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Sally Cousins’ Maryland Horse Trials Notes

By John on Jul 16, 2011 8:20 pm -

I was thinking about making this intro about the British Open, or maybe the Tour de France, or possibly how the Chinchillas managed to commandeer my Tahoe and drive to McDonalds, but after looking at the Maryland Horse Trials results from Saturday, there was really only one option. Sally Cousins won three of the four MDHT Intermediate divisions and placed 3rd in the other division. Sally’s formula is simple: she was the fastest rider on the cross-country in all four divisions and moved up a collective 17 places in the cross-country phase.

With the USEA points from her wins today, and notwithstanding that I was never very good at math, I believe Sally will overtake Boyd in the USEA Rider of the Year standings. Sally racks up her points primarily with wins at intermediate horse trials. By my count she has 46 starts at intermediate this year–easily more than all other divisions combined. The vast majority of those starts either end with a top 5 placing or Sally doing the combined test. For example, one of my favorite horses that Sally Rides, The Robber Barron, has done 11 intermediates this year, 4 of which Sally saved his legs and did a combined test. The other 7 ended in 2 wins, 4 seconds, and 1 third with a total of 8 XC time penalties. Sally’s other intermediate horses such as Joule, Troy, Kestrel Key, and Yukon Denali have very similar records. If there is one thing that you can count on at the east coast events it’s that Sally is probably going to make the time and win the intermediate divisions.

In other Maryland Horse Trials news, the one intermediate division that Sally didn’t win was won by Jan Byyny and Inmidair with 4 points to spare. It’s fun to see Jan kicking butt at a top level again and I can’t wait to see where they go from here.

Boyd Martin and Neville Bados completed a successful combined test today, as planned, and finished the show jumping on their dressage score of 23.2. Boyd said that Neville felt great and they will probably do a gallop Sunday morning to make sure his lungs are perfect for the Fitch’s Corner prelim cross-country next weekend. Then it’s hopefully Millbrook advanced and then Burghley. Boyd withdrew Remington after taking a creative schooling route through the water complex, jumping through it several times for practice.

The reason Boyd and a few other riders decided not to run the full course today is that, much like Stuart Horse Trials, the Maryland ground was hard despite MDHT’s valiant efforts with an aggravator. Half of the top US horses trying to get to big autumn events are withdrawing this weekend due to bad footing while European riders are cantering around events with perfect footing like Barbury. Burghley bound Sharon White and Rafferty’s Rules were just one of the pairs who withdrew before the cross-country.

Buck and Ballynoecastle RM retired after a stop at the Maryland intermediate water complex. Reggie can be really frustrating like that–he jumps around Badminton and then pulls up at Maryland Horse Trials. Buck had a good weekend with his other top horses including top 6 finishes with Titanium and Absolute Liberty.

Danica Moore and Utah B of Canada were named to the red and white Pan Am squad last week and today they finished 4th in the open intermediate B division.

Elsewhere on the Maryland scoreboard, Leslie Grant Law won a training division with a horse named What Law. The O’Connor Event Team had a good weekend in the training divisions with a win for Karen and Lauren Kieffer. Rebecca Howard, Boyd, Diane Zrimsek, and Erin Miller won the other 4 training level divisions.

The prelim and novice divisions run on Sunday at Maryland. In addition to enduring the blistering heat, spectators can look forward to seeing riders such as course builder Tremaine Cooper, Stephen Bradley and Leyland, Lainey, Allison, my former young rider teammate’s *brother Kevin Smith, Annie Yeager, Lauren Kieffer’s Snooze Alarm with a new rider, and many many more.

Stay hydrated Eventing Nation.

Stuart Horse Trials, CIC, and CIC2

By John on Jul 16, 2011 1:36 pm -

Snapshot 2011-07-16 13-27-40.jpeg
Doggy high tea at Stuart, photo by Jerry James

One of the many privileges about writing for Eventing Nation is that I get to visit events that I never have been able to attend as a rider. Over the past two years, between my writing and riding, my guess is that I spend over 50% of my time away from home and that means I get to visit a lot of cool events. Yet there are many events that I want to visit that thus far just haven’t fit into the schedule. Stuart Horse Trials is right at the top of that list.

As a bit of background, Stuart Horse Trials, presented by SmartPak, is one of the best events in Area I and indeed the US each year because it brings a big-time event to the novice through intermediate levels. I met Ms. Kyra King Stuart, former USEA President and one of Stuart Horse Trials’ founders and organizers, at Fair Hill last year and her enthusiasm about the event made it obvious to me why Stuart has grown into a premier event. Stuart is held in Victor, NY, which, to use the technical terminology, is just west of the middle of the state. The Stuart cross-country courses are designed by Derek di Grazia and built by Mark Vahue and his crew.

Will Coleman flew back to the States this week to ride 7 horses at Stuart before flying back to England on Monday to keep Twizzel on track for Burghley. It’s so far so good for Will in his brief return to the states and he maintained his dressage lead with Vancouver today in the CIC2* division with Vancouver despite 9.2time penalties on the cross-country. Jersey CCI2* winner and EN guest blogger Lisa Marie Fergusson and her horse Smart Move are just behind Will in second. Doug Payne and Running Order are making their first run since their 3rd at the Jersey CCI3* and they are in 3rd going into the show jumping. Burghley bound Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz are in 5th on a 67.5.

The footing at Stuart is quite firm this weekend, prompting many riders to withdraw and save their horses for another day. 14 horses withdrew from the CIC2* and intermediate divisions alone before the cross-country. Footing aside, I spoke with Doug briefly and he described the course design as good and tough. Of the 19 CIC2* starters, 7 were either eliminated or retired and just 9 came home clear.

The intermediate division in particular was filled with withdraws that dramatically affected the competition. 7 of the top 8 pairs in the open intermediate withdrew. Sinead Halpin withdrew Manoir de Carneville, Phillip withdrew 2 horses including the dressage leader William Penn on a 19.6, and Mara DePuy withdrew Fun Maker.

In the CIC*, Valerie Vizcarrondo has a huge lead on Chris Ellis’ Playtime and they go into the show jumping 9 points ahead of second placed Elyse Fehr and Mystic Gift. Mackenzie Spaes, Devlin Kathleen Murphy, and Babette Lenna round out the top 5 in the CIC1*. 9 of the 16 CIC1* starters had clear rounds on the cross-country today.

