EN’s Got Talent is Eventing Nation’s newest series. We hear all the time about horses at the top of the sport, but what about the next generation of equine talent? This series introduces the future superstars of the sport, interviewing riders about how they’re tackling training with these youngsters. Have you spotted a spectacular young horse at an event you think should be highlighted in this column? Tip me at [email protected].

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Katie Murphy and Esccord RGS won the 4-year-old Young Event Horse East Coast Championships at Fair Hill. Photo by Jenni Autry.

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Katie Murphy of Hopkinton, N.H., is coming off a fantastic end to the 2012 season with Esccord RGS, her 4-year-old Hanoverian gelding bred by Dr. Terry and Jayshree Schrubb of Page Brook Farms in Hollis, N.H. Esccord RGS, better known as Garth, won the 4-year-old Young Event Horse East Coast Championships at Fair Hill last month, giving Katie high hopes that this talented gelding has the makings of an upper-level prospect. “I first saw Garth over two years years ago when I bought my 3-year-old, Emitt,” Katie said. “At the time, Emitt was 10 months old and Garth was a year older. Garth’s quality was reflected in his price, and I just couldn’t afford him at the time.”

Katie ended up selling her preliminary horse to the Schrubb’s daughter after the horse struggled with moving up to intermediate. “I used those funds to buy Garth and brought him home last fall,” Katie said. “He’d had a rider on his back for about 15 minutes every day at that point, so he knew very basic walk and trot. He hadn’t been pressured into doing much at that time, so he was very calm.” Katie is a big fan of hacking when she trains her young horses, incorporating plenty of long, slow flatwork at the very beginning. “Fortunately, we have a lot of variations in terrain here,” Katie said. “He went out over a lot of dirt roads and wooded trails.”

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Garth at the YEH Championships.

Initially, Katie only rode Garth three days a week, with two of those days dedicated to walking and an occasional trot up a hill; the third day incorporated light flat work. “Eventually, I worked a fourth day into his program, where we did a lot of ground poles to get him to use himself and build some strength,” Katie said. “I very rarely cantered him last fall. He didn’t have the balance or strength to hold his canter safely at that point. We started to bring in basic gymnastics works and go out on cross-country, where we walked over logs and up and down banks. Then we progressed to trotting over the logs.”

Garth’s gradual training program highlights Katie’s philosophy for training all her young horses. “I’d rather take my time,” Katie said. “Fortunately, I have that flexibility. I’m a very small operation with just my horses at this time. My office job allows me financial stability, so I don’t need to have a timeframe in mind when it comes to resale. I can take the time I feel the horses need. I’d rather have a slow progression than move too quickly and have to backtrack.”

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf6-N5XPeNM
Garth’s dressage test and jumping at the YEH Championships 

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Katie spent two months down south earlier this year, where Garth had his first real cross-country school at Southern Pines. “He’d never jumped a single fence alone before,” Katie said. “All jumps had been accompanied by gymnastics lines and ground poles to help him figure out his footwork.” Garth went to his first schooling show in Bath, N.C., and then ran his first horse trials at novice at Southern Pines I. “He was very spooky, but it was an excellent first introduction to the sport for him,” Katie said. “After that, he just bloomed. He became more and more confident.”

Averaging about one event per month, Katie had her sights on the Young Event Horse program. She’d participated in the Future Event Horse program with both Emitt and Garth, but this year was her first involvement in YEH. “When I saw Garth was doing solid at novice and ready to move up to training, I thought it would be a great way to cap the season and get the feedback from the judges,” Katie said. While she went into the YEH Championships at Fair Hill without any major expectations, Katie knows Garth’s first-place finish is a testament to just how talented he is.

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Next week on EN’s Got Talent: We’ll take an in-depth look at Garth’s performance at the YEH East Coast Championships at Fair Hill, including what comments he received from the judges and how Katie hopes to see his career develop next season. “I am hopeful for his future,” Katie said. “I think he’s a wonderful partner, regardless of what he may end up doing.”

In years past, we’ve asked members of the Eventing Nation family what they’re thankful for, sharing their answers with you on Thanksgiving Day. This year, we decided to change it up a bit and ask: What is your favorite thing about Thanksgiving? The responses we received both humbled and humored us. From the EN family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you enjoy this very special day to spend inside/warm and with food, as Sinead Halpin would say.

EN Asks: What is your favorite thing about Thanksgiving?

Doug Payne: “Being that I’ll stop just about anything for food, Thanksgiving is, in my opinion, the best of all holidays. So, of course, turkey is the winner … along with stuffing and cornbread.”

Will Faudree: “This is always a tough time of year for me and my family. My sister died Nov. 22, 2008. So, my favorite thing about Thanksgiving is family and memories. Remembering all the great times and making new ones.” From the EN family to yours, Will, best wishes for a meaningful, special holiday.

Jennie Brannigan: “The best thing about Thanksgiving is spending the last four years at my good friend Kelley Merette’s house, since I don’t usually go home. I tend to eat far too much. It’s my favorite holiday because the food’s fantastic and you don’t have the pressure to buy a lot of gifts. Kelley has also got me into football a bit, and by a bit I mean I’m passed out on the couch in a food coma while she’s jumping around cheering.”

Allison Springer: “My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is being with and enjoying my family. They have been so amazingly supportive through all the highs and lows of my riding career, and I think most of my success is because they have been such solid pillars of support throughout!”

Elisa Wallace: “I love getting to spend the day cooking with my family. I get to make homemade yeast rolls with my grandmother, and I also make the mashed potatoes and sweet potato soufflé. I cherish the time I get to spend with everyone and getting to eat way too much food! And my favorite: pecan pie!”

Sinead Halpin: “Thanksgiving has never been a huge tradition in my family, due to the fact that I am the daughter of two Irish immigrants. As a family we tried to fake it, but after a year or two of getting the turkey wrong and drowning our sorrows in a keg of green beer — which is what Irish people use as a constant at EVERY holiday — we decided to start attending local hotels in our best outfits so others could actually take on the responsibility of the cooking!

“But after spending a few years at the O’Connor holiday festivities, I decided Thanksgiving was a great time to not only have an excuse to drink green beer, but an excuse to hang out inside/warm and with food! I call this IWWF — a crucial code during winter months.

“I am excited this year to have my dad visiting from California, Megan and her family, and our newest addition Addie joining our team for a feast! Unfortunately, I do not cook and half of the attendees are vegetarians. What!? Turkey Day, aka Tuna Day? Not the same ring to it.

“This means pleasant company will have to make up for lack of protein. Green beer, family, and giving thanks for all we are blessed with is the heart of Thanksgiving. And if the Bud Light is green, it’s pretty much like eating a salad! If you are a horse person, make sure to capitalize on not feeling guilty while hanging out IWWF!”

Gina Miles: “Cooking, eating and drinking. As my assistant, Bec Braitling, calls it: ‘the great American eating holiday.’

“I love being in the kitchen all day, enjoying the wonderful smells with a glass of champagne. It is my chance to cook the foods I only do once a year, such as my Grandmother’s Lithuanian kugelis.

“Being domestic and hanging out at home with friends and family is such a change from our nomadic, gypsy lifestyle. It is a welcome respite and a chance to recharge our batteries for the next year.

“My birthday is also on or around Thanksgiving, so, this year, the GME gang will be joining the NLE gang at a hot nightclub in West Hollywood, the Abbey, for some SERIOUS party action!”

Phyllis Dawson: “My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is getting together with my siblings and their families; we usually have quite a big get-together here at the farm. I am cooking for about 25!”

Phyllis also sent us an except from her blog:

I am thankful for living on such a beautiful place as Windchase, and for the people and animals around me. I am very thankful for the great group of trainers, and working students who help make this farm so special. I am thankful for my good friends, and for a close-knit family, most of whom are visiting this week. I am thankful for riding good horses over beautiful countryside. For the loyal lurchers at my side, the yellow kitties that sleep on my bed at night, and for RG3. I am thankful to be able to offer a safe haven to the deer, the wild turkey flock that roams the fields some 30 strong, and the wild geese landing on the lake at sunset. And of course, I am thankful or the servicemen and women who keep us safe and free — may they have a safe and warm Thanksgiving themselves, hopefully in the company of loved ones.

