Julian Stiller and Chapel Amble, photo courtesy of Kate Erickson
Annie is always very kind to pretend in her posts that I have a social life, but I can assure you that I don’t. Nope, tonight I’ll be watching an hour and a half replay of the Luhmuhlen cross-country in bed while the Chinchillas get helplessly drunk partying it up with good looking girls in the room next door. The Luhmuhlen XC video replay is available on a German website, the link is courtesy of albertaeventer. Click below:
The video is obviously in German and only covers the 4*. I haven’t watched the entire video yet, but my guess from the way it plays out is that they started the video live around 3pm German time and replayed portions of the earlier rides–meaning that Jennie’s ride is excluded. The filming definitely picks out certain riders to follow–mostly German and UK riders–and I believe it completely skips Will’s ride, sadly. The theory for video coverage seems to be: pick one ride and play slow motion while they are galloping between fences.
Approximate start times in the video:
Piggy French: 6:00 Mary King: 30:00 Frank Ostholt: 40:00 William Fox-Pitt: 62:00
The good news for the Luhmuhlen XC is that there were no serious falls or injuries on either of the courses, although both rode tougher than expected. Andrew Hoy apparently fell in the Milford Pond for the third time and graciously accepted the applause of the crowd. You can definiteyl tell in the video that the footing got cut up in a few places as the day progressed.
We’ll do our best to link to the show jumping live. FEI TV had indicated that it would be showing Luhmuhlen but that never happened, and my guess is that the live show jumping stream will be available only through the above site, if at all.
Bonus: Video interviews with Andrew Hoy and Mary King (Andrew and Mary talk in English)
Have a safe and fun Saturday night Eventing Nation and good luck to everyone show jumping tomorrow. Until next time, go eventing.
Katherine Erickson, of the Grey Brook Eventing Blog that we often link to on EN, has kindly sent us a report from her experience at Luhmuhlen today. Thanks very much for writing this Kate, as always, and thank you for reading. Supa! —- Will and Andromaque
From Kate:
Guten Tag from beautiful Luhmuhlen! I thought after six months of living in Britain and going British and Irish three day events that I had a pretty good handle of what European eventing was all about, but the Germans have a way of making things uniquely their own. The food is different (and weird), the footing is different, the terrain and landscape are different, and of course the language is very, very different! I’ve now increased my German vocab from four words to approximately eight, my favorite of which being “supa!” which means ‘super’ and was often shouted gleefully by the announcers as a (usually German) rider crossed the finish line.
I was really excited for Luhmuhlen because the Americans competing there are some of our country’s brightest rising stars, and I couldn’t wait for them to show off their talents to the world. I missed Thursday dressage but was so delighted with the way Jennie and Will rode on Friday; they both were completely in the mix with the very high standard of competition and made our country very very proud.
On cross country, the three star went first and my father and I was almost immediately treated to a masterful performance by Will Faudree and Andromaque through the last water. We probably looked like total American fools at the end because we were whooping and jumping around so much, but he just made it look so unbelievably smooth and easy. We then moved a bit earlier in the course and watched Ringwood Magister take Tiana Coudray for a ride through the first water, ballooning incredibly over the drop in and then being very clever to jump out over the corner neatly. I was so disappointed to hear that she would later fall victim to the corner in the arena, which probably caused more problems than any other fence in both divisions. Tiana is such a good young rider and Ringwood Magister is seriously special, so I’m sure their day will come, but it was sad it wasn’t today.
Will and Pawlow
As the four star began the weather, which had been sunny and fair throughout the early going, suddenly became totally erratic, going from bright sun at one moment to torrential downpours the next. The course rode about as well as the weather, with some riders making the track look like a canter in the park and causing absolute mayhem for others. All three American riders–Will on Powlow, Jennie Brannigan on Cambalda, and Julian Stiller on Chapel Amble–came to grief in the arena, Will and Julian at the corner Tiana had faulted at and Jennie at the angled houses before it. The line the CCI**** riders had to take to the corner was one of the most insane angles I’ve ever seen, and caused a stop, a retirement, and a fall just in the few horses I was there watching, and was by far the most influential jump on course, but I’m sure all three of our riders will be disappointed. My dad and I got to watch Will and Julian through the first water, and they both looked absolutely fabulous.
The four star proved to be very much not a dressage competition, with the top placings shuffling wildly over the course of the day. In the end it was Piggy French, who was my dad’s and my favorite dressage test from Friday, who came out on top. The top placings are all very close, so the show jumping tomorrow should be exciting!
Aside from a few videos and links to articles, our coverage of eventing in Mexico on Eventing Nation is usually pretty sparse. But Mexico, namely the city of Guadalajara, will be the center of the eventing world one weekend this October for the Pan American Games. The Pan American Games eventing test event is being held this weekend at the Guadalajara eventing sites and members from the Canada and US federations are on scene observing the test event.