The novice divisions have concluded their competition for the weekend with Clare Foy and Way Cool, Susan Cipolla and Tres Cool, and Carolyn Wehle with Arioso picking up victories. Speaking of cool, the weather is anything but at Stuart. Today’s high is 87 Fahrenheit and tomorrow’s predicted high is 91.

[Live Stuart Scores, Stuart Website, Jump by Jump XC Photos, Photo Gallery]

Here’s the a Stuart Dressage video from Youtube, who can name the level and test?

Good luck to all of the competitors at Stuart who still have to ride cross-country today and the same for everyone else around Eventing Nation. Go eventing.

Michael Jung wins in Aachen, GBR takes team gold

By John on Jul 16, 2011 11:03 am -

Team GBR, led by William Fox-Pitt and Mary King won the team competition while Michael Jung and La Biosthetique Sam took home the individual title at the Aachen CICO3* World Equestrian Festival. Sound familiar? The Olympic test event and the Aachen team competition are not representative of each country’s top 4 pairs and therefore have little predictive power for the upcoming European Championships and Olympics next year, but, if nothing else, Great Britain’s two team wins over the last two weeks show that they are probably the deepest squad in Europe and therefore the world right now. Many of these same countries and riders will be back in Germany at the end of August for the European Championship, where Great Britain has won gold at the last 8 team gold medals.

Team Aachen Results:

1. Great Britain +1.6 134.7
2. New Zealand +4.4 142.9
3. Sweden +9.2 159.2

Individual Aachen Results:

1. Michael Jung and La Biosthetique Sam (GER) +2.4 34.7
2. Stefano Brecciaroli (ITA) +1.6 41.4
3. William Fox-Pitt and Neuf des Coeurs +0 42.1

[Team Results, Individual Results PDF]

Now I’ll stop writing and turn things over to the power of Youtube and a German eventing fan with a video camera. Check out the excitement in the crowd as Michael Jung crosses the finish line in the main arena:

From Aachen to the Coconino Classic Training 3-Day in Arizona, it’s a busy day all over Eventing Nation. If you’re out competing today good luck and stay hydrated. Go eventing.

Neville Bardos and Leyland are Making Comebacks at Maryland HT

By John on Jul 15, 2011 2:34 pm -

In eventing, it’s not a matter of if you will get knocked down, but what you will do once you get knocked down. Today we get a first hand reminder at the toughness of eventers from three of the best riders in the US and two of the best horses. The Maryland Horse Trials at Loch Moy Farm this weekend has a packed entry list with many familiar names. Two names the jump off of the entry list are Neville Bardos in the Open Intermediate and Leyland, who is now being ridden by Stephen Bradley, in the Open Prelim.

Neville was of course one of the 5 surviving horses from the True Prospect fire. When he was first admitted to New Bolton, he was coughing badly, he had significant external burns, his blood work showed considerable smoke inhalation, scans of his throat showed severe damage, and the best anyone could hope for was survival. By just the next day however, Neville was shocking the vets at New Bolton with his appetite and good spirits. Neville’s recovery since then has proceeded at a miraculous pace and with the toughness and enthusiasm that only those who know Neville could expect.

I spoke with Boyd who told me that Neville will do an intermediate combined test this weekend at Maryland and then hopefully the full prelim next weekend at Fitch’s Corner Horse Trials in New York. Neville has been cantering slowly every 4-5 days under the supervision of his veterinary team. Boyd plans to pick up the pace a bit with Neville before running the cross-country at Fitch’s Corner just to make sure his lungs are feeling perfect. If all goes well and Neville continues to feel great, the plan is Millbrook advanced and then Burghley. A few weeks ago I mentioned that we might see Neville at Burghley and, although a lot of people though I was crazy, I am very happy to see him take the next step in that direction this weekend.

Even though it feels like an incredibly long way away, I asked Boyd what it would feel like to ride Neville at Burghley and he said “it would feel like a miracle, a fairy tale.” Neville has made a career as an incredibly successful 4* horse with heart, toughness, and a strong partnership with Boyd and those same qualities are leading him through a miraculous recovery.

The other notable comeback story on the Maryland entry list is Leyland, who has been one of the most talented horses in the US since his 4* debut in 2009. Stephen Bradley has been given the ride by Leyland’s owners, the Nicholsons. Both Leyland and Amy have had health problems this spring and Stephen has a history with the horse–he rode Leyland at Southern Pines last year when Amy was having issues with her knee.

Amy started campaigning Leyland in *2005. They finished 13th at Rolex in 2009 and 14th at Burgley later that year. In the spring of 2010, Amy was having significant problems with her knee. After multiple surgeries and procedures, she fought through the pain with the incredible toughness she is known for at The Fork. She withdrew from Rolex before the cross-country, but things were looking up by the end of the summer and she was short listed for the US for the World Equestrian Games. If the Tipperary Liadhnan leg situation had been managed differently by the team, Amy and Leyland would probably have competed for the USA last October.

Amy and Leyland finished 9th at the Intermediate this February at Galway, but Amy continued to be plagued with knee problems this spring. To make matters worse, Leyland suffered from a tooth and sinus issue this spring that took time to resolve. After a career together filled with huge potential that was sometimes realized and sometimes not, the Nicholsons decided to give Stephen Bradley the ride. Leyland will be making his first start at a horse trials since March.

Stephen told the Chronicle in an interview that “[Leyland’s] owners, the Nicholsons, in conjunction with Amy, decided that she wasn’t going to be able to compete, so that’s when I got the ride.” Amy showed the true class that we would expect from her by saying “Stephen is a fantastic rider, and Leyland is a great horse, and with me not being able to ride, it was the best situation.” Amy hopes to be back to riding as early as next month and expects a full recovery. [COTH]

I can say that if I ever had to have a horse ridden by someone else, Stephen would be one of my first choices. He’s a former team rider of course, but much more importantly he really loves and respects his horses. We wish Amy the best in her recovery and Stephen all the best with Leyland.

[Maryland Entries]

As a final note on Maryland, I never cease to be amazed by the riders who are able to take five and more of horses to these one day events. Buck Davidson is taking an entire fleet of horses, led by Ballynoecastle RM, Burghley bound Titanium, and Absolute Liberty. Boyd has 9 horses incling Neville and Remington. OCET’s Lauren Kieffer has 7 horses. Recently listed for the Pan American Games squad, Danica Moore and Utah B are riding in the OI. Michael Pollard has 5 horses, including his Rolex ride Icarus in the OI, and Molly Rosin has 7 rides.

