German cats doing gymnastics–what better way to get 3 minutes closer to the end of work?
[via CC]
Also, Ben Hobday has published the latest post in his Badminton blog: [Horse and Hound]
Go eventing.
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Boot Camp
If you have ever had the opportunity to take a lesson from Karen, you can imagine exactly how the situation in the picture sounds, with the instructions ringing out across the Meredyth South fields. Valerie Vizcarrondo recently attended what is affectionately known as “O’Connor boot camp,” which is usually characterized by a stretch of lessons during a quick trip to FL. In my experience, people either click with Karen or they don’t, and it seems that Valerie did. You can read about the experience at Valerie’s blog. [Valerie V’s blog]
Go eventing.
Elizabeth Taylor’s Thursday Reader from Horse Quencher
All of us can probably point to a few moments in our lives that ignited our love for horses and made us know that we had to ride. For some, it was watching a young girl, named Velvet, ride “Pi” in the 1944 movie National Velvet. Velvet was played by iconic actress Elizabeth Taylor who passed away peacefully on Wednesday after a long career of acting and philanthropy. In the movie, Pi was an untamed horse who Velvet trained for the British Grand National steeplechase. Somehow the new horse movies don’t seem to capture as much passion for horses as older movies such as National Velvet. [via KMD, Extended National Velvet Trailer, 3D3W] Now for your quick news and notes:
–In eventing, being a good student is just as important as finding a good coach. My top three practical tips to becoming a better student are to keep a journal of your lessons and daily rides, think about your last lesson for two minutes before every ride, and never be afraid to ask a question if you don’t understand something. The USEA has published a cool overview of being coached. [USEA blog]
—Ecogold’s trip around America
–Canada had training sessions this week in Ocala getting ready for Poplar. The next USEF training sessions will be out in California for Galway next week and then The Fork the following week.
–Diana Burnett’s latest blog entry highlights the ups and downs and ups and downs of life as an eventer. From getting her truck and trailer annihilated by a semi a few weeks ago to an injured horse to a great training session and a good weekend at Red Hills, Diana has seen it all over the last month. The last paragraph of Diana’s blog says it all:
“Through all of this I’ve learned how nice it is to be in a sport with so many wonderful people that are always offering a helping hand when one is needed. I’ve always known that our barn in Florida and at home is full of truly great people, but this event has just further reinforced that. Through all of this fiasco there were no glum days, just positive thoughts and lots of support for each other. And that right there is what makes a good team!!“
–Our friends at the Seneca Valley Pony Club are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year and they asked us to help them to track down previous members/parents/sponsors. They are planning to hold a reunion celebration party this summer or in conjunction with their Fall Horse Trials. If you are a Seneca alum, contact Nancy at [email protected]. I also hear that they have some cool new improvements to the cross-country course for their horse trials.
—New rules in the UK could help horse road safety
—Best of the Blogs: Cute overload
–I know that when you wake up every morning you think to yourself “my day would be a lot better if EN could do more contests.” Well, we have lots more in the works and for today we will introduce you to a contest through Horse Quencher. Click the link to enter and win 4 cool prizes each month, including a 20lb bucket of Horse Quencher. Horse Quencher is a healthy yet strangely addictive substance that, when mixed with water, causes exhausted, stressed, traveling, competing, or just plain finicky horses to rehydrate themselves for renewed vim and vigor, then Marmaduke you for more. Best of all, when you enter you can request a free trial sample. [Enter here]
Reminder–Times are better 60 years after this movie was made, always wear your helmet
That’s all for now. If you are shipping to Poplar or Southern Pines today then have a good trip. Keep it locked on Eventing Nation throughout the weekend for complete Poplar and SoPo coverage. Wherever you may be, thanks for making Eventing Nation part of your day. Go eventing.
More riders want Rolex bumper stickers
For our European readers, Rolex looks exactly like this except cooler
The Rolex entry list continues to grow and, while my counting is unreliable with numbers higher than 10, there are now 33 horses entered. The entry postings have a lag time of course and different riders have superstitions about entries so I expect quite a few to come in at the last minute. The entries officially close March 29th.
The most recent additions to the list are Peter Barry and the pride of Canada, Kilrodan Abbott. That horse has made every single XC and show jumping course I have ever seen it jump look easy and if Saturday at Rolex goes the right way, look to see that pair in the top 10, possibly even the top 5. Boyd and Remington have also been added to the list along with Jil Walton and My Sedona. Jessica Phoenix has also been added with both Exploring and Exponential. The Head of the Lake will definitely remember Exponential from the WEGs.
