Polo is an incredibly fast-paced sport– a lot like hockey on horseback.  Here’s a video clip of the action slowed way down, where you can see the horse’s movement, power, and balance combined with the rider’s skill.

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A few weekends ago, British team rider Nicola Wilson gave a clinic in Virginia.  Loyal EN reader Maggie Deatrick was in attendance, and kindly sent us a write-up.  Perhaps a bit less-known in the USA, it sounds like Nicola was a fantastic teacher with an engaging personality.  Many thanks to Maggie for writing, and thank you for reading.  Don’t forget, Maggie (and all other February reader authors!) is in the running for this month’s Omega Alpha prize package awarded to the best reader submission.  Have something to share?  Send it to [email protected]!

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From Maggie:
“While my former compatriots enjoyed sunny temps down at Rocking Horse this past weekend at the first show of the year, I decided to distract myself by auditing a Nicola Wilson clinic at the lovely Locochee Farm here in Middleburg, VA. With snowfall the night before, and snowflakes tenaciously falling throughout the day, it made for some cold but enlightening auditing.

This is the first time Nicola has offered clinics in the United States. With a personality that is bubbly and engaging, she was able to hold our attention despite our frozen toes and shivering bodies.

I arrived at Locochee in the morning to find the N-T group hard at work. After chatting for a few minutes with Alastair (and advising him to find a Super Bowl party to join next Sunday for a thoroughly American experience), I tuned into Nicola’s instruction on the flat.

The flat work consisted largely on allowing the horse to go into the outside rein from the inside leg, making sure that the bend isn’t coming from the inside rein. Nicola would speak to each rider for about thirty seconds, then move onto the next rider, praising the good parts of their riding while adding constructive criticism to further improve. The riders primarily rode at large around the ring, then added a few steps of leg yield on each side.

After about twenty minutes of warming up with flatwork, the riders began working through a series of poles. They began by trotting straight through a series of four trot poles, then continued in a straight line to another series of four trot poles. Nicola then had the riders leg yield off the rail and then from the centerline to the second set of poles, bypassing the first set of poles. The horses reversed direction and trotted the first set of poles, then leg yielded afterwards either direction, skipping the second set of poles.

We adjusted the poles for canterwork. Nicola began by having the riders simply ride through both sets in a straight line, maintaining their canter stride between the two sets. The exercise continued to build as she asked riders to make a circle before the first set, and then added a circle between both sets. Continuously, she told the riders “Outside rein, outside leg!” while they circled. The exercise seemed easy but turned out to be deceptively hard, as many horses were used to bulging out through their shoulders.

To end the first day, Nicola replaced one set of canter poles with a small X or vertical with a canter pole on either side. To begin with, the riders cantered the set of four canter poles, then rode in three strides to the jumping portion of the exercise. If the horse rushed or experienced tension, Nicola had the rider circle between the elements. Finally, Nicola had the riders jump the vertical first, then three canter strides to the canter poles. Many horses lengthened their strides after the vertical, and tripped up through the poles. Nicola had each rider work the exercise until the horse was soft and obedient.

That night, the owner of Locochee held a small tasting party to let everyone mingle with the British couple. The highlight of the night was the tale Nicola gave us of her Olympic experience, as well as a bit of background about herself. Since I had little prior knowledge of Nicola’s past, I found myself extremely entertained by her endearing personality.

The second day wasn’t much warmer, but with the sun hanging about, it certainly felt warmer. I was only able to watch the Prelim and Training groups in the morning, but the lessons contained similar themes. Although only six jumps were set up in the indoor, Nicola managed to create courses that were challenging in a consistent manner. Generally, the courses started with an outside five or six stride line, followed by a bending five to seven stride line, and some combination thereof. There were two bending lines that mirrored each other, so one could ride a bending line bending either way from both directions.

The bending lines were often cut, or bowed out too far to make a consistent striding. Nicola emphasized having a quality canter well before the first fence, as well as looking at the fence extremely early. Everything else would come on its own, she stated. In addition, she emphasized half halting by bring the angle of the upper body up rather than using the hands, particularly on sensitive horses.

Overall the takeaways were:

• Don’t let your horse resist against your inside leg. Engagement and bend should come from the inside leg to outside rein, with outside leg helping to keep them from falling out through turns.
• Make sure your horse maintains even, consistent strides between obstacles.
• Turn with your outside leg and hand!
• Half halt with your upper body while jumping, not with your hands.
• Look at the jump early, and maintain a quality canter.

Before the Super Bowl, we previewed the heartwarming Budweiser Clydesdale ad, “Brotherhood.”  The game itself perhaps featured more commercials than football, owing to the 30-minute semi-blackout of half the stadium, but there was one other special commercial that stood out to me.  Here’s a car ad– rather, Truck ad– that will stick with you.  Dodge Ram hit a home run with this simple slide show and narration by the great Paul Harvey (“And now you know…the Rest of the Story”).

For the farmer in all of us:

And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need a caretaker.” So God made a farmer.

God said, “I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper, then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board.” So God made a farmer.

God said, “I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt, and watch it die, then dry his eyes and say,’Maybe next year,’ I need somebody who can shape an ax handle from a persimmon sprout, shoe a horse with hunk of car tire, who can make a harness out hay wire, feed sacks and shoe scraps. Who, during planting time and harvest season will finish his 40-hour week by Tuesday noon and then, paining from tractor back, put in another 72 hours.” So God made a farmer.

God said, “I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bales, yet gentle enough to yean lambs and wean pigs and tend the pink-comb pullets, who will stop his mower for an hour to splint the leg of a meadowlark.” So God made a farmer.

It had to be somebody who’d plow deep and straight and not cut corners. Somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed, and brake, and disk, and plow, and plant, and tie the fleece and strain the milk. Somebody who’d bale a family together with the soft, strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh, and then sigh, and then reply with smiling eyes when his son says that he wants to spend his life doing what Dad does. So God made a farmer.

From Lauren:

Your Weekly “Why Does My OTTB (insert weird quirk here)?” Q&A

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Good morning, Eventing Nation!  With February in full swing and the first recognized events in most areas right around the corner (we know, Area III, you have recognized events ALLLLLL the time), the schooling shows are already starting to fill up the calendar here in Area VIII and I can’t wait to get back in the ring!  Oh yeah, and there is that silly Hallmark holiday with chocolate (yay!), wine (double yay!), and significant others (usually too much trouble unless they have four legs and can wear a saddle).  This week brings the return of the Q & A you have all grown to love.  Next week, more questions will follow as well as an update on MY latest OTTB prospect that I just picked up on Friday morning.  Cross your fingers, toes, and eyes that he vets and enjoy these new EN reader queries.

