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Video: Peter Atkins and Henny Rolex 2013 Helmet Cam [Update: Pulled from Rolex Kentucky Facebook]

[Video pulled from Rolex Kentucky Facebook page]

If the video doesn’t play in your browser, click here or the link below.

via [Rolex Kentucky Facebook]

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Note:  We have heard that Rolex Kentucky may pull the video from their Facebook page.  If so, it will stop playing here.  Stay tuned and if so we’ll get it back up on EN soon.

Update: Apparently there was a confusion between Peter and Rolex Kentucky.  The video has been pulled from Rolex Kentucky’s Facebook and Peter will post it on his Youtube page soon–Peter tells us later Monday evening.  We’ll repost it on EN then.

Video: Boyd Martin Previews Rolex Show Jumping

Boyd Martin was kind enough to take a few moments to preview the Rolex show jumping course for Eventing Nation.  Boyd pulled a tired Trading Aces up three fences from home yesterday, but he’s still here coaching his student Caitlin Silliman and her ride Catch A Star.  Boyd flies out this evening for ankle surgery this week, although Boyd is joking that he has half a mind to skip out on the surgery.  Fortunately Silva promises to make sure Boyd goes through with it!  We wish Boyd the very best as well as all of the riders who have work to do this afternoon.

Go eventing.

Eventers Reign at the Kentucky Reining Cup [Update: With Feedback from Reader]

Rain is expected Sunday at Rolex, but we were indoors on Saturday night for the Kentucky Reining Cup, where eventers Bobby Costello, David O’Connor, Sinead Halpin, and Allison Springer tried their hands at reining.  Apologies to Bobby for missing his rides, but David’s, Sinead’s, and Allison’s videos are below.  Enjoy!

I give Allison extra props for riding in a helmet and without spurs.  Allison did finish with the best score of the eventers I believe, although her horse was by far the best and, from what I can tell, in reining the horse makes all the difference.  Go reining.

Update: Here’s an email from one reader of this post, published without comment [sic].

“I just read the post on the website about eventers trying their hand at Reining last night.  I was shocked and sadden by the writer, John’s comment…..,” from what I can tell, in reining the horse makes all the difference.”

Really John???? Come on, as a “horseman ” you should know better than to make a comment that sounds so completely ignorant of horsemanship, competing and riding in general.   The same could be said by someone unfamiliar with our sport —-  in eventing the horse makes all the difference.   If you are going to cover and post a story about another horse sport, please do so with some respect.
I almost posted this on the evening nation face book page – but decided to give John the opportunity to post an apology.   This was the only email address I found. I really hope this makes it to John – whoever he is, and we see an apology posted.”

Rolex Saturday Interviews [Updated: More Videos]

Click on the pictures or text links to view the videos:

Meghan O’Donoghue Interview

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Buck Davidson Interview

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Daniel Clasing Interview: 2013 Rolex Kentucky

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Kristi Nunnink Interview

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Kristin Schmolze Interview

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Peter Barry Interview

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Caitlin Silliman Interview

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Jan Byyny Interview

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Hawley Bennett-Awad Interview

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Emily Renfroe Interview

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James Alliston Interview

See more videos at [Rolex Kentucky Youtube]

A Tale of Two Courses


Houston, we have liftoff

It seemed as though the afternoon group rode a completely different course than their morning competitors on Saturday at Rolex.  As Jenni mentioned in her afternoon recap post, only 10 of 20 afternoon starters finished, whereas 18 of 21 morning starters crossed the finish line.  Fifty percent compared to eighty-five percent is a huge difference and, although there’s no way to be certain, I would point to a variety of factors as causing the difference.  First, more first timers rode in the afternoon.    Weather may have played a factor as well.  A light rain started in the afternoon, but all reports are that the footing held up well throughout the day.  I tend to think that afternoon rides should be better than the morning ones because the afternoon riders have a chance to learn from mistakes made by the morning pairs, but perhaps the afternoon riders got lulled into a bit of a false sense of security as they watched the morning rides.  Three for five of the afternoon riders who had morning rides came home clear in the afternoon and the other two were eliminated.  Interestingly, Buck noted in the press conference that he feels that the long lunch break takes a bit of the wind out of the sails back in the barns.  Buck didn’t lose any wind in his sails, saving the best ride for last with Ballynoecastle RM.

Here are a few notes from the Saturday press conference:

–Saturday night’s leader (and runner-up) Andrew Nicholson said he was quite amazed when he asked Quimbo to up the pace at 8 minutes and Quimbo responded by galloping on.  He said he was worried about the Spanish sport horse’s fitness level.  Andrew said show jumping isn’t Calico Joe’s best phase but he does surprise Andrew sometimes.  In good news for fans who want to see Andrew and William face off for the Rolex Grand Slam at Badminton, Andrew said of Quimbo’s show-jumping: “If I ride him half right he normally does the rest himself.

–William said “who knows” when asked what happened with dressage leader Chilli Morning, who stopped jumping into the first water and was then retired by William.  William said that the stallion might have surprised himself at the double hedges right before the water and just shut down mentally.  William said he decided to retire because the 13 year old Chilli wasn’t here for the experience. William described Derek Di Grazia’s track as “very good” and said the challenge was that the distances were slightly unpredictable.  He described the footing as excellent as a testament to the hard work done all year long by the Kentucky Horse Park team.

–When asked about the significance of having a good ride around Kentucky with Reggie, Buck said that Reggie’s career was deeply affected by the stop here at the World Games.  He said Reggie is a “different horse” after having wind surgery last year to repair a breathing problem.  Buck said the footing was perfect and the air quality (temperature) was excellent.

–26,872 people showed up in attendance for cross-country today.  It felt like the crowd was a little thinner than past years, with the rain predictions perhaps providing a deterrent.

Here’s video of the press conference:

 

A few notes of ridiculous commentary on the day:

–Two Canadian horses, Daily Edition and Gin N Juice, attacked the course with unbelievable enthusiasm.  Their riders, Kendal and Hawley, were probably the only two riders on the course who couldn’t wait for their horses to get a bit tired.  “Ginny” never seemed to wear out, and Hawley is probably still trying to pull her up.  Daily Edition “Ed” got better and better for Kendal and this pair finished their first Rolex in great form.  Team Canada is still getting used to their new coach, but all 5 Canadian starters finished today and four out of five moved up.  Canada just absolutely loves riding here in Kentucky.  Adding in Jessica Phoenix and Exponential, who withdrew before the day, I would also guess that the 2014 Canadian WEG team will look a lot like the Canadian team that rode around Rolex today (Update: Should also note that Riddle Master and Port Authority aren’t at Rolex this weekend but they will get a lot of attention for Canada in the lead up to WEGs).  I would argue that only New Zealand had a better day as a country.

