The USEF has released their winter training lists this afternoon. 4 pairs have been named to the A list and 19 pairs have been named to the B list. There are definitely some interesting inclusions and omissions, so let’s jump right in:
A List:
Phillip Dutton and Mighty Nice
Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carnville
Boyd Martin and Neville Bardos
Boyd Martin and Otis Barbotiere
B List:
Hannah Sue Burnett and Harbour Pilot
Jan Byyny and Inmidair
Will Coleman and Twizzel
Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister
Buck Davidson and Absolute Liberty
Buck Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM
Buck Davidson and The Apprentice
Phillip Dutton and William Penn
Phillip Dutton and Ben
Will Faudree and Pawlow
Will Faudree and Fernhill Gloster Rebel
Becky Holder and Can’t Fire Me
Shannon Lilley and Ballingowan Pizazz
Marilyn Little-Meredith and RF Rovano Rex
Boyd Martin and Ying Yang Yo
Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen
Karen O’Connor and Mr. Medicott
Julian Stiller and Chapel Amble
Jolie Wentworth and Good Knight
The two new horses needing special note are of course Mr. Medicott and Fernhill Gloster Rebel. We reported on Thursday that the sale of Mr. Medicott was nearly final. The USEF press release lists “The O’Connor Equestrian Syndicate” as owning Mr. Medicott and it’s fair to say that if the USEF was willing to send out a release naming Mr. Medicott to the B List that the deal is certain if not already 100% done.
Fernhill Gloster Rebel is a 10 year old gelding that Jennifer Mosing has purchased from Carol Gee for Will Faudree. The horse was previously ridden by Duarte Seabra of Portugal. He competed at the 2010 WEGs, withdrawing before the show jumping, and finished 51st at Badminton this year. The horse arrived in the US on the 9th. I spoke with Will late last week about the purchase and we’ll have much more on this nice new horse soon.
Click here for the 2011 summer training lists for comparison. Stay tuned for much more. Go eventing.
We have a new star horse in Peter’s latest helmet cam video. I don’t think any helmet cam videos will ever compare to Henny’s, but it’s nice to have a variety every once in a while. This video shows Firedrake competing in his first prelim at the Ocala horse trials on Saturday. They finished in 8th place. In other Ocala HT news, Titanium finished in 3rd place in the training rider division with Joanie Morris. Buck Davidson won both open preliminary divisions and Lauren Keiffer won two divisions as well.
ESJ has complete video footage uploading to Youtube as we speak. Meanwhile, the Sunday horse inspection is underway at Adelaide. Stay tuned Eventing Nation, stay tuned.
In some unexpected high performance news, Titanium’s owners Buck Davidson and Carl and Cassandra Segal have made the decision to switch riders for the talented grey gelding. Joanie Morris, who as many of you know is the USEF’s Director of Communications, has gotten the ride and is competing Titanium at training level this weekend at the Ocala horse trials. Titanium has competed at multiple three and four star competitions with Buck, including two appearances at Rolex and most recently an 11th place finish at the Galway CCI3*.
As the story goes, Joanie found Titanium many moons ago for Buck at the Camden, South Carolina steeple chase races. Titanium didn’t quite have the speed to be a good timber horse and Joanie called Buck with the recommendation. Buck bought Titanium through Joanie sight unseen and the rest is, as they say, history.
Joanie and Buck have been joking about Joanie taking “Ty” to one competition just for fun since that day. Joanie told me that Ty looked so good after Galway that Buck asked Joanie to send him her USEA info for the Ocala entry. Joanie said “I thought he was kidding.”
Joanie said that Titanium is a really cool horse and that she’s just hoping to give him a good ride this weekend. As Joanie said, Ty is one of the kindest and sweetest horses you will ever meet.
Also, Joanie insisted that I give a shout-out to Bill Wofford. Bill lives in Lexington and gave Joanie a horse to ride last week to practice up for her catch ride on Ty. In case you were wondering, Bill is Jimmy Wofford’s cousin. Buck will of course get the ride back on Ty after this weekend.
