Olivia Loiacono and Subway will be part of the Rolex video series, photo courtesy of Prof Choice
There are approximately 106 hours, 5 minutes, and 23 seconds until the Rolex jog. Most of the West Coast horses are in the middle of their long trek eastward. All of the Rolex horses spent this last week getting in their last gallop, final shoeing, and most likely lots of icing. We’ll begin the inside Rolex videos next week from the newly released Gina Miles bit collection and and the Professional’s Choice 6 and 9 pocket real ice boots.
Here’s a quick video about the 6 and 9 pocket real ice bots:
As an aside, Tamra Smith and Mar De Amor lead the way after the dressage at the Twin Rivers CIC3* this weekend. Go eventing.
The 4* eventing world has descended on Badminton and for four days out of the year it almost feels like eventing is a mainstream sport all over the world. Samantha has been doing an absolutely tremendous job over on her blog and I don’t know how she finds the time to write so many great posts. We cross-publish some of her posts here on EN, but not all, so be sure to visit her blog for the best Badminton coverage anywhere. As for the rest of the Badminton news, I have spent my afternoon searching for the best links so you don’t have too:
I’ll leave you with this quote from Karen on the USEF’s High Performance Facebook page:
I don’t know what will happen on Sunday but I can say that we are closing the gap between what we are doing in North America and the British CCI4*s. I remember coming here before and thinking, ‘what am I doing here?’ after walking the course. I feel like our horses have seen these questions before.
Laura with a big pat for Rayef, courtesy of the great Nico Morgan
One of Great Britain’s most talented young riders, the 21 year old Laura Collett leads Badminton after Friday’s dressage. Laura is competing in just her second 4*, having placed 30th at Burghey last year aboard Ginger May Killinghurst. Laura and Rayeff have a winning history and the pair has won both the Junior and Young Rider European Championships. Laura’s impressive performance today is yet another reminder of the strength of Great Britain’s rider development system. But, there is a long way to go this weekend and, even though Laura is accustomed to leading big events, there’s nothing in eventing like the pressure of being the overnight Badminton leader. Laura doesn’t have a second horse to ride tomorrow so hopefully she can use the day to focus and be ready for a big cross-country performance. Scroll down for video of Laura that Samantha took this morning. [Audio interview with Laura]
Friday Dressage Results:
1. Laura Collett and Rayef 36.5 2. Marina Kohncke and Calma Schelly (GER) 39.8 3. Susanna Bordone and Carrera (ITA) 43.0 4. Ingrid Klimke and FRH Butts Abraxxas (GER) 43.3 5. Kai Ruder and Le Prince Des Bois (GER) 44.8 … 12. Hawley Bennet-Awad and Ginny (CAN) 50.2
—Germany flexed its muscle today, finishing 3 riders in the top 5. Those impressive results come even without having Michael Jung in the competition, who I think is Germany’s best rider right now. Germany has yet to take home a Badminton trophy and I’m not sure they will get a better chance than this year.
–I also have to give a quick shout-out to the lady riders, who hold the top 4 spots at Badminton. Lucinda Fredericks was the last lady winner, and she took home the trophy in 2007.
–The only North American pair competing today was Canada’s Hawley Bennet and “Gin and Juice”, as the Badminton website says. Ginny had a great test and sits in 12th place going into the cross-country. 12th is an excellent position–close enough to be able to move up big time but not too close to be feeling major pressure about the placings, so all Hawley has to worry about is the pressure of riding around Badminton…no big deal.
–Just behind Hawley sits James Robinson and Comanche, competing in their 9th Badminton together. Yes, 9. They have competed in every single Badminton since I was a freshman in high school. The two most important things in a horse for the long term in my opinion are soundness and the will to try and Comanche has had both for a long time. What an impressive record.
–Other than Laura’s performance, team Great Britain can’t be all that pleased with today, although I am sure they would tell me to just wait for Monday to see how many British riders are in the top 10. The over-under is 6, which would you take?
That’s all for now. Much more from Badminton including lots of links later.
O Canada, pic from Camp Canada, Maizey Manor Farm, by Catherine Burrell
Update: I just received word that the BBC online footage will be the same as the FEI TV feed. The BBC video will be available for free but only in the UK, and the rest of us will only be able to watch it online if we pay to subscribe to FEI TV.
The specifics of where and how we can watch and follow Badminton online have been a bit of a mystery until now. However, things are starting to come into clearer focus as Badminton releases more information and the competition is now officially underway. Here is a quick synopsis of all the ways to follow Badminton from the comfort of your home this great holiday weekend:
Watch Online: There are two ways to watch Badminton cross-country and show jumping online, but no one is streaming the dressage phase. The first way, which we have known about for a while, is via FET TV. FEI TV is a fee-based service, but they offer on-demand streaming, meaning that you will be able to watch the cross-country and show jumping online whenever you want to. FEI TV costs $16 for a day pass and $30 for a monthly pass so it looks like if you want to watch both the cross-country and show jumping you will be out $30. I haven’t paid for FET TV before, but I have heard good things.
The other viewing option, which has just been released on the Badminton website, is that apparently the BBC will be streaming their cross-country and show jumping coverage on the BBC Sports website. I haven’t seen for sure whether or not there will be a fee for this, and there is not a link up on the BBC Sports website yet. The bad news is that BBC Sports programming online is sometimes only available to UK viewers. We will keep you fully updated on this option as we get closer to cross-country on Sunday, but the details are pretty unclear at this point.
Online Audio: You can listen to Badminton radio on the website’s homepage by going to www.badminton-horse.co.uk and clicking the Radio Badminton link in the sidebar. You can also listen to on demand interviews with select riders on the audio interview portion of the Badminton website, courtesy of Lloyd Bell.
