Sally Spickard is a Korean adoptee living in San Diego, California. Sally joined the Eventing Nation team in 2013 and has subsequently written for Noelle Floyd, Heels Down Mag, and other publications both in and out of the equestrian world. Sally is an eventing fan through and through and enjoys telling the stories of riders who are not well-represented within equestrian media.
Michael Jung and fischerRocana FST. Photo by Julia Rau.
Michael Jung and fischerRocana FST didn’t miss a beat in yesterday’s German Masters Indoor Derby at Stuttgart, easily taking home their second win in a row against a tough field of competitors and his seventh overall victory at this competition.
The duo scored 66.81 to win handily over Mark Todd and NZB Land Vision, who stopped the clock at 69.51. Michael and his World Equestrian Games individual silver medalist torched the course, which was predictably twisty and demanded accuracy over solid cross country obstacles and show jumping fences.
Watching Michael’s ride, he keeps his mare well in hand throughout the course, allowing her to come forward to the distances and smoothly collecting her back for a tight turn. The ride was smooth and efficient, as you can see in the video below:
Jonelle Price and Classic Moet,who finished 4th individually at WEG, turned in a solid run for third place with a time of 70.12. Other notable names such as Sandra Auffarth, Laura Collett and Tim Price also competed in the indoor derby, with Tim being the highest placed of the bunch in fourth place on a time of 70.76.
Two pairs were eliminated: Sven Lux fell from Chica B and was immediately up on his feet, while Stuart Fitzgerald missed a jump with Dream On Doni. Two combinations retired on course. In all, 17 of the 21 starters completed the course.
As another indoor derby wraps up, much discussion has been taking place on social media regarding the safety of this type of competition and whether or not it presents a good representation of eventing. The FEI has made several recommendations regarding the regulation of indoor competitions since The Royal.
What do you think about indoor derbies, EN? Is this type of competition a good way to spread awareness about eventing? Or do you think the risks outweigh any benefits? Should changes like what the FEI has suggested be made to boost safety at these competitions? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
BBC anchor Jonathan Agnew is learning to ride with UK eventer Jo Ward in preparation to commentate on the equestrian events at the 2016 Rio Olympics. And, luckily for us, he’s documenting the whole experience via helmet cam. After learning to trot and canter, he experienced his first fall when his horse took off with him in a field. Hilarity ensues:
We’re glad to see the fall didn’t damage his sense of humor: “I’m a proper rider now!” Yes you are, Jonathan! Welcome to the world of riding. You can watch his first two riding lessons here and here. He’ll surely be ready for his first BE80 next season. Come to the dark side, Jonathan. We have margaritas!
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Michael Jung and fischerRocana FST. Photo by Julia Rau.
As the German Masters at Stuttgart approach tomorrow, we’re gearing up for more indoor action featuring some big names in the sport. Will Michael Jung defend his title, or will a newcomer take home the title this year?
We dug into the archives and found a video of Michael’s winning run last year; skip ahead to the 1:40 marker when the round actually starts. His future WEG individual silver medalist fischerRocana FST looks game and raring to go, and can we talk about some of those hairpin rollback turns he executes flawlessly?
The cheering from the crowd makes it sound more like a reining competition! It’s definitely a far cry from galloping around the countryside hunting the flags. We found a few more videos from the German Masters in years past, which you can check out below:
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Wintertime. For most of us, that word is synonymous with indoor arenas, layers upon layers and dressage boot camp. It’s a great time of year to really hone in on those pesky leg yields that have been evading you this season or to get your transitions on point to really impress the judges in the little white box.
Whatever your goals are, more often than not we eventers approach the thought of endless dressage lessons with something other than pure excitement and closer to pure dread. We thought we’d illustrate these emotions for you in GIF form:
1. Lack of Motivation
“Try and make me go!”
It’s well below freezing out, your bed is awfully warm, and there’s a foot of snow on the ground. Say goodbye to motivation, EN. Bundle yourself up in as many pieces of clothing as you can manage, don your muck boots and a hot cup of coffee, and get out there! Those 20-meter circles aren’t going to spin themselves.