Clark Montgomery: “To be honest, my favorite thing about Thanksgiving is all that comes with spending time with my family back in Texas. We are all self-proclaimed foodies, so it is typically a day of eating amazing food and drinking great wine together and catching up — something I admit I don’t get to do as often as I would like to.”

Jan Byyny: “Good people and good food! We all have something to be thankful for.

Katie Ruppel: “My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is the post-dinner nap. I really love naps.”

Sally Cousins: “My mother-in-law is a great cook and I cant wait to go to their house for dinner. They live in Unionville, and even though we live very close, we don’t get to see Nat’s family very often, so it will be wonderful to catch up with them.”

Lauren Billys: “My brother, sister, and I have come up with our favorite Thanksgiving time tradition. My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is having my grandmother asking me if I want a Piña Colada with my breakfast, and the turkey cranberry sandwiches the next day.”

Kristi Nunnink: “My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is being reminded of all the wonderful things in my life that I am thankful for.”

Colleen Rutledge: “My favorite thing about Thanksgiving has to be how all of a sudden my kids — husband included — realize Christmas is right around the corner and their behavior gets so much better. Happens every year on Thanksgiving; the first couple of years I thought it was a fluke, now I realize it’s designed to keep me sane.”

Hannah Sue Burnett: “My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is gathering with my family and enjoying one of my favorite things on this planet — food!”

Lainey Ashker: “My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is its ability to bring families — no matter the distance — closer together, even if it’s just for one scrumptious evening over a meaty bird. The food is great; the company, albeit loud, is even better.

“However, I think my list of things that I DONT like about Thanksgiving is far more entertaining and is slowly growing as each year passes. For instance, I hate that on Thanksgiving most of the radio stations in my area begin playing Christmas music over and over … and over. I also hate how all of my hard work in trying to be somewhat svelte for the past fall show season is completely annihilated in only one — or three, for some — turkey dinner to the point that I have to either bring an extra pair of sweats or unbutton my pants to give my grossly expanding waistline extra room.

“And being a rather energetic person at heart, the induced ‘Tryptophan coma’ does wonders in breaking my motivation to get my butt back into the gym. Now that everyone — including family you didn’t know you even had — is sitting at one VERY large rectangular table, I love (not) how everyone screams over their neighbor or blocks your vision to the other end of the table as they adjust their seat to prepare to witness a long-awaited argument that ensued during hors d’oeuvres between Uncle Greg and Aunt Linda. Speaking of screaming, don’t you love the emotionally charged and vehement debates that emerge during Thanksgiving? With the recent election just a few weeks past — and if your family is as politically mixed as mine — I am sure most table-side chats may quickly catalyze into another World War!

“All jokes and jeers aside, I do love the holidays. Most of all, I am thankful for my family, my friends, my sponsors, and clients and neighbors. I am especially thankful for my horses, who grant me the motivation and desire to live life to the fullest and give me a happiness that is overshadowed by nothing else. So eat and scream to your heart’s content, my friends, and be thankful for those around your dinner table and those who are overseas fighting for our inherent right to enjoy mindless banter with our relatives on this Thanksgiving Day! Bon Appétit!”

Photo by Eric Swinebroad

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Last week we took a detailed look at Rulegate, the controversy that erupted over a new FEI rule regarding unsanctioned events. The FEI told me its legal team was looking over the rule and would release an official clarification as soon as possible. FEI Press Secretary Malina Gueorguiev just sent us that clarification, provided by FEI General Counsel Lisa Lazarus:

“The new rule on participation in unsanctioned events applies only to events and/or competitions that are not in the FEI calendar (i.e. international events not approved by the FEI) and national events that are not authorised by the National Federation.

“Unsanctioned events are not subject to FEI regulations, and their organisers and participants are not accountable to the FEI for compliance with these regulations. As a result, the FEI has no way of safeguarding the welfare of horses and athletes participating in such events, or of protecting the integrity of the events. The same may be true at the national level if a national event is conducted outside national rules and with the express objection of the National Federation.

“The newly introduced rule states that an athlete, horse or official will be ineligible to participate in a sanctioned international or national event if they have participated in an unsanctioned event in the previous six months.

“Local events do not come within the scope of this rule so long as the National Federation does not expressly object to them. The FEI will rely on the National Federations to bring any national or local events that they have concerns about to the FEI’s attention.”

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This clarification should finally put Rulegate to rest, as the FEI has now specifically stated that local events do not fall under the scope of the rule. While it remains to be seen how the new rule will affect international and national events, eventers can rest assured that their schooling shows are safe.

The good folks over at the USEF assured me that its official legal clarification will follow this new release from the FEI, as the USEF wanted to wait for the FEI to fully explain the rule first. Many thanks to the USEF on answering my many questions during Rulegate; you all are awesome! EN will continue to bring you the latest news and analysis on this rule as it becomes available.

Fiona Harris competes in Express Eventing yesterday. Photo courtesy of the HorseWorldLive Facebook page.

Lucinda Fredericks and Flying Finish bested an all-star field — which featured Mark Todd and William Fox-Pitt — to win the first leg of the Express Eventing Series in London yesterday, which will continue through next year in the UK. This new eventing format seeks to make the sport more spectator-friendly, holding all three phases in a single arena. The dressage tests are ridden to music, with cross country running on an optimum time. Show jumping immediately follows, allowing riders to play it safe or risk it all by going for the joker fence at the end of the course. Jumping clean over the joker fence means taking four points off the final score. With all that excitement under one roof, Lucinda described the atmosphere in the arena as “electric.” I imagine the organizers are very pleased with a successful start to the series.

Events this Weekend:

Ram Tap HT: [Website] [Status/Times/Live Scores]

Las Cruces HT: [Website] [Status/Times/Scores]

River Glen Fall HT: [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times]

Ocala Horse Properties HT: [Website] [Ride Times]

Your Sunday Links:

Ryans Purchase Tomgar Rembrant at Goresbridge

Steeplechasing Association Forms Safety Task Force

Paralympics Research Raises the Bar for Rio

Moroney to Challenge Babick for USHJA Presidency

British Racing Stable Hit by EHV-1 Outbreak

Ten Horses Seized from Old Detroit Warehouse

Revamped Show Jumping Nations Cup Unveiled

Online Veterinary Course Offers Colic Education

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t4JdmA7gTE
Don’t miss this hilarious Oh Crap Moment of the Day from Horse Nation

The great Zenyatta. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Zenyatta, one of the greatest racehorses of our time, stole many hearts on her way to winning 19 of her 20 starts. Her thrilling victory in the 2009 Breeders Cup Classic and her narrow loss in the 2010 Breeders Cup Classic will long be remembered by horse-racing fans as some of the most incredible performances in the history of the sport. While many believe there will never be another Zenyatta, her half-sister Eblouissante — both mares share the same dam, Vertigineux — put in a very thrilling performance in her maiden race, winning in a very similar fashion to which Zenyatta won her own maiden race almost exactly five years ago. Compare both of these videos of the two mares’ maiden races. It’s clear Eblouissante — whose name means “dazzling” in French — will be one to watch for the future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uQk9eD4VgM Eblouissante’s maiden race — Nov. 16, 2012 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrcxr4EZYZs Zenyatta’s maiden race — Nov. 22, 2007 

Cross-country jumps being set this morning for Express Eventing. Photo courtesy of Express Eventing's Facebook page.

Lucinda Fredericks and Flying Finish bested Mark Todd by 2.55 points to win the first leg of the 2012/2013 Express Eventing Series, held today at London’s ExCel Arena. Express Eventing is run in one day, consisting of a freestyle dressage test to music; arena cross-country course; and a show jumping course immediately after, in which riders have the option to erase four points from their score by clearing a joker fence. Express Eventing is a wonderful way to promote a modified version of the sport to spectators; with names like Lucinda, Toddy, and WFP supporting this exciting new version of eventing, it’s safe to see we’ll continue to see its popularity grow. The remainder of the Express Eventing series will take place next year at the Lincolnshire County Show, the CLA Game Fair, and the RDS Show in Dublin, with an additional venue not yet announced. In addition to the individual competition, riders also competed as teams; I will post team scores when they’re released..