Go Neville and Leyland.

Great Britain Leads at the World Equestrian Festival in Aachen

By John on Jul 15, 2011 2:18 pm -

The Australian team of Sam Griffiths, Clayton Fredericks, Lucinda Fredericks, and Chris Burton took the lead after the CIC3* dressage in Aachen Friday morning. But Team Great Britain charged from 4th after the dressage to take the lead after show jumping by adding…wait for it…zero raills in the show jumping between all 4 of their team riders. New Zealand jumped one spot to second, the hometown Germans dropped to third, and Australia fell to 4th. The cross country is scheduled for Saturday morning to conclude the competition.

Michael Jung and WEG champion La Biosthetique Sam have a commanding 7 point lead in the individual competition. Italian Stephen Brecciarolli and Apollo van de Wendi Kurt Hoeve are in second, but, more importantly, that horse has the coolest name I have ever seen, which is only enhanced by the fact that I have no idea what it means in translation. Lucinda Fredericks is third for Australia and William Fox-Pitt is fourth. Michael Jung is riding two horses, Sam and Leopin, with Leopin’s score counting towards the German team results.

[Individual Show Jumping Reults, Team Results, Schedule]

The cross-country starts tomorrow at 10:30am. Aachen, Germany is GMT+1 and 6 hours ahead of Eastern Time, meaning that cross-country starts at 4:30am ET.

The German horse video site clipmyhorse.de is hosting live video of Aachen all weekend, some of which is available for free and some of which is only available with a subscription. Sadly, their programming schedule does not include the cross-country. We will keep you posted if we can find an online video feed for the XC anywhere. Go eventing.

For the unitiated, the World Equestrian Festival is a huge horse show for eventing, dressage, show jumping, vaulting, and driving held in Aachen, Germany each year. The even lasts a week and a half and concludes this week and is expected to draw over 300,000 spectators. I don’t know how to put this, but Aachen is kind of a big deal. Go eventing.

12 North American Pairs Already Entered at Burghley

By John on Jul 15, 2011 11:06 am -

This autumn is shaping up to be very busy travel time for the US and Canadian high performance programs. With no autumn four-stars in North America, a strong desire by many riders to prove their horses at a tough track this autumn in the hopes they might be able to do a three-star in the spring in preparation from the Olympics, and pressure from the top of US high performance in particular for some riders to head to Burghley, North American entries are pouring into Burghley. The latest Burghley received entry list contains 25 pairs, nearly half of which ride for the US and Canada.

USA:

Will Coleman and Twizzel
Buck Davidson and Titanium
Will Faudree and Andromaque
Will Faudree and Pawlow
Boyd Martin and Neville Bardos
Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz
Julian Stiller and Chapel Amble
Julian Stiller and Salsa (W)
Sharon While and Rafferty’s Rules

Canada:

Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin & Juice
Kyle Carter and Madison Park
Jessica Phoenix and Exponential

[Full Current Burghley Received Entries List via Monty White]

Most of the names on the entry list should be no surprise to anyone. We already knew that Hawley, Kyle, and Jessie have received Burghley grants. Will Coleman and Will Faudree have their horses training in the UK right now, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pawlow head to a 3* instead of Burghley. Julian Stiller of course lives full time in England although sadly, I believe the “W” next to Salsa’s name means she has been withdrawn. It’s impossible to not get excited at seeing Neville Bardos’ name still on the entry list. Go Burghley.

Breeches Color Rules in the UK

By John on Jul 15, 2011 10:32 am -

Harry Potter–two thumbs up with the caveat that the story is so good I probably would have given a Harry Potter cartoon two thumbs up. The only other thing I would say is that it is considerably darker than any of the previous movies, but I suppose when he-who-must-not-be-named rises to power a few heads are going to have to roll. And that’s all I have to say on that matter. We have an international heavy day on eventing nation, starting with a breeches color, or should I say “colour,” guest article from lec in England.
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From lec:

Sometimes rules go a little too far and become slightly ridiculous. I understand that some US eventers want to relax the rules on dress so thought this was an apt time to mention a recent scenario about the colour of breeches and the uproar it recently caused last in the UK.

Currently the rule in British Eventing is that you can wear buff or beige breeches with tweed and that you should not be wearing white breeches until you get to Intermediate plus. At a recent event grassroots event, Eland Lodge. A competitor turned up with white breeches and tweed. They were told by a steward that they would be eliminated from the competition for wearing white as this is not allowed in the rules until you reach intermediate. The competitor protested about this and they were reinstated but by the time they were told it was too late and they had gone steadily round the cross country occurring time penalties and knocking them out of a decent placing.

With this a message was placed on the BE forum about being eliminated for something as trivial as whether the breeches were white or beige and BE came back with a new rule amendment.

The BE Sport Committee was consulted and unanimously agreed to amend the Competitors’ Dress Rules in Annex 6 of the current BE Rule Book, with immediate effect, for Dressage & Show Jumping at Intermediate level and below.

Â· White breeches may be worn with a black or dark blue coat with white stock

Â· Buff or fawn breeches may be worn with a tweed coat with coloured stock or tie.

This rule appeared on the BE website but was then criticised because some members moaned that they never wear white with a navy jacket and it was still not clear that you ‘may not’ wear white with tweed so a few hours after some members wrote about the new rule being as clear as mud on the BE forum another rule amendment appeared regarding breeches.

The BE Sport Committee was consulted and unanimously agreed to amend the Competitors’ Dress Rules in Annex 6 of the current BE Rule Book, with immediate effect, for Dressage & Show Jumping at Intermediate level and below.

Â· White, buff or fawn breeches may be worn with a black or dark blue coat with white stock.

Â· Only buff or fawn breeches may be worn with a tweed coat with coloured stock or tie.

So now we are all clear where we stand with breeches and the colour we are allowed to ride in for dressage and showjumping. I am guessing that it’s a little pedantic to point out that under the rule the rider should never have been eliminated in the first place as it states that the rider should have a 2 point deduction for incorrect dress!

So next time you are looking to soften the rules on dress just think of us poor Brits who have to contend with the colour of our breeches and whether its correct or not. It appears we can have two rule amendments in 24 hours on clothing colour and yet big issues such as wait lists, withdrawals etc. have still not been resolved.