–It’s Saturday at a 4*, and every single pair that left the start box walked back to the barns today.  That’s a tribute to great riding, great course design, great course building, and a little bit of Lady Luck.  Course designer Derek Di Grazia and course builder Mick Costello and his team are becoming experts at building courses that cause problems but not injuries.  In particular, I’d point to the increasingly heavy use of brush, and stacking the more technical questions earlier in the course as two factors that saved lives today.

–One of three riders who we have been giving attention to as pretty darn injured this weekend finished the course.  Lynn Symansky rode with a badly broken pinkie finger and a sore back and made the course look easy.  Donner looked like he was ready to tackle any four-star in the world.  Lynn crossed the finish line grimacing in pain.  Boyd could have and would have finished if Trading Aces hadn’t just run out of gas three fences from home.  Word is that Boyd is having surgery on Tuesday to repair his badly damaged ankle and I’m sure he was going through excruciating pain galloping around the course.  I have no idea how Marilyn got back on a horse, much less half way around a four-star cross-country course just a few days after separating her shoulder.  That was one of the toughest performances I have ever seen and I was sad to see it end with a fall at the Hollow.


All reports are that the EN tailgate was a great success, major thanks to Leslie and Jenni for organizing

–Jenni mentioned this in her afternoon recap, but I want to emphasize the fact that we saw some amazing horsemanship today from all of the riders.  Mary and Boyd in particular showed great horsemanship by pulling up just a few fences from home when they sensed their horses weren’t 100% full of run.  Both were already carrying a stop.  Imagine being a world-class competitor and working your entire spring (heck, your entire life) to get around a course and then stopping with home just a few hundred yards away.

–Jennie Brannigan noted on Facebook that Ping’s bone scan went really well and that “he’ll be back in action sooner than later.”

Will Faudree and Pawlow might not get a lot of press this evening because of all the other story lines, but Will rode spectacularly and the pair is just one phase away from a phenomenal weekend.  They head into show jumping in 5th.

Buck clearly led the way for the United States today, with three clear rides, two double-clear, and heading into tomorrow with two horses in the top-8.  Only Andrew is having a better weekend on the scoreboard.

–Great Britain’s James Alliston made up for a tough 2012 Rolex with three brilliant rides today.  James showed his talent by expertly riding three very different horses and I couldn’t have been more impressed.

–If you know this person, please have them email [email protected] and I’ll send them some cool swag.  Photo courtesy of Erin Sylvester.  And yes, he did go around getting riders (including P Dutty!) to autograph his body.

–Peter Atkins and Henny went clear with 1.6 time penalties.  What more can you say about Peter and Henny?  They have an absolute unbelievable partnership and they show it off every single time around the hardest courses in the world.  Peter was wearing his helmet cam, but he mentioned to me that it might have gotten turned off before his ride.  Fingers crossed that it was turned on.  Another Peter, Peter Barry, also showed off his unbelievable horse with a clear ride aboard Kilrodan Abbott for Canada.

–I want to take a moment to thank the incredible volunteers and Rolex team for making this even possible today.  This sport simply isn’t possible without you and all of us are extremely grateful that you spent your Saturday making Rolex happen.

–This competition seems like it comes down to the jog tomorrow.  If Quimbo passes, and I have absolutely no reason to believe he won’t, I think Andrew is obviously the overwhelming favorite to win, especially because Andrew has such confidence in this horse’s show jumping.  If for some reason Quimbo drops out, then the competition opens up.

The jog starts at 8:30am and show jumping starts at 1:15pm on Sunday.

Go eventing.

Five Notes from David O’Connor’s EOTF Walk


Are you ready for what comes next?

I had the good fortune of joining the USEF’s Eventing Owners Task Force cross-country walk golf cart ride on Friday afternoon.  Since we’re all just killing time until the start of cross-country, I’ve included a few thoughts from David’s comments below.  See Jenni’s post from Wednesday for pictures of all of the jumps.  Happy reading!

1) David O’Connor and his Eventing High Performance staff “get it.”  David said that he will be leading walks at all major international and national competitions, starting with Rolex this year.  David explained that the purpose of these walks is twofold.  First, he wants to get the owners and fans truly into supporting their riders.  Second, he wants to give the riders time on Friday afternoon to walk the course by themselves.  As we have been writing for a while — David gets that a successful eventing program is about way more than telling riders to shorten their reins.  He’s backing up that belief with his time.

2) David teaches his riders to always think “next,” meaning, for example, to instinctively think about what combination is coming up next, rather than thinking about the combination that their horse just climbed all over.  He said the difference between the veterans and the first-timers will really show in how they react to a tough/tense moment.  Smart riders will put the tension behind them in the first two strides after the element and gallop on with a sense of purpose.  Less experienced riders will let the tension cause a sticky moment at the next fence.  Thinking “next” is particularly important because a four-star course is a lot about the cumulative effect of jumps over the entire course.  A problem at the first combination (two brush fences with a small valley between them) will really effect how the horse looks at the coffin, which comes just two combinations later.

3) A major theme of Derek Di Grazia’s course, according to David, is riding forward through combinations.  He said that the only combination that requires a consistent short stride is the sunken road — everything else demands a forward, positive ride.  Watch for less experienced riders and horses to back off too much because of the crowd or getting tired late on course.  Regarding the Head of the Lake, David mentioned that, as usual, the ride to the last element depends on a good ride to the previous two elements.  He also said that Derek’s design of the second part of the HOTL is unique in that the organization of the options makes it impossible to change your line and take another optional route in the middle of the combination.  It’s an all-or-nothing proposition.

4) People always underestimate the hills in Kentucky.  David mentioned that most first-timers tend to underestimate the fitness required to get around the Kentucky Horse Park and he said that course designer Derek Di Grazia’s 2013 changes (particularly the new infield loop) only exacerbate the effect of the Kentucky hills.  David identified Donner and Pirate as two OTTB horses who should be fit and ready to finish the course just as strong as they start it.  One nice aspect of this course is that the second half is less dense (fewer jumps per minute) than the first half.  The stretches to and from the Head of the Lake in particular give horses and riders time to collect themselves.  In contrast, the course comes fast and heavy in the first three minutes.

5) Predictions: David said that he expects 7-8 pairs to get inside the time if we don’t get rain.  At this point, rain seems likely.  David explained that certainly rain changes a lot, but that the course has dried out a lot in the past two days and it can take a lot of rain and hold up.  David ended with the understatement of the century: “you’ll be pretty happy to get home in time.”

If you missed Jimmy Worfford and Derek Di Grazia’s video course walk from earlier today, here it is again:

Go eventing.

