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Samantha Clark

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In appreciation of volunteers, and Australians!

By on Apr 16, 2011 4:56 pm -

To collective sighs of relief around the globe, I’m thrilled to share the happy news that Hamish Cargill and Sandhills Tiger have arrived safely at the Kentucky Horse Park. Apart from not quite appreciating the weather, (“this would be a proper cold day back home!”), they both look surprisingly chipper, and seem to be adjusting well to life in the Bluegrass. 

We’ll definitely be keeping you up to date with news of everything Hamish, and everything Rolex and Badminton for that matter during the next few weeks. 
IMG_3006.JPG
Today was a miserable day, barely 50 degrees and it felt even colder with the wind and the rain, but despite it being Bluegrass Day at Keeneland, and despite there being probably hundreds of other things most people would rather be doing, there were hordes of volunteers out on this saturday at the Horse Park.  It can’t be repeated often enough that events of any size wouldn’t be able to exist without volunteers, but especially one the magnitude of Rolex. Volunteers get little or no thanks or recognition for hours of labour in all weather and conditions, so we thank you now and always, thank you, thank you. 
IMG_2996.JPG
The plus side to all the rain is that the galloping lanes look fantastic, but the minus side is that it’s becoming hard to tell the difference between a water jump and a sunken road!
IMG_1105.jpg
See you all in a couple of weeks. Whichever event you’re at, please thank your volunteers, and Go Eventing! 

In appreciation of volunteers, and Australians!

By on Apr 16, 2011 2:18 pm -

To collective sighs of relief around the globe, I’m thrilled to share the happy news that Hamish Cargill and Sandhills Tiger have arrived safely at the Kentucky Horse Park. Apart from not quite appreciating the weather, (“this would be a proper cold day back home!”), they both look surprisingly chipper, and seem to be adjusting well to life in the Bluegrass. 

We’ll definitely be keeping you up to date with news of everything Hamish, and everything Rolex and Badminton for that matter during the next few weeks. 
IMG_3006.JPG
Today was a miserable day, barely 50 degrees and it felt even colder with the wind and the rain, but despite it being Bluegrass Day at Keeneland, and despite there being probably hundreds of other things most people would rather be doing, there were hordes of volunteers out on this saturday at the Horse Park.  It can’t be repeated often enough that events of any size wouldn’t be able to exist without volunteers, but especially one the magnitude of Rolex. Volunteers get little or no thanks or recognition for hours of labour in all weather and conditions, so we thank you now and always, thank you, thank you. 
IMG_2996.JPG
The plus side to all the rain is that the galloping lanes look fantastic, but the minus side is that it’s becoming hard to tell the difference between a water jump and a sunken road!
IMG_1105.jpg
See you all in a couple of weeks. Whichever event you’re at, please thank your volunteers, and Go Eventing! 

Shock Wave Therapy – Ouch!

By on Apr 16, 2011 9:35 am -

It seems lately that I’ve heard a few riders mention shock wave therapy, and being a bit old-fashioned, and somewhat ignorant about it, I decided to find out more. Dr. Duncan Peters is arguably one of the best sport horse vets in the country; Hagyard Equine Medical Institute lured him to Kentucky from Montana a few years ago, but he still spends the winter season working the Thermal circuit, and keeps his eye in by show-jumping to a pretty high standard as time allows.  He generously spared me some time to explain shock wave therapy…

Dr. Peters tells me that Shock Wave Therapy has been popular as a treatment for horses for the last seven or eight years or so, and the name “shock wave” is something of a misnomer,
“It is basically sound waves, based on the human medicine product lithotripsy, which is sound waves going in to break up stones, like kidney stones and bladder stones and things like that. So it’s a sound wave that causes vibrational damage to solid objects, but what happens in soft tissues, and in bone (bone is truly a soft tissue, we don’t think of it as soft tissue, but it is a dynamic tissue), is that sound waves go into those tissues, and as they go through those tissues, or into them, there’s a vibrational release of energy, and that energy then stimulates a bunch of metabolic processes within those tissues, depending on whether it’s a tendon, ligament, muscle or bone.” 
Shock Wave Therapy will not yield instant results; just the opposite in fact, 
“In a lot of cases it isn’t the direct treatment at that time, it’s actually what happens down the road, within the next five days, ten days, fifteen days, even thirty days. What they’ve actually shown in the research is that shock wave can have an effect for generally thirty or thirty-five days, it’s shown that nerve impulse can be delayed by up to thirty-five days before they come back before they come back to their normal activity, so it does have an effect that’s a little bit longer term. In many tissues, or many entries, that’s very effective because it makes the body continue to try to heal something or, build a response to an insult. “
Let’s have a look at the machine…
You can use Shock Wave Therapy for almost anything,
“You can use it for soft tissue, you can use it for tendons, you can use it for ligaments, muscle soreness, fractures in bones, all of these because a general premise of using it is that it stimulates the body’s own mechanisms to get fired up and supercharged to help the area where there’s already an insult. Everyone that uses it probably has something that they feel it works best for. Some people use it for a wide variety of things, I tend not to; I like it for ligament/bone interfaces where ligaments attach to bones, we tend to get a weakness there, or we get tearing there, and I think it works very well on those types of things. I think it works very well in structures that don’t have a good blood supply like ligaments or tendons, that take a fairly long time to heal, but say you get to 60 or 90 days out, and a lot of times the lesions that are there just tend to sit there because the body doesn’t really recognise them as being that much of a problem anymore, because there isn’t a heavy blood supply and there isn’t a lot of inflammation associated with that, and so I use it in a lot of cases on those sorts of injuries to keep the body alerted and to keep working on it. “
“A lot of people are using it on sore muscles to try and increase circulation. Again, it’s a low-grade stimulus of the area so that you get a better blood flow into the area, and you clean up the by-products of muscle soreness, like lactic acid.”
“I’ll also use it on some direct bony-type problems, it seems to work very well on things like splints, kissing spine lesions in the back, a lot of those that are more acute – it will help in terms of stimulating a response, but it will also help in terms of deadening the nerve impulses in those areas and take away pain that way. That’s why in FEI competitions you’re not allowed to use it five days before because it has enough numbing ability that if you put it over nerves, it will tend to deaden the nerves to some degree, and take away pain. “
There is no test for shock wave therapy. 
“We’re just going on good faith that people wouldn’t use it, with the idea that it might mask something enough that it could potentially cause a devastating type injury. For example if you had a stress fracture, it’s possible to deaden the nerves in that area and then go ahead and compete and all of a sudden you could have a catastrophic fracture. It can be that effective.”
Treatments can run about $300 to $500 depending on the area and the level of “pulse”. It can be very effective and isn’t as expensive as some other treatments like stem cell, but over a series you could invest a fair expense into it.  Show horses and race horses are using it.  Dr. Peters demonstrated to me what it feels like; I thought I was pretty brave, until he put the gel on….!
%%
The levels run from 1 to 6.  Last year Dr. Peters hurt his Achilles tendon while training for a triathlon (classic Mark Todd injury), and administered himself with a treatment of shock wave therapy, level 3.  He told me he cried from the pain, while his intern watched and laughed! For the record, his leg is completely healed now. Shock wave therapy is commonly used in humans for plantar fasciitis, back pain and other complaints, but usually people tend to go to a doctor!  Of course, I’ve only given you the Dummy’s version (that would be me!) of Shock Wave Therapy here, but I hope it’s maybe helped a little bit, and if nothing else, entertained! Many thanks to Dr. Peters for his time and expertise, and to Hagyard Equine Medical Institute for letting us use their fabulous facility, and to Dr. Peters’ new assistant Brie who helped us too. Thanks for reading and for your patience, and by all means please stop now and go eventing! 