2. Anxiety
“My right leg goes where?” The impending sense of doom when you realize your leg needs a lot more work than you originally thought. Suddenly you begin questioning your existence as an eventer, because you clearly can’t remember which aid does what anymore, and the FEI still hasn’t responded to your requests to remove dressage as a phase from the sport.
3. Frustration
Knowing what needs to be done, yet somehow not being able to execute it is one of the most frustrating feelings. Whether your base of fitness or your knowledge is just not quite where it should be, or if you’re just having one of those days, we all know how it feels to want to crush a soda can out of sheer frustration while trying not to scream four-letter words.
4. Clarity
You’ve been struggling for the past 45 minutes, your lesson is about to end, and you want to end on a good note. Suddenly, the stars align, your aids seem to come together, and you realize that you actually do know what you’re doing. That imperfect shoulder-in you’ve been drilling? All at once, it’s the easiest thing you’ve ever done, and you finally are able to memorize the feeling of correctness. Which then leads to…
5. Satisfaction
Your lesson is over, you nailed it, and you feel like you could take on the world. You hop off, immediately planning your indoor dressage show schedule for the winter and chattering excitedly to your coach about signing up for more lessons. Two a week? Sure, why not! You’ve got this. Until next week.
Team Tredstep rider Elisa Wallace recently added a new Mustang to her stable, a gray mare named Hwin she’s training for the 2015 Mustang Magic competition in Fort Worth, Texas, in January. Elisa is known for her training skills thanks to many demos done with her other mustangs, Fledge and Rune, and now Hwin is getting ready to follow in their hoof prints.
Elisa has been video blogging her training with Hwin, starting with day one, documenting the mare’s reactions and getting her to the point where she is ready for full training. It’s really interesting to watch Elisa’s training methods at work with Hwin, who seems to take everything in stride.
Katelyn Gurbich and Kaptain Jak competing in the Preliminary Rider division at FCHP. Photo via Lauren Billys on Facebook.
It’s about that time of year when we’re all wishing we were on the West coast or in Florida (or somewhere else warm), and we’ve been looking at all of the West coast eventers’ social media pages longingly as we freeze our toes off in the Polar Vortex.
Fresno County Horse Park ran Intro through Preliminary divisions, and Lauren Billys aboard Ballingowan Ginger were the winners of the Open Preliminary division. The pair scored a 23.0 in the dressage and went on to finish on that score to finished ahead of David Robel and High Light in second place.
Bea di Grazia and Ringwood Isabelle finished their weekend in third place on a score of 36.5. This is the Irish Sport Horse mare’s first run at Preliminary after running primarily at Training this year.
Ocala Horse Properties kicked off their winter series this weekend, and Leslie Law with Unborn de Lelo took home the win in the Open Preliminary A division, finishing on their dressage score of 22.7. This Anglo-Arab gelding owned by Beatrice Ray-Herme is nearing the end of a full year competing at Preliminary, as Leslie usually likes to give his young horses plenty of time at the level before eyeing a move up.
Kyle Carter and Sayyida were good for second place on a score of 23.2, followed by Michael Pollard and Tsetserleg on a 29.2.
In the B division of the Open Preliminary, Shanon Baker and Lansdowne lead wire to wire to finish on their dressage score of 26.8, a comfortable lead over second-placed Daisy Trayford and Exmoor Denver on a 35.1. Shanon and Lansdowne are coming off of some disappointing results in two CCI* attempts and will likely feel a big boost of confidence from a solid outing this weekend.
Jamie Alnwick and Factor Five bring up third place with a score of 59.7.
Cathryn Green and Coin Toss III took home the win in the Open Intermediate at River Glen in Tennessee, which was sure to be a bit on the chilly side this weekend. Cathryn had 15.2 time on cross country but was still able to move up from second place to finish on a score of 55.0. This is the pair’s first Intermediate win.
Selena Pope and Vanity finished their weekend in second place on a score of 60.9. Selena and Vanity have been very successful at this level, not finishing out of the top five in eight completions.
Rebecca Gall and Can Ya Dig it were the third place finishers with a final score of 64.4. This was this pair’s second start since moving up to Intermediate at Otter Creek in September.