Jennie Brannigan Withdraws Cambalda from Rolex [Update: Bone scan scheduled]

Jennie Brannigan is withdrawing Cambalda from Rolex this morning.  “Ping” was injured on Thursday morning when he got loose lunging and slipped on asphalt.  The word was always that it would be tough to get Ping ready in time, but Jennie’s fantastic team did everything possible throughout Thursday and I’m sure well into Friday morning to try to get Ping ready.  The Ground Jury was very nice on Thursday to permit Jennie to reschedule her ride time from Thursday morning until Friday, but Ping just wasn’t good enough to go this morning.  Jennie posted the following on Facebook:

This is the absolute worst luck that I can imagine in terms of having to withdraw from Rolex.  It’s a heartbreaking moment for Jennie of course, but also for Rolex and all of us fans to not get to watch this highly competitive pair take on the field and the courses this weekend.  We wish Ping a speedy recovery and I’m sure we’ll see him back at a big event soon.  Go Jennie and Ping.

UPDATE: Statements from Jennie, Nina Gardner and Dr Kevin Keane (by Samantha)

I spoke to Jennie earlier, and although she teared up while we talked, she is resolute and stoic, “I am really thankful to the ground jury for letting me switch my time, I’m really thankful that Kelly was here and so supportive and knowledgeable throughout the weekend, and all the fans – all those people that reached out. It’s heartbreaking but it isn’t the worst thing, we’ll know more for the future and hopefully Ping will be back to fight another day.” Jennie also wanted to make sure she thanked her head girl Jackie Imholte  who is taking such great care of Ping; it’s every groom’s worst nightmare and along with Jennie, we all feel for her too.

Nina Gardner was sitting outside Ping’s stall and could be the personification of the perfect owner, stressing that she would do whatever was best for Ping – be that stay on grounds, ship him home immediately or take him across the road to Hagyard for further examination.  There is obviously a strong bond between her and her rider as they comforted each other with the minimum of words; Nina has owned horses at the top level of the sport for many, many years and unfortunately is accustomed to things going wrong sometimes.  Jennie, Nina and Kevin Keane also couldn’t thank the Rolex Kentucky Ground Jury and official vets enough, “They were really innovative in the way they handled it and definitely preserved as many possibilities as they could; we’re just sorry we couldn’t get to the actual competition.”

Dr. Kevin Keane told me that currently Ping is 80% better than at the time the accident happened:

“Ping had a fall onto the gravel section – he has some shallow but linear lacerations across the lateral aspect of his left hip and a couple on his hock. He had every bit of veterinary attention that we could give him under the FEI rules. Of particular note all the FEI officials, Tom Ryckewaert our TD, everyone on the Ground Jury, Dr Kohn and Dr Crump and Karen Wynne, everyone was so fantastic in abiding our request to reposition the horse in the order to possibly give him every chance overnight to improve so that he had a Friday dressage time instead of a Thursday dressage time as the accident happened shortly before Jennie had to get on him to go down to the ring. The horse was lame so we did a lot of icing of the haematoma over the side of his hip, lasering, and everything that we could do to potentially improve him. The agreement was that on Friday morning we would continue re-evaluation, and it was the collective opinion of Dr David Bogenrief who was Jennie’s vet in California for many years and kindly came out here to support her, and myself and Dr Kohn that it’s in the best interests of the horse and for Jennie, and Jennie’s owners Tim and Nina Gardner that we withdraw him from competition. That also gives us the opportunity to do some much more sophisticated imaging on the horse; we’d like to consider doing a bone scan on the horse, a nuclear scintigraphy and we’re feeling very, very confident about our exact cause of the lameness. We did ultrasound his pelvis and his femur; we radiographed the horse extensively yesterday and now we have an opportunity to take him off campus and get the scintigraphy so that we’re certain that there’s no other bony pathology aside from what we’ve been able to discover. As we said to Jennie, we need to go to Plan B, we need to get Jennie around a big track later in the year. We’ve had great support from David O’Connor and Jennie’s regular coach Phillip Dutton who both agree that with her sights on Normandy, the priority is now to get Jennie and Ping around a big track later in the year. Although what happened here is of course unfortunate, we want to do what’s best for Cambalda and see that he arrives in France next year. “

They say that one’s true character shines through in hard times and Jennie, Nina and her whole team are certainly showing what classy people they are in the way they’ve handled this horrible predicament.  I look forward to seeing Ping back out again soon and am full of admiration for the entire crew.  Many thanks to Jennie, Nina and Kevin for talking to me. Go Ping and Jennie and Go eventing!

UPDATE: Jennie just told us that Ping is scheduled for a bone scan at 8am Saturday morning.

Thursday at Rolex: A Mix of Expected and Unexpected Greatness


Caitlin Silliman and Catch A Star are sitting tied for 6th overnight

A record number of first-timers (13) means that Rolex 2013 is going to be a clash of veteran skill and young ambition.  The first-timers represented themselves quite well on Thursday.  Two first-time riders and three first-time horses sit in the top 6 going into the second day of dressage.  Here are a few notes from the Thursday afternoon press conference, featuring the top three riders after Thursday — Andrew Nicholson of New Zealand, Becky Holder of USA, and Shandiss McDonald of Canada.

–When asked if he is thinking about the Rolex Grand Slam, Andrew Nicholson noted that he came to Rolex with that in mind, but said he’s just trying to focus on this weekend now that he’s here.  Andrew said that Calico Joe did 3 four-stars last year and that the experience helped his horse relax for the Rolex atmosphere.  Andrew said “I’m quite sure he gave me 100%.”  Regarding the XC course, Andrew called it big but “very very fair and horse friendly.”  He said that course designer Derek Di Grazia gives all of the horses time to see their fences, and he praised that approach.

–Shandiss noted the this is her first time at Rolex.  She said she was just happy that Rockfield Grant Juan settled in and relaxed for the test.  She credited new Canadian coach Clayton Fredericks with helping her flatwork.  Canadian high performance has gone through a big transition this year in moving from David O’Connor to Clayton Fredericks as coach.  Canadian pairs are placed 3rd, 14th, 18th, and 20th overnight, but their bottom three horses are all jumping specialists and should move up big time throughout the weekend.

–The always gracious Becky said that she is excited and tremendously grateful to be here, and she thanked her owners (Phil and Melissa Town) and her husband for their help getting here.  Becky said that Comet and Can’t Fire Me are completely different horses.  She said Comet loved an atmosphere, and “Teddy” is a workman who always gives 110%.  Becky said that she walked around the XC course and said she was impressed with the size.  She said the course calls upon the riders to use all of their “gears.”

–The consensus from all three riders is that the course looks particularly big, and all praised Derek’s design.  Derek has been getting lots of love from the riders I have spoke with so far this week.

 

A few of my thoughts from the morning rides:

–No one is surprised to see Andrew Nicholson and the 11 year old Calico Joe on top of the leader board after Thursday.  This pair was tied for 10th last year after the dressage at Rolex.  They retired on the XC but went on to place 4th at Luhmuhlen and 13th at Burghley.  Andrew Nicholson is an absolute legend and he’s riding for the Rolex Grand Slam — he needs to win this weekend and next weekend at Badminton.