If you don’t know very much about Guadalajara, it is Mexico’s second largest city and is located in western central Mexico. The setting, as you can see from the photos, is absolutely beautiful. On the flip side, like most Mexican areas, Guadalajara has issues with gang and drug related crime. The gangs in Mexico tend to be very well armed, sometimes better than the local police–sometimes they are the local police. But this isn’t news to anyone involved in the Pan American Games and a ton of precautions are being taken to ensure everyone’s safety. I have heard mixed opinions on the effectiveness of these precautions, but we will know a lot more after the test event. [Guadalajara on the Map, Pan American Games Homepage]
For now, let’s put all of those thoughts away and take a look at some XC course photos, kindly sent to us by EN’s good friends Sally O’Connor and Sara Ike:
Saturdays are called ‘moving day’ in eventing for a reason and for the US contingent in Germany, only Will Faudree and Andromaque moved up the Luhmuhlen leader board. The Luhmuhlen CCI4* course rode really tough, with half of the starters having at least a stop, and a quarter not finishing the course. Will and Pawlow had a glance off at 21C, part of a turning line of scalloped brush fences. Julian Stiller and Chapel Amble also picked up a stop at 21C. 21 was a combination which caused problems for 9 out of 40 starters. Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda picked up a couple of glance-offs early on the course at 8 (a big brush corner) and 12C (a narrow brush wedge), and then they were eliminated at 20A.
In the overall CCI4* competition, Piggy French and Flying Machine took advantage of 6.8 time penalties from overnight leader Frank Ostholt and put together a double-clear to take the lead for Great Britain. Germany occupies the next 4 spots on the leader board with Sadra Auffarth, Andreas Dibowski, Frank Ostholt, and Dirk Schrade. Sitting in 6th and 7th are–who else–Mary King and William Fox-Pitt who surged up the score sheet from 14th and 15th after the dressage. Clayton Frederiscks, Paul Tapner, and Oliver Townend round out the top 10. There were only 10 double-clears on the 4* XC.
Luhmuhlen CCI4* XC Results:
1. Piggy French (GBR) and Flying Machine +0 38.4 2. Sandray Auffarth (GER) and Opgun Louvo +0 39.0 3. Andreas Dibowski (GER) and Euroridings Butts Leon +0 39.8 4. Frank Ostholt (GER) and Little Paint +6.8 42.1 5. Dirk Schrade (GER) and Hop and Skip +0 45.2 6. May King (GBR) and Appache Sauce +0 46.2 7. William Fox-Pitt and Macciato +0 46.2
In the CIC3*, Will Faudree’s mare produced one of only 11 double-clear XC rides. Will and Missie jumped four places to 14th on that clean performance. The other US pair in the CIC3*, Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister, were found to be eliminated at fence 19C for incorrectly jumping an option. According to the fence report they then picked up a refusal at 22B, which was the end of their round.
Elsewhere on the CIC3* leader board, the Germans maintained their grip on the top three places as Kai Ruder, Marina Kohncke, and Andreas Ostholt all came home double-clear. The Germans have 5 riders in the top 6 of the CIC3* division as Kai Ruder takes a 7.6 point lead into the show jumping.
Luhmuhlen CIC3* XC Results
1. Kai Ruder (GER) and Leprince des Bois +0 31.5 2. Marina Kohncke (GER) and Calma Schelly +0 39.1 3. Andreas Ostholt (GER) and Franco Jeas +0 39.3 … 14. Will Faudree and Andromaque +0 47.1
Looking at the day as a whole, it’s heartbreaking for me to have a tough XC round 1 hour from home at the local prelim event. I can only imagine what it must feel like to fly all that way to such a big competition and walk back from the course unhappy. Fortunately, knowing Will, Tiana, and Jennie, I am sure they will take today’s experience, build on it, and the resulting future success will be that much sweeter.
As a note on the live scoring, you can click on the rider names for more information on their horse and their rides. As a final incidental note, Mark Phillips is the Luhmuhlen course designer.
We’ll have much more from Luhmuhlen as well as news and notes and ridiculousness from all around Eventing Nation throughout the day. It’s going to be a busy Saturday, so stay tuned. Go eventing.
As the dressage wraps up at Luhmuhlen, we have photographic evidence that the US contingent has been enjoying themselves between the hard work. The week has flown by and it’s hard to imagine that it’s almost time for XC in Germany. The weather for Saturday is expected to include rain, but word is that the Luhmuhlen footing is pretty good right now. The CCI3* XC starts at 3:30am ET Satruday morning, with the CCI4* starting around 11am ET.
I believe Jennie was the only 4* rider to wear her helmet in dressage
Team USA stepped their game up today at Luhmuhlen. Will and Pawlow finished their test on a 45.2, which put them into 13th. Jennie and Cambalda delivered a 46.5 and they sit just four spots back from Will and Ernie. The USA will take two riders in the top 17 into the cross-country tomorrow–both just over 10 points away from the lead. Julian Stiller and Chapel Amble scored 52.8 for 25th place–very respectable considering there are 42 horses in the division.
Germany has the lead in both the CIC3* and CCI4*, with Frank Ostholt leading the 4* on 35.3 with Little Paint. Piggy French of Great Britain is in second and Niklas Jonsson of Sweden is in third. WEG champion Michael Jung lurks in 9th place on Leopin. Mary is in 14th with Appache Sauce, William is in 15th with Macchiato, and Oli is 20th with ODT Master Rose.
Luhmuhlen CCI4* Scores:
1. Frank Ostholt and Little Paint 35.3 2. Piggy French and Flying Machine 37.2 3. Niklas Jonsson and First Lady 37.8 4. Sandra Auffarth and Opgun Louvo 39.0 5. Andreas Dibowski and Euroridings Butts Leon 39.8 … 13. Will Faudree and Pawlow 45.8 17. Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda 46.5 26. Julian Stiller and Chapel Amble 52.8
If you look at the leader board, the Luhmuhlen list has a ton of really quality riders. I know I can get pretty critical of the USA’s dressage level relative to other countries, but today is a great sign for our team–just look at all of the names Jennie and Will beat today, especially considering this is Jennie’s first 4*.