Shock Wave Therapy – Ouch!

By on Apr 16, 2011 9:24 am -

It seems lately that I’ve heard a few riders mention shock wave therapy, and being a bit old-fashioned, and somewhat ignorant about it, I decided to find out more. Dr. Duncan Peters is arguably one of the best sport horse vets in the country; Hagyard Equine Medical Institute lured him to Kentucky from Montana a few years ago, but he still spends the winter season working the Thermal circuit, and keeps his eye in by show-jumping to a pretty high standard as time allows.  He generously spared me some time to explain shock wave therapy…

Dr. Peters tells me that Shock Wave Therapy has been popular as a treatment for horses for the last seven or eight years or so, and the name “shock wave” is something of a misnomer,
“It is basically sound waves, based on the human medicine product lithotripsy, which is sound waves going in to break up stones, like kidney stones and bladder stones and things like that. So it’s a sound wave that causes vibrational damage to solid objects, but what happens in soft tissues, and in bone (bone is truly a soft tissue, we don’t think of it as soft tissue, but it is a dynamic tissue), is that sound waves go into those tissues, and as they go through those tissues, or into them, there’s a vibrational release of energy, and that energy then stimulates a bunch of metabolic processes within those tissues, depending on whether it’s a tendon, ligament, muscle or bone.”
Shock Wave Therapy will not yield instant results; just the opposite in fact,
“In a lot of cases it isn’t the direct treatment at that time, it’s actually what happens down the road, within the next five days, ten days, fifteen days, even thirty days. What they’ve actually shown in the research is that shock wave can have an effect for generally thirty or thirty-five days, it’s shown that nerve impulse can be delayed by up to thirty-five days before they come back before they come back to their normal activity, so it does have an effect that’s a little bit longer term. In many tissues, or many entries, that’s very effective because it makes the body continue to try to heal something or, build a response to an insult. “
Let’s have a look at the machine…
You can use Shock Wave Therapy for almost anything,
“You can use it for soft tissue, you can use it for tendons, you can use it for ligaments, muscle soreness, fractures in bones, all of these because a general premise of using it is that it stimulates the body’s own mechanisms to get fired up and supercharged to help the area where there’s already an insult. Everyone that uses it probably has something that they feel it works best for. Some people use it for a wide variety of things, I tend not to; I like it for ligament/bone interfaces where ligaments attach to bones, we tend to get a weakness there, or we get tearing there, and I think it works very well on those types of things. I think it works very well in structures that don’t have a good blood supply like ligaments or tendons, that take a fairly long time to heal, but say you get to 60 or 90 days out, and a lot of times the lesions that are there just tend to sit there because the body doesn’t really recognise them as being that much of a problem anymore, because there isn’t a heavy blood supply and there isn’t a lot of inflammation associated with that, and so I use it in a lot of cases on those sorts of injuries to keep the body alerted and to keep working on it. “
“A lot of people are using it on sore muscles to try and increase circulation. Again, it’s a low-grade stimulus of the area so that you get a better blood flow into the area, and you clean up the by-products of muscle soreness, like lactic acid.”
“I’ll also use it on some direct bony-type problems, it seems to work very well on things like splints, kissing spine lesions in the back, a lot of those that are more acute – it will help in terms of stimulating a response, but it will also help in terms of deadening the nerve impulses in those areas and take away pain that way. That’s why in FEI competitions you’re not allowed to use it five days before because it has enough numbing ability that if you put it over nerves, it will tend to deaden the nerves to some degree, and take away pain. “
There is no test for shock wave therapy.
“We’re just going on good faith that people wouldn’t use it, with the idea that it might mask something enough that it could potentially cause a devastating type injury. For example if you had a stress fracture, it’s possible to deaden the nerves in that area and then go ahead and compete and all of a sudden you could have a catastrophic fracture. It can be that effective.”
Treatments can run about $300 to $500 depending on the area and the level of “pulse”. It can be very effective and isn’t as expensive as some other treatments like stem cell, but over a series you could invest a fair expense into it.  Show horses and race horses are using it.  Dr. Peters demonstrated to me what it feels like; I thought I was pretty brave, until he put the gel on….!
%%
The levels run from 1 to 6.  Last year Dr. Peters hurt his Achilles tendon while training for a triathlon (classic Mark Todd injury), and administered himself with a treatment of shock wave therapy, level 3.  He told me he cried from the pain, while his intern watched and laughed! For the record, his leg is completely healed now. Shock wave therapy is commonly used in humans for plantar fasciitis, back pain and other complaints, but usually people tend to go to a doctor!  Of course, I’ve only given you the Dummy’s version (that would be me!) of Shock Wave Therapy here, but I hope it’s maybe helped a little bit, and if nothing else, entertained! Many thanks to Dr. Peters for his time and expertise, and to Hagyard Equine Medical Institute for letting us use their fabulous facility, and to Dr. Peters’ new assistant Brie who helped us too. Thanks for reading and for your patience, and by all means please stop now and go eventing!

