Which four star eventer is this?
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Weekend Quiz Question
Which four star eventer is this?
Happy Birthday…..
Jose Ortelli, Eventing’s very own Enrique Iglesias. I was lucky enough to meet Jose when he was based around the corner here in Lexington, preparing for the WEG last year, and I interviewed him when I was moonlighting for Monty White. Sadly he’s spent much less time in the States this year, but he just finished 14th at the Pan Am Games nonetheless, and it’s always a pleasure to bump into him. Meanwhile the JOSA horses I think, are popular over here and doing well. Many Happy Returns, Jose, hope to see you again sooner rather than later! Also, today is a good day if you have HBO, because don’t forget tonight is the sneak preview of the horse-racing drama LUCK starring none other than Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Michael Gambon and more, but most importantly….Lady Baba! If you missed our exclusive interview with her, you can catch up on that here! Happy Birthday Jose, Go Argentina and Go Eventing!
Harry Markwell – Hot Commodity!
Ladies, line up and take a number – EN have an early Christmas present for you! While Sport Horse Nation may not have brokered any of the recent Olympic prospect deals that have been burning up the forum pages lately, I was tempted to post this article on our sister website, because it’s subject, Harry Markwell, will surely be equally as popular as any of those London-qualified horses once his profile hits EN. I predict a flurry of activity at the EN switchboard, and all the chinchillas are on high alert, being brought in to work overtime!
Harry Markwell is the total package; to borrow and butcher the phrase from Coren Morgen, as a horsey gal, “Would you rather” date a) a vet? b) a vet, or c) a vet? How about if he was also a well-rounded, experienced rider? Tall, attractive and had a killer Aussie accent and piercing blue eyes? Would hard-working put you off? What about athletic and sporty? Still interested, then read on….
Harry finished vet school in December in Australia and is currently a surgery intern at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute here in Lexington,Ky, honing his skills; because of the Southern Hemisphere time lag, he got a jump on the season and started the year early, beginning his internship last February instead of July,
“It’s been really good, but very tough when I started. It was probably the hardest two months of my life when I began, because it was the busiest time of the year (foaling season in the Bluegrass, and the middle of winter) and I walked in on an established group of interns and everyone was set in their practices, but I found my feet and I’ve really enjoyed it. We basically work as assistants to all the surgeons, we have primary case responsibility to the surgeon but not to any clients of our own, and in turn the surgeons teach us and give us the opportunity to work alongside them. I do solely surgery and rotate amongst the four surgeons; there are surgeries done here that many people will never see in their lifetime, and it’s a place where they do things differently to many other hospitals. It’s a private practice, it’s very efficiently run and it’s a great place to learn. The reason I wanted to come to Hagyards is because it’s got such a strong reputation and it sees so many cases; it has the largest surgery caseload, and with veterinary medicine the more experience you have the better vet you’ll be.”
Harry is one of 8 surgery interns picked from over 20 applicants. Since being in the US he told me he’s trying to follow the football over here, but will always be a rugby and cricket fanatic. However, he does have some eventing history too….
The early days: Harry on Superman
“Our family have always bred and trained our own Australian stock horses. My father was a very well-known horseman in Australia, and when he was in his twenties he used to go to an event on a Saturday, and then go to a camp-draft, ( a Western competition similar to cutting and reining) with the same horses on the Sunday. They were quite successful horses, and our family’s always been strongly involved in the Pony Club in Australia, and it’s the type of riding that my parents have tried to instill in me and our whole family – to be very rounded horsemen, being able to choose what discipline you want to compete in, but also being able to master the core basics of dressage or camp-draft, and having done pony club, being able to ride any horse in a complete manner and take that into your chosen discipline.”
Nicholas Markwell
Harry grew up near Brisbane on the East Coast of Australia, and his family bred mountain ponies crossed with quarter horses and thoroughbreds, very similar Harry tells me to the classic stock horses in Australia, a hybrid breed. Since then, his family have bought a cattle station and re-located to Central Queensland.
Horses at home on ‘Culcraigie’
It was here that they bred and started Ladybrook Remington, fondly known as Remi. Remi was out of a TB mare, who had bred good campdraft horses in the past, but Remi turned out to be a giant and grew to 17hh. Although he had the makings of a great campdraft horse – fast and athletic to follow the cow, he was just too big. Harry and his brother took him to some dressage and show-jumping shows, and realising his talent sent him to Shane and Nicky Rose in Sydney with a view to selling him on. However, Remi did so well with them, they cancelled plans to sell and he ended up going all the way to three star level, and despite being what Harry calls “a bit of a hit and miss horse”, he was Shane’s reserve for the Beijing Olympics. Remi was retired at the farm last year and is now on loan to one of the neighbours doing show jumping at some of the local horse shows in rural Queensland.
Shane jumping Remi
Harry’s ideal horse would be an all-rounder, “and from my background in the Outback of Australia, I’d have to say I’d want a horse that you could ride all day and round up the cattle on, put over a few jumps if you so desire, and polish up and not be too embarrassed to take to a show on the weekend. I think a lot of horses can fit this criteria, but one thing you can’t teach a horse is how to gallop and be a horse, and that’s why I really do like the thoroughbreds.”
Harry campdrafting on Blue
“Being here in Kentucky, and working as a vet in the heart of the industry has really showed me how lucky we are to be to be employed by the industry. It’s nice to work in a place where horses mean so much to the region’s history and the people. The biggest thing I’ve noticed is that the thoroughbred farm managers and staff really care for their horses just as much as the sport horse owners, and everyone wants to do the right thing by the horse.”
When Harry finishes his internship in July, he’d ideally like to get into a surgery training program here in the US, but if that doesn’t work out he’ll probably return home to Australia where along with working as a vet, he hopes to pick up riding again; his dad apparently reports that there are plenty of horses waiting to be broken at home, maybe there’ll be another Remi among them!
If you haven’t already begun to fall a little bit in love with Harry, let me help you out
I’d like to thank Harry for his time, and good humour – he was the perfect interviewee, if only I was younger and not saddled blessed, I mean blessed, with two such wonderful children! Thank you also to Hagyard Equine Medical Institute where we conducted said interview, and to Dr Laura Werner for making the connection. I’d like to wish Laura many congratulations and best wishes on her forthcoming nuptials, Mazel Tov, and Go Eventing!
Lady Baba – a star is born!
Introducing Lady Baba – the sleeper star of Luck!
When the sneak preview of the eagerly awaited HBO horse-racing drama Luck airs this sunday, (11th December) one of the stars of the series will be blissfully unaware of the hype and the hoopla. Lady Baba has now re-located to a sumptuous horse farm in Kentucky, although that’s not to say her glory days are over; she’s definitely living up to her namesake and is quite the little diva, and has everyone who visits her, or knows her at her barn, completely wrapped around her tiny little hoof!