–It’s no surprise either to see Becky and “Teddy” in second.  I knew Becky would come into this weekend with a real sense of purpose after retiring on the cross-country last year.  They improved their dressage score by 6 points and, whatever happens tomorrow, they will be in great position going into the weekend.

–I admit I am a tiny bit surprised (but very glad) to see Canada’s Shandiss McDonald and Rockfield Grant Juan in third on a 45.7.  Shandiss rode an impeccable test with lovely rhythm.  As usual, Canada’s riders were out in force to support their countrywoman.  I felt that Shandiss absolutely deserved her great score.  Shandiss has only had this horse for two years and this is her first four-star — what an impressive ride today.

–William Fox-Pitt and Seacookie are predictably close to the top of the leader board, sitting 6.2 points back from Andrew in 4th.  William might have suffered a bit from being the first ride of the event, but he has the lovely Chilli Morning to ride Friday afternoon.

Will Faudree and Pawlow are appropriately renown for solid performances.  However, the talented “Ernie” can and should do better than just solid and they took just the right step forward today.  Lovely flying changes helped put them in 5th on 47.2.

Caitlin Silliman, the second youngest rider in the field, delighted her many fans with a 53.7.  She sits tied with Kristin Schmolze and Ballylaffin Bracken in 6th.  Caitlin is coached by Boyd Martin and she is Boyd’s first student that he has really built up into a four-star rider himself.  I spoke with Boyd briefly earlier this week and he said he is incredibly proud of Caitlin and “Hoku” especially considering all that they went through with the tragic True Prospect barn fire in 2011.

Ballylaffin Bracken put in a nice test, but his movement showed that he can clearly score better in the future.  Pan Am competitors Lynn Symansky and Donner should be thrilled with their 7th place result.  Lynn told me before the week that her major goal in the dressage was to keep Donner calm — he can get excited with big crowds.  She accomplished that goal perfectly.

–The first, second, and eighth placed horses after Thursday are all OTTBs.

–In a moment of unexpected…non-greatness, the EN servers decided to start feeling strained right as we started the live blog this morning.  I’ll pretend to spare you the technical aspects, when in fact I don’t even understand them myself, but we ended up doing a complete server reset during lunch time.  I apologize if you experienced any technical difficulties this morning with our live blog.  We have massively upgraded our configuration and, fingers crossed, we should be good to go for the weekend.  I want to thank Jenni and Visionaire in particular for holding down our coverage as I spent most of my morning trying to fix the servers.

–As bad as our servers’ day was, Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda’s was far worse.  “Ping” got loose while lunging this morning and slipped and fell on pavement as he ran back to the barn.  Jennie and her team of vets and supporters is working incredibly hard right now to get Ping sound for a rescheduled dressage time tomorrow.  The Ground Jury showed a lot of grace in giving Jennie the possibility of rescheduling her original Thursday ride time to Friday, but we won’t know if Ping will be good to go until tomorrow.

–This is also a great time to thank the volunteers who made today possible and also the fine folks at EEI, Classic Communications, and everyone else who makes this event so enjoyable for all of us.  Rolex has an absolutely brilliant team working behind the scenes to make everything run smoothly.

–In an odd, but I think nice, change of pace, the riders with multiple horses got to pick the order that they ride them this weekend.  If for that reason alone you can probably expect the Friday group of horses to score better than Thursday’s.  My bet is that the leader board will look very different this time tomorrow.

[Rolex Scores]

Go eventing.

A quick update on Cambalda

Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda have had an absolute disaster of a day at Rolex.  We heard reports this morning that Cambalda got loose while lunging and injured himself.  Those reports were confirmed when Jennie did not ride in her regularly scheduled time spot this morning, and Jenni posted in her morning recap that the ride would be possibly rescheduled.  The Chronicle has more details including an interview with Jennie, saying that Jennie didn’t witness the incident but heard about it from Hawley Bennett-Awad.  From Jennie: “My groom was lunging him, and he spun and got loose from her and ran off.”  Ping apparently slipped and fell down after getting loose. The ground jury has looked at Ping and given Jennie the option of riding tomorrow but of course Jennie will not go unless Ping is 100%.  A new ride time has not been set yet.

I give the Ground Jury a ton of credit for giving Jennie the chance to ride tomorrow.  We are all hoping Ping will feel good enough to compete this weekend.  [COTH]

Go Jennie and Ping.

Update: Via press release from Frankie Thieriot — Jennie says: “Ping had an unfortunate slip on the concrete this morning and will not be doing dressage today. We will be doing our best to care for Ping, and as always will make a decision reflecting the best interests of this amazing horse. Thank you all for the support.”  From what I hear Ping is going to need to dramatically improve to be good to go tomorrow.  All fingers and toes at EN are crossed for Jennie.

46 Horses Move on after Rolex First Horse Inspection


Mary King gets my vote for best dressed, so classy!

46 horses presented at the 2013 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event first horse inspection and 46 horses will move on to the dressage.  Only one horse, Andrew Nicholson’s Quimbo, was held, but Quimbo passed on reinspection.  One horse on the entry list, Here’s To You, was not presented.  I spoke briefly with “Quincy’s” rider, Emily Beshear, and she told me that Quincy tweaked himself just before Rolex.  Although he’ll be fine, the timing was just bad enough that the best option was to save him for another weekend.  Emily is the daughter-in-law of Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, and I’m sad that this pair’s weekend came to such an early end along with Emily and Quincy’s many fans in Kentucky.  Emily’s husband, Jeff, is a top sport horse vet and Quincy will be in the best of hands on his way to a speedy recovery.

It wouldn’t be Rolex without the Kentucky spring weather showing it’s dark side.  With a high of 44 degrees Fahrenheit, we were all just thankful that the morning’s rain gave up right before the jog.  The horses looked fresh and happy despite–or perhaps because of–the weather.

As is often the case in this sport, the riders looked considerably more sore than their horses.  Boyd is nursing a damaged ankle and shuffled his way down the strip with Trading Aces, Lynn Symansky’s is working through a sore back and a badly broken pinky and jogged in her hand brace, and Marilyn Little incredibly jogged with a separated shoulder that hospitalized her just a few days ago.

Samantha will be along later with a full recap and quality photos, but here are a few pictures from the jog:


Buck’s red and yellow socks looked fantastic


A nice crowd showed up despite the weather, about half of the spectators pictured here


Henny is scoping out the cross-country!


Marilyn and Demeter looked great despite Marilyn clearly jogging through some pain in her shoulder

Check back later today for much more from Rolex and be sure to join us at 9:30am ET Thursday morning for the start of our live blog.  Go eventing.

