances in each.

One of the eight different diagrams used to help confuse you in understanding the Black Flag rule

However, I know EN John doesn’t have the stomach for another rule debate. When this happens there is lots of debate, which is fantastic, but it sometimes descends to a level best avoided.

I could talk about my upcoming Burghley trip, but I have already done that and it is still over nine weeks away, a lifetime in the eventing world, so that is out of the question.

I could interview some horse people, I do have some very interesting people in the pipeline to interview over the coming weeks and months. Unfortunately, none of them live close by and I prefer to do my ‘conversations’ face to face if possible.

So ‘Team EN’, it is up to you as the reading audience, what do you want to see from this Aussie writer down-under? Is there a particular rider or event you would like me to cover? A particular Australian item that fascinates you? I have kangaroos, wallabies and laughing kookaburras in my backyard.

What about Vegemite and Tim Tams, those chocolate biscuits are an essential for any long road trip. How about twitter, I am pretty sure I could give a three hour presentation without stopping for air on the features of twitter, what a #hashtag is? Why it is really nice to get an #FF and why you don’t click on links sent to you by random people out of the blue.

I am pretty sure air-dropping Tim Tams into war zones would solve conflicts

You are the readers, let rip with your ideas, suggestions and comments, by submitting a comment below. Be sure to include your email address in the comments so I can write back to get more detail or damn you for giving me a hard time (only kidding on that). I really love getting feedback, even if it isn’t always good.

So Team please tell me your ideas and we will see what journey it takes us on. 10 EN Karma points to the first person to correctly decipher the name of this story.

Yours in Eventing,

ESJ

Finding the balance

By John Lechner on Jun 14, 2011 12:32 pm -

My twitter profile (johnvacy) lists my bio as

Father, husband, Eventer, accidental writer, check out eventingnation.com ESJ is me. Traveler & photographer. TD (Eventing) & advocate for Eventing safety.

I also have a career, I work in disability services as a Fundraiser and Business Development Manager. But as we know “horse people” are not known for doing one thing at a time or doing anything in half measures so one ends up with an extremely busy and hard to balance life.

When you are younger and without children it can almost be all about horses and earning enough to support your habit. If you have a partner too, then finding the time to be a good partner must also come into the mix and besides every rider needs a groom.

But having a family changes things in ways you never imagined. For me the one thing that was a monumental change was that I found I no longer had the courage for XC. Not because I was scared of getting injured but because of the possible consequences for my family.

I love nothing more than riding XC, the thrill, the adrenaline, the accomplishment and the partnership with your horse. But now I can’t just say too bad I was injured doing something I love.

These days I don’t even own a horse, riding was one of the things I have had to give up, ironically in pursuit of my Eventing dreams. Why, well simply if I am going to ride, I want to do it regularly. Train well and put in 100% effort. I can’t do that so I don’t do it at all.
What I do do is my work as a TD, this year that includes two trips overseas, Red Hills and Burghley. My work for EN, something I am thoroughly enjoying but it takes up a bit of time. I really do love the writing but also the thrill of unearthing a story and bringing it to our community.

All of these things happen in addition to my career, my work in Eventing Safety and my life as a father and husband.

This is where I find I am walking a tightrope. My two young boys Kyle 7 and Ethan 5 are adventurous, demanding and intelligent. That means when I neglect them or miss an opportunity to do something with them, not only do I regret it personally, I am reminded that we didn’t do this or that by the boys.

One of the areas that carries the biggest heartache in our family is holidays. I get four weeks paid leave a year, plus I have bought an extra 2 weeks so a total of 6 weeks leave a year. This year as with the last few, I have used most of my leave on Eventing.

I know there is no simple answer to finding the balance, I am still finding a way to navigate the path of being good at everything I do, including being a father and a husband.

There is no clear path, what I do know is that life cannot be measured in boxes ticked, goals reached but in satisfaction and the quality of the little people you bring into the world. The problem with that is that by the time you realize you have stuffed it up, it is too late.
I love my Eventing and I love my family, but I love my family more and I need to try harder at getting the balance right.

Yours in Eventing,

ESJ

Melbourne Wrap

By John Lechner on Jun 13, 2011 2:47 pm -

OMG, what a finish! It is Monday afternoon in the USA and I guess there is a large contingent of riders making the long trek home from another Bromont. I had a ball watching the Bromont coverage from John and Samantha, and I would love to go to Bromont one day.

The Melbourne International Three Day Event finished on a holiday Monday here in Australia in the most spectacular style.

Let’s go back to yesterday first and the conclusion of XC.

Cross country certainly changed the scoreboard at the Melbourne Three Day Event. Overnight leader Heath Ryan failed to finish XC so has completely dropped out of the race, as did Craig Barrett on the only mare in the field Sandhills Brillaire. The day, however was been mixed for Craig after adding just 3.6 time penalties to his Dressage score to keep him in touch with the leaders in third place.

Cross country machine Shane Rose on Taurus finished on his dressage score coming in under time by 7 seconds, Emma Mason on F1 Pharinelli who shared equal 4th with Shane over night came in 10 seconds under time putting her in 2nd place at the time, both were on 47.3 penalties.

Note: The FEI Rules state a number of criteria to split tied combinations, in this case the second criteria was applied, when two riders are on equal score then the closest to optimal time is deemed the leader.

Back to today, the top 10 was tight with the top 5 less than a rail separating them. The course was tough and lots of rails fell and no-one seemed immune to taking the odd rail and there was carnage on the scoreboard.

I have to assume that there were a lot of very tired horses out there. From what I understand the track was challenging and the going heavy from all of the rain.

No rider finished on their dressage score. Unfortunately coverage of the event was highly limited so I was left to tweeting a running commentary with my good tweep friend @cazdrop. Between the two of us we built up the commentary.

So what happened? The top five riders had less than a rail between them and Shane Rose ahead on a technicality. It was exciting. The only rider of the top five to jump clear was Craig Barrett jumping in third position he put the pressure on the top two.

Emma Mason had a rail elevating Craig to second place as the leader Shane Rose entered the ring. Unfortunately, everything went south for Shane and he picked up five rails and dropped from first to fifteenth instantly.

Craig was the winner after a massive weekend and it will be a much happier drive home for the 14 hours in the truck. Craig is the husband of National Eventing Performance Director Prue Barratt and has made it clear to Prue and the rest of the selection team that he wants to be on the team for London 2012.

I will leave you with a highlights video from the dressage.

Yours in Eventing,

ESJ

Melbourne Three Day kicks off

By John Lechner on Jun 11, 2011 12:03 am -

2010 CCI3* winners, the now retired Ringwould Jaguar and laid up in bed with a broken hip Sonja Johnson, photo courtesy of Franz Venhaus

Later today the CCI Three Star Melbourne International Three Day Event kicks off in Victoria. The Melbourne event is the first big 3DE in the Aussie calendar and usually attracts a diverse and class field from across the country.

This year while there are 39 entries in the CCI 3 Star class which would warm the cockles of just about any organizing committee’s heart, the field isn’t quite as strong as it could be. Now that Adelaide has been included in the FEI Classics Series, I believe that some horses are being held back, saving that CCI run for later in the year.

In fact of last year’s top 10 combinations in the three star, only one combination is entered, that is Megan Jones and Kirby Park Allofasudden, I don’t recall this occurring in the past. Among the notable combinations missing is Chris Burton, who in recent years has had two or three horses entered at most big three star events, is now relocated to the UK. So this is the first big event without Chris on the ground and his mate Clarke Johnstone who has also been a feature on the Aussie seen is now safely in the UK.

Stuart Tinney who has three or four rides to choose from at the three star level has only the relatively inexperienced Orchard Hill entered, the much more seasoned and top four (2nd and 4th) placed mounts from last year, Panamera and Vettori are being rested.

Our good friend Hamish Cargill has his horse Agent Arthur competing in the three star. His Rolex horse Sandhills Tiger is currently in quarantine in the US, awaiting a flight to the UK to join Chris Burton who will prepare Tiger for Hamish before he flies to the UK in August to compete at Burghley, in early September.

While on the subject of Burghley, I can’t wait, aside from the fact it will be my first Burghley, the quality of the talent from across the globe that is lining up for Burghley is exciting. I believe that for many the Burghley/Blenheim week and a bit will be one of the last big chances for many riders to put themselves in contention for London.

Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA will all have a decent size group of competitors in the field. Mixed in with the usual variety of European competitors it will be exciting. I will be at Burghley and Blenheim the following weekend and bringing the action to you on EN.

While on the subject of missing competitors from this year’s Melbourne, Sonja Johnson is still laid up in bed following a broken hip. She has been driving everyone mad, including herself, but is under strict orders to give the hip full rest if she is to have any hope of getting back into the saddle competitively and quickly. It won’t be long before we see Sonja back on the scene and making up for lost time.

All that said we still have a brilliant field and some riders with a point to prove as they make the selectors think about including them in the London long list. Fresh off his Equestriad win Tim Boland and GV Billy Elliot are out to prove that they are a force to be reckoned with. Equally so Megan Jones hasn’t had the best of year’s and while Jester is still out of competitions, Megan has been focusing on her chestnut gelding Kirby Park Allofasudden but they still haven’t quite hit the mark.

No doubt the competition will be fierce, but the weather will be horrid. We are now in the depths of winter here and while we don’t get snow here (except in the highland snowfields) it gets cold and wet. Just check out Hamish’s twitter stream below to understand how us warm blooded Aussies feel about the Melbourne weather, to be honest this is one event I am happy to be reporting on from my home, with the log fire roaring.

It is a big weekend of Eventing on EN so I wont hog any more space, I will be back later in the weekend to report on Eventing Down-under.

UPDATE: Dressage has been run and won. Dressage specialist Heath Ryan and his brilliant gelding Mystery Whisper, smashed all competition with 36.5 penalties. He is followed in equal second position by Craig Barrett on the first of two rides in the top ~~five~~six, Windela Jamie and Tim Boland on GV Billy Elliot both on 45.6. The top ~~five~~ six is rounded out with Craig Barrett again on Sandhills Brillaire (the only mare in the class), Emma Mason on F1 Pharinelli and Shane Rose and Taurus all on 47.3.

To follow the results click here.

Yours in Eventing,

ESJ

Reflecting on our community

By John Lechner on Jun 4, 2011 12:38 pm -

Boyd and Neville at their best earlier this year at Red Hills

As I sit here in my home in Australia, I reflect on one of the saddest weeks I have ever experienced in our sport. Some of the stories I have read have left me crying like a baby, others have taken my breath away with tales of courage, heartbreak, terror and stoicism.

At the same time, I take heart in the strength, support and unwavering community spirit that pervades both the Eventing and Equestrian communities. Before the smoke had died out in Pennsylvania, help, shoulders to lean on and money started flowing.

Boyd, Phillip and Ryan are all Aussie boys, but are very much integral in the US Eventing community. While the focus is on Boyd and Phillip in particular, those directly involved are each affected, all have stories to tell and all need shoulders to cry on. The effects of this tragedy have been felt globally.