Joan Ciampi, who is Technical Advisor for Luck, spoke to me about how Lady Baba got the part, that she was a “natural”, and how she began to steal scenes, and hearts, on the set in California.
Settling in nicely at her new home, despite the chilly temperatures that she’s not used to having come from Hollywood, Joan told me she thinks Lady Baba is probably about five years old, and that you judge a goat’s age by the length of their beard – really! Also, I learnt that goats, like cows, have four stomachs and have no teeth on their upper gums, just the lower ones.
She also shared that despite no previous experience whatsoever, Joan loved training Lady Baba for all her crucial scenes; goats are food-motivated she learned, and Lady Baba was a quick learner, and of course, extremely talented! When filming was over, Joan couldn’t bear to leave her behind, “I called TexSutton, and I put Lady Baba in my rental car, and we drove off to the airport. Lady Baba had a stall on the plane with Awesome Gem, and all these other million dollar horses. She walked up the ramp onto the plane on her little leash and the guys couldn’t believe it! We landed in Louisville, and then we jumped on a Sallee van which dropped us off at Keeneland, and a friend of mine picked us up there.”
Lady Baba travels very well in cars, although Joan does report some surprised reactions from passers-by, and she’s also very well-behaved indoors.
Photos used with kind permission of Joan Ciampi
Lady Baba had her own private blessing from a priest after Joan got the day wrong recently, and the charm around her neck is a St Francis of Assisi that Joan brought her back from Italy! Joan freely admits that’s she’s crazy about Lady Baba, but I’d venture to say it’s mutual.
Joan hasn’t ruled out letting Lady Baba pursue her acting career, perhaps making some appearances and the odd opening, but told me any money that she earned would be donated to a cause just as close to Joan’s heart – The Kentucky Equine Humane Center, and I asked her to tell me a little more about it.
“It’s almost like a pound for horses. It’s a little bit different from the other organisations because the Humane Center takes all breeds – ponies, minis, donkeys, quarter horses…it’s truly a pound of all equines.”
Conceived as an alternative for some of the thousands of unwanted horses that end up in bad situations, the Kentucky Equine Humane Center can only take a limited number at any one time, but is active in moving them on, working with other organisations to find homes for them; in the last couple of years Joan estimates the Center has saved at least 700 horses.
“We follow up every six months, they have vet checks, we know where they are, we brand them in case they end up in a bad place. Our whole idea is every horse has an owner, every owner has a responsibility – that’s it.”
The Kentucky Equine Humane Center were thrilled to recently be the recipients of the proceeds from the Gala at the Alltech National Horse Show, held for the first time this autumn at the Kentucky Horse Park, and Joan shared that Mrs Lyons is a great supporter of the Center.
A not-for-profit with a staff of two and a half (!), another unique thing about the Center is it’s surrender stall at each racetrack in Kentucky, where for whatever reason, no questions asked, a horse can be left once it’s papers are turned in to the racing office, and the Center will find a way to bring it home.
“Sadly we can only take horses from Kentucky, we just can’t afford to open it up, they would drop from the skies and we don’t have the money to do it. Just because of where we are in Lexington, Kentucky the majority of the horses we get are thoroughbreds, but we do get all sorts. It’s a good place, a happy place in the sense where they have a chance, they have a safe shelter. It’s not a retirement home, though – like the pound, they have to move. We do euthanise, but we don’t make that decision, we work with the two large vet practices, Rood and Riddle, and Hagyards. When the horses come in they’re assessed, the vets go over them and there’s a quality of life issue at stake, and a lot of them are compromised. If their situation is really chronic then we humanely euthanise them, and that’s up to the vets, and the horses never suffer, it’s done incredibly well. Better that than them being out in a field, if they even make it out to a field and starve in these horrible winters, and particularly with the economy with the way it is, it’s a really precarious situation right now, a lot of these horses are just not going to make it, we do the right thing.”
I hope that Lady Baba is booked solid for many years if she’ll be funding the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, and I can’t imagine for a moment why she wouldn’t be! I’d like to thank Joan, and of course Lady Baba for their time, it was an absolute pleasure, and please don’t forget to tune in on Sunday night to watch Luck.
Lady Baba will actually feature in the New Year’s episodes, but it still looks pretty good regardless. Lady Baba does have a scene with two time Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman, and of course, that all important closing scene in the seaon finale with Nick Nolte! Go Lady Baba, Go baby Go, and of course, Go Eventing!
Photo of Lady Baba with Dustin Hoffman used with kind permission of Joan Ciampi
Revealed…
The answer to the Weekend Quiz Question was fashion forward, up-and-coming four star rider Hannah Sue Burnett, 8th at Rolex this year (above), and of course Team Gold and Individual Silver Medalist at the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara recently. Congratulations to so many of you who guessed correctly, did I make it too easy? More pub quiz questions coming soon, Go Eventing!
Revealed…
The answer to the Weekend Quiz Question was fashion forward, up-and-coming four star rider Hannah Sue Burnett, 8th at Rolex this year (above), and of course Team Gold and Individual Silver Medalist at the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara recently. Congratulations to so many of you who guessed correctly, did I make it too easy? More pub quiz questions coming soon, Go Eventing!
Weekend Quiz
Which US four-star rider is ready for winter in these tricked-out Dubarrys?
(normal rules – none – apply!)
Answer tomorrow.
Weekend Quiz
Which US four-star rider is ready for winter in these tricked-out Dubarrys?
(normal rules – none – apply!)
Answer tomorrow.
Happy Birthday…..
Doug Payne! Many Happy Returns to Doug who recently summed up his year in a fabulous video which you can watch here. Hope you all enjoy it, and looking forward to a wonderful 2012. Go Eventing!
Lady Baba – a star is born!
Introducing Lady Baba – the sleeper star of Luck!
When the sneak preview of the eagerly awaited HBO horse-racing drama Luck airs this sunday, (11th December) one of the stars of the series will be blissfully unaware of the hype and the hoopla. Lady Baba has now re-located to a sumptuous horse farm in Kentucky, although that’s not to say her glory days are over; she’s definitely living up to her namesake and is quite the little diva, and has everyone who visits her, or knows her at her barn, completely wrapped around her tiny little hoof!
Joan Ciampi, who is Technical Advisor for Luck, spoke to me about how Lady Baba got the part, that she was a “natural”, and how she began to steal scenes, and hearts, on the set in California.