Express Eventing Teams:

Team Griffiths: Fox-Pitt Eventing & Bill Levett.
Team Todd: Mark Todd Eventing & Tom McEwan
Team Hobby: Julia Dungworth & Aaron Millar
Team Wright: Matthew Wright & Austin O’Connor
Team Meade: Kevin McNab & Emily Baldwin
Team Townend: Oliver Townend (Official) & Lucy Jackson
Team Fredericks: Lucinda Fredericks & Alex Hua Tian
Wild Card: Flora Harris &Will Murray

Full results:

1st Lucinda Fredericks – 24.00
2nd Mark Todd – 26.55
3rd Emily Baldwin – 27.05
4th William Fox-Pitt – 29.95
5th Tom McEwan – 33.8
6th Lucy Jackson – 39.05
7th Will Murray – 42.85
8th Flora Harris – 43.1
9th Matthew Wright – 45.4
10th Bill Levett 46.75

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4amh3r0ZiXY
Lucinda’s dressage test 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivv_-Yjp_tE
Lucinda’s cross-country ride 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpb1ARKfmlA
Lucinda’s show-jumping round 

This week’s video from Evention is all about structuring a flatwork ride. As Dom Schramm appropriately quips, some of us view dressage as “a torturous, mind-numbing, inconvenient phase that gets in the way of the jumping.” But Jimmie wisely counters, “It’s here to stay, so we might as well do the best we can.” Dom and Jimmie break a dressage workout into four different parts: warm-up — getting the horse forward, free, and in front of your leg; bending and suppling, test work — riding in more of a competition frame and improving movements; and, lastly, the warm-down — allowing the horse to stretch out the muscles he’s been using. Also, it’s worth checking out this week’s video just to see the great mustache Dom is growing in honor of Movember, which seeks to raise awareness for men’s health issues, like prostate and testicular cancer. Go Dom and Jimmie!

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I’ve spoken to more than 10 USEF and FEI officials since Monday, when Rulegate reared its ugly head. Rulegate, of course, refers to the debacle created by a new FEI rule released last week at the General Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey. The rule reads as follows: The FEI General Assembly has introduced a new rule that athletes and officials will no longer be permitted to participate in both sanctioned and unsanctioned events. If an athlete, horse or an FEI official participates in a non-sanctioned event, such person or horse will be prohibited from participating in any sanctioned events, both international and national, for a period of six months thereafter. An unsanctioned event is an event that is not on the FEI calendar and is not authorised by a National Federation.

Understandably, this new rule sent eventers — and riders across all other FEI-sanctioned disciplines, especially driving — into a tizzy. By “unsanctioned events,” did the FEI mean riders competing at the international level were now banned from unrecognized schooling shows? Indoor eventing? Bareback puissance? Derby cross? The COTH forums erupted like an angry volcano with concerned eventers attempting to decipher what exactly this rule meant and what implications it had for the sport. Were FEI officials going to police events for rule violators? In one of my favorite comments from the COTH forums, FlightCheck envisioned how the rule might be enforced: “I can see it now … thousands of FEI spies, wearing trench coats and fedoras, hiding in the bushes at schooling shows, ready to spring out and yell “A-HA!”

I figured the USEF had to know what was going on. But after several phone calls failed to lead to any concrete answers, I was ultimately told that they, too, were seeking clarification from the FEI. One USEF official assured me that this would not affect schooling shows, but we didn’t feel comfortable posting that on EN until we had more of an official statement. It turns out that we’re still waiting for an official statement from the FEI, as well as a clarification from the USEF. After three days of seeking clarification, all we’ve received from the FEI is the following, which I had to read several times to decipher:

The new rule does not apply to any competition that could never be considered as ‘International’. So small shows, Society shows, pleasure shows etc etc do not come under this new rule. If a show is run as a national show either through an NF or through an organisation that is recognised by the NF again, it does not apply. However, if an OC organises a full international show in one of the existing FEI disciplines with invited international riders and does so outside the NF and so is not in the FEI calendar and is not supported by the NF the rule will be applied by the FEI and the suspensions could be invoked. The FEI GRs have always confirmed that the FEI is the recognised International Federation for International Equestrian events for the disciplines it manages. The GRs confirm that a show with more than 15 international riders from more than 4 Nations must be run as an FEI event and under the NF concerned.

Keeping in mind that NF=National Federation, OC=Organizing Committee and GRs=General Rules, let’s break this down. Interestingly, the original rule is directed specifically toward horses, riders and officials; but the most recent attempt at a clarification from the FEI only addresses the rule in the context of shows. Now we’re dealing with an entirely different can of worms. The FEI says the rule only applies to international-level shows, supposedly meaning schooling shows are safe, as we reported yesterday. But, under FEI General Rules, an international-level event is one that offers preliminary and above for eventing, Prix St. Georges and above for dressage, and heights of 1.33 meters and above for show jumping. While these might not be plentiful, there are certainly schooling shows out there that offer these levels but are not sanctioned by a National Federation.

So, under my reading of the rule, schooling shows would have to be run through the USEF, USEA, USDA, or USHJA in order to hold classes at the FEI level. This presents two problematic scenarios: one, it will force shows to only offer lower levels, eliminating valuable schooling opportunities for upper-level horses and riders. Two, it will force shows that do want to offer the upper levels to sanction their events through a National Federation, which means more fees for competitors who are simply looking to put mileage on their horses. Under my analysis, I read that certain types of shows — ones offering FEI levels — could fall under the rule; this can and will affect schooling shows.

Until we see a clarification that specifically addresses how the rule implicates horses and riders, we can speculate that this rule also has far-reaching implications in other disconcerting ways. Under my reading, any rider who has ridden at an international level — which, again, means preliminary or above at recognized event — can no longer compete at any shows that fall outside the scope of a National Federation. Once again, the FEI has yet to prove that this rule does not impact schooling shows. According to my reading of the rule and statement from the FEI, it affects schooling shows in two very clear ways: 1) preventing any rider who’s ridden preliminary or above at a recognized event from competing in unrecognized shows and 2) forcing shows to only offer levels through training or sanction their events through a National Federation.

Are you still with me? Here’s where it gets even more tricky. According to the FEI’s statement, an international-level show that runs outside the jurisdiction of a National Federation and has more than 15 international riders from more than four nations falls under this rule. In eventing, we’re very lucky to have a variety of riders from many different countries competing in the U.S. It’s not uncommon to see riders representing many different nationalities competing at unrecognized events, as bringing young horses through the levels is part of their business. Under the rule, any show that plans to attract 15 international riders from more than four nations must be run as an FEI event under a National Federation. It would not be difficult to attract that many international riders to an unrecognized show, especially in heavily-populated horse areas like Aiken, S.C., and Ocala, Fla. This is just one more example of how this rule will affect certain shows, including schooling shows.

Needless to say, the FEI’s attempt to clarify this rule has only confused us further. During my most recent phone call to the USEF, I was told their legal department is looking into the rule and will be releasing an official clarification “soon.” The FEI also assured me that their legal department is looking into the rule and will be issuing an official statement “soon.” In one corner, we have the USEF, the National Federation of the U.S. and an organization that certainly has an interest in getting to the bottom of Rulegate as quickly as possible. In the other corner, we have the FEI, the governing body for horse sports in ze whole world, whose lawyers are probably in the fetal position right now. It’s the USEF vs. the FEI in a battle of legal clarifications. Who will release an official statement first? Will it answer our questions, or create more confusion? Who will finally get to the bottom of Rulegate? 

EN’s Got Talent is Eventing Nation’s newest series. We hear all the time about horses at the top of the sport, but what about the next generation of equine talent? This series introduces the future superstars of the sport, interviewing riders about how they’re tackling training with these youngsters. Have you spotted a spectacular young horse at an event you think should be highlighted in this column? Tip me at [email protected].