I don’t use the word tragedy lightly. My thoughts on safety of horses and riders in our sport are well known, and to lose a horse or rider in a single incident is something we all feel and is considered a tragedy. To lose six horses in such terrible circumstances, I cannot imagine the nightmares that will occur in the days, weeks and years to come as those involved remember that fateful night.

For a horse lover, there can be no worse situation, fire is horrible. I am surprised and grateful that no human lives were lost, while the lives of those involved have been irrevocably changed forever.

One of the ironies to emerge from this terrible event is that the team of True Prospect Farm will be stronger, tighter knit and harder to beat. I have no doubt that the bonds already formed at TPF before the fire have now been forged on the hardest anvil.

But quite aside from the strength and spirit that has emerged from within TPF, the worldwide Eventing community has sprung into action. Although part of this support is due to the fact that Boyd’s career has spanned two continents in the last decade, I do believe that a similar level of support would be delivered to any Eventer suffering a similar fate.

Time and time again, when something goes wrong in our sport; peers, family, owners, fans and horse lovers step up to the plate to assist. Our sport is based on volunteerism, the spirit of all-in, giving time to run events and dedicating selflessly to the pursuit of gold medals.

As the dust settles we as a community will need to continue to support everyone involved, riders, grooms, owners, friends and family. Our role is of critical importance to the recovery, so when you can, give a hug, a note of support or have a cold beer with someone affected by the TPF fire.

If you have ever met Neville Bardos, and looked him in the eye, he has crazy eyes, a bit like Boyd when he’s focused. If a horse can recover from such a fire, then Neville will. I can only imagine the look in Boyd’s eyes when he was told Neville was still in the stable and rushed in after him.

Not quite crazy eyes but focused, Neville

My final thought is that Abbie has raised the bar for the whole EN Team, never before have I read such a beautiful piece that was so eloquent, had me hanging on every word and crying from the first sentence. To be so articulate under such terrible circumstances is mesmerizing. Thank you Abbie.

Yours in Eventing

ESJ

Recovery and the future

By John Lechner on May 30, 2011 4:15 pm -

Team Twomey – Caroline Hooper and John Twomey

I don’t think that this is the story I set out to write. What I do know is that I am glad I did set out to write it, otherwise I may not have ever met or spoken properly with John Twomey.

I intended to write a story about a bloke that ended up on the wrong side of gravity and half a ton of living breathing horse flesh. Thankfully John Twomey lived to tell the tale that may have otherwise gone horribly wrong only three weeks ago at the Sydney World Cup event.

Earlier today, I visited John and his wife Caroline at the farm where they are currently living to talk to John about his incident, his injuries and his future. While our conversation did include plenty of discussion about what happened and the road to recovery what I found is a man who loves his sport and his horses.

What I also found and I know it sounds wrong or weird or both, is a man who seems to me to be richer for the experience than he may have otherwise been. I don’t mean in terms of money but in true richness, friendship, support and an outlook on life.

I just love taking pictures of sunsets

John and his mount Flaunt It suffered the worst of all circumstances for horse and rider, a rotational fall. Somehow, although Flaunt It landed on top of John and gave him some pretty horrid injuries, today he is walking, feeding up his horses and frustrated at the fact that he won’t be able to ride for at least a few more weeks.

John ended up with concussion, facial injuries, chest and lung injuries, shoulder damage, a dislocated hip and some fracturing to his pelvis. His helmet took a massive hit and compressed to about 50% of it’s original thickness. But really for a man who softened the fall of his horse, he looks bloody good.

John and Caroline have recently relocated to Australia after having spent most of the last decade in New Zealand. In fact, despite the fact that John was born in country Queensland, Australia, he rides under the Kiwi flag.

John got a taste for Eventing in the nineties and then went off and had a career elsewhere before returning to the sport almost by accident in 2003 while living in New Zealand. Recently Team Twomey have relocated back to Australia so that John can make a splash in the Aussie scene.

Since John and Caroline have been back in Australia they have been surprised and blessed with the support they have received from the equine community. During the last three weeks that support has been even more concentrated, John is almost awestruck by the offers, well wishes, phone calls, text messages and FaceBook messages.

This to me is why I love Eventing we have a fantastic community that sticks together especially when things don’t go to plan. This community is what makes the insanity in the middle so worthwhile. After John’s incident I heard comments from people that he is one of the nicest riders in the sport, always thanking volunteers, being respectful of committees and generally nice to be around.

John Twomey and Wade Equine Flaunt It, photo courtesy of Furdography

I also heard some thoughts from a few ladies that were worried that his facial injuries might spoil his good looks. While I am no judge I am pretty sure his few new scars only add character and I now understand those that said he is one of the nice guys.

I could talk to John and Caroline for hours, about the sport, horses, safety and just about anything else. While today’s chat was over coffee, I look forward to the day when I can chat to John over a few beers and really hear some old war stories.

What happened three weeks ago was a blip and in the scheme of things will probably become one of those old war stories, perhaps accompanied in the future with a medal, preferably the gold kind. What I do know for sure is that the Aussie Eventing scene is richer for having John back home.

Perhaps we can convince him to ride for Australia, those Kiwis don’t need anymore help at the moment, what with young gun Clarke Johnstone making his mark, old guard Mark Todd and Andrew Nicholson killing it in Europe occasionally we need to claim one of our own back. I tell you what Kiwis, we will take John and give you back Russell Crowe, a fair swap I think.

I am looking forward to seeing more of John Twomey on the Eventing scene and we will one day see him competing on the world stage, under what flag? I hope it is Aussie.

Yours in Eventing

ESJ

Down Under Eventing Results

By John Lechner on May 22, 2011 1:16 pm -

Clarke Johnstone on Orient Express at Sydney CIC WC, photo courtesy of Furdography (apologies for the recycled image but I struggled to get one out of NZ)

Only a showjumping disaster could have knocked Kiwi Clarke Johnstone from the top of the results at the NZ National 3DE Championships in Taupo, New Zealand. After being the only rider to go double clear on XC and having done so on both mounts, Clarke went into the jumping phase with a huge lead. His first placed mount KS Secrets was on 46.4, well ahead of Incognito who moved up from fourth pace after dressage to lie in second on 55.2, 8.8 penalties behind.

Third placed after XC was Bryce Newman on Bates Trademark on 62.3, giving Clarke a 15.9 and 7.1 lead going into the jumping. Even the most un-optimistic of commentators would consider that an almost unassailable grip on the lead. Perhaps a disaster on one mount but not two and given Clarke’s recent history, currently leader in the FEI Eventing World Cup Series after winning both Kihikihi and Sydney World Cup rounds only a few short weeks ago, I wouldn’t be placing any money on Clarke taking a single rail, let alone a string of them.

The final results ended with Clarke in first and second place after dropping a rail on both horses at the second to last fence. When I spoke to Clarke and asked him about the rails he admitted at that stage he knew he had won it and galloped at the fence on the first horse (Incognito) to take out the front rail of the oxer and then on Secrets held a little too long and took out the back.

What a way to top off six amazing weeks. Clarke was very excited by what has been a fairytale preparation for his relocation to the UK. Incidentally Clarke ships his five horses to the UK on Wednesday with his groom while he will travel separately to meet them at the other end.

After a couple of weeks rest they will start their European campaign at Salperton Park in late June after getting the horses and himself settled at the new barn with Pixie Thomas in Gloucestershire.

He has both KS Secrets and Incognito aimed for Burghley and Orient Express for Blenheim the following week. On the subject of Orient Express he traveled with the team this weekend so he didn’t miss out on a workout but was quite put out that he didn’t get to run around like the others and was NOT a happy pony.

Tim Boland and GV Billy Elliot, photo thanks to Franz Venhaus

Meanwhile, across the Tasman, Eventing Equestriad has produced a winner, Dressage results had Tim Boland and GV Billy Elliot in the lead. Tim was looking for redemption following Sydney’s World Cup where he lead in the Dressage and then had a disastrous XC round with two glances off and a withdrawal from the competition. Cross Country was designed by South Australian Wayne Copping who loves to put on a show and with the new lake right in front of the Hospitality Marquee it was bound to be exciting.

The great news is that Tim and Billy Elliot held onto the lead to win against a highly competitive field. Tim was relieved to have gotten past Sydney and leading from start to finish is very gratifying. He has spent a lot of time in the last two weeks schooling over skinnies and corners and Billy Elliot who is still quite green rewarded those efforts today.

Emma Mason and F1 Pharinelli, photo thanks to Franz Venhaus

Tim was closely followed by Emma Mason and F1 Pharinelli who stormed up from eighth place after one of two double clears on XC and the only rider to finish on her Dressage score with 52.3 penalties. I know that Emma will be pleased to have done so well especially after her jumping let her down in Adelaide last year.

The final podium position was held by Christine Bates on Adelaide Hill, this combo moved up from fifth to third with one of the faster XC rounds. Looking at the results from both of the jumping phases time was very influential and very few managed to make it.

Well that is it from this side of the Pacific, only three weeks til the first big Aussie CCI where we will be heading to Melbourne (for me figuratively only but I will bring you the news). I will leave you with the most Dressage day highlights from Equestriad.

Yours in Eventing,

ESJ

What is Eventing Equestriad?

By John Lechner on May 20, 2011 10:18 am -

Equestriad May 2010 3 Star XC_0094.jpg 2010 CIC3* Winner Kevin McNab – Photo courtesy of Main Event Photography

Eventing Equestriad has an interesting genesis, the committee formed in 2008 following the rather spectacular implosion of the previous committee that ran events at Camden’s Bicentennial Park. Camden is about an hour south of Sydney and is a publicly owned facility dedicated to horse sports. For most Eventers from around Sydney it is also one of the best locations for Eventing.

Camden as a venue is a little like Adelaide in that it is right on the edge of town and while you don’t have the multitude of choice that Adelaide offers for dining options, Camden still offers plenty. In fact, there is a pub with food and cold beer right on the edge of the venue and the rest of the township is within walking distance of the park.

This is one of the key factors that have driven Shane Rose and his committee of mostly active riders to bring Equestriad to where it is today. Shane is one of our most prolific Pro Riders here. At every event he will have half a dozen mounts and finish in the money with a few. For instance at the Sydney World Cup weekend just two weeks ago, he had five mounts in the FEI classes and came away with 1st in the one star, 3rd in the two star and 3rd in the World Cup class.

In North American terms, Shane (Beijing Silver Medalist) and his team including his lovely wife Niki Chapman, also a Pro Rider, running an event would be equivalent to Phillip or Boyd or Karen financing, managing, taking responsibility for and then probably competing in their own 3* CIC. So what Shane, Niki and their team have done I believe is pretty spectacular.

This weekend’s event is the 3rd Eventing Equestriad CIC event, their very first event was a CIC three star, just two short years ago. When I spoke with Shane about the event I asked him to explain their aims:

To get more non-horsey people to come, his logic is sound, those in the horsey world will come anyway. But the event needs to be family and non-horse people friendly. I will come back to this in a minute.
To be THE BEST CIC EVENT IN THE WORLD, yes not just the best on the east coast of Australia, but the best in the world.

