The Fair Hill International guest blogging series presented by SmartPak gave riders who are entered to compete at FHI the opportunity to tell their tale and lay all their hard work on the table prior to the event. Alex MacLeod and her mount Railroad Man Jim (“Jim”) will compete in the CCI** this year. 

Hi EN! My name is Alex MacLeod, and I ride a fantastic 11 yo OTTB named Railroad Man Jim. I bought Jim from Ryan Wood two years ago, the summer before my freshman year at college. I was sadly retiring my 4* schoolmaster Arrow who had taken me to young riders and the intermediate level. I know, I was just buying an upper level mount as most kids sell theirs to go to school, but there was no question in my mind that I would keep riding. Luckily my amazing parents supported that goal.

Jim and I have a slightly unusual program in that I’m a full time undergraduate student at Princeton University, majoring in Biology and on a pre-med track — so he has to deal with my weird schedule! I ride him 6 days a week, trailering 2 hours each way once a week to get a jumping lesson from Phillip Dutton. We do our gallops on the historic public Princeton Battlefield, dodging picnicking families on fair-weather days. I frequently pass mothers pushing strollers on our hacks and have to walk through an elementary school parking lot to reach the trails across the street.

Over the past 2 years Jim and I have worked out a system that balances my academic and riding goals, but we’ve definitely had a few bumps in the road. I entered Fair Hill last year after a less-than-perfect season when Jim pulled a muscle in early May that put him out for the whole summer. Luckily for me I was a working student for Phillip Dutton that summer so still got to do plenty of riding! Just as we’d started competing again, I fell with a young horse and broke my jaw, just 6 weeks before Fair Hill. The surgeon told me not to ride for 6-8 weeks but he obviously didn’t understand eventers, and once I could eat solid food again I started feeling better and decided to proceed forward with caution. I’d missed Plantation but ran around Morven a couple of weeks before the big event and felt ready.

Alex and Jim at the Plantation Field International Horse Trials this year. Photo by Samantha Clark.

Alas, it was not to be, as we showed that we needed a little better foundation to get around the tough track. I had 3 runouts at a corner halfway around the course and walked home upset and determined to fix what had gone wrong. This year we’ve been training even more with Phillip and I again worked at True Prospect for the summer. We’ve had a fantastic season, with Jim feeling more and more confident with each run. We’re so close! And this time I hopefully won’t have to deal with appointments every week to replace missing teeth!

With rescheduling exams around competitions and getting missed lecture notes from friends, eventing at this level while at college is not easy, but I want all high school students to know that it is possible! With a little finagling and a lot of support, college and horses don’t need to be mutually exclusive pursuits.

Goodbye EN, thanks for reading, and here’s to hoping that everyone can reach their goals!

SmartPak is proud to power healthy horses and happy riders who are working to achieve their goals (whether aiming for Fair Hill, simply hoping to back their youngster this year, and everything in between). Visit SmartPak.com today to see how our smarts can support your goals!

Are you a person who has a natural ability to talk to others? Do you live in California? Are you willing to move to CA? Cavalor is looking for someone like you!

Cavalor is seeking a sales representative to manage the California region. Skill sets include: personable, organized, excellent time management, creative and results driven. Sales representatives must also posses basic computer software skills including the Microsoft Office suite.

Join Cavalor and be part of a company which is new to the US and has huge growth potential. Cavalor has been in Europe for over 20 years and has over 80% market share. You will receive both the benefits of working with a start-up company, and the benefits of representing a well established brand with unparalleled products. The feed line is made by a patented process so there’s nothing like it in the U.S.. Cavalor is one of the few feed companies that has a full line of supplements that are ALL FEI safe.

Here’s more about Cavalor Feed and Supplements North America:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGzjltjkg-8

Mission

Our company’s values are: Innovation – Quality – Results. We dedicate ourselves to inventing, manufacturing and distributing the best quality and most effective equine nutrition products in the world for the health, performance and happiness of all horses, from a foal’s first steps to retirement.

Company Overview

During the past two decades, Cavalor has built an international reputation as the world leader in equine nutrition for high-performance horses. Today Cavalor products are available in 50 countries and are used by champion riders around the world.

Cavalor offers a complete line of horse feed, supplements and health care products. All are the result of years of intense research and development, thorough testing, selection of the highest quality ingredients, strict manufacturing and quality control processes.

If you’d like to be considered for the California position, please send your resume and cover letter to [email protected].