We’re wishing major EN Karma to Joanie and Ty as well as all of the other horses and riders at the Ocala HT. We want to thank an EN tipster who might or might not ride in yellow and red for giving us a heads up on the story. If you have fun stories like this, please send them our way to [email protected].
Thanks again to Francis and Clark for joining us on a really fun live blog this evening. You can read a reply below for a ton of great insight, ridiculousness, and a preview of some big things going down this weekend and early next week around EN.
Coren will be along later with all of the news and notes that are fit to print and some that aren’t in the Saturday morning links post. ESJ has everything from Adelaide on lock-down this evening and throughout the weekend. The cross-country has just started in Australia and you can watch the four-star XC for a fee through FEI TV.
If you are headed out on the town this Friday evening please be safe and have fun. Thank you for your continued support of Eventing Nation. Go eventing.
Welcome to our live blog with Francis Whittington and Clark Montgomery. Click the box below to join our conversation with two of our sports brightest rising stars. The live blog starts at 6pm ET and will run for about thirty minutes. Please bring your questions.
If you, like Coren, don’t have anything to do with your Friday night, then come spend it with Clark Montgomery and Francis Whittington right here on Eventing Nation. Francis is at Carl Bouckaert’s Chattahoochee Hills this weekend for a clinic that Samantha organized and Clark is of course based out of Chattahoochee Hills full time. We’re all getting together this evening for a live chat on all things eventing related, including but not limited to their quest for the Olympics, Francis’ leadership of the Event Riders Association in England, eventing in the US versus the UK, and Hawley Bennett’s tattoos. We only have everyone booked for 30 minutes so be here on time and hopefully the EN servers will do us justice.
If I was a nerd I would point out that this video is filmed and published in full1080 HD glory. But I’m not so I wont. Many thanks to Buzzterbrown for another wonderful eventing video, this time featuring the Rubicon horse trials on November 5th. Go eventing.
I want to give a big thanks to Samantha for organizing our live blog with Francis Whittington and Jon Holling this evening. Samantha is absolutely fabulous in everything she does for us, but I especially appreciate how she uses her countless connections for the betterment of EN. In the live blog we touched on a variety of great topics including a myriad of training questions, PRO/ERA/PHC, eventing and the family, the Packers, and my dating life. Visionaire and Coren both chimed in to try and restore some order to the mayhem. You can read the replay below if you dare. Abbie has the night post on lockdown and I’ll be back tomorrow as the 2012 eventing season is just starting to get underway.
Thank you for your ongoing support of Eventing Nation. Go Cats.
Two German equestrian websites are reporting the sale of Frank Ostholt’s Olympic and WEG partner Mr. Medicott and that the horse will now be ridden by the USA’s Karen O’Connor. My understanding from a source close to the situation is that a deal has been reached but the transaction is not final as of lunch time today. There have been rumors of a Mr. Medicott sale to a couple of riders for a while and all signs point to Mr. Medicott being the latest high profile Olympic prospect acquisition this year. As someone who cheers for the red, white, and blue, it’s great to see one of Germany’s top horses become one of the USA’s top horses.
The 12 year old Irish Sport Horse gelding is a terrific horse in all three phases and would be instantly one of the most talented horses vying for a spot on the US team for the London Olympics. Mr. Medicott is currently owned by Gerd Hermann Horst and of course competes with Frank Ostholt for Germany. Interestingly, Dirk Schrade, who is one of Germany’s other top riders and a world renown horse finder, has been brokering the deal.
Mr. Medicott has had an excellent advanced career thus far with an 8th place finish at the 2008 Olympics and a team gold medal for Germany. Mr. Medicott finished 3rd at Pau in 2010, 10th at Pau this year, and finished 21st at the WEGs with a stop on the cross-country. In 31 career FEI starts, Mr. Medicott has an impressive 28 completions, 27 clear XC rounds, 16 clean show jumping rounds, and 18 top ten finishes.