Meet Your Canadian Pan American Games Squad from Tipperary

By John on Jul 14, 2011 4:47 pm -

Earlier this morning, Canada named 6 pairs to their initial Pan American Games list, a list which can be updated up until August 31st. A final team of up to 5 pairs will be named in late August. I estimate 30% attrition in the last two months leading up to a competition for 4* horses, and, although that number is smaller for 2* horses, I would guess that the Canadian list might be expanded if only to avoid tempting fate. Canada has multiple good candidates to add to the list if they wish to do so, including Jersey winner Lisa Marie Fergusson.

As expected, Canada is sending their veteran riders with 2* horses. If Jessie has a good event at Rebecca Farm with Pavarotti, I anticipate that 3 maybe 4 Canadian WEG riders will go to the Pan American Games. This is a luxury that the US does not have, in part because many of our top riders have too many 3* and 4* horses that need campaigning this autumn. The schedule works out such that anyone going to the Pan Ams would not be able to ride at Fair Hill, so their only autumn CCI3* option in North America would be Galway, which is just one week after the Pan Ams. As a result of this and what I hope is a growing willingness to invest in our next generation of team riders, I expect that the US team will be considerably less experienced that this Canadian squad. Both nations have very good reasons for the direction they will take with selecting their Pan Am squads, but the differences therein are illustrative of the vast differences between the two High Performance programs right now. [Current US Pan Am Applicant List PDF]

Before we look a every individual rider, I urge you to get out a pencil and circle Rebecca Howard’s name on your computer screen. Right now, she is the Vegas favorite to win gold in Guadalajara and there are only two or three names that the US could send that might change that. Rebecca had to withdraw from Burghley earlier this week and she will be spending the next two months focusing every moment of every day on winning the Pan Ams–look out Mexico.

Hawley Bennett-Awad and 5 O’Clock Somewhere: Gin N’ Juice’s full brother placed 4th at the Jersey CCI2*. 5 O’Clock Somewhere also placed 3rd at the CCI* at Galway last autumn and, from looking at his record, he seems to place best at his the three-days. This is one of my favorite 2* horses and he is at the perfect time in his career to go to the Pan Ams.

Rebecca Howard and Roquefort: Rocky won the Jersey CIC2* and then the Bromont CCI2* just a few weeks later. Enough said.

Micheline Jordan and Irish Diamonds: This is the most experienced horse on Canada’s squad. Irish Diamonds placed 11th at the Bromont CCI3* earlier this year and he has been competing at advanced for several years. Micheline works incredibly hard and this is a great opportunity for her to go and give Canada an almost guaranteed double-clear.

Samantha’s interview with Jordan at Bromont

Jordan McDonald and Apple Cider: Jordan has been a very promising Canadian rider for the future and it looks like the future is now. This pair was victimized by the creative judging of the Jersey Fresh Ground Jury, but they finished on their dressage score, which was good enough for 10th place.

Danica Moore and Utah B: I know the least about Utah B of any of the horses on the Canadian squad, but this pair was 9th in the Jersey CIC2*. The pair has two intermediate wins this spring at Rocking Horse and The Fork as well.

Photo by Samantha Clark

Selena O’Hanlon and Foxwood High: Selena’s talented 2* horse was 11th at Bromont. Foxwood High just moved up to intermediate in April and I bet the Canadian selectors would like him to have a bit more experience, but timing can’t always perfect.

Go eventing.

Aachen’s Thursday Afternoon Links

By John on Jul 14, 2011 1:31 pm -

With 9 USEA events this weekend, the CHIO World Equestrian Festival in Aachen, Germany, and Canada getting their selecting on this morning, it’s all hands on deck at the EN compound today. The World Equestrian Festival at Aachen has a reputation for being one of the nicest horse shows in all of Europe. The show has been running all week and boasts 380 riders from 27 nations competing in dressage, show jumping, vaulting, eventing, and driving. 350,000 spectators are expected for the week in total. Eventing will do dressage and show jumping on Friday and cross-country on Saturday as part of a very prestigious team CICO3* competition. It’s unfortunate that North America doesn’t participate in eventing at the WEF, but we can still enjoy following all of the action from home. [Aachen Entries PDF, Teams, Calendar]

Here are a few other Thursday afternoon links…

Live Stuart Scores: The novice divisions are riding dressage and XC today

Kim Severson blogs about the test event and Wiley Post coming back into work

Jennie sold a horse in 48 hours and Connaught heads to Bruce Duchossois’ farm for retirement

ERS Episode 150

Another drunk carriage driver in England

An 8th horse tested positive for the hendra virus in Australia

Video animation of the show jumping Nations Cup course at Aachen:

Lastly, check out show jumper Ashley Prusak at Spruce Meadows losing her stirrups after the triple…no stirrups, no problem

Canada Names Pan American Games Squad

By John on Jul 14, 2011 9:32 am -

Canadian Eventing has named their initial squad for the Pan American Games–emphasis on initial. Additional riders can be named to the squad prior to August 31st, which will be partly based on qualification and performance at the last North American CCI2* of the summer at Rebecca Farm. Two names who could be added to the list are James Atkinson and Jessica Phoenix–Jessie still needs to qualify with Pavarotti, and James won the June CCI2* in Colorado. The Pan American Games will be held from October 21st to 23rd in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Hawley Bennett-Awad and Five O’Clock Somewhere
Rebecca Howard and Roquefort
Micheline Jordan and Irish Diamonds
Jordan McDonald and Apple Cider
Danica Moore and Utah B
Selena O’Hanlon and Foxwood High

I spoke with Canadian Chef d’equippe Graeme Thom about Canada’s schedule leading up tot the Games. He said that Richland will not be a mandatory event for Canada because Richland is just a week before Burghley. Richland is the mandatory selection trials for the USEF. Currently, Hawley Bennett has been named to the Pan Am list and has received a training grant to attend Burghley with Gin N’ Juice. Jessica Phoenix has also received a Burghley grant, as has Kyle Carter. The Canadians will likely use a combination of Richland, Morven, and Millbrook for their last runs before the Pan Ams.

As an interesting scoring note, each nation can compete 5 pairs in the team and individual Pan American Games competition with the best three scores to count towards the final team classification.

Strap in folks, it’s shaping up to be a busy day around Eventing Nation. I’ll see you soon and go Canada.