Live Blogs: The Horse and Hound is offering a great live blog of Badminton. I’m sure you have seen the format on EN before and we are also carrying the live blog here on EN courtesy of the Horse and Hound.
Websites: Badminton is probably the most thoroughly covered 4* on the planet so all of the regular equestrian media outlets and some irregular outlets are giving it a lot of attention. Here’s a list of the websites that I am constantly checking for Badminton updates.
That’s all for now. It goes without saying that we’ll have all of the top badminton links right here on EN throughout the weekend and through the show jumping on Monday. I’ll be back shortly with a dressage recap and, until then, go Badminton.
Even though we are in the middle of the whirlwind that is Badminton coverage, Rolex is less than a week away and we shouldn’t forget to keep an eye on the certified horse capitol of the World. I’m very excited to announce that we will have a fun behind the scenes video or photo each day courtesy of the newly released Gina Miles bit collection and and the Professional’s Choice 6 and 9 pocket real ice boots, both from Professional’s Choice. Here’s a quick video about the bits to get us started. We have a lot of fun planned over the next three weeks including bit giveaways and partnerships with Hahahorses. Click on the banner below to check out the full collection of bits.
Today’s video is a quick promo video about the bits to get the series started off:
As an aside, we will also be introducing a small news feed to Eventing Nation once the IT Chinchillas get a few minor technical details sorted out. Thanks again to Professional’s Choice for sponsoring this series on EN and be sure to check out the Gina Miles bits and the Professional’s Choice 6 and 9 pocket boots online or at Rolex. Go eventing.
84 horses who presented at the Badminton jog passed. Yes, I counted–twice. Ireland’s Geoff Curran and The Jump Jet did not present. The accepted horses move on to the start of dressage on Friday, and I am sure Samantha will have much more from the jog later.
It’s a big relief for the horses who traveled long distances such as the US and Canadian pairs to just get that first jog under their belts. The US started the Badminton entry process off with 6 pairs entered and now Buck with Reggie, Karen with Mandiba, and Jennifer with “Pooh” now carry the torch for the red, white, and blue. Canada of course has three riders as well–Steph with Port Authority, Hawley with Ginny, and Selena with Colombo.
The riders with more than 2 entries settled their entries today for good. Mark Todd is taking Major Milestone and Land Vision, as expected. Andrew Nicholson is taking Avebury and Nereo, Mary King is taking Imperial Cavalier and Apache Sauce, and William has Navigator and Cool Mountain.
This is why Eventing nation has the coolest readers on the planet
Good morning Eventing Nation! It’s Badminton jog day, with the jog starting at 10:30 ET. Yes, I know, jogs are usually on Wednesday, but remember that Badminton runs from Thursday through Monday this year. If your braids are looking good and your brass is shiny then take a few minutes to relax and read your eventing news and notes…
–Our friends at SmartPak are wonderful Eventing Nation supporters and I’m excited to announce that they are teaming up with our friends at CANTER for a great prize at Rolex. They will be presenting an award to the highest placed ex-racehorse. The winner will receive an embroidered wool dress sheet. Last year 10 of the top 20 finishers at Rolex were ex-racehorses so if you’re looking for a new horse, you can’t go wrong with an ex-racehorse. [CANTER]
–EN’s friend Tamra Smith has a really cool fundraiser going that I encourage everyone to check out. Tamra and Mar De Amor are hoping to represent the US at the Pan Ams. The fundraiser is both creative and fun. You bid a dollar amount closest to the score that you think they will finish on at each competition that they compete in, and a $500 gift basket will be awarded at to the closest bid after each event. Go to www.nextleveleventing.com for more information.
–Boyd Martin’s fantastic publicist Lisa Thomas has decided to crack the whip this year and make sure that Boyd is looking sharp at the Rolex jog, especially in light of Boyd’s blog">this recent Chronicle photo. Lisa’s husband is the Bill behind Bill’s Khakis and you can expect to see Boyd rocking out in Bill’s Khaki’s gear at the jogs. Now, if only I could get a pair of those Khakis, I’m a 17 waist and a 49 leg Lisa… [Boyd’s blog]
–We will focus a lot on Badminton this weekend, but we won’t forget the other events around Eventing Nation. The Fair Hill CIC3* is the last chance to get that critical clean CIC3* round before Jersey and Bromont. Fair Hill is a really great addition to the CIC3* calendar and hopefully lots of riders will take advantage of it with good rounds this weekend.
–Let’s take a moment from interesting things and talk about the FEI. Actually, that’s completely wrong because this is one of the most interesting links in the entire news and notes. Eventing Safety John has written on his blog an update on recent developments by the FEI including their recent venture into social media and the appointment of the greatAkaash Maharaj to chair the FEI’s Constitutional Task Force. John has excellent analysis of the situation, and I second his praise and support of Akaash as one of the intelligent voices of reason in equestrian sport. The FEI deserves a lot of credit for appointing Akaash to chair the committee and I hope they give the committee freedom to reach successful if not agreeable conclusions. Somewhere, someplace an orange vegetable turns in the ground. [EventingSafety blog, Akaash’s Task Force statement]
–The best Badminton coverage won’t be on Eventing Nation, it will probably be over on Samantha’s blog. Like Red Hills and The Fork, we will cross post the big articles, but Samantha will have a ton more great behind the scenes posted on her blog. For example, above the Canadian story from last night, Samantha has a fun story about a Badminton regular and photos of the XC course. [SamanthaLClark.com]
–Rolex will be hosting military appreciation day on Friday, April 29th with free admission to current and former military personnel and their families. If you read Eventing Nation you know how much we appreciate those who serve our country and make it possible for us to do things like ride horses. Let’s all be sure to thank the military folks we pass walking around Rolex for their service.
