Become an Eventing Nation BloggerYesterday we brought up British Eventing’s super idea of “Eventing Cinema,” for budding videographers to create an eventing showcase and enter it in a fun contest. Today, Team Wallace emailed us their entry into the contest.
From the crew who gave us the “Road to Bromont,” here is “2012 Bromont Highlights.”
Photo by Eric Swinebroad
Hungary, one of five countries confirmed as official candidates to stage the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in 2018, has withdrawn from the bidding process.The Hungarian capital Budapest had been named as one of the five 2018 bid cities earlier this month, but decided to withdraw their bid as their were two candidates from the same region. Hungary’s immediate neighbor, Austria, is also a candidate and with Budapest dropping out, it might enhance the chances to host the Games in Vienna.The four countries in the running to host the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in 2018 are Rabat (MAR); Bromont (CAN); Vienna (AUT) and Wellington (USA). Bidding teams from the four bid cities will come to FEI Headquarters in Lausanne for a meeting on 11 July.
Mary King jogs at Burghley in front of a crowd. Photo by Samantha Clark.
The Guardian reports that Olympic eventing technical official Hugh Thomas has resigned from his duties, over a disagreement about allowing the general public to attend the eventing horse inspection.
From The Guardian:
Thomas says in his email [to London 2012’s equestrian manager Tim Hadaway]: “I was horrified to hear from you … that Locog [the London Organising Committee] does not intend to admit any of the public to the eventing horse inspections. I truly think this is a disgraceful decision and it particularly upsets me since I, when course designer, technical delegate and then chairman of the FEI Eventing Committee, personally ensured at previous Games, despite the initial wishes of the organisers, that the great tradition within eventing that the inspections are open and transparent should be upheld.
“The public nature of the proceedings is the guarantee of integrity and for enthusiasts a fascinating and integral part of the competition. If this decision is irreversible, I do not wish to be even slightly involved as an official with an organisation that treats the public and indeed the traditions of our sport in this way, so please replace me as a member of the Ad Hoc Committee and cancel my accreditation.”
London organisers say the timing of the inspections meant to have the public attend would over-stretch resources. A Locog spokeswoman said: “Locog regrets the decision of Hugh Thomas to resign as a technical official for the equestrian events in Greenwich Park but we have accepted his resignation. Operationally there were a number of factors which meant that we were not able to ticket the horse inspection event.
“The horse inspection happens on the day of London’s Olympic opening ceremony and the final day of the torch relay so there is a lot of Olympic activity in the capital and a big demand on police resources and public transport. An operational decision was taken not to open this to the public for these reasons.”
Many thanks to Jacky Green of Maizey Manor Farm for sending us an update from across the pond. Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carneville seem to be enjoying their time at Maizey Manor, and have put their dancing shoes on to go to a schooling dressage show (earning 70%). Thanks for writing, Jacky, and thank you for reading.
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From Jacky:
Speed Dating Dressage…..
Sinead Halpin and Tate have fitted in seamlessly to Maizey Manor Farm and despite the disappearance of megagroom Meg who has absconded back to the US for her sister’s wedding we managed to get Tate to a dressage competition all on our own. Tricky business that packing the truck with a saddle and a bridle but we managed ok. Tate then proceeded to impress top dressage judge Lady Inchcape for a 70% in the 4 star Olympic test and if anyone watching the video thinks we could not be bothered to plait they are a) right and b) its technically unaffiliated so no one does! A good trend to set me thinks, far too much plaiting in eventing as it is.
For most of the guys there yesterday it was their first competition ride through the four star Olympic test and at 4 and a half minutes it’s a whopping 3 and a half minutes shorter than the one and two star tests! Two ways of looking at this, less time to mess up and less time to impress the judges! Its like speed dating dressage….
Much excitement that the rest of the US crew have moved into the luxurious surroundings of Eddie Stibbe’s Lavender Hill base although so far we have only caught up with Will Faudree who came straight to Maizey Manor from the plane. Whether his sat nav was still set to “last destination” in England or he really did want to come and say hi is questionable but it was good to see him and catch up with all the news and he did tell us that since he is personally responsible for Missy until Nat VC arrives on Sunday he was a little nervous but he had been sent with two trunks, one of which clearly stated “not to be touched until Nat’s arrival” so its good to know Nat still wears the trousers at Gavlin Farm.
Rumour has it that the US team goes to Barbury on Tuesday which is a little odd as even the Irish, the odd Scot and the occasional Frog do not rock up until Thursday. On the plus side since we have stuck Sinead on every spare young horse we have in the generous gesture of not letting her succumb to “one horse madness” we might be able to pull in a couple of breakers for Boyd and Phillip to play with whilst they are stabled over the hill!
The video quality isn’t the best, but what these girls can do is amazing. I think I may have unintentionally performed one or two of these movements, but certainly not with their grace and style!
Owner Denise Lahey kindly sent us an email with lots of photos of Thomas and Boyd at Luhmuhlen. Thanks, Denise, and we wish you and Thomas all the best!
From Denise:
My husband and I own Ying Yang Yo with Boyd and he is coming home to our farm and I am going to compete him at the lower levels. I saw the article on Eventing Nation about Ying Yang Yo’s retirement and thought that you might want some pictures of Thomas for everyone to see him at his last 4* event. He looked incredible! I have attached some pictures for you.
