View Classifieds
Articles Written 2,972
Article Views 1,576,457

John

Achievements

Become an Eventing Nation Blogger

About John

Latest Articles Written

The top 3 things I like about Canada

By on Jul 1, 2010 8:15 pm -
I’ll admit that when I started Eventing Nation I didn’t like Canada very much.  I just wasn’t sure about all the snow, all the friendship, and all the peacefulness.  Now, many moons later, I am proud to be a fan of Canada and today I want to wish our friends to the north a very happy Canada Day.  For those of you who don’t know, Canada day is Canada’s national holiday and celebrates the enactment of the Constitution Act in 1867 which turned Canada into a single united country.  I’ll admit, Canada Day doesn’t have the same flavor as Independence Day, which celebrates the military defeat of a superpower by 13 fledgling colonies, and, as far as I know, there aren’t any awesome movies named “Canada Day,” but, happy Canada Day nonetheless.  In celebration of Canada Day, here are the top 3 things I like about Canada:
1) Canada is good at eventing.  Never thought I’d say “good,” “Canada,” and “eventing” in the same sentence 5 years ago.  But, here we are in 2010 and Canada has a great looking short list packed with young talent, a great coach, and a killer support team.  I’m going to start feeding my horses maple syrup.
2) Canadians are friendly.  I learned this in a big way at Bromont.  The organizers and everyone at Bromont were absolutely wonderful all weekend and I felt right at home.  I met Patti from Omega Alpha and Patricia from Ecogold up at Bromont and they have both been an absolute pleasure to work with so far.  Canadians are so friendly that I don’t think I have received any Canadian hate mail.  
3) Canadians like to comment on Eventing Nation.  Per visitor, I think Canadians are the most likely to comment of any nation.  Commenters like Andrea, clb, Trish, and many more do Canada proud every day here at Eventing Nation.  I learned Canada’s two national sports are LAX and Hockey by reading comments from Canadians.
Go Canada.

Eventing Nation’s Sport Horse Classifieds

By on Jul 1, 2010 12:24 pm -

ponyConsequences.jpg

The greatest strength of Eventing Nation is our wonderful community of readers; most eventers in the US and Canada visit Eventing Nation at least once a week, many of you once a day, and some once an hour.  A natural development has been the desire for an Event Horses for Sale section of EN where members of our community can find and market event horses.  An EN classifieds has been our most requested new idea over the past few months, and, as part of our ultimate desire to provide a fun and informative service to the eventing community, I present…
Sport Horse Nation is the classifieds extension of Eventing Nation–an EN colony if you will–and Sport Horse Nation is the place to buy and sell event horses in North America.  Event horses of ever size, shape, personality, and price are welcome.

Posting an classified for a horse is extremely simple:

1. Email the following to [email protected]:


-A title of less than 50 characters
-A description of less than 200 words
-A short story about the horse (optiona)
–3 adjectives that describe the horse
-A picture of the horse in .jpg format
-The location of the horse
-The price of the horse or a price range in alignment with a, b, c, d, or e price categories in the SHN sidebar
-Suitable contact informaiton
-A link to a Youtube video (optional)

2. Mail a check for $15.00 payable to “Thier Media LLC” to 1605 Greenleaf Ln, Charlottesville, VA 22903


****OR just use the handy-dandy secure credit card payment system we have established through PayPal.

Of course, the mayhem and ridiculousness of Eventing Nation will continue on Sport Horse Nation, as you can already see with the three fake advertisements we have posted today.  The fake ads up now are only temporary and real advertisements will begin being posted in the next few days.  At $15 dollars per classified, I hope that literally almost every event horse for sale in the US and Canada will be posted on Sport Horse Nation.  We will also be posting funny fake ads and articles about buying and selling horses from time to time, and I expect Sport Horse Nation to be an entertaining destination for all eventers, especially if you want to keep an eye on what’s for sale out there.
We built Sport Horse Nation for our Eventing Nation community, so please let us know if you have any questions or comments in the discussion section of this post.  Also, please notice the SHN box in our Eventing Nation sidebar that will show the most recent horses for sale on Sport Horse Nation.  I’m definitely nervous, since this is only the second website that I have launched, but I’m also extremely excited and proud that we are providing a great service to the eventing community.
I should also mention that we are working hard on EN swag.  We have a fantastic team of wonderful people helping us to design everything and get bumper stickers, hats, and t-shirts printed, so stay tuned for more info on that soon.  Now, more than ever, go eventing.

Good times at Camp OCET

By on Jul 1, 2010 12:39 am -

ocetcampkaren.jpg

Things got a little exciting at the O’Connor event camp on Wednesday when Karen got more than she bargained for.  While riding the mechanical bull, a camper (pictured above) fell off the front and tried to save herself by grabbing for the only thing within reach…Karen’s chest.  Apparently the camp laughed about it for the rest of the day, and Karen autographed the picture of the incident.  I’d credit the person who sent this picture to me, but they would probably be riding without stirrups for the rest of the camp as a result.
Anyone up for a caption contest?
ocetcampkaren2.jpg
Go eventing.