In other Rolex news, New Zealander Joe Meyer’s Rolex featured rider blog was posted earlier today. [Joe’s blog]
James Alliston and JUMBO’S JAKE
James Alliston and PARKER
Laine Ashker and ANTHONY PATCH
Peter Barry and KILRODAN ABBOTT
Kate Brown and MOJITO
Diana Burnett and MANNY
Hannah Burnett and ST. BARTHS
Sarah Cousins and TSUNAMI
William Fox-Pitt and SEACOOKIE
William Fox-Pitt and NAVIGATOR
William Fox-Pitt and NEUF DES COEURS
William Fox-Pitt and IDALGO
Heather Gillette and OUR QUESTIONNAIRE
Sinead Halpin and MANOIR DE CARNEVILLE
Rebecca Howard and RIDDLE MASTER
Mary King and FERNHILL URCO
Mary King and KINGS TEMPTRESS
Boyd Martin and LAST MONARCH
Boyd Martin and REMINGTON XXV
Martha McDowell and GAELIC MARRIAGE
Joe Meyer and SNIP
Karen O’Connor and QUINTUS 54
Jessica Phoenix and EXPONENTIAL
Jessica Phoenix and EXPLORING
Kelly Prather and BALLINAKILL GLORY
Colleen Rutledge and SHIRAZ
Allison Springer and DESTINATION KNOWN
Allison Springer and ARTHUR
Polly Stockton and WESTWOOD MARINER
Frankie Thieriot and FRIC FRAC BERENCE
Mark Todd and MAJOR MILESTONE
Oliver Townend and ODT SONAS ROVATIO
Jil Walton and MY SEDONA
Go eventing.
A quick afternoon coaching process update
As I mentioned in Tuesday’s news and notes post, the USEF coaching search continues to wind its way through the USEF. Nearly two weeks after the open forum at Red Hills there is little new to report as of this afternoon. One frustrating part about this process is that the news has come in bunches followed by long spurts of silence. In January and February we had a burst of candidate announcements, which was followed by weeks of silence until the short list was announced, which led to a flurry of news and the open forum, and now we are back to the waiting game. We’d all like the process to be resolved fairly and quickly, but the crystal ball and tarot cards at the USEF don’t work instantaneously. Joking aside, representative governance almost by definition involves bureaucracy and committees that take a long time to reach a consensus. Anyone who works for the government or a large organization understands this frustrating reality. But the fact is that doing things slowly but correctly is preferable to undue haste.
As you recall from our coverage of the open forum during Red Hills, the only remaining task of the Search Committee is to make a final recommendation to the Eligible Athletes Committee and the High Performance Committee. The Eligible Athletes will meet to discuss whether they want to consider other applicants from the short list and then they will interview and consider all of the applicants resulting from that decision. Whether the Eligible Athletes will consider other applicants is anyone’s guess at this time.
As of this week, the Eligible Athletes are in the process of signing confidentiality agreements, making pinky swears of silence, and scheduling their meeting (probably via conference call) to discuss considering other applicants. Confidentiality agreements are a very expected and appropriate step to protect the candidates and the security of the discussions in the Eligible Athletes meetings from being disclosed to the candidates. In terms of scheduling the meeting, imagine trying to get that many top eventers on the phone at the same time.
After the Eligible Athletes reach their decision, they will brief the High Performance Committee. The responsibility is then on the HP committee to make a final recommendation to USEF CEO John Long who will negotiate and execute the final hiring contract. Mr. Long seemed very committed to the USEF making a decision by Rolex when he spoke at the open forum. Clear as mud? Go eventing.
Video Break: Buzzterbrown from Red Hills
No introductions necessary here folks. EN’s good friend and, incidentally, the only person to ever get me on an on-camera interview, Buzzterbrown has uploaded his Red Hills video. The video is incredibly high quality from a technical and awesomeness perspective. Enjoy:
Best of the Blogs: Lizzie Snow
Go eventing.
Mark Todd wants afternoon notes
‘Tis the season for blogs. Part 1 of Mark Todd’s Rolex blog is posted on the Rolex website [Toddy’s Rolex blog]. This blog comes on a special day for Mark because his website also launched earlier today [Mark Todd’s Website].