Settling in nicely at her new home, despite the chilly temperatures that she’s not used to having come from Hollywood, Joan told me she thinks Lady Baba is probably about five years old, and that you judge a goat’s age by the length of their beard – really! Also, I learnt that goats, like cows, have four stomachs and have no teeth on their upper gums, just the lower ones.
She also shared that despite no previous experience whatsoever, Joan loved training Lady Baba for all her crucial scenes; goats are food-motivated she learned, and Lady Baba was a quick learner, and of course, extremely talented! When filming was over, Joan couldn’t bear to leave her behind, “I called TexSutton, and I put Lady Baba in my rental car, and we drove off to the airport. Lady Baba had a stall on the plane with Awesome Gem, and all these other million dollar horses. She walked up the ramp onto the plane on her little leash and the guys couldn’t believe it! We landed in Louisville, and then we jumped on a Sallee van which dropped us off at Keeneland, and a friend of mine picked us up there.”
Lady Baba travels very well in cars, although Joan does report some surprised reactions from passers-by, and she’s also very well-behaved indoors.
Photos used with kind permission of Joan Ciampi
Lady Baba had her own private blessing from a priest after Joan got the day wrong recently, and the charm around her neck is a St Francis of Assisi that Joan brought her back from Italy! Joan freely admits that’s she’s crazy about Lady Baba, but I’d venture to say it’s mutual.
Joan hasn’t ruled out letting Lady Baba pursue her acting career, perhaps making some appearances, but told me any money that she earned would be donated to a cause just as close to Joan’s heart – The Kentucky Equine Humane Center, and I asked her to tell me a little more about it.
“It’s almost like a pound for horses. It’s a little bit different from the other organisations because the Humane Center takes all breeds – ponies, minis, donkeys, quarter horses…it’s truly a pound of all equines.”
Conceived as an alternative for some of the thousands of unwanted horses that end up in bad situations, the Kentucky Equine Humane Center can only take a limited number at any one time, but is active in moving them on, working with other organisations to find homes for them; in the last couple of years Joan estimates the Center has saved at least 700 horses.
“We follow up every six months, they have vet checks, we know where they are, we brand them in case they end up in a bad place. Our whole idea is every horse has an owner, every owner has a responsibility – that’s it.”
The Kentucky Equine Humane Center were thrilled to recently be the recipients of the proceeds from the Gala at the Alltech National Horse Show, held for the first time this autumn at the Kentucky Horse Park, and Joan shared that Mrs Lyons is a great supporter of the Center.
A not-for-profit with a staff of two and a half (!), another unique thing about the Center is it’s surrender stall at each racetrack in Kentucky, where for whatever reason, no questions asked, a horse can be left once it’s papers are turned in to the racing office, and the Center will find a way to bring it home.
“Sadly we can only take horses from Kentucky, we just can’t afford to open it up, they would drop from the skies and we don’t have the money to do it. Just because of where we are in Lexington, Kentucky the majority of the horses we get are thoroughbreds, but we do get all sorts. It’s a good place, a happy place in the sense where they have a chance, they have a safe shelter. It’s not a retirement home, though – like the pound, they have to move. We do euthanise, but we don’t make that decision, we work with the two large vet practices, Rood and Riddle, and Hagyards. When the horses come in they’re assessed, the vets go over them and there’s a quality of life issue at stake, and a lot of them are compromised. If their situation is really chronic then we humanely euthanise them, and that’s up to the vets, and the horses never suffer, it’s done incredibly well. Better that than them being out in a field, if they even make it out to a field and starve in these horrible winters, and particularly with the economy with the way it is, it’s a really precarious situation right now, a lot of these horses are just not going to make it, we do the right thing.”
I hope that Lady Baba is booked solid for many years if she’ll be funding the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, and I can’t imagine for a moment why she wouldn’t be! If you’d like to donate you can do so here. I’d like to thank Joan, and of course Lady Baba for their time, it was an absolute pleasure, and please don’t forget to tune in on Sunday night to watch Luck.
Lady Baba will actually feature in the New Year’s episodes, but it still looks pretty good regardless. Lady Baba does have a scene with two time Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman, and of course, that all important closing scene in the seaon finale with Nick Nolte! Go Lady Baba, Go baby Go, and of course, Go Eventing!
(Photo of Lady Baba with Dustin Hoffman used with kind permission of Joan Ciampi)
Colleen Rutledge – A Class Act, Part 2
Today we pick up our conversation with Colleen. Be sure to click [HERE] for Part 1 of our interview with Colleen from yesterday, where Colleen spoke about Luke’s background, working with Jimmy, and being left off of the training lists. Back to our conversation with Colleen…
After ticking off Rolex and Burghley, Colleen is actively fundraising for Badminton in the spring, and working on her weak link, the dressage, with Linda Zang.
“We all know exactly what I need to be working on; we all know that my flatwork is not quite there. It’s made such great improvements, but honestly it’s not where I want it and it’s not quite competitive enough to make him really, really stand out. He had a couple of weeks off after he got back from England,and then I started him back up to do flat work, so he’s been doing flat work, and on jumping probation for a little while now! He doesn’t look at the size of the fences – obviously big does not bother him, and I came off Burghley and was talking to Jimmy and told him that honestly I could have used a few more combinations to get him to come back to me and to back off! That’s what blew me away, he’s so confident cross country, nothing bothers him!”
Luckily, Colleen told me Luke travelled like a champ both to and from England, and was ready to get back on a schedule,
“He doesn’t like being off work- he’s very demonstrative about when he’s happy to go back to work. It was really funny, after we got him back him from the quarantine he spent a week just not wanting to talk to anybody, wouldn’t look at anybody, avoided us at all costs, and then he essentially started to push us; like when we’d walk by his stall he’d come out and nudge us across the aisle, and that is so unlike him that it was quite funny. That’s his way of saying that he’s ready to go back to work.”
Colleen will spend most of the winter at her home base, training with Linda, apart from about three weeks strategically planned in Aiken to make the most of competitions, and by her own admission, lots of driving up and down the Eastern Seaboard,
“I’ve been working with Linda for about a year. I really need the consistency and the eyes on the ground because Luke is such a deceptive horse to ride – when you feel something it looks entirely different so he’s very hard to keep going. She knows exactly where we need to get him, and even if something’s not going just the way it should, she’s so good about having five or six different ways to explain it, to me and to him, and so everything we do is always headed in the same direction and we’re always looking for the same goal. Linda’s so flexible about the way she brings everything else in – I can see such a difference in not only my riding, but in the way that he goes because even if we start on something new, we’re building on the same foundation that we’ve been working on for the past year.”
I ask her where she gets her energy and her drive, how on earth she keeps going?