I spoke with Will briefly about his CIC3* test on Missie before he rode Pawlow and he told me he was really pleased with Missie. He said she is a really hard worker and tries her heart out all the time. He mentioned a few moments in the test where he could have ridden better but he said that most of the test was where she is in her training and strength right now. He also said that he is looking forward to the summer, training with Sandy Phillips to get even better marks in the future.
A really busy day on EN rolls on, including a fabulous interview from Samantha shortly. Go eventing.
In yet another great story of the horse community coming together to help the victims of the True Prospect Fire, Plantation Field raised $8,000 through a schooling day held on Monday. Furthermore, during the schooling day and the horse trials last weekend, Jane Sleeper and her students held a bake sale that raised another $2,000 for the fire recovery fund. Over 200 people showed up for the schooling and the proceeds go to benefit Boyd, Ryan, Caitlin, and Lillian. Evie Dutton said that her and Phillip are not accepting any donations themselves, as insurance should cover their fire losses.
Melissa Wright, Plantation’s volunteer coordinator that they didn’t just see eventers at the schooling day–racehorse trainers, show hunters, even sidesaddle riders (not in sidesaddles, though, apparently), foxhunters and many other members of Chester County’s equestrian community come out and show their support for the recover. EN sponsor Ecogold also raised $8,000 through the sale of their saddle pads to benefit the fire recovery. There are many, many acts of kindness that will go unpublicized as part of the recovery, but I keep on being amazed at the many huge acts of generosity that the entire eventing community is showing to help the recovery.
Now for some eventing news and notes…
–Wow, I went an entire two paragraphs to start this post without mentioning the “L” word, which is more than I can say for my prom night. Luhmuhlen–there, I said it. The CCI4* dressage starts today at 3am ET, and is probably well underway by the time you are reading this. Jennie rides Cambalda at 4:04am ET, Will rides Pawlow at 8:04am ET, and the last US rider, Julian Stiller rides Chapel Amble at 10:08am. Good luck to all of the riders!
–The CIC3* horses rode on Thursday at Luhmuhlen and Will put in a really quality test with Andromaque to finish in 18th. Tiana wrote for her blog on EN that she wasn’t as happy with her test, and Ringwood Magister can certainly put in a better score. Nonetheless, the saying “there’s a long way to go before the weekend is over” certainly must be as old as eventing and is just as applicable today as it was back then. [Nat’s Thursday COTH blog]
–There are 7 USEA events this weekend: Golden Spike (UT), Round Top (CO), Silverwood Farm (WI), Seneca (MD), Lost Hounds (PA), Bucks County HT (PA), and Great Vista (NY). If you want live scores, we’ll have them right here first thing Saturday morning to go with your cartoons and cereal.
–A 9th herpes case has been found at the Washington State University vet hospital, University of Washington students unsurprised. [TJR]
–Australian Olympic Medalist Megan Jones is taking her horses the Murray Bridge to put on a riding demonstration for school kids on June 23rd, which is apparently Olympic Day. She will demonstrate jumping and talk to 3rd through 5th year students and I can imagine the kids will have a great time. [AOC News]
–If you have ever wondered how to turn unreciprocated love into 5 years in prison, it starts with getting drunk at a bar with friends and ends with riding your horse through the girl’s front door. This story, naturally from Poland, gives AOL News the best headline for the month of June: “Wannabe Knight On Horseback Allegedly Smashes Through Woman’s Door In Drunk Attempt To Sweep Her Off Her Feet.” Why did I already use up my one prom night joke for this post? [AOL via Weird Horse News]
It’s AOL news, of course there is a picture of the now accused:
–Waylon Robers chats with young riders at Bromont [HJU]
–A one-way ticket on Delta to Chicago Midway International Airport: $266 Cost to check one large duffel bag: $25 Having that bag get helplessly lost in less than three hours, a bag that, by the way, I was ignorant enough to keep my keys in: Priceless
The Luhmuhlen jog: In a moment of stalking that would make Coren proud, I did spend 6 minutes watching the entire thing just to tell you that Julian Stiller jogs both of her horses, one of which was spun at 0:10, Jennie at 1:48, and Will at 5:19.
[via Monty White]
That’s all for now. We have a ton to get to today on Eventing Nation and honestly I’m not sure how we are going to fit it all in. As always, wherever you might be, thanks for making Eventing Nation part of your day. Stay classy Eventing Nation.
Tiana Coudray and the lovely Ringwood Magister are making their second trip overseas in their young career together, this time to compete in the Luhmuhlen CIC3*, and they had their dressage test today. Tiana has kindly offered to keep Eventing Nation posted on their travels and the competition. For more information on Tiana and her program, please visit her website. Thanks for writing this Tiana and thank you for reading. —-
From Tiana:
Where to begin,
Since I last wrote we moved from the riding school where we were stabled to the show ground which, conveniently enough, is about 2 kilometers down the road.The organizers of the event were kind enough to arrange a lorry to drive all of our gear, while Jennie, Will, Nat, and I hacked the 4 horses over.The whole facility has undergone major upgrades thanks to the upcoming European Championships in September, the most major of which is fancy new footing in all the arenas.While it’s far smaller than say the Kentucky Horse Park with it’s never ending supply of buildings and arenas, Luhmuhlen still has a grand feeling to it that is fitting with an event of this caliber.Most of all, the people involved with the event have been incredible!I can’t think of any other event where several times a day the stabling manager walks down each barn isle to check if everyone is happy and has everything they need.This attitude seems to be fairly wide spread throughout the staff and it’s been a really pleasant treat. We even finally found internet thanks to the show office sharing their wireless connection. Unfortunately we tested their generosity when, flocking to the only internet for miles around like seagulls to a lone forgotten lunch sack, we managed to crash the entire system!