Horse and Hound has published an article this afternoon about how there will not be many tickets availible for eventing fans at the Olympic test event in Greenwich. Most of the tickets will go to local residents and officials. [Horse and Hound]
Lastly, we might as well link to another afternoon blog: [Jennie’s latest Chronicle blog]
Update: Recording of Boyd’s live call in radio show Monday night
Hopefully your Tuesday afternoon is as beautiful for riding where you are as it is where I am. I’ll be out at the barn this afternoon and Abbie has the nest post under control. Coren is making her triumphant return to EN this evening with tomorrow’s news and notes post after a busy few weeks in Aiken. Go eventing.
Wenlock Wants Tuesday Links
It’s a busy morning at the EN compound, with Chinchillas voraciously typing out memos and action plans. Samantha and Abbie will be along in a few with two great articles and until then here are a few links:
*The Chronicle has a fantastic interview with Mark Todd
Update: Kristin Schmolze is preparing for Badminton
Horses and Japan’s nuclear troubles
Horse owners with no common sense are warned to have common sense
Horse dentistry in Arkansas is in the process of being deregulated
A quick report on the British Jump Training Series
More soon. Go eventing.
Tuesday News and Notes from Pennfield
[via AM]
Greetings Eventing Nation! If you haven’t already, be sure to scroll down and vote in our Mark photo caption contest–the finalists were posted Monday night. NCAA basketball is on a break until Thursday as the players pretend to go to class, so we might actually write about horses a bit. Here are your news and notes:
–The US eventing calendar is packed from now until the summer. Southern Pines, Poplar, Galway, The Fork, all loom on the calendar before the event that shall not be named. The Fork entries are availible online and the event is absolutely packed with great horses and riders from prelim up through CIC3*. [Fork Entries]
–The PRO Derby Cross video has finally been posted online on demand. Click the link for an hour of viewing pleasure courtesy of the USEF Network and Catch Ride. The Derby X video is available for selection in the scrolling sidebar. [USEF Network]
–The machinations of the US coaching search continue to grind on at the USEF. I know that I and probably you would like this to be resolved fairly and quickly tomorrow, but it takes time to get committees together, to schedule interviews, for the committees to reach decisions, and for everything else to happen. Representative governance takes time. The active athletes are working to schedule their meeting following the open forum at Red Hills and they are in the process of signing confidentiality agreements, which is a pretty standard thing for processes like this. What we hear about the process from here on out will depend a lot on how the USEF decides to handle PR.
—Denny Emerson says don’t jump ahead of the horse
–A zoo in Auckland, New Zealand is training a horse, named Cherry, to be a companion for its elephant, named Burma. The elephant’s companion passed away in 2009 and the zoo has been working hard to keep her happy since. As a Horsetalk article explains “The introduction is being carefully managed through a gradual integration to minimise any potential risks to the horse, Burma, or her keepers.” Both horses and elephants are very smart and social animals and I hope the zoo keeps us updated as they try to unite the animals. [Horsetalk]
–Sidelines gives a shout-out to the Heart of the Carolina’s three-day which is located on the border between North and South Carolina at Southern Eighths farm. As Sidelines writes:
“The Farm is specially designed to accommodate and maximize the Long Format experience, from its centrally located “holds” and “starts,” two steeplechase tracks and groomed “roads and tracks” to the special derby course used for show jumping. The site also includes a cross-country course that was created by well-known course designer Tremaine Cooper.“
The long format, a Tremaine Cooper course, steeplechase–that’s an EN dream. As an aside, Sidelines has really ramped up their blogs over the past few months and in general I enjoy reading them.
–Speaking of which, you can read about microchips in horses here.
Best of the Blogs: Pure Vida eventing writes about the Event at 3-Day Ranch last weekend
That’s all for now. Keep it locked here all day for your news and ridiculousness. Wherever you might be, thanks for making Eventing Nation part of your day.
Update: Mark’s Caption Contest from World Equestrian Brands
[Your Caption Here]Monday Update: After days of extensive deliberation that makes the USEF Search Committee look like Speedy Gonzales, the EN Chinchillas have read through all 140 of the caption submissions that we received, and they have narrowed it down to 11 finalists. Remember that the winning caption, as chosen by mob rule, will receive a full set of World Equestrian Brands Allsport boots valued at $190. If your caption did not make the finals, blame the Chinchillas. Good luck!