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I got my guy off the track just over a year ago as a 3yo (now 5yo) and he has a habit of grinding his teeth (or even what looks like chewing on his tongue/rubbing his tongue over his back molars) any time he’s feeling particularly anxious or if it’s feeding time. Is this a personal habit or do you see a lot of horses at the track manifest their anxiety in the same manner? If so do you know any tricks to help curb this behavior? He’s getting his teeth done in a couple weeks and I’m interested to see what the vet says about what his wear patterns look like and if he’s actually grinding them down or just making awkward faces at me. (contributed by EN reader Celeste Coulter)

Teeth grinding and, really, mouth quirks in general are par for the course with OTTB’s.  None of them have ever manifested this behavior seriously enough for me to be concerned or for them to cause any physical damage to themselves.  It is sometimes a problem in show ring understandably, but a little bit of molasses in the mouth before going in the ring or even dirt/sand will curb the behavior long enough to ride a test.  I have never had to employ those methods, however, and have often found that, under saddle at least, bit and noseband changes can fix most mouth issues.  Just last year I had a lovely young Oldenburg whose owner swore up and down her was a teeth grinder but, while he did often make that low pitches squeaking noise when moving the bit around in his mouth during work, it was never a problem that I had but one that she certainly felt she had to deal with and in a Warmblood to boot.  Hopefully your vet will be able to give you a good report!

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A question about skin issues: my horse came from the track with some kind of funk, I don’t know what and my vet couldn’t pin it down as any particular infection, but a friend who used to be an exercise rider said she always heard it generically called “skin disease” at the track. Over the last year it’s been a reoccurring problem where some sort of skin issue will pop up, we’ll finally get it cleared up, he’ll be dandy for a few weeks then, BAM there’s another one. The oddest part is that the issue never presents itself in the same way. It’s always in a new location with new symptoms and takes a different level of treatment and aggression each time. My vet more or less felt like this was his form of the “after track crash” where his immune system was just having to bolster up and get used to his new environment and new lifestyle. We put him on a supplement to aid his coat health and generally aid his immune system and that’s definitely helped significantly, but every once in a while he’ll get another minor round of skin crud. Do a lot of horses coming off the track deal with this same problem? (also contributed by EN reader Celeste Coulter)

‘Skin Disease’ is a pretty common general term at the track and often encompasses rain rot, scratches, and common fungi.  I certainly agree with your vet that skin issues post-racing are very common and a result of  ‘crashing’ from any number of treatments a horse experienced on the track.  These days, with anabolic steroid use lower than it has ever been (and technically illegal), you don’t see nearly as much ‘crashing’ but even ‘crashes’ from supplements fed at the racetrack are common because they are often fed in such quantities and doses that they begin to inhibit the horse’s natural ability to produce whatever they are being supplemented with (such as iron, which is often a primary culprit when ‘crashing’ occurs).  Their natural level will usually return to normal in 6 months or so but I certainly suggest drawing blood to evaluate baseline levels after leaving the track and to rule out systemic infections (most people immediately treat ‘skin disease’ locally and topically when it can just easily be a manifestation of a systemic infection or imbalance).

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I am currently looking at an OTTB as a project horse.  He’s turning 4 this year and was just not a good race horse based on his record so now his owner has him at a H/J barn that does quick OTTB turn around sales.  I rode him and he seems sensible.  One question I had, though, was in a couple of his races the comments section says that he ‘stopped’.  Is this something I should avoid…I really have no idea how much translates from their performance on the track to when they have to leave the start box–is he likely to get 1/2 way through cross country and just park it? (contributed by EN reader Ashley Beheler)

When the term ‘stopped’ is seen on a race chart with fair regularity and is officially defined by Equibase as ‘a description of a horse who gives way suddenly or races forwardly and tires badly’.  A horse that is said to have stopped may have sustained a mild injury such as a soft tissue sprain, may have suffered from Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage (in more common terminally, the horse may have ‘bled’ though blood may not have been present in the nostrils), may have had a breathing issue such as a displaced soft palate, or may simply have run as far and as fast as his or her training allowed and given up the ghost.  Often, young horses especially will ‘run out of trainer’ and run their eyeballs out for most of the race and then just hit a fitness wall.  When other horses ‘stop’, there may be hundred reasons and the best way to discern when is to watch the replay.  Equibase offers replays of nearly all North American races for a fee and many races can be found for free at Cal Racing Replays In any event, a comment of ‘stopped’ on a chart does not immediately concern me in the slightest, though numerous races where horses ‘stop’ can be a bit more of a red flag.  Also, do not be even the slightest bit concerned that old Cinder Blocks is gonna park it after the water on XC.  As Eventers, even at Rolex, horses never reach the speeds that racing demands of them and such short periods of such all-out efforts are typically the catalysts for ‘stopping’.

Also, a useful link to bookmark is This Glossary of Racing Chart Terms on Equibase.

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I encourage you to send any horse-specific or general-knowledge questions to me via email ([email protected]) for more in-depth and on-point answers and am certainly happy to help you read any charts that you simply cannot translate from racetrack gibberish. Go Eventing and go gallop a former racehorse.

From Yvette:

Tips for Eventers Living in Itty-Bitty Apartments in the City:  The Home Remedy Edition

Hey!  Look –  It’s me at the Super Bowl!

Hey there, Eventing Nation!  Last week, I had the luxury of writing for you from an itty-bitty hotel room in Breckenridge, Colorado, but alas…my vacation has ended, and I’ve returned to my itty-bitty apartment in the city.  After eight days of Rocky Mountain calm, I was really looking forward to getting back to the hustle and bustle of DC, and most importantly, back in the saddle.  But just like the electrical fuses in the Superdome during the second half of the big game on Sunday, life decided to throw a wrench into my plans…

I caught a cold.

I realize that someone catching a cold or the flu this time of year isn’t all that unusual, but those who know me appreciate that I have the immune system of an ox.  My coworkers can drop like flies around me, and I’ll keep on ticking, barely needing to reach for a Kleenex, let alone cough medication.  Needless to say, I was extra peeved about being sick this past weekend, not only because I haven’t ridden in like, FOREVER, but also because no one wants Typhoid Mary at their Super Bowl party.  So I stayed locked up in my itty-bitty apartment, curled up on the couch, bawling at beer commercials, and marveling at the fact that this year’s halftime show didn’t end in a wardrobe malfunction.  And while I can tolerate taking one sick day for actually being sick, taking two might make me stir crazy, which leads me to this week’s tip.

Tip for Eventers Living in Itty-Bitty Apartments in the City #27:

Suffering from congestion?  You could go to the drugstore and pay a lot of money for medications that don’t work/dessicate your innerds/result in you sleep walking through your building…OR…you could just take a whiff of your horse’s liniment.  You’ll thank me when you’re able to use those sick days for Rolex!

Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carneville at Burghley. Photo by Samantha Clark.

Rolex Kentucky has announced the bloggers from this year’s entrants.  Look forward to each installment as the riders give updates and insight to their preparations for the big event.  This year features a super line up, with Jennie Brannigan, Will Coleman, Sinead Halpin, and owner Stephen Blauner (Neville Bardos and Trading Aces).

Here are excerpts from their first installments as posted on the Rolex website (rk3de.org):

Jennie Brannigan (Cambalda)

I’m sure most people can recount their first Rolex visit… For me it was in 2003, when the torrential rain flooded the course. I was 14, I believe, and I was quite fortunate to be Allison Springer’s first working student at the time.

I’ll tell you that the one real thing I remember now, 11 years later, about that weekend was watching eventing legend Bruce Davidson gallop around in the pouring rain making it look like a novice track. I’m not quite sure who won that year, but that ride will always be in the forefront of my mind, probably along with every other person who saw it. And that’s what I love about our sport—it’s not always just about results.

Continue reading.