Finn and the others have all settled in well and are happy.We’ve been “quarantined” in the farthest back corner of all the barns, barricaded by 3 bags of shavings laid haphazardly across the barn isle. I’m not sure if we’re being protected or if we’re considered to be contaminated but I’m sure glad to know that all are safe thanks to that “wall”.And while it probably is not doing much in the way of quarantining us, it has provided us with good napping accommodations, given great fodder for joking with our Aussie neighbors, and has doubled as a useful lunch table each afternoon.
Yesterday I had a dressage school with Mark in the morning that went really well and then I got to bathing, braiding, and polishing everything up for the Jog.Come the 3:00 rider’s meeting, we found out that the CIC3* horses were not doing a first jog at all.I would have felt really stupid if not for “International Nat the Super Groom” having braided her 3* horse as well!While it was an annoying exercise it wasting time, I took advantage of my new found gap in my schedule to have a look at the cross country.While I’ve far from made my plan yet, on first look it seems really good.The footing is absolutely fantastic and the track seems challenging but fair.There are several big ditches and lots of wide tables particularly later in the course, but the lines all seem pretty doable.
This morning Will had a fantastic test on Andromaque.I think it was a career best for the pair and he should be thrilled with the progress he’s managed to make in the relatively short time he’s had Missie.Immediately after his ride, I had a light school with Mark just getting Finn loose and relaxed. Both Mark and I knew that Finn was in a really good place and I think we both were very excited for my test this afternoon.When I did get on for my test, Finn was really impressive.I had a very rideable, relaxed horse with plenty of sparkle left and if the warm up were to be judged, I think we might have won.Unfortunately, somehow between the warm up and the show arena, I think we left our winning test behind, as the work we did in the ring was fine, but far from what has become our standard.We had two bobbles, one when we cantered instead of trotted out of the rein-back and the other when we swapped leads in the counter canter, and in general it was just lacking that something extra that separates the good from the great.
In a lot of ways I can shrug it off and say I’d rather save my winning test for a bigger, more important event, but that in no way means that I’m not hugely disappointed.Jennie made it seem a whole lot better when she told me that if scoring a 51 is a bad day then we’re doing ok and I really couldn’t argue with her. Though today it didn’t show in the score, the work Finn has been giving me over the last few weeks has been on even a whole new level from what I’ve had in the past.It seems just when I think to myself how lucky I am to have such an incredible horse, he steps it up and gets even better.When we manage to bring what we had in the warm up to the main ring, I’m pretty sure he’ll blow us all away!
Putting today behind us, the CCI4*dressage goes tomorrow with Jennie in the morning on Cambalda and Will in the afternoon on Pawlow.I’ll have all day to walk and re-walk the course, trying to put the pieces of our shattered trip around Rolex into a tidy little package.While I can’t throw it away and forget about it like I might want to, I can try to compartmentalize the good and the bad and then tell all the evil demons in my head to take a hike!
The much debated USEA “one fall rule” will be revisited at the USEA’s Board of Governors Meeting in August, as discussed on the Chronicle forums and this COTH article from today. The one fall rule, as we all know, some better than others, means that any jump related [rider] fall on XC means elimination. I am hard pressed to find a rule that has divided the eventing community more. On one hand, I can definitely see the logic behind the rule–there are very legitimate reasons for wanting to make sure a rider and horse are alright after a fall and no one wants to see someone get further injured by continuing on course. On the other hand, as a rider, there’s nothing more that I want to do than get back on the horse after I fall off and it’s so annoying to have to walk home after just popping off in a stupid and clearly harmless unplanned dismount. I’m all for statistical analysis, and USEA President Sabo interestingly told the Chronicle that “If you look at data from last fall, there isn’t any evidence, for instance, that a person that gets on after a fall has another fall or is injured from it.” No pun intended, I’m sure. So, let’s do what we do best on Eventing Nation and put the debate up for mob rule vote.
Photo of Wiseguy Two Too via ViaGen, Kelsey Walker
I’m not sure whether to be impressed or slightly creeped out, and it has nothing to do with that really fat man who sat next to me on my flight this afternoon. The Chronicle is reporting that Ronald Zabala-Goetschel, an Eucadorian entrepreneur familiar on the US eventing circuit, has successfully cloned his horse Che Mr. Wiseguy–an impressive 11 year old gelding who competed at Rolex with Ronald in 2011. After a failed cloning attempt in 2009, three successful foals have been created in April through ViaGen Inc., a company based in Texas. A press release from ViaGen announced the cloning success this morning, and said that the foals have been named Wiseguy Too, Wiseguy Two Too, and Wiseguy Two Top. They will stay in Texas until 60 days after their birth, when they will move to Pennsylvania, where Ronald trains with Phillip Dutton.
How much will it cost you to clone your favorite horse? The press release says $165,000 per “project.” On one hand, I feel that this is a pretty gratuitous example of extreme spending in equestrian sport, but on the other hand some people have paid way more than that for horses this year. [COTH]
The last rider of the day in the CIC3* at Luhmuhlen put in the best test and Kai Rudder took the lead with Leprince des Bois on an incredible 31.5. Will Faudree and Andromaque of the USA are 18th after the dressage with a 47.1 and Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister are 27th with a 51.5. There are 43 horses in the CIC3* division. The hometown Germans occupy the top 5 spots after the dressage. The CCI4* rides dressage tomorrow.
