We were super excited to see that Major League Eventing has launched a series of training videos featuring visiting trainers from all three eventing phases. Their first episode features USEA Level III instructor Richard Lamb, who demonstrates one of his favorite jumping exercises: a series of three or four bounces set on a curve. Richard says he uses this scalable exercise for horses and riders of all levels to help improve bend, become more active and learn to use their whole body.

A note from Richard: “I would like to thank Rob Bowersox for inviting me to be the clinician for his first video on his new venture Major League Eventing. We had a great time shooting the footage over two days. And I want to thank Martha Nevins and her husband Michael for hosting me while we shot the video during a clinic I was teaching. Marti also very generously allowed two of her nice young horses to be featured in the video. Marti is riding Spencer, her 5 rising 6 yr-old OTTB who is starting his career as a show jumper. In the second part of the video, I am sitting on her nice young 6-year-old old mare GiGi, by Judgment, a Grand Prix show jumping stallion standing at Iron Springs Farm.”

We can’t wait for the next video!

Be sure to like Big League Eventing on Facebook for all the latest, and follow them on Instagram as well!

Clarke Johnstone (1st), Sonja Johnson (2nd) and Stuart Tinney (3rd). Photo by Julie Wilson and Lauren Roberts, courtesy of the Australian International 3DE.

New Zealand’s Clarke Johnstone and Balmoral Sensation clinched a definitive win in the 2017 Australian International Mitsubishi Motors CCI4*, leading the division from start to finish. In today’s show jumping finale they left nothing to chance, turning in a textbook round.

“I have said this before, he is an amazing horse and I am very lucky to be riding him,” Clarke said of the 13-year-old NZ Warmblood gelding owned by the Johnstone family. “He has been focused all weekend. I always knew he was a great jumper and I am proud of what we have achieved over the last three days. I would like to thank the event organizers for putting on a wonderful event in the beautiful Adelaide Parklands and I hope to come back next year to defend my title.”

Megan Jones and Kirby Park Impress were the only other pair to jump clear around the course, securing them a 2nd place finish. Despite controversy about about a revoked 50-point cross country jump penalty, Stuart Tinney and War Hawk rounded out the top three, moving into the spot vacated by Sonja Johnson and Misty Isle Valentino who were relegated to 5th after dropping three rails.

View CCI4* results here.

Clarke Johnstone and Balmoral Sensation. Photo by Julie Wilson and Lauren Roberts, courtesy of the Australian International 3DE.

The RM Williams CIC3* saw another wire-to-wire win in Christine Bates and Adelaide Hill, who finished on a score of 61. They had a rail in hand heading into show jumping today but didn’t need it, claiming the title ahead of 2nd placed Shane Rose and Swiper and 3rd placed Andrew Cooper and Lagoes Choice.

“Adelaide had some time off eventing, focused on dressage, and I was not sure if he was going to get back into the three phases,” Christine said. “He is a remarkable horse who has the skills and determination to be able to adapt himself to any situation. When we decided to enter the Australian International, we came to win and I knew he had the capability to do so. He had a great dressage, a solid cross country and although he is not the best at jumping, he did an amazing job. I’ve had a great weekend and am delighted to have got the win.”

View CIC3* results here.

Christine Bates and Adelaide Hill. Photo by Julie Wilson and Lauren Roberts, courtesy of the Australian International 3DE.

In the Horseland CCI2*, Emma Mason and Warrego Marco Polo took the title on a final score of 55.3. Show jumping was an influential phase, with only two out of 20 pairs jumping clear and inside the time. Emma had one rail down to switch positions with the leaders going into show jumping, Chelsea Priestly and Skansen Purist, who felled two.

“Marcus and I are a relatively new combination and I am thrilled with how everything came together this weekend,” Emma said. “He is a wonderful horse with a fabulous temperament, and he showcased his potential in front of an energetic crowd. Australia International is a wonderful event and is a pleasure to be a part of.

“After being in 5th place following the dressage, I knew we had to have a strong cross country over a challenging track and to back this up in the jumping. Marcus performed really well and I am proud of the way he managed all the phases, and I am over the moon to get the win.”

View CCI2* results here.