Eventing Nation Conquers Denali

By John on Jul 13, 2011 6:02 pm -

I never cease to be humbled by the new heights (literally) to which our readers take Eventing Nation each and every day. After 27 days of hiking with 18,200 feet of elevation gain, course builders Travers Schick (blue jacket) and Joe Stylos (black jacket), accompanied by Melissa Stylos, summited Denali on July 4th via the Muldrow Glacier route. They took EN right up to the top with them and I can’t imagine a cooler shout-out than from the top of Denali. Congrats on the summit Travers, Joe, and Melissa and go eventing.

When eventers unite

By John on Jul 13, 2011 3:56 pm -

Barbury Castle vendor - Studs For Sale.JPG
A random Barbury photo, courtesy of Beth Collier

Taking a jump off the course during cross-country is always a tough decision that balances equality of competition and admitting an error of course design with the potential risks of not removing the fence. After 3 of the first 10 horses fell at the main Barbury water complex, the Ground Jury was faced with a tough decision. The complex had been on the course without major incident for several years and since the cross-country was run in reverse order of placing, the first group of riders was likely to be the least experienced on average. Lulu Kyriacou wrote in a good discussion of the incident for Horsetalk that the only notable difference in the complex from 2010 was that the D element jump in the water was absent this year. The Barbury officials decided to leave the water complex on the course and then a few rides later Tom Crisp fell at the drop with Coolys Luxury.

At that point I was sitting with a few of the later riders, all of whom were surprised at how tough the course and particularly the water complex was riding. The event was an hour behind schedule–partly because of a long break when both horse ambulances were occupied–and Will Coleman was checking the schedule to see if it would still be light at his revised start time. Pippa stopped by and said that many of the riders in the warm-up were reluctant to head out on course. I later heard riders at events in Great Britain sometimes get together in the warm-up and collectively refuse to start until a jump or complex that is riding poorly is removed from the course, which is what reportedly happened after Tom Crisp’s fall. I was surprised to hear that this is a regular occurrence and I would imagine that if I ever refused to start in the States that would be a quick way of getting scratched.

As a perhaps irrelevant addendum to the discussion, I am happy to report that Coolys Luxury left Barbury Tuesday night. The vet looked at him Tuesday morning and said he is recovering well and will not need hospital treatment.

The main question moving forward is: what is the best way to handle whether or not to remove a jump that is riding poorly? Theoretically that is the prerogative of the Ground Jury, but it seems as though they waited at least one fall too long at Barbury to remove the water complex. I never like to question subjective decisions made in the heat of battle, so to speak, but the real scare would be if Tom Crisp or Coolys Luxury had been badly injured. Perhaps one option is taking the decision out of the hands of the Ground Jury and requiring an element to be removed after a certain number or percentage of falls. The problem there of course is that you might have a situation where a jump causes three bad near-falls, or maybe three innocuous falls. One way or another, we don’t want to put events in a situation where the riders have to band together in the warm-up to get something done regarding safety. Your thoughts Eventing Nation?

British Team Named for the European Championships

By John on Jul 13, 2011 11:49 am -

At the end of August, on the same weekend that the US team is having their final Pan American Games selection trials at Richland Park, new individual and team European champions will be crowned in Luhmuhlen, Germany. Great Britain is a big favorite to win team gold, having won the last 8 European team golds. Britain has named their six individual squad members, with the four team competition pairs to be specified later.

Laura Collett and Rayef
William Fox-Pitt and Cool Mountain
Piggy French and Jakata
Mary King and Imperial Cavalier
Polly Stockton and Westwood Poser
Nicola Wilson and Opposition Buzz

21 year old Laura Collett will make her first of what will likely be many appearances at senior international competition for Great Britain. Click here for Samantha’s interview with Laura in June. William, Mary, Nicola, and Piggy were members of the British team at the World Equestrian Games. Click here for more info on the riders and horses. [via Horse and Hound] Go eventing.

Watch Doug Payne ride at a hunter derby

By John on Jul 13, 2011 10:12 am -

If you take a perfectly nice horse, make them canter slowly with their head down, never change a thing to the jumps, and add in a bit of subjective judging politics then you get a hunter. Eventer and good EN friend Doug Payne was asked by one of his owners to give the hunters a try. Doug decided to get some cross-discipline exposure, so he took the horse, named Socks (I wonder why) to the Briarwood Hunter Derby. I still carry a bit of a grudge from the pony club hunter riders in middle school who used to mock my 4-H pony who also doubled as my prize cow grooming competition model, but I have to agree with Jimmy who said once that being a top hunter rider over the big fences is one of the hardest things to do on horseback. Go eventing.

Wayne DuPage Horse Trials

By John on Jul 12, 2011 6:35 pm -

EN guest blogger Leah Lang-Gluscic writes about her great experience at the Wayne DuPage Horse Trials this weekend. Leah quit her job at an investment banking firm last year to pursue a career as an eventer. Thanks for writing this Leah and thank you for reading.
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Photo courtesy of Dave O’Melia

From Leah:

Hi Eventing Nation! I just finished competing at Wayne Dupage for the first time this weekend, and thought I’d share my experience. As many of you know, Wayne Dupage has recently made the switch to the one-day format, and personally I think it’s a pretty exciting step for Area IV. I was speaking with Erin, one of the organizers/secretary, at the beginning of the event, and the popularity of the format in our area seems to be on the rise. Last year, she had 100 entries, and this year she had 165 compete and had to turn 35 people away, some with multiple horses! Now, obviously there are pros and cons to horse trials running over two or three days versus one, but I think any move that involves there being more options for riders and their horses is a great one. Plus, having been back east last fall, the one day format felt surprisingly familiar despite how long ago the fall seems!

From my perspective, having three horses entered, the two critical points to make competing this weekend a good experience for me and my horses were going to be a great layout and a well run event, and Wayne Dupage did not disappoint! The parking was located centrally to the dressage, stadium, and cross country, and the furthest walk was about three minutes. From 8:00 am to 12:15 I had rides ranging from 45 minutes apart to about an hour nonstop, so location was key. Convenient location is really only helpful however if things are running smoothly. Now my day wasn’t over until almost 3:00. In my experience, when you event over a span of 7 hours on three horses, usually there are some bumps in the road that are out of your or the event’s control. Well, as a result of a really well-run event, and probably a bit of luck, my horse running 91st in the day went on time to the minute just as my horse that was the very first to go of the day. I was pretty impressed.