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Last week we met Belafonte D’Avalon, better known as Harry, a powerhouse 14.3-hand, 5-year-old Germany Riding Pony stallion whose rider, Rebecca Brown, believes could be the next Teddy. Rebecca knows Harry’s owners, Kathy St. Martin and Jos Mottershead of Avalon Equine in Wynnewood, Okla., will play a crucial role in Harry’s future as an upper-level event horse. “They want to see how far he can go,” Rebecca said. “I feel like it’s such a rare opportunity to have people who come to you and say, ‘Here’s a really nice horse. We want to see how far you can take it.'”

But Rebecca knows it’s not as simple as just having a nice horse. “First, you need to have a great horse. Second you have to develop him well,” Rebecca said. In looking to develop Harry properly, Rebecca wants to take her time when it comes to testing him over fences. Despite Harry’s incredible jumping ability — Rebecca likes to say that he has rockets for legs — she doesn’t want to push for too much too soon. “He’s only 5 and he’s little, so we don’t want to jump him too high too early,” Rebecca said. “I want him to have a Superman mentality and not overface him.”

While Harry has typically been very brave over fences, he has shown an aversion to ditches. “His only real training challenge is ditches,” Rebecca said. “Everywhere else, you would think he’s 10 years old. With ditches, it’s the only time he needs to process something. He’s incredibly smart; he just needs to figure it out on his own time.” At Greenwood and Chattahoochee Hills, where Harry refused ditches, Rebecca believes he didn’t understand the question. “At Chatt Hills, he went out the next day without the pressure and the atmosphere and he jumped it just fine,” Rebecca said. “I take him over ditches once a week now, so we’re working through it.”

Harry ran his first training level event at MeadowCreek Park last month, but withdrew — along with most of the division — before cross country after a severe rain storm saturated the grounds. He most recently placed second in the Area 5 Novice Championships at Holly Hill Farm. “I may do one novice just to start next year, but he’ll go training level for the rest of the year. Then I think he’ll tell us from there,” Rebecca said. “In the past, I’ve had some horses who move up really fast, and I’ve had others where you need to take your time at the lower levels. Best case scenario, he’ll be doing a one-star by the end of next year.”

Only time will tell if Harry will be the next Theodore O’Connor. Jimmy Wofford, who worked with Teddy prior to the pony’s partnership with Karen O’Connor, loved Harry when he saw him at a recent clinic at Rebecca’s farm. “Jimmy said that Harry is way more rideable than Teddy ever was at this age,” Rebecca said. “I don’t know how people can say a horse is definitely going to go to Rolex when you’re so early in the game. All I know at this point is that every day he gets better. Every day he comes out and tries his hardest. He has all the pieces.”

Next week on EN’s Got Talent: We’ll meet Katie Murphy and her talented Esccord RGS, a 4-year-old Hanoverian gelding who won the Young Event Horse East Coast Championships at Fair Hill last month. Chris Carter, one of Katie’s students, tipped me on this youngster: “I met Katie this summer and love her lessons as she helps me develop my young Thoroughbred mare. Katie also has a full-time job and an MBA, which is why it might be interesting to showcase someone who does not totally fit the mold of a professional event rider.” We couldn’t agree more.

Katie Murphy, whose talented 4-year-old Esccord RGS recently won the Young Event Horse East Coast Championships, audited a George Morris clinic on Nov. 9-11 at the Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center in Buffalo, N.Y. She was kind enough to send us a clinic report, which she also posted on her blog at www.murphyeventing.com. Anyone who’s ever read George’s Jumping Clinic column in Practical Horseman knows he’s a staunch stickler of traditional turnout, meticulous details and no-nonsense riding; he’s also one of the most accomplished horsemen of our time. As Katie points out, we eventers could learn a thing or two from him. Many thanks to Katie for sending us this report.

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The Master himself. Photo courtesy of Katie Murphy.

From Katie:

I didn’t know much about George Morris. I knew he had accomplished some impressive feats as a young man in the equitation world, and I had heard that his interests recently transferred to the jumper ring. He was known as “The Master,” and despite the impressive number of years he had accumulated in the tack, George remained at the forefront of the American Hunter/Jumper Forward Riding System. A long-time friend invited me to join her for the clinic in Buffalo, N.Y., at the Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center. I didn’t realize George still taught, nevermind rode. He has become a proponent of the USHJA Trainer Certification Program, and this was the start toward earning a certification for a discipline where many eventers lack poise. The lines between the eventing and hunter jumper worlds rarely cross, but given our unique way of riding show jumping, a collision of the two worlds may be more appropriate.

After George set the course, a team of employees purposely approached the jumps with moist towels and dusters. One by one, they wiped down each pole, standard and flower box, followed by sweeping off the dust from the painted brick and stone boxes. The riders entered the ring in a structured, single file line. Their tack, soft and supple and evident of consistent care, was brown and simple. Very few riders rode in snaffles. Their boots were so polished that the leather looked as if they were dipped in black ink. The horses were expertly clipped; white coats were so clean that the pink skin beneath was apparent. The riders were dressed in a classic, refined elegance: beige knee-patch breeches with belt and pastel sweaters with a collared shirt peeking out from beneath. As I watched the clipped and immaculately turned-out horses warm-up, I wondered if I would be shot had I ridden in this clinic. My colored breeches would be disruptive, my Chiberta a travesty, my padded saddle pad unnecessary. The focus was on the horse and your ability as a rider, not your barn colors or the newest equipment fad. Everything was simple, clean and elegant. When George comes, everything must be immaculate — his standard becomes your own.

Each day opened with a discussion of rider position, stirrup length and use of the aids for varying requests of the horse. Stirrups should always be adjusted for flat and jumping — you do not warm up on the flat in a jump-length stirrup. Accuracy was paramount throughout the entire clinic — practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. Day by day, I found myself aligning with George. He and I shared many of the same thoughts: perfection begins in the details; you must work through a problem not remove it from the equation; be bold and achieve your objection through accurate, well-planned riding.

At 74, George still rides regularly. Photo courtesy of Katie Murphy.

George Morris-isms:

• Don’t practice being stupid. Don’t practice being weak. You people are so soft.
• You have to fight for it (even George Morris has a little eventer in him).
• I’m not putting up with this meek and hapless riding.
• Straightness is a virtue with horses.
• What teaches horses and riders are the problems. Problems are being removed. That is why the U.S. is getting so soft. That is why we don’t win medals.
• You sit there like a soup sandwich (not a compliment).
• This country has become riddled with fear. Fear attracts fear. We must be BOLD!
• It’s not “Everybody’s a winner.” “Everybody” is feel good. That is not the real world, and it is not the horse world. There are winners, rands and losers. Maybe next time the loser will be the winner.
• Pace to the base. Ride the tape.
• The stick is at take-off, not the approach.
• Every aid has two components: intensity and timing.

The riders only spoke if they were spoken too. The viewing panels were silent, and you were expected to give your absolute attention. In the past, George had yelled at people for texting and chatting. You were expected to offer complete focus — there were no excuses. George has a tendency to repeat things: the first repetition is to be certain everyone heard him, if he repeats himself a second time you are in trouble. This often happened when riders were repeating their mistakes or did something that was not asked of them (trotting, riding too far out on the circle) — you do not make a change, unless it is repeated. George never once backed away from a challenge, and he expected the same of all riders while maintaining professionalism at all times. He defined work as conquering the difficult. He rode at least one horse from each group, every day. He chose horses he liked, those that he was able to teach on and show an example — not horses that needed to be “fixed.”

Ultimately, George believes in accuracy, correct training and discipline on behalf of both the horse and rider. Riders showed improvement over the three days, and horses were performing beautifully. Exercises were clear, with an appropriate amount of technicality for the group’s level. Despite the discipline, good horsemanship is good horsemanship. The weak at heart do not come to this clinic. George accepts no excuses. In 2013, I hope to ride in one of his clinics. I am curious as to how he will react to my eventing background and style of riding. I know I will learn a great deal; I just have to dig out those boring, beige breeches.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIfES7yd9sE
Video footage from the George Morris clinic 

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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It’s dark by the time you leave the barn — or before you get there, in my case — and it’s time to break out the clipper blades. Winter is coming, and not all of us are fortunate enough to migrate south for the colder months. For those of us stuck in a winter wonderland until spring, it’s important to develop a winter training regiment to keep both you and your horse fit. But how do you do that? Eventing Nation will be running a Winter Q&A Series all winter long to answer your most pressing questions regarding winter training. We have an all-star lineup of expert panelists who have been there and know what it’s like to battle harsh winter conditions.