 

Will Coleman (Twizzel)

When I was asked to write one of the featured riders’ pieces for this year’s Rolex Kentucky, I was a bit surprised to be honest, for I feel like my story is a bit recycled. Once again, my lone chance for a ride around the cross-country in Lexington will be a 17 year-old, half-bred gelding named Twizzel, the same horse I have brought there for the past three years. While we have enjoyed some success there and elsewhere, Twizzel’s career has been riddled with some tough episodes. He has had a multitude of soundness issues. His shoulder injury is well documented because of the Burghley incident, when the horse went horribly lame literally a minute before entering the dressage arena, prompting withdrawal. There have been other more run-of-the-mill leg issues common in our event horses, but those have been minor for the most part and he has always come back strong, even though the timing of them was often, for lack of a better word, poor. There was also me breaking my collarbone on a young horse in the run-up to the WEG 2010, effectively knocking Twizzel out of contention for that championship. Then, there are the competitive disappointments. A hung leg put Twizzel and I on the ground at Rolex two years ago in a round that was making the course look quite easy. And then, the Olympics….inches away from dropping off the Leaf Pit bank before it all went wrong. It is easy to look back on it and think about it all as lost
opportunities, as aching holes in a career resume that can never be filled.

Continue reading.

Sinead Halpin (Manoir de Carneville)

On the side of a long stretch of highway there is a sign that makes children and riders of all levels press their  face hard against the window glass looking for the slight swish of a horses tail or a massive oak table jumped by the legends of the sport of Eventing, that sign says four words… “The Kentucky Horse Park”.

I was one of those little girls with my head pressed against the window not being able to wait for the car to stop before leaping onto the old Kentucky turf to watch the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event.

After a 12 hour long trek from New Jersey and years of “skin in the game” I stepped foot on that Kentucky Blue Grass to attempt my first four star at the place where I had watched Magic happen. That was in 2011 and it was a year Rolex lived up to the Magic. My Horse, Manoir de Carneville, known as Tate in the barn, and I finished as the top placing American in an astounding third place.

Continue reading.

 

Stephen Blauner (Neville Bardos and Trading Aces)

This is Neville’s year to get back to Rolex. And maybe Trading Aces first 4*. We’re (all ten of their owners) keeping fingers crossed. Neville apparently did not enjoy his trip to England for the Olympics (he was a reserve horse). We originally thought he would go on to Burghley (where he came 7th in 2011), but he wasn’t feeling up to snuff and came back to the States with the other US team horses. Neville spent a couple of months hanging out in Pennsylvania and enjoying his favorite pastime – wind-sucking. He went down to Aiken at the beginning of January and started back into work. Boyd (Martin) says he is feeling great, and he jumped really well when he went to Ocala a few weeks back to train with Scott Keach. Watching a video of the two-day show jumping session, it looks like Scott put Neville in a pelham and a martingale – haven’t talked to Boyd about this, but maybe they are trying to teach an old horse some new tricks.

Trading Aces was purchased in the fall of 2011 just after winning the Fair Hill CCI**. He was the third horse that Boyd successfully syndicated, and has many of the same owners as Neville and Otis Barbotiere. Trading Aces (known as Oscar) did a bunch of 3* events in 2012, and Boyd seems to think he is ready to tackle the big stuff. What a thrill if we have two horses at Rolex!!

Continue reading.

From Poplar Place HT in Georgia, Tamara Brown and Halara completed a double-clear round in show jumping and finished 9th in Open Novice B this past weekend.  [Poplar Place results] 

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At Sporting Days in Aiken, McKenzie Ragan and Surefire’s Anwar finished 5th in the Preliminary Rider division.  [Sporting Days results]

 

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Rick Wallace and Ultimate Victory, photo by Samantha Clark

A week after dominating Rocking Horse HT, Buck loaded up some of his string and invaded Poplar Place HT in Georgia.  The weekend went fairly well for him there, too; while he didn’t walk away with an Intermediate win, he did finish 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in that division– congrats to Eliza Farren and Bantry Bays Dublin for leading wire to wire.  You knew Buck would win something, though, and he took the Open Prelim division with former Kim Severson ride, Wiley Post.

Rick Wallace, whom Jessica Bortner-Harris profiled a few weeks ago, had a solid weekend as well, winning the Advanced Intermediate on Ultimate Victory.  Daughter Elisa Wallace also won Open Novice B with Corteo.

Poplar Place Results:

AI: 1. Rick Wallace / Ultimate Victory; 2. Werner Geven / Vilas Country

OI: 1.  Eliza Farren / Bantry Bays Dublin;  2. Buck Davidson / Copper Beach; 3. Buck Davidson / Knight Lion; 4. Buck Davidson / Shear Mizou; 5. Emily Rusinyak / Reatta HW

IP: 1. Ashley Stiles / Golden Malt; 2. Erin Pullen / Big; 3. Susie Harrison / Let’s Be Frank; 4. Tyler Frey / Sirrahsta

OP: 1. Buck Davidson / Wiley Post; 2. Kadi Eykamp / Rigaudon; 3. Werner Geven / Aber-Ka-Dabra; 4. Elizabeth Barron / Esperanza; 5. Julie Richards / Bristol Indian

JYOP: 1. Grayson Wall / Stryker; 2. Caroline Martin / Center Stage; 3. Lydia Kennedy / Subtle Dream Unveiled; 4. Ashley Dodds / Manhattan IV; 5. Caroline Martin / Roller Skate

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Meanwhile, at Sporting Days Farm HT in Aiken, Lisa Marie Fergusson held on to win the OP division on Uni Sprite, ahead of Will Coleman and Master P.  Lisa has been doing pretty well with Uni Sprite, and also finished fourth in Prelim Horse with Honor Me; good to see after the tragic loss of her talented partner Smart Move a year ago.  Benita Strini and Sammy Jo took the Prelim Horse division, with Katherine Adams and Pandora’s First Avatar winning Prelim Rider. 

Some sensational scores topped the Training Divisions: Boyd Martin led OT-A on Quinn Himself with a 17.3 after dressage, and hung on for the win despite a rail in stadium…the top four in this division were all under 30 points.  OT-B was won by Kate Brown on Ixiom with a 21.8.  One training win wasn’t enough for Boyd, as he also finished first in TH-A with SBF Cortez and TH-B with Ballyneety.  Congrats to Katie Lichten and Silent Faith for the win in TR-A, and to Caroline Andrews with Will You Be Mine in TR-B.

Sporting Days Farm HT Results:

OP: 1. Lisa Marie Fergusson / Uni Sprite; 2. Will Coleman / Master P; 3. Jodi Hemry / In Style; 4. Liz Messaglia / Apollo Star; 5. Lindsay Beer / Carbon Copy

PH: 1. Benita Strini / Sammy Jo; 2. Erin Sylvester / Paddy the Caddy; 3. Erin Sylvester / Mettraise; 4. Lisa Marie Fergusson / Honor Me; 5. Tiffany Loudon-Metze / Class Happening

PR: 1. Katherine Adams / Pandora’s First Avatar; 2. Kaylin Dines / Why Not; 3. Amelia Grubbs / Hang On Snoopy; 4. Janelle Phaneuf / Twist Again; 5. McKenzie Ragan / Surefire’s Anwar

PT: 1. Morgan McCue / Havanna’s Orphan Annie; 2. Eliza L. Grainger / Fred Astaire; 3. Kathy Viele / Matariki

OT-A: 1. Boyd Martin / Quinn Himself; 2. Courtney Cooper / Vegas Run; 3. Rebecca Golian / Just A Flirt; 4. Jodi Hemry / Charles Harbor; 5. Lucia Strini / Galway Bay Cooley

OT-B: 1. Kate Brown / Ixion; 2. Sarah Kuhn / Clifton Zander; 3. Matthew Ulmer / Scooby Roo; 4. Chase Shipka / Palm Crescent; 5. Benita Strini / Petit Filou II

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Not to be forgotten, our friends on the West Coast had fun competing at Galway Downs.  The Intermediate divisions were full of Advanced horses making their first outing of the year; as such, there was little trouble and most made the time.  Hawley Bennet-Awad and Five O’Clock Somewhere won OI-A, while Barb Crabo and Over Easy won OI-B.  Tamra Smith had an excellent weekend, finishing first (Normandy Soldier), third (Fleeceworks Cinco), and eighth (Fleeceworks Fernhill) in the Open Prelim division, as well as winning OT-A with Fleur de Lis.