The next Olympic cycle will be upon us before we know it. The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are approaching, and EN is already outlining our plan of action to bring you the best eventing coverage there is.
There is plenty of advance planning going on for the Olympics, and they’re asking for volunteers to sign up for their duties by December 15. Volunteers will enjoy exposure to the Olympic grounds, plenty of Rio swag, provided meals on working days, and the once in a lifetime experience of working behind the scenes at the Olympics.
If you’re interested in being a Rio volunteer (we’re sure there will be equestrian opportunities!), here are the qualifications:
Must be 18 years old by February 28, 2016
Must be available for 10 days during the Olympics and/or Paralympic Games
Have completed basic education – this is not mandatory
Have availability during the selection and training process, which will take up to three full days
Visit the Rio Volunteer page here to find more information about the volunteer opportunities available, and don’t forget to sign up by December 15.
Phillip Dutton and Icabad Crane. Photo by Maggie Kimmitt.
Phillip Dutton and Icabad Crane were the triumphant winners of this year’s Retired Racehorse Project America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred competition, showing off their impressive adjustability to seal the deal.
The Retired Racehorse Project has uploaded videos of the competition to their Vimeo channel, making them available on demand so we can check out the other great Thoroughbreds and their newly learned skills in their second careers.
Complete with commentary from judges Ross Peddicord, Diane Crump and Chris McCarron, the videos provide education and entertainment for OTTB and equine enthusiasts across multiple disciplines.
Be sure to stop by the RRP Vimeo channel to view all of the videos on demand. Go OTTBs!
Tik Maynard and Dutch Times. Photo by Mackenzie Clark for BenRadvanyi.com.
The FEI has made some recommendations based on its Risk Management policies for Indoor and Arena Eventing, which has been growing in popularity in recent years.
The primary recommendation from the FEI is that these competitions should be designated as three-star competitions, meaning that horses and riders would have to meet the same qualification criteria. A three-star course designer would also be used to design the track.
There are also three competition formats that have been proposed for these events:
1. Indoor/Arena Derby: Competitions will be run with a time limit as opposed to a time allowed. This would decrease the risk of falls and errors caused by a rider’s attempt to make the time. Many opinions have been voiced regarding the number of falls at the recent Indoor Eventing Challenge at The Royal, many of which touch on concerns that the time allowed factor caused many of the falls. As another rule of this format, all jumps would be required to have a rail over the top line.
2. Indoor/Arena Eventing with Style Valuation: There would be no time factor at all in this format, and the horses and riders would jump cross country obstacles and points would be assessed based on style. Existing national rules and regulations would be used for judging.
3. Indoor/Arena Eventing in Two Phases: Cross country obstacles would be used in the first phase, with an optimum time designated by the course designer. There would then be a jump-off of 6-8 fences for the second round, which would include obstacles that draw similarities from cross country jumps but that would be constructed to be able to be knocked down.
The elimination of the speed factor has been a commonly heard request from both riders and observers, and the FEI’s recommendations seem focused on promoting safety over speed.
What are your thoughts on these recommendations, EN? Do you feel they will help attract more riders and make the competitions safer? Do you think Indoor Eventing is just fine the way it is? We want to hear your opinions in the comments!
You can read the latest FEI update containing the Indoor Eventing recommendations by downloading it here.
Jessica Manson and Legal Star. Photo courtesy of Julie Wilson/FEI.
Jessica Manson entered the show jumping arena in Adelaide with plenty of pressure. She had a rail in hand, but the rails were flying all day and just three pairs had gone clear or had just one rail down. Second placed Megan Jones and Kirby Park Allofasudden had just laid down a double clear round to put the pressure on the 22-year-old to finish the job.
She had no need for her rail in hand, though, as she jumped a clear round to take home her first CCI4* win aboard Legal Star, her Australian Stock Horse. Jessica had three rails down last year at this event, so she knew that this was the time to rise to the occasion.
Charlotte Price and Kinnordy Gambia. Photo via the Australian International Three Day on Facebook.