German team coach Hanz Melzer is quoted in a buschreiter.de interview as being unhappy about the deal. Apparently, Mr. Medicott’s owner has been considering selling the horse since before the 2010 WEGs. According to horseweb.de Frank will focus on his European Champion bronze medal horse Little Paint for the Olympics. Germany has already lost top horses Charlie Weld and Butts Leon to compete internationally for the US and Thailand respectively in sales earlier this year.
By rule, a horse must be owned for a rider before December 31st of this year in order to compete at the 2012 Olympics. Karen will still have to qualify with Mr. Medicott for the Olympics, but a partnership with a horse like Mr. Medicott would make an incredibly formidable pair going into 2012. Stay tuned for much more.
ESJ reported earlier today that the word around Adelaide is that Phillip Dutton has purchased Mystery Whisper and II Vici. Mystery Whisper is a horse that could easily be at the top of Phillip’s Olympic prospect horses as of today.
Omega Alpha riders Selena, Steph, and Jessie signing autographs at the Royal Winter Fair
Good afternoon Eventing Nation! I can’t believe Wednesday is almost over–this week is flying by. We have a tremendous next few days coming up for you with all of the action from the year’s last four-star coming your way courtesy of ESJ, a live blog with Clark Montgomery and Francis Whittington on Friday, and of course all of the rest of a great weekend of eventing. As a quick note, the live blog has been bumped back until 6pm Friday night. Clark and Francis are going to bring a fantastic perspective on a ton of eventing issues and you don’t want to miss the live blog. Find your friends, find your wife, and bring them to the computer Friday evening.
In fulfillment of our commitment to bringing you the best eventing news, results, and tattoos, here’s a glance at Hawley’s new tats commemorating her two fabulous horses–Gin & Juice and Five O’Clock Somewhere. Above the horses are Hurley (dog) and Roxy (dog). Personally, I’d never get a tattoo, but there are some awesome ones out there among the eventing community. Boyd (allegedly) has a few great tats, which anyone who has ever gone out to a bar with Boyd can tell you about. Of course you have a few Olympic rings out there on eventers, farm logos, and my personal favorite might be the four stars with only three filled in on a three-star rider. That’s called motivation. Go eventing.
The Maryland Horse Trials at Loch Moy is one of the great venues for autumn eventing in all of America. As long as it isn’t covered in snow, Maryland presents beautiful crisp autumn days for eventing and Loch Moy presents a nice facility with educational courses. EN reader Yvonne Lucas was kind enough to send us a brief report from Loch Moy’s unrecognized schooling show this weekend. Yvonne coached two students competing on Sunday. Thanks for writing this Yvonne and thank you for reading. —-
From Yvonne:
The Maryland unrecognized HT on Sunday seemed especially busy in both the trailer and car parking for example, and when I spoke briefly with organizer Carolyn Mackintosh she said they had about 250 rides and 21 divisions running that day. She also noted that at about 10:00 AM they were running out of parking room for both trailers and especially cars. She said she’d never run out of car parking area before, even at the recognized Horse Trials’s! She thought a lot of the car traffic was parents, grandparents, and friends of riders. And there did seem to be a whole lot more spectator traffic today than usual. Whatever the reason, it was great to see so many groups of adults and children at the rail of dressage and SJ, and out on the grassy slopes of XC, cheering and applauding riders.
MDHT ran twelve “arenas”: four dressage rings with two warm-up areas, two SJ arenas with two warm-up areas, and two mostly separate XC courses with two warm-up areas. There were five levels of competition, from Intro at 18″ to Training level. I walked the Elementary and Novice courses. They were rational and well-planned, but quite challenging for first-timers at the level. The Novice courses had some max jumps, including a Swedish oxer in SJ and a trakehner on XC.
As usual the event was fabulously well-run and organized, with friendly volunteers. It’s such a joy to go there both as a rider and as a coach.
Flash mobs are all the rage these days. Check out famous flash mobs (minor NSFW) here, here, and here. Our friends in the equitation world have taken a major step forward on the cool scale with this pretty sweet flash mob during a course walk at the New England Equitation Championships in October. Your move eventers.