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Pam Eckelbarger of HoofPix Photography has posted a slideshow of Boyd and Ying Yang Yo on the homepage of her site. [See here.]
Jacky Green, of the famous Maizey Manor, penned a great piece about Olympic hopefuls that was originally published on the KeyFlow website on June 11. With permission, we are happy to publish it here and share Jacky’s insights to the upcoming Games and its eventing candidates. Thanks to Jacky for writing, and to KeyFlow for sharing it with us.
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Andrew Nicholson at Rolex, photo by Heather McGreer
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Originally published June 11, by Jacky Green:
With just 6 weeks to go until Greenwich becomes the focus of lifelong hopes and dreams, the eventing world is poised and ready to showcase the talent and the partnership between horse and rider that make it such a special sport. The normal ups and downs of eventing are magnified in the build up to the Games, a bruised foot and a withdrawal from a one day would normally be an inconvenience, but when you are trying to follow a strict game-plan that has already been severely disrupted by the British weather, it becomes an absolute nightmare scenario.
So many different combinations and so many different strategies come together. Riders like Andrew Nicholson and William Fox-Pitt have guaranteed team spots, a choice of top class horses and the relative luxury of not having to chase points and prizes to impress selectors but, also have the extreme pressure to do well for their nations. They also, by nature of their large strings of horses, are more likely to get injured themselves. Not that Mr Nicholson has ever let this bother him in the past; at the last Games in Beijing he sent Lord Killinghurst off on a plane, then rode seven horses around Gatcombe Championships including one “Mustjump” Impala who had a distinctly dodgy cross country record with previous rider Ruth Edge!
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The British Assemble their “Dream Team”
The Brits have their dream team in place after Bramham. William Fox-Pitt, Piggy French, Zara Phillips, Mary King and Tina Cook. Perhaps the surprise is that William is only listed with Lionheart (and not Burghley and Rolex winner Parklane Hawk) whilst Piggy is listed with Jakarta and the more inexperienced DHI Topper. Nicola Wilson was bound to be surprised by her omission but the selectors have access to far more information than we do…. Much fancied Laura Collet crashed out of contention in Saumur and crowd favorite Pippa Funnell has had a unfortunate run of niggling injuries and bad luck that have left her ruled her out this time.
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Composed Kiwis Set to Fly
The Kiwi’s have had a very structured campaign since the world equestrian games.
They began by shifting their entire elite squad to the UK and since then have had numerous training days with showjumping coach Luis Alvarez and dressage test riding with such 5 star luminaries as Stephen Clarke and Isobel Wessels. Bramham was very nearly a kiwi whitewash and with Nereo and Lenamore and Avebury in the top 5 they have a strong hand.
All their squad riders have now become familiar faces on the one day circuit as well as at the big Internationals.
Aussies are full of Bounce
The Australians have always had a double-sided approach to team selection – they have riders based permanently here in the UK and then they have riders like Shane Rose and Stuart Tinney who have rarely left Australia to gain selection. Shane did once re route from Aachen WEG in 2006 for a very successful 3rd place at Burghley with All Luck. So far Stuart’s forays into the UK scene however, have not been as successful as much as dramatic, such as his exit from the lake at Badminton which involved a fence into the crowd, a disabled gentleman in a wheel chair and some serious steering issues.
Melbourne is the Aussie based riders final selection trial whilst the UK based riders who were frustrated by the cancellation of Badminton and Chatsworth headed to Bramham and Luhmuhlen to catch the right eyes. Chris Burton is on a winning roll and Sam Griffiths did himself no harm at Bramham either although his 3 rails on Happy Times could be a worry…..
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Canadians Could be Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing
The Canadians have also been preparing since their great performance at WEG and have been shipping combinations over to the UK for Badmintons and Burghleys ever since. They had their final selection trial at Bromont in Canada which was something of a disaster and means their team is mostly what’s left and includes Jessica Phoenix who is currently having her collar bone operated on and another rider who had a run out on her good horse and eliminated on her 2 star horse for error of course! Its going to be a tough call to get a medal me thinks..
Due to Canada’s budget constraints running Barbury CIC*** as a final trial is not an option as it would involve 3 extra weeks away and about $25,000 more to fund. This sees them heading for Gatcombe as a final trial and a tonne more pressure for the squad who are thousands of miles from home and in a new base with their precious horses. Most of them are now familiar faces at Catherine Burrell’s Maizey Manor Farm in Wiltshire, which should at least make the job a bit easier. Chef d’Equippe Graham Thom is always adept at keeping everyone on track and happy plus, with a coach like David O’Connor, there’s no shortage of advice and experience.
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Bettina returns to Luhmuhlen
The German’s tend to keep themselves to themselves but with the man who wins almost every event he enters Michael Jung leading the pack, they have a strong chance of success.
Bettina Hoy is on the B list and has based in the UK this spring to give herself the best chance with Lanfranco. Unfortunately they have been thwarted by prepping for Badminton and Chatsworth for no runs and then a corn that meant no start at Houghton – so now it’s a return to her homeland and a new plan for Lanfranco who looks sure to miss out on London as she is only taking young horse Designer to Luhmuhlen for the CIC***.