Where and When to Watch Rolex Live Online for Free

EN reader Elizabeth LoChiatto's set up at the Logan Airport to watch last year's Rolex action

Beginning on Thursday, April 25, all four days of the action-packed competition will be broadcast LIVE on USEFNetwork.com presented by SmartPak.
NBC will broadcast a summary of the competition on Sunday, April 28 from 4pm-5pm ET.  While it’s not going to be LIVE coverage on network television, it will mean that those in attendance won’t have to sit through boring 4-minute commercial delays during show jumping (and screwing with riders’ final warmups!).  The joke last year was NBC should provide commercial-time entertainment for the Rolex audience, perhaps with cheerleaders or a dance team as seen at basketball games during TV timeouts.  While those of us at home will miss the live TV broadcasting, we’ll still get an hour of coverage after it’s all over, and the fans actually at ringside will enjoy the event uninterrupted.

 

More about watching LIVE online:

USEFNetwork.com will offer live, wall-to-wall coverage of the dressage, cross-country, and show jumping phases, which can be seen on computers, tablets and smart TV/Google TV devices in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Google TV users can go to http://www.usefnetwork.com/googletv for an enhanced experience.

Outside of North America, FEI TV will air LIVE coverage of Saturday’s cross-country and Sunday’s show jumping competitions. To sign up for FEI TV visit www.feitv.org.  It is not free.

The broadcast schedule is listed below and is available under the Live Broadcast Schedule tab at USEFNetwork.com. Times are subject to change.

  • April 25: LIVE Dressage on USEFNetwork.com, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET
  • April 26: LIVE Dressage on USEFNetwork.com, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET
  • April 27: LIVE Cross-Country on USEFNetwork.com, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET
  • April 28: LIVE Show Jumping on USEFNetwork.com, 1:15 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET
  • Awards Ceremony on USEFNetwork.com, 3 p.m. ET

Rolex Equestrian Championships on NBC, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET

 

Don’t forget the LIVE BLOG here on Eventing Nation, providing play-by-play and color commentary from John and the rest of the EN team.  Look for the Live Blog to begin each day 15 minutes before the start of competition– so set your alarm for 9:45am ET and check back tomorrow!

Go eventing.

A Few Questions for Rolex


You’re my hero William but, please, save some for the rest of us

The Rolex first horse inspectin is drawing closer by the minute, and as is always the case in the right before three-days, we’re heading into the event with more questions than answers.  Here’s a few questions that the chinchillas are bouncing around today:

— Which US riders will stand up and defend our home turf?  18 of 49 pairs on the current entry list are riding for countries other than the United States, making Rolex a truly international competition.  William Fox-Pitt, Andrew Nicholson, and Mary King headline the list of overseas riders who made the long trip to Kentucky.  Mary and William also happen to collectively own the past three years worth of Rolex trophies.  For me, the most important and frustrating number on the line this year is that only one U.S. rider (Phillip ’08) has won Rolex in the past seven years.  The U.S. has been completely unable to defend home field advantage at Rolex with any consistency since the days of Kim Severson and Winsome Adante.  Mary, William, and Andrew are all sharks in the most admirable connotation, and they smell blood in the water in the form of four-star opportunity each spring in Lexington.  It’s high time that someone in the U.S. stands up and beats them.

Phillip’s ride Mighty Nice jumps off the page as a second-time horse with the talent (and the rider) to win.  Placing 10th in his first four-star at Rolex last year, Mighty Nice is a world class horse who has the experience to win this year.  This pair is clearly the class of the US contingent and my feeling is that Phillip and Mighty Nice might be the only US pair with a chance to beat the Brits and Kiwis without having an absolutely perfect weekend.  Marilyn Little and Demeter have a great shot this weekend at a quality performance if Marilyn’s shoulder is good enough to go.  I’d bet money that they won’t pull three rails this year and any step forward from their great dressage and XC performances last year will put them in great position on Sunday.  I also have high hopes for Buck and Carl and Cassandra Segal’s Ballynoecastle RM.  Although the cross-country course hasn’t opened for walking yet, the word around the barns is that it is a long track.  Ballynoecastle RM struggles with four-star distance, so perhaps my heart has the better of my common sense, but I just absolutely love this horse and I have a feeling that this is the weekend for Buck and Reggie.  Also keep an eye on Park Trader — Buck has very high hopes for this horse in the future and look out if Park Trader wakes up on the right side of the stall each day this weekend.  Buck and James Alliston of Great Britain are both giving themselves three chances to win this year, each with an impressive three horses entered.  Boyd is struggling with his ankle more than he’ll admit publicly.  Trading Aces is an extremely classy horse and Boyd will look to grit it out this weekend to set young Oscar up well for a shot at Normandy.  I think Becky Holder and Can’t Fire Me are also ready for an excellent weekend.  Becky is a woman on a mission and I bet they will put a disappointing 2012 Rolex behind them starting in the dressage on Thursday.

— Which first-time pairs are going to put their stamp on Rolex?  The great Jimmy Wofford noted in his Rolex preview for the Chronicle that 2013 features an unusually high number of four-star first-timers.  I feel that one of the great things about this year’s field is that it features a great variety of experience and inexperience, both with riders and horses and sometimes among horses with the same rider (Buck with Reggie and Park Trader, for example).  We are going to get to see every possible type of four-star pair work their way around Derek Di Grazia’s cross-country.  Picking just a few first-timers to look at, Allie Knowles kicked butt out west before moving to Kentucky last year.  We’ve been following Allie’s progress all year with Samantha Clark’s training diaries.  Allie lives so close to the Horse Park that she could trailer in for Rolex, and I have high hopes for her this year as a first-timer.  Lindsey Oaks and Enchantez are another Kentucky native pair competing at Rolex for the first time.  Competing close to home at a big event can be a big advantage, as the riders don’t have to worry about all of the little logistical details involved with travel, and they are just minutes away from that always crucial familiar spare piece of tack.  However, being close to home can quickly turn into a disadvantage if the less experienced riders don’t learn to tune out what will surely be a large herd of friends and family.  A word of advice to said friends and family — I know it’s hard, but give your riders as much space as is possible and definitely make sure that the riders get at least two course walks completely to themselves.  I’ve seen Rolex go very well and very poorly for first-timers, and it often has a lot to do with how well they managed the external factors, especially friends and family.

— What about the second-timers?  There are a few four-star second timers to keep an eye on, especially Emily Beshear and Here’s To You (Rolex ’12), and Jennie Brannigan with Cambalda (Luhmuhlen ’11). Emily finished 20th last year after two less than ideal jumping phases, but I expect a much cleaner performance from this talented pair and, with Emily’s flatwork skills, that could mean a top performance.  Jennie Brannigan is poised for a break-through performance at a four-star.  Jennie doesn’t just handle pressure; she makes pressure feel nervous.