Galway Downs Winter HT Results:

OI-A: 1.  Hawley Bennett-Awad / Five O’Clock Somewhere;  2. James Atkinson / Annie Oakley III; 3. Bunnie Sexton / Rise Against; 4. Kelly Loria / Leader des Bieffes; 5. Gina Miles / S.V.R. Ron

OI-B: 1. Barb Crabo / Over Easy; 2. Jennifer McFall / High Times; 3. Kristi Nunnink / R-Star; 4. Zachary Brandt / Cavallino Cocktail; 5. Mackenna Shea / Landioso

OP: 1. Tamra Smith / Normandy Soldier; 2. Frankie Thieriot / Uphoria; 3. Tamra Smith / Fleeceworks Cinco; 4. Jordan Linstedt / Tullibards Hawkwind; 5. Jordan Linstedt / Revitavet Capato

PR: 1. Stephanie Callihan / Compelling Chris; 2. Megan Lepper / De Mello; 3. Kiersti Wylie / Armani; 4. Eleanor MacLean / Voyager; 5. Dawn Robbins / Whitaker

After much debate, the amended One Fall Rule has passed for Beginner Novice and Novice levels.  You may recall John’s coverage of the rule debate at the USEA Convention, and the ultimate decision to recommend approval as the prospective rule was sent on to the USEF for final review. 

The USEF has approved the rule change, and it reads as follows:

EV141 Cross Country Scoring [CHAPTER EV-3 Rules for Horse Trials] change to read:

1. b) Falls –

(1) First fall of competitor Elimination (RF)  in which the competitor lands on his/her feet and remains standing (Beginner Novice and Novice) 65 Penalties

(2) First fall of horse Mandatory retirement.Second fall of competitor (Beginner Novice and Novice) Elimination (RF)

(3) First fall of competitor (Training, Preliminary, Intermediate and Advanced) Elimination (RF)

(4) First fall of horse Mandatory Retirement

Note: the rule change is not effective until 12/1/13, which means it will be in effect for the 2014 competition season (not this year!).

While this isn’t back to the glory days of old– in which most everyone fell off once at some point, and got back on to finish– it does at least acknowledge the “oops- DARN IT!” moments when you find yourself gently swinging from a stopped horse’s neck and put your feet on the ground.  Now, when such a mild fall (I prefer the term “unplanned dismount”) happens to land you on your feet, Beginner Novice and Novice competitors will be allowed to continue.  Falls at those levels in which you do NOT land on your feet will still result in elimination. 

Though there were some opponents to this rule, overall I think it is a positive rule change.  Rider safety was clearly the big factor in designing the rule, and it has been shown that falls at N/BN are generally less severe than at higher levels.  A lot of thought and discussion went into the decision, and we’re thankful to those involved in the various committees for their time and input. 

Read more rule changes here: [PDF]  The one fall rule change is on page 6. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2prAccclXs

Budweiser has long been known for its fantastic Super Bowl commercials. This year’s may be our favorite commercial to date! Featuring the world famous Budweiser Clydesdales and telling the story of the wonderful bond between horses and humans, this video is a tear jerker. Grab the tissues, Eventing Nation. You’re going to need them!

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It’s no secret…we love reader submissions here at Eventing Nation.  Whether it’s a clinic report, an OTTB story, observations from your first event, or just a View from your horse, we enjoy sharing the thoughts and perspectives from all over the eventing community.  And now, with the help of sponsor Omega Alpha, we will be rewarding one guest submission each month.

Our chosen reader submission for the month of January is Diane Portwood’s Jacqueline Brooks/Clayton Fredericks Clinic Recap.  Congratulations, Diane, and thanks for writing!  Diane has won a free supply of Omega Alpha supplement of her choosing.

Want to win an Omega Alpha supplement?  Send us something!  If it’s published this month, it will be eligible for February’s giveaway.

*Month to be determined by date of publishing, not date of submission. 

Many thanks to Diane for writing, and for Omega Alpha’s support of Eventing Nation.  Go Eventing!

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Thanks to Jenny McCoy for sharing this video of her horse Moo and his buddy Stripey the barn cat.  Have a video to share?  Send it to [email protected]!

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Rob Stevenson is a former Canadian team rider (Barcelona, 1992) who continues to event finding balance with family and work as a cardiologist. He runs Foshay South Eventing from a training facility in Lakeside, New Brunswick.  Rob has been the National Safety Officer for Canadian Eventing since November 2012, and was kind enough to give us this report from the 2013 FEI Eventing Risk Management Seminar.  Thanks to Rob for writing, and thank you for reading.

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From Rob:

The seminar wrapped up today in the early afternoon to allow some to start the journey home, and to allow others a couple hours of Rome before sunset (see above photo of Roman water jump).

The was my first FEI meeting in the role of NSO (National Safety Officer) for Canada.  I have taken over the Canadian responsibility from Peter Gray.  Peter had done a superb job in the safety role in Canada, and he was much missed in Rome. These will be big shoes to fill.

Peter had put my name forward as a physician, but also as an active rider and coach, a past event organizer and Canadian Eventing Committee member.  Despite an awareness of safety issues in the sport, it was hard to truly appreciate the role of the NSO until this meeting.  In short, the NSO is to manage the annual ‘fall statistics,’ provide liaison between the national federation and FEI in the event of an accident, and finally to spread the vision of FEI Eventing Risk Management.  It was this last point that eluded me most until this meeting.

The short history of the FEI Risk Management Seminar and the NSO’s reflect the international call to action after a series of tragic deaths in the sport in the late 1990’s.  Initially there was the International Safety Committee chaired by David O’Connor. Fall statistics have been available since 2004.  The Risk Management Programme was launched in 2010, and has been chaired by Italy’s Giuseppe Della Chiesa.  He was thus the chair and host for this year’s summit in his hometown of Rome.

There were approximately 40 delegates from more than 22 countries at the meeting.  There was a mix of NF representatives and NSO’s.  Roger Haller represented the United States.

I think the program can be explained in three parts: the vision, the statistics, and areas of special interest.