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USA Ooze Class
The USA have their entire squad based in America but most are familiar with the UK scene having made many a raid on the 4 stars here. They have also orchestrated a rider raid on Australia and have snapped up cross country legends Phillip Dutton and Boyd Martin from the Southern hemisphere. This is a huge boost to team USA and a huge loss to Australia – those two boys could ride a donkey around Greenwich and still pull off a prize.
The 11 that have been named on the list are flying to the UK next week (although Tiana Coudray has been here for a year already) and it did come as a surprise to many that Will Faudree was left off the squad when he was 2nd and 4th at the final trial and yet Marilyn Little-Meredith who only did dressage is in ahead of him. [Ed note: MLM has since withdrawn Rovano Rex, replaced by Will Faudree and Andromaque] As expected Dutton and Martin have 4 horses on the plane but surprise additions like Alison Springer who, to much astonishment, rode the spooky Arthur clear across country at Rolex are going to be under allot of pressure at Barbury. Always up there after dressage Arthur has been running all over Europe with the result mostly being crushing disappointment – but when he’s good he’s good enough for 2nd at Rolex…
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The Irish are Fighting Fit
The Irish have been so busy chasing FEI points in order to qualify individuals it is amazing that they have any horses left to run in London. They have four spots now with a fifth looking just possible – they need a fair bit of luck to get it.
Camilla Speirs has almost single handedly earnt more points than buying a TV with a Tesco Clubcard and Sam Watson has Bushman on great form.
Esib Power, Mark Kyle, Geoff Curran and Aoife Clarke battled it out at Tatterstalls last weekend and since they all went well there seems even more for the selectors to think about. With the Irish filling 8 of the top 10 slots it really would not have made matters any easier for Ginny Elliot apart from Portesize Just a Jiff who with yet another win must have secured Camilla’s spot for sure.
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Come-on Jamaica
And then there are those like Jamaica’s Sam Albert who qualified through FEI points and placing’s, a system so complicated that Steven Hawkings would struggle to understand it. Personally, I was lost when I read somewhere it’s the Northern American spot but, there I was thinking that Jamaica was much further South! Anyway, having got the slot she then just had to get a qualifying score at CCI and CIC***.
Horse A then gets injured and Horse B is not up to the challenge so she leases Horse C and heads off to Ireland in February her first run on him which, just happens to be a CCI*** ! Hats off for guts and bravery, with no team support, no funding and no team structure to follow, just good old-fashioned seat of the pants stuff. Now having attained the CIC*** score (if you think that is odd after the CCI*** score then you are not alone) she is assured of a place. That is if Sam and her horse is sound. Only another 6 weeks to keep him and her safe, no worries then!
So with 6 weeks to go there are really very many roads that lead to London, some on the team superhighway and some on those back lanes that have twisty turns but, they will all front up at the end of July by one route or another.
-JG
Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master were officially named to the Canadian Olympic Team just after Bromont two weeks ago. The Canadian Team will train in Virginia with coach David O’Connor before flying to England on July 9. We have followed Rebecca for much of the spring, and can’t wait to see her in London. Catching up with Rebecca today, she tells us about her family visit and why BC became such a hot spot for upcoming eventers. Thanks for writing, Rebecca, and thank you for reading.
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37 days…. The countdown clock on my website says. Those 39 days till opening ceremonies are going to go by really fast. I am recently back to the USA after my longest stint in Canada I have had in … I don’t know how long. Starting with Bromont, then some teaching in BC, and ending with awesome family time at my parents’ home in Salmon Arm.
Bromont was a mixed bag of experiences. While it certainly was not a perfect completion for us…we certainly came away with clear direction as to what my focus needs to be in these weeks leading up to the Games … some good stuff to “think about!” The visit home was also quite the trip down memory lane. I taught and spoke at the Kelowna Riding club, a venue that I regularly competed at as a kid. There I found Joni Lynn Peters, along with her parents (Jacque & Bob Peters)….all of whom played a key role in my riding career. It was Joni who – as my first high performance coach– opened my eyes to the pursuit of excellence in eventing.. Today she applies the same set of values to dressage…look for her at the WEG’s in 2014!
I then taught some xc lessons at Top Line stables (formally Newels Riding stables) which is across the street from my family home and the place I started and grew up. The most nostalgic of visits was a dinner gathering at Chase Creek with the Holmes-Smith Family and the week’s crop of clinic campers. I was a working student for Canadian Olympian/Pan American Gold Medalist Nick Holmes-Smith for 3 years living with the finest of forestry tents & outhouses on his farm. I learned so much from Nick and it was fun seeing him, his wife Ali and with their own three event crazy girls. I was also able to inspect and remember the jumps that I built there as a working student… such a long time ago!
I get asked a lot why the strong representation for British Columbia kids now on the Canadian Team. While I was a young rider, BC was at its height of eventing activity. Events were plentiful and coaches the like of Nick, Joni Lynn, and Robin Hahn were all returning home from “out east” and setting up shop in BC. For me it was all about these international mentors, good instruction, and the abundance of events and camps that BC provided its developing eventers. The number of horses I rode and the number of jumps I jumped under Nick’s expert eye was invaluable. BC also provided the wisdom, push, and example for venturing out to the larger eventing world. So it was in 2001 that I packed up my horse trailer and together with Hawley Bennett drove across the country in pursuit of more learning, more competition, and let’s face it… the Olympic Games!