Megan Jones and Kirby Park Allofasudden finished on a final score of 70.7 in second, well ahead of third placed Soigne Jackson and Gold. Katja Weimann and BP Cosmopolitan were the owners of the only other double clear round, finishing in fifth place. Katja jumped all the way up from ninth place after cross country with her double clear round to improve upon her 10th place finish here last year.
Jessica Manson and Legal Star are all smiles. Photo via the Australian International Three-Day on Facebook.
It was a great eventing weekend Down Under, and it was great to see so many newcomers to the level out competing for the first time. Congratulations to Jessica on her big win – we can’t wait to see more from this talented pair.
Ocala Horse Properties kicked off their winter series this weekend, running divisions from Beginner Novice up through Preliminary. Many riders have already begun their southern migration for the winter, and Ocala is always a hot spot for eventers from all over the country.
The Horse Pesterer is on the ground in Ocala this weekend and is in the process of uploading videos from the weekend so far. We also got a sneak peek of the new covered arena that is under construction, which looks like it will be a great addition for future competitions.
Photo via The Horse Pesterer.
Be sure to check out the full playlist of videos here, as more are being added as we speak. Many thanks to The Horse Pesterer for sharing his videos. Go Florida eventing!
Without the volunteers who tirelessly work each weekend to make an event run smoothly, our sport would not be much to speak of. These hard working individuals are the backbone of each and every event, and we want to share the stories of these volunteers in our new series. This week, Beth Collier sent in this great story about volunteering at Fair Hill. We would love to hear more! Do you have a volunteer story you'd like to share? Send it to [email protected].
Burt standing next to his saved flag. Photo from Beth Collier.
From Beth:
When I’ve competed in horse trials, there are always wonderful volunteers who make it a great day. So, I volunteer at events to make it a great day for someone else. Plus, it’s a great way to learn all the rules. Here is one of my favorite stories:
Husband Burt and I were cross country jump judges for the Preliminary division at the Maryland Combined Training Association Horse Trials at Shawan Downs, north of Baltimore.
We had a big corner jump, although there was a non-corner option. Phillip Dutton came by and his horse whacked the corner flag and ran out. The flag was broken off and we didn’t have a hammer or nails or a twist-tie.
Phillip came to a screeching halt and almost fell off. He turned around and said, “Can you set up the flag?” I was thinking about how we didn’t have a way to easily fix it and the next horse will be coming in two minutes.
So, Burt tried to prop the flag up but it just tilted over. So, he stood there and held the flag for Phillip. The volunteer coordinator later asked me if I had taken a photo, and I said, “No, because I thought I was having either a stroke or a heart attack!” Burt said he only held the flag because of his faith in Phillip’s experience as a top rider!
Craig Barrett and Sandhills Brillaire in the CCI4* Adelaide 2012. Photo by John Lechner.
The cross country at the Australian International Three-Day Event in Adelaide is run through Victoria Park, which is nestled right in the heart of Adelaide, located in South Australia. This park, which is a popular destination for area residents on a sunny day, plays host to many sporting events throughout the year, and the Adelaide event is always a popular spectator attraction.
One thing we noticed while watching the live stream of cross country yesterday was how well the course was laid out with the park’s natural layout. Course designer Wayne Copping integrated the ponds and streams in the park to create water questions, and even wrapped the course around a playground in the center of the park.
Spectators were lined up along the galloping lanes and at the big questions all day, even braving rain to see the CCI4* riders go. Cars drove past on the roads bordering the park, most likely wondering why there were horses and their colorful riders gallivanting about the park.
While we realize that this park-like environment isn’t feasible in many locations, particularly in the U.S., we still hand it to the organizers of the Adelaide event for their creativity in bringing the sport to a city where more people can come out to watch.
Be sure to check out this helmet cam from the 2012 event, complete with commentary, of Natalie Blundell & Algebra for an idea of how the course is laid out in Victoria Park.
Ah, wintertime. We’re expecting our first snowfall here in Kansas City today, so I’m boycotting winter and staying indoors all day. Of course, a quick browse of SmartPak’s YouTube channel brought up the second episode of their hilarious “Stuff Riders Say” series geared towards blanketing.