“My mum keeps me going, and I love it. I honestly couldn’t see myself doing anything else but this. I love it, I love the teaching. Even if I wasn’t competing at the upper levels, I love seeing a student grasp a concept and then be able to execute it a competition. It’s those different pieces that keep me doing this. Teaching a baby, or the younger horses or inexperienced horses that they can do this, that’s what I love; it’s certainly not the ribbons because if it was I would have quit many years ago! My mother refuses to walk the course; she didn’t step foot on the Burghley cross country but she is amazing in that she can watch my kids, groom my horse and manage me at a four star, and that is how she keeps her sanity.”
As her relationship with Luke has evolved, so has her perspective, thanks to her children,
“My three kids have taught me so much: I used to get really worried about stuff and really nervous, and I have learnt not to sweat the small stuff, and everything is small. Everything we do in the horse world is a game, it’s a serious game, but it’s a game. I have my real life at home, and then I get to go and play with my horses, it’s so much a part of me that it kept me going when my kids were sick. Horses were always something that kept me grounded, and that I could go back to, that kept me thinking how things could logically progress. Kids are a huge loss of control anyway, but when you have sick kids you especially can’t force anything because some days they just don’t feel well, or some days they just can’t handle stuff. My horses kept me sane; they kept me focused on the bigger picture and stopped me dwelling on things and becoming morose.”
Those USEF lists might be big or small stuff depending on how you look at it, but Colleen, typically, chooses to focus on the positive, the incredible outpouring of support for her in comments sections and forums, and explains that really that’s what matters more than the actual omission,
“I look at it sort of as if I’ve given away my younger years because I’ve had my kids and I can’t give my kids back, and of course I wouldn’t want to, but now they’re in a programme and I get to concentrate on me and my horses, and we can keep going. It’s my turn, and I have one of the best support systems possible right now. I was in tears reading the comments and forums; it never occurred to me that people would stand up for me like that. It has blown me away and I’m completely speechless. Not being on any list doesn’t change anything; it doesn’t change what the plan is this spring. I’ll lose access to some of the grants but honestly, what will be, will be. I can’t stress about it because I can’t change it. It blew me away to know how many people really support me; in my small group that I have I’ve already got so much support but then to open it up and realise how many people outside of that are paying attention was such a wonderful surprise. I don’t need accolades, my horses tell me when I’ve done a good job, and it was disappointing to me and my supporters that I didn’t get named to a list but it was such a great feeling for me to see all the fantastic support that I’ve received outside of that; that means far more to me than making a list. I’d rather not make a list and know that I’ve got people that are willing to stand up and really be vocal about supporting me because I want people to respect what I’ve done, and to know that I really have tried very hard to get my horses to where they are. I’m not the world’s best rider, and I don’t make perfect decisions, but what I hope is I make thinking and honest decisions for my horses.”
Photo used with kind permission by the terrific Nico Morgan at www.nicomorgan.com
Colleen hopes that her family will be able to make the journey to England with her in the Spring for Badminton, for her sake and theirs,
“It’s so important for me for my kids and my family to see me do this. I don’t want to say it’s a once in a lifetime thing because I don’t want to make it that, but it’s such an amazing experience that it’s what I want my kids to realise is out there. I got to travel and go through Europe when I was younger, and I really and truly want my kids to have the same thing, to experience other cultures, to understand the difference between American and English eventing or French eventing, or anything along those lines because we don’t get enough of that in this country because it’s a pain in the butt to move horses from one side of the world to another!”
Finally, she seems to be gaining some respect from the men in her life – tough crowd!
“My dad and my husband never really understood why I was doing this, but now they’re beginning to grasp the concept. This year when I stepped up onto a bigger stage in a way it became much more acceptable to my dad, he could tell all his friends, especially after he saw me on tv. He used to think I was nuts! My dad is an extreme sports enthusiast, he used to run ultra-marathons and do all sorts of crazy stuff that I think HE’s absolutely nuts for, and now he gets to watch me do what he calls the crazy things!”
I ask Colleen if she dares think beyond Badminton,
“The Olympics are always a dream, but it is the six best horses and the six best riders for the team, and if they don’t consider me for the team then I’m okay with that. It’s got to be for the team. I would love to do it, I wouldn’t turn it down, but I can’t be concentrating on the Olympics when I’ve got to be concentrating on my horse. If the Olympics happen, then that’s awesome.”
Awesome indeed. I look forward to following Colleen and Shiraz in the spring, and would love to see them cruise around Badminton. I’d like to thank Colleen for her time and patience in talking to me despite a terrible phone line, and me keeping her far longer than I originally promised; of course she was completely charming about it and I’m now even more of a huge fan than ever of this brave, strong, determined lady. Go Colleen and Luke, and Go Eventing!
Yes, it is…
Australian Sam Griffith’s Happy Times! Congratulations and thank you to everyone who had a go! We’ll continue to test you throughout the winter! Go Eventing!
Colleen Rutledge – A Class Act, Part 1
Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz (Luke) making light work of the Bughley CCI**** cross-country course, the biggest in years. Photo used with kind permission of the incomparable Nico Morgan.
If Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz had slipped under your radar despite finishing 12th at Rolex this spring, then their impressive cross country round Burghley surely must have caught your eye.
In what was widely described as one of the biggest courses in years, this pair skipped round it as if they were at their local pony club hunter trial, lowering just one rail the next day. Colleen wrote a wonderful, and very frank, blog about her journey, and juggles her equestrian endeavours with three children, two of whom face extraordinary challenges. As if we needed any more proof of her grace, strength and class, she is in the news again recently because her name does not appear on any of the USEF Training or even Developing Rider Lists. Colleen kindly talked to me this week, about Luke, what drives her, and her immense gratitude and surprise at everyone’s reaction to those lists.
First things first, how on earth did she find Luke, an OTTB with a bit of a difficult streak?
“He’s unlike any horse I’ve ever had before. A really good friend of mine had found him in a barn being marketed as a jumper. He came on the market in June, and it took me about six months to figure out a way to buy him, and he actually stayed on the market that long, and I ended up buying him in October, but the funny part is, I had never sat on him! I never rode him before I bought him because I was nine months pregnant with my youngest! The girl who had found him was such a good friend of mine though, that I rang her up, and ran through about a thousand hypotheticals, and she assured me that he was very similar to another horse I had, and it was as if I knew him already. I drug my mum down to see him, I was grossly pregnant, we actually bought him one month to the day before my daughter was born. That was the only thing my mother was worried about – that the first time I rode him I would be coming off my pregnancy and not having ridden, and Luke hadn’t been ridden for six weeks either and didn’t know me. The first day all we did was walk, and he threw a temper tantrum like you wouldn’t believe; it took him a little while to figure out that I really didn’t care and ever since then he has constantly tried to figure out what he is supposed to do. Instead of seeing what he can get away with, he tries so hard, and that’s why he’s an amazing horse.”