Over the weekend, Chairman Della Chiesa spoke eloquently on the FEI’s vision of Eventing.  He spoke of the recent transition from a sport on the brink after a series of tragic accidents just over a decade ago. He spoke of the change in mentality from a sport with its origins in the military – a sport of completion at all costs – to the image of the modern sport, where there should be a “good picture” to ensure the well being and safety of horse and rider at all times.  This “good picture” is also the image we should convey to the “outside world,” that of a sport that has made tremendous progress in a short period, and that of a sport worthy of its continued place in the Olympic Games.  It is recognized that all sport has risk.  Some sport has more risk than others. It is the mandate of Eventing Risk Management Programme to best manage the risk that is inherent to our sport.

The statistics that have been amassed on the sport since 2004 are considerable.  The FEI has chosen to focus on falls.  Falls are recorded as rider falls, horse falls, rotational/non-rotational and whether injury has occurred to horse or rider.  One might ask why it is just falls that are recorded?  The belief is best described as a continuum.   The goal is good riding – a horse and rider in balance negotiating the course.  Without good riding, there may be bad riding, out of control riding or dangerous riding.  Dangerous riding may lead to falls. Falls may lead to rotational falls. It is believed that rotational falls are the most dangerous types of falls and that these may lead to serious injuries to horse or rider.   Thus the modern sport, with a view to risk management encourages good riding and discourges anything less, with citations for dangerous riding, and eliminations for any type of fall. Falls have been recorded as a surrogate marker of safety. Types of falls have also been considered.  Thus the news on the fall statistics is encouraging for several reasons.  In looking at the international data, falls have generally declined at all levels since 2004. The average number of falls now lies between 5 and 6 % of starters.  The percentage of falls increases across the levels from approximately 5% at 1* to 12-13% at 4*. These results lie within pre-specified targets as outlined by the Programme.  In addition, there are less rotational falls, reduced from one in approximately 200 starters in 2004 to one in approximately 300 starters in 2012.  Further, there has been data available from national competitions (ie., USEA, Canadian Eventing, British Eventing, etc) for several years.  This last data set has been compared with the results of the international events and has demonstrated considerably fewer falls at national versus international events, even at the same level of difficulty (1*/prelim; 2*/intermediate; 3*/advanced).  There are only hypotheses at this point to explain these findings – one suggested the ‘mental effect’ of an international event, or could the national level events possibly be easier to complete without a fall?  In summary, though the statistics do not yet answer all questions, it provides first a reference dataset that did not exist ten years ago. The findings suggest a sport that has become safer over the period in question.  Currently the sport is operating within targeted safety measures nationally and internationally.  And with the amassed data, more detailed analysis will now be possible.

Beyond the uplifting vision statements and the cold hard statistical facts, there were a number of special interest topics that were covered.

There was an excellent presentation on concussion in sport by Dr. Peter Whitehead. He has been appointed as interim chair of the FEI Medical Committee after the loss of Dr. Craig Farrell.  He spoke of concussion, in specific reference to a recent major conference on sports concussion (Zurich 2012) where the FEI had been a co-sponsor. Dr. Whitehead explained the perils of recurrent concussion, the importance of evaluation for concussion after any fall and for the need for a proper program for surveillance and return to play.

Jonathan Clissold premiered the British Eventing Safety DVD, which is essentially a DVD compilation of cross country clips looking at good and less-than-good (and at times dangerous) riding.  This will be used around the world for training officials and riders. The DVD should be available within several months.

Philine Ganders (GER) and Lars Christensson (SWE) outlined the very successful “style” riding programs that exist in their countries.  They may run these style classes separately or as part of the usual events. Combinations may do separate style classes on the same day as a normal event (CIC*). (Yes, the horses have two cross country rounds!) They view this as more exposure to cross country riding.  In Germany they have as many style classes as traditional event classes at the lower levels (CI* and below). They offer an under 15 championship based on style classes.  This appears to be an emerging influence in the sport. It is grouped under the Risk Management umbrella, considered a facet of ‘active risk management.’ (Passive risk management would include airvests and frangible pins).

Airvests were discussed as part of a case study. An informal vote was taken on the question, “Do you feel that airvests should be made compulsory at this time?” The majority of the delegates voted against this question.  The main concern at this time is that the airvest industry has not yet established a standard by which the technology can be measured.  There are others that share the concern that airvests may in fact do harm. This concern has two aspects:  that the vests may create a feeling of invincibility for some, leading to increased risk taking; and secondly that the vests may impede the ability of the rider to fall and roll so as to avoid the horse.  Thus at this time, airvests are permitted. Any specific recommendation awaits further standardization and testing.

Indoor eventing was discussed briefly.  Currently, the FEI has no jurisdiction on this type of competition.  There is the concern that this type of competition, often showcased at major indoor shows, may in fact reflect poorly on the sport of eventing. Though these events are not currently sanctioned and do not run under specific eventing rules, it is felt that there is the potential for a “bad picture” of the sport if done poorly.  There is a common concern that most of these events are run under a Table C format – ie., ‘fixed obstacles against the clock.’ The FEI and the Risk Management programme have no current opinion or guidelines for such event. It is thought that perhaps discussions should be held at the National Federations in countries where such events are held.  Discussions for potential solutions did include the limitation of participation to CCI 2 star combinations and above, a Table A format, the limitation of fixed obstacle height in the first round to 1.10m, a jump off over showjumps at 1.15m, and the inclusion of eventing course designers in the course setting.

In a review of the 2013 rules, Articles 519 and 520 were discussed.  Certain risk management issues were reflected in the recent development/changes of these rules.  The FEI felt that there needed to be a higher standard for the least experienced combinations entering international competitions.  Conversely, the FEI felt that rider categorization would save the most experienced combinations from unnecessary outings.  It was beyond the scope of this meeting to debate all aspects of these Articles.  It was explored essentially to highlight safety aspects of the new rules.   This did provide for better background understanding of the recent changes.   First, consider that Germany has no national classes at CN 2 star or 3 star; it only runs international events (CI’s) at these levels.  Further, there are many smaller surrounding countries that may then use (‘depend upon’) the readily available German events for qualification.  Given that Britain, France and Germany each have 40,000 plus starters annually at their events, there is clearly an abundance of events within a relatively small radius.  Though the US would have a similar number of starters, I would suggest that the radius involved is much greater.  These regulations will clearly affect certain nations more than others. I think that the bottom line is that in order to participate in international competitions, we will have to further develop the circuit of international qualifying events in North America (no small undertaking affecting horses, riders, owners, officials, organizers, federations and budgets).  I do understand that several issues will be discussed further at the FEI Eventing Committee level (in consultation with National Federations).   In summary, the FEI feels more control is necessary in order to ensure safe qualification for FEI events. They have shown that National events at similar levels to each of the FEI levels have less falls, thus suggesting that the National events are easier and thus should not be equivalent to CI’s at the same level. They cite that these concerns have safety implications. These decisions have been made at the Eventing Committee level. Certain provisions will be made for 2013.  Conversations continue with NF’s to sort out the details.

Frangible jumps were discussed in a limited fashion. The MIM clip has met standardization criteria and is now included as the first frangible type mechanism to be listed on the FEI Risk Management Programme webpage.  Other frangible systems (pins/logs) have yet to complete the standardization process. On a related note, British Eventing now has a testing device that will provide further opportunity to test and standardize the various frangible mechanisms.