Lisa Barry & Kenzo de la Roque – Making it Work

By on Apr 15, 2011 10:36 am -

IMG_2895.jpg


If you read this blog with any regularity, you deserve a medal may be familiar with the name Chris Barry. I’m happy to report that I’m fast becoming friends with the entire Barry family, having met his sister Lisa at The Fork, and their dad at the competitor’s party there.  Lisa and I started talking, as you do, and I told her how impressed I’d been with her cross country round earlier, which I was, but I didn’t even know the half of it…
“Kenzo is the best horse I’ve had thus far, he’s pretty amazing, I got very lucky.”  
So says Lisa, but little did she know when she imported him from France that she was about to embark on a journey that perhaps few others would have the patience or fortitude for…
Lisa has ridden with Karen O’Connor since she was a young girl, and has been “in the programme” for the last 8 years. She is currently campaigning a number of young horses  – 2 four year-olds, a three year-old, and an intermediate as well as Kenzo, but when she found him just over four years ago, he was her only horse. 
“I had been looking for a while, and just couldn’t find anything in the States, so I asked Karen O’Connor, and she told me about Julie Ulrich, this lady over in France who’ll find you anything you need. I gave her a call and ended up going over there with a friend of mine, and with Karen, and we found him!”
“We probably looked at ten horses. When we went to see him he was actually competing at his third one star, and all I knew was that there were a couple of chestnut horses that we were supposed to be watching. I saw him across the ring, and I thought, ‘Oh, I hope that’s the horse I’m meant to be looking at’, and then we wandered around a bit, and after a while Julie told me that “the one with all the white, that’s the one we’re supposed to be looking at” and I was just thrilled, I was like, ‘YES!’ It was so exciting, because he’s such a beautiful mover, and just a lovely type, and I knew right away that I liked him.”
“We ended up trying him after he ran cross country. They did the show jumping and then went straight to cross-country, and I ended up getting on him the next day–the day after he had run cross country, in the pouring rain.  We had one set of standards and three rails!  There were a couple of French men, myself and Karen and Julie; I got on him and I loved him instantly, it was amazing.”
   