Finally, I have to mention the cross country. I ran the Prelim and Novice, and both were a blast. My young horse, Bam, who started eventing a year ago, completed his first Prelim (second attempt), and I couldn’t of asked for a better course. The course was designed by John Williams, and I must say I am now a big fan. Walking the course, I will admit, I was quite worried. It was certainly true to the level, and not what I would consider a move-up. There was a huge corner coming out of the first water as well as some pretty challenging turning and accuracy questions. However, each question just made Bam feel more confident and educated and it really brought out more heart and boldness than I had ever seen in him before. We had a ton of time penalties, but I had circled before one of the jumps to give him a better approach and did not push him at all. The Novice was also a blast. I was riding my horse, AP Prime, that I got back in December. It was his third horse trials and he is going to move up to Training in two more. For where he is at, the course was perfect. It was inviting and forward but still asked the questions to get your horse thinking about the things it will need to do at the next level. I did have three entered, the third being Benjamin James in the Prelim. He had a very uncharacteristic stop in stadium and I very foolishly popped off. His demeanor was very reminiscent of this past fall when he had ulcers. He is now the best eater in my barn, is on an insanely strict ulcer management feeding program, and is looking healthy, so I know that’s not the problem. However, I think that is just his reaction to pain, so a trip to the vet to see what we can find is in order.

One thing I would like to add is that my positive experience at Wayne Dupage this weekend has not been an exception since relocating to Illinois. I really did not know what to expect when I moved, but have had a great time at each of the events I have made it to here. I am really looking forward to more first experiences at the upcoming Area IV events this season. Thank you for reading!

Quinn Himself’s First Victory

By John on Jul 12, 2011 5:12 pm -

Hopefully everyone is staying well hydrated an reasonably cool around Eventing Nation on one of the hottest riding days of the year so far. After hearing some incredible party stories from the EN chinchillas and catching up on emails, things are starting to get back to normal here at the EN compound. We have a few loose ends to tie up from a great weekend of eventing that was only marred by the passing of Greystone’s Harley from a pulmonary hemorrhage at Chattahoochee Hills.

Boyd flew back to the United States following his father’s passing just in time to compete at the Maryland Horse Trials this weekend. Boyd rode 5 horses, which is a quiet weekend for him. In just their second event together, Boyd and Bonnie Stedt’s Quinn Himself picked up a beginner novice victory. Quinn scored a 20 on the flat and finished on that to win by 7.5 points. Quinn is learning fast–he scores 16.5 points better at Maryland than he did at Surefire two weeks ago. EN readers will recall that Quinn Himself was a surprise gift from Bonnie to Boyd after Bonnie’s Cagney Herself perished in the True Prospect fire. When Boyd first received Quinn he told me he thought the horse could be truly world class and it’s so far so good for the handsome young guy.

Go Quinn.

Maryland Training Helmet Cam

By John on Jul 11, 2011 6:43 pm -

Home sweet home–USA! As much as I loved my trip to England, it is wonderful to be back in the States. Before I find the nearest McDonald’s, I wanted to post this training level helmet cam from over the weekend at the Maryland Horse Trials, sent to us from Brittanie. You can also see the first ever Eventing Nation cross-country jump, built by Tyson Rementer, around 2:50 in the video. And, I can’t mention Maryland without giving a shout-out to Annie who placed 1st and 3rd in a training level and a JYOP division.

[Maryland Results]

I have one last connection flight and Coren has the morning post covered, but I’ll see everyone right back here at Eventing Nation on Tuesday. Until then, go eventing.

Sharon White — Derby Cross

By John on Jul 11, 2011 10:12 am -

This is a quick recap from Sharon White about her derby cross Burghley fundraiser. The derby cross was a huge success, as it has been for the past several years. Thanks for writing this Sharon and thank you for reading.
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Photo of Sharon’s course walk by Josh Walker

From Sharon:

“As I grow to understand life less and less, I learn to love it more and more” ~ Jules Renard

On the morning of our third annual Jump! derby cross event, I was approached by a person encased entirely in orange spandex – being led because apparently you can’t see through orange spandex – and I thought it just doesn’t get any better than this. I could not in my wildest dreams have imagined how much fun this event would turn into, how much enjoyment so many people would get out of it, and just how meaningful the whole experience would end up being.

In a nutshell, Jump! is a derby cross event where you jump half a dozen showjumps, straight into a cross country course, then straight into a different half a dozen show jumps. We have from elementary (18 inches) through the preliminary level, and we run it with the idea that everyone will be successful. There are no eliminations, I do course walks and coach for every level, we have a lead horse for anyone that needs one, everyone gets encouraged the whole way round and there is a fabulous cheerleading section! A special shout out has to go to Kerry Blackmer’s Miles Ahead group who are just unbelievable in their enthusiasm and energy. This year they came dressed in orange spandex bearing Boston cream doughnuts and carrots for Reg and orange flowers for me (if you’ve been reading your EN blogs you’ll know what I’m talking about!) I have never seen anything like it and it was truly amazing. I asked if I could borrow the orange suit to wear at Burghley.

One of the greatest parts of the day is to watch both horses and riders improve. Young horses come down and their eyes are bulging out of their heads and by the time they are done they look like seasoned competitors. In the same way, riders will come down white as a sheet, and by the time they have done one round they’re hooked and they come back again and again for more rounds. It’s truly special.

The other amazing part of the day is how many people come out to volunteer. I could NEVER do this without the amazing people who help- from 6 in the morning to 8 in the evening. I could never say thank you enough to everyone, so my plan is to be the 2011 Burghley champion sporting orange spandex!

A Barbury veterinary update

By John on Jul 11, 2011 3:43 am -

One last look at beautiful Barbury

Over 100 competitors started out on the Barbury show jumping. The sobering reality of our sport is that out of that many horses starting on a CIC3* course, not all of them are going to come home as sound as they started. Amazingly, according to the score sheet, only one horse officially fell at Barbury, although my estimate is that a couple more shoulders touched the ground. 4 horses at Barbury were injured on the cross-country and this is a quick update on each of them, courtesy of the officials at Barbury.