In summary, participation as an NSO at my first FEI Risk Management Seminar proved to be a very valuable experience.  The sport is in a better place now than 10 -12 years ago. The reasons for this are multifaceted.  The collected data will help to track the trends of risk within the sport, and the risks within countries, where outliers may then be addressed proactively so as to avoid any reversal in the trend towards a safer sport.  There has been a sharp contrast in the accepted mentality in the sport even within 20 years. Cross country is no longer about the ‘completion at all costs wartime hero’ but rather about cross country riding where a “good picture” illuminates the well being – and safety- of the horse and rider, while conveying the appropriate image to the outside world. With this, we hope the sport will flourish and continue to attract loads of young equestrians, all the while ensuring its worthy place as an Olympic sport for years to come.

I am thankful to Canadian Eventing/Equine Canada for the compilation of its national fall statistics (a huge undertaking for TD’s and administrators) and for their support to travel to this meeting.

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All the best in eventing,

Rob Stevenson, MD
National Safety Officer, Canadian Eventing

From Lauren:

Your Weekly “Why Does My OTTB (insert weird quirk here)?” Q&A

An imperative pre-race proceeding: The Horse Identifier checks Batoff Mountain's tattoo.

Hold on to your hats, Eventing Nation!  It is almost February.  Where does the time go!?  Rolex is barely three months away and it is already time to start scribbling down shopping lists and putting money in the piggy bank (as well as searching for cute khakis for the vet box crew, which are surprisingly hard to find, and stocking up on shovels and knee pads for the Flower Crew). This week, I bring you the conclusion of my little mini-series on OTTB investigation.  Do not despair if you have not received a reply to an OTTB question that you sent recently.  Next week will being the return of the Q & A that you have come to know and love.  This week, however, put on your thinking caps and I will try to simplify the chaos that is a racing chart.  Hold on, it may be a wild ride.

Okay, so remember guys, BEFORE YOU EVEN GO TO LOOK AT AN OTTB, you need to have done the following:

• Ascertained his or her Jockey Club registered name
• Gone to PEDIGREE QUERY and scrutinized that horse’s breeding.
• Gone to EQUIBASE, accessed, and stud ied that horse’s profile.

Once you have taken the above listed steps, you will inevitably find yourself clicking on the little green squares next to the races listed in your prospective OTTB’s race Results tab and staring at the PDF’s that appear with your head cocked sideways and your brow furrowed.  When it comes to understanding what you are looking like, it is sort of akin to becoming fluent in a foreign language.  Let’s start at the beginning, I will highlight the most important bits of information that can be garnered from a chart, and I will touch, at least briefly, on every inscrutable number and symbol found on those tiny little lines of text.  For purposes of this exercise, we will scrutinize the results of ATOMIC SPEED, the horse in the trailer behind me as I type (I’m not driving, don’t worry!  I’m simply along for the ride as an OTTB appraiser).  Mr. Speed is the current OTTB prospect for Alison Wilaby, a well-loved member of the extended EN family, and has a short and sweet race record that is perfect for basic analysis.

• Upon simple inspection, Atomic Speed’s race record is pretty abysmal.  A 5^th in a Maiden Special Weight first time out is impressive at first glance, but let’s use this chart for analysis purposes and delve deeper.
• The first line of the chart tells when and where the race occurred and what race number it was in the program.
• The second line tells the condition of the race.  Maiden Special Weight is the highest class of maiden race.
• The third line tells the distance of the race and the track record time, record setter, and record date.  Knowing information about the track record is help in establishing how difficult the track is to carry speed over (for example, if the record is fairly slow and fairly old, the track is probably fairly slow).  Also, keep in mind that there are eight furlongs in a mile and that each furlong should be run in twelve seconds or less.
• The fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh lines tell the purse of the race, whether or not there is any added state money, the total value of the race, and the allotment of the purse money per place.
• The eighth and ninth lines list the weather, the condition of the track, the time at which the gate opened, and whether or not all of the horses broke well.
• Now down to the nitty gritty: the actually results of the race.  Beneath the ‘Last Raced’ in bold, you will find the date of the last race, the superscript number of the race on the card, the abbreviation of the track at which the race occurred, and the superscript number of where the horse finished in that race.  Dashes in this area mean that the horse has never run before.
• The bold abbreviation PGM and the numbers below represent the saddle cloth number and post position of the horse during the race.
• The next column lists the horse with its jockey in parenthesis next to it (also, not that the DQ next to the name of the horse than ran first in this race indicates that the horse was disqualified).
• The bold abbreviation WGT and the numbers below represent the weight that the horse carried.
• The bold abbreviation M/E and the letters below it represent the MEDICATION and EQUIPMENT that the horse ran on or in.  This gets sort of complicated, but in a nutshell, you may see any of the following abbreviations to indicated medication or equipment:
• Medication: A (Adjunct Medication to further inhibit bleeding), B (Bute), C (1^st Time Bute), L (Lasix), M (1^st Time Lasix). Obviously, not all medications are claimed in the program.
• Equipment: A (Aluminum Pads), B (Blinkers), C (Mud Caulks), F (Front Bandages), G (Goggles), K (Flipping Halter), N (No Whip), O (Blinkers Off), Q (Nasal Strip Off), R (Bar Shoe), S (Nasal Strip), V (Cheek Piece), Y (No Shoes), X (Cheek Piece Off), Z (Tongue Tie).  It is important to note that, obviously, not all equipment is listed here and even equipment the horse is wearing may not be noted in the program.
• The bold abbreviation PP indicates the post position of the horse.
• Beneath the word ‘Start’, the order in which each horse broke out of the gate (not their assigned saddle cloth number) is listed.  The superscript beside that number indicates by what margin that horse achieved the listed placing.  In this race, ¼ mile into the race, the 6 horse was 4 lengths ahead of the 2 horse and Atomic Speed was 2 ½ lengths ahead of the last placed 3 horse.
• Beneath the fractions ¼, and ½, the position that the horse ran in one quarter-mile and one half-mile into the race is listed.  The superscript beside that number indicates by what margin that horse achieved the listed placing.
• The bold abbreviation Str indicated the position that the horse ran in during the stretch run.  The superscript beside that number indicates by what margin that horse achieved the listed placing.
• The bold abbreviation Fin indicated the position in which each horse finished the race and by what margin the bested the next lowest placed horse.
• Beneath the word Odds, you will find a decimal conversion of exact odds at post time.  The favorite will be denoted with an asterisk.
• Beneath the word ‘Comments’, one to four words will describe the overall impression of the race for each horse.  I will write another article soon about what all of these comments can indicated.
• Also, note that ABOVE the ‘Comments’, there may be a blue link and image of a video camera that will provide a race replay.
• Moving on below the results of the race, the bold phrase ‘Fractional Times’ indicates the times in which the race was run and separated by ¼ mile.
• The final time indicates the actual time the race took to run.  Times should be nearest to 12 seconds per furlong depending on the class of the race.  Example: a 6 furlong race should run in 1:12 or less.  A mile race should run around 1:36.  A mile and a quarter race should run around 2:00.
• The ‘Split Times’ are the amount of time it took to run each furlong or quarter mile depending on the length of the race.
• The ‘Run Up’ distance indicates the distance (in feet) from the starting gate to the point where timing of the race begins. A short run-up distance can lead to a slower opening quarter-mile time. The run-up distance is listed in superscript after the distance of the race in Equibase past performances and in parentheses after the distance of the race in result charts.
• The bold terms ‘Winner’, ‘Breeder’, and ‘Winning Owner’ indicate the winning horse, its color, sex, immediate breeding, date of birth, and state of birth and well as the names of the breeder and owner.
• Disqualified horses and scratched horses are listed next.
• The bold phrase ‘Total WPS Pool’ indicates the total amount of all bets in the win, place, and show pools.
• All of the payouts for each individual horse and all exotic wagers and their pools are listed next.
• The Past Performance Running Line Preview is very similar to the fractional times listed above but varies in that the SUPERSCRIPT indicates how far from FIRST PLACE a given horse was.
• Trainers and Owners in order of finish place are listed next.
• Footnotes are listed at the end of the chart and give a more detailed description of how a horse ran than the ‘Comments’ at the end of the chart.  These are helpful in discerning why an OTTB you are interested in may or may not have run well and whether or not the horse appeared to bleed or was injured during the race.