I would like to extend a special thanks to The Eventing Association of Michigan for a wonderful time at their annual awards banquet Saturday night. I started eventing in Michigan and rode in Michigan until I was 12 before I moved to Kentucky for high school. I returned to the TEAM awards banquet for the first time in 10 years Saturday night and it was wonderful to see so many friends who were such a wonderful part of my early eventing days and continue to be a great influence on me to this day. TEAM is a great organization that leads a thriving eventing scene in Michigan and I can’t give TEAM enough recognition.
Saturday night was a celebration of the riders, horses, competitions, and volunteers that together make Michigan eventing. The only real problem with the night was a 20 minute public speaking interlude by yours truly. Much to the misfortune of my audience, Saturday night was the first speech I have ever given. I will say that very few cross-country courses have made me more nervous than I was standing up at the podium before I started speaking. I spent all day Friday and all day Saturday writing the speech and by the sixth paragraph I went off script and started improvising. The audience was incredibly generous to laugh at a few jokes, nod at a few points, and clap enthusiastically at the end, if only in a frantic joy that I had stopped speaking.
When TEAM asked me to speak at the banquet I was honored and humbled, and I couldn’t refuse an organization that has given me so much, but at the same time I had no idea what I could possibly speak about that so many people would want to hear about. I wanted to speak about something meaningful, something beyond my life or Eventing Nation, something that perhaps I wish I had heard when I listened to speeches at the TEAM annual banquets in my childhood. So I discussed an issue that has been challenging me over the past few years and that I think always will challenge me–how to live in harmony with eventing.
Speeches are meant to be heard, not read, but nonetheless I will publish my notes for the speech–click on the link below to read them. As I said, I improvised quite a bit once the speech started and my overall tone was dramatically less formal than the written speech suggests. Linda Cooper, my fantastic childhood coach was kind enough to introduce me with a slideshow of my first years with eventing. Let’s just say George Morris would not have been impressed with those photos.
Boyd might be the 3rd placed overall USEA rider of the year, but he can find consolation in the fact that he is leading the lady rider. It’s like a bad Dos Equis commercial for the most interesting man in the world–He scores so many points they put him in both the male and female categories.
While we are chatting about USEA leader categories, here’s a look at the overall standings as of Sunday afternoon:
1. Buck Davidson 745.0 2. Phillip Dutton 6470 3. Boyd Martin 607.0 4. Sarah Cousins 496.0 5. James Alliston 358.0 6. Michael Pollard 354.0
There are *three Canadian’s in the top 50 of the USEA overall rankings–Lisa Marie Fergusson, Jessica Phoenix, and Hawley Bennett. Nina Ligon is running away with the Young Rider of the Year points, Kevin Keane is the leading Amateur, Tom Holder and Phil and Melissa Town’s Can’t Fire Me is leading the SmartPak horse of the year, and Sharon Will’s Absolute Liberty is the leading mare of the year.
Thanks to EN tipster J for sending in the photo. We have a new email address for tipsters. Please send your tips, ridiculous videos, and everything in between to [email protected].
Just for the record, we’re posting this all in good fun. I can’t imagine how much work must go into compiling the lists and eventing is definitely more fun in the US with rider rankings. Besides, it’s not like I have any right to criticize typos. Go eventign.
Check out helmet cam footage of Pine Hill beginner novice on Saturday. The video is courtesy of Auto Be A Storm, who described that they were having a great round until they were eliminated at a spooky water complex. We’ve all been there and the round was looking fantastic up until then. One thing is for certain–we have all been there. Pine Hill is a 100 acre farm located 50 miles west of Houston in Bellville, TX. We’ll link to Pine Hill scores when they are posted online.