The Winter Q&A Series Panelists

Denny Emerson — Hailing from Strafford, Vt., Denny has seen more snow than most of us will in a lifetime. Denny didn’t have access to an indoor arena — or even a roof on his trailer — during the early days of his career.

Doug Payne — Doug, based in Pottersville, N.J., grew up without an indoor arena, starting off each eventing season at a very chilly Southern Pines in March; he said he’s done his fair share of cold weather riding.

Katie Murphy — Katie has never had access to an indoor arena. In recent years, she rode every day after her full-time job in the dark, snow-covered fields in Hopkinton, N.H., with flashlights strapped to her helmet.

Jennie Brannigan — Jennie saw plenty of snow growing up in Illinois. While her career has taken her to California and Georgia, she’s been based out of Phillip Dutton’s True Prospect Farm in West Grove, Pa., since 2008.

Many thanks to our panelists for graciously offering to answer questions from EN readers. Do you have questions about winter riding for our panelists? Post your question in the comments, or email your question to [email protected].

Go winter riding!

Radnor Hunt had lovely weather for their hunt yesterday. Courtesy of Radnor Hunt's Facebook page.

We’re having a lovely weekend on the East Coast, with temperatures going up into the high 60s today. I’ll be enjoying the warm weather at the Andrew’s Bridge Foxhounds hunter pace today. It’s a quiet weekend in Eventing Nation, as the competition season is winding down and everyone is preparing for winter. I’ll be introducing a Winter Q&A series next week, in which Denny Emerson, Doug Payne, Katie Murphy and Jennie Brannigan will all be answering your burning questions about how to maintain a riding schedule during harsh winter conditions. I’ll be posting an official request for questions from readers later this week, but feel free to send me questions now to [email protected].

Events This Weekend:

Poplar Place November HT: [Website] [Ride Times]

CDCTA HT: [Website] [Entry Status]

Texas Rose HT: [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times]

Your Sunday Links:

New Zealand FEI Membership Fees to Double

Lauren Sprieser has New Wheels from Jamco

Fine Ordered Over Horse Cremation Fraud

Lord Coe Names Equestrian One of Greatest Olympic Sports

British Eventing Stallion Rankings Now Available

Future Event Horse Educational Seminar Review

U.S. Cruises to Victory in FEI Nations Cup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibJHFCEUcoE
When getting a pony for Christmas goes horribly wrong …

Smiles all around at the post-Trainers Challenge press conference earlier this year. From left to right: Tiffany Catledge, Kerry Blackmer, Eric Dierks, Steuart Pittman. Photo credit: Mary Getsey Bernier

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Steuart Pittman successfully launched the Retired Racehorse Training Project two years ago, seeking to increase demand for OTTBs by providing a marketplace and resources for buying and selling. The organization, which now has its 501(c)3 status, gained a lot of visibility earlier this year when Steuart launched the Trainer Challenge, in which three trainers picked out an OTTB at the Maryland Horse World Expo in January and worked with it for five weeks. Then the trainers returned in February to show what their horses had learned at the PA Horse World Expo. Eric Dierks won the Best Trainer title as a result of his work with Brazilian Wedding, a 6-year-old mare by Milwaukee Brew. Trainers Tiffany Catledge and Kerry Blackmer also participated.

The Trainer Challenge was incredibly popular, with the RRTP website garnering more than 250,000 hits this year as OTTB enthusiasts logged on to watch the videos of the trainers at work. Steuart is excited to unveil an all new challenge format for the next competition: the 100-Day Challenge, in which trainers will have three months to work with their OTTBs. The conclusion of the 100-Day Challenge will still coincide with the PA Horse World Expo in February, but it will have a different spin this time around.  “The plan is that each of the horses will be presented by major mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred farms, which we will announce within a couple weeks,” Steuart said. “Each one will select a horse that they bred, or is by an offspring of their stallion, that they think is a great example of a Thoroughbred sport horse.”

The 100-Day Challenge will be modeled after 100-day stallion testing for warmbloods. “We’ll have four horses that will all be trained at my facility (Dodon Farm in Davidsonville, Md.),” Steuart said. “The horses will be evaluated on suitability as sporthorses — their jumping, conformation, movement and trainability — just like stallions are evaluated for the warmblood registries.” Steuart emphasized that this challenge will focus more on the horse’s characteristics and abilities, as opposed to the original challenge, which rewarded the trainer’s prowess. The 100-Day Challenge will launch next month and run through February.

Looking ahead to 2013, Steuart will continue hosting Thoroughbreds For All events, which provide education about racing and training OTTBS, as well as a marketplace for buying opportunities. Steuart held the first of these events in Kentucky in April, with the second held two weeks ago at Fair Hill. “At Fair Hill, we had about 25 horses from the area that were all in second careers already,” Steuart said. “The hope for the future is to do some of these events at racetracks, where there would not only be horses coming in from the outside who have already started careers, but also horses brought by trainers that are still racing and looking to retire.”

Steuart is also looking to bolster the Bloodline Brag on the RRTP website, which is like a Wikipedia page for OTTB owners to enter information about their horses. “It’s really for entering second-career characteristics and competition records,” Steuart said. “If people are looking at a horse to buy by a certain stallion, they can log on to see other retired racers by the same stallion. We only have 600 horses in there right now; for it to work, we need thousands.” To incentivize OTTB owners to enter this information, Steuart is hoping to partner with a tack store that might donate $5 or $10 gift certificates to give to every person who enters information into the Bloodline Brag.

As the Retired Racehorse Retraining Project enters 2013, Steuart hopes the organization will continue to gain more clout and recognition with both racehorse trainers and OTTB supporters. “In eventing, professionals take horses off the track all the time; that’s nothing new to us,” Steuart said. “But it hasn’t been recognized by the racing industry, and they are key to building the bridge to the second career. The rescues are great, but the people at the racetrack need a market to sell their horses. That’s where we come in. Listing horses, finding horses, finding trainers to help with horses, hosting events to expose these horses — we do it all.” For much more information, visit www.retiredracehorsetraining.org.

All hail John Marshall, the savior of Ram Tap, which is now Fresno County Horse Park.

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John Marshall, a commercial real estate broker and novice level eventer, has stepped in to save Ram Tap. John, 61, recently purchased all the jumps and other equipment on the property from Bill Burton to prevent the facility from shutting down. While the name Ram Tap is still retiring, events will continue running under the new name Fresno County Horse Park. “I was hearing stories that Bill was going to sell it,” John said. “I started eventing five years ago and felt like I had found something that I really enjoy doing. I was so lucky to have Ram Tap right next to where I live and I didn’t want to see it close.”

Initially, John looked to form a group of investors to buy the jumps and other equipment, but he ran out of time to secure the funding and ended up footing the bill on his own. He’s already made a sizable deposit to Bill and will pay the remainder of the balance at the beginning of December. “We’re excited about continuing on with events at Fresno County Horse Park,” John said. “Our plan is to improve the experience for competitors and spectators, because we want more people to come watch the events here. We want to make the shows more exciting and more visible to provide the best competition possible for the riders.”

A big part of improving the competition for both spectators and riders will be introducing an Intermediate division in late 2013 or early 2014. In recent years, Ram Tap has only offered divisions through Preliminary. “The Area 6 council asked us to try to run levels through Advanced, which was done in the past at Ram Tap,” John said. “There’s no timeline for running Advanced yet, but we have made the commitment to do it. This is an opportunity for us to help the Area 6 riders.” The first combined test of the year under the new Fresno County Horse Park name will be held Jan. 26-27, with horse trials scheduled for Feb. 16-17 and April 26-28.