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From March 5th: Our last photo caption contest featured Jimmy Wofford and FLAIR, and this time we are bring the caption contest back with our friends from World Equestrian Brands. The winner of the contest will get a full set of World Equestrian Brands Allsport boots. The boots are good for flatwork and XC–they are protective to the levels as measured on XC course impact (clinically tested), yet really lightweight, flexible, cool, and H20 runs right out of them. The full set of four boots retails for $190 and are yours for a good caption. Today’s photo is from the last round of training sessions in Ocala, FL.
Winning is simple: leave your caption as a comment on this post. The EN Chinchillas will select their 10 favorite captions and then we’ll add a poll to the post with the 10 finalists so Eventing Nation can pick the winner by democracy mob rule. Be sure to include your email in the comment submission form, not in the caption itself. The EN writers are welcome to write captions, but they are not eligible to win, sadly.
Good luck and go eventing.
Help Support Steph Rhodes Bosch’s Trip To Badminton
If you have ever looked into flying from the US to Badminton you know that the trip is very expensive. The plane ticket, accommodations, food, transportation, and exchange rate combine to make traveling to the world’s most historic three-day almost impossible. Now imagine all those costs for a horse. Going to Badminton will cost North American pairs well over $10,000 and the riders are all working really ahrd to raise the necessary money. Ecogold is helping Canada’s Stephanie Rhodes Bosch raise money to help pay for the trip, which is only partially funded by Canada. Any little bit helps. Check out the Ecogold blog post for more information and for more videos of Steph training.
Video of Steph working at the Canadian training sessions with Gunnar Ostergaard:
Go eventing.
Your Quick Afternoon Links
Guess what eventers do to old trees from their brush fences that get old and brown?
Here are links to a few cool afternoon stories around the eventing world today. Click around for a few minutes and you’ll be that much closer to the end of work:
The Road to Rolex with Heather Gillette
Defra has put a halt on plans to make a single passport agency in the UK
The ERS will be live tonight with Boyd Martin
Sinead Halpin is the Chronicle’s next eventing blogger [via JER]
The FEI Classics series has a new point system
Badminton’s dates might keep changing
[Wylie eventing gets their second link of the day]
Go eventing.
Monday Video Break: Pine Top
Sights and sounds from the Pine Top horse trials in Thomson, GA:
Go eventing.
Area VIII’s Terry Kennedy passes
I am deeply saddened to report this morning that Area VIII has lost a familiar face. Terry Kennedy, a long time cross country starter at many events passed away Saturday night. Although not a rider, Terry stepped into the role of starter some years back when he and his wife Chris took over the duties of Chris’ parents Jack & Pat Ray who won a Governors Cup for their services. As an Area VIII native, I am truly saddened by the news and the Kennedy family will be in our thoughts and prayers. There’s nothing better for those pre-XC jitters than a good starter.
NASCAR’s Monday Morning News and Notes from Ecogold
I was driving through Tennessee Sunday night and suddenly I came across a massive traffic jam. I turned on my radio to confirm my suspicion that someone had discovered the world’s best fishing lure just outside of Bristol. Instead I learned that a NASCAR race had just ended. There were so many NASCAR fans that interstates were slowed down for tens of miles around. As much as some people might dislike NASCAR, you have to respect it’s ability to generate sponsors and entertain fans. From what I can tell, that sport does a great job creating a fun weekend for the entire family to enjoy together, and of course drink their Powerade and Pepsi together. The success of NASCAR’s sponsors is no accident. I couldn’t help but think of the parallels that the most successful events here in the US, such as Rolex, Fair Hill, Red Hills, and The Fork also focus on making a spectator experience for the whole family. Now for your daily dose of eventing information and updates that some might call news and notes:
–Eventers in Georgia got their Pine Top on this weekend, which held divisions from beginner novice to prelim. The low score from the weekend was a three-way tie at 24.0 between Kelsey Neeley and WHF Pharaoh in the Junior Novice, Ryan Wood and Amore in the Novice Horse, and Doug Payne with Royal Tribute in the Open Novice. I’ll let the blogs tell you all about the event: [XC day at Pine Top from Katherine Erickson, Doug’s Pine Top recap, Results]
–Canadian Badminton hopefuls Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin N’ Juice won the advanced/intermediate at 3 Day Ranch in California this weekend. Rolex bloggers and EN favorites Debbie Rosen and The Alchemyst also competed in what was a quality A/I division. Tamra Smith won both intermediate divisions. [3 Day Ranch results]
–Texas might not be in the NCAA tournament anymore, but Texans held an event over the weekend in Kosse, TX. Stuart Black won the I/P division with Proper Timing and proper timing. Danny Warrington won the prelim B and Janet Marden won the prelim A. [Sol scores]
–In some very sad news, beloved Area V organizer Phil Sawin passed away over the weekend. While I never knew him personally, Phil was beloved by the Texas eventing community and he served eventing directly through his Pine Hill Farm, which hosts several USEA events throughout the year. Phil is survived by his wife and daughter and all of Eventing Nation offers our condolences to their family and community.