If any of you have experienced a bad colic, or even colic in general, with a horse – you know that gut wrenching feeling when your horse hits the ground to roll incessantly.

I remember my traumatic experience like it was yesterday. I was 15 years old and I had just shipped my horse, Paddy Go Lucky, from California to Jackson Hole, WY (back when there was still an event there right below the picturesque Teton Mountains). This was my first long trip with a horse and I was very ignorant to any sort of anything really when it came to preparation and maintenance during travel.

On the day of dressage my OTTB seemed eXTRAordinarily calm – especially for such a change of scenery. Turns out he had a massive case of the colic. It took my mom running to the mobile tack store and bargaining with the clerk that she won’t get him in trouble for selling bute, and every possible dose of Banamine once the vet got there to my poor Paddy with the addition of Pepto Bismol (yes we tried everything…) to decide it wasn’t going to pass on its own.

Seeing as I’d hitched a ride with another barn up to JH we quickly found a local hauler because my horse had to be taken to Idaho for the surgery. It was the longest trip I’ve ever taken with a horse but luckily the trailer ride wiggled and bumped everything loose and Paddy managed to escape the table. However, I’ll never forget how important it is to maintain my horse’s digestive health, especially when traveling.

So, if you’re anything like me who hits panic mode when I see a horse drop to the ground, and god forbid, sleeping while lying down… SmartPak has introduced a program that actually might allow you some sleep. They’ve introduced ColiCare, a program that will back the use of their SmartDigest® Ultra with $7,500 of colic surgery reimbursement – because there are things we humans can do to prevent colic.

SmartDigest® Ultra offers everything your horse needs for a healthy hindgut. This innovative formula contains specialized ingredients backed by clinical research. But you don’t have to take their word for it.

SmartPak is so confident that SmartDigest® Ultra will keep your horse’s digestive system healthy, that they’ve backed it with this reimbursement program. All right, all right… what’s the catch SP?

To be eligible, your horse must reside in the United States, be between five months and twenty-five years old, be under the direct care of a licensed veterinarian, not had previous colic surgery, experienced colic in the last twelve months, or have a history of chronic colic.

The program requirements are: year-round, daily administration of SmartDigest® Ultra (maintenance dose of 30g) in SmartPaks, an annual physical and dental exam from your veterinarian, annual vaccinations from your vet, annual participation in veterinarian-directed deworming program that includes at least one fecal test and two annual deworming administrations.

All-in-all, pretty simple. Just add SmartDigest® Ultra to your existing SmartPaks or sign up for SmartPaks, then do what the average horse person usually does annually and you can be rest assured in the event of colic surgery SmartPak’s got you covered. Just enroll in the ColiCare Surgery Reimbursement Program and let them do the rest.

The slogan “like a good neighbor, SmartPak is there” comes to mind with this program – and hopefully by using SmartDigest® Ultra you won’t have to close our eyes and chant this phrase to be relieved of a colic-surgery situation.

The Fair Hill International guest blogging series presented by SmartPak gave riders who are entered to compete at FHI the opportunity to tell their tale and lay all their hard work on the table prior to the event. Justine Dutton and her mount Abecca will compete in the CCI** this year. 

Originally from the UK, Justine now resides in Malvern PA and  is the one-woman-show behind Sport Ponies UK. She not only works to solidify her place in the U.S. eventing scene, but caters specifically to juniors/young riders/adult amateurs that compete in eventing to further their careers as well. 

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From Justine:

Hello Eventing Nation! As I sit on the train on my way into NYC for a completely non horse related activity (yes I’m a closet rock star, many of you know this), I’m contemplating how quickly this year has flown by and how much has changed.

My name is Justine Dutton and I have the pleasure of riding a wonderful Trakhener mare named Abecca. Or Princess to her friends. When I saw a call for guest bloggers on EN about sharing our journey to Fair Hill, I was very excited, but also a little sad as this is bittersweet for me. As most of us in the horse world know or have experienced, situations change and unfortunately Fair Hill will be the last event Becca and I will compete in together as she will be for sale. That being said, I now have even more reason to make this our best event yet!

Justine and Abecca flying around the Plantation CIC** cross country. Photo courtesy of Samantha Clark.

I met Becca about 3.5 yrs ago when I found her through my good friend Liza Horan as an amateur mount for a lady client of mine. Becca was the perfect novice/training level packer until my client started suffering back issues to the point that riding became painful and she asked me to ride the horse. Becca had had some prelim experience at her previous home which I was able to build on. We were very successful at that level and made the jump to intermediate where we also started to do quite well. We also dabbled in the jumper ring and did very well in the 1m20s and even a couple of mini prixs!