Megan McGee will join Fresno County Horse Park as its executive director. An FEI- and USEF-licensed official, she formerly served as head coach of the South Dakota State University Equestrian Team and will be relocating back to Southern California as soon as possible to start her new position. Megan has managed numerous equestrian events in the past, including playing a management role in the 1984 and 1996 Olympic Games. She also served as a steward for the 2005, 2007 and 2009 World Cup Dressage and as the FEI Chief Dressage Steward at the 2008 North American Young Riders Championship.

While the Ram Tap jumps and equipment have been saved, there’s still some uncertainty about the future of the 140-acre property, which has always been leased from the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District. A new ponding basin to control flooding in Fresno County is planned for the western edge of the property, where the barns currently stand. If the ponding basin is installed, the barns will need to be relocated. “If we have to move the barns, then we’ll move the barns,” John said. “We have a contingency plan to take care of that if it happens. The county sees the horse park as a community asset, and they want to help us.”

As John looks to get the Fresno County Horse Park up and running, he said he needs plenty of volunteers to help in a variety of tasks. “We have had so many people step up to ask how they can help, which I’m so grateful for,” John said. “But we can always use more. We need someone to run the Facebook page, do the bookkeeping, coordinate event schedules; we even need volunteers to oversee the volunteers.” If you’re interested in helping out, email [email protected] or call John at 559-221-2509. A website will be up and running shortly at www.fresnohorsepark.com. In the meantime, you can check out the horse park on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FCHPHorseTrials.

Ram Tap will host its last hoorah during the final horse trial in its 55-year history, which will be held Nov. 16-18. A farewell dinner and retrospective review of Ram Tap’s historic past will be held at 5:30 p.m. that Saturday. Tickets are available for $20. For more information or to purchase tickets to this historic event, visit www.ramtap1.com. As we bid adieu to the former name of one of the oldest eventing facilities in the U.S., we usher in a new era of the Fresno County Horse Park. Go Ram Tap. Go Fresno County Horse Park. Go West Coast eventing.

Joanie Morris, right, walks the Nations Cup course in London with Jim Wolf, USEF Executive Director of Sport Programs, and Fiona Tibone, USEF Assistant Chef d'Mission.

The USEF has been upfront about the fact that sweeping changes would accompany David O’Connor’s appointment as International Technical Advisor and coach for the U.S. eventing team. Joanie Morris became part of the U.S. eventing revolution when the organization named her the new Managing Director of Eventing. Joanie, who previously served as High Performance Communications Director for five years, takes the reins from former Managing Director Sara Ike. “I’ve been involved with the USEF for a long time, so when the opportunity arose to serve as Managing Director of Eventing, it seemed like an interesting opportunity to me,” Joanie said. “A lot is changing with David coming in and I’m fortunate enough to be a part of those changes.”

While Joanie previously served in a communications role with the USEF, she said her duties prepared her to step into her new position. “Working for communications was great because I learned so much about all these different sports,” Joanie said. “I had only focused on eventing for so much of my life, so it was very valuable to see how other disciplines are managed.” Joanie also said that working in communications exposed her to many different aspects of the USEF. “I had a connection with many parts of the organization, including working with Jim Wolf (USEF Executive Director of Sports Programs) and the High Performance staff. I was able to learn a lot about the governance and rules that weren’t directly related to my position, but certainly impacted my job here.”

As part of her previous role at the USEF, Joanie also served as the event director for the Adequan FEI North American Junior/Young Rider Championships, presented by Gotham North, from 2009 to 2012. “I gained a wealth of FEI and sport knowledge throughout that process, in addition to logistical and technical experience,” Joanie said. She also traveled to two Olympics and two Pan Am Games to provide event coverage for the USEF, experiences she believes will serve her well in this new role. “There’s no job outside of your job description when you travel to major events like that,” Joanie said. “You see more and do more than what you might expect.”

Joanie has seen and done a lot during her career, working for Phillip Dutton and traveling to the 2004 Olympics and 2003 Pan Ams with Will Faudree. While she initially thought she would end up in a professional riding and training career, she’s grateful for the opportunities the USEF has provided for her. “The USEF came into my life when I didn’t really know what I wanted to do next,” Joanie said. “Like many people who go through Young Riders, when I got to my mid-20s I wondered how I could stay in this business if I wasn’t going to compete at the top level. Being able to contribute, in any small part, to the Olympic movement is incredible.”

So what’s next for Joanie? Currently, she’s just trying to get settled into her new office and a totally different area of the USEF building. The changeover process is still in the works, so she’s trying to get organized at this point. Joanie will be working very closely with David in her new role, whom she said she’s fortunate enough to have known for a very long time. “The best thing about working in this sport is the people you get to meet along the way,” Joanie said. “I think we’re at an incredible advantage in that David is also USEF President, so he has a big understanding of how the USEF works;  his knowledge of the structure of the organization is second to none. My role will be to support the committees, as well as David, as the USEF develops these programs and implements them.”

Many of the new ideas and programs will be discussed at the USEA Annual Meeting on Dec. 5-9 in Colorado Springs, Colo., which Joanie said will be her first major undertaking as Managing Director. “David will be elaborating greatly on the information that went out through the Open Rider Forum at Galway and Fair Hill,” Joanie said. “He will be talking about plans for under-18 riders up to top riders in our sport, and how there’s a spot for everybody in his new program. I will be working to administrate those changes and we will hit the ground running in 2013 with training sessions.”

The future of U.S. eventing is on everyone’s minds, even more so for those at the USEF who will actually usher the sport into a new era. “Change doesn’t happen overnight,” Joanie said. “U.S. eventing had such a tremendous run for many decades, and obviously at this Olympics it didn’t go the way we hoped. But everyone is ready — from the committees and the staff to the coaches and the riders. They’re ready to take the foundation of so many medals that were won under Mark Phillips — and the programs before his — and really move it forward to the next step and return to the podium.”

As Managing Director, Joanie will provide overall administration for the sport of eventing, overseeing the High Performance program and facilitating training sessions and team trips, as well as traveling to competitions. Undoubtedly, she will play a critical role as the U.S. eventing team looks to evolve into a world powerhouse once more. “I’m looking forward to supporting our athletes and getting them back to the top of the game, whether that’s in the world rankings, top finishes at four-stars or top placings at the Nations Cup. I love this sport and I feel really passionate about. I’m looking forward to being a part of the future.”

EN’s Got Talent is Eventing Nation’s newest series. We hear all the time about horses at the top of the sport, but what about the next generation of equine talent? This series introduces the future superstars of the sport, interviewing riders about how they’re tackling training with these youngsters. Have you spotted a spectacular young horse at an event you think should be highlighted in this column? Tip me at [email protected].

_____________________

Rebecca and Harry. Photo by Jim Stoner.

I’m a sucker for ponies, especially ponies that jump with their knees cranked up to their eyeballs. While Belafonte D’Avalon, better known as Harry, is technically out of pony range at 14.3, he’s still pint-sized enough to make my heart go pitter patter. When Rebecca Brown, who trains out of Wilmer, Texas, contacted me about Harry, she said she thinks he could be the next Teddy — a lofty goal. But once I saw a photo of Harry over fences, being the next Teddy doesn’t seems so far outside the realm of possibility.

Harry, a 14.3-hand, 5-year-old Germany Riding Pony stallion, is owned by Kathy St. Martin and Jos Mottershead of Avalon Equine in Wynnewood, Okla. Rebecca got the ride on Harry just before last Christmas, after he’d done his 30-day pony stallion testing at 3 and been given a year off to grow up. “He’s so naturally talented and amazing that I had to ride him for a week before I decided where to go,” Rebecca said. “I had no idea what he really knew, so we were starting from the beginning.” While Harry didn’t know much at first, he learned very quickly. “He was only 4 years old then, coming 5, and we were already doing shoulder-in and half pass,” Rebecca said.

It turned out that the dressage came very naturally to Harry. “On the flat, he just loves a challenge,” Rebecca said. “He learns things in a day. Every day he comes back and already remembers what he did the day before. I really have to keep things interesting for him.” Rebecca found that she has to be careful to stay out of his way due to his size. “On a pony, they can’t make up for your balance issues. I never want to make it to hard for him, so I have to be conscious of how my weight affects him,” Rebecca said, who joked that she’s always on the “Harry Diet.”