“I loved him from the first moment I ever saw him but I knew that he was always going to be tough in the dressage – his confidence level is not high in the dressage. He’s always been so confident about his jumping and I knew that I was always going to be playing catch-up in the dressage. When we went into the ring at Rolex that was the first time we’ve ever had him go into the ring and have him relax in a dressage ring and I was thrilled with him. At Burghley we turned up the fire on him a little bit more to see if we could get a bit more out of him, and he was better. My score didn’t reflect how much better he was; my dressage trainer Linda Zang has watched the test and also feels that he should have scored much better, and I believe her!”
Colleen trains with Jimmy Wofford, and told me they started thinking about Burghley fairly soon after such a good run at Rolex,
“After Rolex I sat down and talked to Jimmy for a while about what the plan was and what he thought, and my biggest concern was how much money it cost because I have to pay for it myself. My goals have always been to ride at Burghley and to ride at Badminton because, come on, they are what they are….! That’s always been a dream so when I had a horse that I thought could possibly do Burghley then I was totally for it, it was just a matter of figuring out the logistics.”
—-
Check back tomorrow for part 2 from Colleen, including her quest for Badminton, more from Burghley, and her wonderful family. See you then!
Yes, it is….
Australian Sam Griffith’s Happy Times! Congratulations and thank you to everyone who had a go! We’ll continue to test you throughout the winter! Go Eventing!
Quiz Question
Which four star eventer is this?
(All the usual rules apply – there are none, and no prizes, just bragging rights!)
Quiz Question
Which four star eventer is this?
(All the usual rules apply – there are none, and no prizes, just bragging rights!)
Colleen Rutledge – A Class Act, Part 2 — [Link Needed]
Today we pick up our conversation with Colleen. Be sure to click [HERE] for Part 1 of our interview with Colleen from yesterday, where Colleen spoke about Luke’s background, working with Jimmy, and being left off of the training lists. Back to our conversation with Colleen…
After ticking off Rolex and Burghley, Colleen is actively fundraising for Badminton in the spring, and working on her weak link, the dressage, with Linda Zang.
“We all know exactly what I need to be working on; we all know that my flatwork is not quite there. It’s made such great improvements, but honestly it’s not where I want it and it’s not quite competitive enough to make him really, really stand out. He had a couple of weeks off after he got back from England,and then I started him back up to do flat work, so he’s been doing flat work, and on jumping probation for a little while now! He doesn’t look at the size of the fences – obviously big does not bother him, and I came off Burghley and was talking to Jimmy and told him that honestly I could have used a few more combinations to get him to come back to me and to back off! That’s what blew me away, he’s so confident cross country, nothing bothers him!”
Luckily, Colleen told me Luke travelled like a champ both to and from England, and was ready to get back on a schedule,
“He doesn’t like being off work- he’s very demonstrative about when he’s happy to go back to work. It was really funny, after we got him back him from the quarantine he spent a week just not wanting to talk to anybody, wouldn’t look at anybody, avoided us at all costs, and then he essentially started to push us; like when we’d walk by his stall he’d come out and nudge us across the aisle, and that is so unlike him that it was quite funny. That’s his way of saying that he’s ready to go back to work.”
Colleen will spend most of the winter at her home base, training with Linda, apart from about three weeks strategically planned in Aiken to make the most of competitions, and by her own admission, lots of driving up and down the Eastern Seaboard,
“I’ve been working with Linda for about a year. I really need the consistency and the eyes on the ground because Luke is such a deceptive horse to ride – when you feel something it looks entirely different so he’s very hard to keep going. She knows exactly where we need to get him, and even if something’s not going just the way it should, she’s so good about having five or six different ways to explain it, to me and to him, and so everything we do is always headed in the same direction and we’re always looking for the same goal. Linda’s so flexible about the way she brings everything else in – I can see such a difference in not only my riding, but in the way that he goes because even if we start on something new, we’re building on the same foundation that we’ve been working on for the past year.”
I ask her where she gets her energy and her drive, how on earth she keeps going?
“My mum keeps me going, and I love it. I honestly couldn’t see myself doing anything else but this. I love it, I love the teaching. Even if I wasn’t competing at the upper levels, I love seeing a student grasp a concept and then be able to execute it a competition. It’s those different pieces that keep me doing this. Teaching a baby, or the younger horses or inexperienced horses that they can do this, that’s what I love; it’s certainly not the ribbons because if it was I would have quit many years ago! My mother refuses to walk the course; she didn’t step foot on the Burghley cross country but she is amazing in that she can watch my kids, groom my horse and manage me at a four star, and that is how she keeps her sanity.”
As her relationship with Luke has evolved, so has her perspective, thanks to her children,
“My three kids have taught me so much: I used to get really worried about stuff and really nervous, and I have learnt not to sweat the small stuff, and everything is small. Everything we do in the horse world is a game, it’s a serious game, but it’s a game. I have my real life at home, and then I get to go and play with my horses, it’s so much a part of me that it kept me going when my kids were sick. Horses were always something that kept me grounded, and that I could go back to, that kept me thinking how things could logically progress. Kids are a huge loss of control anyway, but when you have sick kids you especially can’t force anything because some days they just don’t feel well, or some days they just can’t handle stuff. My horses kept me sane; they kept me focused on the bigger picture and stopped me dwelling on things and becoming morose.”
Those USEF lists might be big or small stuff depending on how you look at it, but Colleen, typically, chooses to focus on the positive, the incredible outpouring of support for her in comments sections and forums, and explains that really that’s what matters more than the actual omission,
“I look at it sort of as if I’ve given away my younger years because I’ve had my kids and I can’t give my kids back, and of course I wouldn’t want to, but now they’re in a programme and I get to concentrate on me and my horses, and we can keep going. It’s my turn, and I have one of the best support systems possible right now. I was in tears reading the comments and forums; it never occurred to me that people would stand up for me like that. It has blown me away and I’m completely speechless. Not being on any list doesn’t change anything; it doesn’t change what the plan is this spring. I’ll lose access to some of the grants but honestly, what will be, will be. I can’t stress about it because I can’t change it. It blew me away to know how many people really support me; in my small group that I have I’ve already got so much support but then to open it up and realise how many people outside of that are paying attention was such a wonderful surprise. I don’t need accolades, my horses tell me when I’ve done a good job, and it was disappointing to me and my supporters that I didn’t get named to a list but it was such a great feeling for me to see all the fantastic support that I’ve received outside of that; that means far more to me than making a list. I’d rather not make a list and know that I’ve got people that are willing to stand up and really be vocal about supporting me because I want people to respect what I’ve done, and to know that I really have tried very hard to get my horses to where they are. I’m not the world’s best rider, and I don’t make perfect decisions, but what I hope is I make thinking and honest decisions for my horses.”