We all go through the same cycle of questions and criteria when figuring out which blanket to purchase and what layers to use in what order. This helpful graphic from Auburn University may be of some help for all of the blanket-aware horse owners out there:
Source: Auburn Agriculture
Even while we’re having constant conversations with ourselves, our trainers, and everyone within ear shot regarding blanket decisions, watch the video above and rest assured that you aren’t the only one!
For more help on blanketing, be sure to download SmartPak’s SmartBlanket app, available for Android and iOS.
Jessica Manson and Legal Star. Photo courtesy of Kangra.
It was a 22-year-old rider from West Australia aboard her Australian Stock Horse/Thoroughbred cross who flew home closest to the optimum time across country yesterday to take the lead in the Adelaide CCI4*. Jessica Manson and Legal Star were one of the first pairs on course, attacking the course from the outset with tenacity and determination.
The optimum time of 11 minutes and 24 seconds proved difficult, especially with the onset of a strong rain about halfway through the field. Jessica came home with the quickest time of the day, accumulating just 2.8 time penalties to take the overnight lead on a score of 64.6.
She enters today’s show jumping with one rail and some time in hand. Legal Star is a keen jumper, and this pair was quite fun to watch as they made quick work of their third trip around Adelaide.
“I’m extremely happy with him (Legal Star). He really couldn’t have done anything more,” said Jessica in a press release. “He is very quick and nimble and an easy ride, so it was quite easy for me to make time today. He is a pretty good jumper so as long as we are both on the ball tomorrow I am sure we can do it.”
Jessica and Legal Star were 15th at Adelaide last year and fourth in 2012, so they’re poised for their best CCI4* finish to date should they jump clear or with just one rail tomorrow.
Leading after the dressage, Megan Jones and Kirby Park Allofasudden came through the finish with 19.2 time penalties to put them on a 70.7 and in second place overnight. They’ve got a comfortable lead over third placed Elizabeth Lowery and KL Kismet with three rails in hand.
Although there was not an extreme amount of terrain on Wayne Copping’s course, it still held its own challenges with a twisting course that challenged riders to shave precious seconds off where they could in an effort to get close to the time. There were several questions on course that caused their share of problems, namely a corner combination at fence 6AB, the first technical question on course.
Photo via CrossCountry App
This combination caught five pairs out for refusals, the most troublesome question on the course. A corner combination at fence 20AB also caused a bit of trouble, causing one rider fall and one refusal.
Photo via CrossCountry App
There was also a nearly 20 minute hold on course relatively early on in the going while the ground jury made repairs to the footing that followed the second water complex. It appeared that the footing deteriorated quickly, turning from sand into slick mud and causing many horses to get their hind ends a bit stuck when they went to gallop away from the jump. The footing looked to be holding up much better once it was fixed.
Show jumping will commence at approximately 11:10 p.m. EST and will be broadcast live on FEI TV. Stay tuned for more from Down Under!
Ride On Video just uploaded some of the full cross country trips from the Galway Downs International CCI3* — just in time to binge watch over the weekend! We’ve posted a few here, and you can view the full playlist at this link. Did you miss any of our Galway Downs coverage? Catch up here!
OTTBs are among the most prominently represented breed in the eventing world. Each day, hundreds of ex-racehorses find themselves at the end of their racing career and in need of a new home. Luckily, organizations such as CANTER, New Vocations, Recycled Racehorses and many more are always on alert for new horses that are ready for second careers. Each week, we'll be bringing you a few OTTB ads that caught our eye in our Weekly OTTB Wishlist presented by Cosequin.
We’ll jump right into it this week with our OTTB wishlist, as we’ve got a special guy first up who desperately needs a new home before the winter sets in.
Photo by Kate Samuels.
Battering Ram, known in the barn as Rambler, is 9 years old and looking for his forever home, as his owner has decided that she needs to sell him before the winter. Rambler (Perfect – Rambling Tea, by Mugatea) raced 16 times, winning once. He was retired in 2010 with no injuries and has been in light work, showing potential to be someone’s great sport horse.