If you won the Great War, stand up!

By on Jun 30, 2010 5:45 pm -
Germany has released its short list for the WEGs, which includes 11 riders and 13 pairs.  The final selection trials are at the German Championships in Schenefeld (August 26-29).  Germany can send up to 6 pairs to the WEGs, and, with their performance in Luhmuhlen, the German team looks like contenders to win WEG gold.  

A-List

– Andreas Dibowski /FRH Butts Leon and FRH Fantasia
– Michael Jung / La Biosthetique Sam
– Simone Deitermann / Free Easy NRW
– Frank Ostholt / Mr. Medicott
– Ingrid Klimke / FRH Butts Abraxxas
– Kai Rüder / Leprince des Bois
– Dirk Schrade /King Artus and Gadget de la Cere sowie
– Hinrich Romeike / Marius Voigt-Logistik

 

B-List
– Kai-Steffen Meier / Karascada M
– Andreas Ostholt / Franco Jeas
– Anna Warnecke / Twinkle Bee

Dirk and King Artus at Luhmuhlen–all I can do about the music is apologize

Thanks to The Carrot and PegasusPro for sending info on the German short list.  

Should the “Introductory Level” Be Recognized by the USEA?

By on Jun 30, 2010 3:26 pm -

We all started eventing somewhere.  For me, it was back when I lived in Michigan, trotting around local dressage and hunter shows, and then moving up to unrecognized horse trials.  Those first few ribbons I won are still hanging in my room to remind me of where I came from.  Today we have a guest article on the topic of starter horse trials from Charlene Eurick, who is well connected to top eventers in California.  Thanks for writing this Charlene, and thank you for reading.

—-

introlevel.jpg

Photo: Lexie Thacker (4th Place/Intro Division B) getting some sage advice from her coach, Jennifer Wooten-Dafoe.  This was Lexie’s first event, and she finished on her dressage score of 39.0


Have you ever seen an “Intro Level” division at a horse trial?  I hadn’t until this past weekend at Shepherd Ranch Horse Trials in Santa Ynez, California and I’ll tell ya, there should be more of ’em!  Watching those cute pony kids (with a few adults thrown in) riding cross-country on their Saints disguised as horses was such a treat!  The jumps are so little that even the small ponies can get around and it’s a nice step before Beginner Novice.  Cross-country was 1,300 meters with 12-14 jumping efforts set at 20-24 inches high, with a water option.  At 300 mpm, you could probably make the time trotting. 

 

As I watched the warm-up, I guessed that most of these riders don’t get out of the arena very often.  There were some really little kids on some really little ponies and the adults looked like they probably hadn’t gone Advanced.  They left the start box with either an ear-to-ear grin or the “What am I doing and where do I go?” look but they finished looking happy and confident while the relieved parents and coaches jumped up and down and cheered.  Ok, so there was a bit of drama when “Itty Bitty Cocoa Puff” was eliminated on cross-country, but all-in-all it was a good day. 

 

Without many opportunities these days for riding in the open, it was great to see so many have the chance to go cross-country without the pressure of a jump higher than 24 inches.  Of the 27 entries, 18 finished, and both the A&B divisions ended on a score of 30.5 (not too shabby). 

 

I hope this division will be offered by more organizers and I think it would be a great addition to the USEA recognized divisions.  I’ve seen enough scary riding at the Beginner Novice level to know that many of those people would do well with some experience at an even lower level.  What a great way to draw people from other disciplines and get kids started really young.  It’s terrific to see happy new Eventers and seriously, what’s more fun than watching a kid on a pony? 

OCET Camp report from Ecogold

By on Jun 30, 2010 12:02 pm -

500 OCET camp1.jpg

It is eventing camp season across Eventing Nation, when, for one week out of the year, top programs are turned from organized chaos into unorganized chaos.  Patricia from Ecogold spent  some time at the O’Connor Event Team camp earlier this week, and told me that she expected to see the camp start with a dressage lesson, but instead it started with mechanical bull riding and natural horsemanship sessions.  If you haven’t already recognized the picture, the OCET camp is being held at the Virginia Horse Center.

Patricia didn’t get video of the mechanical bull, but here is some footage from ’09

Natural horsemanship

Karen introducing Ecogold

Patricia has headed off to the Dutton camp at True Prospect Farm in PA, which is also going on this week and we look forward to hearing from Patricia again soon.  Thanks patricia for sending us the great videos from camp OCET!  Go eventing.
125_ECOGOLD_600x100.jpg

Our readers are awesome

By on Jun 30, 2010 5:48 am -
eventingnationinsanitybumperlogo.jpg
Courtesy of Pegasus44

I want to share a story that makes me glow with pride for Eventing Nation.  If you recall, in my semi-delirious Sunday morning reader from last weekend I linked to eventer4life’s blog.  As an aside, I thought it might quite possibly be my last link ever considering I was about to go out on XC with a young horse who can jump a mile but often does so in three different directions at once, but I survived and here we are now.  I linked to the blog because it was a young eventer writing about her first horse trials with her new horse and I thought it made for good reading, and Tuesday night eventer4life responded on Sunday morning post with the following comment:

Wow!
Thank you for putting my blog on here!
I actually had 502 views the day this was posted, up from….4…the day before.
So WOW and thanks again!


You’re more than welcome eventer4life; Eventing Nation had a couple of days with 4 readers way back when we started. And well done Eventing Nation–we each are powerless as one person behind a computer, but united together as Eventing Nation we have a great deal of power to influence, and, in this case, make a young eventer’s day.  Go eventing.

Full Moon Farm 1/4 Star recap

By on Jun 29, 2010 11:24 pm -

If you recall, last week we published a preview article by Katie Wherley about the Full Moon Farm 1/4 star three-day for novice to elementary level competitors.  Margaret Rizzo was kind enough to write a recap of the event, which sounds like it was a lot of fun and very educational. Thanks for writing this Margaret and thank you for reading.

—-
Savannah-Fulton-1.jpg
Photo: Savannah Fulton and FMF’s Manilla Bay on the Novice steeplechase course. Savannah also won the Best Turned Out award for the competition.  It also looks like she’s rocking a Point-Two.
From Margaret: 

I finally had a chance to catch up with Karen Fulton of Full Moon Farm following their 2nd Annual 1/4 Star Three-Day Event. Immediately following the three-day the Fultons headed off to Surefire Farm for the weekend’s horse trials. Needless to say, I think the Fulton family deserves a day off! 

Karen shared that the event went really well, and each participant came away a better rider with increased knowledge and horsemanship skills. Since many of the competitors also competed last year, she tried to bring in new speakers so that the competitors heard from different people this time. Special thanks goes to the following professionals who donated their time throughout the week: 
Dr. Julie Augustine: Checked riders in on the first day, plus stuck around to answer questions Kate Chadderton, Victory Sport Horses: How to walk your stadium course  
Stephen Fulton (Karen’s husband and co-owner of FMF): How to budget your time on endurance day 
Jim Ligon: Came to announce on endurance day and gave the riders the feeling of competing at a big event 
Peggy Pariso: How to score well on dressage day 
Kristen Parris, A Deck Above Farm: How to get ready for the jogs 
Dr. Liz Paternotte, Equine Performance Services: How to condition your horse for a three-day event
Katie Wherley, Rock Solid Training: How to care for your horse on endurance day 
Kelley Williams, A Bit Better Farm: How to ride steeplechase 
Grace-Fulton-1.jpg
Karen’s youngest daughter Grace Fulton and FMF’s Griffin on the Beginner Novice steeplechase course.  Note: both photos are courtesy of Mike J. McNally
For those of you in the mid-atlantic you’ve probably become familiar with losing 10 pounds in sweat every ride. The Full Moon crew was very aware of the heat, and adjusted the schedule as needed throughout the week. Roads & Tracks started at 7:30 am on Thursday, an hour earlier than planned. The weather gods were looking after these three-day riders, as the wind started blowing after the fourth horse. The horses were coming into the 10-minute box really well and all cooled off well. 
I’ve talked with several people that were involved with the 1/4 Star, and everyone kept saying how much fun it was. And isn’t that what eventing is about?? Having fun with your horse! Kudos to Full Moon Farm for putting together such an educational event!

5 short listed horses entered at Rebecca Farm

By on Jun 29, 2010 3:18 pm -

We said top horses are flying out to Rebecca Farm this year and so they are–four US shortlisted horses and one Canadian are entered for the event later this July.   Thanks to Charlene for sending us the link to the RF entries.

Buck Davidson and My Boy Bobby – CIC3*
Phillip Dutton and TruLuck – CC3*
Karen O’Connor and Mandiba – Adv
Amy Tryon and Leyland – Adv

(CAN) Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin & Juice – CIC3*


Rebecca Farm has always been one of the best facilities in the US, and this year it is going to have some big names give the course a try at critical moments in their careers.  Go eventing.

Tuesday discussion: The event horse market from Omega Alpha

By on Jun 29, 2010 12:44 pm -
A few days ago I received the good news that our friend Chelan Kozak has successfully sold her Rolex horse Tasman Sea aka “Puzzle.”  Chelan put Puzzle up for sale in early May, which means that he sold in just under two months–certainly one of the fastest sales I have heard about in this economy…which leads me to this week’s discussion topic:

How bad is the horse market right now?

I know a couple of people who have been trying to sell their horses for over a year.  We all know the economy is bad right now, and the event horse market is interesting in that it is predominantly upper-middle-class and should therefore be insulated slightly from the downturn, but, on the other hand, horses are one of the first costs that many families look to cut when things get tight.

Please share your thoughts about the horse market or stories about buying or selling a horse in today’s economy in the discussion section.

Once again, Omega Alpha has generously offered to provide a premium quality supplement for one of our readers who contributes to today’s discussion.
Thumbnail image for omegaalpbabannerlogo.jpg

—-
We look out for our friends here at Eventing Nation, and I saw this morning that Buzzterbrown had uploaded a video of a prelim horse for sale.  I have no idea what Buzzterbrown’s connection to the seller is, and Buzzterbrown didn’t ask me to post this, but the horse is apparently for sale for $35,000 in VA.  Click on the video twice to open a link to Youtube where Buzzterbrown has more info.
Go eventing.

The French are coming to Kentucky en masse

By on Jun 29, 2010 5:19 am -
France has released its World Equestrian Games A-list of 13 pairs, and its B-list of 23 pairs according to Equicomplet.fr.  The french blog suggests that Nicolas Touzaint is the only lock to make the French team, and says that the final French choices are to be made after the World Cup Haras du Pin in late August.  The B-list is available from Eqicomplet at the above link.  The original link is courtesy of Pegasus44.
LIST A name in alphabetical order (13 pairs – 12 riders) 
Anaud Boiteau – Expo du Moulin – 18
Jean Lou Bigot – Lotus Gobaude – 11 years
Lionel Guyon – Metisse Lalou – 10 years
Karim Laghouag – Havens CAZA – 15 
Pascal Leroy – Glenburny the Leou – 16
Pascal Leroy – Minos of Petra – 10 years
Cedric Lyard – Narcos Soulac – 9 years 
Benjamin Masse – Haston of Elpégère – 15 years 
Schauly Donatien – Secular – 10 years
Teul̬re John РMatelot du Grand Val Р10 years
Nicolas Touzaint – Tatchou – 12 years
Didier Willefert – Escape Lane – 18 
Stanislas Zuchowicz – Quirinal de la Bastide – 10 years 

The horses Escape Lane and Secular are both owned by the French Ministry of Defense, which suggests a defense investment policy that might explain France’s military performance over the past 2000 years.  There are 87 days until the World Equestrian Games.  Go eventing.

Welcome Tack of the Day and Nunn Finer

By on Jun 28, 2010 6:30 pm -
totd600x100.jpg

It is with a great sense of pride that I welcome Tack of the Day and Nunn Finer to the Eventing Nation team.  John Nunn has been a supporter of Eventing Nation from the very beginning and he sponsored our Rolex $100 Bit of Britain Challenge earlier this year.  I am also very thankful to Mr. Nunn for providing me with valuable advice and guidance throughout the development of Eventing Nation.

Mr. Nunn knows that most everyone reading Eventing Nation has already seen the Nunn Finer logo and probably already used Nunn Finer products, but it is a testament to his support of eventing that he still decided to partner Nunn Finer in yet another means of service to the eventing community.  
As for Tack of the Day, I will just say that it is one of the coolest business ideas on earth.  Basically, Mr. Nunn uses his many connections within the equestrian business world to find two products a day at ridiculously low prices and they are on sale for just 24 hours at www.tackoftheday.com.  Tack of the Day restricts the number of each product people can buy at one time because their new items consistently undersell EBay prices for used versions of that item.  If you check Tack of the Day regularly, you are going to save a lot of money.
In my book, no one has been more supportive of eventing over the years than John Nunn so be sure to tell him thanks next time you see him at an event–he will be either riding, or at the Bit of Britain trailer, or both.  Go eventing.

How was your event this weekend?

By on Jun 28, 2010 12:09 pm -
bromontinsanityeventingnationlogo.jpg
Courtesy of the amazing Retreadeventer
As it is every Monday, it’s your turn to share with Eventing Nation your thoughts, excitements, and frustrations from the past weekend of eventing. 
How did your eventing go this weekend?

—-

I guess it’s only fair that every once in a while I should write about my eventing weekend, which, as several folks have commented took place at the Encore horse trials just outside of Detroit–and yes, the horse trials did look exactly like the movie 8 Mile, thanks for asking.  

It was a light weekend for me and I just had a young horse in the training division.  He scored a 28 in dressage, which was a disappointment for him and resulted from a couple of technical mistakes by me–I didn’t channel my inner Kim Severson very well.  The horse jumped well in both show jumping and cross-country, but was very green between the fences and we had a few time penalties in both phases.  Let’s just say that when he ran sideways out of the box I thought I was in for a long ride but he settled in nicely.  He has a lot of upside and I was pleased with his progress.  

As a few other notes from Encore–I am not 6’4″, I don’t have an Australian accent, my hair is tame, and I don’t ride in zebra stripes on XC, but now that I think about it that does kinda sound like Boyd…  One girl did offer to pour cold water on me in the XC warmup.

The volunteers, officials, and fellow riders were all wonderful at Encore and I couldn’t have enjoyed the competition more.  Midwest eventing rocks. 

One thing to remember is that the Kentucky Horse Park is closed until the WEGs, so we had quite a few riders from Kentucky at Encore.  Our Kentucky readers will be looking for events elsewhere this summer.  Moral of the story–get your Richland entries in on time.

Speaking of cross-country, good new technologies usually begin to get popular in the eventing Meccas and then spread out to the rest of the country, and Point-Two vests are no exception.  It is becoming rare to see riders not protected by Point-Twos in Virginia, but I only saw maybe 15 at Encore this weekend. 

Lastly, I’d like to give a big EN shout-out to Stayner Haller who finished his last event ever this weekend at Encore with his wonderful horse LGM Challenger.  Stayner is 73 and Challenger is 27, and Stayner told me that Encore was their 110th competition together.  I competed in Michigan quite a bit in my early teens, and Challenger looked just as fresh this weekend as he did 10 years ago.  As I told Stayner, you don’t see horses with that kind of longevity these days, he has taken wonderful care of Challenger throughout their career together.  Can we get an encore Stayner?  

Go eventing.

Events this weekend recap

By on Jun 28, 2010 9:36 am -
Sarah Cousins had a great weekend at Surefire, winning the intermediate A division on Kestrel Key by 19 points over the next rider.  Sarah also took second in both the intermediate A and B divisions.  Boyd Martin and young rider Meghan O’Donoghue posted the only double-clear of the intermediates and both won their divisions.  I heard from one volunteer that the Byyny’s gave margaritas to all the volunteers at the end of the day–now that’s treating volunteers right.
It may be Monday, but it’s still your lucky day because Buzzterbrown was at Surefire
More Surefire video from Buzzterbrown, this time with music!


Surefire links: Results, photos from 3D3W
—-

Rebecca Hart dominated all weekend at the WEG para-equestrian selection trials.  Link: photos from Lisa Slade
Camille Fordstadt and Quinn won the Smartpak T3D3 at Invale Horse Trials.  Kristi Nunnink and R-Star won the intermediate division 2.  Link: Invale results, USEA T3DE recap
Germany’s Michael Jung took the lead in the FEI World Cup at the CIC3* in Poland during the time Germany was dominating England in the World Cup.  Germans just can’t lose in Poland.

FTW-courtesy of Pegasus44


Lastly, show jumper Michael Morrissey was suspended for three months by the USEF over the weekend for doing this to his horse at Wellington in February:
—-

Groton House (MA): Homepage
Shepherd Ranch SYVPC (CA): Scores
Fox River Valley PC (IL): Scores
Inavale Farm (OR): Scores
Abbe Ranch (CO): Scores
Surefire (VA): Scores
St. Johns (AZ): Scores 
Encore (MI): Homepage

Surefire report from photographer Lindsay Berreth

By on Jun 27, 2010 8:50 pm -

You know when you are walking (or riding) around an event and you notice the photographers standing there all day with those huge cameras?  Well, as part of our ongoing interest in showcasing the many fascinating roles in the eventing community, it is my pleasure to bring you the perspective of a photographer from Surefire horse trials this weekend.  Thanks Lindsay for writing this and thank you for reading.  Link: Surefire results

—-
2010-06-26 10.50.59.jpg
From Lindsay:

For those who don’t know me, I event in Area II and attend most events as a rider. But I also work for GRC Photo, who shoots many events in Virginia and Maryland. I love photographing eventing, even if it’s just beginner novice, because it can be so educational to see how each horse and rider handles a question. And as a rider, I know how I feel when I see that “perfect shot”; the one that captures a great cross country round or that first clear training level stadium course on a horse you’ve brought along yourself.
So, this weekend, I was free lancing at Surefire. And it was hot! Upper 90’s with high humidity. But I guess that’s what you get for eventing in June in Virginia. I was stationed at the water jump for the first level to go on Saturday, which was Intermediate. I heard through the grapevine that the course was a bit soft, but that’s probably a good thing since we haven’t had a good rain for awhile and the ground was a bit hard.  But the Surefire crew did a great job getting it ready aerating it and adding stone dust and gravel when needed The water jump had a nice bright blue color, something I haven’t seen much of at events in Virginia and Maryland, so that might have contributed to some issues, but overall, the intermediates rode the water nicely. From my vantage point, I could also see the bank, which had a huge drop to a skinny. 
Novice was next for the afternoon, and I had to move from my comfortable, shady spot by the water to the middle of Surefire’s beautiful rolling hills to shoot the beginning of the course. The views were breathtaking, but I was baking out there! Lucky for me I had my handy lawn chair with a roof on it that provided some relief. I got some great shots over fence three in particular, a nice coop/ramp jump which came after a nice gallop from fence two. It rode well and everyone was nice and forward over it.
By the time novice was about half-way through, the jumping phases were running over an hour late, so I heard (via announcer Brian O’Connor) that the beginner novice stadium was shortened and that a division of BN would run cross country first to make up the time. Somehow, the event only ended up running a half hour late, so kudos to everyone for making it happen!
Sunday morning, I started out shooting prelim. They had a roll-top to a drop in, to a cabin out. It rode very well and I got some pretty great photos in the morning light. Brian O’Connor announced that horses were finishing well despite the rapidly rising temperatures, and there was a cooling station on hand at the end of the course, which I’m sure was appreciated.
Luckily, I stayed at the water jump all day and had some shade. The training was interesting. They had a roll-top, down a slight hill to a bank into water, then out over a log. About 60% of the riders actually cantered through the water first, then presented to the combination, and most were successful. I’m not sure if it was the blue water or the bank, but there was a quite a bit of trouble.
Overall, I saw a lot of really good riding. We all survived the heat, and the Surefire crew was great, even offering me some food, drink and a ride on the Gator. That was much appreciated considering I wasn’t an official volunteer. Eventers are such friendly people, looking out for each other even on the hottest of days.
Now I’m looking forward to taking my OTTB to school there this week. Then on to the Maryland Horse Trials to sweat some more!
Thanks,
Lindsay Berreth

Sunday morning reader

By on Jun 27, 2010 6:23 am -
Let me just take a moment to say how awesome our writers are here at EN.  Visionaire is eventing this weekend so the Sunday Jog-Up is taking a brief vacation, and a Sunday morning without it is a reminder of how much I enjoy that series.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there’s no way EN would exists today without Visionaire and Leslie.  Now a few Sunday links:
Hart and Brueckmann stay on top after day 2 at the para-equestrian WEG selection trials.

The training three-day at Inavale is being held with a backdrop of green grass and Christmas tree farms.

William Micklem is not happy that Rodeos allow the use of cattle prods on horses.

5 UK horses were electrocuted by a ‘live’ water heater.

3D3W has a look at the Surfire XC course.  From what I hear, the Intermediate course was easier this year.  
Best of the blogs: A true XC day from eventer4life.  I found this blog (eventer4life.wordpress.com) several days ago and it’s an instant favorite.  The author is anonymous but describes herself as a 15 year old eventer in Montana and uses phrases such as “my newest beast pony.”  It’s funny, honest, and open writing–props to the author, whoever you are.
Go eventing.

Training level XC course preview

By on Jun 26, 2010 8:48 pm -
It’s Saturday night, the cross-country course has been walked, and there’s not much to be done now other than run through it several more times in my head.
When I walk a course I start by standing in the box an focusing on my key thoughts for the ride.  I won’t walk out of the box until I’m totally focused on what I need to do to help my horse succeed.  Sometimes I stand in the box for 30 seconds, sometimes several minutes; I think I stood in the box at The Fork for 10 minutes before my final walk.
The horse I am riding tomorrow is super over the fences but he is spooky and gets distracted between the fences.  David worked with me this spring to make sure I am always being very clear about what I want him to do rather than just reacting to what is happening underneath me.  I think it’s an interesting thought in general that we as riders spend too much time reacting to something going wrong rather than preventing the problem by telling our horse to do the right thing in the first place.  Now about the course.
encorexcjump.jpg
Fence #1 is labeled “stairway to heaven,” which, depending on how you look at it, is either menacing or just a way to get a great song stuck in your head for the five and a half minute course, which, incidentally is shorter than the song itself.  Just don’t jump #1 like a Led Zepplin.
Fence two is a table, followed by the corners at #3.  And by corners I mean two corners in one element.  

Wait, whaaa?

encorecorners.jpg
Like one big black deadly bow tie.
#4 is another table, followed by the bank complex at five and six, which is a bank up to two strides then a drop followed by a coop on a right turn.  Then the water complex, then the Trakehner at #9, blah blah–enough writing more pictures!
encorehalfcoffin.jpg
Looking at the half coffin makes me think about how all the big events never call them ‘coffins’ anymore.  I guess when someone gets lit up and the newspapers write “Joe Shmo was injured at the Rolex coffin” it makes non-eventers ask too many questions.
encorecoups.jpg
After a table at eleven, #12AB is two *coops on a one-stride
Then it’s a long line of jumps at #13, #14, #15, and a slight bend to #16–as in gymnastics style except more strides and with a gully mixed in.  Just trust me.  Seventeen is a water filled ditch and wall, eighteen is an oxer, and then 45 seconds of cantering to #19 and the finish…
encorefinish.jpg
If you don’t respect the last fence either Karen or Dorothy will shoot you…so always respect the last fence.
Go eventing.

Weekend news and notes

By on Jun 26, 2010 12:15 am -
Greetings friends, I know we usually put most of our links to interesting stuff that isn’t quite important enough for it’s own post in our Twitter feed in the sidebar, but I thought we would bring back News and Notes for old times sake.  
Firstly, I mentioned in our weekend preview that Mandiba was entered at Surefire.  I have since heard that due to hard ground resulting from the Virginia drought, Mandiba will wait to return to competition on another weekend. 
Phillip has just returned to PA from training with Oded Shimoni on Woodburn and TruLuck.  Phillip also explains in his blog that The Forman and Connaught are back in work and doing well.  TruLuck is scheduled for Rebecca Farm in July.
Nancy Jaffer has an excellent interview with Courtney King-Dye and breaks the news that Courtney has been released from her rehab facility.  Courtney still struggles with some physical tasks and speech, but she is a testament to her inner strength and modern medicine.  Wow, two links to EquiSearch in one day–kinda makes me feel like river dancing.
Lisa Slade wrote a recap of day one at the USEF Para-Equestrian WEG selection trials in Illinois. 
Let’s just keep on sharing the media love with this preview of the AEC’s from the USEA.  Can you spot the Canadian rider in the video?

If Land Rover gets three minutes worth of shameless plugs in that video, then surely you will permit me to say that if you need to get anything for the barn remember that it helps support Eventing Nation if you buy it from SmartPak.  If you don’t need anything from the barn, just clicking on the SmartPak banner in our sidebar (with the picture of PDizzle) and browsing the SmartPak site makes us look good and has been scientifically proven to give you EN Karma.  We also have two new sponsors that I am excited to introduce very soon.
I’m at an undisclosed event this weekend trying to lay low and enjoy a light competition with a young horse who is just coming back from a spring injury.  I’m about 6’4″, have an Australian accent, my hair won’t sit evenly, I wear zebra stripes and a Point-Two on XC, and otherwise you will find me in a green Devoucoux jacket.  Come find me and pour cold water on my head.  
Go eventing.

Steph Rhodes-Bosch, chapter 1

By on Jun 25, 2010 12:11 pm -

It is with great pleasure that I introduce you our first guest blogger for the fall season. I raved about Steph and Ollie all spring, so Eventing Nation’s readers were probably the only people on Earth not surprised by their 5th place finish at Rolex. Steph and Ollie have been named to the Canadian short list for the WEGs, and I can’t wait to watch their progress this summer and into the autumn.  If you have a second, be sure to check out Steph’s site.  Thanks for writing this Steph and thank you for reading.

—-
From Steph:

Hi, Eventing Nation! I’m very excited to actually be contributing to this site after months of reading and enjoying it. Before the site and the title of the “eventing nation” were household vocabulary, I have always loved the way our sport is an actual community of people who love the same thing. The eventing scene is how I grew up, and it’s a full time lifestyle for me, now more than ever!

For the vast majority of the online eventing nation who know absolutely nothing about me, consider this first entry an introduction. I am a soon-to-be 22 year old from Summerland, British Columbia currently living in The Plains, Virginia. (Door to door distance from my parent’s house to my above-barn apartment, 4,325KILOMETRES! About 2700 miles)  I graduated from Summerland Secondary School in 2006 and began my post secondary education at The Fork Stables in North Carolina in March of 2007, where I was a working student for Rebecca Howard, who is a long time family friend.  I was there through NAYRC in August of 2008, where my horse Port Authority (Ollie) and I were bronze medalists in the two star.  That was when my “actual” post secondary education was supposed to start…. But really, just because I’m not currently attending a “recognized” college or university doesn’t mean I’m not being educated…. and my bills probably add up to the tuition at a really swanky school so… that’s ok, right??

Anyways. Now that I have said my bit to justify not going to college… I’ll tell you a bit about my horse. I have had Ollie for 6 and a half years, and he is the first horse I ever competed Preliminary on. His mother is a Thoroughbred, I’m not sure if she ever raced, and his father is a Selle Francais by Galoubet. He had never evented when I got him as a youngster, and we have had some really great times along the road to where we are now. He is such a character and I absolutely love everything about him. Even (or maybe especially) the fact that he is a very opinionated and grouchy little fool. The sweet side comes out when nobody else is around.

Ollie and I upgraded to Advanced shortly after joining David and Karen O’Connor’s program in January of 2009. We had 2 successful CCI 3 star finishes last year, with Fair Hill being a huge improvement on Jersey Fresh. This year, I had the incredible experience of competing at the Rolex Kentucky Three Day event. It was the coolest thing I have ever done to ride in a competition like that. Doing what I love to do in an electric environment like the Horse Park, and getting to compete against horses and riders I have so much respect for was such a high. And because of my strong finish there, I have been riding that high all the way into summer! So… Ollie had his 4 weeks off, and is back in full flatwork and trotting around the hills in Flint Hill, VA. He starts jumping this week, and will probably do his first canters next weekend after he moves to The Plains to be closer to David and everyone else who supervises this shindig. (Dr. O and Randy) We are aiming at Millbrook Intermediate, Richland Advanced, and then the AEC’s at Chattahoochee. And then…… hopefully the WEG’s! I’m so excited to be on the Short List and I think that we’re going to field an awesome team and show the world what Canada’s been up to on the big stage!

In the meantime, I have a few young event prospects in Rappahannock county Virginia that I work with. Two of them are competing Beginner Novice at Surefire next weekend in their first recognized show EVER!  All the horses I ride are owned by wonderful people who have been so supportive of Ollie and I and I’m lucky to have all of them in my life. 

So, now that the introductions have been made on my end, I’m looking forward to writing about my summer and sharing this new crazy life of mine with all of you. Thanks a lot for reading, and happy eventing!

Till next time,

Steph

Events this weekend from Ecogold

By on Jun 25, 2010 11:43 am -
horsetongue.jpg

First, and most importantly, happy take your dog to work day.  Secondly, we have 8 USEA events this weekend.  Most of the Rolex horses are back into work and some of them are starting to stretch their legs at horse trials this weekend.

Karen O’Connor and Mandiba are entered in the OI at Surfire.  Kristi Nunnink and R-Star are entered at the Invale HT in Oregon, and reportedly Amy and Leyland were entered in the Oregon event but they have since scratched.  Amy and Leyland are a very important part of the USA’s hopes at the WEGs, and it will be important that they find some consistency at competitions soon.

Groton House (MA): Homepage, Start Times
Shepherd Ranch SYVPC (CA): Homepage, Times/Scores, Beautiful Weather
Fox River Valley PC (IL): Homepage, Live Scores
Inavale Farm (OR): Homepage, Times/Scores
Abbe Ranch (CO): Homepage, Times/Scores
Encore (MI): Homepage, Ride Times

—-
We are also entering summer camp season in eventing, with most notably the Dutton and OCET camps in the next couple of weeks.  This video pretty much captures summer camps perfectly.
“Good job Charlie”

Go eventing.
125_ECOGOLD_600x100.jpg

New Zealand short list

By on Jun 25, 2010 12:35 am -

After the spring four-stars, New Zealand has released its latest A&B lists for the World Equestrian Games.  Andrew Nicholson is the only A-lister, as Joe Meyer was previously on the A-list but has been dropped back to the B-list on his two rides.  New Zealand plans to take a team of 4 or 5 eventing pairs to the WEGs.  

A. 2010 – A Squad: The 2010 A Squad includes horse/rider combinations currently deemed capable of achieving a top 16 individual placing at the WEG Eventing Competition based on recent performances: 

Andrew Nicholson Nereo 
Andrew Nicholson Avebury 
Andrew Nicholson Mr Cruise Control 

B. 2010 – B Squad: The 2010 B Squad includes rider/horse combinations capable of contributing to a top four team placing at the WEG Eventing Competition. 

Andrew Nicholson Armada 
Annabel Wigley Black Drum 
Caroline Powell Mac MacDonald 
Clarke Johnstone Orient Express 
Joe Meyer Snip 
Joe Meyer Clifton Lush 
Jonathan Paget Clifton Promise 
Mark Todd Grass Valley 

Irish short list

By on Jun 24, 2010 4:10 pm -
Irish manager Ginny Elliot has named 6 pairs from which Ireland will chose their 5 horse WEG squad.

Mark Kyle and Step In Time 
Elizabeth Power and Kilpatrick River 
Michael Ryan and Ballylynch Adventure 
Patricia Ryan and Fernhill Clover Mist 
Camilla Speirs and Portersize Just A Jiff 
Sam Watson and Horseware Bushman

Ginny Elliot said “So far in 2010 14 Irish combinations have competed at four-star level and these six have come through very strongly. There is a really good mix of youth and experience and I just hope they all stay sound and do well in their upcoming competitions.”  

Just earlier this week, Ireland announced that it would only be sending 5 riders to the WEGs due to high transportation costs.  Team Ireland seems to be taking the approach of focusing on their very best riders in pre-WEG training and just hoping that they stay sound.  

Read more at The Horse & Hound.  Go eventing.