Unfortunately that’s not where the fairytale ends. Shortly after arriving in the States, Kenzo tied up; an attack that Lisa thinks was probably triggered by the plane flight over from France, and now that it’s happened once, and since then several more times, he will always be more susceptible to attacks,
“The general consensus of the vets is that when they haven’t had an episode occur yet, then it’s a major stress that causes the first one. Probably two or three weeks after he arrived here, I was working out in the field one day, and he didn’t feel quite right, so I hacked him back to the barn and called the vet. I told him he felt weird, that I thought perhaps he might be tying up, but I’d never had a horse tie up with me before so I really had no idea what was going on.  The vet came out and did a blood test, and sure enough he’d had an episode.  Then it happened a few more times, and I called around and got in touch with the breeder, the rider, the owner, the vet, anyone who’d been in touch with the horse in France, but he’d never had any issue before.”
Lisa and her vets surmised that the plane journey must have brought on the attack, but that Kenzo does not suffer from classic azoturia,
“It’s been a long process these last four years learning how to manage it, because it’s not actually azoturia although it has similar symptoms; it’s a genetic disease, it’s within his cells. It’s a build up of glycogen in his muscles, not lactic acid which is what happens in azoturia. He’s like a diabetic, basically.” 
IMG_2820-thumb-400x266-3906.jpg
Lisa has learned how to manage him,
“He’s turned out all the time, and he’s muzzled because the grass has too much sugar. He can’t eat hay because it has too much sugar, although it’s not that his body can’t process the sugar, it’s that he produces excess glycogen which is why he needs to keep moving, because the more he moves, the more he burns the sugar and excess glycogen he naturally produces, plus the suger in all the stuff he ends up eating, just in general there’s a bit of sugar in almost everything. I do the best I can with the products I use, but basically he’s just got to keep moving as much as possible.”
Obviously, taking care of his needs while at shows is more difficult,
“I get up every four or five hours and walk him for ten to fifteen minutes. During the day I try and get him out of the stall, including a ride, about five or six times. It is pretty seriously high maintenace but he’s a pretty amazing horse. I’ve been told by tons and tons of people hundreds and hundreds of times to give up with him, but I never will. I love him so much, and he’s given me so much already, I just couldn’t give up on him, I’ve tried everything and anything I could think of to make him healthy. As far as I’m concerned he’s the best horse I’ve ever had, and I owe it to him to try and figure it out, so that people can know how wonderful he is.  Also so that I can show the world, apart from anything else, that you can really manage a difficult case like this. I know that there are other horses with this disease, and generally it’s like a curse. Once they’re diagnosed, they stop competing because most people feel like there’s nothing you can do. I know for sure that Kenzo’s case, blood work and records are being used by by the top specialists in the country to research, study, and teach about the disease, because they have literally never seen a horse compete at this level with this disease as severe as his is. “
web.jpg
Lisa has not only managed Kenzo and his disease, but been pretty successful in her own right; her record speaks for itself. After finishing 7th in the Intermediate Championships last year, Kenzo and her have yet to have a cross-country penalty or a rail down show-jumping this year, and have finished 5th in the Advanced at Rocking Horse in February, 3rd in the Advanced at Red Hills, and most recently 14th in the CIC 3* at The Fork. It’s been over a year now since Kenzo’s last attack. 
“He’s done several 2*’s, but because we’ve been managing his disease he’s probably several years behind his talent level. We’re headed to Jersey Fresh, and then hopefully Fair Hill in the fall, but we’ll have to see how that goes.”
Would Lisa ever contemplate flying Kenzo again?
“Well, that has crossed my mind recently, after we did so well at Red Hills and then this weekend at The Fork. He’s going quite well, and I really feel like he has the potential to one day be a team horse. It’s definitely a thought in my head. I don’t know – because I’ve managed him, and I’ve competed him, and he’s healthy and he seems to be doing really well, it might not be an issue, but there’s really just no way to tell.”
In the meantime, Lisa herself will be flying to England on Friday morning, to join Steph Rhodes-Bosch at Badminton, where she’ll be looking after Port Authority as a groom,
IMG_2935-thumb-400x266-3979.jpg
“That’s a very big compliment. I’m honoured to be a part of the whole thing, and that she asked me to go, and I can’t wait. I think Steph is going to rock around like a champion: she’s got her head on her shoulders, she is probably the most composed 23 year old I have ever met, and she is a serious competitor with an incredible horse.  I think the world has to watch out because she’s coming for them! She’s on it – she was 5th at Kentucky last spring, 9th at the Worlds in the fall, and would have been 4th if she hadn’t rolled that rail, and she just barely touched it. I’m not going to put any bets on anything, but I just think she’s going to have a really good weekend, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
It’s Lisa’s first visit to Badminton, and on her return she comes straight to Rolex to groom for Jessica Phoenix, 

IMG_2899-thumb-400x334-3956.jpg

before heading back home to prepare her own horse for Jersey Fresh.  While she’s away, guess who keeps everything running smoothly….?!
“I am so incredibly proud. I can’t thank my mom enough. She has helped me so much with this horse; it’s been a long road but an extremely rewarding one. He’s pretty special. The healthier he feels, the more he wants to do it; he loves the sport, he loves it, he just eats it up.”
 
Wishing Lisa, Steph and Jessie the very best of luck in their three day events in the coming weeks. Many thanks to Lisa for talking to us so openly about her beloved horse, and the struggles she’s had to overcome. Thank you for reading, and Go Eventing!
This article was also posted on SamanthaLClark.com

Lisa Barry & Kenzo de la Roque – Making it Work

By on Apr 15, 2011 10:33 am -

IMG_2895.jpg


If you read this blog with any regularity, you deserve a medal may be familiar with the name Chris Barry. I’m happy to report that I’m fast becoming friends with the entire Barry family, having met his sister Lisa at The Fork, and their dad at the competitor’s party there.  Lisa and I started talking, as you do, and I told her how impressed I’d been with her cross country round earlier, which I was, but I didn’t even know the half of it…
“Kenzo is the best horse I’ve had thus far, he’s pretty amazing, I got very lucky.”  
So says Lisa, but little did she know when she imported him from France that she was about to embark on a journey that perhaps few others would have the patience or fortitude for…
Lisa has ridden with Karen O’Connor since she was a young girl, and has been “in the programme” for the last 8 years. She is currently campaigning a number of young horses  – 2 four year-olds, a three year-old, and an intermediate as well as Kenzo, but when she found him just over four years ago, he was her only horse. 
“I had been looking for a while, and just couldn’t find anything in the States, so I asked Karen O’Connor, and she told me about Julie Ulrich, this lady over in France who’ll find you anything you need. I gave her a call and ended up going over there with a friend of mine, and with Karen, and we found him!”
“We probably looked at ten horses. When we went to see him he was actually competing at his third one star, and all I knew was that there were a couple of chestnut horses that we were supposed to be watching. I saw him across the ring, and I thought, ‘Oh, I hope that’s the horse I’m meant to be looking at’, and then we wandered around a bit, and after a while Julie told me that “the one with all the white, that’s the one we’re supposed to be looking at” and I was just thrilled, I was like, ‘YES!’ It was so exciting, because he’s such a beautiful mover, and just a lovely type, and I knew right away that I liked him.”
“We ended up trying him after he ran cross country. They did the show jumping and then went straight to cross-country, and I ended up getting on him the next day–the day after he had run cross country, in the pouring rain.  We had one set of standards and three rails!  There were a couple of French men, myself and Karen and Julie; I got on him and I loved him instantly, it was amazing.”
   