I am feeling rather energized by the family time and hometown support; other than the fact that I cannot really walk or lift my hands over my head due to my brother-in- law and fitness guru “tweaking” my fitness program.
In the meantime, as soon as my arms once again reach the steering wheel….. and having analyzed Bromont and the season thus far -every which way in my head – I am keen to be Virginia bound. Time to get the pre party – to the training party…for the big party…started. Last, but not least, I want to give a thanks to my sponsors Arenus, Ecogold, EquineLite Mats, FITS, Five Star Tack, Haygain, Hit Air, Omega Alpha, RevitaVet, and Stack House Saddles.
Abby linked to the Seattle Times story in the News & Notes last night, which stated that the cause of event rider Amy Tryon’s tragic death in April was an accidental drug overdose. Toxicology tests showed that present in her system at the time of her death were Oxycodone (a prescription painkiller), diphenhydramine (an ingredient in over-the-counter cold and allergy medications), and several benzodiazepines: Alprazolam, Diazepam, Lorazepam and Temazepam (used to treat insomina or anxiety). The mixture of these medications is dangerous; it wasn’t the amount, but the combination of drugs that was lethal.
The Chronicle of the Horse posted the story this morning and recently updated their story to include quotes from Amy’s husband, Greg. From The Chronicle:
“She had her jaw dislocated on the Sunday before her death by a horse,” said her husband, Greg. “She’d had surgery to have both joints put back in on Tuesday. She took way too many of her muscle relaxants, plus the pain medication that she was on for the jaw, and apparently some other stuff as well. You couple all that together, and it’s a lethal combination. She was taking it as her management of the pain from the jaw. She wasn’t on that prior to that event. According to the medical examiner, it wasn’t the amount that was in her system, it was the different types. It was a poor choice on her part, and it had disastrous effects.
“She was tough; she was obstinate. She gave her all in everything she did. That was to her benefit and her downfall,” Greg continued.
He said Amy was feeling very positive before her death with two promising young horses in the barn and an enthusiastic barn staff who made the barn a fun place to work.
“Some friends in the horse world from both sides of the Atlantic were going to go to Africa on a safari with horses. When she came home from California the week before she was non-stop chatting about wanting to go on this safari. Those are the things we were planning,” said Greg. “She wasn’t a super hero. But she was an amazing person who had her faults and had her strengths like all of us. She just wanted to try and see if she could do it.“
EN would like to express our heartfelt condolences to Amy’s family and friends. This was a horrible tragedy, and we offer our sympathies and prayers to her loved ones during this difficult time. I have lost several members of my extended family due to prescription drug overdose, and it is a very real problem affecting people of all walks of life. I hope we do not judge Amy by her unfortunate end, but that we may remember her as she lived, representing Team USA at the very top of eventing.
Photo by Eric Swinebroad
Fitness isn’t only about sweaty, “Eye of the Tiger”-themed training montages (or whatever the equivalent of that is for you and your horse). Being mentally fit is important, too. Biz Stamm explains.
From Biz:
Hey there, Horse Nation. So as I mentioned last week, my first horse of the year is just a couple weeks away. I’ve been practicing my dressage tests, conditioning my horse, and conditioning myself. Physically, the two of us are ready, but mentally I’m not sure if I’m prepared. Even though I’ve been riding forever and doing the whole horse show thing since I was 9, I’m yet to conquer my horse show nerves. I know some nerves are normal, but if they get out of hand, they can affect the way I ride. The surefire way to tell if my nerves have gotten the better of me is to look at my elbows. When I get really nervous I have a tendency to lock my elbows, which usually invokes a resounding “screw you!” from my horse.
Tonto the wonder pony successfully packed me around many horse shows despite my nerves.
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My current mount, Kalvin, is quick to respond to any aspect of my riding he may interpret as annoying, so before our first horse show together I’m going to explore some techniques to attempt to finally tame my nerves.
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Harnessing fear
It’s been awhile since I’ve done any kind of substantial showing (6 years!) and I’ve learned a lot between then and now. In my other life as a graduate student, and now as a biology instructor, I’ve had to deal with my fear of speaking in front of large groups of people. I still get really nervous when I think about standing at the front of a seminar hall, being judged by my peers, but I’ve managed to nail a couple of my talks and as a result have new perspective on my fear.
Being nervous, whether it be before a big horse show or a big seminar, is completely normal. On top of that, fear harnessed correctly can actually improve your performance. I’ve noticed that the more nervous I am about giving a seminar, the better I perform. The great thing about fear is that is can be very motivating. So if you use your fear to motivate you to prepare for whatever big event that’s making you nervous, you will be that much more ready to put in a stellar performance when the time comes. So next time you think “Oh $h!t! I have a big show coming up,” follow that thought with “I better go practice!”
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Visualization: because even reality is somewhat in your mind
You can only physically practice so much before you completely exhaust yourself and your horse, but that doesn’t mean you can’t mentally train as well. One technique I’ve been toying with (somewhat successfully) these days is visualizing my ride when everything goes right. The important aspect of this technique is to visualize every detail of your ride. For example, when I visualize riding the perfect corner (The dressage kind. Not the cross-country kind.) here is what goes through my head.