Equestriad May 2010 3 Star XC_0037.jpg Nat Blundell – The crowds can get in close to all of the action at Equestriad – Photo courtesy of Main Event Photography

The original committee was and remains almost exclusively active riders, they know the sport and they know what things do and don’t work at other events around the Country. Shane himself is no stranger to running events, his parents have been involved in running events for too many years to count, so he has been on the other side before.

I know there are times when riders get bashed up about not putting anything back into the sport but this cannot be said here. The Equestriad team now run an annual CIC plus a CNC, catering to all levels, six classes in total, and plan to introduce a further lower level class (2 feet).

Equestriad May 2010 3 Star SJ_0015.jpg Chris ‘Burto’ Burton showjumping right alongside the Hospitality Marquee – Photo courtesy of Main Event Photography

But how do they bring the non-horsey people in?

Well simple, they see themselves as competing for the leisure market, family picnics, trips to the movie theatre and other family days out.

Entry is free, there is free face painting, a balloon artist, jumping castle and a petting zoo all to keep the kids entertained.

For the grown ups, there are the trade stands, but even better there is a hospitality marquee set up right in the middle of the action. While feasting on your three course lunch prepared by renowned Sydney Chef Lee Hokianga and sipping on a nice glass of wine or beer, you can watch the Dressage, XC and Jumping action, all from your seat.

So over the two days of the event there are 450 horses competing from 3 star to Introductory (2 foot 8), Shane is riding five himself, so on the weekend if you are there, you will probably see him running to a horse, chatting to guests and sponsors in the hospitality marquee or changing dunny (toilet) paper in the loos when it runs out, such is the glamour of being an event organiser.

I haven’t made it myself to Equestriad yet, but having been to Red Hills twice, I do know what it takes to be up there as far as being the “Best CIC in the World” and it sounds like Equestriad is on the right path. They already have one up on Red Hills with the XC and Dressage right outside the marquee.

Good luck to the Equestriad team for a great weekend.

Yours in Eventing,

ESJ

Kiwi Clarke takes out Sydney World Cup

By John Lechner on May 9, 2011 10:41 am -

Clarke Johnstone on XC, pretty sure he isn’t in ECOGOLD, yet!, Photo thanks to Rachel Smith, Furdography

What I would like to write is “another bloody Kiwi wins an Aussie Event” but I can’t. Clarke Johnstone is a member of the next generation of riders and in fact is part of Gen Y, the group we always give a hard time for lack of respect, lack of commitment and a complete avoidance of work.

Clarke represents none of those things, he is probably one of the most centered, respectful and hard working 24 year old’s I have met (except perhaps EN John). I had the pleasure of meeting both his parents on the weekend and it is easy to see where Clarke gets his attitude from.

So what I have to write is “Congratulations to Clarke Johnstone and Orient Express, for taking on the best riders and combinations in Australia and coming up trumps”. We all know that Eventing is about all three phases and this weekend at the end of each day we had a different leader.

Friday night’s dressage culminated in a fantastic test from Tim Boland and GV Billy Elliot to lead the dressage from Shane Rose on Taurus. In fact the top five also included Clarke, closely followed in equal fourth by Chris Burton on HP Leilani and Heath Ryan on Mystery Whisper.

Chris Burton and HP Leilani, photo thanks to Franz Venhaus

Dressage in the indoor at SIEC is always interesting and unfortunately it was a little bit too exciting for Emily Anker’s mount Keniski who decided that he really didn’t want to perform in the arena and poor Emily had to retire during her test.

Saturday morning started well with the 1* horses leading the day in the beautiful sunny Sydney weather. Unfortunately we had some action in the World Cup class with Kiwi John Twomey coming to grief rather spectacularly at the bounce into the water. John and Wade Equine Flaunt It got to a really bad spot at the A element of the bounce and while they cleared it they crashed into the B.

John landed on the downhill slope into the water before Flaunt It crashed into him heavily. Thankfully due to the quick actions of some bystanders and the emergency teams John was treated at the scene before being transferred to hospital.

I was very impressed with the handling of the situation both during the incident and afterwards. The committee ensured that when they had updates on John’s progress that public announcements were made, this is very positive and avoids the rumors that occur in an information vacuum.

I obtained an update on John’s progress earlier today and instead of interpreting and paraphrasing I will just give you what I have.

John, as at 0900 today, was doing well in Intensive Care. His injuries were:

Closed head injury and concussion, facial fractures and contusions, contused
lungs, small haemo-pneumothorax, posterior dislocation of his hip with a
fracture of his pelvis / acetabulum.
He was taken off the Ventilator at 11 am yesterday and is continuing to
improve.
He will likely go from Intensive Care to a normal ward tomorrow.

I know that the thoughts of the whole Eventing community are with John and his family at the moment and we wish him a full and speedy recovery. I spoke with the vets about Flaunt It and he showed no signs of any major injury and should be fit to compete long before John recovers from his dislocated hip, that has got to hurt.

Thankfully John’s incident was the only major one of the day and all other horses and riders were free of major injuries.

Sunday morning saw two more withdrawn, dressage leaders Tim Boland and Billy Elliot and poor Emily Anker with her second mount Balmoral Cavalier.

What I love about showjumping is when we go in reverse order and the excitement builds, putting the pressure on the last rider, the leader. For Shane Rose the XC leader he had two of the best jumpers in down-under Eventing on his tail Clarke Johnstone just 1.1 penalties behind and Chris Burton 1.6 behind.

Clarke and Burto jumped perfect rounds and left it to Shane who unfortunately dropped the first rail and then a second later in the course to move to fourth place behind Stuart Tinney and Vettori.

Amazingly we ended up with almost a carbon copy of the Kihikiihi result in April which also had Clarke on Orient Express 1st, Chris Burton on HP Leilani 2nd and Shane Rose on Taurus in 4th. The only difference was Stuart Tinney taking out 3rd place instead of Clarke. Burto also took out fifth place at Sydney on Newsprint. Full results here.

Saturday night saw the return of Hamish and Dave for their Sydney After Dark Special. They hosted the Bareback Jumping competition. With only four entries we thought we may be in for a quick competition, well it wasn’t.

We had a mix of Eventers and Jumpers in the ring, including bareback Jumping specialist Jess Staling. Jess and Rhys Stone got over 160cm before their horses had enough and were declared joint winners but the runner up stole the show. Natalya Bretherton and the horse was Impressive Kitty jumped 140cm. Neither horse nor rider had ever jumped more than 105cm before, they started the bareback at 120cm.

Watching from the sideline Natalya looked terrified but thanks to the encouragement of the crowd and one brave and honest horse she won the hearts of the crowd. She also managed to place 12th on the PreNovice (which here is 105cm or 3 foot 5 inches), so a great weekend.

Finally, our mate Hamish is seriously considering Burghley after having a great time at Rolex. He told me that the experience was amazing and with Tiger in the States already a Burghley trip won’t be that costly so it is only early days but we may see HamoNoDavo at Burghley, fingers crossed.

Yours in Eventing

ESJ

Sleep deprived but loving it

By John Lechner on May 5, 2011 4:34 pm -

Maximum height and spread this cart followed by the two wine barrels looks imposing

Well it is Friday morning here at Sydney International Equestrian Center and very much pre-dawn, which is also very cold. Today we have Dressage running constantly from 10am til 9pm, with the big guys in the CIC3* World Cup class kicking off at 4pm this afternoon.

For me a constant theme at all events is always late to bed and early to rise, last night I tried to get a good start on a half decent night’s sleep, didn’t work but sleep depravity is Eventing.

Yesterday I started my day walking the four XC courses I am responsible for and what I did love is that they all flow so nicely. There are no unnecessary harsh turns or spots where you wonder why a fence is placed in a particular position, they just have this lovely flowing presence.

The rest of my day was a combination of checking and measuring fences to ensure they comply with the rules, checking Dressage arenas are numbered (or is that lettered) correctly. Touching base with the committee on items like the Riders Reps, crisis management plan and photos of all of the fences for the XC controller and announcer so they know what the fences look like.

All riveting stuff I know, but that is the life of a TD, lots of prep and checking, hopefully the most exciting part of the weekend comes down to the last couple of riders in the jumping. For a TD, a quiet and very boring XC day is always what we hope for because when it gets exciting and interesting usually someone gets hurt.

The going at Sydney is the BEST I have ever seen it, just amazing and they were continuing to aerate all of the tracks yesterday

So this morning kicks off with the World Cup Jog at 7.30am and then for me followed very quickly by the One Star Ground Jury course inspection. This course inspection is when the course get approved by the Jury and then the course can be opened officially to the riders. I guess this is part of the process that many riders don’t see or even know about.

Our One Star Dressage will kick off in the indoor and will run for most of the day. Another thing happening this weekend is that there is an FEI Vets seminar happening here too. In practical terms that means the evening’s entertainment is always a bit more fun. If you have never tried to keep up with a vet drinking, don’t bother, you will always come off second best, all the vets I know have superpowers when it comes to drinking.

Last night at the surprisingly sober hour of 8pm we were treated to some bagpipes by Vet Dr Brett Jones. Normally the bagpipes don’t come out to well after midnight so this was a treat. Don’t get me wrong, bagpipes do sound like someone killing a cat, but it was entertaining. I was a bit slow off the mark and only got this is a bit of a traditional song, I missed the AC/DC.

What I haven’t done yet and hope to, later today is walk the full 3800 meters of the WC XC there are a couple of interesting questions and I really want to see them in context of the full course.

So anyway EN, have a great day and I will be back sometime later in my day today, which for you probably means today, because as you are reading this it is yesterday, confused? Good because that makes two of us.

Yours in Eventing,

ESJ

Move over Rolex, Sydney is up next

By John Lechner on May 4, 2011 1:29 pm -

Jenny Sheppard at last year’s Weekend of World Cups, Bareback Jumping

While everyone in North America and in Europe get over the their Badminton and Rolex hangovers we are in the middle of a huge week of equine sport in Sydney at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre or SIEC as we call it.

SIEC is the former Sydney Olympics Equestrian venue and is utilized almost every weekend year round, only Bromont and Sydney remain as former Olympic Equestrian venues still in use.

As I write this much of the world is still reeling about the demise of Osama but we know that as Eventer’s, Rolex is still very much in our minds. Mary King did something amazing a 1st and 2nd at Rolex and a 3rd at Badminton all in 10 days.

Congratulations Mary and to everyone who competed in these two fantastic events and had both good and bad days, thank you for sharing your passion with the Eventing world.

To my mate Hamish, well done, I know the result is not one that anyone would have wished for. But you completed Rolex in some pretty tough conditions. I have heard that the feedback from those who saw both Badminton and Rolex this week that the Rolex XC was as tough if not tougher than Badminton. Now that is tough.

Anyhow I am here to write about Sydney, the event is called the Weekend of World Cups. We have just finished a big weekend of Dressage with the Sydney CDI on while we were all focused on Rolex. See the winner of the freestyle below Rachel Sanna.

As for the Weekend of World Cups, we have a round of the Eventing and Jumping FEI World Cup Rounds happening as part of the same event. What that really means is we will have non-stop equine action.