Harry’s natural talent and scopey jump caught the eye of the judges at the Young Event Horse 5-year-old class at Greenwood Farm Horse Trials in May. Even though the judges commented that they wished Harry weren’t so small, he ended up winning the class. “The entire time the judges kept saying, ‘We wish he was a hand taller,'” Rebecca said. “We kept saying, ‘He’s not, but he still has everything that it takes.’ He is so competitive. If you saw him go at home, you’d think he was cute. But at the shows, he says, ‘Game on.'”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FApB8NJLuSI
Harry winning the 5-year-old YEH class at Greenwood 

Rebecca firmly believes that Harry has all the pieces to go to the top, even more so after seeing him compete against the other 5-year-olds in his Young Event Horse division. “You look at all these horses that go through this program: they’re leggy and a lot of them are big warmbloods,” Rebecca said. “They look like they could all go right down to Rolex and they’re so fit and tall. Then you have Harry, who is only 14.3. Standing there, he just looks like a cute pony, but then you get him moving and you realize just how impressive he is.”

Next week on EN’s Got Talent: We’ll look at some of the training challenges Rebecca has faced with Harry, included his aversion to ditches. “His only real training challenge is ditches,” Rebecca said. “Everywhere else, you would think he’s 10 years old. With ditches, it’s the only time he needs to process something. He’s incredibly smart; he just needs to figure it out on his own time. Some people say warmbloods can take a little longer to mature mentally.”

Steuart Pittman gives me some pointers at a clinic at Stonewood Farms in Dover, Pa., on Saturday. Photo by Amanda Smith.

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I braved a very cold and windy Pennsylvania day to ride in a Steuart Pittman clinic at Stonewood Farms in Dover on Saturday. Stonewood hosts a variety of clinicians throughout the year, including Jimmy Wofford and Jeremy Beale. This was my first time riding with Steuart, and I’m very pleased to report that he gave me quite a few tips I’ll be implementing in the future. Three rode in my group: me on Junior, a 7-year-old Paint gelding; Liza Sigel on Allie, an 8-year-old Thoroughbred mare; and Kristen Vigliano on Gracie, a 17-year-old Thoroughbred mare.

Allie was right at home with Steuart, founder of the Retired Racehorse Training Project, as she is a graduate of CANTER PA. Holly Sands, Stonewood’s owner and head trainer, is a longtime supporter of CANTER and purchased Allie through the organization last year; Liza later bought Allie from her. Allie actually appeared in the Dressage for Ex-Racehorses segment at the PA Horse World Expo in February, where Steuart evaluated several OTTBs before a live audience. At that point, Allie had only been off the track for about six months, with just a bit of jumping under her belt. As you can see, Allie is now jumping very nicely. Go OTTBs!

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Liza Sigel and CANTER PA graduate Swear Allegiance (Allie). Photo by Amanda Smith.

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We started out over a series of one-to-one gymnastics, followed by a bending three or four to a vertical. Then Steuart kept progressively adding on more lines and questions to the one-to-one. I really liked his exercise — which I outline in detail in the image below — that had us start out over the one-to-one, then rollback to a wide oxer. Then you really had to sit up and whoa for a rollback turn to the third element of the one-to-one, with three strides to the vertical that served as a bending line earlier in the clinic. Steuart emphasized that finding your line was really important coming off that rollback turn, which I discovered firsthand when Junior and I proceeded to eat the vertical the first time through.

I also missed the distance to the oxer during this exercise, and Steuart pointed out that my bad habit of leaning too far forward was contributing to that. He gave us a little gem that he heard from Buck Davidson, who heard it from Aaron Vale: “There’s two sports where you never want to stick out your chin: riding and boxing.” Well that’s certainly a powerful visual. So around I went again, this time really making an effort to tuck my chin, per Steuart’s orders. And what do you know, we nailed the distance. So if you’re like me and have a tendency to get too far forward, I think the chin-tucking tip can be really helpful. It helps you to mentally think of sitting back and rebalancing.

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Me and Junior getting ready to rollback to the vertical pictured at the right. Photo by Amanda Smith.

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Thanks, Steuart, for braving the bitter cold to bring a great clinic to Stonewood Farms. And many thanks to Amanda Smith, Stonewood’s photographer extraordinaire, for freezing out there with us. I look forward to many more clinics with Steuart — hopefully in warmer weather. Stay tuned for an update on what Steuart’s up to with his Retired Racehorse Retraining Project. The organization is introducing an all-new format for its popular Trainer Challenge, which starts next month. Steuart is looking forward to continuing his goal of building a bridge between the racetrack and show ring for OTTBs in 2013.

Submitted by Britt Wilcox

It’s time to vote for the winner of the EN Facebook Cover Photo Contest! We asked for a cover photo, and you all blew us away with your creativity. Thank you to everyone who submitted an entry! We’re glad we don’t have to choose the winner; we could never pick a favorite. Remember, to vote for your favorite cover photo, head over to Facebook and “like” the entry you think should grace the top of our page. Voting will stay open until midnight (EST) Thursday, Nov. 8. The winner will receive street cred, and the top three entries with the most votes will all receive Eventing Nation T-shirts. Go vote!

Submitted by Michelle Giolitti

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Submitted by Cindy Lawler

James Alliston and Tivoli. Photo by Taren Atkinson.

I just about froze to death yesterday riding in a Steuart Pittman clinic at Stonewood Farms in Dover, Pa. The Virginia Horse Trials also suffered through the bitter cold and wind, but don’t feel too bad for them. Brian Ross sent me several photos of everyone enjoying beer and s’mores around a roaring bonfire last night. Over on the West Coast, competitors at Galway enjoyed much different weather in sunny Temecula, Calif. James Alliston and Tivoli lead the CCI3* after a double-clear cross-country trip. Lauren Billys and Ballingowan Ginger lead the CCI2*, while Erin Kellerhouse and Roxabelle lead the CCI1*. We want to send our thoughts and well wishes to Alexa Perkiel, who suffered a rotational fall in preliminary and was taken away by ambulance. Jogs at Galway start this morning at 8:15 a.m. PST. CCI1* show jumping runs 11:15 a.m.-1 p.m. PST; CCI2* show jumping runs 1:20-2:20 p.m.; CCI3* jumping starts at 2:45-3:20 p.m. Stay tuned to Eventing Nation today for all the show jumping action from Galway.

Events this Weekend:

Virginia CCI* and HT: [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Results]

Galway Downs International 3-day and HT: [Website] [Status/Times/Live Scores]

Rocking Horse Classic 3-day and HT: [Website] [Entry Status] [Live Scores]

Pine Hill Fall HT: [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times]

Your Sunday Links:

USEA Galway Saturday Recap

COTH Galway Saturday Recap

Marilyn Little to Compete on West Coast Show Jumping Circuit

Hanni Shows Her Heart in Dressage at Galway CCI3* 

Manager Positions Open for Irish Eventing Team

Britain’s Gredley Clears 7′ to Win Kentucky Puissance

FEI Co-Sponsors Conference on Concussions

USEF, Georgetown College Offer Scholarship

Probe Reveals Extent of Illegal Racing in New Mexico

Horse Hay: How to Identify the Good Stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcDCtNIAn1I
Check out this horse’s ambitious jump OVER a CIC1* bank 

EN’s Got Talent is Eventing Nation’s newest series. We hear all the time about horses at the top of the sport, but what about the next generation of equine talent? This series introduces the future superstars of the sport, interviewing riders about how they’re tackling training with these youngsters. Have you spotted a spectacular young horse at an event you think should be highlighted in this column? Tip me at [email protected].

_____________________

Jennifer Wooten's Anika

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Last week we met Jennifer Wooten’s Anika, a 4-year-old Holsteiner mare bred by Cheryl Kellerman of Michigan Sport Horse. You only need to take one look at Anika’s breeding, Lintas X High Voltage by Lacoste, to see that this mare has some seriously nice bloodlines. The judging panel at the USEA Young Event Horse West Coast Championships at Twin Rivers last month saw serious potential in Anika, awarding her the highest scores of the four-year-old division for conformation and type, in addition to dressage. Those high scores wrapped up a big win in the division, just the fourth event of Anika’s career.