“As I approach F I push my horse into my outside rein with my inside leg, sit up and back, and contract my abdominals to half halt. Following the half halt, I slightly open outside rein, and point my inside hand towards my outside hip without crossing the withers. With my inside leg I ask for more bend to fill up the space I’ve made with my now slightly open outside rein. Going into the corner, I weight my outside seat bone, and bring my outside shoulder slightly back. Coming out of the corner I straighten my hands, shoulders, and even the weight in my seat bones. I simultaneously add leg to maintain (or sometimes increase) the level of energy in my horse’s gait”
This is what should go through my head every time I ride a corner, and by practicing this thought process even when I’m not riding I can create some mental muscle memory. Hopefully in a moment of mental panic, I’ll be able to focus on the process I’ve practiced and ride effectively.
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Put things into perspective
Let’s be honest, folks. This is a horse show. Not a matter of life and death (unless you’re one of those crazy eventers). I once had an instructor ask me before entering the show ring “Biz, in the grand scheme of your life, how much will these next five minutes actually matter?” Chances are if you ask yourself this same question the next time you head into the show ring, the honest answer will be “not much.” It’s most likely that after a day of either celebrating success or mourning your failure, life will return to state very similar to what it was before the show.
Lastly, it’s important to remember that we do this because we think it’s fun. So relax. Have fun, and maybe kick some a$$ in the process.
Go riding!
This was announced over a month ago, but the first videos are trickling in and it’s looking quite exciting. British Eventing are offering budding film makers the chance to submit their Eventing footage as part of an online competition: ‘Eventing Cinema.’
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The winning entry is that which best captures the spirit, adrenaline and horsemanship of the sport of Eventing.
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This is a celebration of the sport and as such, film-makers are invited to submit films from any Eventing competition around the world. WIN the chance to have your film shown on the big screens at Land Rover Burghley this September PLUS £1000.00 in photography or filming equipment.
Here’s one of the first submitted entries… I’m impressed!
-Meg
Secretariat awarded Preakness record time 39 years later, marking the first time in history a dead horse has beaten another dead horse.
— The Fake ESPN (@TheFakeESPN) June 19, 2012
Nearly 40 years after his Triple Crown victory, Secretariat is still making a mark in the record books. He already holds the fastest time for the Kentucky Derby (1:59 2/5) and the Belmont (2:24), but his Preakness Stakes time has been debated since that day in 1973. Tuesday, the Maryland Racing Commission officially revised Secretariat’s winning time from 1:54 2/5 to 1:53, a new stakes record.
The Pimlico course record at the time was the 1:54 established by Canonero II in winning the 1971 Preakness. Later, Tank’s Prospect (1985), Louis Quatorze (1996), and Curlin (2007) each won the Preakness in 1:53 2/5, the stakes record that was officially recognized until yesterday.
Read more from the ThoroughbredTimes.com.
Since the Canadian Team has already been chosen, this edition of the SmartPak Power Ranking will feature only the US horses still up for selection. Up for your vote are the 11 12 Short List horses set to train in England and compete at the final outing at Barbury Castle. Which 5 pairs would you pick to bring home a gold medal? Remember, the top three scores will count, so you may choose to gamble on two team members who are potentially “high risk/high reward.”
The US Short List, which has arrived in England in style:
Phillip Dutton/Mystery Whisper – Bay warmblood gelding (12) owned by Arden & James Wildasin.
Phillip Dutton/Mighty Nice – Bay ISH gelding (8) owned by R. Bruce Duchossois
Boyd Martin/Neville Bardos – Chestnut TB gelding (13) owned by the Neville Bardos Syndicate
Boyd Martin/Otis Barbotiere – Bay Selle Francais gelding (10) owned by the Otis Barbotiere Syndicate
Boyd Martin/Remington – Dark Bay Hannoverian gelding (16) owned by Densey Juvonen
Sinead Halpin/Manoir de Carneville – Chestnut Selle Francais gelding (12) owned by Sinead Halpin
Karen O’Connor/Mr. Medicott – Chestnut ISH gelding (13) owned by the Mr. Medicott Syndicate
Will Coleman/Twizzel – Bay Westphalian gelding (16) owned by James Wildasin
Tiana Coudray/Ringwood Magister – Gray ISH gelding (11) owned by Tiana Coudray and Jatial Inc.
Allison Springer/Arthur – Chestnut ISH gelding (13) owned by Allison Springer
Clark Montgomery/Loughan Glen -Bay ISH gelding (9) owned by Holly Becker and Kathryn Kraft
Will Faudree/Andromaque – Dark Bay TBx mare (10) owned by Jennifer Mosing
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From recent comments, it appears many readers have already made up their minds who should be on the team. Here on the site, I think we’ve dissected these horses and riders every which way possible, but if you need refreshing on their resumes this may help:
Link to Bromont CIC*** results and commentary
John’s predictions on the short list and rider-by-rider breakdown
RF Rovano Rex withdraws, replaced by Andromaque
Remington was added at the last minute
Vote in the poll below. Choose your top 5 pairs. Go USA!