Also keep an eye on third-time Rolex rider Lynn Symansky and her Pan Am ride, the young OTTB Donner.  Lynn’s job will be to keep Donner calm, and if she does that the upside is very high this weekend.  Lynn picked up a big win at The Fork, but she’s still working with a pinky finger that was essentially broken in half just before The Fork and some back issues that have cropped up this week.  Between Boyd, Marilyn, and Lynn, the stage is set for some incredibly gritty performances.

— What does Rolex mean for the 2014 World Equestrian Games?  We are still over a year away from the WEGs in Normandy, but the Games are at the forefront of U.S. High Performance planning.  Rolex is the first US chance to collect that all-important Certificate of Capability (think qualification) for the WEGs.  A top 10 performance at Rolex for any pair, followed by a good three- or four-star in the autumn, will put them in contention to ride in France.  However, it is important to note that the most defining aspect of WEG planning at this point, in my opinion, is the fact that WEG course designer Pierre Michilet has an extremely unique style.  Therefore, some of the USA’s top pairs are bypassing Rolex’s more open course and heading to events like Saumur and Pau.

— What about Canada?  Most of the Canadian horses are able to enjoy the added benefits of trot sets in the snow well into April, so they should be fit and ready for Rolex.  Kidding aside, Canadian High Performance is sending their best pairs to Rolex with three 2012 Olympic pairs (Exponential, Kilrodan Abbott, Gin & Juice) and one alternate (Rockfield Grant Juan) in the field.  Those four Canadian horses rank up there as some of my favorite horses in the world.  Keep a close eye on the half-rocket/half-horse Exponential and the always true Kilrodan Abbott to jump way up the leaderboard on Saturday.  Kendal Lehari and Daily Edition are making their four-star debut at Rolex after just missing the event last year.  Kendal is one of the hardest working riders I know, and I’m thrilled to see her back on the entry list.  I pay Kendal the highest compliment that I can in saying that she builds her horses from scratch and gets the absolute best out of them — not a lot of riders would have looked at Daily Edition and seen a ride around Rolex, but Kendal did. She was right, and now she’s just a few days away from realizing that dream.

— Which pairs are going to be this year’s fan favorites?  Jan Byyny is going to get some major cheers galloping around her first four-star in just under four years.  Jan’s return to the highest level of our sport hasn’t gotten a ton of media attention, but it is nothing short of miraculous and it is a complete tribute to Jan and her entire support team.  Jan gets the added fan-favorite bonus multiplier of riding two thoroughbreds.  Speaking of Thoroughbreds, our current EN count has 16 OTTBs entered at Rolex and each will enjoy the due love and affection that we give OTTBs in this sport.  Becky Holder and Can’t Fire Me top the list of OTTB pairs, in my opinion, and I have them as one of my top predicted pairs for the U.S.  From True Prospect fire survivor to first-time Rolex competitors in under two years, Caitlin Silliman and Catch A Star “Hoku” will get huge cheers all weekend.  I had high hopes for Will Coleman and Twizzel as the highest placed 2012 pair to return this year, but sadly they withdrew on Tuesday.  And here I have written an entire paragraph about fan favorites and I haven’t mentioned Peter Atkins and Henny — no doubt we’ll be able to hear this pair around the course on Saturday.  There are so many classy competitors with fan-favorite stories this year — let me know who I missed in the comment section.

— As Samantha noted earlier today, William and Andrew are both currently riding for the Rolex Grand Slam.  Wait…what?!   Much like the FEI qualification system, it makes sense when you stop thinking about it.  The Grand Slam stipulates the winner as any rider “who wins the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, and the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials in any consecutive order.”  Since Badminton was canceled last year, William is sitting on Burghley ’11 and Rolex ’12, so he needs Badminton ’13 to win the Grand Slam.  Andrew won Burghley ’12, so he needs Rolex ’13 and Badminton ’13.  Just think of the mood between those two guys with a lot of history competing against each other if Andrew wins Rolex and they head into Badminton to decide it all.

— Will Jenni finally discard the humanoid costume that she wears over her live event coverage terminator robot endoskeleton?  I was worried we might miss a step here at EN with me traveling to fewer events this year, but Jenni took live event coverage to a whole new level at Fair Hill and The Fork.  Samantha and I might spike Jenni’s coffee with some ace just so we can keep up.

— Prediction time.  I hate it, but smart money has to pick William, Mary, or Andrew to win, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see a top three finish for overseas pairs.  I’ll pick William and Seacookie, because why not?  I want to pick Andrew Nicholson and Calico Joe badly, because I think Andrew will want it just a little bit more than anyone else — a win puts him in contention for the Grand Slam at Badminton — but it’s hard to pick a horse that retired on course at Rolex last year.  I will say that William’s Chilli Morning is the absolute talk of the barns this year — you can see in Samantha’s Monday recap post that he is looking absolutely beyond fabulous in his preparation at the Horse Park.  However, I can’t steal Jenni’s pick so I’m sticking with Seacookie.

Go eventing.

Rolex First Horse Inspection Live Twitter Feed

Get those “Shift 2” typing fingers ready folks.  It’s time for the first horse inspection, and there’s no faster or more complete way to watch the jog from afar than via Twitter.  We’ve compiled the best Rolex-oriented tweeps into one live scrolling feed.  The first horse inspection is scheduled to start at 3:00pm ET.  Sit back, relax, and enjoy the action.

[Live Feed Moved to the Top of Homepage]

If the live feed doesn’t show up in your browser, click here to view it directly on Twitter.

Please note that this live feed just includes people who we enjoy following and who will do a good job for the first horse inspection — it isn’t meant to be comprehensive.  If we’re missing anyone cool, Tweet @johnthier and I’ll add them to the live feed.  Post your thoughts in the comment section or Tweet @EventingNation.

Also, be sure to tune back into EN for our live blog of the entire Rolex competition, starting 15 minutes before the first horse each day, Thursday through Sunday.  We’ll see you Thursday at 9:45am ET.

Last, but very much not least, I want to say that the first horse inspection will be an opportunity to see not only the horses and riders, but also the volunteers who make this sport possible.  Volunteers have been working through sun, rain, and massive wind storms over the past weeks and months to prepare the spectacular Kentucky Horse Park for Rolex.  Be sure to take a moment to thank a volunteer when you’re out enjoying the event this weekend.

Go eventing.

Joanie Morris: Believe in Boston

Joanie Morris was kind enough to write a few words for Eventing Nation as a reflection on the tragedy that struck Boston, our country, and the world two days ago.  As the grieving continues, the hearts of Eventing Nation reach out to the many members of our community from the Boston area and all of those affected by this murderous tragedy.  In her own words, Joanie is the Managing Director of Eventing and lives in a different Lexington, named for the great little town in Massachusetts that played such a huge part in defining this nation.  Not as great as its neighbor Concord, but then again – not much is.
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Photo from the start of the Marathon on Monday, via Brewster Walker’s Facebook page

From Joanie:

 

People from Boston Believe.