Rambler is for sale for $3,000 for a quick sale, and interested parties can contact Kate Samuels at [email protected] or Becky Pocock at [email protected]. Let’s find Rambler his new home, just in time for the holidays!
Photo via CANTER Mid-Atlantic.
Next up is an adorable 6-year-old mare by the name of Shea Ballet. Listed with CANTER Mid-Atlantic, Shea Ballet (Polish Miner – Phantom Storm, by On Target) is currently at Charles Town Track in West Virginia.
Shea Ballet raced 43 times with four wins — a war horse! She brought home $59, 825 in winnings and was retired sound with no injuries after her last race on Oct. 29.
Click here to visit Shea Ballet’s listing on CANTER Mid-Atlantic.
Photo courtesy of New Vocations.
Last but not least in our collection of bays, snatch this one up quick before someone else does! Groomitage is a new listing over on New Vocations, a 3-year-old model who has been declared suitable for any discipline.
Groomitage’s bloodlines (Run Away and Hide – Meritage Miss, by Saarland) can be traced back to Unbridled, Artax and many more household names. He raced twice, retiring sound at the end of June.
Click here to visit Groomitage’s listing on New Vocations.
"A Horse of a Different Color" features horses and ponies that have been successful in the sport of eventing while representing a unique breed. Do you have a horse that you think would be a great feature subject? If so, email [email protected].
Britt Sabbah and Saint Louie. Photo via Britt on Facebook.
Britt Sabbah grew up riding hunter/jumpers before taking an extended break from riding while she finished college and moved out to California. Once she settled in, she began riding again and soon enough was ready to start looking for her next horse.
“I was looking for something a bit on the smaller side and that was kind and easy going enough that I could have fun with,” Britt said of her horse search. “I wasn’t even really thinking about going out and competing right away. I knew I wanted to event since it had always been my dream, but I just figured I could find something to have fun at the lower levels with.”
Relatively early on in her horse search, Britt found Saint Louie, a 2008 Welsh/Paint cross stabled at Galway Downs. After a few trial rides, Britt fell in love. The first thing Britt learned about her new horse was that he needed a confident ride. “He’s very, very careful, and because of that he needed some confidence when we first started working together. We could barely go over trot poles in the beginning!”
Photo via Britt on Facebook.
Britt credits a lot of their partnership a year later to coach Jen Wooten. “She’s just been amazing, and I think she really helped us build trust and confidence,” she said. “After a couple of months, we really started to improve.”
After just a few short months together, Britt took Louie to Galway Downs for her first event. The pair ventured out at Beginner Novice and finishing seventh with a handful of rails and time in the show jumping. “Show jumping has always been our biggest challenge, and we’ve had to really work on it to get those clean rounds out of him,” Britt said.
The pair continued to work hard through the year, moving up to Novice because it seemed that the bigger jumps garnered more respect from Louie. After several top-10 finishes at the Novice level, Britt and Louie headed to Texas for the American Eventing Championships at Novice level, where they brought home a fifth place ribbon for their efforts.
After returning from Texas, Britt and Louie entered their first Training level event at Galway Downs at the end of October. “We had discussed moving up to Training before Texas, and we decided that if he thought cross country (in Texas) was no big deal, we’d go ahead and do it,” Britt explained. “We’ve been schooling Training level or higher at home, so the cross country was the big question.”
Photo via Britt on Facebook.
The pair finished in 16th place in their Training division at Galway with one bobble and some time on cross country, but it’s their show jumping round that really caught our eye! Everything appeared to be going to plan when Britt suddenly lost her left rein coming out of the triple combination.
The pair had a few moments of miscommunication in which Louie locked onto the first jump on course, which was an oxer that would have had to be jumped backwards, but Britt was able to grab her rein back and regain control.
“I’m not really sure how it happened,” Britt recalled. “I know I was trying to fix it going into the line because it had flipped over, and then I had it fine and lost it out of nowhere on the way out!”
Ride On Video captured Britt and Louie’s great save in their stadium round:
Despite the slight detour, Britt and Louie still came home clear inside the time, no worse for the wear. Britt was pleased with her move up to Training and is looking forward to gaining more mileage at the level next year.