Luhmuhlen CIC3* Dressage Results:
1. Kai Rudder (GER) and Laprince des Bois 31.5 2. Marina Kohncke (GER) and Calma Schelly 37.5 3. Andreas Ostholt (GER) and Franco Jeas 37.7 … 18. Will Faudree (USA) and Andromaque 47.1 … 27. Tiana Cudray (USA) and Ringwood Magister 51.5
Andrea Leatherman won the Jersey Fresh CCI3* aboard her impressive horse Mensa. Andrea has kindly agreed to blog her progress this summer and autumn as the latest addition to our group of EN guest bloggers. In this post, Andrea takes us through her win at Jersey and looks ahead to the rest of the summer. Thanks for writing this Andrea and thank you for reading. —- Andrea and Mensa winning Jersey
From Andrea:
As with most horse people, I seem to either have so much to say I do not know where to begin, or absolutely nothing to say (at least nothing I want to say!) Luckily for me the past 8 weeks have given me a lot I would love to share, from a 5th place finish on Suzan Johnston’s Mystic My in her first 2 star, to my win on Mensa at Jersey Fresh CCI***. I am sure over the next few months there will be times I am not so lucky. But for now, good news.
The win at Jersey Fresh CCI*** gave me the opportunity to compete in the Bit of Britain Challenge, where the winner of both Jersey Fresh CCI*** and Fair Hill CCI*** wins $20,000. At the beginning of this season my trainer and boyfriend, Buck Davidson, and I were discussing plans for this season. Being qualified for Rolex but having had an entire fall season off last year due to personal injury, we had a lot to decide. Was I ready? Will I be ready? Is a 4 star the best step or are more 3 stars? After a bumpy start to the season followed by a few good runs, Buck, and later convincing a stubborn me, thought it best to run at least another CCI*** and “go and win”…hence the entering of Jersey Fresh CCI***. Mensa felt great all season, even given the little missteps on the way. I knew I was sitting on a fitter, happier, more trained horse than I ever have, and Mensa also had a smarter, better rider on his back. Knowing this, the idea of “winning a 3 star” seemed possible, but still a tough task. After I moved up to advanced a few years ago I realized I needed to become more correct in my technique and accuracy than I was able to get away with at Intermediate. To practice getting better as a rider and not just getting some lucky top finishes, I allowed myself to, for a lack of better words, reduce my competitive nature in order to create a better trained horse and rider. I have been gradually becoming more consistent the past few seasons, and I knew I was ready to be mentally and physically more competitive than I have ever been. We were up for the task.
As the weekend commenced at Jersey, I was happy with Mensa in the dressage. I did feel, however, that I personally sacrificed several points in the rhythm and in places that could have been more accurate. Although there are always areas that need improving, x-country was as good as I could have asked for. Knowing I was sitting aboard a horse perfectly capable of making time, I knew 0 time faults was my 2nd task to going clear. Mensa is a fantastic show jumper and if I could give him a decent ride I knew he could jump clear. Having never been in a first place position going into show jumping at an FEI competition, I was not sure how intense my nerves were going to be. Of course I was nervous. I did know, however, that at that point it was all mental. We had practiced and schooled creating plenty of tools to produce a good, clear round. If I could stay relaxed and control my nerves, I knew Mensa would respond great. All I could do was the best I knew how. After imagining my clear round at the Fork and how I rode that round, I was thrilled with the fact that I was able, under pressure, to simulate the same experience and produce a clear round (a little faster would have been nice, however I know he is a fast horse and that just requires more awareness on my part). For me, proving I could conquer the mental challenge was a huge accomplishment in itself.
As of now, Mensa has his back shoes pulled and is in a large grass field with Ballynoecastle RM, another horse on a well deserved break. Now that we are back from Bromont it’s time to leg Mensa up to get ready for the Fall season. Although I am uncertain of my exact plans, it will be an Intermediate, followed by a few Advanced/CIC***, and then Fair Hill CCI***. Perhaps I will be fortunate enough to compete at Rebecca Farms in Montana later this summer, but that is yet to be decided.
Winning one 3 star is hard work, good timing, and luck. Winning a 2nd three star in a row is more hard work, more good timing, and more good luck. With the help of Buck, we are up for the challenge! I cannot thank him enough for all the time and effort he has put into making me a better rider and competitor and my horses better horses.
As always, I am so thankful to my parents for their continual time and effort in supporting me. To Omega Alpha whose supplements have helped in making my horses perform great, and to Suzan Johnston who gave me the opportunity to ride Mystic My, a fantastic mare who just finished Bromont and for whom I have high hopes.
Sharon Hunt and Tankers Town won last year, who will it be in 2011?
The Luhmuhlen Wednesday jog only featured the CCI4* horses. Both Pawlow and Cambalda passed and I am told by a very well informed and super secret EN insider that the always well turned out Will looked “dashing.” British based US rider Julian Stiller had Salsa spun, so three US pairs move on to the CCI4* dressage. Ringwood Magister and Andromaque are of course competing for the US in the CIC3*.
There’s nothing more that I like than writing about good news and we have gotten two pieces of great news over the last 24 hours. Yesterday we heard that Linda Martin had sold her shares of Henny and Peter would get to keep the ride. Today, I am very glad to bring the news from Caitlin that Catch a Star “Hoku” has been released from New Bolton and is now resting comfortably at home. Hoku’s release from New Bolton means that miraculously all the surviving horses from the True Prospect fire have been released from the hospital just over two weeks after the blaze.