We believe that Boston is the Hub of the Universe. We believe that Bill Belichek’s cut off sweatshirt sleeves give him superpowers. In 2004 we believed enough that we reversed a curse. A real 86-year-old curse. We believed so much that three years later it happened again.

We believe that the biggest tea party in history happened in our harbor. We believe that Aerosmith rocks. We name our dogs Brady, Boston and Brighton. We believe in the foundation on which this nation was built, so much so that the whole state takes the day off and celebrates Patriots’ Day. (It wasn’t until I attended the University of Delaware and got into a lively discussion with a professor that I discovered this isn’t a national holiday – I imagine he probably still remembers my feelings on the subject). We believe so much in this day that the state choses to hold the single biggest annual sporting event on it. Schools are closed, businesses are closed, and for one day, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts belongs to the Boston Marathon.

Never, in a million years did anyone believe that someone would try to take that day from the city.

I haven’t felt homesick in a long time. I left Massachusetts when I graduated from high school (16 years ago) and I guess I always felt like I would be back eventually.  Part of me is always there but the hub of my eventing world migrated away from Massachusetts and Area I. Not that long ago places like Ledyard, Groton House, GMHA and Huntington were on all of our calendars. Our sport has spread south and west, and with it, those of us whose lives are invested in it have migrated too.

But on Monday, I sat at my desk looking at selection procedures and negotiating video of US riders from a British event over Twitter when I read this retweet by The Week:

 

 

All of me wanted to be home. I refused to believe it. I read more, refreshing twitter repetitively until tears rolled down my face in belief. This happened on our day, and the people still running had been running for more than four hours only to be met with tragedy. People stared at the TV, the computer, the iPad, each other – in disbelief. They want to know why, how, who. But mostly they want to know that the fabric of their souls will somehow be repaired. There is no sense to be made of a tragedy like this. Boston is a city in a state that belongs to its residents, current, past and future. At the core of this wonderful place is the people that know how to navigate it, the teams that bind them together and the strength to know that although life may never be the way it was, the citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will find a way to recover. Those who lost people they loved will have to look to their memories for peace, those who lost limbs or sustained injuries will eventually find a new normal. Everyone affected will find a way forward. They will find strength in the place that defines them and the people that share their city.

No one affected by this tragedy will ever stop believing in the city that for hundreds of years has been built on the strength of its people.

Believe in Boston.

Saumur Grants Announced

The USEF has just announced via press release that the following combinations have received competition grants to compete at the Saumur CCI3* in France from May 22nd to 26th.  All importantly, Saumur is designed by Pierre Michelet, who will also design the Normandy WEG 2014 course.

Hannah Sue Burnett and Harbour Pilot, owned by Jacqueline Mars

Buck Davidson and The Apprentice, owned by Sherrie Martin

Will Faudree  and Andromaque, owned by on Jennifer Mosing

Marilyn Little and RF Smoke on the Water, owned by Raylyn Farms Inc. and Phoebe and Michael Mander

As we covered at the convention, course designer Pierre Michelet has a unique, bold style that US riders need to get familiar with before the WEGs.  Pau will also be a big destination for US riders for the same reason.

As a few other notes, Marilyn told Samantha on Friday at The Fork that she had applied for the Saumur grant and had only applied to Rolex as a backup.  The USA was represented last year at Saumur by Jules Stiller and Tiana Coudray.  Saumur will be the first of several US team overseas trips in 2013.

Go eventing.

The Great Lenamore Officially Retires from British Eventing

Our policy at EN is to almost never publish press releases.  This is for obvious reasons–most press releases are dreadful.  But then again, most press releases aren’t written by Jacky Green.  Forgive me this moment of journalistic laziness, as you always do, and I will turn things over to Jacky to deliver the news and a look back on one of the most amazing event horse careers ever to grace our sport.  Thanks to good guidance from owners and rider, Lenamore lived as we hope all of our horses do, with the last third of his career being the absolute best third.
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Photo by Samantha

From Jacky Green Equestrian Media:

Lenamore, known by his legion of fans as “Ed” has been officially retired from British Eventing. In a move not dissimilar to Kauto Star’s departure from the National Hunt scene owner Lexi Jackson and rider Caroline Powell have decided to retire Ed while he is fit and sound although he will certainly not be pursuing a dressage career!

Although he did not know it, London 2012 proved to be his swansong event when Caroline Powell and Lenamore were part of the bronze medal winning NZ team. After a break back home in Scotland he arrived at Caroline’s new base in the South in January looking fit and well and ready to step up the work for Badminton. At 20 years of age there are just a few things that have caught up with him although nothing specific and it was decided that Badminton might be a trip too far. Not for Lenamore the indignity of a step down…..if he can’t go 4 star he would not want to do it at all!

The statistics speak volumes of this charismatic little grey that has so captured the publics heart. He began eventing back in 1999 at the age of 6 and was produced by Lexi Jackson through to advanced and CCI ***. After finishing 14th at the Bramham U25’s in 2004 Lexi handed over the reins of her talented but unpredictable ride to Caroline Powell. It was an auspicious start…the pair won Auchinleck advanced, Tetton AI and finished 3rd at Blair CCI*** in their 3 runs that Autumn.

He has an unbelievable record at Badminton with 7 consecutive completions and not placing lower than 12th since 2007. If Badminton 2012 had not been cancelled it could have been 8….. His Burghley record is just as impressive with 5 completions and the three years he missed were due to his team calling at Aachen Worlds in 2006, Bejing Olympics in 2008 and London Olympics 2012. In 2010 he won Burghley with a finishing score of 38.7 penalties.

Since 2005 Lenamore has completed two CCI**** events a year without a single sick or sorry day inbetween. You have to go back to 2007 to find a cross country fault and it is testament to his team that he has been so successful. Lexi Jackson, Caroline Powell and all the grooms over the years that have looked after him have learnt that routine is key to all with Ed. If you look back over his record you will see his Spring season hardly varied from Lincoln, Belton, Badminton. There is a big misconception that he is not warmed up for dressage which is not quite true….he has allot of work at a three day but just not in the last session before his test! His infamous rapid departure from the collecting ring is one of his trademarks, the little 15.3 grey usually towing 2 handlers that tower above him as fast as he can back to the stables!

Statistics can tell a story but not the Fairy Tale that is Lenamore. He will return to his beloved Mackinnon family base back up North and will stay in light work and no doubt will continue to exercise his firm opinions about life for many years to come.
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More on Lenamore from EN: Samantha Interviews Caroline at Burghley 2011, Could a 19 year old horse compete at the Olympics?, Yes.

Checking in with Point Two

 

 

Over recent weeks a number of questions have been asked by EN readers regarding the position of Point Two air jackets following the arrival of another jacket, manufactured by Helite, onto the market.  Helite’s entry has been accompanied by a confusion about where Point Two air jackets should be serviced and accusations of patent infringements.  Such claims have caused interest not just from EN readers but also on COTH and Horse & Hound forums and we were delighted that our friends and sponsors at Point Two reached out to us for the opportunity to put the record straight.