–I want to give a quick shout out to the Novice and Training 3-Days in Indiana the first weekend of June. The event is organized by my first chef d’equippe, Lee Ann Zobbe. I haven’t been to the event, but I’ve had a good time at anything Lee Ann has organized so check out the omnibus or website to see if it fits into your season. [Website]
–Our friends at Pennfield have added some new dealers: Valley View Farm in Stafford Springs, CT; The Equestrian Shop in North Andover, Mass. and the Equestrian Shop North in Ipswich, Mass; and Neptune Feed & Saddlery in Calverton, NY.
–Sport Horse Nation has moved to two posts a day to catch up on all the classifieds we have received lately. SHN was something that several of our readers asked for and I wasn’t sure how useful it would be, but I keep being surprised by the number of people who write us back saying they sold their horse through SHN. SHN’s success is no doubt due primarily to Leslie’s incredible job of managing it and I can’t thank her enough for making things run so smoothly.
–Today’s news and notes photo was sent to us from EN reader Cindi with the following explanation:
Zack (Do It Exact) and I are heading out for the first event of the season on Thursday, Twin Rivers, in Paso Robles, CA. Always a great venue (they have real bathrooms!), good footing, Derek DiGrazia designed cross country courses, and the owners of the property, the Baxters, are outstanding. Of course, I can’t forget, they also have a gourmet caterer with the best show food, bar none. Their smores brownies are to die for. Just wanted to show off my new custom license plate holder.
A custom EN license plate holder and an event preview–pretty awesome, thanks Cindi.
Karen and David show Badminton some love via the Badminton blog:
Paul Tapner one year later:
That’s all for now Eventing Nation. Click the banner below to learn more about Horse Quencher, Eventing Nation’s favorite traveling tool. As always, wherever you might be, thanks for making Eventing Nation part of your day.
We are staring down the barrel of the busiest two week period of the entire year here on Eventing Nation and I couldn’t be more excited. Starting tomorrow, we have 4* action in 10 of the next 11 days if you include the jogs. Samantha is already on scene at Badders and we’ll have all of her coverage throughout the weekend as well as daily updates on the competition and links to all of the other great coverage. Sit back, buckle your seat belt, put your tray in the upright takeoff position, and get ready for some great eventing.
I’m working on getting the complete information on where we can watch Badminton online, but I can say for sure that it will be broadcast on FEI TV Saturday and Sunday, and word is that it will also be the BBC Sports website, although it’s possible that could include regional or time exceptions. I will have more details about the BBC Sports online broadcasting as soon as possible.
The entry list to Badminton was closed today. Only 17 horses needed to be added this year from the waitlist, and the last pair to get in was Sweden’s Dag Albert and Tubber Rebel, a pair that we love here on EN. Badminton is an early chance to get qualified for the Olympics so it’s a great feeling to make it into the field.
As a few specific entry notes, Oli decided to take only Ashdale Cruise Master and withdrew Carousel Quest, ODT Master Rose, and Sonas Rovatio yesterday. The riders with more than two horse are still allowed to declare which horses they will ride–they have until the jog to decide. Andrew Nicholson has Avebury, Nereo, and Armada entered, William has chosen Cool Mountain and Seacookie, Mark Todd will take Major Mileston and NZB Land Vision, and Mary King has Apache Sauce, Imperial Cavalier, and Kings Temptress entered. [Horse and Hound]
The Grassroots Championship on Wednesday:
On the same day that all of the 4* competitors are moving into Badminton, the Grassroots Championships finished up day 1 of their competition this afternoon on the Badminton grounds. For reference, BE100 class jumps are 100 cm tall, so the equivalent of about training level in the US. There is a great range of competitors, from 15 year-olds to professionals in other fields, such as corporate financier Frances Davies who leads the BE90 (90cm) division. Beccy Philips and Vamiro lead the BE 100 division. [Full Day 1 Results, Badminton Blog]
H&H Grassroots Guest Video Blogger Marie Ewen:
William is excited for Badminton:
I want to give a big thanks in advance to everyone at Badminton, the Badminton blog, and especially our good friend Dominic for keeping us updated and connected to everything we need for our Badminton coverage, including the photos on this post. Badminton does an absolutely fantastic job getting information to fans from all over the world and that makes things much more fun for all of us on EN. The jog starts tomorrow. Go eventing.
After looking into the issue extensively, Point Two has released the following information in response to last week’s article in the Horse and Hound. Please be sure to click the link below to read the full release:
The Horse and Hound recently reported that Point Two ran two advertisements regarding their Air Jacket which were judged to be misleading by the British Advertising Standards Authority. The ads in question featured a child wearing a Point Two Air Jacket without a BETA body protector and stated the TRL findings about the reduction in the level of chest compression while wearing the air jacket.
In reporting on the advertising objections filed with the ASA, Horse and Hound stated, without further explanation or research, that the Point Two Air Jacket must always be used with a body protector underneath.
On page 5 of the April 7th paper edition of the Horse and Hound, a retraction was printed that the Point Two Air Jacket could in fact be worn on its own, but reminded readers that the Jacket must be worn with an approved body protector at British Eventing, Pony Club and Riding Club cross country events in the United Kingdom….
In developing and improving the Point Two Air Jacket, Point Two has worked closely with two of the leading independent safety testing organisations in the UK; TRL and SATRA. These 3rd party organisations have tested both the adult’s and children’s jackets to measure the level of body protection that they provide. Point Two has produced a video documenting these test results, which will be released shortly.