Eventers from around Australia and the odd Kiwi including the NZ round winner Clarke Johnstone will be putting in their best efforts to be in the money on Sunday afternoon. I will be there and will try to bring the action to you in my spare time while I TD.

The Jumpers will add to the action and a bit of fun. Much like the Reining was the Saturday night entertainment last weekend, this weekend it will be the “bareback jumping”. Last year it was won by a young horse competing in a baby national class on the weekend, hopefully we can convince Hamish to put down the microphone (he commentated last year) and show off more of his skills.

This video was buried in the mass of awesome Rolex coverage and needed to be seen again

I know that Chris Burton will be working hard (he has three horses entered in the World Cup class) to get one over his young mate Clarke, after being beaten by him on the other side of the Tasman only four weeks ago. The entry list reads list a who’s who of Aussie based Eventer’s. The World Cup Dressage is on Friday night, XC Saturday and Jumping Sunday afternoon so it will be fun-filled.

For those of us here with Jumping all three days, XC running on both Saturday and Sunday and everything else packed in around the sides it will be fun. As for reporting I am going solo, leaving the laptop at home and going to have a crack at running my coverage and FEI TD reports purely from my iPad. I think this will be challenging but I need to know if I can do it.

In September I will be traveling to the UK for Burghley where as part of the FEI’s Global Education Program I will be part of the TD team, this is awesome and very exciting. In addition, I will be hanging around for the following weekend where I will be heading to Blenheim which will be the Olympic qualification event for a number of Nations including Australia, South Africa and Japan, all vying for a spot in London 2012.

I will be at Blenheim for EN bringing the coverage direct to you all weekend and I really don’t want to carry the laptop for that trip, hence the test drive this weekend.

Yours in Eventing,

ESJ

Mark Todd, I am not sure he is a legend

By John Lechner on Apr 26, 2011 10:02 am -

Photo thanks to Samantha Clark

There are few riders with the audacity to enter Badminton and Rolex in the same week and then keep their younger, greener and untested at four star level as their number one ride at Badminton.

But then again there are few riders like Mark Todd. Toddy had already achieved almost everything possible in Eventing when he retired for the first time in 2000 following his individual bronze medal at the Sydney Olympics.

At the time he had:

3 Badminton wins
5 Burghley wins
2 Olympic gold medals and many more titles to his name.
He was also named Equestrian of the 20th Century by the FEI.

During his almost eight years away from riding at the elite end of the sport he kept in touch riding at lower levels and even coached the Kiwi Eventing team in Athens. But somehow he got the bug back and announced to the world in January 2008 he was back and planned to be competing in Hong Kong for the Beijing 2008 Games.

Incredibly, he found a horse Gandalf and with the support of New Zealand Bloodstock (NZB) began a campaign to qualify, and be selected for the Kiwi team. Not hanging about, he was qualified at Saumar in France in May and was on the Kiwi team in September, his sixth Olympics.

I was there in Hong Kong, although Toddy didn’t make time (nobody did) he was first out and made the tough track look like a Pony Club course. He ate it up, it was a privilege to watch. I even met Toddy on a bus out to the Beas River Cross Country Course one day but I was too in awe of him to say anything more than, hi and good luck.

Toddy won his first Badminton in 1980, it was his first attempt at the legendary event and returned to win again in 1994, 1996 and again this week. So what hasn’t he done in Eventing?

Well perhaps we should handicap him in the future, fellow Kiwi Team member, Andrew Nicholson, is quoted as saying …

“Mark can ride anything – he could go cross-country on a dairy cow!”

Was Toddy involved in this?

Perhaps the people at Rolex, the company not the event, are getting a little nervous after Badminton. After all, Rolex offer US$350,000 additional prize money to any rider who can win the Gram Slam of Eventing. Consecutive wins by the same rider at Badminton, Rolex and Burghley.

Only Pippa Funnel has claimed the prize money although Oli Townend got close last year and Andrew Hoy in 2006. I wonder if Oli who sold NZB Land Vision to Toddy is now kicking himself for giving up such a great horse or just wondering how much more money he could have got?

Photo thanks to Samantha Clark

Personally I have my money on Toddy taking out the Grand Slam, with a Rolex win later this week and then nailing his sixth Burghley in September, I will be there to witness it and cannot wait. He also looks good for bringing home a second individual Olympic gold at London next year. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Kiwis take home both individual and team golds.

The Kiwi performance at Badminton was stunning and with young gun Clarke Johnstone planning to leave his mark downunder before returning to Europe, their prospects are excellent.

The only concern I have about Toddy’s win at Badminton is that Samantha Clark was somewhere over the Atlantic when he won. In her pocket was a betting slip for five quid on Toddy to win for me. How Sam is going to collect on the bet I don’t know, but I think I will take my winnings and find a bookie prepared to give me good odds on Toddy bringing home the Grand Slam.

I will leave you with these parting words, I have read them in the last 24 hours but now for the life of me cannot find them, I think they were on twitter.

Mark Todd was already a “legend”, what do we call him now?

Legend is no longer sufficient for Toddy, perhaps “immortal”.

Bring on Rolex.

Yours in Eventing,

ESJ

Hamish Cargill gets his feet wet

By John Lechner on Apr 25, 2011 3:27 pm -

Hi team EN.

I know we are still celebrating Toddy’s fourth title at Badminton. Toddy is an amazing horseman and it was great to see him do it again.

Meanwhile, those in Lexington preparing for Rolex next week are getting a little wet. I just got this email from Hamish Cargill, yes Hamish of Hamish and Dave fame or as we are calling him at the moment, HamoNoDavo.

Hamish is happy to share it, so he is the latest update from Hamish.

Hi everyone,

I’m sorry about the bulk nature of this email but it seems the best way to let you all know what’s been happening on this Kentucky trip so far. It’s now evening on Easter Sunday and Rolex kicks off in just a few days. The weather hasn’t taken notice of the looming event yet and it continues to rain – they’ve had a record April rainfall already and it doesn’t show any sign of letting up in the meantime, with storms forecast through to Wednesday evening. Fingers crossed that it stops there because it is seriously soggy out there, beautifully green and lush but unnecessarily damp.

Tiger is being a real champion and has settled in well to life in the USA. It was surprising how well he handled the long trip over to the US – 33 hours in that stall from Sydney airport to quarantine at Los Angeles is a long time but he happily ate and drank the whole way and made friends with the stockhorse stallion he had on one side and the tiny Arabian filly that was squished in on the other. The little Arab filly was very cute but had a terrible biting habit that made entering the stall to check the other horses a hazardous affair.

I have to admit that I really enjoyed the flight. It might be a long way but in a business class seat at the top of a 747 you’re pretty damned comfortable. There’s heaps of space, a galley just behind the six seats stocked with self-serve food and drinks and the cockpit is just down the aisle. I was fortunate enough to be able to sit in with the pilots for the landing and take-off into and out of Anchorage, Alaska, and for a person who has an unusual addiction to Air Crash Investigations this will go down as one of life’s great experiences. No doubting that it’s a long way around the globe but when your horse is happy and healthy it’s sort of fun to visit Hong Kong and Anchorage with all the freedom and insight that comes with flying with cargo.

After about 44 hours in quarantine Tiger was deemed healthy enough to be let loose in the United States. Just as I was starting to adjust to the time zone I had a 1am start to pick him up from quarantine for an hour trip down the road to catch our flight over to Kentucky. This flight was an experience in itself and if sitting in the cockpit of the 747 was a highpoint in my life, this was a definite return to reality. I was fortunate enough to have squeezed onto a charter flight of racehorses moving from California to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby so for that I should be grateful. Nevertheless, it was a horrendous four hours – 16 seats at the back of the plane, all old and tatty and literally right behind the horses ass, so it was a stinky plane as well as a cold one. My comrades for the flight were the Mexican workers and grooms for this particular racing barn, and of course within seconds of sitting down in this stinky, cold plane they whip out blankets just as the pilot rocks on down and gives us the safety briefing (ie. No pissing in the horse stalls) and finishes by adding that yes, it will get very cold. About fifteen minutes into the flight the plane is at genuine refrigerator temperature, and fifteen minutes after that it’s a genuine ice-box. Nobody notices the small underdressed Australian in the back corner, the only person not sheltering under a blanket, and in a real Bear Grylls moment I am forced to use a handkerchief sized chamois towel and some earphones as my only source of warmth. I had to put my body into a form of hibernation, a half-unconscious, half-asleep mode that was the only way to stop myself stepping across the aisle and pinching a wollen blanket off a sleeping Mexican.

My accommodation of choice here in Kentucky has been in a big caravan in the Horse Park campgrounds. They are way better than you’d think and I can see why so many people choose to live in them over here. It’s pouring with rain right now but here in the trailer it’s warm and cosy, the central heating is spewing hot air up through the floor, there’s a bathroom, beds for any friends that Bols and I might meet along the way and a fully equipped kitchen. Before Bols turned up at the start of the week I had already fully accessorised the rig and I’ll admit that some cash has been blown at WalMart. I bought a toaster for $6.95, a 12 set of reasonable metal cutlery for $3 and a blender for $12 just because we had a bunch of bananas that needed to be eaten. Walmart is sort of like going to Bunnings but then you can whiz over and put your groceries in the same trolley. If you needed to buy ammunition or a firearm you could do that too. Odd but extremely convenient.

The Horse Park is a genuinely amazing facility and the perfect place to prepare for an event. Tiger seems to be really enjoying it here and has gotten used to the fact that he’s only had Bols and I to hang out with for the last ten days. There are yards available but he goes a little bit loopy every time we put him out there so he is permanently attached to us on the lead when out eating grass. For a horse that doesn’t really like people he certainly seems to enjoy this. We have loads of room to roam around so we go for long rides in the park and enjoy some quality time together.

Unlike when I came over to the WEG there has been plenty of time to see the sights of Lexington. Lots of long drives in the country checking out the phenomenal thoroughbred farms and a few trips to the races at Keeneland – as far as I can see gambling in the USA is a no win situation and with our gambling debts growing to more than the value of a blender at Walmart, Bols and I have retired from this line of work.

The rain outside has just turned into another big storm, hopefully no tornado warnings tonight although this has been a threat over the last few days. Whether it keeps raining or not things are starting to get serious around here, and with the English horses now on the grounds and the Americans no more than a day or two away there is a definite sense that an event is about to kick off. Planning to stay relaxed and enjoy the experience.

All the best,

Hamish

I am sure that we will here more from Hamish as the week progresses and Samantha accosts him, catches up with him again.

Yours in Eventing,

ESJ

The Spirit of mateship

By John Lechner on Apr 18, 2011 12:14 pm -

Chris Burton, Megan Jones and Clarke Johnstone share the podium at the 2010 HSBC Sydney Eventing World Cup photo thanks to www.furdography.com.au

There are bonds that have developed in times of war and of sacrifice that cannot be broken and as we approach Anzac Day (a National holiday in both Australia and New Zealand, similar to Independence Day) we can reflect on those bonds. Both Australia and New Zealand have always had a healthy rivalry on and off the sporting field. But in reality the partnership or bond between our two peoples is that of “brotherhood” or “mateship” and of respect.