From Caitlin:
Hoku got to come home from New Bolton Center and it is so nice to have her back! She’s thrilled to be back in the barn with all her buddies and is appreciating the activity in the barn with all of the Phillip Dutton camp stabled in our aisle. It’s going to be a long healing process, but everything is on the right track and I have a great team of vets to assist me in taking care of her. I want to thank all of the vets at New Bolton who took such great care of our horses during their stay there!
Cross your fingers for an easy and fast recovery for Catch a Star, and hopefully she will be back to eventing before we know it!
The news that we have all been hoping for has just been finalized. Peter Atkins has announced that Linda Martin agreed to sell her share of HJ Hampton “Henny” before the court ordered public auction. Peter will retain the ride. HJ Hampton was scheduled to be auctioned via a court order three weeks ago to dissolve the partnership between Martin and Atkins.
Peter said that details of the purchase agreement will remain confidential but he did say that several generous supporters stepped forward to assist with the purchase of “Henny.” Peter also said that plans are underway to syndicate Henny.
In a brief statement, Peter said “I’m overjoyed that this process is over and Henny can permanently stay with his family…I’m also deeply grateful for the tireless efforts of my attorneys and legal team at Vitt & Rattigan, and I’m profoundly humbled by the support I have received from countless Henny friends and fans.”
Three weeks ago the judge presiding over the Henny ownership case ruled that Henny would be sold at an auction. But then Peter announced that the auction had been postponed on his website, apparently as the parties came closer to reaching an agreement.
Update: As a nice addition to the story, it is young Owen Atkins’ birthday on Tuesday. He turns 4 years old and he got Henny back as a birthday present.
Henny of course placed 24th at the 2010 WEGs for Australia and his partnership with Peter has captured the hearts of eventing fans all over the world. Henny is well on his way recovering from Colic surgery in December and should be back in time to make a run at the 2012 Olympics, where we might get another incredible helmet cam video like this:
Just two days have passed since the conclusion of Bromont and part of me misses it already. Before we jump into a new weekend of eventing, I thought it might be fun to look back at some of the sights, sounds, and fun, courtesy of Eventing Nation’s wonderful sponsor Ecogold. All of the riders in the videos compete in Ecogold pads:
These guys probably wish they were wearing saddle pads when they got shot with paintballs:
Trailering is different at events in the Czech Republic
Good morning Eventing Nation! It’s a calm day for eventing as we await the start of Luhmuhlen on Wednesday, but nonetheless we have a busy day of Eventing Nation posts planned. Here are a few quick news and notes to start the day off right…
—HRTV will air Badminton 2011 replay coverage for 5 hours today starting at 1:00pm ET time today via Horse and Country TV, which is based in the UK. Of course, you have to have the HRTV channel and many traditional cable packages don’t. But if you do have HRTV, break out the DVR or tune in during the day. [HRTV]
–Annie can breathe easier for her links post six weeks from this Saturday because only two USEA events open today–the Stonleigh-Burnham Horse Trials in Massachusetts and the Horse Park of New Jersey horse trials. Everyone else will be riding at 4:30am and sitting by the AC for the rest of the day at the end of July.
–Monty Roberts has received a personal honor from the Queen of England for his services to the Royal Family’s horses since Monty first brought the queen to tears by taming her wildest horse in 1989. I have been a big fan of Monty Roberts since my childhood. If you read EN, you know that I get pretty critical of people who make millions of dollars creating expensive ways to sell very simple natural horsemanship techniques to horse people, and in a strange twist of fate, Eventing Nation might have produced the most watched Parelli video in history. But I have always respected Monty Roberts as the person who brought natural horsemanship–much of which is very useful and conducive to a better relationship between people and their horses–into the mainstream of horse culture. [H&C]
–Zara Phillips has had a lot of trouble finding her way back to the top of eventing after she had such a spectacular career with Toytown. I am convinced that all eventers go through droughts in their careers where nothing seems to go right–the horses that don’t go lame start quitting and the ones that don’t start quitting have to be sold, or something like that. Zara told Sporting Life that she still is very much trying to make the Olympic team, but she still has to qualify with her top horse right now, High Kingdom. Zara isn’t the easiest eventer to root for, but I am rooting for her on her quest to get back to the top of eventing. [SportingLife.com]
–The best blogs are made when interesting people do interesting things and then write about them. Well, one such example is The Blithe Traveler blog, where horse person Ellen Broadhurst is traveling the world with her family and blogging about it. Last weekend Ellen attended a horse trials in the Czech Republic and you can read all about her experience, which includes some classic photos, here.
–The summer heat has arrived in full force here in the US and it is certainly becoming a factor at horse trials. Life At Windchase blogs about riding in the heat a Rubicon this weekend. [Life at Windchase]
Your news and notes video for today shows a famous save by Karen O’Connor:
Tha’s all for now. I’ll have the helm at Eventing Nation throughout the day or until the chinchillas’ mutiny. As always, wherever you might be, thanks for making Eventing Nation part of your day. Stay classy EN.
It is nearly two weeks since the fire at True Prospect Farm and by all accounts the recovery is going incredibly well. Boyd won two divisions this weekend at Plantation Field, incidentally, one of which was aboard Colin Davidson’s Crackerjack. Phillip and Abbie had good weekends at Bromont, and incredibly $28,000 was raised for Ryan, Caitlin, and Lillian at the Calcutta team auction.