—Preparations for Southern Pines II horse trials from Holly Hudspeth
–The same researchers in Australia who recently found that dinosaurs held elections for political office have determined that eventers are not risk takers. Horsetalk describes the study in an atricle titled “Eventers not ‘risk takers’ – study,” but the research study was really about how eventers perceive their own risk:
“Not surprisingly, all of the participants thought that the sport was risky and that the cross-country phase posed the most risk, but many of the riders said they did not take risks and did not consider themselves risk takers…
In contrast to other high risk or extreme sports, eventing risk and safety was shared between the horse and rider. The horse was thus seen, paradoxically, as the source of both risk and safety. “Whilst horses were considered to a certain extent unpredictable and therefore potentially dangerous, a good relationship with a horse was considered to increase safety,” the study reported.”
Certainly eventing is more risky than almost all other sports except Jetpack Golf, Tackle High Diving, and South African Seal Impersonating. However, it is natural for competitors in any sport to mitigate risk and therefore to consider themselves as not risk takers relative to the risks of the given sport. [Horsetalk via JER]
–The Rolex entry list continues to grow and is now at 28 pairs. Allison Springer’s Red Hills winner Arthur and the gray Destination Known are two recent additions, along with Kelly Prather and Ballinakill Glory, Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master, and Sinead Halpin with Manoir de Carneville. Sending in the entry is one thing, surviving they gauntlet of veterinary and other issues that can sideline a spring season is another. A top sports medicine vet told me once that as many as 30% of horses miss their 4*’s in the last month because of veterinary issues. The footing has been great at the US preparation events this year and let’s hope that number is lower this year. [Rolex Entries]
–Annie linked to Stephanie Diaz’s great article about Kelly Sult and Hollywood Sunday morning but it is worth another mention. 19 year old Hollywood and 24 year old Kelly have come from humble and improbable beginnings to jump around Rolex three times and they are entered again this year. Stephanie does a great job telling the story of an eventing family that is too strong to be stopped. While you are reading the story, be sure to check out the Southern Pines video in the sidebar. [Southern Pines Pilot]
–This week means a break for the USEF training sessions, which will be back in action at Galway next week and then The Fork the following week. Jenny had two great Aiken session recaps last week, so scroll down for those if you missed them over the weekend.
–After taking it easy this weekend, many of the east coast 4* horses will make appearances at Southern Pines and Poplar Place this coming weekend. [Pine Top entries PDF, Southern Pines entries PDF]
Golightly Saturday at the Marlborough jumper derby
Best of the Blogs: Emma Ford hopes a volcano won’t stop her dreams of grooming at Badminton this year
–How is your bracket doing? My bracket, affectionately named ‘Bruce Pearl’s Career,’ is 6th out of 14 in my bracket pool, which I will take considering how many upsets there have been. After a few years of mostly predictable tournament outcomes, it’s fun to see some big upsets again in March.
–We have two contests ongoing around Eventing Nation that you should 100% definitely be entered in. First, win an iPad from Pennfield with which you can visit Eventing Nation from anywhere [click here]. Second, enter to win a VIP trip to Rolex with Phillip [click here]. Rolex is an absolute must-attend event for everyone and what better way to visit Rolex if you haven’t already than a trip courtesy of our good friends at SmartPak.
–Many eventers are headed north from Ocala and Aiken already, but those that are still around Ocala will perhaps be taking their horses to school at the Hayes Co jumping series in late March and early April. HITS and Hayes Co are great chances to school multiple show jumping courses in a day, which really helps riders to tune in their eye. [Hayesco.ca]
Courtesy of Wylie Eventing
That’s all for now Eventing Nation. Check back soon for all of your eventing news, information, commentary, videos, and ridiculousness. As always, wherever you may be, thanks for making Eventing Nation part of your day. Shake ‘n bake.