“It was very useful for me to get the feedback on the judging cards to see what the judges liked about her and the things they were hoping to see improvement on in the 5-year-old competitions next year,” Jennifer said. “The Young Event Horse series is great mileage for Anika, and it’s a really good program for young horses in general.” Now Jennifer will use the off season to tackle her homework with Anika, a mare with a mind of her own. “She’s very quick to learn things, so I have to be very patient that I don’t apply too much pressure on her to make her go correctly on the aids,” Jennifer said. “She can be a bit opinionated, which I love; I loved that about The Good Witch. When you channel that into the right direction, they can be very competitive.”

Anika's sire Lintas, owned by Cheryl Kellerman of Michigan Sport Horse. Photo courtesy of Michican Sport Horse.

Jennifer saw Anika’s opinionated side came out at Ram Tap, where the two had some disagreements about who was calling the shots. “She puffed up and got in the ring and said, ‘Don’t tell me what to do,’ Jennifer said. “I’ve been learning how to ride her correctly without applying a lot of pressure to her, because I really want her to enjoy the flatwork. I don’t want her to think of the flatwork as just a discipline she has to do.” Jennifer plans to fine-tune Anika’s flatwork over the winter, and also has a jumper show in Las Vegas on her calendar for next month. “The jumping comes more naturally to her than anything else,” Jennifer said. “As far as her being keen and brave and bold, that’s one of her strongest characteristics. I can tell that after every show she comes back and feels more confident about herself. I really feel like she’s going to enjoy being an event horse.”

As for next season, Jennifer will ride Anika in the Young Event Horse series once again, with the hope of competing at training level by this time next year. “Coming off of the Witch, who I rode for nine years, the thing that I appreciated the most is what she taught me,” Jennifer said. “You forget about those lessons until you actually have to apply them to another horse. So I feel like Anika is going to benefit from everything I learned from the Witch. I’m more receptive to feeling the rewarding moments now. Even though it might not mean winning at this point, I know that will come down the road. For now, the really rewarding moments are watching Anika progress on a day-to-day basis.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I4VPzWk9oI
Jennifer and Anika competing in novice at Ram Tap 

Next week on EN’s Got Talent: We’ll meet Belafonte D’Avalon, a 14.3-hand, 5-year-old Germany Riding Pony stallion owned by Kathy St. Martin and Jos Mottershead of Avalon Equine in Wynnewood, Okla. Rebecca Brown, who took over the ride on “Harry” last year, believes he’s the next Super Pony, a la Theodore O’Connor. “Some people like to doubt him because he’s small, but he’s got rockets for legs,” Rebecca said. Harry won the Young Event Horse 5-year-old class at Greenwood Farm Horse Trials in May and is on track for a stellar career. Wait until you see him jump. This little guy is awesome.

Horse Nation — Eventing Nation’s sister site — collected photos of horses being humiliated in costumes for its 2012 Halloween Costume Awards. With categories like Cutest Couple, Most Creative Use of Cotton Balls and Most Bad A$$, we guarantee you’re going to want to check this out. Here’s a sneak peak of the contest winners. Check out Horse Nation for the rest of the award winners.
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MOST CREATIVE USE OF COTTON BALLS

Submitted by Caren Gallaher: “Our version of little Bo peep;) 60 hours of cotton ball sewing;) and the candy fairy. Great costumes at Fiesta Farm–Also Nemo and an anemone, a paper doll and pony and a peacock;)”

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MOST RIDICULOUS (IN A GOOD WAY)

Submitted by Theresa Flowers (South Bend, IN)

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MOST INVENTIVE

Submitted by Ashley Russell (Great Falls, VA): “Ashley Russell as the Headless Horseman riding Ariaan with my daughter Teagan Russell as the pumpkin head.”

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To see the rest of the HN Halloween Costume Award winners, head over to Horse Nation. Happy Halloween!

Hurricane Sandy had mercy on the Virginia Horse Trial grounds. Photo courtesy of Brian Ross.

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While Yvette Seger pointed out this morning that Waredaca narrowly missed Hurricane Sandy, many of you were worried about how the storm will impact this weekend’s Virginia Horse Trials. I checked in with Brian and Penny Ross just as Brian was headed out to walk the cross-country course this morning. I am very pleased to report that the grounds are relatively unscathed and the horse trials will go on!

From Penny:

“We were very fortunate to have dodged the storm. Skies are clearing to the south. We had about a quarter of an inch of rain and a little snow that didn’t stick. The cross-country builders — Chris Owens, Tyson Rementer and Jon Wells — worked all day yesterday and were out there bright and early this morning. The course was aerated last weekend, so the rain we did get has soaked in. Even though it is going to be cold this weekend, the footing for cross country should be perfect. We are looking forward to everyone arriving on Thursday.”

Brian and Penny expect the course to be in good condition for the weekend. Photo courtesy of Brian Ross.

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Other parts of Eventing Nation have not been so lucky. Sinead Halpin uploaded photos of storm damage in Pittstown, N.J., to her Facebook page this morning. Downed trees and power lines blocked all five access points to the barn, so Meg Kep and crew ended up walking several miles to check on the horses. Now that’s dedication.

Sinead Halpin couldn't make it in to the barn this morning. Photo courtesy of Sinead.

Stay safe out there, Eventing Nation. If you have any photos or updates on storm damage, tip us at [email protected].

Buck Davidson and Reggie ran into trouble at this fence yesterday. Photo courtesy of Uptown Eventing's Facebook page.

Cross-country day at Pau produced mixed results for the U.S. Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz rocked the course, coming home with no jump penalties and 28 time penalties to sit in 25th in the CCI4*. That’s their fourth cross-country run with no jump penalties in four appearances at the four-star level. Two thumbs up for Colleen! Buck Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM weren’t so lucky. Reggie wasn’t keen to jump down the bank at 6C into the water. After two stops, Buck called it a day. The four-star course took its toll; only 33 out of 65 starters completed. Samantha put together a fantastic commentary that breaks down the rest of the rides. In the CIC2*, Jules Stiller and Enjoy Me had a rockstar day. The two finished cross country with just 6.4 time penalties to sit in ninth place in a very competitive field. Well done, Jules! Show jumping starts at 9:15 a.m. (3:15 a.m. EST) with the CIC2*. The CCI4* show jumping begins at 2 p.m. (8 a.m. EST).

In other news, the Goresbridge Go For Gold Sale — featuring top eventing prospects — will be held Nov. 12-14 in Co. Wexford, Ireland. This sale features 75 horses ranging in age from 3 to 6, all of which have the potential to compete at the upper levels. Copper Beach, a 2011 graduate of the Goresbridge sales, won the CCI* at Bromont this year with Buck Davidson, so that gives you an idea of the quality of horses that are sold at this event. For much more information on Goresbridge, visit www.goresbridgegoforgold.com. Also, don’t forget to enter EN’s Facebook Cover Photo Contest. We pushed the submission deadline back to Friday, Nov. 2 to allow plenty of time to enter. We’ve received some really fantastic submissions and are excited to finally get a cover photo on our Facebook page. It’s looking rather naked right now.

All Things Pau:

[Website] [Schedule] [Pau CCI4* Results] [Pau CIC2* Results]

Live streaming available on  Equidia, France 3 WebTV, and FEI TV (not free).

U.S. Events This Weekend:

Waredaca HT & T3D: [Website] [Ride Times] [3 Day Live Scores] [HT Live Scores]

Chattahoochee Hills HT: [Website] [Live Scores]

Heritage Park HT: [Website] [Status/Times/Live Scores]

Holly Hill Fall HT: [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Your Sunday Links:

Jock Paget Jumps into the Lead at Pau

Paget Shows All His Promise at Pau

Sinead Halpin Talks Finding Inspiration

Zara Phillips Goes Gangnam Style for Charity

Meg Keep Finds Several Signs She’s Getting Old

FEI Defends Decision After Rider Leaves Sport

Philippaerts Wins Puissance with 7-foot Leap

Five Things You Need to Know About Dewormer

Mustang Advocate Continues Fight with BLM