“I never expected to be out competing this much, but he’s just surpassed all of my expectations,” Britt said. “I don’t know if eventually doing Preliminary is in his future, but I’m just going to let him tell me and have fun with him. I think he’s got the scope for it, but we’ll spend some time at Training and go from there.
“My ultimate goal is to do the Training Three-Day at Rebecca Farm next year, if not that then the Three-Day at Galway at the end of the year. So we’ll work to qualify for that this season and then see where he wants to go from there.”
Megan Jones and Kirby Park Allofasudden. Photo courtesy of Kangra.
With a small field of just 14 horses at the Adelaide CCI4* in Australia, the competition proved stiff to take the top spot on the leaderboard after dressage, but Megan Jones and the 14-year-old Thoroughbred gelding Kirby Park Allofasudden pulled it off to take a handy lead with a score of 51.5.
This horse, known in the barn as Floyd, was Megan Jones’ original Olympic mount in 2012, but he was withdrawn due to a minor foot injury that kept him sidelined from representing Australia. “(This time) last year his foot still wasn’t quite right,” Megan said in a press release. “We have had a long, slow preparation and it’s helped so much on the flat. It’s really taken a long time and lots of schooling.”
This is Floyd’s fifth CCI4* appearance and third time competing in the CCI4* at Adelaide; he was sixth here in 2011, his last time at this event, with just a few time penalties on cross country, so expect this pair to remain right in the mix, if not still atop the board, after cross country, which will run later on tonight, U.S. time.
The atmosphere in the dressage phase seemed to get to many horses and riders, as many of them had traveled from more rural parts of the country and therefore were not used to the heightened atmosphere. “It’s hard to prepare for an atmosphere like this; I know after today a lot of West Australians will be looking for a rent-a-crowd to practice with,” Belinda Ibister said.
Belinda and Holy Bruce are making their CCI4* debut and are sitting in second place after dressage with a score of 56.8. This pair typically scores in the high 40s or low 50s in FEI competition, so the atmosphere may well have contributed to a slightly higher mark than usual, but Belinda was still pleased with her positioning in her first four-star.
Believe it or not, there is just one male rider competing this weekend, and he’s currently holding third place on a score of 58. Seumas Marwood and Wild Oats attempted both Luhmühlen and Badminton this year, retiring on cross country both times.
This is the pair’s third time competing at Adeliade, where they were sixth last year and retired in 2011. Their dressage score is right about on par with their usual marks at this level, so their biggest test will be putting everything together on cross country.
Cross country will begin at 9:50 p.m. EST tonight and will be broadcast live on FEI TV. Night owls, unite! If you missed our cross country course preview yesterday, be sure to check it out here. The course looks lovely, and we’re excited to see how it rides for these 14 combinations.
Are you a budding blogger with a horse that would benefit from a new joint supplement? Then you’ll want to keep reading!
Thanks to our generous sponsor, Omega Alpha, we’re launching a new Blogger Challenge to focus on education about Sinew-X, Omega Alpha’s joint supplement. We’re looking for two bloggers to thoroughly test a 32-day supply of Omega Alpha and share your results in a minimum of three blog posts that will be posted here on EN.
How to enter: Send a short email to [email protected] containing your reasons for wanting to try Sinew-X, along with a photo of your horse.
Deadline: All entries must be received by Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 5 p.m. EST.
How we’re picking: We’ll be working with Omega Alpha to pick the two winners of the 32-day supply of Sinew-X and will announce them by Friday, Nov. 21.
As we head into the off season and cold weather, it’s a great time to start working on making our horses more comfortable in their work, and this is a great opportunity to learn about a new product and help educate the masses.
Good luck to all entrants, and many thanks to Omega Alpha for sponsoring our Blogger Challenge.
The CCI4* is about to get underway at the Adelaide CCI4*, the final four-star of the 2014 season. All horses presented for the CCI2* and CCI4* inspections today were accepted and will move on to dressage.
CCI2* dressage is at at 10 a.m. local time Thursday, which is 6:30 p.m. tonight EST. CCI4* dressage will be held Friday in Australia, with FEI TV broadcasting at 10 p.m. EST Thursday.