Livingstone II, ridden by Swedish rider Ludwig Svennerstal, completed the course but was found to be lame at the finish. The horse was transported by horse ambulance to the on-site veterinary treatment center where he was radiographed. The results showed the horse to be bruised but not seriously injured. The horse stayed on site Sunday night, rather than taking the long journey home to Yorkshire.

Bank on Louie, unseated Britain’s Rosie Fry and suffered serious soft tissue damage in a wound to the chest after running through the string stakes marking out the galloping lanes. The horse was given intravenous fluids and stabilized at the on-site veterinary treatment center before being transported to the Willesley Veterinary Centre in Tetbury for the wound to be repaired.

Sir Roscoe, a 12 year old gelding, unseated British rider Gaby Cooke and walked back to the stables, where he was subsequently found to be lame. He was later found to be fine and went home Sunday night.

Coolys Luxury, ridden by Tom Crisp, was the last horse to fall in the main water before it was removed from the course. The horse is reportedly very bruised with a haematoma and is being re-assessed this morning.

Thankfully, all of the riders are fine.

We never like to see horses being injured, but from the number of holds we had on course Sunday, I consider this injury report to be about as positive as we could have hoped for. We wish the recovering horses a very speedy road to recovery and look forward to seeing them out on the eventing circuit soon.

Today is a travel day for me as I head back to the States. The rest of the EN Team will be around throughout the day bringing you your Monday eventing news and ridiculousness. See you soon.

Pippa Funnell and Billy Landretti win Barbury for Great Britain

By John on Jul 10, 2011 4:14 pm -

Pippa accepting her trophy

As expected, the cross-country time was tough to make at Barbury and a few seconds were very influential in the top three results. The leader after the show jumping, Laura Collett, picked up 6.0 time penalties with a nice but steady round and she dropped to third. Pippa Funnell took advantage with young Billy Landretti and jumped up one spot by finishing with 3.2 time penalties. Piggy French and Jakata also moved up a spot into second with 2.8 time penalties. Great Britain took home the top 5 spots with Francis Whittington in 4th and William Fox-Pitt finishing 5th aboard Cool Mountain.

Barbury CIC3* Results:

1. Pippa Funnell and Billy Landretti (GBR) +3.2 43.4
2. Piggy French and Jakata (GBR) +2.8 44.0
3. Laura Collett and Rayef (GBR) +6.0 44.8
4. Francis Whittington and Easy Target (GBR) +0 48.8
5. William Fox-Pitt and Cool Mountain (GBR) +4.8 49.4
6. Elizabeth Power and Kilpatrick River (IRL) +0 49.8
7. Will Coleman and Twizzel (USA) +5.2 50.2
8. Andrew Nicholson and Armada (NZL) +0 50.6
9. Kitty King and High Havoc (GBR) +1.2 50.6
10. Lucy Wiegersma and Simon Porloe (GBR) +6.0 52.4
…
Will Faudree and Andromaque (USA) +7.2 88.8
Julian Stiller and Axel Rose (USA) +27.6 92.0
Julian Stiller and Enjoy Me (USA) +50.8 98.8

–The cross-country was slightly anti-climatic because most of the top 10 riders indicated from their chosen pace that they have much bigger goals in mind than winning Barbury–namely the European Championships and Burghley. Pippa, Piggy, Laura, William Fox-Pitt, and Will Coleman in particular looked as though they were working for a steady round rather than to make the time. It’s going to be a tight race down to the wire as to who is selected for the British team at the European Championships in Luhmuhlen at the end of August.

–Billy Landretti is a younger horse who is known for being a bit timid on the cross-country. Pippa put things right in that department today and Billy’s clean round never looked in doubt.

–The cross-country offered mixed results for the United States but I consider the day a net positive. Two of our top horses–the veteran Twizzel and the rising Andromaque had perfect days for what they needed. Twizzel got a chance to stretch his legs and get back in cross-country form after his freak fall at Rolex earlier this year. Andromaque blasted around the course, making it look easy. I helped Will and Nat cool her off and I can’t imagine there is a more confident horse anywhere in the world right now.

–Despite not galloping overly fast, Will Coleman and Twizzel rode efficiently and finished with just 5.2 time penalties and in 7th place. Will competed against the best in the world this weekend and didn’t make it look very difficult to finish in the top 10. William Fox-Pitt and Cool Mountain also looked like they were just cruising around and shocked me by incurring just 4.8 time penalties.

–There were only 4 double-clear rides today. Andrew Nicholson gets the largest stand-off distance award for today by standing a stride off the steeplechase fence at #2 and he galloped home inside the time with Armada. The first rider of the day to make the time was Tim Price of New Zealand with Sporting Here and Tim got a resounding cheer from the crowd as a result. Tim rode around that course like his hair was on fire. The two other pairs to make the time were Elizabeth Power and Kilpatrick River of Ireland and Francis Whittington with Easy Target. Francis finished on his dressage score and in 4th place for Great Britain.

–Julian Stiller got a days worth of a workout from Axel Rose, but they successfully made their way around the course for a clean ride. Lots of half-halting between the fences, a hold on course, and taking the option between the corners at #14 and #15 let to 27 time penalties, but they got around.

–Julian’s other horse, the lovely Enjoy Me, ran by the second narrow wishing well at #5. Elmo’s round got progressively better as they went around. The distance at the well was a long two strides and Julian just over-rode it a bit. Elmo is such a talented horse that when things click on the XC it’s going to be impressive.

–Ireland had a nice day–four Irish riders finished in the top 25. New Zealand finished three in the top 25, as did Australia. The United States and Italy finished one each in the top 25 and Great Britain dominated with 13 in the top 25.

–The one bad part of the day was the number of holds on the cross-country, although it is worth noting that there were over 100 starters. 13 riders were eliminated and 4 retired. Officially there was just one horse fall and 9 rider falls. 12 riders finished with at least a stop. As I noted in an earlier post, the main water jump at #17 was removed after a number of the early horses fell on the drop. The horses seemed to be misreading the water and over-jumping. The jump has been on the Barbury course for 3 years and it is hard to tell why it didn’t work today.

–After the water jump was removed the course started to ride more smoothly. Part of this had to do with the riders being slightly more cautious and taking some options when things were not going smoothly. One of the issues with running XC in reverse order of placing is that the less experienced pairs tend to get bunched at the front of the XC draw order.

–The corners at #14 and #15 continued to cause problems throughout the day and two riders towards the end fell at the alligator in the middle of the first water. One thing that caused maybe more holds on course than anything were broken frangible pins. I would guess 5 pins had to be replaced today but the crew at Barbury switched the pins quickly and efficiently.