Clarke Johnstone and Orient Express, checking the time. Photo thanks to www.furdography.com.au

Many a Kiwi has been adopted as an Australian and in the eyes of the masses is regarded an Aussie, take Russell Crowe (star of Gladiator) for instance. He was born in New Zealand, but almost all consider him a Aussie. Phar Lap is another great example, he was foaled in New Zealand before being trained and raced in Australia. He was a “great” Australian horse.

So when a Kiwi comes along and does some extraordinary things in Australian sport we often try to claim them as our own. I don’t think we will ever be able to claim Clarke Johnstone as an Aussie, not unless we can marry him off to an Aussie girl. But his presence and emergence at the top of the Eventing scene downunder is something that both countries can be proud of.

Clarke Johnstone is a young Kiwi Eventer who burst onto the international scene after making a steady progression up the leaderboards both in Australia and New Zealand. At 23 Clarke was one of the youngest competitors at WEG and came home with a team bronze from his first games.

Just last week Clarke begun his 2011 campaign with a resounding win beating his Aussie mate Chris (Burto) Burton at the Kihikihi round of the Eventing World Cup. Clarke also took out third place on his young horse Incognito which puts him currently in first place on the World Cup leaderboard with 77 points a full 39 ahead of Chris Burton.

At the Sydney WC round May 6-8, both mates Burto and Clarke will face off again. Burto will be working hard to retain the Title he won in 2019 and with Megan Jones’ Jester out of the picture he will be going in very confidently. Whether he likes it or not he will have Clarke at his heels aiming to take away the title.

Clarke Johnstone and Orient Express photo thanks to www.furdography.com.au

I spoke to Clarke just a few days after his Kihikihi win and he was very happy and said that Orient Express has come through the event very well. Clarke said “I took him out for a hack after giving him two days off and he was already feral” this is a great sign that he will be ready for the short flight to Sydney in early May.

Chris and Clarke have played host to each other during their trips over the Tasman and when Clarke arrives Chris will be picking him up. This mateship is regular displayed in Eventing circles as riders cross the globe in search of their dreams and I can see these two being great rivals for many years to come.

Leilani has a big jump. Photo thanks to www.furdography.com.au

Both will be packing up in May and heading to Europe, in search of their Olympic dream. Burghley is on the agenda as is a third crack the Eventing World Cup series with a road trip to the French round – Le Pin au Haras in August.

Chris and his famous hair. Photo thanks to www.furdography.com.au

I spoke to Chris after he had returned home from NZ and he is planning to take five horse with him to Europe. He is very thankful to the owners of his horses who are backing him on this trip and he will be basing himself with fellow WEG team member Sam Griffiths. Chris will be taking his team of three/four star rides plus a couple of two star horses on their way to the big time.

Holstein Park Leilani – owned by Jean and Jade Findlay
Newsprint – owned by Chris and second place in last year’s Adelaide
Haruzac – owned by Alan Skinner
FIS Under Discussion – a stunning Warmblood/TB cross owned by Marianne Litchwark & Andrew McPherson
Kinnordy Rivaldo – also owned by Chris

There is no doubt in my mind that both Chris and Clarke are set for much bigger things in the world of Eventing and will their rivalry, drive and mateship they will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. Keep your eye on these two young lads from downunder.

Yours in Eventing,

ESJ

Woohoo. I can blog and write story’s for EN from my iPad

By John Lechner on Apr 18, 2011 11:36 am -

Readers of EN are well aware of my epic adventure to obtain a new iPad 2 which started in Tallahassee Florida and ended on Monday of this week at my local Apple Store a month later.

During the last week I have been getting to know my new toy and trying to see if it can completely replace my little netbook.

There are a number of key tasks that are critical to ensuring I can leave the netbook at home when I go to an event.

1. Ability to edit and upload photos. CHECK
2. Ability to edit and upload videos. CHECK
3. Ability to blog direct to Eventing Nation. Well let’s see how this goes.
4. Skype around the world. CHECK

So here it goes.

Last weekend I took my boys to a local festival called “Steamfest” basically steam trains and big boys toys. I shot a quick little video on my pocket camera and edited it on my iPad and uploaded it direct to EN. Here it is.

So videos are possible.

What about spectacular pics of horses on XC or SJ. Well for the purposes of this little experimental post let’s use a pic of the Bugatti Veyron I saw on Rodeo Drive on my way home from Red Hills.

Or this pic of the cool little lizard lazing on a XC fence at Red Hills.

Well this looks like a promising start. We will have to do some more testing before I am 100% confident in leaving the netbook at home but I am impressed.

For those that care I am using a cool piece of software called BlogPress recommended to me by our good friend Patricia from ECOGOLD. Thanks mate.

Yours in Eventing,

ESJ

Big News for Australian Eventing

By John Lechner on Apr 15, 2011 11:04 pm -

Robyn Brown & I'm Charles Too - XC in the City.JPG There is no more spectacular nor conveniently located event in the world than Adelaide (Officially known as the Australian International 3 Day Event). It is located in the beautiful parklands of Adelaide city, the Capitol of South Australia.

For a long time the Adelaide event has been in an artificially induced wilderness. Adelaide was the only four star event not part of the HSBC FEI Classics Series. That is despite a stellar team, beautiful parklands, massive crowds and world class combinations.

However, the hard work over many years of the Adelaide team led by dual gold medalist Gill Rolton has finally paid off. Adelaide will now be part of the HSBC FEI Classics Series and will this year benefit from this new and exciting opportunity.

Gill provided this quote to Eventing Nation

“The Australian International 3 Day Event is the country’s premier Eventing competition and one of only six 4* events held around the world,” explained Event Director and dual Olympic gold medallist Gillian Rolton (AUS). “We have been working long and hard to bring the event up to true World class standard and our inclusion in the HSBC Classics series ticks all the boxes.

We have a priority to invite the top FEI officials from around the World to preside over the event and in 2010 the footing was the best ever, thanks to the ability to irrigate the whole track.

From Dressage and Eventing Master classes, to the popular Ponies in the Park education and display area in the Market Place, from the excellent Hospitality Marquee to the ‘Eventer’s Bar in Victoria Park, our schedule of ancillary events will provide something for everyone.

This year the riders will be competing for over $100,000 Prize money which is the biggest prize pool for Eventing ever in Australia. This, the vital HSBC FEI Classics Series points on offer and the chance to push the case for selection for the London 2012 Games will certainly be great incentive for competitors to produce their best.

For the last 10 years, Adelaide has been the chosen host city of this hallmark equestrian event. We are now extremely proud to take our place in the HSBC FEI Classics 2012 season and we’re looking forward to welcoming visitors and competitors to an action-packed event in our unique City of Adelaide setting.”

Any rider who has ridden Adelaide and any of the other four stars will tell you that Adelaide is just as challenging if not more so than the others. Earlier today, I spoke with some of Australia’s top riders, Stuart Tinney, Shane Rose and Adelaide local Megan Jones about their thoughts on Adelaide joining the Classics.

They all expressed their delight that finally Adelaide was being recognized as a ‘World Class Event”, no longer needing to walk in the shadow of the Europeans or Rolex. While the exact details of what benefits that association with the Classics will bring are unknown at this stage. It is clear that this is a very exciting opportunity for Eventing down-under.

I have no doubt that with a prize purse of $100,000 there may be a few riders dusting off their luggage and will be heading to the “Party in the Park”.

This is a huge boost to the Adelaide event, an enormous lift for Eventing in Australia and New Zealand and for that we are thankful to both HSBC and the FEI. The HSBC tagline “The world’s local bank” now truly applies in Eventing. We have a fantastic global sport and it is really important to recognize that south of the equator there are some of the world’s best Eventers.

Now they no longer need to hop on a plane to prove they are the best. In recent year’s with HSBC’s support the Aussies have shone in the Eventing World Cup series and now Aussies and Kiwis based at home can compete for the big prize money on offer.

Interestingly, Adelaide and Pau in 2011 will form part of the 2012 series, making Burghley the final for the 2012 series. Competitors at Pau will earn points in both the 2011 and 2012 in October later this year, I can see a few making the trip to Pau, just for the chance to double dip on the points.

To have Burghley as the climax may be an each way bet for Adelaide as far as attracting riders from both North America and Europe to come and compete. Being at the end of the northern hemisphere’s season may temp some riders to come down-under and have a crack at some early points for the series.

Chris Burton & Under Discussion - overnight leaders.JPG It remains to be seen if we can attract the world’s best to Australia but I do know that any rider who comes will not be disappointed. One person I know is jumping out of her skin on this exciting news is Gill Rolton.

When I spoke with Gill she was blown away by the potential for Adelaide in the future. She has already started getting calls from tourism operators in the USA wanting to bring tour groups to the Event (I am sure that has nothing to do with the amazing coverage of Adelaide 2010 on Eventing Nation).

I was already planning to be in Adelaide this year, now I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I hope to see lots of the EN team here too. To keep up on the news at Adelaide. “Like” them on their Facebook page.

Here is the FEI Press Release.

Yours in Eventing,

ESJ

Part two – Aussie WEG recovery

By John Lechner on Apr 15, 2011 11:27 am -

Megan Jones and Jester at Beijing 2008 We continue the story from my post yesterday on the recovery of the Aussie WEG Horses with Megan Jones’ Jester.

KIRBY PARK IRISH JESTER

As an Eventing fan, let alone an Aussie Eventing fan, my single most disappointing moment from the games was the moment I got the message that Kirby Park Irish Jester, or Festy to his mates, was not going to run. It was heartbreaking for me, on the other side of the world. I cannot imagine how agonizing that moment was for Megan Jones.

Festy is a home bred horse that Megan has taken to the pinnacle of the sport, brought home team silver from Beijing, narrowly missing out on an individual medal at the same games. Festy in 2009 won two World Cup Eventing rounds, the only horse to do so, both within four weeks of each other in New Zealand then back in Australia. In 2010, he narrowly missed out on repeating the feat winning in NZ and then coming a very close second to WEG Team member Chris Burton and HP Leilani.

My disappointment was even more than not seeing Festy run, but missing out on seeing him go head to head against Michael Jung’s Sam. These two horses were standouts in the World Cup series two years running and had never faced off in the same competition. Australian quarantine rules made it almost impossible for Megan and Festy to travel to Poland for the 2009 final and we know there was not a final in 2010. WEG was going to be the one chance for a head to head. We all missed out on that one.

Festy contracted a serious lung infection during his arduous flight from Sydney to Los Angeles via Hong Kong and Anchorage. He spent his whole time in the USA undergoing treatment and recovery from his illness and never even got close to the Horse Park.

Festy and Megan flew home Fedex, it was just the two of them, the crew and a whole pile of boxes, I guess there wasn’t much in-flight entertainment. Festy finally made it home to Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills in late November. With his system overloaded from stress and an extremely eventful trip, Festy has had in the meantime a severe case of Founder. His recovery is slow and must be extremely frustrating for Megan to watch.

The good news is that Festy is back to being himself at home and is enjoying being made a complete fuss of and being spoiled rotten. He really enjoys his walks in the deep sand where he doesn’t feel the pain, although he is not happy at all when Megan packs up the other horses going off to a competition. He is definitely used to being number one horse.