Unfortunately that’s not where the fairytale ends. Shortly after arriving in the States, Kenzo tied up; an attack that Lisa thinks was probably triggered by the plane flight over from France, and now that it’s happened once, and since then several more times, he will always be more susceptible to attacks,
“The general consensus of the vets is that when they haven’t had an episode occur yet, then it’s a major stress that causes the first one. Probably two or three weeks after he arrived here, I was working out in the field one day, and he didn’t feel quite right, so I hacked him back to the barn and called the vet. I told him he felt weird, that I thought perhaps he might be tying up, but I’d never had a horse tie up with me before so I really had no idea what was going on.  The vet came out and did a blood test, and sure enough he’d had an episode.  Then it happened a few more times, and I called around and got in touch with the breeder, the rider, the owner, the vet, anyone who’d been in touch with the horse in France, but he’d never had any issue before.”
Lisa and her vets surmised that the plane journey must have brought on the attack, but that Kenzo does not suffer from classic azoturia,
“It’s been a long process these last four years learning how to manage it, because it’s not actually azoturia although it has similar symptoms; it’s a genetic disease, it’s within his cells. It’s a build up of glycogen in his muscles, not lactic acid which is what happens in azoturia. He’s like a diabetic, basically.” 
IMG_2820-thumb-400x266-3906.jpg
Lisa has learned how to manage him,
“He’s turned out all the time, and he’s muzzled because the grass has too much sugar. He can’t eat hay because it has too much sugar, although it’s not that his body can’t process the sugar, it’s that he produces excess glycogen which is why he needs to keep moving, because the more he moves, the more he burns the sugar and excess glycogen he naturally produces, plus the suger in all the stuff he ends up eating, just in general there’s a bit of sugar in almost everything. I do the best I can with the products I use, but basically he’s just got to keep moving as much as possible.”
Obviously, taking care of his needs while at shows is more difficult,
“I get up every four or five hours and walk him for ten to fifteen minutes. During the day I try and get him out of the stall, including a ride, about five or six times. It is pretty seriously high maintenace but he’s a pretty amazing horse. I’ve been told by tons and tons of people hundreds and hundreds of times to give up with him, but I never will. I love him so much, and he’s given me so much already, I just couldn’t give up on him, I’ve tried everything and anything I could think of to make him healthy. As far as I’m concerned he’s the best horse I’ve ever had, and I owe it to him to try and figure it out, so that people can know how wonderful he is.  Also so that I can show the world, apart from anything else, that you can really manage a difficult case like this. I know that there are other horses with this disease, and generally it’s like a curse. Once they’re diagnosed, they stop competing because most people feel like there’s nothing you can do. I know for sure that Kenzo’s case, blood work and records are being used by by the top specialists in the country to research, study, and teach about the disease, because they have literally never seen a horse compete at this level with this disease as severe as his is. “
web.jpg
Lisa has not only managed Kenzo and his disease, but been pretty successful in her own right; her record speaks for itself. After finishing 7th in the Intermediate Championships last year, Kenzo and her have yet to have a cross-country penalty or a rail down show-jumping this year, and have finished 5th in the Advanced at Rocking Horse in February, 3rd in the Advanced at Red Hills, and most recently 14th in the CIC 3* at The Fork. It’s been over a year now since Kenzo’s last attack. 
“He’s done several 2*’s, but because we’ve been managing his disease he’s probably several years behind his talent level. We’re headed to Jersey Fresh, and then hopefully Fair Hill in the fall, but we’ll have to see how that goes.”
Would Lisa ever contemplate flying Kenzo again?
“Well, that has crossed my mind recently, after we did so well at Red Hills and then this weekend at The Fork. He’s going quite well, and I really feel like he has the potential to one day be a team horse. It’s definitely a thought in my head. I don’t know – because I’ve managed him, and I’ve competed him, and he’s healthy and he seems to be doing really well, it might not be an issue, but there’s really just no way to tell.”
In the meantime, Lisa herself will be flying to England on Friday morning, to join Steph Rhodes-Bosch at Badminton, where she’ll be looking after Port Authority as a groom,
IMG_2935-thumb-400x266-3979.jpg
“That’s a very big compliment. I’m honoured to be a part of the whole thing, and that she asked me to go, and I can’t wait. I think Steph is going to rock around like a champion: she’s got her head on her shoulders, she is probably the most composed 23 year old I have ever met, and she is a serious competitor with an incredible horse.  I think the world has to watch out because she’s coming for them! She’s on it – she was 5th at Kentucky last spring, 9th at the Worlds in the fall, and would have been 4th if she hadn’t rolled that rail, and she just barely touched it. I’m not going to put any bets on anything, but I just think she’s going to have a really good weekend, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
It’s Lisa’s first visit to Badminton, and on her return she comes straight to Rolex to groom for Jessica Phoenix, 

IMG_2899-thumb-400x334-3956.jpg

before heading back home to prepare her own horse for Jersey Fresh.  While she’s away, guess who keeps everything running smoothly….?!
“I am so incredibly proud. I can’t thank my mom enough. She has helped me so much with this horse; it’s been a long road but an extremely rewarding one. He’s pretty special. The healthier he feels, the more he wants to do it; he loves the sport, he loves it, he just eats it up.”
 
Wishing Lisa, Steph and Jessie the very best of luck in their three day events in the coming weeks. Many thanks to Lisa for talking to us so openly about her beloved horse, and the struggles she’s had to overcome. Thank you for reading, and Go Eventing!

Sharon White – the return!

By on Apr 14, 2011 5:46 pm -

I was so happy to meet Sharon White at The Fork last weekend. I was introduced to her by Jimmy Wofford who she trains with, and whilst we stood talking for maybe ten minutes during a break in the competition, there must have been a dozen people come up and tell her how happy they were to see her back in the game. That’s when I began I realise how popular she was, and the longer we chatted, I began to see why – she’s an absolute gem. On Saturday, her lovely bay Australian warm blood, Reggie, or Rafferty’s Rules, skipped round the cross country as if he hadn’t missed a day, and with a rail down on Sunday, they finished a very respectable 8th in a hot intermediate section.  I tracked them down before they left, and asked Sharon how it felt to be back, and what’s next on the agenda.