We are very happy to congratulate The Event at Kelly’s Ford on a very successful first recognized event on Saturday. EN’s good friend Lindsay Berreth was kind enough to send us a recap of the event, which featured over 100 competitors. Please check out Lindsay’s blog here for a great read. All photos in this post are courtesy of Lindsay and you can find more photos from the event soon at GRC Photo. Thank you very much Lindsay for writing this and thank you for reading. —-
From Lindsay Berreth:
On Saturday, The Inn at Kelly’s Ford was host to the USEA’s newest recognized competition, “The Event” at Kelly’s Ford. Over 100 riders competed at the historic Civil War Battlefield site alongside the Rappahannock River in Remington, Va. The event started a couple of years ago unrecognized, but quickly earned it’s USEA-recognized status this year with the help of organizers Jim Moore, Gary and Amy Coppage of GRC Photography and the owners of the Inn, Bill and Linda Willoughby.
The Inn has quite the history, of which you can read more about on their website. The last remaining original building, built in 1779, was renovated in 1999 and now accommodates the Inn. The facility also has a popular equestrian center and offers trail rides to guests over the Phelps Wildlife Preserve, which is adjacent to the 150-acre property.
Jules Ennis and Rockford on their way to winning Beginner Novice Horse
On to the show! The event was much-improved from the unrecognized event in April. Mogie Bearden-Muller pulled double-duty this weekend, designing the cross-country course and riding. Over 30 new permanent and portable jumps built by Tyson Rementer and Doug Haught have been added to make for good, flowing tracks from Intro through Training level. There are talks to add Preliminary in the future.
Water jump
Three dressage rings now run side-by-side in the old show jumping arena, and the show jumping has been moved to a gently rolling grassy area. Everything was close together, which is always nice. Kelly’s Ford also organized a Fall Festival that ran right next to the competition area. Live music, a moon bounce, natural horsemanship demonstrations and a trade fair (including the Smoothie Lady!) made for lots of entertainment for spectators and some interesting dressage tests.
Gary Coppage, owner of GRC Photography and co-organizer, putting some last minute touches on some jumps. If you compete in Area II, you probably know Gary since he covers just about every event in Virginia and Maryland
The overall vibe I got from competitors was positive. They thought the courses were good and gallopy. I was photographing show jumping for GRC all day, so did not get to see how all of the cross-country rode, but I was near the finish and saw a lot of happy faces. Everything ran on time, which is impressive considering this was the first time running recognized, and the prizes were nice too!
I spy….EN’s own Annie Yeager and Smarty Pants
It’s been really fun to watch this little event grow over such a short period of time, so please thank the organizers and come back next year when the event will run recognized in May and November!
I hope you are having a great Veterans Day and I should also wish you a happy Remembrance Day, which honors members of the Canadian armed forces. After a frustrating withdraw from Fair Hill just a day before the dressage, Lisa Marie Fergusson and Smart Move rerouted to Galway, where they completed their first CCI3* together. We want to give a special thanks to Lisa for her fabulous reports through the ups and downs of her autumn three-day season. I also want to thank the good folks at Ride On Video for getting Lisa’s videos uploaded as quickly as possible. Lisa didn’t win the Bit of Britain challenge this year, but we appreciate John Nunn’s support and Lisa’s guest blogs on EN. —-
From Lisa:
SMARTIE’S CALIFORNICATION – RED HEAD IN HOLLYWOOD
STARRING James Alliston and Jumbo’s Jake (A Star is Born-Brilliant Oscar Performance).
Co-Starring Jolie Wentworth on GoodKnight and Barbara Crabo on Eveready (great job girls!).
GENRE Suspense/Thriller Although Mike says if it had been a Drama I would have won hands down…that’s supportive.
Directed and Produced By Robert Kellerhouse (Clearly the Spielberg of Eventing, AMAZING EVENT!)
FILMED on location in sunny Temecula California.