Will we see Festy back in the ring? Megan thinks so, no-matter how long his recovery, she wants him to feel the pleasure of flying again. I can’t wait for that day either, he is pretty special to watch.

In the meantime Megan has a point to prove with her OTTB Kirby Park Allofasudden, Floyd who was dropped from the Australian High Performance Lists in 2011. Megan will be riding Floyd at the Sydney World Cup round in May. I have no doubt that Megan will channel the emotion of the last few months into a blazing ride to prove what she is made of.

INONOTHING

Being on opposite sides of the globe made it tough for Paul Tapner and I to catch up, but I can be pretty persistent and we finally caught up on the phone, me at the beginning of my day and Paul at the end of his.

With only a week until Badminton, Paul, as defending champion with his champion horse recovering in a yard at home from a stifle injury, subsequent surgery and physiotherapy, was actually quite philosophical. Paul has three 4 star horses and with a little over 12 months til the London Games plans on giving the Aussie selectors a real headache.

Simply the choice will not be whether they pick Paul Tapner for the Team, but which of his three mounts will be best equipped to tackle the Greenwich event. During the next year he plans to ensure each of his horses has a top class finish in one of the European four star events.

Inonothing is recovering well, his vets and physiotherapist are very pleased with his recovery and he has begun light training in the careful hands of Georgina, Paul’s wife. Paul is hopeful that they will get to run around Burghley (I hope so, I will be there) or Pau later this year.

Inonothing has been a very consistent performer for quite some time, even before his Badminton win and Paul is very keen to have him back to top form.

What does remain a mystery is how the horse actually acquired the injury. The physical aspects of the injury suggest quite a hard hit. However as Paul recollects things, they had what felt like a slip on the approach to fence 11. At 12a and b, the double corners, things didn’t go to plan as Inonothing didn’t get the striding right but remained committed and jumped badly. While they did give the fence a good hit on the b element, this was on the opposite side to the injury.

It doesn’t matter either way, but when something goes wrong it is always helpful to know why.

What I do know is that Australia will be spoilt for choice as we approach London next year and while we may have seen one champion retire, Ringwould Jaguar, we have not seen the end of the careers of either Jester or Inonothing. In addition there are plenty of combinations waiting in the wings to step up and represent in the Green and Gold.

We could always steal Phillip and Boyd back too.

For the record, Sam Griffiths and Happy Times will be returning to the international spotlight with an entry into Badminton later this month and Paul Tapner will be defending his 2010 Badminton title on Kilfinnie II. Stuart Tinney and Vettori are slated to tackle the Sydney World Cup round in May, as are Chris Burton and HP Leilani. As for WEG sensation Peter Atkins and Henny, they are still embroiled in a legal battle and their fate as a combination is yet to be decided.

Yours in Eventing,

ESJ

Aussie WEG recovery – Part one

By John Lechner on Apr 14, 2011 11:32 am -

Sonja Johnson & Ringwould Jaguar at WEG, photo thanks to Franz Venhaus

There is no doubt that the Australian WEG Eventing Team had an incredibly unlucky Games. In total four Aussie combinations did not complete the Event, that includes Megan Jones and Kirby Park Irish Jester who sadly didn’t even arrive in the horse park.

I thought now, six months on, it was time to catch up with everyone and see how the horses are in particular, given that Sonja Johnson’s Jag, Megan Jones’ Jester and Paul Tapner’s Inonothing all had quite serious issues.

In the process of writing this story I also came across another extraordinary groom – Amy McGregor, Stuart Tinney’s Groom, doing her job beyond the call of duty. In the words of Sonja Johnson “Amy is the only reason we still have Jag today, she saved his life”.

This story is one that required phone conversations from right across Australia and to the UK over a couple of weeks to make it happen, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you.

There are two horses in particular in Aussie Eventing that make me stop and watch, every thing they do. They are not flashy big warmbloods but they are DUDEs and they know it. They love an audience, have big hearts, an amazing jump and I just love them, they are Jag and Jester.

Ringwould Jaguar, 19 year old, Australian Stock Horse

Sonja and Jag at Fence 19, this is after the injury occurred, you can see he is protecting his off hind, photo courtesy of Evalyn Bemis and Sonja Johnson

Yes, Aussie Stock Horse, this horse was bred to chase cattle over the West Australian countryside. Only one problem he doesn’t like cattle at all, but he loves to jump. Jag is not a dressage horse by any means and always puts in a consistent, workmanlike test that gives him a chance to catch the leaders out on XC.

I caught up with Sonja back home in Albany Western Australia on her family’s sheep and cattle station.

Jag picked up a small puncture wound on XC, which subsequently got infected. So I wanted to know how Jag is today and what happened.

Since WEG Sonja has tried to find every available photo of Jag, on XC to help identify what happened, when and where. What she knew at the time was after dropping into the water over the angled brush at 17a, Jag wasn’t as responsive as usual. He still did everything he was asked, at no time showed any signs of lameness, he had just lost top gear. At the time Sonja figured she was riding a 19 year old horse, perhaps age has finally caught up, he wasn’t as fit as she thought and they could finish without making time.

During that final part of the XC they had a couple of scrappy moments including banking one of the fences near the end, but they finished. At this stage the Aussies were down one after Paul Tapner’s retirement on XC due to Inonothing’s stifle injury.

When back at the stables, Sonja’s groom Natallie Hibbert checked him over and found a small nick in his fetlock. This was then examined and dressed by a team vet and Jag left to rest.

The next morning when preparing for the jog, Jag was a little uneven, given his age it was thought he would get better as he warmed up. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case, on further examination and scans, the puncture wound went well into the joint cavity.

Jag was withdrawn from the Event and taken straight across the road to Rood & Riddle for treatment. The infection that had amassed in his joint was extraordinary, his white cell count was off the charts, they force flushed massive volumes of sterile fluids through the joint to clear the pus. Jag was not in a good way.

After about a week of treatment he went into quarantine with the other Aussie & Kiwi horses that were due to fly back to Australia and New Zealand.

Amy McGregor, rider Stuart Tinney’s long term groom – she has her 10 year anniversary at the Tinney farm in August of this year – was left responsible for the Aussie Event horses returning to Australia. Jag entered quarantine with a few days of antibiotics left, a light dressing protecting his healing wound and was well on his way to a full recovery.

Amy, Team Tinney and Vettori at WEG Team Tinney, left to right, Peter O’Connell (owner Vettori), Amy, Stuart, Vettori, Karen, Kathy Ward (owner Vettori)

Unfortunately, a week or so into the quarantine Jag hit the wall, a new infection had emerged. Despite the fact they were in quarantine at Coolmore and getting the best of support, Jag needed help. Amy managed to persuade everyone to allow Jag’s Rood & Riddle vet into quarantine to treat this new infection.

So there was Amy with two other grooms looking after 18 horses between them with one very sick patient in Jag who needed extra special care. Jag’s recovery was slow, given his immune system had already been smashed by the last infection and there were doubts right up until the last minute of whether Jag could make the 10 hour truck drive to Chicago and then the long plane ride to New Zealand. (The Aussie horses needed a further two weeks quarantine in New Zealand before coming home).

Amy did everything she could to ensure that Jag wasn’t left behind, including I think pushing and being quite stern to ensure her opinions were listened to. Amy had limited access to vets the whole time in quarantine and knew that during the two weeks in NZ, after two separate courses of antibiotics in the USA, that if Jag crashed again either on the flight or in NZ he would not be allowed to be treated properly. That is the point of quarantine, they do not want treatment to mask an illness.

When I spoke with Amy about her weeks in quarantine and how she ended up looking after Jag and the rest of the Aussie horses, she was so modest and understated I almost thought there wasn’t a story to write. There was a story and what I found out is that Amy is just too modest to claim any glory for saving the life and retirement of one of Australia’s much-loved Event horses.

Amy is a consummate professional and runs the Tinney yard in the outskirts of Sydney. She has travelled Australia and the world with Stuart, including bringing nine horses to the UK in 2008 as part of a last ditch effort (the Equine Influenza outbreak in Australia disrupted competitions and plans of many for several months) by Stuart to gain selection for Beijing 2008.

So, did all of Amy’s efforts pay off? Absolutely, Jag is enjoying a wonderful retirement.

Jag was always due for retirement after Kentucky, he is 19 has done everything he could in his career including bringing home a team silver from Beijing. After a few weeks of rest and recuperation after the drawn out travel back to the Johnson farm Parkiarrup, Jag was turned out into his favorite paddock.

After a few weeks, Jag got bored and started to do his thing again which is make a general nuisance of himself. It must be said that despite their amazingly close partnership, Jag will NEVER EVER let Sonja catch him in the paddock. So after a few weeks playing the role of farm clown, Sonja had a call from a family friend and great supporter who was trying to find a horse to help their 13 year old polo playing son learn more about Eventing.

Jag, after much convincing on Sonja’s part, was sent up to Perth and started to do clinics and sporting days in the life of a Pony Club horse. Barrel racing was a minor problem as Jag had never been asked to go round something before, much simpler to go over it. So yes Jag is enjoying his retirement and has now moved on to another of Sonja’s friends who is taking him around baby class Eventing, he loves it.

Brookleigh Equestrian Estate">

Jag and barrel racing is a funny combination. Photo courtesy of Brookleigh Equestrian Estate

I asked Sonja, how she felt about all this. She said to me that the ride that Jag gave her around Kentucky was a magical feeling, he gave her every ounce of his big heart and never once let her down. She wants to remember that feeling forever and for that reason will probably never jump in the saddle on Jag again. He owes her nothing and has earned the right to enjoy whatever retirement path he chooses to take, which at this stage looks like teaching a new rider how to Event.

This is the end of part one of this story, stay tuned for part two, where I catch up with Megan Jones to see how Jester is, following his illness and Paul Tapner, to see how 2010 Badminton winner Inonothing is faring following his injury in Kentucky. Just too much to fit in one story.

Yours in Eventing,

ESJ

A rider or a law student?

By John Lechner on Apr 4, 2011 1:17 pm -

I still remember the day I met my first ever “Eventer”. At the time I was a newbie rider and in my mind there were two types of riders, people who just rode horses and Eventers. I was in awe of Tracey (the first Eventer, that I had met). Even then I knew that Eventers were special.

It takes a special type of person to Event. You need determination, courage, tenacity and an iron will. The parents of an Eventer also need some very strong characteristics, the need to be an excellent groom, a tireless truck driver and a rock when things don’t work out. But no parent can provide the drive and courage to face what can be, and is, a heartbreaking sport.

No rider in our sport gets a free ride. You can’t pop on a horse Saturday morning that has been trained by someone else and with which you have no relationship and expect to do well. You need to put the hard yards in training, building confidence and a relationship between the two of you as a partnership.

Last year I met Elizabeth Barron at Red Hills and have since watched her results from afar back home in Australia. There is no doubt that Elizabeth (as an Aussie I reserve the right to shorten names so from now on she will be EB) is a good competitor and if recent results are anything to go by, she is an amazing competitor on her way up.