Eventing Nation is excited to introduce Brianna McHorse to study equine conformation in the event horse. Brianna is conducting this study as part of her thesis research, seeking to quantify “good conformation” within each level of competition in real numbers, and see just how much conformation really affects performance. Brianna will be studying photographs and competition records, as well as horses in the flesh, during this study. She’s looking for willing participants, so if you’d like to help out, read more below!
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Image adapted from USPC Manual of Horsemanship by Brianna McHorse
From Brianna:
Hello Eventing Nation!
I am an EN reader, eventer in Area VII, and undergraduate researcher with the questionable distinction of having the last name “McHorse” (yes, really, I didn’t make it up, I promise). I need your help with my thesis research, and I think you will find it interesting!
Horse people put a lot of value into conformation, for good reason-—after all, the way the horse is put together can’t help but affect the way it moves and whether it stays sound. But we also know that plenty of other factors influence your horse’s performance, including training, temperament, and the sudden appearance of a horse-eating plastic bag in the dressage arena. So just how much does good conformation matter when you’re picking an eventer? And on that note…what exactly what is good conformation?
My mission is to find quantitative answers to these questions. A long, sloping shoulder is good? Okay, great! I want to know just how long and what angle of slope, and I want to know how predictive shoulder angle is of a horse’s success.
That brings us to my study: I’m comparing the relationships of the horse’s limb bones (shoulder, upper leg, cannon, pastern angle, pelvis angle, and all the rest) to its performance in recognized eventing competition. And this is where you can help!
Initial testing for this study just requires conformation photos of horses with at least 5 USEA-recognized competitions on record. I’m looking for horses of all levels, shapes, and sizes, from seasoned BN campaigners to Olympic veterans, ponies to giants, conformation class winners to individuals easily mistaken for a moose with a mane. Have a horse that fits the bill and want to take a few minutes for science? Send me a picture or two of your horse and its USEA competition name or number. My email is [email protected].
The most useful pictures are taken from around the horse’s midline, with the horse as close to square as possible.
My mare McKinna demonstrates an unusable conformation photo (left) and one that, while not the prettiest, is completely functional for my research (right).
For the next stage of data collection I’ll need to actually see horses, so expect to see me this summer painting dots on and photographing event horses in Areas VII and VI. Come say hi!
Katie and Luck Dragon (“Bastian”) just completed their first Beginner Novice at Lost Hounds Horse Trials last weekend. Bastian is a 7 year old Chestnut Thoroughbred gelding standing 16.2. Follow Katie, an Adult Amateur and Para-Equestrian, at her blog Bastian the Wonder Dragon. Thanks for sharing, Katie, and thank you for reading. Send your story or adventure to [email protected].
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From Katie:
Where to begin? At the beginning of course, but that would take too long, so we’ll just start with Friday.
Cindy and I drove up to Erie to walk the XC course. I wasn’t worried about any of them (well that’s a lie, I was worried about fence 8, the green flower box, but it was entirely my worry-it just freaks me out). I walked the course, had a plan and told myself how I was going to gallop every fence and use my legs and whip and rock it. Same thing with Stadium, Stadium had a few oddly set fences, but we had a plan and again, it involved galloping FORWARD!
On Saturday, Cindy and I rolled out of the barn at 6:00 AM, with one very handsome chestnut Thoroughbred tucked in the trailer. We arrive and are right on time as far as getting ready and warmed up. Bastian feels great and we put in a very solid test, I thought the judge was a bit picky, but I’m also of course biased. We came away with a 33 and were sitting in third place.
Unfortunately for me, that was the easy part. I’m totally backwards for eventing because dressage is my strongest phase…lol. My stadium time was at 1:12, I decided I needed to be on at 12:30, I wasn’t sure how to plan my stadium warm-up. Lots of factors going on, what if the warm up was crazy and I couldn’t find my own space. What if I couldn’t get him forward enough? What if…? So I decided that more time was better. I didn’t need it. We came to the warm up and I had him awesome, forward, and kicking those fences’ butts. Now we had about 30 minutes to wait until I actually went in! Lesson learned: shorter warm up time. I go into the warm up with my game face on and get it done, I can’t worry about all the other stuff. There is no other option but to DO IT. We started out okay, then lost it for fence two, fence three was okay, four was horrible, lucky for me taking out the whole fence still only counts as one “rail.” Then it was the moment of truth. I got my $#!% together and rode the rest of the course.
This was a big thing for me (and thank you Kristin for bringing it to my attention in my lesson on Friday) I ride one fence and then I stop. I get so elated by the fact that I got over it and (hopefully) rode mostly well that I just let Bastian stop. Which isn’t good for schooling, but at a show over a course will not work. I have a crappy fence and I shut down and don’t realize that the rest could be okay. But I have to ride and keep riding, one crappy fence doesn’t mean the rest have to be crappy. So I manned up and I got us over fence 5 and took much more control over the rest of the course. See for yourself (video above). Better than Buckeye CT and lots of room for us to improve-but at least there is improvement (and I think we looked super cute at least with the grey jacket and his little braids!).
So we had a rail, but no time penalties; we bumped our score up to 37, but managed to stay in 3rd place, a lot of people were having rails.