–My understanding is that a couple of horses that had falls are getting treated, and we’ll post an injury report when we get one. When there are over 100 starters it’s not going to go well for everyone.

–Barbury will be the final run for the US and British squads before the London Olympics next year–and likely for many other nations as well. Expect Barbury 2012 to be an Olympic preview.

–Rolex *runner-up Mary King and Fernhill Urco were one of a few pairs to fall at the corners at #14 and #15. Mary made up for it with a nice steady round on Kings Temptress, the Rolex champion.

–Barbury might be the best spectating experience I have ever been to at an event. There are numerous hills and sitting locations where you could sit and enjoy a full view of the entire cross-country course. There are nice posh sitting areas and bars for the VIPs and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves immensely.

It has been a wonderful weekend at Barbury and I am thankful for the wonderful welcome that everyone in Great Britain has extended to me–such as Mark Todd inviting us for dinner, which I have to run off to now. We’ll have more from Barbury later and, until then, go eventing.

Will and Andromaque perfect, others having troubles at Barbury

By John on Jul 10, 2011 11:01 am -

#17C and #17B have been removed from the course

The course at Barbury is riding uncharacteristically difficult this afternoon. We are about one hour behind schedule because of multiple holds on course. Most recently, Tom Crisp’s Coolys Luxury fell on the landing from the big drop into the water at #17C. The horse walked onto the horse ambulance and word is that he studded himself. Multiple horses have fallen on the landing and they have just removed that water jump from the course–the riders now only have to jump #17A. Pippa said that the dye in the water combined with glare from the sun might be causing the horses to misread the landing and it also appears that the horses are jumping really big into the water. Barbury normally rides really well, so quite a few of the riders are nervous in the warm up and the starters are having trouble getting a few of them to get in the box after Tom’s fall. This is not the first time the water complex has been on the Barbury course and everyone seems surprised at how poorly it rode. The keyhole at #9 has also caused a few stops.

However, it was all smiles in the Team Faudree camp as Will galloped across the finish line after a nearly foot perfect round with Andromaque. Will wasn’t happy with his dressage ride and he was kicking himself after a mental mistake in the show jumping, but he put all of that aside by taking the next step forward in Missie’s development as one of the best US horses. I have been raving about Andromaque since I saw her run intermediate last spring, and it’s great to see her continue to develop.

Video of Missie’s ride:

After the ride, Will was elated:

The cross-country rolls on here at Barbury in reverse order of placing. The US has three pairs left to go–Julian with Axel and Elmo and Will with Twizzel. More soon and go eventing.

Will Faudree Walks #9 and #10AB

By John on Jul 10, 2011 10:16 am -

One of the things I really respect about Will Faudree as a rider is that he really knows his horses. Will was kind enough to walk #9 and #10AB on the CIC3* course with us, and give us some insight into how he plans to suit his ride to Andromaque. Please pardon the wind and background announcers–both are very much part of the Barbury experience.

Good luck to Will and “Missie” and go eventing.

Laura Collett Maintains the Barbury Lead

By John on Jul 10, 2011 8:08 am -

The last three show jumpers at Barbury, William rode out of order

With the cross-country scheduled for Sunday afternoon, the Barbury CIC3* competition is very much wide open with the leader board getting tighter in the show jumping. Pippa Funnell and Laura Collett both pulled a rail but maintained the top two positions. Despite the rail, I couldn’t have been more impressed with 21 year old Laura Collett’s ride. After a 6th at Badminton and watching his round today I consider Rayef one of the top 3 horses in the world right now.

Barbury CIC3* Scores Before XC:

1. Laura Collett and Rayef (GBR) +4 38.8
2. Pippa Funnell and Billy Landretti (GBR) +4 40.2
3. Piggy French and Jakata (GBR) +0 41.2
4. Emily Baldwin and Drivetime (GBR) +4 44.6
5. William Fox-Pitt and Cool Mountain (GBR) +0 44.6
6. Will Coleman and Twizzel (USA) +0 45.0
7. Lucinda Fredericks and Flying Finish (AUS) +0 46.0
8. Lucy Wiegersma and Simon Porloe (GBR) +0 46.4
9. Julian Stiller and Enjoy Me (USA) +0 46.4
…
Julian Stiller and Axel Rose (USA) +4 64.4
WIll Faudree and Andromaque (USA) +20 81.6

—The USA had a great Sunday morning. Will Coleman and Twizzel jumped clear to move up into 6th. Will didn’t feel that Twizzel jumped his best, but it is worth pointing out that he hasn’t show jumped since The Fork.

–Julian Stiller and Enjoy me had an absolutely lovely round and everything I have heard about “Elmo” from back in the States seems to be true. Elmo jumped super smooth and looked like he didn’t even have to try. After their round, Julian was rightfully extremely proud. They moved from 15th up to 9th, giving the US two pairs in the top 10 at Barbury–the only nation other than Great Britain to accomplish this.

–Including Andromaque and Axel Rose, the 4 US horses had just 2 rails combined this morning–a very good achievement considering there were only 26 clear rounds out of 109 show jumpers.

–Both Will Coleman and Julian plan to take it easy around this twisty and turny Barbury XC track so the final placings will be pretty irrelevant in terms of the success or failure of the weekend. Two top 10’s in the combined test and finishing with two clear steady rounds would be good enough for a great weekend for the stars and stripes.

–The top 10 pairs at Barbury are separated by less than 10 points, making for an exciting conclusion in the cross-country. The pairs will run in reverse order of placing meaning that Laura and Rayeff will be the last out and they will finish in the main arena with the clock racing.

–Lucinda Fredericks’ Flying Finish is a huge horse that I expected to struggle more with the slippery footing but they had a great round. He’s the type of horse who might do really well next spring but he will be a questionable build for the tight Greenwich Park track.

–Lucy Wiegersma started this year with a big fleet of top horses. After a tough spring it is great to see her back in the top 10 so far here at Barbury.

–The footing continued to be slick in the show jumping. Particularly the roll-back turn between #1 and #2 caused a few slips but by in large people got away with it.

That’s all from the Barbury show jumping. I’ll be back for full cross-country coverage as we crown a Barbury 2011 champion, and then it’s off tonight for my travels back to the States. Go eventing.

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