An organizer’s perspective, part 2
I have written this countless times before, but it’s worth repeating again: a big part of positive change is understanding everyone’s perspective. Eventing has an incredible number of important role players and we need to do a better job of understanding how each contributes to making eventing better. Kelly Gage is a clinic and event organizer who helped found Team EnGaged LLC, an equestrian event management company that specializes in equestrian education in Kentucky. They host 15 to 20 events a year and they have hosted clinicians including Edward Gal, Stephen Bradley, and Christoph Hess. In this second part of a two article series, Kelly was kind enough to write to us about involving governing bodies to create basic guidelines and standards for events and EO for a more successful pipeline from clinic to show. [Part 1] Thanks for writing this Kelly and thank you for reading:
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From Kelly:
I used to run marathon in college for fun and for fitness. I did it in hopes to one day do a mini Iron Man. 26.2 miles isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, nor is the daily five mile grind to keep in shape (or subsequent shoe bill that made my farrier blush), but what it does give you is a lot of time to learn about another sport.
What does distance running and triathlon have to do with improving equestrian sport? A lot.
Running, and more specifically triathlon, have developed highly-available base guidelines that everyone from a grass roots wanna-be runner (such as yours truly was) all the way to the elite of the sport could tap into and develop the sport that they come to consider second nature.
These guidelines addressed everything from picking and choosing officials (in our case: clinicians and officials), choosing venues with regional contacts to ask questions that are geared toward the local population, media training, how to develop and solicit sponsorship all the way to event execution (expectation, proposed schedules, et all).
That guideline, while aged, battered and covered in coffee stains remains a guideline of how as an EO, I, alongside my partner have tried to develop our clinics and future events.
It wasn’t until I started working alongside someone who was aiming for World Singles Driving Championships that a guideline for individual athletes were made available, not by USEF, but USOC. The USOC, a non-equestrian entity, had to train equestrians in how to handle media, how to solicit sponsorship, how to potentially go about promoting themselves and discipline.
By utilizing the communication and organization power of the governing bodies, we could develop better basic guidelines that transcend regional differences and provide common sense advice to organizers and managers of how to develop and execute events safely, effectively and for the long-term.
A lot of what goes into good events is promotion through diverse platforms. It means being accessible to not just the VIPs and media, but to the girl who showed up.
It also means utilizing different ways of collaborating with different inter-event entities to accomplish a common goal. This could include EO’s working together to bring in a big European trainer/rider/judge to tour different regions for clinics or shows. It could mean shows allowing different disciplines, or even sub-headline events to take place simultaneously during the star act.
As a side benefit, it creates a pipeline of people and communication between parties that ultimately improves the community and allows the rider base the ability to not only show, but further their education at a lower personal cost to themselves and the organizers. It also allows the entry level to be far more accessible and perhaps provides a clearer path to creating the next generation of organizers, leaders and eventing enthusiasts for years to come.
Friday Training Session Report from Jenny
‘Tis the season of guest blogs on EN. It’s a beautiful day for riding here in Virginia and if you are riding or competing this weekend I hope it is just as beautiful where you are. EN’s guest blogger and working student Jenny McCoy attended the Aiken training sessions again on Friday and was kind enough to send us a full report. Thanks for writing this Jenny and thank you for reading. Go Cats.
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Kim and Max
From Jenny:
Today’s training sessions were a lot different, and I am sorry to report that I have fewer things to report because I couldn’t hear Captain Mark Phillips half the time over the leaf blowers. We arrived about half way into Phillip Dutton’s first ride, where Phillip was trying to keep his mount calm and collected. He seemed quite spooked at first by the audience, but quickly settled in and was an absolute joy to watch. I’m not sure exactly what Mark was having him work on due to the leaf blower, but he was doing multiple changes, counter-canter, half pass, and medium canter to halt.
Phillip’s second ride was much more relaxed than the first, and Mark was very pleased with how he was warming his mount up long and low. Mark praised him heavily for his progression from a lower warm up head set to a more up and collected head set by the end. They worked on many trot mediums, and Mark encouraged Phillip to use rising trot in tense moments to help relax him more. He was also working on softening the inside rein in the half pass, and Mark reminded Phillip to ‘push him slower,’ which was I thought was a great mental image.