At around this time, the owner’s back began to improve and she decided she was able to ride again which meant I had to hand the reins back over. Becca spent the next two years being a lower level dressage horse…her favorite thing… (note sarcasm here!)

Fast forward to November 2011. As luck would have it, Becca’s owner decided that she wanted a “real” dressage horse so offered me first right of refusal on her. I found some very kind clients willing to purchase her and so began our amazing year. We did three prelims in Florida this past winter to start, finishing in the top 3 each time out. I decided, with a little coaxing that I’d make the jump back up to intermediate at Rocking Horse – my first time since suffering a horrific fall at that level on a different horse 2 years before which had shattered my confidence. Well it was obviously the right choice as we won!

This year for me has been a fairy tale. With some amazing coaching from Buck Davidson, Callan Solem and Missy Ransenhausen, Becca and I have managed to finish in the top 4 in pretty much all our intermediates this year. Personal highlights for me were a 3rd place at the Virginia CIC**, 5th place at the American Eventing Championships (and being the only pair to finish on our dressage score!) and most recently a 10th place finish in the hugely competitive CIC** at Plantation.

Justine and Becca easily completing the final phase at Plantation in the CIC** to finish 10th. Photo courtesy of Samantha Clark.

Now as Fair Hill fast approaches, as well as the end of our time together, we have one more horse trials (Intermediate Championships at Morven Park) and then a lot of homework in the form of lessons from Buck, Callan and Missy.

Until next time, Eventing Nation, here’s to hoping for that happy ending to my fairy tale.

SmartPak is proud to power healthy horses and happy riders who are working to achieve their goals (whether aiming for Fair Hill, simply hoping to back their youngster this year, and everything in between). Visit SmartPak.com today to see how our smarts can support your goals!

Well… the 2012 season is wrapping up and autumn is in the air, which means one thing to eventers: Fair Hill International is just around the corner!

Yes – each year this event boasts a HIGH chance of rain, however most eventers make sure to pencil this event into their busy schedules, and usually plan for it all year.

So, we at EN were curious: who of you are entered at Fair Hill and what’s your story? Yes, we can pull the roster from our known sources, but what better way to get to know the talented pairs then from the horse’s rider’s mouth?

Yup. We’re opening up Pandora’s Box and asking those entered at FHI to submit a blog post, telling the story of you and your mount, and how you planned and prepared for Fair Hill all season.

Four lucky bloggers will be chosen, and their stories posted for the Eventing Nation readership to see. We are PUMPED to see what you all come up with, and wish everyone determined to compete, rain or shine, at FHI this October the best of luck.

Please email your posts to [email protected] no later than Monday, October 8 to be considered for a guest blogger.

Go eventing!

SmartPak is proud to power healthy horses and happy riders who are working to achieve their goals (whether aiming for Fair Hill, simply hoping to back their youngster this year, and everything in between). Visit SmartPak.com today to see how our smarts can support your goals!

Success Equestrian saddle pads and half pads are made with a no-slip material that will keep your saddle pad and saddle in place. No more bunching up behind your leg, no more slipping too far back or riding up the neck and no more over-tightening of girths! These pads prevent slippage on even the hardest to fit horses and the fully contoured top line ensures comfort for your horse.

Afraid no-slip pads will cause your horse to sweat more than necessary? Well, no sweat! The air-flow grip is only used where you need it.  The rear quarter panel of the pad has cotton on the bottom side to help keep your horse cool. With an added 1.5cm open cell breathable foam cushion in the seat, this pad offers extra shock absorption and stability with an air flow grip bottom layer that is completely breathable and wicks away perspiration due to the quilted cotton blend top layer!

Two lucky winners will each receive a monogrammed Success Equestrian saddle pad of their choice – pretty awesome. Contestants have until Friday, October 5 to enter.  Here’s your challenge:

Creatively describe a successful situation that you have had with your horse. Be clever and the funnier the better. Here’s the trick, you have to describe it in 160 characters! We know, a bit of a tough one, but seeing as you all are becoming social media and Tweeting entrepreneurs we have confidence you can come up with some creative, concise ways to tell your tale.  Email your entry to [email protected] with “Success” in the title by October 5th.

In addition to donating to our EN readers via witty contests, Success Equestrian also donates part of the proceeds from every saddle pad sold to the Equestrian Aid Foundation, so if you like what you see go ahead and shop it’s for a good cause!