We wish Sharon the best of luck at her next events, and look forward to bumping into her again soon – go eventing!

Jessica Phoenix’s Secret Weapons!

By on Apr 14, 2011 5:30 pm -
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Jessica Phoenix is on fire this seaon; her two Rolex horses Exponential and Exploring are on top form, placing in the top 10 in the CIC 3* at The Fork last weekend. Her new ride Pavarotti is also going gangbusters, even though he tends to fly under the radar of her other two superstars. Jessie has only been riding him since the end of January, when owner Don Wood rang her up on her way to Ocala and asked her if she had room for another horse. He had recently bought Pavarotti back, and the horse had not competed seriously for a couple of years, which makes his recent win in the CIC 2* at Red Hills and 6th place finish in the Intermediate at The Fork even more remarkable. 

What’s really remarkable about Jessica though, is her indomitable spirit: she’s tough and steely competitive, yet sweet and soft too, funny, and adorable with her son. Speaking of which, Joel and Jake were enjoying the North Carolina countryside, and were supporting her this weekend too;  I caught up with Joel briefly while all three of them were surveying the stadium course. 
Thank you so much for talking to us, Joel and Jake. We look forward to catching up the Phoenix family again at Rolex. Go Eventing! 

Sharon White – the return!

By on Apr 14, 2011 4:38 pm -

I was so happy to meet Sharon White at The Fork last weekend. I was introduced to her by Jimmy Wofford who she trains with, and whilst we stood talking for maybe ten minutes during a break in the competition, there must have been a dozen people come up and tell her how happy they were to see her back in the game. That’s when I began I realise how popular she was, and the longer we chatted, I began to see why – she’s an absolute gem. On saturday, her lovely bay Australian warmblood, Reggie, or Rafferty’s Rules, skipped round the cross country as if he hadn’t missed a day, and with a rail down on sunday, they finished a very respectable 8th in a hot intermediate section.  I tracked them down before they left, and asked Sharon how it felt to be back, and what’s next on the agenda.

We wish Sharon the best of luck at her next events, and look forward to bumping into her again soon – go eventing!

Jessica Phoenix’s Secret Weapons!

By on Apr 14, 2011 2:32 pm -
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Jessica Phoenix is on fire this seaon; her two Rolex horses Exponential and Exploring are on top form, placing in the top 10 in the CIC 3* at The Fork last weekend. Her new ride Pavarotti is also going gangbusters, even though he tends to fly under the radar of her other two superstars. Jessie has only been riding him since the end of January, when owner Don Wood rang her up on her way to Ocala and asked her if she had room for another horse. He had recently bought Pavarotti back, and the horse had not competed seriously for a couple of years, which makes his recent win in the CIC 2* at Red Hills and 6th place finish in the Intermediate at The Fork even more remarkable. 

What’s really remarkable about Jessica though, is her indomitable spirit: she’s tough and steely competitive, yet sweet and soft too, funny, and adorable with her son. Speaking of which, Joel and Jake were enjoying the North Carolina countryside, and were supporting her this weekend too;  I caught up with Joel briefly while all three of them were surveying the stadium course. 
Thank you so much for talking to us, Joel and Jake. We look forward to catching up the Phoenix family again at Rolex. Go Eventing! 

Peter Atkins/Henny Update

By on Apr 13, 2011 7:12 pm -
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I just got word from Peter re. the ongoing situation regarding ownership of HJ Hampton aka Henny. 

“The trial was concluded today and we are awaiting a decision from the judge.”
We’ll keep you posted as soon as we know more, and I do know that Henny is in good form and spirits. Let’s hope that we’ll see more of those wonderful helmet cams again before too long! 

The Fork Advanced/3* Show Jumping Photos

By on Apr 12, 2011 9:18 am -

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Wonderful Will and Michael Pollard         .
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Karen O Connor on Quintus 54
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Olivia Loiacono on Subway
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Peter Barry and Kilrodan Abbott
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Phillip Dutton and Isabella
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Lisa Barry and Kenzo de la Roque
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Jessica Phoenix and Exponential
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Reverse Order of Go: Eventual CIC 3* Winner Jennie Brannigan waits and watches on Cambalda
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Boyd Martin on Otis Barbotiere
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Selena O Hanlon and Colombo
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Doug Payne and Running Order
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Buck Davidson on Ballynoe Castle RM & Titanium
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Steph Rhodes-Bosch and Port Authority
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Karen O Connor on Mandiba
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Sinead Halpern and Manoir de Carneville
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Nina Ligon on Fernhill Fearless
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Will Coleman on Twizzel
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Hannah Burnett on St Barths 
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Allison Springer on Arthur
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Heather Morris and Slate River
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Eventual Advanced winner Boyd Martin on Remington
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2nd Place in the Advanced, Will Faudree and Andromaque

Housekeeping

By on Apr 11, 2011 4:03 pm -

I have a few updates to stories you may have been following via my blog.