Phillip’s third ride of the day was aboard Isabella in the jump ring, which was very fun to watch. This mare is spectacular over the jumps and really captivated her audience today. The lesson was short and sweet. Mark had Phillip try to maintain a 450 speed thru the turn and up to the fences, rather than come around at 400 then speed up to 450 before the base. He played around with a five-stride line and ended with a smile on his face.
Next was Kim Severson on Wiley Post in the jump ring, where Kim requested to start with placement poles to help with his jump, and then worked on giving more with the reins at the base of the jumps. Kim felt a drastic difference and both she and Mark were very pleased with the result. Kim ended by working on keeping Max in a forward canter that wasn’t too open, yet not backwards.
Kim then hoped on the magnificent mover Fantasy Impromptu and worked a while on the flat first to get him balanced and prepared for simple changes. Once jumping, she continued to work on having a looped rein at take off to encourage a more extravagant clearance.
Kim’s last ride was on Tipperary Liadhnan, aka Paddy, where she seemed to be having a blast. She worked him on a different line than the other two, with a placement pole, one stride to a x-rail, one stride to a vertical gate, one stride to a big oxer. They used the gymnastic to encourage a bigger jump from Paddy, and with Mark saying “Alright, put him back in the trailer!” at least twice, I would say that it was a huge success. By the end the pair effortlessly popped over a 4’6″ oxer, and Kim exclaimed, “Is that fun or what!?”
We did not stay thru the lunch break to watch the second half of the sessions because we had some XC schooling of our own to do at Full Gallop Farm, but I’m sure it was just as fun to watch as the morning sessions!
Until next time!
~Jenny
Thursday Training Session Report from Jenny McCoy
EN’s guest blogger and working student Jenny McCoy attended the Aiken training sessions on Thursday and was kind enough to send us a full report. The training sessions continue with a full day of coaching today. Thanks for writing this Jenny and thank you for reading.
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From Jenny:
Today was a perfect 75 degrees with clear skies and a light breeze. Three Runs Plantation was a picture perfect facility with neatly manicured land and beautiful jumps. Our group of 11 arrived at the end of Phillip’s last ride, where he seemed to impress Capt. Mark Phillips while taking the rather large show jumps all in stride. Since it was the end of his lesson I didn’t catch much on what they were working on but both seemed very pleased at the end.
The rest of the rides were in the dressage arena, and Kelly Pugh was the first to go with Copycat Chloe. Kelly first was working on keeping her horse in front of her leg and coming more underneath herself. Mark was challenging her to keeping Chloe’s poll up without allowing any weight in the left rein, and pushing her with her seat to move up and out. Mark sat on Chloe for a few minutes and with the combination of that and Kelly literally working her butt off doing lots of counter-canter, the pair looked wonderful.
Doug Payne was next with Running Order who came in with his fancy front end and got right into working. Mark had Doug work on moving more forward without going faster, bring his hind end more underneath himself and lifting in the poll. Mark had him drop his rein connection multiple times to ensure that he was not using Doug’s hands as a ‘walking stick.’ In the canter they did lots of counter-canter where Doug received many ‘well done’ and ‘perfect’ remarks from Mark. He finished with some shoulder-ins and half passes to continue bringing the hind end underneath and pushing the front end up and out.
Next were Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda, who were my favorite pair of the day. Both were on their A-game, regardless of the fact that Jennie is recovering from surgery on her broken collarbone only a few weeks ago. Jennie toughed it out, but it was obvious at times that she was pushing through some pain. Mark was asking Jennie for less bit movement and to move Ping more up in his frame. They practiced making the medium canter bigger rather than longer, and also did multiple canter to halt transitions.
While Jennie switched to Walkabout and warmed up, Mark got on Allison Springer’s “Destination Known,” aka Burger. There was no commentary so we just watched as he made Burger look like a dream to ride. Jennie and Will finished up the day with the goal of pushing him into his contact without dropping down in front or getting too long in the frame. By this time Jennie must have been in an immense amount of pain, but she stuck through it and made Will look fantastic. She commented to Mark that Will reminded her a little of Cooper but different, and Mark’s response was, ‘Yes, all horses are the same but different, aren’t they?” It was a comical moment as Mark’s observation is so true. The pair took a while practicing half passes from the rail to the centerline, followed by a flying change. Jennie mentioned it was her first time schooling them with Will. Regardless, they both worked and worked and got it down perfectly, and Mark was very pleased.