Today, the PRO online charity auction to help the recovery has started on eBay. The auction will be through the Southern California Equestrian Sports Foundation (SCES). PRO has said that when the auction closes SCES will distribute all the proceeds directly to Boyd Martin, Lillian Heard, Caitlin Silliman, Ryan Wood, Abbie Golden and the Duttons. There are a lot of great products available for great deals for a great cause that have been donated to the auction, including weeks of training with Kyle Carer, Kate Chadderton, Hawley Bennett, and Joe Meyer, a Cape Cod vacation, SmartPak bridles, an Ecogold pad, a USEA membership, and much more. Click below to support the recovery. The auction starts today and will run over the next two weeks with new items being added until June 27th.
On a more sobering note, the Philidelphia Daily news reported last week that the fire was accidental and that a hay-steamer is being investigated as the cause of the spark. Here is a quote from their report [Philadelphia Daily News]:
“The Chester County Fire Marshal has ruled that the fire in West Marlborough Township on May 31 that claimed the lives of six Olympic-caliber showhorses was accidental. Harrison Holt said this morning that the fire originated near machinery he described as a hay-steamer, used to kill bacteria that could form in the hay. He said the unit will be evaluated by an electrical engineer to determine what might have sparked the blaze.”
A Monday morning without helmet cams is like Christmas morning without presents. Fortunately, Santa was busy last night.
Doug Payne and Camerlingo Bromont CCI*: Doug unfortunately had to withdraw Camerlingo before the Sunday morning jog. But, they had a great cross-country round, which you can watch via helmet cam below. It’s basically exactly like riding it yourself, except without the wind in your hair:
Spring Run Horse Tiails Training Level: This next video is courtesy of riderboy, who placed second at Spring Run, which was held this weekend just outside of Louisville, Kentucky [Spring Run Results]:
As a quick pause from our Bromont coverage, we have a report from Tiana Coudray in Germany. Tiana Coudray and the lovely Ringwood Magister are making their second trip overseas in their young career together, this time to compete in the Luhmuhlen CIC3*, June 15th to 19th. Tiana has kindly offered to keep Eventing Nation posted on their travels and the competition. For more information on Tiana and her program, please visit her website. Thanks for writing this Tiana and thank you for reading. —-
From Tiana:
While our horses are still getting a few easy days after the long journey here, we’ve been taking advantage of the spare time to explore the area and rest up ourselves.We returned to the amazing tack store today and though I again resisted buying everything in the store, we did get to chatting with the cashier.By “chatting”, I mean the hand signaling equivalent as she doesn’t speak any English.In any case we did manage to convey a reasonable amount of what can only be considered conversation.When she realized we were competitors she pulled out an aged leather book and started flipping through to show us signatures of all the people that had been to Luhmuhlen over the last 30 or so years.She had Torrance Watkins, Peter Green, Bruce Davidson, Jack LeGoff, and on and on.It was such an amazing piece of history and to think that she’d been collecting this all these years was really special.She asked us to sign our names and our horses and I think I speak for Jennie and Will that it was a real honor.
And while we may not yet have much excitement on the eventing front, our days in Luhmuhlen are anything but boring.Yesterday our ghost town of a riding center that we’d enjoyed all to ourselves started humming with new arrivals.At first we noticed several new horses in the barn of the shorter, wider stature with an easy going, kind eye.I cracked a joke about them being the German equivalent of a Quarter Horse.Then I went outside and saw the parking lot was packed with countless two horse trailers pulled behind all styles of small cars that really shouldn’t be pulling horse trailers.Everything from falling apart sedans to shiny new sports cars, a few rickety RV’s and lots of horses tied up to the sides of the trailers.The scene was most akin to a Pony Club rally, except for the bold decals everywhere of reining horses doing slide stops and slogans like “slide tough”.Ah-ha!… America’s only equestrian export… Quarter Horses. There are hundreds of them, some very classy, some…well let’s just say it’s hard to make a Halflinger look AQHA approved, no matter how much you trim it’s feathered feet and band that mane!
Most intriguing of all is how they’re not just buying the horses, but they’ve got the whole culture that comes with it! These German’s have taken to the world of western riding and they aren’t messing around.They’ve got the glittery outfits, the 30lb Silver encrusted halters (ever wonder how they get those horses to hold their heads so low?), and the uber-shiny black hooves. And more than anything, what would a western show be without a utility belt wielding mother or father armed with no less than 6 different aerosol products, each with a different purpose, and their distinctive smells wafting around the stables.There’s a collection of venders from whom you can buy anything you want. From neon colored chaps with fringe to cowboy hats to parelli halters, if it’s western, they’ve got it.You have country music being piped over the loud speakers, and the announcer asking the riders to “please jog your horses, please jog”.If the irony of this has been missed on you, just remember that only about 20% of the people we’ve met around town speak a single word of English!I feel like if I went to warm up, I’d find the rail lined with cowboys wearing comtek’s, coaching their riders in german, but with a heavy Texas twang.It’s like the whole American Dressage Queen stereotype has been turned completely inside out.I’m pretty sure these ladies don’t really know what their horse’s name, “Cassidy’s Midnight Dazzler”, actually means, but it sounds authentic and they imported him, so he must be good.
This whole western extravaganza goes on for two more days so we’ll have plenty of entertainment.And if you’re worried that we’ll feel lost when this touch of home leaves us on Monday, fear not, because over the next few days all the eventers and our remaining support crew of Mark Phillips and company will start arriving. Then we’ve got jog up’s on Wednesday and CIC3* dressage Thursday.