Firstly, I asked Lee Middleton, Point Two Global Manager, how he felt about having more competition in the air jacket market. He spoke like a true competitor, welcoming the challenge and saying “Competition is good for the market because it will push us to make better products. Competition will push the industry to have better testing and safety standards and we look forward to being pushed to constantly improve the technology, a process that will ultimately make riders safer.”

He then went on to address some of the specific concerns that were being raised around jacket servicing and patents.

1) Customers with a Point Two air jacket should to send them to Point Two for servicing. Lee explained that one benefit of the rumors has been an increased awareness that air jackets need annual servicing. However, he was extremely clear that the warranty that comes with a Point Two air jacket counts on the Air Jackets being serviced with Point Two and that, as the manufacturer of the air jackets, Point Two has the expertise to service them properly. So, yes, send your Point Two air jackets to Point Two’s service department located in Warrenton, Virginia.

2) As for patents, Lee said that Point Two and its customers have nothing to worry about. He said that Helite does have a patent, but Point Two’s lawyers are very clear that they are not infringing on the patent. Lee said “let me make it clear, Point Two is not infringing on any patents.” He said Point Two has made a new “bayonet” triggering system that is faster, better manufactured, and easier to change, and that Point Two has a patent pending on that system itself.

3) All of Point Two’s critical components are manufactured and assembled in England, which is not the case with competitors. The only portion of a Point Two air jacket that is assembled outside of England are the fabric shells, which are made in Bulgaria.

Lee says, “The Point Two team is always available to answer any questions or provide assistance in any way. We have amazing customers that we enjoy staying in touch with.”

I want to thank Lee for his time and Point Two for their ongoing support of Eventing Nation. Lee was also happy to mention that Point Two has renewed their support of the USEA and eventing in our country for another year as “The Official Air Jackets of the USEA.” Go Eventing.

RIP Neveah

Photo via www.andrealeatherman.com

Our hearts break with news of a fatal horse fall at the Ocala Horse Park today involving Andrea Leatherman and her mare Neveah. Equiventures and the Ocala Horse Park sent us the following information via press release:

Horse No. 27, Neveah, fell at Obstacle No. 4 on the Intermediate Cross Country Course. The obstacle was a Tabled Oxer. Neveah caught both front legs on the front of the oxer and rotated over the jump. It landed with its head and neck on Andrea Leatherman. Sadly, Neveah expired shortly after landing.  Andrea suffered a concussion and undetermined other injuries. She regained consciousness and was speaking clearly. She was transported to Ocala Regional Hospital for examination. Equiventures and the Florida Horse Park extend our deepest sympathies to Andrea and her crew.

Neveah, a 7-year-old Thoroughbred mare, was described on Andrea’s website: “She has an easy-going, eager-to-please temperament. Although she may look like an overgrown pony with her puffy forelock, she exhibits tons of potential!”  According to Andrea’s website, Andrea owned Neveah.

Eventing Nation’s thoughts and prayers reach out to Neveah’s connections, and we hope that Andrea is not seriously injured. Andrea is an absolute class act who always makes events warmer with her smile and unending kindness. As always, tragedy is an opportunity to rally together as a sport and support those who need it most. We will update you as we learn more. Go Neveah.

Max Corcoran — Ocala High Performance Training Sessions Day 1

David’s has returned to Ocala to coach the Florida high performance training sessions this week.  The riders are more experienced than last week, but everyone will be returning to basics to build the foundation required to be a competitive part of David’s system moving forward.  Once again, the great Max Corcoran is kind enough to send us reports from the training sessions.  A million thanks Max and thank you for reading!
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From Max:

David has been non-stop since the beginning of January.  From the USEF meeting, straight to 25 and Under in California, straight to 25 and Under in Ocala straight to England for training sessions and the International Eventing Forum, straight back to Ocala for High Performance Spring Training… Many miles.

Yesterday was not the first time David has taught many of these combinations, but it was his first time teaching them as their High Performance Coach.  Much of the day was spent talking, reacquainting, and seeing where everyone is in his or her program development, which they began talking about at the annual meeting.

The day started out with Jon Holling and Downtown Harrison – Jon was the only rider to jump yesterday as he is competing on Friday at the Ocala Horse Trails.   Jon has been working with David for a few years, but it was the first time David has seen them since Boekelo.  Will (Downtown Harrison) looks one year older and stronger this year.

Buck came next on The Apprentice and Park Trader down in the 20×60.  David sat on both his horses to “have a feel” which is helpful to be able to further help Buck.  He was quite pleased with the horses – they spent a great deal of time talking about the programs – they both are on the same page and speak the same language.

Hannah and Harbour Pilot are no strangers to David – but with David’s travel schedule, he hasn’t seen much of “William” lately.  David competed William as a young preliminary horse, so he has a bit of a soft spot for him.  The Fair Hill winners looked to be in great form – they also starts their season at Ocala on Friday.

Sinead and Tate (proper name need not apply) finally have made their way to Ocala via chilly New Jersey.  Tate looks fantastic after his break.  Sinead has grown into a professional with the OCET – Tate (and Sinead) enjoyed having some time with David.

Michael Pollard and Hanni rounded out the morning session.  David had a sit on her, again to get to know her better.  They worked on suppleness and getting her to let go of her back and be able to lengthen her neck.

Becky Holder and Can’t Fire Me came in just after lunch.  Becky’s horses are always very well schooled and Becky is incredibly disciplined.  She has been in Ocala for a bit working with Gunnar Ostergard, her long-time dressage coach.  David has done some teaching alongside Gunnar, so their communication was great. “Teddy” looks very good.

Lainey rounded out the day – she came with a young preliminary horse named Road Star.  We will see Anthony Patch out at the next training session.  Laine hasn’t spent much time with David on the ground.  They spent much of the time with the young horse working and solidifying basics.  These basics can carry on to all the horses she works with, including Al.

Today brings some dressage and some jumping – Marilyn Little will join the group this afternoon with Smoke on the Water and Demeter.

Huge shout out to Justin Showalter and the Meradyth South crew – Justin has taken extreme care in maintaining the rings to give these horses the best footing.

More tomorrow….

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Thursday Afternoon Schedule:

1:15 Becky Holder/Can’t Fire Me (FLAT)
2:00 Lainey Ashker/Road Star (FLAT)
2:45 Marilyn Little/Smoke on the Water (FLAT)
3:30 Marilyn Little/Demeter (FLAT)

Note: If you would like to audit, please make sure to use the back gate 6500 NW 110th Reddick, FL 326886 – for all training session parking and then follow the parking signs. We just ask that everyone is respectful of the lessons and the property. Jumping will be in the ring at the top of the hill and dressage will be down at the bottom of the hill.