I was thoroughly impressed by all the riders and horses today, and was inspired to go out and practice some of my own dressage! It was extremely educational!
Until next time,
Jenny
A 1am Saturday links post for people in Sydney, Australia
Here are links to a few posts we are keeping an eye on Friday morning here in Virginia and Saturday morning in Australia. If you think that’s tom foolery, check a world clock. As Annie predicted, it’s a busy day around eventing:
Boyd’s winter season in Aiken is starting to wrap up
Bloody eliminations at the WEGs come under scrutiny
Are you ready to be a horse owner?
Yogi Breisner is on the Eventing Radio Show this week
Horse and Country gets catty with Horse and Hound
More than 700 British riders are ready for the Lincs horse trials
Go eventing.
St. Patrick’s Day Derby at Willow Run
The Equiventures St. Patrick’s Day Jumping Derby was held at Willow Run today, on a day that for some represents an excuse to drink terrible heavy beer and for others to remember one of the greatest missionaries of all time. Fortunately it sounds like the day at Willow Run was all about fun, schooling, and good riding. About 60 pairs rode around the training and preliminary courses. The course was a few show jumps then a cross-country course, followed by a few more show jumps.
I spoke with Jon Hollling who helped organize the event and he told me that everything went smoothly with good riding all day. Jon said their goal was to create a nice combination of a relaxed schooling opportunity with a fun competition and atmosphere. If you missed out this year, don’t worry, Jon said it will hopefully become an annual event.
If you are going out tonight, be safe and have fun, and please don’t be ‘that guy’ who heckles other people for not wearing green. Green just doesn’t go well with my pink gorilla suit. Sue me. Annie is writing the news and notes for tomorrow and I’ll see everyone back here in the morning. Go eventing.
Working Student Diaries, part 13
This is part 13 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 her trip to Aiken. Thanks for writing this Jenny and thank you for reading.
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VIDEO: Bromont Love
It’s video break time on Eventing Nation. Today we have a cool promotional video from Canada’s Bromont 3-Day in June. The video was sent to us by Boyd Martin and Peter Barry. If there was a USEA omnibus rating for the video it would say ‘some experience not required for each level.’ But, it’s a fun look at Bromont clips from last year and the goals for the facility moving forward.
Go Bromont.
Long Format’s Thursday News and Notes
Greetings Eventing Nation. I plan to spend this morning enjoying the last few hours before my bracket gets busted. For the second straight day in a row we return to the Area II website, this time for a great article promoting the long format events at Southern Eighths Farm. I have never been to Southern Eighths, but I am a big fan of the long format especially as an educational experience. I think every rider from pros to amateurs should set a goal to do a long format at least once a year. It’s hard for me to imagine that soon there might be training listed riders who haven’t done a long format. [Area II Website]
Now for your news and notes:
In a story that warms the cockles of my cross-discipline loving heart, John and Beezie Madden purchased Artesian, a graduate of the U.S. Eventing Association Young Event Horse program as a jumper prospect. [COTH]
The Chronicle also published a report yesterday from the open forum last week at Red Hills [COTH]
As you might expect, the process continues to wind its way through the USEF. In these situations, everyone on the committees usually signs confidentiality agreements to protect the privacy of the process. As we have known for a long time, the Search Committee will make a recommendation to Eligible Athletes and the High Performance Committee. The Eligible Athletes can consider any applicants they want and they will make a recommendation to the High Performance as well, who will then make a recommendation to Mr. John Long. The USEF might or might not make anything more about the process public.
Paul Tapner is still looking for a working student on the Horse and Hound classifieds. Speaking of classifieds, I need to thank all of the readers who suggested that we add a classifieds site to EN. It took me a few months last summer to follow the requests and build the site, but I’m really glad that I finally did. SHN is a great forum for people to find great horses, jobs, saddles, and everything else. A million thanks to Leslie for the fabulous job she does running SHN for us.
Equestrian groups might be rejoinig Equine Canada [Horse Newfoundland]
James Alliston writes about life on the west coast [PRO blog]
Best of the Blogs: Sinead barely mentions being entered at Rolex (!)
And boom goes the dynamite:
That’s all for now. Check back throughout the day for all of your eventing news and ridiculous commentary. Stay tuned and go eventing.
