It’s high clinic season here in the U.S., and one of the latest international riders to join the list of visitors is Olympic individual gold medalist Julia Krajewski. Julia will be teaching a clinic in Ocala, FL January 27-31. There are a limited number of spots available for lessons, and auditing is also available for a fee. For more information, please contact Chris Talley at 484-798-9834.
And another rider coming stateside — and another Olympic gold medalist (twice over!) — in Britain’s Tom McEwen. Tom is visiting the West coast for his tour, making stops at Cellar Farm in Petaluma, CA (January 21-23) and Galway Downs in Temecula, CA (January 25-26).
U.S. Weekend Preview
Stable View Aiken Opener H.T. (SC): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
Ram Tap Combined Test (CA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring]
News & Reading
Exciting news! The beloved Essex Horse Trials will make its return in 2025, a positive development after the community worried the event had run its final competition in 2024. The sustainability of running at two venues, a longtime format of Essex, was challenging for organizers. Thanks to the help of multiple supporters, including Olympic dressage judge Marilyn Payne, who stepped up to helm the organizing of the event, have made this year’s event possible. Read more from Nancy Jaffer on this story here.
Some interesting reading on the topic of nosebands has also hit the internet this week. Welfare critics have voiced concern that tight nosebands cause stress, but a recently-published project led by Dr. Hilary Clayton didn’t back up that perception — at least, not in one set of circumstances. The study focused on noseband tightness, which of course has been a major topic of discussion, particularly given the context of a new noseband measuring tool debuted by the FEI this year. Read the summary here.
Meanwhile, the use of spurs and whips has also been limited by British Showjumping, The Pony Club in Great Britain, and British Riding Clubs, which now dictate that a whip may only be used to back up leg aids, and not as punishment or discipline. As for spurs, The Pony Club has laid out new rules that take effect this month, which now require a rider to have passed their C+ test or an assessment showing that they understand spurs’ use and have a stable enough lower leg to wear them appropriately. Read the full breakdown here.
We’ve teamed up with Strides for Equality Equestrians to raffle off a private flat lesson with British Olympian William Fox-Pitt during his Ocala, FL clinic in March! Click here for more details on how to enter before the end of this month.
Team EN is hard at work on some very exciting things for 2025! To that end, we’ve love your feedback on merch as we look ahead to re-launching our much-loved line just for you, our readers! Click here to take a quick survey. We’d appreciate it!
Sponsor Corner: Stable View
It’s time to kick off this year’s Stable View Eventing Academy series! Entries are now open for the February Eventing Academy, which will take place February 14-16 and will, naturally, have a Valentine’s Day theme. You can learn more about Eventing Academy events, which include a day of cross country schooling before an unrecognized, no-pressure competition, here.
Video Break
What at the five primary rider responsibilities? Bec Braitling breaks them down:
