Doug Payne is a talented eventer and social media genius so I suppose we can forgive him for perhaps not being the world’s best outrider.  Doug is competing at the Stuart Horse Trials this weekend and he was kind enough to share the story of how he helped stop a loose pony by riding it into a pond.  For much more from Doug check out his website and follow @dpequestrian.
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From Doug:

Stuart has a 15′ wide walkway leading out to the dressage with woods on one side and the pond on the other. I was just walking out to the dressage aboard Leo, a 5 yr old, when I heard some screaming coming from the hill in front of me. BN was running cross-country and it was tough out there. So I figured another loose one…this is where it gets interesting. Over the hill came a loose pony moving along quickly, but not as quickly as a poor girl and her horse on a gallop in front of it. I’m not sure where she started but she was at the buckle pulling as hard as she could and going 800m/m+. So I’m thinking this is a bad situation for me, pinned on this path, it was the woods or the pond. I tried my best to wedge myself in the woods as the first girl blew by me. At which time Leo spun and bolted.

Now it’s the girl, me and the loose pony running down the walk way. I got Leo back to a trot and just was stepping into a walk. He’s 18hh so he does a good job of slowing run away ponies. I begin to look back, expecting to grab the pony’s reins and, as ponies do, he figured he’d just go around me by stepping in the water. Little did he or I know but that pond gets very deep very quickly. So down it goes, completely submerged. It comes up gasping for air and floundering. At first I thought his leg was caught in the running, but somehow he got it out. So I jump off expecting to have to help the pony out of the water, but luckily he managed to flounder out. He seemed unhurt, but the poor girls tack had certainly seen better days.

With Young Riders just a week away, former young riders champions Kelly Pugh and her mare CopyCat Chloe are competing in the CIC3* at Rebecca Farm this weekend. Kelly has kindly offered to keep us posted on her weekend and all the fun at Rebecca Farm. Be sure to check out Kelly’s great blog for updates on her season. [Kelly’s blog] As we say, thanks for writing this Kelly and thank you for reading.
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From Kelly Pugh:

Hi Eventing Nation!!

I am writing to you from beautiful Rebecca Farms and I am really excited to be sharing this experience with you guys. It has been a few years since I have been here and if it’s possible this event has only gotten more and more incredible. Our barn, Flying Tail Farms, started our journey last Saturday and 24 hours later we found ourselves pulling into Rebecca Farms. All ten horses traveled well and, being from California, loved to be greeted with endless amounts of green grass. The horses had a day of walking to recover and the humans had a day of go-cart racing and bumper water boats. Let me tell you, a group of competitive eventers all on the same go-cart track is a sure way to get you kicked out of a family fun place.

I am riding two horses this weekend. My three star mare CopyCat Chloe and an OTTB going training. He is owned by my mom Dayna Lynd Pugh and named after her favorite vodka (no surprise there), Titos. Chloe has settled quite nicely and we are taking advantage of the miles of walk hacking offered. We were able to go around our ring on Thursday for a FEI ring familiarization and she was really great. I practically cantered her over the scary letters to assure her that she is bigger then any monsters living in them. She also had her jog today and we proudly wore our pink ribbon to support Rebecca Farms Halt Cancer at X fundraiser. My dog also supported the fundraiser with pink glitter but i’m not so sure he did it proudly. Poor pup, I shouldn’t be allowed to have glitter, or maybe a dog for that matter.

Tito did his dressage test today and working with him has reminded me how difficult, and yet rewarding the young horses can be. Every show he has been getting better and better and I am so excited for his future! The courses all look fantastic and I know both horses are going to love the galloping, forward design. I will walk the three star course with Ian Stark tomorrow and will report on his take of it all. Fingers crossed the weather cools before then. Luckily Rebecca Farms has a surplus of ice for our margaritas, I mean horses!

Lastly, I want to mention that Chloe and I are were lucky enough to have received the Rebecca Farm travel grant. Driving the distance we went is expensive and the grant is a huge help to getting us here. I want to thank Rebecca Farm for this wonderful opportunity. They are huge ambassadors of this sport and we are lucky to have them.

We have an exciting three days ahead of us and I will be sure to keep you all posted.

Go Rebecca Farms and Go eventing!

Our good friend Rebecca Howard has arrived in Enlgand for the Olympics and beyond. Rebecca was kind enough to share with her many fans here on EN about the trip to England and the first few days at Maizey Manor for Team Canada.  For much more from Rebecca check out her website.  As always, thanks for writing this and thank you for reading.
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From Rebecca:

Hello EN!  We have arrived and settled in to beautiful Maizey Manor.  It was a long trip for the horses, the flight being the easiest part.  It is the shipping to the airport, quarantine, and then shipping to farm which makes it long–but every one traveled quite well thanks to Dr. Ober who was with the horses the entire way.  After the horses arrived we then hung out until 11:30 pm waiting for our luggage and equipment to come…all 9000 lbs of it….I guess we don’t travel lightly – me being the heaviest of the crew!

Yesterday the horses were so happy to be turned out and had a relaxing day hanging out in their fields.  It is so nice and quiet here at Maizey and everyone is incredibly nice and welcoming.  Owner Catherine Burrell greeted us with food and wine on arrival day and the grooms feasted on a gourmet breakfast yesterday morning.  Jacky Green got us lined up for a Dressage show next week which is part of our plan B after Gatcombe was cancelled.  We girls are staying in this awesome cottage…thatched roof and all.  So basically we are all spoiled and well taken care of.

David's car

The driving is our daily entertainment and adrenaline rush for sure.  We all have rented cars, therefore are our very own Canadian Parade.  Shandis wins the award for cutest car…Dr. O ended up with a shnazy Audi…and David is exchanging his today….not a fan of the orange.

Today’s riding agenda was a hack through the hills of Marlborough and fields of poppies.  There is no shortage of space here and the views are beautiful….So far happy ponies and happy Canadians.  Last, but not least, as always, I want to give a thanks to my sponsors Arenus, Ecogold, EquineLite Mats, FITS, Five Star Tack, Haygain, Hit Air, Omega Alpha, RevitaVet, and Stackhouse Saddles.

Check out this great helmet cam video of training cross-country at the Gennesee Valley Hunt Horse Trials last weekend, courtesy of EventingJ.  Held in Geneseo, NY, Genessee featured beginner novice through prelim divisions attended by much of the north east eventing community.  My one and only event in New York ended in a fall and I have been asked by New York, like so many other states, to not event in the Empire State ever again.

[Genesee Results]

Go eventing.

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We are very proud to welcome Kentucky Performance Products as a new EN sponsor.  Kentucky Performance Products makes a fantastic electrolyte product and you can win a year’s supply simply by clicking the banner below and entering promo code EN2.  Just click the banner below and fill out the form.  Many thanks to KPP for joining the team and stay tuned for much more.

Mike Huber celebrated his 52nd birthday at the pool party/cook out held at Gold Chip Stables on Saturday afternoon.   Area V’s Mike Huber is a former US team WEG and Olympic rider as well as the 1987 Pan American Games individual gold medalist.  It is therefore good news for us all that Mike took up riding and not baseball or golf because…wow.  Mike, a lifelong Oklahoma Sooners fan is shown in the video below trying to beat a piñata in the shape of a Texas Long Horn football.  The video and picture were brought to you courtesy of his loving working student, Jordan Payton.  Mike currently coaches in Area V and serves as a USEF eventing selector.

Happy birthday and go Mike.

Elyssa and Medici

Let’s face it.  We all hate dressage.  I’m surely not alone in wondering why we can’t just do away with the dressage phase and make eventing all about the jumping.  Eventing is an endurance sport, meaning that it is about moving up as much as possible after we endure the dressage phase.

Kidding aside, I think our sport under recognizes those fabulous jumping horses who very reasonably just don’t see the point of dressage.  In that spirit, we are partnering with our friends and sponsors at Omega Alpha to recognize one horse and rider combination each month who move up the most after the dressage at one competition.

The June winner is Elyssa Gibbs and Medici “Cooper” of Lexington, Kentucky who moved up the most in the Bromont CCI3* division. They started the weekend in 18th place, and finished in style in 8th place!

July’s winner will be the horse and rider who move up the most in the prelim horse division at Rebecca Farm.  The winners will receive a prize basket of fabulous supplements from Omega Alpha.  Many thanks to Omega Alpha for their support of Eventing Nation and visit their website for more information.

Go Omega Alpha.

Don’t worry!… MDBarnmaster would love to build your small, unfancy, but super safe and comfortable dream barn too!

I am very excited to welcome Jamco Trailers USA to the Eventing Nation family of sponsors. Jamco is a company that prides itself on making incredibly strong and sturdy trailers for durability and safety. Rather than putting the trailer skin around an aluminum frame with rivets like most trailers, Jamco uses a patented full-plank 2″ x 6″ double walled aluminum plank system. The result is a trailer constructed with unprecedented craftsmanship and I’d encourage you to check out a Jamco to see for yourself. Long legendary for strength with commercial shippers and big draft rigs, Jamco USA has 2-horse models up to the biggest custom trailers. We’re proud to have them joining Eventing Nation. For more, be sure to check out the Jamco website.

[Website, Dealer Directory, Facebook]

Go Jamco.

Lisa Morrison is one of the many wonderful Canadian eventing transplants to the mid-Atlantic.  Lisa was kind enough to attend the Canadian eventing team dressage outing in Virginia last Sunday, where the entire Canadian squad schooled their Olympic test under the watchful eye of Sally O’Connor.  After a few days without power due to the giant storm that swept through Virginia last weekend, Lisa was finally able to upload the videos for the post.  Thanks for writing this Lisa and thank you for reading.
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From Lisa:

On Canada Day (July 1^st), the Canadian riders headed to a schooling show at Looking Glass Farm in Hamilton, VA to practice their dressage. For a brief moment in the early morning, it was possible to forget the heat but the temperature was pushing 80 degrees before 8 am with high humidity so it wasn’t long before sweat was dripping. In honor honour of Canada Day, judge Sally O’Connor had decked out the ring with Canadian flags and was wearing a lovely red and white outfit, topped with a Canadian flag hat. Each rider rode their test with Sally giving a debriefing afterwards.

The judge awaits

As the first two riders warmed up in the empty field, it was a study in contrasts. Hawley’s Gin N Juice was wound up and ready to go while Peter’s Kildoran Abbott was cool as a cucumber. David joked with Peter “don’t let the atmosphere get to him”.

After Sally debriefed Rebecca, she said to David “Did I say what you were thinking?” (he said yes).

Feedback for Rebecca

Hawley was the first and last to go, riding her test twice. Her second ride appeared rougher, but parts of it were much better. She schooled in the ring for a few minutes after and everyone seemed pleased with the work.

David was happy with the outing, saying it was just what they needed.

Jessie Phoenix and Exponential

Shandiss Wewiora and Rockfield Grant Juan (Alternates)

Michele Mueller and Amistad

The horses will leave next Sunday (July 8^th) from Newark (NJ) while the riders will fly from Dulles (Washington DC).

Foam dressage fingers are all the rage these days after their world-famous appearance on the Colbert Report from the USEF Dressage National Championships.  SmartPak’s latest brilliant video features a bit of a misunderstanding about what a “dressage finger” is.  Make sure to always wave the correct dressage finger by shopping at SmartPak today and getting a free finger with any order.  Click here for the promo code and click here to shop at SmartPak’s July 4th sale, featuring 10% off and free shipping.

[SmartPak Sale]

As always, many thanks to SmartPak for their partnership and be sure to support EN by supporting SmartPak.  Go SmartPak.

Jacky Green has seen it all at Maizey Manor Farm.  Today she is kind enough to give us a look back at the ups and downs of the Olympic process as American Sinead Halpin and her groom Meg Kep and Irish hopeful Esib Powers and her groom Emily Dunn return to Maizey Manor having missed out on their respective Olympic teams.  I’ll admit that I don’t understand about half of Jacky’s inside jokes and references but her message is crystal clear–if you stay in our great sport long enough you will experience some serious ups and downs.  As always, thanks to Jacky for writing this and thank you for reading.
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From Jacky:

The kitchen at Maizey Manor Farmhouse has played host to 13 years of celebrations and commiserations, and before that it was The Down House and Scotland Lodge Farm.  After 20 years I have learnt to keep the fridge stocked with food and plenty of alcohol at hand.  The years of Bundy rum and coke may have passed but the memories are good and in all those years it is the Olympics that have caused the most trauma and the most triumph.  Way back in 1992 I went to Barcelona in just my second year as an event groom with the Aussie Greg Watson and returned as part of the gold medal team and with David Green as well which was pretty damn cool and it all seemed so easy!  Atlanta followed with me riding everything at home (and a slight owner issue which made going fairly tricky!) and the crushing disappointment of Chatsby falling three times on the flat cross country and a fed up husband and a broken pony.  Sydney just eluded us with too many horse injuries and then along came the amazing Glengarrick and Athens Olympics with Team New Zealand.  Glengarrick missed out on a medal by a single rail but we had more fun than it would be believed possible although the K Club nearly bankrupted all of us and it really ranked as one of the best fun Games I have been to. Beijing was tough as Stuart Tinney had flown his entire team to the UK to arrive in snow and ice and everything possible went wrong for him.  He did not make it and it all seemed so far away and so complicated….

And then the hype for London. After all these years in the business it means you have so many friends and it’s so hard to be hugging one and celebrating and taking devastated phone calls from another.  This morning I helped out at the Team New Zealand press conference and lots of anticipation and fun.  Now my kitchen is full of people who are bravely smiling and talking of Gatcombe and Burghley and determinedly nailing that smile on their face and dealing with it.  Over the years a thousand pieces of paper have floated round this kitchen with everybody’s team choice inscribed, in all of those years not one person has left themselves off the list and that’s the belief you need to do well at this game (Ok, there have been one or two that have been seriously delusional!) but its always hard once that selection is out for the World to see.  To watch Esib Power and Emily Dunn stick around at Barbury for a team jog at the end of the day was both heartbreaking and made me proud at the same time. This is a tough game but I have also had some hysterical rejections dumped on me too.  When we departed for Athens David Green memorably introduced the glum faces left here at the local pub as “the American rejects” and that set the scene for the eventers rehab…. Lots of drinks and maybe the rest is best left unsaid!

I have been lucky enough to see an unlikely alliance between the Australians and a displaced Irish rider that somehow joined the training (and can still remember the Irish groom who had not spoken for a week and then floored us all with a comment that is totally unrepeatable!)…we had taken said Irish rider to a tanning salon to prep for the Greek sun and she had such bad sunburn she could not ride for a week.  Phillip Dutton (and Colby then Emma) brought so many class horses here and each and every one was special.  The Canadians have been so much fun and Graham Thom in particular is a favorite guest.  Kyle Carter entertained us to no end with his right of center views and watching him go jogging with Madison Park up the gallops is one of the best memories of all.  Sinead and Meg have replaced the Will and Nat show this year and been as much fun as their predecessors although the Will call of “Jacks I have a problem” is somewhat missed.  Kiwis, Aussies, Americans, Canadians, Irish and the odd Brazilian and Jamaican have sunk a beer, drunk a glass of wine and sat on the deck in the sunshine to discuss plans . I would not change it for the World but I wish, after all these years, that I could do the triumphs endlessly and the tears a bit less but hey, that’s eventing it seems.  Life does go on…with its quirks and those lovely horses…

EN’s bi-weekly transition into Pentathlon Nation continues with this post about fundraising that includes a completely shameless plug to help arm the Canadian Olympic pentathlon team.  As I’ve always said, if you’re going to buy anyone a gun, buy a Canadian a gun.  As always, thanks for writing this JER and thank you for reading.
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From JER:

Will it be gold again for the USA in London?

You might think that getting selected for the US Eventing Olympic Team would mean jubilation for the selected riders.  But when I spoke with a couple of riders yesterday afternoon their mood was much more sedated and their thoughts were very much directed toward their fellow short listers who had been left off the team.  Boyd said that he was “gutted” for the riders who had to sit through the team announcement meeting after being left out, and you can imagine just how tough it must have been for everyone from reading Sinead’s account of the meeting.  The selected riders know more than anyone how hard the alternates worked for their 2012 Olympic dream that, as of now, is unfulfilled.

The lucky few:
Will Coleman and Twizzel
Karen O’Connor and Mr. Medicott
Phillip Dutton and Mystery Whisper
Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister
Boyd Martin and Otis Barbotiere

Most of all, I want to stress how hard this selection process was.  Every rider on the short list (and probably some not on the short list) deserve to ride for the US ten times over.  The riders were told by the selectors in Monday’s team announcement meeting that selecting this year’s team was the toughest selection that any of the selectors had ever made.  I completely agree–for every argument why one rider or horse should have made the team, there was another argument why another pair should make it.

As for my opinion on the individual selections, 4 of the 5 horses picked matched my predictions, so I suppose you could say that I am only 20% surprised.  However, I am shocked that Sinead did not make the team–she was my third pick.  Sinead did everything that was asked of her this spring except, perhaps, scoring well in the Barbury dressage.  One fact of selection that I think most of us eventing fans underestimate is the fact that the selectors know things that we don’t, particularly with respect to veterinary information.  We got some insight into this yesterday when Sinead explained that Manoir De Carneville finished the Barbury cross-country with a bit of a nose bleed due to allergies.  I can’t begin to evaluate the veterinary implications of that, but I have heard that, for right or wrong, that was the reason given by selectors as to why Sinead did not make the team.  Sinead owned 2011 and produced a consistent spring this year and I certainly thought that would be good enough to make the team.

The hard thing about saying that Sinead, Will Faudree, or Allison should have made the team is that it implies that Karen, Will Coleman, or Tiana didn’t deserve to make it and I don’t think that is the case at all.  Tiana is a great high risk, high reward pick–she could conceivably win a medal and if she picks up a stop on the cross-country we will still probably finish with 3 clear XC scores.  Karen and Mr. Medicott are terrific, although I do think it will take all of Karen’s experience to make the time at Greenwich.  Will Coleman is ready to deliver for the US in the big time and after some incredibly bad luck over the past few years I couldn’t be happier for him.

As for Phillip, let’s keep this simple.  P Dutty is insanely good, Mystery Whisper is insanely good.  Phillip’s selection was never in doubt and that just makes the achievement all the more incredible.  #MysteryWhisperForGold

Changing tones a bit, Boyd’s father passed away one year ago to the day that he was named to his first Olympic team.  The resiliency that Boyd has showed to go from absolute rock bottom at this time last year back to the top of eventing is a tribute to his spirit and his incredible team of supporters.  I couldn’t be prouder of Boyd and although I am sad that we likely won’t be seeing Neville compete in London, I think Otis was the correct choice because of his superior show jumping.  Click here for Boyd’s thoughts on being selected.

Having gone through the hardship of selection, the US Eventing Team brings a good balance of experience, youth, and talent to London.  I don’t consider the US Team favorites to win gold as of right now, but I think they absolutely could win gold with a good cross-country day.  Phillip and Boyd need to finish on two very solid scores and then Tiana, Karen, and Will need to have at least one brilliant performance, ideally two, among them.

The excitement will continue over the next few weeks as a strong contingent of US riders and the entire Canadian squad heads to Gatcombe.  The key now for the alternates is to stay positive and stay ready–anything can happen.  Team riders are already dropping from other squads and Lynn Symansky learned last year that staying on form as an alternate can lead to a spot on the US team.  Go eventing.

Our good friend and Sinead’s groom, Meg Kep, posted the following for Sinead on the Halpin Eventing Facebook page today after Sinead and Manoir De Carneville “Tate” were left off the US Olympic Team today.  Sinead was my third pair onto my predicted US Olympic team so I was obviously surprised and disappointed that they were left off.  As always, Sinead is classy and selfless in her statement.  Sinead mentions the possibility that a “slight” nosebleed from Tate at the end of their cross-country ride might have influenced the decision by the selectors.  Tate will be back in action next weekend at Gatcombe and we’ll continue to cheer him, Sinead, and Meg on their path the rest of the season.
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From Sinead via Facebook:

I’m sitting here at an amazing oak table with a glass of wine watching Nat (Will’s groom) eat roman noodles, Meg look for hot sauce and Gracie Lou (Allison’s groom) play on Facebook… Team SHE in the last few hours have shed a tear or two but all of us around the table take turns telling a story that either inspires, inquires or at least makes us fall out of our chairs laughing. We are heartbroken but understand we have no choice but to keep going and should do that in camaraderie and laughing.

When I walked into the “round table” when all of the riders were told their fate, my heart was pounding through my chest. Despite my dressage score, my weekend at our final outing went according to plan. Next…one of the selectors read off the team in alphabetical order and my heart stopped.

Unfortunately they named the team in the first five minutes and then spent the next twenty minutes going through team “details”…I can tell you Allison, Clark, Will and I were not listening but I was desperate for the door at this point in time. I always want to be proud of how I carry myself but I was struggling and having some problems not getting up and running.

Tate has had a near flawless career, but does suffer from an allergy. We noticed it in 2009 when he had a nose bleed after a two star. Basically he is like a little kid that gets a nose bleed easily. We have always worked preventively with the issue by steaming his hay, keeping his bedding the same and the use of an inhaler if he has shown any allergenic signs. When we finished Barbury he had a SLIGHT nosebleed showing he might be having a bit of an allergic reaction to something. He did not bleed on course and we scoped him today and his lungs showed no signs of trauma.

I have complete confidence in my fitness program, especially with the management of Tate, and he has proven that his allergy has not kept him from tackling the biggest tracks in the world. I wish I had more of a conversation with the selectors so they understood my awareness and management of his situation. I do not envy the selectors and I understand the risk versus reward ratio.

I love my horse, I am very happy with his performance and in hind sight, my game of chess would still be the same.

I am devastated – more for the people that have followed and supported our dream. I do believe successes are built on the “bumps in the road”, and this feels like a 2×4 in the face, but maybe that will make us even tougher …. I cannot thank everyone enough and I am truly sorry we could not come through for you this time.