Greetings Eventing Nation and what a good day it is! It’s great to be back in the US despite the cold I acquired on the flight back and the fact that I already miss $10 trips to McDonald’s and insane roundabouts.
I thought I would share some fun photos for everyone who doesn’t know what to do with their old top hat. Hopefully most of the riders at Badminton and Rolex will do this with their top hats instead of wearing them. In the age of reduce, reuse and recycle, here is one idea to re-purpose your top hat.
We have a busy day planned on EN and it will probably be wall to wall Bamdinton coverage, including an interview with Lucinda Green from Samantha. Go eventing.
Good morning Eventing Nation. Coren posted a news montage last night which is the Eventing Nation equivalent of taking all of the air out of the morning news and notes football and handing it to me to kick. I’m bad at all sports that involve coordination of any kind and was once told by a soccer coach that it was “so nice they let kids like you play soccer,” but we’ll see what I can make of this. I’ll be traveling back to the US all day, so I leave Eventing Nation in the capable hands of the EN Team. As I say when I’m riding, Jesus take the reins…
–Blyth Tait is making his first start on a new horse called Santos later this month at Withington Manor. Since Samantha first reported that Blyth was making a comeback we haven’t heard much about him other than he started his first British event in early April. The key for Blyth, like anyone, is putting together the right team of horses, but if he can do that then things will get exciting.
–Sticking with European eventing news, the La Pista Vairano CCI3* ran over the weekend.
CCI 3 star- 1st. Sara Ostholt riding Wega CIC 3 star- 1st. Susanna Bordone and Blue Moss CIC 2 star- 1st. Charlotte Dobretsberger and Excalibur MT
–The FEI is getting their Facebook on. [new FEI Fanpagevia TheCarrot]
–The Burnham Market Horse Trials was held over the weekend in the UK. Everyone who was at Plantation Field horse trials in Pennsylvania will surely feel a sense of irony that the event suffered from an unseasonable dry spell. Andrew Nicholson won the CIC3* on Ouimbo and Pippa was second, but the British media seems a lot more interested that Zara popped off at some random fence. Piggy French won the CIC3* R. [Stars Come Out for Burnham]
–Let’s talk Badminton online video feeds. The only video feed I have heard will definitely be covering Badminton is FEI TV, which will show the cross-country and show jumping. Last year Badmtinton was covered by H&C TV, but I haven’t seen anything on their website that they are planning on hosting the video again this year. We’ll keep you posted as Badminton draws nearer of course. [FEI TV, H&C]
–Rolex Saturday tickets are for sale on Groupon for $15. [Groupon]
Andrew Nicholson part 2, courtesy of Badminton
That’s all for now. Be sure to click on the banner below to enter to win a free iPad from our friends at Pennfield. Keep your radio dial tuned to Eventing Nation for the latest Tuesday eventing news, commentary, and ridiculous. As always, wherever you might be, thanks for making Eventing Nation part of your day.
A “between the mirrors” photo from Doug Payne at muddy Plantation Field
This weekend introduced the return to Plantation Field and the Pennsylvania welcomed the winter migrants home as only Pennsylvania can. The picture pretty much says it all. There was rain, then there was mud, and then the cross-country was canceled on Sunday. Phillip Dutton won the open intermediate with Ben, Sally Cousins finished four horses in the top 8, and a fantastic young writer and rider named Abbie won the JYOP.
River Glen (TN) Results Florida International HT (FL) Scores
–Congratulations to Leslie Law and Rehy Lux for their CCI2* victory at the Ocala Three-Day. Becky Holder and Can’t Fire Me finished second. Both of those horses needed the CCI2* qualification and I expect we’ll see them putting the qualification to good use soon.
–Robin Walker and Florenz won the CCI1* in Ocala. Robin hails from the Michigan eventing scene and you probably recognize his name because he typically rides a bunch of horses at the shows. Buck Davidson was second in the CCI1* and I’d like to wish Buck a good trip to England.
–At St. Johns horse trials in Arizona, Ella Algermissen and Buckwheat won the Junior Training, Frederic Bouland and Scotty won the Open Training, and Paige Dinnie won the Senior Training with Just Jack.
–Even if you were busy frolicking in the mud all weekend, you surely still heard that David was recommended for the US coaching job by the Eligible Anthletes and High Performance Committee. I’m not sure that this decision surprised anyone, but I do feel the situation was a lot closer than a lot of people might think and I give a ton of credit to all of the candidates.
–The Rolex entry list is 6 horses smaller than it was 10 days ago. William Fox-Pitt withdrew two of his rides, as expected. Hawley withdrew Ginny because they are in England for Badminton. Polly Stockton withdrews Westwood Mariner, Frankie Thieriot scratched Fric Frac Berence, and Mark Todd substituted Grass Valley for Majro Milestone [Rolex Entries]
–The word is that William Fox Pitt has decided to take Navigator to Badminton, rather than Rolex, so we can probably take Navigator’s name off the entry list as well. William has Cool Mountain, Navigator, and Seacookie still entered at Badminton and once again he will be one of the favorites to win both 4*’s this spring, even with only one horse at Rolex. [via Ecogold]
–I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to count down the hours until the start of Badminton on Thursday. We haven’t received any word on whether the snapping turtle in the water complex has found another home, but I am optimistic. Samantha leaves tomorrow for England and we will have a combination of daily competition reports as well as all of Samantha’s coverage.
–In your daily dose of “idiots on horseback,” two Russian prisoners fled from jail on horseback. Apparently they got away but then were caught after they switched to a car and then crashed into a ditch. [Horsetalk]
That’s all for now. Stay tuned throughout the day for all of your eventing news, results, and ridiculous commentary. As always, wherever you might be, thanks for making Eventing Nation part of your day.