Clark passing Leslie on his way into the arena for the win
Leslie Law and Rehy Lux jumped a beautiful clean round to put the pressure on Clark and Loughan Glen, who entered the arena with just a rail in hand. Clark and “Glenny,” as he is affectionately known around Team Montgomery, knocked the 4th fence rail down with a big rub and I though to myself “ok, now we’ll see what Clark is made of.” Clark stepped up to all the the pressure of a CCI3* and jumped the rest of the course beautifully to win the Bromont CCI3*. Clark has been putting together quality rides on quality horses for several years, and it’s great to see his talent translating to wins at the top level this year.
Bromont CCI3* Results:
1. Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen +4 47.0 2. Leslie Law and Rehy Lux +0 50.7 3. Phillip Dutton and William Penn +0 59.3 4. Buck Davidson and Absolute Liberty +0 60.3 5. Sharon White and Rafferty’s Rules +4 61.0 6. Becky Holder and Can’t Fire Me +0 65.1
–Leslie Law and Rehy Lux truly jumped a great round and I love seeing Leslie have a fabulous upper level horse for the future. Rehy is owned by Troy Glaus, the former Atlanta Braves baseball player.
–Phillip has to be really pleased with William Penn. That pair has struggled in the show jumping this year but Nina Gardner’s big bay gelding got big cheers from the crowd by completing a great clear round today.
–Buck and “Libby” had another one of the quality show jumping rides in the 3*. They finished in 4th place with a 60.3
–I also want to give a big shout out to grooms Shannon, Ashley, and Emma for handling bunches of horses by themselves this weekend for their respective riders–great jog guys. They worked hard all weekend and got some great support from everyone in the barns. Together they had at least 10 horses to deal with.
–The ‘save of the day’ award goes to Can’t Fire Me who saved the day out of a really deep spot without touching a very tall vertical. Other than that moment, Becky and Can’t Fire Me had a good clean round.
–The Show Me The Money team (aptly named) won as part of the Alan Shinton team challenge, helping to raise $28,000 for Ryan, Caitlin, and Lillian to help them recover from the loss of their apartment in the True Prospect Fire.
–The Bromont show jumping went considerably longer than expected so it’s a rush to get out of here for everyone except the horses and riders who are staying for the Canadian and US vet checks for Pan Am and other consideration.
That’s all from Bromont for now. Thanks to the organizers, volunteers, officials, riders, horses, and everyone else who helped put together an absolutely exquisite weekend of eventing. Now, more than ever, go eventing.
Rebecca Howard entered the arena without a rail to spare after Hannah Burnett and Harbour Pilot jumped double-clear. For the second straight month Rebecca Howard and Roquefort “Rocky” take home a 2* victory. They won the CIC2* at Jersey Fresh in May, and her win today at Bromont is of the CCI2* variety. With those two results, Rebecca Howard and Rocky are arguably the top two-star pair in North America and they should be big favorites to make the Pan Am squad for Canada, although that is an incredibly long time away. For today, Rebecca gave the hometown Canadian crowd something to smile about amidst the now very rainy Bromont weather.
Bromont CCI2* Results:
1. Rebecca Howard and Roquefort +0 49.4 2. Hannah Burnett and Harbour Pilot +0 52.8 3. Phillip Dutton and Mighty Nice +4 53.5 4. Karen O’Connor and Veronica +4 57.4 5. Michael Pollard and Schoensgreen Hanni +0 57.5 6. Kevin Keane and Fernhill Flutter +0 59.3 7. Jon Holling and Downtown Harrison +4 59.8
–Aside from 4 clean rounds towards the end of the division, the 2* show jumping caused even more issues than the 1*, which is saying something. There were three stops and Kyle Carter fell from Chances Are at the last fence.
–Hannah Burnett and Harbour Pilot were one of only two pairs in the CCI2* to finish on their dressage score and they moved up from 8th to 2nd over the jumping phases. Hannah and William seem to always find a way to finish in the top 5 and Hannah finished the spring with top 10 performances in both a 3* and 4*.
–Phillip and Mighty Nice added 4 penalties in the show jumping. Phillip had three tense rides through the triple in the 2*, but his best ride through there was with Mighty Nice. Phillip also finished Young Man in the top 10.
–Phillip’s vet, Kevin Keane rode an excellent round with Fernhill Flutter. Kevin was the only rider other than Hannah to finish on his dressage score in the two star. Kevin consistently produces really nice horses and it’s no surprise to see him finish in the top 10 of a really quality 2* field.
–Rebecca got the victory for Canada, but the USA owned the rest of the 2*–US riders filled the 2nd to 10th spots.
–David O’Connor has to be proud of the 2* results, with two of his students–Rebecca through the Canadians and Hannah through the O’Connor Eventing Team–finishing in the top two places.
–Another OCET student, 15 year old Rowdie Adams of Texas added just a rail to her dressage score and was the highest placed young rider in 8th.
–Will Coleman followed up his CCI* win with a 10th place finish on Oboe O’Reilly. In the 2* press conference, Will made the point that the environment in the warm up which is on top of the hill, is a lot different from the environment in the main arena, where there is a lot to look at. That difference might have caused some of the issues in the show jumping as the horses started looking around in the main arena. Will was also very complimentary of the ground jury throughout the weekend.
–A lot of the CCI2* riders can breath a sigh of relief that they now have their qualifiers done for the Pan Ams. Now they just have to make the team–no sweat, right?
As some bonus coverage, here’s video of the PRO wheelbarrow race between the 2* and 3* show jumping:
The CCI3* will start shortly. The show jumping has stretched much longer than anticipated so expect an especially quick CCI3* recap because I’ll have to rush to catch a flight. Go eventing.