Our very own Eventing Safety John, who came over from Australia to Red Hills Horse Trials in Tallahassee, Florida earlier this month, ostensibly to be Technical Delegate, but really to try and procure an ipad 2, went home disappointed. I’m very pleased to report that this sorry situation has now been rectified, 
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and ESJ is a happy man once more – expect his twitter feed, and facebook updates to go off the wall from now on!
Some time ago I wrote about my friend Cathy Sweezy, who had an owlet fall out of a tree on her farm, Timbertown. Cathy and her husband took it the raptor rehab in Louisville, where the man who helped them warned them there might be more, and look what fell out of the tree this weekend!
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Last week I wrote about Carol Gee, and her Fernhill programme, and there were eight of her horses running at The Fork this weekend, and I’m sure many more around the country. Their results are as follows:
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Fernhill Fearless with Nina Ligon
Fernhill Eagle  6th CIC 3*
Fernhill Fearless 14th Advanced
Mighty Nice 20th Advanced
Fernhill Cove 14th Intermediate
Fernhill Can Do 11th Intermediate
Fernhill Fugitive 2nd Prelim
Fernhill Flag 23rd Prelim
Fernhill Cubalawn TE Prelim
Missy Ransehousen had a good run across country to set Critical Decision up nicely for Rolex. Unfortunately BG got a bit strong and flat towards the end of his show-jumping round and had 3 rails, but I’m sure Missy will iron out those kinks over the next couple of weeks. 
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I already mentioned that Steph Rhodes-Bosch had the perfect pre-Badminton run at The Fork, finishing on her dressage score and taking 2nd place in the CIC 3*. 
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We wish her the very best of luck, and will be keeping everything crossed for her & Ollie.
Thank you as always for your comments,suggestions, hints and corrections – they’re all welcome and much appreciated, please keep them coming. I’ll have the last few bits from The Fork online over the next couple of days, and then it’s full steam ahead for Badminton and Rolex – Go Eventing!

Up, up and away…

By on Apr 11, 2011 2:22 pm -

I want to share this lovely email I received this morning:

Dear Samantha,

Just over four hours ago (12 noon Sydney time, Monday April 11), Hamish and Tiger started the long and ambitious journey to Lexington. Surely they are embarking on what will be one of great experiences as a partnership. You might say in this case that it is not the winning that counts, it is the challenge of the ‘getting there’ – they have 27 hours of travel from Sydney via Melbourne (Australia), Hong Kong and Anchorage before touching down in Los Angeles.

At the time of writing they have safely negotiated Melbourne and are now heading at full clip towards Hong Kong. Hopefully, in less than 24 hours, they will land in LA tired, but otherwise in fine fettle.

As can be seen from the attached photo, Tiger has lots of room. What the photo does not show is that there is a horse on either side of him in that crate, so it seems that they are travelling coach while Tiger is enjoying first class luxury. One of these companions is a little grey Arab filly and notwithstanding that she is traveling coach, Tiger has, metaphorically speaking, taken her under his wing and is being rather pleasant company. Hamish thinks this a good thing as she should keep Tiger distracted for the remainder of the flight.

Talking of Tiger’s luxury, Hamish says that his seat is not far off first class standard either.

Tiger and Hamish are due to arrive in LA at one in the morning, Tuesday local time, and after 3 days in quarantine, they will fly out for Lexington, arriving there on Friday.

Is the Rolex worth all of this effort? With a top course, top people, and top competition it certainly is. Alannah (Hamish’s mum) and I were there a few years ago (seeing Clayton Fredericks win) and all the while it felt like we were at home. Our WEG experience only served to confirm that.

cheers

Hamish’s Dad

Wishing them both a safe journey, and I’ll be sure to bring you updates in person as soon as they arrive here in the Bluegrass. Thanks so much for writing, Hamish’s Dad, see you soon!

Home sweet Home

By on Apr 11, 2011 9:12 am -

Thanks for the tips via twitter on how to avoid speeding tickets: I think the key is to drive slower! I made it home very early this morning, and look what was waiting for me….

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Samantha Clark at your service at Rolex!
My children seem so grown-up already, how did that happen? I have a couple more video interviews from The Fork, and lots of show-jumping pictures still to go up, but first of all a huge thank you to our generous hosts this week-end, Jim and Bernadette Cogdell, and to the organising crew and all the volunteers, especially the boy scouts. It was an absolutely fantastic weekend of sport, and the hospitality and scenery were second to none.  Thank you especially to everyone in the main barn who got used to seeing me sitting in their kitchen hunched over my laptop at all hours, and are probably relieved to find out that I do have a home to go to, and haven’t moved in for good!
Congratulations to all the riders, and a special shout out to Steph Rhodes-Bosch and Port Authority – Ollie.
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 One of only two combinations to finish on their dressage score in the CIC 3*, (the other one was winner Jennie Brannigan), she rode with her usual style and maturity, showing grace under pressure. There are still a couple of shares available if you ‘d like to partner with Steph & Ollie on their journey to Badminton next week, and aiming for the London Olympics next year. 
I’ll have more show-jumping photos up soon, and a couple more interviews still to come, as well as lots of updates to get to this week.  Having survived the storms in N Carolina on saturday night, I’m back in Lexington, KY and there’s a tornado warning until 6pm tonight – there’s no escape! It’s dark and grey, the clouds are very strange shapes and there’s a fierce wind whistling around the house already – could be time to batten down the hatches. 

Up, up and away…

By on Apr 11, 2011 9:01 am -

I want to share this lovely email I received this morning:

Dear Samantha

 

Just over four hours ago (12 noon Sydney time, Monday April 11), Hamish and Tiger started the long and ambitious journey to Lexington.  Surely they are embarking on what will be one of  great experiences as a partnership.  You might say in this case that it is not the winning that counts, it is the challenge of the ‘getting there’ – they have 27 hours of travel from Sydney via Melbourne (Australia), Hong Kong and Anchorage before touching down in Los Angeles. 

 

At the time of writing they have safely negotiated Melbourne and are now heading at full clip towards Hong Kong.  Hopefully, in less than 24 hours, they will land in LA tired, but otherwise in fine fettle.

 

As can be seen from the attached photo, Tiger has lots of room.  What the photo does not show is that there is a horse on either side of him in that crate, so it seems that they are travelling coach while Tiger is enjoying first class luxury.  One of these companions is a little grey Arab filly and notwithstanding that she is travelling coach, Tiger has, metaphorically speaking, taken her under his wing and is being rather pleasant company.  Hamish thinks this a good thing as she should keep Tiger distracted for the remainder of the flight.