This is part 15 of Jenny’s adventure as a working student and EN guest blogger. Jenny has ambitiously decided to spend the next year as a working student in Lexington, Kentucky. In this post, Jenny’s writes about returning home from Aiken. Thanks for writing this Jenny and thank you for reading. —-
Link: From Jenny:
Hello Eventing Nation!
Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time–those of you who follow college basketball should understand why a UConn graduate needs to be lying low in Lexington right now! Living in the horse capital is great in every aspect, except when UConn beats UK, and then goes on to win the national title… people forget after a while though, right? Good thing I live on a farm and rarely go out
Last weekend was Spring Bay HT, and Molson and I got to do our first novice! I was really excited after a successful CT two weeks ago that it would carry over to this weekend, and the dressage sure did. Moo warmed up a little bit tense, probably due to the fact that a monsoon hit the horse park minutes before our ride time so the rings were sloppy, and very crowded because rides were delayed due to the storm. He put in a good test that I was happy with, and we were tied for 2nd with a 33. Then came stadium, which I was quite familiar with since we volunteered to help set up the course for the show last week. I was thrilled to see they were using the colorful toy boxes, because I have seen them in the Training and Prelim courses and have wanted to jump them for quite some time now. However, Moo was not nearly as excited as I was, and we ended up having a stop at the toy boxes, and some time penalties, sadly moving us far out of our 2nd place. I was really disappointed that I didn’t ride the fence well enough and had let my guard down–I can promise you that won’t happen again. Cross-country was on Sunday, and I woke up determined to not make any more silly mistakes. The course was fairly straightforward, with lots of hills and inviting jumps. When I walked the course on Friday I felt extremely confident for Molson, however after our stop on Saturday I was a little nervous. Megan was really supportive and encouraging in warm up, as Molson was being really good, and she saw me off to the start box telling me to ride every fence, don’t take anything for granted, and keep the determination. If I had to pick one thing going trough my mind at that moment, it was that I would not make the same mistake twice, and would most definitely ride every single step of the course. Luckily, I managed to keep the determination all five minutes of the course, and we came in double clear. I was happy with our run, Moo started off a bit rusty and wiggled to a couple of the fences, but was willing to trust me and jump them anyway. He was extremely forward so I had to take some big tugs near the end of the course so that we didn’t get any speed faults… oops! In the end, we finished 8th, which I was very happy with because I learned so much from this weekend and hope that I learn to not let my guard down, even when Molson seems to be perfect in warm up!
Today was a rainy day, so we did lots of paperwork and sent in entries for Greater Dayton and May Daze. I entered Moo in both of them at Novice, and if all goes to plan we will move up to Training in June. Megan helped me schedule 5 Trainings before my year-end goal of doing the Training 3-Day at Team Challenge in October…eek!
Last night I removed “publish news on Eventing Nation from a borrowed iPhone in Europe” from my bucket list. I want to thank the EN Team for doing a great job holding down the fort while I am traveling. This week is yet another reminder that there’s no way EN would exist without them. Before I head to bed to prepare for tomorrow’s cursing the exchange rate horse shopping, I wanted to share a few thoughts about David’s selection by the Eligible Athletes and the High Performance Committee. Of course, David hasn’t been officially named the coach and the contract needs to be negotiated, but the candidates are already aware of the budget. Aside from something absolutely extraordinary happening, David will be the next US coach, and I don’t think that’s a surprise to anyone.
As a rider and someone who has spent many nights wide awake dreaming about riding in red, white, and blue someday, there’s no doubt in my mind that David will help the US Team reach the full potential and elite status that we have been struggling to find for years. As a cliche though it might sound, I have the feeling that David was put on this planet, grew up working under Jimmy and Jack, won the Olympics, and went to coach the Canadians for one reason–to prepare him to be the best coach he can for the United States. I have written several times before on EN that I think David will win more international medals as a coach than he did as a rider and I still think that’s true because he is better at building riders that he was at riding.
David has a very focused, even obsessive personality, and I know that he will spend pretty much every waking moment of his life working to make the US team as good as it can be. If an aspect of his initial approach doesn’t work, he’ll change it and learn from it because he will never be happy unless the US is winning. We all know that success will take a bottom to top transformation of our system and David will make that happen in order to win.
I obviously think that David will do a good job, but you can call me biased–to some extent I am. I have spent time riding with David, but I have spent just as much time riding with Phillip and if you have ever talked with me about coaching, you know how much I like Phillip. We need Phillip and Bobby to be as involved with the team as possible moving forward even though they won’t be leading it. I’m also a big fan of Leslie, Andrew, and of course Jimmy, and I think all of them are good coaches.
I haven’t spoken with a single high performance rider or, frankly, anyone else in eventing, who thinks that David will be a bad coach. Even riders who aren’t the biggest fans of OCET told me that they thought David would do a good job. People who are unhappy with the coaching search are divided into two categories–those who just don’t like David, and those who think the process wasn’t fair.
I think it is very important to distinguish the process from the final choice, and one thing I consistently heard from other riders after the Search Committee’s short list came out was that they didn’t think it would change the result in the end but it would have been good to give Phillip and Bobby a chance to speak publicly at Red Hills. As the process played out, the Eligible Athletes were free to interview and recommend whatever candidates they wanted, and Phillip and Bobby withdrew before the Eligible Athletes privately interviewed the candidates. Because Phillip and Bobby withdrew from the process when they did, both of them had the opportunity to have a big influence on the process as chairs of the respective committees. Fortunately the decision by the Eligible Athletes and High Performance Committee show that Phillip and Bobby support David, which is important for David’s success as a coach.