AND INTRODUCING SMART MOVE
AUDITIONS: JOG
The funny thing about jog, especially Final Horse Inspection, is how uneasy it appears to make us feel. Your horse can be 100% sound, in fact you know he is because you jogged him, at the barn (9 times) before bringing him down, yet it is hard not to be nervous when ultimately the ground jury, for that moment in time, controls your fate. Between passing the jury and hearing the verdict, time stands still. Personally, once I have passed the jury I just keep walking, never stopping and never looking back. I probably look like someone leaving the scene of a crime who is trying to not be noticed, all the while holding my breath the entire time with my ears pricked the size of Dumbo’s, just waiting to hear those hopeful words of approval…..Smart Move is accepted….and breathe…they love me, they really love me! Of course I knew he’d pass all along, it was never in doubt. Pressure cooker baby!
A FEW GOOD MEN HORSES: DRESSAGE “You want the truth, you can’t handle the truth”
Dressage is where the storyline truly starts to unfold, where the judges separate the men from the boys, the wheat from the chaff or in Galway’s case Ballynoe Castle from the pack, Buck scored a 41….wow!
Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain, and it did, all day. Friday the rain was relentless and by the end of the day the Dressage Pool Ring was pretty sloppy. Armed with King Kong studs (perhaps floaties would have been more appropriate), Smartie strutted into the ring and was still slipping a bit in the corners. After posting one of the best Dressage performances of the day, Gina Fiore was kind enough and selfless enough to help with some great tips during my warm up…great dressage eye and great new friend and although our test score was not an Oscar winning performance, it was as good a test as I can possibly expect from Smartie at this point. Smartie received mixed reviews from his Dressage Critics placing him as high as 7th with 67.6% from one judge but only 59.6% or 23rd from another. When all the marks were in and averaged out we stood in 17th place on a 56.2. Overall I was happy and obviously the 67 sounded better than the 59 but we will spend the winter with Betsy on dressage and I am confident that all the judges will see him performing steady, accurate and correct tests next spring, and as for the truth, did we deserve the 67 or the 59…. you be the judge!….can’t wait for spring!
ACTION cut take 2 ACTION cut take 3 ACTION: Cross Country
While I was in warm up there were three holds on course…not exactly a confidence builder but if there was an upside Phillip was in warm up and I knew that there had been 5 double clear rounds before I was sent to the start box. I started warm up an hour and a half before I would actually get on course and ride but once we got out of the gates the course was an absolute blast to ride. When we walked the course it walked big, bold and had a number of tough questions that would definitely make up for the lack of terrain. I like to first walk the cross country course alone and I usually come up with a pretty good plan but inevitably after I walk with Phillip I always have a better one. Phillip sees lines and options at fences and combinations that only comes with a ton of International experience, on a lot of different horses and of course there is his genius…let’s not forget that. My experience this year with Phillip is: whatever the line or the approach Phillip suggests, it always rides exactly as suggested, thank you Phillip. As for Smartie, I love sitting cross country on this horse and if there is a horse I would want to be sitting on when I do my first Rolex, it is him…..Hmmm. End result was a fantastic clear round with just 2.8 time faults and that was enough to move us up to 5th….WOW!
THE VILLIAN: Show Jumping
The antagonist since moving up to advanced! I keep telling people how great a jumper Smartie is and the results keep making a liar out of me. Phillip said it best to me in the warm up area before I entered the ring for my round, “It doesn’t matter how well you jump out here, it’s what you do in there that counts.” For me no truer words could be spoken. Simply, if you want to beat your nemesis the moral is “Stick to the plan”- actually- first get a plan (thanks Jenn Holling), then trust the people and the plan and stick to it. It is so easy to stray and look for answers outside of what really just needs time, focus and commitment before it bears fruit. Stick to the plan. Yes, I am aware that this is just one clear Advanced round but if you watch the video I think you will see a fantastic clean and clear round and a horse with a great deal of jumping potential . Last March I left Wellington and my jump coach Frankie Chesler with a plan. Phillip built on that and the difference in Smartie this year is remarkable. The building blocks will continue this winter with Frankie and next season I have some pretty high hopes. Thank you both Phillip and Frankie.