Photo used with kind permission by the terrific Nico Morgan at www.nicomorgan.com
Colleen hopes that her family will be able to make the journey to England with her in the Spring for Badminton, for her sake and theirs,
“It’s so important for me for my kids and my family to see me do this. I don’t want to say it’s a once in a lifetime thing because I don’t want to make it that, but it’s such an amazing experience that it’s what I want my kids to realise is out there. I got to travel and go through Europe when I was younger, and I really and truly want my kids to have the same thing, to experience other cultures, to understand the difference between American and English eventing or French eventing, or anything along those lines because we don’t get enough of that in this country because it’s a pain in the butt to move horses from one side of the world to another!”
Finally, she seems to be gaining some respect from the men in her life – tough crowd!
“My dad and my husband never really understood why I was doing this, but now they’re beginning to grasp the concept. This year when I stepped up onto a bigger stage in a way it became much more acceptable to my dad, he could tell all his friends, especially after he saw me on tv. He used to think I was nuts! My dad is an extreme sports enthusiast, he used to run ultra-marathons and do all sorts of crazy stuff that I think HE’s absolutely nuts for, and now he gets to watch me do what he calls the crazy things!”
I ask Colleen if she dares think beyond Badminton,
“The Olympics are always a dream, but it is the six best horses and the six best riders for the team, and if they don’t consider me for the team then I’m okay with that. It’s got to be for the team. I would love to do it, I wouldn’t turn it down, but I can’t be concentrating on the Olympics when I’ve got to be concentrating on my horse. If the Olympics happen, then that’s awesome.”
Awesome indeed. I look forward to following Colleen and Shiraz in the spring, and would love to see them cruise around Badminton. I’d like to thank Colleen for her time and patience in talking to me despite a terrible phone line, and me keeping her far longer than I originally promised; of course she was completely charming about it and I’m now even more of a huge fan than ever of this brave, strong, determined lady. Go Colleen and Luke, and Go Eventing!
Colleen Rutledge – A Class Act, Part 1
Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz (Luke) making light work of the Bughley CCI**** cross-country course, the biggest in years. Photo used with kind permission of the incomparable Nico Morgan.
If Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz had slipped under your radar despite finishing 12th at Rolex this spring, then their impressive cross country round Burghley surely must have caught your eye.
In what was widely described as one of the biggest courses in years, this pair skipped round it as if they were at their local pony club hunter trial, lowering just one rail the next day. Colleen wrote a wonderful, and very frank, blog about her journey, and juggles her equestrian endeavours with three children, two of whom face extraordinary challenges. As if we needed any more proof of her grace, strength and class, she is in the news again recently because her name does not appear on any of the USEF Training or even Developing Rider Lists. Colleen kindly talked to me this week, about Luke, what drives her, and her immense gratitude and surprise at everyone’s reaction to those lists.
First things first, how on earth did she find Luke, an OTTB with a bit of a difficult streak?
“He’s unlike any horse I’ve ever had before. A really good friend of mine had found him in a barn being marketed as a jumper. He came on the market in June, and it took me about six months to figure out a way to buy him, and he actually stayed on the market that long, and I ended up buying him in October, but the funny part is, I had never sat on him! I never rode him before I bought him because I was nine months pregnant with my youngest! The girl who had found him was such a good friend of mine though, that I rang her up, and ran through about a thousand hypotheticals, and she assured me that he was very similar to another horse I had, and it was as if I knew him already. I drug my mum down to see him, I was grossly pregnant, we actually bought him one month to the day before my daughter was born. That was the only thing my mother was worried about – that the first time I rode him I would be coming off my pregnancy and not having ridden, and Luke hadn’t been ridden for six weeks either and didn’t know me. The first day all we did was walk, and he threw a temper tantrum like you wouldn’t believe; it took him a little while to figure out that I really didn’t care and ever since then he has constantly tried to figure out what he is supposed to do. Instead of seeing what he can get away with, he tries so hard, and that’s why he’s an amazing horse.”
“I loved him from the first moment I ever saw him but I knew that he was always going to be tough in the dressage – his confidence level is not high in the dressage. He’s always been so confident about his jumping and I knew that I was always going to be playing catch-up in the dressage. When we went into the ring at Rolex that was the first time we’ve ever had him go into the ring and have him relax in a dressage ring and I was thrilled with him. At Burghley we turned up the fire on him a little bit more to see if we could get a bit more out of him, and he was better. My score didn’t reflect how much better he was; my dressage trainer Linda Zang has watched the test and also feels that he should have scored much better, and I believe her!”
Colleen trains with Jimmy Wofford, and told me they started thinking about Burghley fairly soon after such a good run at Rolex,
“After Rolex I sat down and talked to Jimmy for a while about what the plan was and what he thought, and my biggest concern was how much money it cost because I have to pay for it myself. My goals have always been to ride at Burghley and to ride at Badminton because, come on, they are what they are….! That’s always been a dream so when I had a horse that I thought could possibly do Burghley then I was totally for it, it was just a matter of figuring out the logistics.”
Check back tomorrow for part 2 from Colleen, including her quest for Badminton, more from Burghley, and her wonderful family. See you then!
Catching up with our mother & daughter dream team – Donna and Devon Miller
Definitely one of the best parts of the Francis Whittington Clinic this past weekend at Chattahoochee Hills was spending time with old friends, and making new ones, and so I was delighted when Donna Miller, one half of our mother and daughter dream team, asked if she could come on her stunning Dutch training-level horse, Bono. Donna, who shares the ride with her daughter, Devon, told me the clinic was exactly what Bono needed, and that she had really enjoyed riding with Francis.
Donna and Bono jumping
However, the treat was all ours after the clinic had finished for the day on saturday because Donna had also brought her gorgeous Connemara stallion ArdCeltic Art, and Devon’s horse Dan over for a hack, and they came over to the competition complex for a quick visit.
A close friend of mine, Cathy, who was also riding in the clinic, had been interested in Art for sometime, and so Donna suggested she get on and see what he felt like; Donna said she offers anyone who breeds to Art the option to ride him, and if Cathy is any indication, it would seem to be a genius selling point!
Not only is Art competing at CCI**/Intermediate level eventing, he’s also successful at 4th level dressage, but perhaps even more impressive was his general demeanor – he definitely has presence, but also the sweetest temperament – very patient, very willing, absolutely devoted to Donna, it was a real joy to meet him. Wishing Donna, Art, Devon and Dan every success in the New Year, and many thanks for chatting. Go Connemaras, and Go Eventing!