 

Talking of Tiger’s luxury, Hamish says that his seat is not far off first class standard either.

 

Tiger and Hamish are due to arrive in LA at one in the morning, Tuesday local time, and after 3 days in quarantine, they will fly out for Lexington, arriving there on Friday.

 

Is the Rolex worth all of this effort?  With a top course, top people and top competition it certainly is., Alannah (Hamish’s mum) and I were there a few years ago (seeing Clayton Fredericks win) and all the while it felt like we were at home.  Our WEG experience only served to confirm that.

 

cheers

 

Hamish’s Dad

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Wishing them both a safe journey, and I’ll be sure to bring you updates in person as soon as they arrive here in the Bluegrass. Thanks so much for writing, Hamish’s Dad, see you soon! 

Donna & Devon – mother & daughter dream team!

By on Apr 10, 2011 4:10 pm -

I was delighted to meet Donna and Devon this weekend, and hope that maybe one day my daughter and I will share a passion for eventing also. I persuaded them to chat briefly before Devon’s cross country. 

Donna is being quite modest. As she travels so much for work, Clark Montgomery rode her stallion in his first intermediate last year, which he duly won, and you can find out more at Hiddencreekhorses.com. Thanks for chatting to us, Donna and Devon, and please carry on enjoying your eventing!

A Update on Missy and BG

By on Apr 10, 2011 4:07 pm -

As you probably already know, Missy Ransehousen jumped round the Fork advanced cross country in style yesterday, posting a steady clear. I caught up with Missy this morning while she was packing her truck to leave, and waiting for the show-jumping to start.

Thanks for chatting, Missy. Congratulations, fingers crossed for that show-jumping, and we look forward to seeing you in Kentucky soon.

Donna & Devon – mother & daughter dream team!

By on Apr 10, 2011 3:42 pm -

I was delighted to meet Donna and Devon this weekend, and hope that maybe one day my daughter and I will share a passion for eventing also. I persuaded them to chat briefly before Devon’s cross country. 

Donna is being quite modest. As she travels so much for work, Clark Montgomery rode her stallion in his first intermediate last year, which he duly won, and you can find out more at Hiddencreekhorses.com. Thanks for chatting to us, Donna and Devon, and please carry on enjoying your eventing!

An update on Missy and BG

By on Apr 10, 2011 3:37 pm -

As you probably already know, Missy Ransehousen jumped round the Fork advanced cross country in style yesterday, posting a steady clear. I caught up with Missy this morning while she was packing her truck to leave, and waiting for the show-jumping to start.

Thanks for chatting, Missy. Congratulations, fingers crossed for that show-jumping, and we look forward to seeing you in Kentucky soon.

Lab Love!

By on Apr 10, 2011 10:41 am -

If you don’t follow me on twitter, then you don’t know the latest exciting development in Leo the Labrador’s life. He’s found lurve. She’s blonde, beautiful

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Lily
 and they enjoy doing all of the same sorts of things together.
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Sadly, I will have to tear them apart when I leave later, because Lily belongs to course builder Travers Schick who goes to Surefire Farm next, but he did mention that when he goes off on his mountain expeditions he leaves Lily with friends, so perhaps there is hope…we’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, go eventing!

Sunday morning Trot up at The Fork

By on Apr 10, 2011 10:04 am -

The gloomy, damp weather definitely made it feel like the morning after here at The Fork, but no-one told Manoir de Carneville that! As Sinead Halpern, his rider said, “it’s his turn to dance!”, as he piaffed down the jog lane, tail straight up like an arab!

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Happily, he passed and hopefully will save it for the jumping later! Megan does a super job looking after him, and the whole crew are great dancers.
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Jessica Phoenix looked just as beautiful as both her horses, here with Exploring, and excuse the photography, but you can take my word for it!
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Clark Montgomery & the lovely Loughan Glen, exciting for the future
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Icarus looked frisky, but under control, while Wonderful Will has been there, seen that!
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Lisa Barry’s Kenzo de la Roque looked fabulous this morning, and equally so yesterday across country. I was thrilled to meet Lisa’s dad, Joe, last night, but have yet to meet Lisa’s brother Chris, who wrote that wonderful blog post for me from Red Hills. Lisa flies to England next week to groom for Steph Rhodes-Bosch at Badminton, then comes back to prepare her horse for Jersey Fresh.
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Another nice combination out of Chattahoochee – Carl Bouckaert for Belgium with Cyrano Z. He told me he was thrilled with his ride yesterday, going fairly conservatively for qualifications and because the horse is quite green at this level, but was so happy with him, and the way he came out this morning – fit as a fiddle and on his toes!
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Susan Beebee looked smart, and was perhaps in the minority because she didn’t sport the ubiquitous Dubarry’s! Neither did I, and after cutting through the long grass back to the barn, I have wet feet and hems – not a good look!
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Danielle Dichting was delighted to pass, and even happier that the ground jury told her Tops was the horse they would most like to take home this weekend!
Quite a few of the riders elected to jog in their show-jumping attire, which always looks smart. Otherwise, Phillip Dutton always looks appropriate, and handsome, and it doesn’t hurt that his string of horses are always immaculate too; my favourite this morning was the slightly energetic William Penn. John Holling might give Phillip a run for the best dressed man award, and I promise to do better with the photos next time. For the girls, Jessie Phoenix looked great this morning, but really anyone who can have themselves and their horses looking as good as they all did at 8am this morning deserves a prize. 
Onto the show-jumping, not sure if I’ll have time to post again before I start to drive home, very slooowly, must NOT get any more tickets! However I know EN John will keep everyone up to date on the important stuff so keep checking EN, check my tweets for the less important stuff (!),  enjoy your sunday, and go eventing!