HAPPY ENDING BEGINNINGS FOR SMARTIE “To infinity and beyond”
There will be sequels, of that you can be sure. There really is no other way to best describe the high of finishing my first CCI3* with Smartie. He was such a good boy through all three days and I was obviously thrilled with his fourth place finish. This sport promises each competitor a yearly membership to the longest emotional roller coaster ride available to man and I’m not talking the two ticket variety, we’re talking full on “Tower of Terror.” In Eventing, there are always a lot of ups and downs but it is the moments like this past weekend that fill us up, recharges us and sends us forward. Whether Advanced or Novice I know the feeling of fullness for all of us is the same, and that, in part is why we do it…the other part is, we are crazy and gluttons for punishment.
ROLL THE CREDITS
People behind the scenes rarely get the credit they deserve, mostly because they are “behind the scenes” and people tend to focus on the lead characters. When the credits start to roll the theatre empties so you never hear of people like Jay Taylor who sent me a very generous amount of money to help make Galway possible. Truthfully, if I were to list all the people that help make a difference in my life this blog would turn into a BLAH, so as a blanket statement, to all people who support eventers and to all people behind the scenes at every level, a huge shout out of gratitude. I don’t just say this because I am eternally grateful, I say it because 2012 starts in 2 months and yes I will need your help and support all over again…kinda sounds selfish right?!… but from the bottom of my heart I thank you all.
OK so you know the part at the end of the movie that has out takes, this is it….
Ronald Zabala comes to me in between his three star rides to tell me how the course rode. What other sport does a competitor try to help…well I have seen football players pat each other’s butts, so there is that…. but where else? Ronald, you are awesome and Thank You.
We were stabled beside the Pollards who incidentally are officially the “Nicest People in the World.” Smartie does not eat Cavalor, which Michael distributes here in the US, but he will probably start, heck I’ll probably start, they are that nice. I think in life those are the kind of people we all cheer for. Their son is the cutest little boy who happily rewards the horses with cookies because he says, “They deserve it.”
Future Eventer in New Mexico? First thought dog, second thought pig, third thought I wonder how good Porky’s dressage is and I bet Phillip could get him around a 3*. The things you see on the road.
I think I can speak for most of the East Coasters that headed to California with thoughts of warmth, sun, sand and beaches and they got freezing temperatures, rain and muck …clearly we’ve all been punk’d…some of your best work Ashton!
By the numbers, Round trip: days 14, miles 6000, States 11, hours driving 104, prize money $3100, gas $2700, entries $1950, overnight stabling $300, food $400, countless new friends and amazing experience….priceless!
Someone asked if the trip was worth it. I hope the answer shines through in the blog, this was a great trip and as for the future….stay tuned, the first sequel could be ….. well, we will see what Smartie comes out like after the spring but Smartie has expressed an interest in a new watch…Hmmm
As a quick service announcement to any of our readers with aspirations of making the USEF 2012 developing riders squad, your applications are due today by close of business ET. You can get involved in the developing riders program in two ways — either by having an application accepted by the Eventing High Performance Committee, or being nominated by a talent spotter and accepted by the HP Committee. The talent spotters are Derek DiGrazia, Phillip Dutton, Becky Holder, Mike Huber, Kerry Millikin, Karen O’Connor, Kim Severson, and Amy Tryon. The horse and rider combination must have completed a CCI2* and “precedence is given” to riders without team experience.
In a post that proudly has very little to do with horses, we want to extend a heartfelt and eternal thanks to the veterans who have defended our freedom throughout the history of these United States of America. Literally everything we have is only possible thanks to the heroism and sacrifice of our veterans. We spend a lot of time at the barn riding our horses and we spend a lot of time here on Eventing Nation writing about this crazy sport and none of that would be possible without the many heroes we will never meet or have a chance to thank in person. My grandfather was a veteran and I have several friends from school who will be veterans someday, and I always get the feeling on days like today that no earthly achievement is consequential when compared to the sacrifice of veterans. Ultimately, the best we can do is to say “thank you.” Please take a moment today to call or visit a veteran and thank them for their service.