I hope I haven’t overwhelmed you with information.  I will try to summarize the last 3 articles in an upcoming piece and, as always, please ask any questions that you have!  I also encourage you to send any further, horse-specific or general-knowledge questions to me via email ([email protected]) for more in-depth and on-point answers and am certainly happy to help you read any charts that you simply cannot translate from racetrack gibberish. Go Eventing and go gallop a former racehorse.

From Yvette:

Tips for Eventers Living in Itty-Bitty Apartments in the City:  The Personal Style Edition

 Trying out my new “fashion statement” at Breckenridge…I’ll be honest – visibility is a challenge, but people do take notice!

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Hey there, Eventing Nation!  Since I’m still on my whirlwind tour of Colorado – first stop being the United States Pony Clubs’ Annual Meeting and Equine Symposium in the Denver suburb of Westminster, and currently hanging slope-side at the Breckenridge ski resort – my column would probably be more appropriately referred to as “Tips for eventers sharing itty-bitty hotel rooms.” Although the packing, schlepping, repacking, and schlepping has been a bit tiring, it has been awesome to see so many friends, experience some phenomenal weather while my home city was freezing it’s booty off, and revisit skiing – a hobby I haven’t been able to fit into my budget since I returned to riding and competing – and yet another great use of my helmet cam!

Anyway…my first day back on the slopes had me considering some of the similarities and differences between skiing and eventing.  For instance, the majority of skiers and snowboarders seem to recognize the risks of their sport and are now wearing helmets (I’m still waiting for the medical armbands to take off, though).  And like eventers on cross country day, skiers definitely like to display personal style through colorful attire and wicked awesome designs on skis and snowboards.  Just as a rainbow-striped mohawk knit hat can make a skier stand out on the slopes, an eventer’s colors can make them instantly recognizable…which kind of leads me to this week’s tip…

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Tip for Eventers Living in Itty-Bitty Apartments in the City #26: 

Some eventers (myself included) get really into their colors. I mean, if you’re going to go out and gallop around your medical information strapped to your arm, you might as well LOOK good! Anyway, depending on the location of your itty-bitty apartment within the city, you might want to show some restraint in wearing your colors when unmounted, as you might be mistaken as a gang member.  And we all know that only Thoroughbreds look good with lip tattoos…

Leslie Law and Blue Stockings had a clear round in show jumping at Preliminary level at Rocking Horse this past weekend, where they finished in a tie for third with Bonner Carpenter and Basco.  Have a video to share with EN?  Send it to [email protected]!

-[Full Results]

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Sir Mark Todd was in the states this past weekend to teach a clinic at Holly Hill in Louisiana.  Many thanks to EN reader Brooke Schafer for sharing these photos with us!

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Mark Todd looking on to Sydney Conley-Elliott riding Pancho Villa

From Brooke:

This weekend, Holly Hill Farm in Benton LA hosted a 2 day clinic with Sir Mark Todd. Two of the farm’s own, Sydney Conley-Elliott of Elliott Eventing and Julie Norman will be moving up to Advanced with their horses this spring.

The clinic was very informational. Mark was very quiet and didn’t say much but what he did say was important. He was big on position and having the correct position throughout exercises. His show jumping exercises were really good. Julie Norman said that Mark worked with her and her horse Consensus specifically on teaching her horse to figure out the distances for himself and for her not to help him so much to every fence. Mark pushed a lot of riders to jump past their current level of competition and comfort but all seemed to walk away with a new confidence and excitement for the spring season. Sydney Conley-Elliott and Julie Normal will be traveling to Florida next week to put their new skill sets to the test.

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Julie Norman on her chestnut gelding Consensus

Eventing Nation contributor Jacky Green writes a blog for Keyflow.co, and in her latest installment she hilariously previews the upcoming British Eventing competition season.  Her prediction: after all the rain of last year wreaking havoc with cancellations, it will not rain a drop this summer.  Enjoy this quick and entertaining read: Eventing, 2013 Through A Crystal Ball.

An excerpt:

August Scorcher

The festival of British Eventing is abandoned due to Health and Safety officials declaring that riders could be in danger if they fall off due to fainting in the heat.  The Australians protest but lose out as the committee notes that none of them have competed in the Aussie heat since 1993.  Aston Le Walls (14) runs as Nigel Taylor has diverted most of the Thames onto his grounds with the aid of a JCB and some handy pipe work.

Camphire in Ireland is abandoned, as it has not had a single dry day since March 2012.

September and an Indian Summer

Mark Todd wins Burghley and says that the experience of riding at Lexington in 1976 gave him the edge over the younger competitors.  Andrew Nicholson’s dressage is delayed on the Friday afternoon as the ground jury says some drizzle has been forecast for 4pm.  It turns out that the drizzle was the haze surrounding the washbay in the stableyard and still the heat continues.

 

Read Jacky’s  full blog post here.

Buck and Ballynoe Castle RM (shown here at Richland Park) returned to their winning ways at Rocking Horse.  Photo by Samantha Clark.

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The intermediate divisions have already finished at Rocking Horse.  Buck Davidson has simply dominated the leaderboard in both OI divisions, finishing first and second in both OI-A and OI-B.  Australian newcomer and Canadian coach Clayton Fredericks finished fourth with Walterstown Don, after leading the dressage he added a rail and four time penalties on cross-country.  Many entries in OI-A had a few time faults, but at this time of year that’s to be expected– most upper level horses are just knocking the rust off and getting warmed up for later in the season, and riders won’t be pushing them too hard at this point in the year.

[LIVE SCORES]

OI-A

1.  Buck Davidson – Ballynoe Castle RM

2.  Buck Davidson – The Apprentice

3.  Andrea Leatherman – Mystic My

4.  Clayton Fredericks – Walterstown Don

5.  Buck Davidson – Park Trader

OI-B

1.  Buck Davidson – No More Rocks

2.  Buck Davidson – D. A. Adirmo

3.  Jonathan Holling – DHI Zatopek B

4.  Leslie Law – Billy Wiz

5.  Jonathan Holling – Proper Timing

IR

1.  Rowdie Adams – No Money Down

2.  Sable Giesler – Evil Munchkin

3.  Tiffany Cooke – Patent Pending

4.  Alexander O’Neal – Corinthian Spirit

5.  Jeanie Clarke – Figjam

A few training divisions have also completed.  Here are some results:

OT-A

1.  Robin Walker – Canadian Exchange

2.  Matt Flynn – Chopard

3,  Ralph Holstein – Quality Street

4.  Lauren Kieffer – Landmark’s Monaco

5.  Bonner Carpenter – All Inclusive

OT-B

1.  Lauren Kieffer – Meadowbrooks Scarlett

2.  Colleen McBride – My Mexico

3.  Robin Bass – Magic Drummer

4.  Lauren Kieffer – Vermiculus

5.  Matt Flynn – Dr. Drumiller

EN reader Mary Smithing kindly send us a brief write-up from a clinic with Stephen Bradley on January 12-13 at Playland Farm.  Many thanks to Mary for writing, and thank you for reading.  If you have a clinic report to share, send it to [email protected].