EB shot into the headlines late last year with a stunning win at Chat Hills in the CCI 2 star against some tough competition, and she opened the 2011 season up with a win in the Rocking Horse Advanced finishing ahead of Bonner Carpenter and Buck Davidson.

What sets EB apart in our tough sport is she managed these results while studying full time at Law School. She makes managing the dual life of a rider and student look easy. I know that neither is that and under her cool southern veneer she is one very tough competitor and will make one hell of a lawyer.

Elizabeth told me that her future career in law was chosen so that she might be able to fund her horse habit. I would not be surprised at all if I turn up at an event on the East Coast and can go to the EB Law trade stand to update a lease contract or arrange horse sale documents to be drawn up while EB rides 3 or 4 of her own horses in between.

In the meantime, EB somehow manages to find a balance in her two lives. Perhaps it is the disparity between riding and studying that make them compatible pursuits. Riding half a tonne of living breathing horse requires a focus purely on that half tonne of muscle and bone dedicated to fleeing at a millisecond’s notice.

When you lose that focus and start thinking about Contract Law or partying on Saturday night you often end up with your butt in the sand wondering what happened. Riding her horses Benjamin (The Graduate) and Rosie (Esperanza) five days a week provides a welcome release and distraction from the life of a law student.

I truly believe that being a student makes EB a better rider and being a rider makes her a better student. This is a life that many cannot balance and I know it isn’t easy but I think she does a pretty good job of it.

I caught up with EB when she was back home in Tallahassee. She tells me that she comes home every 5 weeks or so, in order for family farrier Dennis Dunn to give Benjamin and Rosie their regular pedicure. I know, in fact, she comes home to raid the fridge, pantry, dog food and feed shed in an effort to live the life of a student and rider. The Barron family home has plenty of extra supplies for the girls (EB and her sisters Anne and Rebecca) when they pop in to see Mom and Dad, or to top up the cooler and pantry in their student digs.

I know EN John has a thing for EB. He tells us that he can’t believe a rider of her talent and skill with the results she has produced is not on the developing rider squad. I agree with EN John on that, imagine how good she could be with the full support of the High Performance Machine behind her. But I also think that EN John has a thing for older women, not that EB is old, but she is older than him.

When EB and I caught up at Red Hills her weekend hadn’t gone to plan. Despite her home ground advantage (her Mom Jane is one of the organizers of Red Hills), EB & Benjamin had an issue early on and she elected to play it safe and pull out. This was unsettling and left a residual doubt in the minds of both horse and rider.

Thankfully since then they have gotten over the hump, and last week returned from Poplar with a credible fourth behind Leslie Law and Aussie Kadi Eykamp, finishing on the same score (49.60) as Callie Judy, only slipping to fourth on countback in the OI division.

With The Fork next weekend I know we haven’t seen the last from Elizabeth in the winners circle. Benjamin is brilliant on the flat and jumped one of the few double clears in the stadium at Poplar, no doubt helped by his warmblood roots.

I asked EB about her ambitions with Benjamin and where she hoped they would go. Her immediate goal is to tackle a CCI 3 Star, perhaps in the fall season this year. When asked about her ambition to go four star and Rolex in particular, her response was sensible and realistic, “lets get our first three star done first”. Benjamin is her first horse to go to this level of competition. So as a team they are learning together, what I do know is that there is no hurry.

In the meantime, the only way to ever make it round Rolex is if “Benjamin can lose enough weight to get his big fat belly over those big fences”. In the meantime young Rosie is waiting in the wings and there is a law degree to complete somewhere in between.

This week, head groom of the Barron stables, Jane Barron, will be making the trip with Elizabeth to compete at The Fork, notch up some more experience, and be one step closer to the four star dream. Every rider needs a supportive family and team around them to achieve their dreams and EB has that in bucket loads.

Remember to thank your groom and support team.

Yours in Eventing,

ESJ

To stake or not to stake, that is the question

By John Lechner on Mar 30, 2011 11:11 am -

Snapshot 2011-03-29 16-28-25.jpeg

Recently there has been some discussion about XC fences used in an unaffiliated event in the UK that were not staked. The incident that got this story started was an unstaked corner that rolled over. The fence in question wasn’t very big, in fact was probably only 2 foot 6 (75cm) but when it rolled over was easily over four foot (120cm) tall (NB 120cm is the maximum height allowed for 4 star). No horse should be asked to jump a fence that has the chance to get bigger when jumped, especially when jumped badly. Check out the fourth line in this link for photos. While the fall looks dramatic, from what I understand the landing was pretty soft. As a result, I thought I would talk to jump builder Dan Starck about the issue of staking cross-country fences.

Dan is a very experienced course and jump builder (over 25 years). He is the Co-Chairman of the US Eventing Course Builders/Designers Committee and serves on the USEA Safety Committee. Dan by his own admission has not staked fences when he should have, and he has also seen the results of good and bad staking. Before I get to our discussion, here is an article written by Dan on staking in Eventing USA, Issue Three 2009 PDF.

Dan and I caught up on skype, me from my home in Australia and Dan enjoying a rare weekend at home in Virginia.

What struck me from our conversation was how similar the issues are that we face here in Australia to those in the USA. I asked Dan if he had experienced any resistance to staking out in the field. Thankfully, he had not experienced much resistance from riders about staking.

With over 25 years experience in building fences and courses, Dan had some observations on where the use of devices like the spirafix or ground anchor was most appropriate. He believes that where a fence is positioned on a mound and narrow enough to roll, this is a situation when ground anchors at the front are most critical. That said, there are many variables that determine what type of staking is most appropriate and no hard and fast rule suits all situations.

The intent is probably the most important factor in deciding what to do, rather than creating a rule that says you must do this, this and this if this, that, and the other apply and so on.

Dan noted that much of the time we stake fences to ensure that they do not change position or profile or in the case of a fence on a downward slope fall down after the horse and rider. But it is also critical to stake to ensure a fence does not get bigger when hit.

Another point raised in the UK discussions was that a fence that moves has a bit of “give” in it, or absorbs some of the energy. This has some merit, however when you want to absorb some energy you can plan for that. Using brush is a great way to create a more forgiving fence, rounded or roll top fences also have the capacity to allow energy to pass without necessarily creating a fall.

But no course builder or designer would build a portable fence designed to roll over or move without incorporating a frangible device to regulate that change in shape. For instance, the Mim NewEra clip is designed to react in that very short period of time – less than 0.4 seconds – between a substantial hit and the beginnings of a rotational fall.

We talked about the variety of frangible devices available today and where they fit into the sport today. Particularly, the Frangible Pin, Reverse Frangible Pin and the Mim NewEra Clip. Dan, like me believed that the Mim NewEra was the best device for moving forward in the future.

Primarily because:

The Mim can be used on a huge variety of fence types, in fact almost all.
The Mim is simple to install, does not require specialist tools or force tables to install correctly.
A fence judge can reset a Mim fence before the next horse arrives and without the use of any tools.

There are still a number of serious challenges to be overcome before we will see these used more widely in competition, particularly in the USA. Currently the USEF funds the cost of frangible pins used in US Events. No subsidy or support is offered to use the Mim device or any other frangible device in the USA.

The reverse frangible pin, while more adaptable than the standard frangible pin, requires the use of charts, torque wrenches and most importantly correct installation methodology. The installation information is not widely available and Technical Delegates (TDs) – those responsible for checking and approving its installation – do not have access to training or information on the correct installation.

Another question that has been raised directly to me in recent times is that some riders might not be keen to see so many frangible devices on XC courses. I asked Dan about his experience in this area.

Dan said in his experience, that riders wanted to see more frangible fences on XC, many riders including those at the elite level had been saved by frangible devices and hoped to see more out there. The biggest thing holding us back was cost and that even with free pins, in most cases a fence needed rebuilding to make it frangible and every event had a budget for XC courses and only so much could be done each time.

Just so there is no confusion, all portable XC fences should be staked, depending on the size, weight and nature of the fence means there are a number of options. No XC fence should ever be able to move or roll over. This is explicitly different to a frangible fence that is designed to collapse in a controlled and timely manner.

We are heading in the right direction, an industrial standard in frangible fences is on its way, hopefully. Riders, Officials, Committees and Equestrian Bodies are now motivated to move in the right direction.

On a side note.

I caught up with the USEFs CEO John Long at Red Hills and put the question to him about Helmets, which had been raised in comments following my story. I asked John if it was it their intention to allow a rider to wear an international FEI recognized helmet standard (UK, Euro or Aus/NZ) in a four star at Rolex for instance but then not allow the same rider to wear the same helmet in a beginner novice class. John was not aware that the US rule had excluded the use of safety helmets allowed by the FEI and he made a commitment to review the rule and perhaps include the wording used by the FEI. This is great news and I look forward to seeing an update on this soon.

Yours in Eventing,

ESJ

That post event feeling

By John Lechner on Mar 16, 2011 9:31 am -

My body and my brain is confused. Sunday started with a very early wake up alarm. On Saturday night I was sitting with EN John and some of the wonderful Canadian riders at the Red Hills riders party.

We all adjusted our phones forward an hour for Daylight Savings Time and set alarms to ensure we were not late for the jog. I set mine for 5.24am, as I had to pack and it is never a good look for the TD to be late.

Needless to say when I awoke I started packing and finished at what I thought was 6am, sent a text to Samantha Clark to see if she was at her Tallahassee hang-out, Starbucks. She wasn’t, because they were not open yet. Sometime in the minutes following I picked up my watch to adjust the time and realised it read a few minutes after 5am, crap, I had got up at 4.24am, not good.

Strangely Samantha was awake too at that awful hour, despite the fact that her and ECOGOLD’s Patricia had dropped me back at my Plantation accommodation just north of the Georgia State Line around midnight the night before.

I am not going to write another Red Hills story or wrap up, I think we have covered the event more than thoroughly over the last few weeks. But instead I will reflect on my time here. It has been fun, interesting and at times strange, some of the stories I can’t even share.

After leaving Tallahassee Sunday afternoon, I got back to LA and in my hotel by midnight, which was 3am Tally time, which explains why I am a little messed up.

Thanks to all the EN Readers who said hello over the weekend. The funniest moment I had on that front was with a young lady who had a fall after the fourth from last fence in the prelim. I met her after her fall to check her condition and offered to take back her deployed Point Two air jacket.

I later caught her and her mom after the finish. She said to me “are you EventingSafety John?” “Yes”, I said. “it was worth falling off, because I got to meet ESJ” was the response. It is great to know that people read and enjoy my stuff, I will try to keep it up.

EN Readers, are everywhere, young and old, hardcore eventers and relative newcomers to the sport. Many, like me, check EN several times a day to ensure they don’t miss any news. Did you see John’s post the other day, we are getting over 10,000 hits a day on EN, that is HUGE!

EN John is able to apparate instantly to strange locations, never missing a story. I was blown away by the high tech equipment the Chinchilla’s use to keep the ENMCCC running, getting up to eight updates out a day during the event. All this on a diet of caffeine loaded coffee, fried pickles and gator nuggets.