The Search Committee should have been much more clear immediately after they released the short list about why they made the decisions that they did. I also think the Eligible Athletes should have been able to publicly hear from whatever candidates they wanted to at Red Hills. But, I feel strongly that the Search Committee made their decision based on fair parameters. I don’t believe conspiracy theories or anything else of the sort because I don’t think the members of the Search Committee would take manipulation by anyone. I have said this before, but imagine what George Morris, Kim Severson, or Katie Prudent would do to the poor fool who tried to tell them how to vote. And, even if they weren’t fair, the fact remains that the Eligible Athletes were given free rein to recommend whoever they wanted to, that Phillip and Bobby were chairs of the two committees, and that those committees still picked David. Looking back on the process, I’m trying to figure out why the USEF even used a Search Committee in the first place.
I wish that Andrew could have had the opportunity to come over to the US to meet with the committees in person because I think he would have interviewed very well. But, ultimately Andrew didn’t commit 100% to moving here if he got the job and it seems like no one wanted any part of the possibility of having a long-distance coach again.
Leslie is terrific and had an excellent plan for coaching the team. If he decides to apply for the Canadian position I hope he gets it and in 6 years he will be a top international team coach. The timing for Leslie was just 4 to 6 years too early.
Mr. Jim, as I call him, is a stone cold legend and I thought that the Search Committees cryptic mention that all candidates had to be able to ride the horses was pretty useless. But the Eligible Athletes chose not to interview Jimmy when they interviewed Andrew and it seems like it just wasn’t meant to be.
Unless you don’t like David, it’s hard to make an argument that he wasn’t the best choice because his success with Canada presented experience and success with the specific job he was applying for unlike any of the other applicants. The other candidates all had tons of potential, but David had a proven track record, which is the most important thing when applying for any job. I have heard the frustrations of our Canadian readers that they will be losing David, but Canada has an incredible bunch of talented riders and young superstar horses that will keep Canadian eventing strong for many years.
Today marks the beginning of a new era for US eventing. Between our younger riders looking great at the spring events, and the prospect of David leading them and our veteran riders makes me more optimistic about the US eventing than I have ever been in my lifetime. I’ll bet a trip around the cross-country in hot pink colors that the US wins a gold medal internationally in David’s first 4 years as coach. It’s time to put the frustrations of this long process behind us and stand behind the riders and their new coach. Go eventing.
With the news that David was also recommended by the High Performance Committee following the recommendation by the Eligible Athletes, the only raining major part of the process is a final contract to be negotiated. The USEF has just released the following press release regarding the search for the next eventing coach. As I mentioned earlier, the decision should come as no surprise. Andrew Hoy was the other candidate interviewed after The Fork, as the release explains:
From the USEF:
Lexington, KY – The Eventing Eligible Athlete Committee and Eventing High Performance Committee have unanimously recommended David O’Connor to be the Eventing Chef d’Equipe/ Technical Advisor to succeed Capt. Mark Phillips in 2013. The recommendation will go to the USEF High Performance Working Group before being presented to the USEF Executive Committee.
The search for Capt. Phillips replacement began in 2010. Nine applications were received by the Search Committee. The Committee shortlisted two applicants: O’Connor and Leslie Law.
The USEF hosted an Open Rider Forum at the Red Hills Horse Trials on March 13 where both O’Connor and Law made presentations and answered questions from the floor. The Search Committee then confirmed their recommendation of both O’Connor and Law to the Eventing Eligible Athlete Committee and the Eventing High Performance Committee.
After the forum at Red Hills, the Eventing Eligible Athlete Committee met three additional times to review all eligible applicants and decided to conduct another round of interviews. They met with the two shortlisted candidates (O’Connor and Law) again at the Fork Horse Trials on April 7 and held a telephone interview with British-based Australian Andrew Hoy.
The depth of quality of the applicant field was impressive – it included some of the biggest legends in the sport and after extensive research, thorough discussions and candid interviews the Eventing Eligible Athlete Committee unanimously voted to recommend O’Connor. On April 15, the Eventing High Performance Committee voted to unanimously to endorse this recommendation. The High Performance Working Group and the Executive Committee will meet to review this recommendation.
O’Connor has extensive knowledge of the sport in the U.S. and across the globe. He was the Individual Eventing Gold Medalist at the Sydney Olympic Games and he coached the Canadian Eventing Team to Team Silver at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. O’Connor has proven leadership skills having served as the President of the USEF and the Chairman of FEI Group IV since his retirement from International competition in 2004. On the field of play he is renowned for producing top results from both horses and riders.
Identifying a Chef D’Equipe/Technical Advisor now will allow for a smooth transition for the riders and the eventing program when Mark Phillips retires in 2012.Phillips has successfully led the program since 1994, having won medals at four Pan American Games, four World Equestrian Games and four Olympic Games.
I have just received indepent and credible word that the Eligible Athletes recommended David O’Connor to the High Performance Committee in their meeting earlier today. The process of picking a coach is still certainly ongoing and the choice for a final recommendation to the Executive Committee now rests with the High Performance Committee, but right now it looks like we have a pretty darn good idea about who will be the next coach of US Eventing. It is a big thing for the process that the athletes, even though they had the ability to recommend anyone and they were led by David’s former opponent in the process, recommended David. More later and go eventing.