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From Mary:

Stephen Bradley Clinic 1/12/13 – 1/13/13  at Playland Farm LLC

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Maya on PL Queenie

On January 12th and 13th, Playland Farm LLC and Mythic Landing Enterprises hosted a Stephen Bradley Clinic at Playland Farm. We couldn’t have asked for a better weekend to have the clinic since temperatures stayed well above 50 degrees on both days.

On day one Stephen had three grid lines set up that the riders work through in their lesson. The first line he used was a trot in cross rail one stride to a bounce, one stride to a vertical, and one stride to a parallel oxer. Stephen started them gradually over the line during warm up only going over the cross rail and then building on jumps to the grid line.

Day One grid

The next line Stephen had riders go over was a vertical five stride to a parallel oxer. For this exercise Stephen wanted the riders to keep there horse more collected through the line and get in six strides instead of five. He wanted the riders to get a better feel of a more collected canter rather than a longer canter because as eventers we need to be able to make our horses do both.

Another point Stephen made was “don’t assume anything, gotta make it happen” because as riders we need to commit and not be indecisive in our riding.

The last line riders went through was a double bounce, three stride, to another double bounce. This grid was to help riders maintain a good canter rhythm. The horses couldn’t rush through the grid and had to stay collected.

The second day of the clinic Stephen had set up a course with lines, turns, and bounces so riders could work on how to maneuver a technical stadium course. Stephen went on the explain that stadium and cross country are becoming more technical and as riders we need to be able to keep our horses in a very rhythmic and steady canter. He also stressed the need for riders to land on the correct lead because this makes riding a technical course easier.

Day Two Course

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Stephen also pointed out that jumping is not dressage and we need to not micro manage our horses so much. Stephen then went on to say that horses have to be allowed to make mistakes in schooling so that they can learn because in reality “they don’t like to make mistakes” and they won’t do it again.

Stephen had riders warm up over a cross rail that was set at an angle. For every jump Stephen wanted riders to work on coming off on the correct lead, but if the horse didn’t that riders should keep the horse in the wrong lead to practice holding your horse in a lead.

After warming up Stephen had riders canter an oxer off the left lead and make sure they landed on the right lead. Once they completed this Stephen started having the riders go around the course. The course had tight turns and roll backs so riders could practice how to navigate a technical course while maintaining a steady, rhythmic canter.

Livia on her mare Sunny

Everything was going great in this helmet cam video…until it wasn’t.  Horse and rider appeared to have an excellent day, schooling banks and combinations with ease.  But the keyhole brush caused a bit of a problem; from the video’s explanation:

So Pigeon and I headed back up to Washbrook Farm for a lesson with Nigel Taylor over the weekend (Aston le Walls, Daventry, 05.06.12). Really great experience that I would recommend to all regardless of what level you compete or ride at. Pigeon was her usual amazing self – she jumped everything first time and really showed her boldness and agility over some pretty big and technical obstacles! There were issues with the owl hole… She jumped it first time but dropped her right shoulder on landing (and I came off). She then refused to jump the fence again (I came off a second, and nearly a third, time). At that point I had to admit to having lost my nerve with it so we sensibly decided to leave that one for another day. It was only afterwards that I discovered Pigeon had scraped a chunk off skin off her belly jumping it the first time – no wonder she landed oddly and was so reluctant to jump the owl hole again! So many lessons learnt in such a short time… Uppermost I think is, ‘do not get ahead of your horse!’ 🙂

 

I think we’ve all been there– having a lovely round, until suddenly you’re on the ground looking up at the horse wondering what the hell happened.  And further instilling the ever-important xc lesson: Do not jump up the neck!

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I can’t thank Shannon Lilley enough for bringing all of us around Eventing Nation right into the California training sessions.  In this post Shannon recaps the final day of David O’Connor’s first training session as US coach.  Click here to read Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3.  Thanks again Shannon and thank you for reading.

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Photo via  Two Point Photography

From Shannon:

Yesterday was the final day of the Eventing 25 and national list riders on the West Coast.  Everyone walked away from the session filled with excitement about David O’Connor’s new program.  The whole approach is evident as Coach O’Connor is teaching all the aspects of the sport from horse management, to media relations, of course the riding, and also how to conduct oneself in society.  No detail goes left unnoticed.  I was watching one lesson, while the three in the lesson were going around, Coach was watching the three other students who were supposed to be watching like a hawk.  The three were giggling and chatting away.  I could tell Coach was stowing that detail away in the back of his brain.  These details go back to the question he asked on the very first day, “Why are you here?”

Yesterday the groups did many cross country exercises in the arena, working on galloping position, preparation position and what positions are needed for different types of jumps.  As we have come to expect, Coach’s articulation was very precise making it easy for the riders to execute.  O’Connor used his iPad to video one rider’s galloping position and then used Dartfish to demonstrate where the rider’s position should be versus where it was in actuality.   It is a great visual tool that can be addressed in the ring rather than after the fact.  Each of the Eventing 25 riders made such improvements from start to finish of the lessons and especially over the course of four days, leaving them very energized about continuing the hard work.

That is what it is going to take: hard, disciplined, detailed work day in and day out to be the best. The idea of starting young in athletes is just as important as starting young in horses.  Many of us have always feel compelled to find the right young horses and then develop them the correct way, but have we really paid attention to the young, promising riders?  In every other sport, I assure you, they do from the time the kids start walking, basically.  We need to create depth in this sport, of which we have very little, and not just in horses but in riders as well.  Coach O’Connor believes that we definitely have the talent in this country but lack in discipline.  Start them off young, pass down the knowledge that the older generations passed on to the middle generations and fill in the gaps.  Pony Club used to be prominent as kids grew up in the sport but is not as popular now for many reasons.  However, the curriculum taught in pony club is still crucial for these kids coming up in the sport.  Instead, the responsibility now falls on us as trainers to teach them.

During lunch yesterday, Dr. Jack Snyder DVM gave an incredible lecture on anatomy, soundness, types of injury and clean sport.  He had fantastic diagrams with x-rays to show some of the injuries as well as CT scans.  The visual effect was significant, as many of the younger riders may not have experience with traumatic injury, thus proving the need to be more detail-oriented about checking legs, knowing your horse’s body, paying attention to footing, diet, preventative care, etc – everything Coach O’Connor has been trying to convey for four days.

Overall the theme of training the body and mind in both horses and riders is the key component.  Each rider is going to lack in one area, therefore he or she must identify it, take responsibility for it and then take measures to fix it.  Practicing that each and every day in each and every transition, for example, is the way to get better, to get to the top.  I, for one, am excited to see how the riders in this country start to develop over the next few years.  This program will weed out the ones who do not want to put in the time to get better pretty quick.  There is no time for apathy.