The Tim Tams are all gone. I had one pack left and caught up with Alison Springer, gold cup and keys to a shiny new black Mercedes SUV in her hands. She walked away excited at the prospect of eating the chocolate cookies on her long drive home in the new Mercedes, we aim to please here.

Personally, I think we could end wars and bridge gaps between religions with more Tim Tam love.

We all know I am a bit of a safety nut and have never been shy in proclaiming my preference for using the appropriate safety gear in our sport.

I was very surprised when I tried out the Point Two the other day (see the earlier post from Samantha to see the video), the experience wasn’t as shocking as I was expecting. That said, I think if you buy one, you need to test it out, on the ground to ensure to know what it feels like. If the first time you have it go off is when you are sailing through the air, it can be a little scary. Blow the extra $25 and test it out.

Meeting Lee, the man behind the Point Two was interesting. He told me some of the development work that is going on, a standard is being developed and the vests are about to be used in horse racing, with a foam insert. He was careful not to be critical of his competitors but also pointed out the clear differences and why his costs more. I know that a couple of different brands of vests were traded-in on the weekend.

Travelling Home

I started writing this post in a little Mexican cafe, in Olvera St, chilling out and waiting to meet up with a Tweep (Twitter friend), Susan who is an Aussie who lives in LA. Susan showed me some real LA and I had an amazing day. I saw many of the normal tourist spots like Hollywood Boulevard and Rodeo Drive. But I also got to see some really cool things that most tourists don’t discover.

For starters we checked out the The Bradbury Building, home to scenes from Bladerunner and many other movies. It is a really beautiful building on the inside.

OK, so I am a big boy and all big boys like their toys. I saw a Bugatti Veyron first hand. This is not only the most expensive production car in the world but the fastest too. It was black and yellow, was being driven by an old guy with a 20 year old model on his arm, I guess if you can afford a car just is a little shy of two million bucks, getting the hot girl isn’t too hard.

Speaking of toys, my mission to find an iPad2 was unsuccessful, that is despite going to an Apple Store in a mall in LA.

In that same mall they also had an Audi and Lamborghini car dealership with shopfronts in the middle of the mall. As they say LA is a bit different.

I am now sitting in my lounge room at home, not sure what day, what timezone, what time or even what Country I am in.

I will be back again soon and perhaps the Red Hills crew will invite me back in 2012. In the meantime I made some great connections and even had an interesting discussion about an event in 2012 so you never know.

Enjoy the ride,

ESJ

Biggest Show in Town

By John Lechner on Mar 10, 2011 9:27 am -

As you know I have traveled from home in Australia this week to Tallahassee Florida to help TD at Red Hills.

The XC courses look stunning, the weather is promising to be perfect, that is despite the heavy rain last night. But unfortunately, at this stage the Event is not the biggest show in town.

The biggest and most talked about show in town, is the race for the Chef/TA Job. Believe me, everyone is talking about it, we all want to know what the latest gossip is, who has said what and where this leaves the whole situation.

As a relative outsider, I have found the whole process quite amusing. This does not bode well for Team USA because at the very least this is a distraction that the team does not need at the moment.

Only last night the USEF issued a press release clarifying the key criteria that the selection committee utilized to whittle down the list, those criteria are as below, here is the press release.

Accessibility, the riders expressed a keen desire to be able to jump in their truck, with a bunch of horses and drive to a farm run by the Head Coach. Surprisingly, not all of the applicants interviewed, expressed a desire to base themselves in the USA.
The ability to jump in the saddle and feel what is going on. That meant someone with current riding skills, who spends a sizable amount of time in the saddle themselves.
Good communicator and leader, they wanted someone who they could look up to for guidance, speaking clearly with a voice of experience.

The other key piece of information in the Press Release was that only two people would front up at the forum today, 1pm at Red Hills. If you are anywhere near Red Hills, I recommend you be here, it will be interesting. I think the Red Hills folks, should sell tickets and open a concession stand because I believe this is going to be one very interesting meeting.

Those two people are David and Leslie as selected by the Search Committee. That said, there may end up being more than one meeting. I saw Phillip last night and he will be at the meeting, although not up front. Will he hold his own meeting afterwards? Will any of the other candidates be there? Will any of the mystery four be there and show their hands, who knows?

What I do know is that almost everyone who is anywhere near the Red Hills venue will be at this meeting. Some are very vocal and will not hold back. There will be plenty of media there including John and Samantha from EN. I will be there too, as will all of the officials gathered here for Red Hills, we don’t want to miss the action.

I think there is a feeling that the Active Athletes will not accept a short list of two and will choose to interview more of the candidates, I am guessing Jimmy and Phillip/Bobby. I also have a feeling we will also hear from some of the mystery four, which will be interesting because to date their names have remained under wraps.

What I do know is all of this is great for Australian, British, New Zealand, Canadian and German Eventing. Why, because a distracted and unfocused Team USA is not likely to be in the medals.

I am waiting for the press release to follow in the near future saying that in the interests of providing stability and certainty to US Eventing, Captain Mark Phillips will stay on for another four years until Rio.

Oh and by the way in case you missed it, there is also and event on this weekend called Red Hills, that will be be great and will provide some exciting horse action, rather than coach action.

Yours in Eventing

ESJ

Chasing horses across the globe

By John Lechner on Mar 9, 2011 12:49 pm -

Pacific Sunrise

This story was written in two parts, before traveling and then finished while in Tallahassee.

Before Traveling

Later today marks the start of a journey from the Hunter Valley, in NSW Australia to Tallahassee Florida. I am excited, and for lots of reasons. Last year I was lucky enough to come to Red Hills as part of the FEI’s Global Education Program for Eventing Officials, big title but also big goals. The whole basis of the program is to share the wealth of experience around the globe for Eventing Officials.

I got lucky and came to Red Hills, I had an amazing time on my first ever trip to the USA, shopped like a madman, including a visit to Walmart at 4am (I couldn’t sleep).

By the way I do not recommend driving on the wrong side of the road with 3 hours sleep in 50 plus hours, it is a scary experience.

Red Hills is a great event and my thoughts on the team at Red Hills are already well documented, I love them and their event. But this is only part of the reason I am excited.

I love traveling and enjoy flying, I am also an airport tragic and will happily hang out in an airport for 3 or more hours. Although this is made significantly easier today with my trusty netbook, loaded with movies and music, stories to write for EN, my BlackBerry for tweeting and always a good book. Strangely unlike most people who find LAX a place to be avoided at all costs. I love it and am only sorry that I fly in at 8am so will not be able to walk down to In-N-Out Burger between flights as they don’t open til 10.30am, BUGGER.

Much of the EN Team will be at Red Hills, so I am looking forward to meeting with the team from Corporate, getting outfitted in my EN corporate uniform, checking out the coffee and donuts in the EN Mobile Corporate Communication Center (ENMCCC) and most of all meeting the Team face to face. Coren is riding in the 2 Star, Samantha is making the long drive down from Lexington and John will be teleported to Tally in the ENMCCC. I am sure there are other members of the EN team that will also be here.

Of course EN Sponsors ECOGOLD and Point Two will be there. Unfortunately I have confirmed that ECOGOLD will not be bringing their axe along, I did ask. I have been assured that instead they will be bringing along lots of M&Ms, so be sure to pop by the ECOGOLD trade stand and ask for some M&Ms. I am also looking forward to stopping by the Point Two stand and getting blown up, so keep an eye out for me ESJ getting blown up at the trade stands.

There are also some awesome sausages to be had from the guys at Bradley’s Country Store, be sure to find them early, they are very yummy!! Speaking of yummy, I have a huge pile of Tim Tams in my suitcase, assuming they are not confiscated by the TSA (I can confirm they were not confiscated), make sure you ask for one when you meet me over the weekend, I will try and make sure I have some close by. Don’t know what a Tim Tam is, it is two chocolate cookie, with chocolate cream covered in chocolate. I even have some double coated which have even more chocolate.

A couple of days ago, I was glued to my computer screen as I watched the live blogs detailing the launch of the iPad 2. I am a bit of a technology nerd, but have held off on the iPad til now. However, the iPad 2 changes everything for me and they are getting released on Friday (Dressage day). There is one big problem, the closest Apple store is in Jacksonville, way too far away, the good news is both Best Buy and Walmart are aparently going to carry them from day 1, so maybe I will get one. Fingers crossed.

Oh and I nearly forgot, one other big reason to be excited about Red Hills, the horses and riders. Many of North America’s best will be competing on their top mounts.

Starting with the Canucks, we will see Kyle Carter on Madison Park return with Jessica Phoenix on Exploring, Selena O’Hanlon on Colombo and that is just in the 3 Star.

Team USA in the 3 Star, leads with Jennie Brannigan in the 3 Star, given her broken collar bone, I wonder if we will see Phillip pick up the ride on Cambalda? Hannah Burnett with St Barts and defending champion Mara Dean (now DePuy) will return.

Fresh from his PRO Derby Cross win last weekend, Buck has both Ballynoecastle RM & Absolute Liberty, Phillip on William Penn & Isabell II, USA Chef/TA Shortlister Leslie Law on Rehy Lux, Boyd on Neville, Karen on both Mandiba and Quintus 54 and Alison Springer with Arthur & Destination Known.

This isn’t the complete 3 Star list but as you can see it will be a real fight for the $10,000 cash and the Mercedes.

After Arriving

I have now arrived in Tallahassee, I had some Bang Bang Shrimp for dinner last night, it was just as good as I remember. We are planning later in the week to head out to Bradley’s Country Store for a sausage on the premises, fantastic.

Today, is a beautiful Florida spring day, the sun is shining and the air is fresh. I have to thank Red Hills sponsors for my ride this week Proctor Acura. The MDX is a nice ride and not as big as the pick-up truck I had last year, although I am sure it isn’t as sweet as the ENMCCC.

This morning I have walked the 3 Star course and it warms ESJ’s heart to see all four frangible devices in one course. Yes, Course Designer Hugh Lochore has incorporated the ProLog, Frangible Pin, Reverse Frangible Pin and the Mim NewEra Clip. All are placed in different fence types that best demonstrate the properties of that device.

Well team, time for me to sign off, more XC courses to walk. I hope to see you all later this weekend.

Enjoy the ride.

ESJ

Eventing Nation

John Lechner

Achievements

About John Lechner

Latest Articles Written

The ‘Seinfeld’ story

Finding the balance

Melbourne Wrap

Melbourne Three Day kicks off

Reflecting on our community

Recovery and the future

Down Under Eventing Results

What is Eventing Equestriad?

Kiwi Clarke takes out Sydney World Cup

Sleep deprived but loving it

Move over Rolex, Sydney is up next

Mark Todd, I am not sure he is a legend

Hamish Cargill gets his feet wet

The Spirit of mateship

Woohoo. I can blog and write story’s for EN from my iPad

Big News for Australian Eventing

Part two – Aussie WEG recovery

Aussie WEG recovery – Part one

A rider or a law student?

To stake or not to stake, that is the question

That post event feeling

Biggest Show in Town

Chasing horses across the globe

Stable View

Success Equestrian

Sport Horse Nation

Kentucky Performance Products

Strides for Equality Equestrians

USEA

USEF

FEI