XC was scheduled just 1 hour later, at 2:12, so back to trailer where Cindy took care of my awesome little Luck Dragon and I drank some more brandy and got myself dressed for XC.
What to say about XC? Fence one was iffy, but we got over it and took fence two for granted, we lost our pace way far out. Fence three I was lucky he went over, same for four, the bank, then we had another stop at five, this one was a bit dirty, but after four iffy fences, he thought he had figured out what was going on, he’s a quick learner and while he LOVES jumping, he really does need my help and when I don’t do my job I can’t say I blame him for being a bit naughty. But at this point I said enough, I whapped him good and we got over it on the second try and the next five fences were awesome. I galloped him and focused him and myself and he didn’t bat an eye. I’m really hoping that the photographer was at the green flower stand, because that was our fence. I GALLOPED him up to it. As in I had two outcomes for this fence in my mind, one he was going to slam on the brakes and I would take the fence independently of Bastian, and two he was going to take it like an old pro. I was seriously afraid of how fast we were going, but it was our best fence. This was the pace I need. This is what I have to learn. Through the water, over the stone wall (another pretty good fence) then over the log. Then a long gallop to the ditch. I was tired, but we kept going. We trotted the ditch, which he peeked at, but jumped. Then over another little log where I lost my stirrup (and had to stop and it took me a good 20 seconds to get my stirrup back-more time faults) then galloped on to my last fence, didn’t have enough pace, but had enough to get over and we were done.
My initial reaction was a mixture of “about to be sick” and “pissed off.” The stops were my fault, I hadn’t done enough, I made mistakes that should never have happened, dumb simple mistakes that I know better than to make. I have got to get my mind in the game.
Here is the link to my XC video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9fY0Vc2mVk&feature=youtu.be
Upon further reflection I don’t feel as pissed off, am I still disappointed in myself, yes. That’s me. I don’t accept those mistakes in myself and the only option in my world is perfection (see the dressage diva coming out!). But looking at the facts, we did alright. I have not evented in 5 years. My last two events I was eliminated in dressage both times. Bastian has been to one event prior to this, Winona HT, everything at Winona was much quieter and low key. LHPC was the first time we actually galloped a course (and I use the term gallop loosely!), at Winona we trotted the whole thing. There were hardly any people on the course, at LHPC, there were people and chairs and tents and ambulances and OMG all sorts of things for Bastian to look at and look he did, his attention was everywhere for those first five fences until I got us together. We finished the course and believe you me, there were several times when the idea of retiring popped into my head, but I overruled it. I said No, you are here and you are not stopping just because you are a wimp, if you have a good reason, then stop, but you don’t so you had better keep going. And go we did.
I need to be more fit. I was tired and having trouble keeping up my end of the bargain in riding Bastian, he on the other hand was super fit and could have gone out a second time! The fitness thing is frustrating for me because I have to do everything twice as much as a normal person to get even a normal fitness level. Please don’t think I’m whining or pulling an “oh poor me moment,” but you know what, it sucks. So somewhere in my schedule I need to find time to walk more and fit in the SITS DVDs that I have (which are awesome, its just a consistency problem for me- I know, shut up with the whining and just do it….). Another option might be only doing events where it’s divided up over two days, doing all three phases in one day might just be too much for me. Some food for thought for sure.
We ended up in 11th place out of 15 starters with a penalty score of 94.2. Yikes! But we finished and all in all it gave me a lot of good experience and I intend to learn from all of it.
South Farm HT is in two weeks, we’ve always had good rides at South Farm, so I’m looking forward to putting my galloping into practice and getting it done. Wish us luck!
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The British Team reserve list has also been announced, as follows:
EN would like to congratulate Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz on their 16th place finish at Luhmuhlen CCI****. This is now the third four-star they have finished clean on cross-country. Keep up with Colleen and read the latest updates on her site at colleenrutledgeeventing.com. Thank you for writing, Colleen, and thank you for reading.
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Colleen and Luke at the Wednesday jog
From Colleen:
Luke looked amazing today. He has the most amazing metallic sheen to his coat that is just eye-catching. His braids were fabulous, if I do say so myself, and he was BOUNCING! Just my favorite after running a four star. I love it when they announce that he’s been accepted before I reach the end of the strip! Mom took the fire breathing dragon back to his cave so I could watch the rest of jogs with the Woff. This whole event has been an amazing education for me. Just to see so many incredible riders in one place, has increased my knowledge base. I am so fortunate that I have the support and ability to not only visit these wonderful places, but to also compete with my partner in crime.
Show jumping was a bit of a disappointment for me. My horse didn’t pull two rails, I did. I collapsed in my core which made it impossible for him to correct my mistake of not making a decision. He was jumping fantastically over a great course and I wasn’t there enough to help him through two related distances. But what is, is and as long as I’ve learned then we can move on. Unbelievably though, I moved up to 16th! I’ve now been top 16 at two out of three of my four stars! I’m quite tired today, but feeling happy. Thank you again to everyone who has supported me in any way, I really appreciate it!
Now, we are packed and hopefully we start our travels home tomorrow!