Francis Whittington Clinic at Chattahoochee Hills
Francis Whittington admitted, among other things, on EN’s Thursday night live blog with Clark Montgomery, that the last time he’d been in the States he’d got caught speeding. That night we also learnt that he isn’t partial to using any sort of gadgets on a horse, that his two top horses aiming at Badminton next spring (with an eye on the Olympics) are already cantering at home, and that if you’re in the market for a sledge, Francis is your man.
Clark and Francis – headed for Rolex & Badminton respectively
During the course of the weekend we all learnt much more about Francis’ philosophy towards horses and teaching, and I think it’s safe to say we’ve all been converted into diehard Francis Whittington Eventing groupies! We also all owe a huge debt of thanks to Carl Bouckaert for so generously allowing us to use his fabulous Chattahoochee Hills Facility, and to Laurie for all her help organizing everything. Between this amazing location, and this wonderful teacher it turned into something like the perfect storm of clinics.
Carl Bouckaert hacking Mensa in the mist on Sunday morning with Zoe
Francis’ main mantra is Rhythm, Balance, Control – Once you have two, the third comes easily, but it’s all about getting two parts of the triangle so that you can aspire to ride with all three – just like Francis!
On his first day in Georgia, Francis gave a couple of private lessons on the flat, emphasizing the need for leg first, rider leg that is, and the horse to move off the leg, into a steady contact. Francis rode both horses to get a feel of what he was seeing, and then also to demonstrate what he would like the rider to try and do. Throughout the weekend, and unfailingly to each rider’s delight, Francis got on quite a few of the horses, and in his quiet, patient and tactful way managed to bond with each one and show considerable improvement; not only that but he was able to communicate what he was doing and how he achieved the desired result to the riders so that when they got back on they could almost replicate that afterwards.
Francis also had the same effect on the on people riding in the clinic – patient and articulate, he made sure to take his time with each one in turn, and everyone left with assigned “homework” for themselves or their particular horse’s needs to take away with them. The groups were small and Francis told me he doesn’t like to teach more than five people at a time for this very reason.
On the first day Francis worked all the groups in the Grand Prix arena over show-jumps. After a brief introductory chat, and assessing the horse and rider combinations as they warmed up, he had them canter over two poles on the ground at no particular distance, probably about six or seven strides, and then warm up over a cross pole. Then the riders went straight into related distances and mini-courses.
Francis is very similar to Lucinda Green in his approach to jumping; he doesn’t look for strides, but believes instead that your rhythm is far more important. The jumps that were set any further than two or three strides apart weren’t’ measured, but the riders were expected to “feel” the distance. All the levels worked the same principles, just at varying sizes. They did mini courses with angles, roll-backs, and related distances, all the time working on achieving the perfect triangle of rhythm, balance and control.
Unlike several other clinics I’ve attended which have focused a lot on grids and gymnastic jumping, it was eye-opening to see the riders tackle cantering around a course pretty quickly, and also see them improve equally so with Francis’ suggestions – subtle hints for the most part, and some simple tack changes – raising the bit on one horse, removing the martingale on another.
Cross-country Day was also a revelation: Francis told us when he schools cross country he rarely gallops from fence to fence, but instead concentrates on exercises in trot or slow canter that work on the principle, and so, after making sure the horses were attentive to the riders on the flat at canter, for the majority of the day we stayed on the bank complex and at the water, only putting together a mini course at the end.
Francis’ philosophy on the second day is that when schooling cross country your aim should be to build up the confidence, of horse and rider, by doing simple, and then more complicated exercises, but all gradually, and all in a natural progression, so that once you do upgrade to galloping in competition, nothing should phase your horse.
Several times Francis repeated that your horse should CHOOSE to jump for you, and told the riders to take their leg off at some of the smaller drops and jumps to allow the horse to make that choice. Of course, at times you have to encourage with your leg, but never to force. When he rode he also exemplified this – gently insisting but patiently waiting. Can you tell we’re all a bit smitten with Mr Whittington?!
We did lots of different exercises around the bank, using rustic show-jumps on and around it, making sure the horses were relaxed and listening in their turns and during their little courses. If horses got strong, riders stopped in between fences until they relaxed and then re-started, sometimes walking over a fence from a stride away – that was the beauty of having them small, and I remember GB Team Trainer Yogi Breisner doing a very similar exercise back in the day at Waterstock for horses that rushed called, imaginatively, “walk, trot and pop” (in a very thick swedish accent!) Walk until you’re a stride or two away, then trot up to and pop over the fence, and walk again as soon as possible. Repeat with fences dotted around in no particular order; they used to get quite big!
We moved from the bank complex to the water jump. First the horses and riders all just walked and trotted through it, and then they came down off a pretty decent drop straight into it. As Francis explained, it was a natural progression of everything we’d done that day, and in fact over that weekend: on the first day the riders had worked on control, which also means moving off the leg, not just steering and stopping ability, balance and position, and of course rhythm. That second day they’d practiced drops on the bank, more turns, more control, all with the horse going in a very relaxed way, and now, having shown the horse the water, they were asking him to put it all together by trusting the rider, and choosing to jump down into the water in a nice, soft manner.
Every rider I spoke to, (and I spoke to them all!) was extremely impressed by Francis – by his teaching methods, his manner, his riding, his observations and by his genuine concern for them. He spent a lot of time after the clinic chatting with the riders, discussing their horses, trying to figure out solutions if they had problems, discussing feeding, shoeing, dentistry….
Truly passionate about the sport of eventing, and the safety of horses and riders involved in it, he devotes a giant chunk of his time to managing ERA, whilst also juggling about 16 horses in work, and a family life. Due to popular demand, we hope to try and bring him back to the US to clinic again soon, although it may be hard to limit his groups to five once word of his magic spreads! Thank you so much for reading, thank you to Francis and all the riders for coming to the clinic, and Go Francis Whittington Eventing!
Francis Whittington Clinic at Chattahoochee Hills
Francis Whittington admitted, among other things, on EN’s thursday night live blog with Clark Montgomery, that the last time he’d been in the States he’d got caught speeding. That night we also learnt that he isn’t partial to using any sort of gadgets on a horse, that his two top horses aiming at Badminton next spring (with an eye on the Olympics) are already cantering at home, and that if you’re in the market for a sledge, Francis is your man.