It’s a busy day around the eventing world with competitions starting for the weekend. The USEF Eligible Athletes met with the High Performance Committee earlier today to present their thoughts and recommendations on the coaching search. Everyone involved is signed to confidentiality agreements and the meeting was confidential, but hopefully we will get a USEF press release with more information like the last time the Eligible Athletes met before The Fork and decided to consider more applicants, but we did not get anything after the interviews at The Fork so who knows. Here are a few quick stories we are keeping our eye on this afternoon…
Good morning Eventing Nation! The start of Badminton is now officially less than a week away. Remember that Badminton dressage starts on Friday and the show jumping ends on Monday due to a bank holiday on Monday, which is where everyone parades through the streets throwing money in the air and celebrating how awesome banks are. Make it rain good people of England, make it rain. We’ll be arriving at Rolex in less than 10 days!
–The CCI* started dressage in Ocala on Thursday, which you can read all about in Coren’s post below. Looking ahead, the CIC2* starts dressage today along with all of the horse trials divisions. We’ll keep you posted on the Ocala three-day throughout the weekend.
–Other USEA events this weekend include St. Johns [Ride Times], and Plantation field which both start on Saturday. We’ll have links to Plantation’s live scores tomorrow morning. Corona del Sol in Texas, Ram Tap [Ride Times], and River Glen [Ride Times] round out the USEA events for the weekend.
–Last week we mentioned that Kristin Schmolze and Cavaldi had sadly withdrawn from Badminton. Kristin explains why in her last USEA blog:
“Joey has a minor strain of a medial splint bone and the ligaments that attach it to the cannon bone. It is a minor injury and he only needs to walk for a few weeks, but it is most certainly not in Joey’s best interest to fly to England this week.” [USEA blog]
–The FEI is revamping its Classics series schedule. Burghley will be the final and they are adding Adelaide to the list, which means that all of the world’s 4*’s will be part of the series. ESJ sent me an email about sources telling him Adelaidewas being added a day before the FEI sent out their press release, so I have to give him credit for having the scoop there. [Horse and Hound]
—Ecogold is having a really fun program at Rolex where they are putting several amateur riders at the center of an Ecogold Rolex experience, where they will go around and do cool stuff with Ecogold riders and then write about their experience on the Ecogold blog. We’ll of course keep you updated on all of the fun that will surely ensue. I have talked to Patricia and they have some great stuff planned although I am sworn to secrecy. [Ecogold blog]
In some fun mysterious developments, the USEA has sent out a pretty cryptic message on their website announcing that “an opportunity of groundbreaking proportions” will be announced after the Competitors’ Briefing at Rolex. [USEA Website]
–In addition to the 4*, Badminton will also play host to the British Grassroots Championships next week. It’s a great way to give attention to the Grassroots Championship in Britain and it must be an incredible experience for the lower level and younger riders to compete on the Badminton grounds as part of such a big setting. Doing some joke with the Grassroots Championships was actually our second choice for an April FOlls joke, but I think the snapping turtle worked out well. [West Sussex Times]
–I heard from Steph that *she and Ollie have arrived safely at Jackie Green’s farm.
–As usual for our Friday news and notes, I’d like to wish a big EN good luck to all of the competitors at events around the world this weekend. Stay safe, have fun, and don’t forget to pat your horse as many times as possible–every pat is worth 3 utils of EN Karma.
That’s all for now. Stay tuned for a busy day around Eventing Nation with more from ESJ, Coren, Hannah Burnett, and the rest of the Team, and I’ll be keeping an eye on the news and checking in as well. As always, wherever you might be, thanks for making Eventing Nation part of your day. Stay classy Eventing Nation.
Greetings Eventing Nation. The good news is that Europe has the internet. The bad news is that Europe is 6 timezones away and I’m badly jet lagged, so here are a few quick morning news and notes in the hope that it is still morning in North America…
Samantha posted a quick update on her blog last night to say that she heard from Peter Atkins who said “the trial was concluded today and we are awaiting a decision from the judge.” The trial that Peter is talking about is of course the ownership trial for Henny, who is currently in Peter’s custody per an earlier court ruling. We’ll keep you updated when we hear about a ruling. [Samantha’s blog] #FreeHenny #Henny2012
The other big eventing news of the day is that the Ocala CCI2*, CCI1*, and horse trials is getting underway today at the Florida Horse Park. Peter Atkins has two rides in the horse trials. Buck has 5 rides in the event before he leaves for Badminton next week. EN’s good friend Lauren Kieffer is making a comeback from her broken wrist and surgery with 6 horses entered, which is a light weekend for Lauren. Leslie Law has 6 horses entered, and David is riding Karen’s Rolex horse, Quin, in an advanced combined test that also has DIana Burnett and Manny, Hannah Burnett and St. Barths, Olivia Loiacono and Subway, and Missy Ransehousen and BG entered.
–The other USEA events of the weekend are Corona del Col in Texas, Ram Tap in Cali, Plantation in PA, River Glen in Tennessee, and St. Johns HT in Arizona. We’ll have more on those events as the weekend nears and they get underway.
–Let’s get to 3,100 Facebook fans today because 3,100 fans is cooler than 3,098. Please click ‘like’ in the Facebook sidebar box if you like Eventing Nation, which hopefully you do. Otherwise you would be a louse.
–Lucinda Green is a polarizing figure in eventing and I find that people either love her or hate her. I’m a big Lucinda fan and her accomplishments as a rider speak for themselves. The Golightly blog has been doing a great job recapping a Lucinda clinic this week in the US, so check out the recaps and videos: [Videos, Day 2 Recap]
–Sign up to watch the Horse and Hound’s Badminton live blog, and we’ll link to it during Baders of course [Horse and Hound]
That’s all for now. I’m off to go find a McDonald’s; ESJ and the rest of the Team will be around throughout the day with all of your eventing awesomeness. I might even check in once or twice to cure my Eventing Nation withdrawal. As always, thanks for making Eventing Nation part of your day.