–C
Update from Colleen: When I left the show grounds, I was in 15th, but Karin Donkers had logged a protest about her time in SJ. She, while cantering a circle getting ready to begin, ran over one of the jump crew. Totally not her fault, as the guy was talking on the phone and walked in front of her. At the same time, the judges rang the bell to begin, and through the commotion, she didn’t hear the signal. After she saw time was already started, she commenced her course. Obviously, she didn’t deserve to have that extra 25 seconds tacked on her score when she thought she killed some jump crew. Oh well, my pony is still awesome!
Andrew Hoy and Rutherglen sit second at Luhmuhlen (shown at Rolex, photo by Heather McGreer)
Out of the 41 horses who started the CCI**** cross-country at Luhmuhlen, 29 finished. Six retired on course, and six were eliminated. Five went double clear, inside the time. The top 10 after dressage has shuffled a bit; overnight leader Lucinda Fredericks went clean but 9.2 time penalties dropped Flying Finish to 4th. Michael Jung now leads the CCI**** (as well as the CIC***), going double clear with Leopin FST. Andrew Hoy and Rutherglen also added nothing to their score, to move from 4th to 2nd. Oli Townend and new ride Armada round out the top 3.
The pride of the USA, Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz moved up from 37th to 16th after a clear round with 8 time. Go Colleen and Luke!
| Rank | Rider | Horse | Rank after Dressage |
XC | XC | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Rank | Faults | Score | Rank | |||||||||||
| 1. | Michael Jung |  |
Leopin FST | 32,80 | 2. | 0,00 | 32,80 | 1. | |||||||
| 2. | Andrew Hoy |  |
Rutherglen | 34,80 | 4. | 0,00 | 34,80 | 2. | |||||||
| 3. | Oliver Townend |  |
Armada | 39,50 | 6. | 0,00 | 39,50 | 3. | |||||||
| 4. | Lucinda Fredericks | |
Flying Finish | 31,80 | 1. | 9,20 | 41,00 | 4. | |||||||
| 5. | Andrew Nicholson |  |
Calico Joe | 41,70 | 10. | 0,00 | 41,70 | 5. | |||||||
| 6. | Charlotte Agnew | |
Out of Africa Two | 40,80 | 8. | 2,40 | 43,20 | 6. | |||||||
| 7. | Andreas Dibowski | |
FRH Butts Avedon | 35,20 | 5. | 8,00 | 43,20 | 7. | |||||||
| 8. | Oliver Townend | |
ODT Sonas Rovatio | 49,80 | 20. | 0,00 | 49,80 | 8. | |||||||
| 9. | Wendy Schaeffer | |
Koyuna Sun Dancer | 49,50 | 19. | 2,40 | 51,90 | 9. | |||||||
| 10. | Harry Meade | |
Wild Lone | 50,80 | 21. | 1,20 | 52,00 | 10. | |||||||
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| Rank | Rider | Horse | Rank after Dressage |
XC | XC | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Rank | Faults | Score | Rank | |||||||||||
| 1. | Michael Jung | |
Weidezaunprofi’s River of Joy | 27,80 | 1. | 0,00 | 27,80 | 1. | |||||||
| 2. | Frank Ostholt | |
Little Paint | 32,80 | 2. | 2,00 | 34,80 | 2. | |||||||
| 3. | Sara Algotsson-Ostholt |  |
Wega | 34,00 | 3. | 1,60 | 35,60 | 3. | |||||||
| 4. | Ingrid Klimke | |
Tabasco 70 | 36,20 | 5. | 0,00 | 36,20 | 4. | |||||||
| 5. | Michael Jung | |
Halunke FBW | 34,20 | 4. | 4,40 | 38,60 | 5. | |||||||
| 6. | Ingrid Klimke | |
FRH Butts Abraxxas | 38,00 | 7. | 0,80 | 38,80 | 6. | |||||||
| 7. | Niklas Lindbäck | |
Mister Pooh | 37,20 | 6. | 5,20 | 42,40 | 7. | |||||||
| 8. | Dirk Schrade | |
King Artus | 43,00 | 11. | 0,00 | 43,00 | 8. | |||||||
| 9. | Julia Krajewski | |
London-Return OLD | 43,40 | 12. | 2,00 | 45,40 | 9. | |||||||
| 10. | Andreas Ostholt | |
So is et | 44,00 | 14. | 4,40 | 48,40 | 10. | |||||||
American Jules Stiller and Enjoy Me added 40 jump penalties and are currently 33rd in the CIC***.
Shiraz at Burghley CCI****, photo by Nico Morgan
Cross-country is still in progress at Luhmuhlen, but three of the four US rides have completed. There has been some trouble on the course so far, with a couple falls, stops, and runouts throughout.
Julian Stiller added 40 penalties with Enjoy Me in the CIC***; a refusal or runout at 16c and 24b. [CIC*** Results]
Cross-country machine Shiraz and Colleen Rutledge went clear, adding 8 time penalties to their score.
Boyd Martin and Ying Yang Yo were going well, but encountered trouble at 19b and retired. According to @eventingmag, 19a is a big wide barn with a tough right turn to 19b, a skinny brush. It seems to have caught out several riders so far, including Francis Whittington and Easy Target as well.
Chapel Amble and Julian Stiller are set to go in about half an hour (10:09EST). We will update after her ride.
[UPDATE] Unfortunately, Jules suffered a fall at 15a (the second water) on Chapel Amble, resulting in elimination.