This preview video of the weekend’s action is a great way to see the venue and hear from people working hard behind the scenes, such as course designer Wayne Copping.
We’ll be following along all weekend with the action from down under. Stay tuned!
Big news, EN! Four-star winner, current German coach and overall rockstar of the sport Christ Bartle will be traveling to the U.S. in January to teach the USEA’s Instructor’s Certification Program Symposium on the East and West coasts, the USEA announced today.
Chris competed in both dressage and eventing on national teams for Great Britain before coaching the British eventing team at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and 2000 Sydney Games. And he somehow found time to win Badminton in 1998 in the midst of his coaching responsibilities. He then started coaching the powerhouse German eventing team, which has won team gold medals at the last two Olympic games and most recent World Equestrian Games.
Chris will be at Galway Downs Jan. 16-17 to teach the West Coast symposium and at Ocala Jan. 19-20 to teach the East Coast symposium. This is an excellent opportunity to learn from a coach who has a tried and true formula for success. Exhibit A: Michael Jung, anyone?
And you could be one of the lucky few who gets to ride in the symposium as a demo riderfor Chris! For information on being a demo rider for the East Coast Symposium, contact Sue Hershey at [email protected] or 412-963-6359. For information on being a demo rider for the West Coast Symposium, contact Wendy Wergeles at [email protected] or 805-344-1190.
Chinch has already sent in his application to be a demo rider, of course.
Taylor McFall and Kilbarry Prince at Galway Downs. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Earlier this year, Taylor McFall launched her own fundraising campaign with the intent to purchase her leased pony, Kilbarry Prince. After several months of hard work, Taylor has spoken with the owner of “Prince,” who has agreed to sell the pony to her using the funds she’s raised over the summer.
Taylor McFall met her first love early this year in the form of the 12-year-old Connemara gelding. The pony was leased to Taylor by owner Leslie Lee, with the lease ending in November of this year.
“I didn’t know (Leslie) very well, so I called and told her that Taylor was interested in purchasing Prince, but I wasn’t sure what to expect,” mother Jen McFall said. “Taylor did everything, she worked very hard and made the call to Leslie herself to offer her money to buy her pony.”
The conversation was a success, as Leslie told Taylor how impressed she was with the fundraising and agreed to sell the pony to her. “I was really nervous right before I made the call,” Taylor explained. “But once I was on the phone, I just went into business mode or whatever it is that I do, and I listened to (Leslie) and promised her that I would take really good care of him and that he would have a home with me forever.
“As soon as I got off the phone, I ran straight to my mom and gave her a big hug, and then I ran out to ride Prince. I gave him some extra grain and took him back to his pasture, and I just stood there watching him because I was so happy and I couldn’t believe that I did it. I guess I have to go and get a lot of thank you cards now!”
Now that Taylor officially owns Kilbarry Prince, she plans to continue working towards some of her competition goals. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to do, and we’ve been doing Novice and getting better,” she said. “I’d really like to do the Novice Three Day at (Rebecca Farm) next year, and by the end of the year I’d love to be doing Training level.”
Earl and Jen McFall wanted Taylor to learn the value of hard work through this venture. “She really found that hard work can make dreams come true,” Jen said. “I think she really understands the value of a dollar, especially with working all summer and still seeing how much she still had to earn.
“We had a lot of conversations about it, and we knew that she may not earn enough to buy Prince, so we talked about what she would do with the money she earned. We talked about using it for lessons or shows, and she’s always loved animal rescue so she wanted to donate some of the money. But she really gets it, and it just makes you love what you have that much more when you’ve worked that hard to get it.“
Taylor says she’s happy to have had the experience work out, and she’s learned some valuable lessons. “I worked long hours making Pony Puffs and putting them in bags, and at shows I spent half of my time walking around selling them to people,” Taylor said. “I think I learned that I want to stay a kid forever because being an adult seems like a really hard job!“
Congratulations to Taylor and her pony, and we wish them the best of luck in their adventures.
Michael Jung and fischerRocana FST. Photo by Julia Rau.