This week is a quiet but busy time for the USEF’s Chef D’Equippe/Technical Advisor search. Here’s a quick update on the process so far and thoughts about where it might be going.
As a quick update for those returning from Siberia, the USEF announced via press release in early March that the Search Committee would recommend a short list of David O’Connor and Leslie Law to the High Performance Committee. This was just a recommendation, and the Eligible Athletes were then tasked with making their recommendation to the High Performance Committee. After Red Hills, Phillip and Bobby announced that they would be withdrawing from the process as candidates. The latest press release from the USEF two weeks ago announced that the Eligible Athletes would be “reviewing other applicants,” not just those on the short list.
As we all know, the Eligible Athletes met last Thursday along with the High Performance riders at The Fork to interview David and Leslie. From what I have heard of the meeting, it was very positive for both candidates and gave Leslie a chance to thrive in a more personal setting and David the chance to openly and thoroughly address all aspects of the process. The Eligible Athletes have definitely looked thoroughly into other applicants following the meeting at The Fork and they will meet later this week to formulate their recommendation to the High Performance Committee. That recommendation will hopefully be made by the athletes in the next week. At this point, no one, not even the athletes, knows who the Eligible Athletes will decide to recommend, but their recommendation is independent of the Search Committee’s.
The good thing about the process right now is that the athletes are very much involved in the decision making, and my opinion continues to be that the athletes will have the biggest say in the final decision.
The Eligible Athletes:
Phillip Dutton Stephen Bradley Jan Byyny Buck Davidson Lauren Hart O’Brien Becky Holder Marcia Kulak Bonnie Mosser Karen O’Connor (Recused) Kim Severson
After the Eligible Athletes make their recommendation to the High Performance Committee, the High Performance Committee will formulate their recommendation which will be a major decision of the process–and that will be the recommendation. From there, the final candidate will move on to USEF CEO John Long and the Executive Committee to negotiate the final contract. My guess from how the process has gone so far is that we will have a recommendation but not a final contract negotiated by Rolex. Hopefully we will hear more about this process sometime soon through another USEF press release updating us on what the Eligible Athletes recommended. Go eventing.
Well, it’s hard to believe it, but here I am getting ready for my spring three day. It feels like this winter season went by in a flash, but that’s ok by me because I could hardly wait!! I have been so excited for the last few months thinking about the possibility of going to Badminton for the first time, and now I’m packing up and getting ready to leave!
As an eventer who is lucky enough to travel south for the winter, I do a lot of packing and moving around. I have acquired a lot of stuff over the last few years, and even though I try to stay organized, moving day is always a little hairy. Last week, I had an incredible combo of Moving Day/Packing for the Fork CIC 3*/thinking about eventually being organized for Badminton. So much stuff!! I packed up all of my things from the rental house in Ocala, where I have been since the middle of January. Some of it went in my car to be out of my hair, but unfortunately I wasn’t all that organized about it so I still ended up with mountains of stuff that needed to be jammed in to my truck and trailer for the trek up to North Carolina.
But, we made it up to North Carolina and had a very successful weekend at the Fork CIC 3*. It was a great confidence boosting weekend for both of us, with two really fun jumping phases and a respectable dressage test. Finishing in 2nd place in that competitive field was just icing on the cake! After the showjumping and awards on Sunday afternoon, Ollie and I made the trek from the show stabling to the main barn to have a Dr. Ober/Team Canada check up, as well as to have his last shoeing before making the trip across the Atlantic. Once we got the green light from the team, it was back to the barn for a well deserved night of rest.
Selena had to leave early Monday morning to make the move home to Ontario for the summer before meeting us in the UK, so she left Colombo with me for our 2 days of reprieve after the competition. The boys have been enjoying a bit of turnout (only a bit, though… this NC grass is serious compared to what they have been getting in Ocala!) and some quiet time before I take them down to Atlanta to meet their plane. I will be dropping them off at a barn an hour from the airport this afternoon. All the tack and equipment will be taken to the airport right away, and then the horses will be sent from the farm to the airport around midnight for their 4 am departure. Once I have dropped the boys off, I will be going to the airport to get my overnight flight to Heathrow via Philadelphia. The horses are flying into Stanstead airport, so Max and I will be taking a bus or shuttle (or something) from Heathrow to meet the boys! Once we are in the UK, we will be staying at Jackie Green’s Maisey Manor farm in Marlborough. I will be so relieved when we finally arrive there on Thursday evening!! Then the fun begins!!
Right now, its a lot of following the itinerary and hoping everything goes smoothly, but once we arrive everything will be much simpler. I’m looking forward to having 5 days to decompress at Maisey Manor, and I’ll be using that time to get focused on the competition and to make sure I’m relaxed and mentally prepared. I’m really looking forward to the challenge of a hugely important competition like Badminton. I think that Selena and Hawley feel the same way, and we are hoping to make this a really positive experience. So, keep following us over the next 2 weeks! It means a lot to know that there are supporters and well wishers at home.
The next update will come from the other side of the Atlantic!
If you like Mexico and you don’t have anything going on the last two weeks of October, then you might want to consider applying for the Pan American Games. The Pan Am Application and Selection Proceedure has been posted on the USEF website today. Applications are due April 21 for a fee of $50 and applications close July 1st for a fee of $300.
I spoke with someone at The Fork who had recently toured the Pan American facilities. They were really optimistic about the progress of the facilities, which is great news considering that there were big concerns about that at the USEF Convention in December.
Your guess is as good as mine in terms of Pan Am selection right now, but I’d like to see the USEF send one veteran rider down on a young horse to anchor the team and then fill the team out with up and coming riders with 2014 prospect horses. Go eventing.