Clark and Francis – headed for Rolex & Badminton respectively
During the course of the weekend we all learnt much more about Francis’ philosophy towards horses and teaching, and I think it’s safe to say we’ve all been converted into diehard Francis Whittington Eventing groupies! We also all owe a huge debt of thanks to Carl Bouckaert for so generously allowing us to use his fabulous Chattahoochee Hills Facility, and to Laurie for all her help organizing everything. Between this amazing location, and this wonderful teacher it turned into something like the perfect storm of clinics.
Carl Bouckaert hacking Mensa in the mist on Sunday morning with Zoe
Francis’ main mantra is Rhythm, Balance, Control – Once you have two, the third comes easily, but it’s all about getting two parts of the triangle so that you can aspire to ride with all three – just like Francis!
On his first day in Georgia, Francis gave a couple of private lessons on the flat, emphasizing the need for leg first, rider leg that is, and the horse to move off the leg, into a steady contact. Francis rode both horses to get a feel of what he was seeing, and then also to demonstrate what he would like the rider to try and do. Throughout the weekend, and unfailingly to each rider’s delight, Francis got on quite a few of the horses, and in his quiet, patient and tactful way managed to bond with each one and show considerable improvement; not only that but he was able to communicate what he was doing and how he achieved the desired result to the riders so that when they got back on they could almost replicate that afterwards.
Francis also had the same effect on the on people riding in the clinic – patient and articulate, he made sure to take his time with each one in turn, and everyone left with assigned “homework” for themselves or their particular horse’s needs to take away with them. The groups were small and Francis told me he doesn’t like to teach more than five people at a time for this very reason.
On the first day Francis worked all the groups in the Grand Prix arena over show-jumps. After a brief introductory chat, and assessing the horse and rider combinations as they warmed up, he had them canter over two poles on the ground at no particular distance, probably about six or seven strides, and then warm up over a cross pole. Then the riders went straight into related distances and mini-courses.
Francis is very similar to Lucinda Green in his approach to jumping; he doesn’t look for strides, but believes instead that your rhythm is far more important. The jumps that were set any further than two or three strides apart weren’t’ measured, but the riders were expected to “feel” the distance. All the levels worked the same principles, just at varying sizes. They did mini courses with angles, roll-backs, and related distances, all the time working on achieving the perfect triangle of rhythm, balance and control.
Unlike several other clinics I’ve attended which have focused a lot on grids and gymnastic jumping, it was eye-opening to see the riders tackle cantering around a course pretty quickly, and also see them improve equally so with Francis’ suggestions – subtle hints for the most part, and some simple tack changes – raising the bit on one horse, removing the martingale on another.
Cross-country Day was also a revelation: Francis told us when he schools cross country he rarely gallops from fence to fence, but instead concentrates on exercises in trot or slow canter that work on the principle, and so, after making sure the horses were attentive to the riders on the flat at canter, for the majority of the day we stayed on the bank complex and at the water, only putting together a mini course at the end.
Francis’ philosophy on the second day is that when schooling cross country your aim should be to build up the confidence, of horse and rider, by doing simple, and then more complicated exercises, but all gradually, and all in a natural progression, so that once you do upgrade to galloping in competition, nothing should phase your horse.
Several times Francis repeated that your horse should CHOOSE to jump for you, and told the riders to take their leg off at some of the smaller drops and jumps to allow the horse to make that choice. Of course, at times you have to encourage with your leg, but never to force. When he rode he also exemplified this – gently insisting but patiently waiting. Can you tell we’re all a bit smitten with Mr Whittington?!
We did lots of different exercises around the bank, using rustic show-jumps on and around it, making sure the horses were relaxed and listening in their turns and during their little courses. If horses got strong, riders stopped in between fences until they relaxed and then re-started, sometimes walking over a fence from a stride away – that was the beauty of having them small, and I remember GB Team Trainer Yogi Breisner doing a very similar exercise back in the day at Waterstock for horses that rushed called, imaginatively, “walk, trot and pop” (in a very thick swedish accent!) Walk until you’re a stride or two away, then trot up to and pop over the fence, and walk again as soon as possible. Repeat with fences dotted around in no particular order; they used to get quite big!
We moved from the bank complex to the water jump. First the horses and riders all just walked and trotted through it, and then they came down off a pretty decent drop straight into it. As Francis explained, it was a natural progression of everything we’d done that day, and in fact over that weekend: on the first day the riders had worked on control, which also means moving off the leg, not just steering and stopping ability, balance and position, and of course rhythm. That second day they’d practiced drops on the bank, more turns, more control, all with the horse going in a very relaxed way, and now, having shown the horse the water, they were asking him to put it all together by trusting the rider, and choosing to jump down into the water in a nice, soft manner.
Every rider I spoke to, (and I spoke to them all!) was extremely impressed by Francis – by his teaching methods, his manner, his riding, his observations and by his genuine concern for them. He spent a lot of time after the clinic chatting with the riders, discussing their horses, trying to figure out solutions if they had problems, discussing feeding, shoeing, dentistry….
Truly passionate about the sport of eventing, and the safety of horses and riders involved in it, he devotes a giant chunk of his time to managing ERA, whilst also juggling about 16 horses in work, and a family life. Due to popular demand, we hope to try and bring him back to the US to clinic again soon, although it may be hard to limit his groups to five once word of his magic spreads! Thank you so much for reading, thank you to Francis and all the riders for coming to the clinic, and Go Francis Whittington Eventing!
Catching up with our mother & daughter dream team – Donna and Devon Miller
Definitely one of the best parts of the Francis Whittington Clinic this past weekend at Chattahoochee Hills was spending time with old friends, and making new ones, and so I was delighted when Donna Miller, one half of our mother and daughter dream team, asked if she could come on her stunning Dutch training-level horse, Bono. Donna, who shares the ride with her daughter, Devon, told me the clinic was exactly what Bono needed, and that she had really enjoyed riding with Francis.
Donna and Bono jumping
However, the treat was all ours after the clinic had finished for the day on saturday because Donna had also brought her gorgeous Connemara stallion ArdCeltic Art, and Devon’s horse Dan over for a hack, and they came over to the competition complex for a quick visit.
A close friend of mine, Cathy, who was also riding in the clinic, had been interested in Art for sometime, and so Donna suggested she get on and see what he felt like; Donna said she offers anyone who breeds to Art the option to ride him, and if Cathy is any indication, it would seem to be a genius selling point!
Not only is Art competing at CCI**/Intermediate level eventing, he’s also successful at 4th level dressage, but perhaps even more impressive was his general demeanor – he definitely has presence, but also the sweetest temperament – very patient, very willing, absolutely devoted to Donna, it was a real joy to meet him. Wishing Donna, Art, Devon and Dan every success in the New Year, and many thanks for chatting. Go Connemaras, and Go Eventing!
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