Australian International CCI4* Top 10: 

Australian International 3DE Links: Website, Final Results, FEI TV

The 2028 U.S. Eventing Team is already out there somewhere, and it’s up to us all to nurture their talent and their big dreams. “2028 Olympic Talent Watch” is an (adorable) new series in which we identify junior eventers who are already exhibiting the heart and the guts to lead American eventing to glory in the (distant) future. Any short-stirrup riders you know come to mind? Email us their story at [email protected].

Photo courtesy of Emily Oakes.

You might say that Carsynn Oakes, age 9, was born to ride. Shortly after she was born her [north Texas?] eventer mom Emily would tuck her into her stroller and take her to the barn with me where she would nap and play while Emily rode.

As she got older, being contained to the stroller was too much and Emily would allot her an end of the arena where she’d play in the dirt with dump trucks and shovels until she finished her ride. “She’d often trot, canter, and gallop in circles on her imaginary horses, Buck and Eyeball, or
get into trouble with her imaginary dog, Jumper, and cat, Meow-Meow,” Emily recalls.

By the time she was 3, she’d spend her time in the round pen with Pooka, the Oakes’ now 24-year-old Welsh/Pinto pony. Sweet Pooka soaked up the attention as she led him around, loved on him, or shared her bubbles with him.

Photo courtesy of Emily Oakes.

At the ripe old age of 4, Carsynn become one of the few people Emily trusted to feed her small herd as she knew the amount of feed, hay, and supplements needed for each horse in the barn. Emily recalls a time when she left Carsynn with her grandmother, as she had to go to a parent night for her older son. She was pleasantly surprised to come home and find the stalls clean and the horses happily munching on hay — Carsynn had coached her grandmother through evening chores.

Carsynn helping out around the barn: 

“I also recall my dad’s surprise when, at 3 years old, she schooled him on why we fed beet pulp to my upper level eventer and it why it had to be soaked first. She also shared why he had to be given Cimetidines before each feeding. Dad was a bit flabbergasted that a 3 years old, she could even pronounce those words, much lesss know what they were!”

“Carsynn’s friends and teachers will only ever call her sweet, but at home we see a strong willed, hard-working, driven, perfectionist,” Emily says. “Carsynn has goals! She waited patiently to begin to work towards them while I navigated grad school and the horses rested for a few years. But now that the time has arrived, she not only helps care for her pony and the rest of the herd daily, but hurries to finish homework after school so that we can haul to an evening lesson or clean tack and bathe her itchy pony before a show. She’s the first to jump to help unload feed and never hesitates to lug a bag of bedding to a stall when needed.”

Over the summer, the Oakes family returned from a nine-day vacation to find Carsynn’s pony dehydrated and colicking. Carsynn walked and stood with her pony under the fan in the barn aisle until the vet arrived. Dr. Mary, the vet on call, remembered caring for Pooka two years prior when he colicked in the spring, and shared that Carsynn had left her a letter that thanked them for taking care of her pony while she was at school and prepared them for what her pony Pooka would do, and how upset his much larger buddy Connell would be and that he would likely get in the way and try to help.

“She was right about all of it,” Dr. Mary recalled. After the vet oiled Pooka and gave him fluids, she went to Emily and said “He loves her. He really does.”

Photo courtesy of Emily Oakes.

“And she loves him equally as much,” Emily says. “They seem to know each other inside and out, and as his previous owner said in a post after their first horse trial together, ‘He looks out for her, and she looks out for him.’ Carsynn knows how lucky she is to have him and knows that no matter how wonderful her next pony is, and Cheese and Crackers is truly sweet and wonderful, no pony will ever be like Pooka to her.”

Currently, the Oakes are repainting standards and jump poles, and let Carsynn choose the colors. She insisted upon teal and purple, not only because they are her favorite, but because they honor her grandmother who recently lost her battle with ovarian cancer.

“Grandmommy wanted nothing more than to see her girl ride her pony and loved seeing the confidence that blossomed in Carsynn as soon as she began regular lessons,” Emily says. “I remember Beverly telling me how she held back tears one evening that she and Carsynn came upon a jumper show on TV and enjoyed it together. ‘Someday, you’re going to watch me do that, Grandmommy.’ I hope her colors never change and that she always rides in honor of her Grandmommy.”

Carsynn has had a busy fall, passing her D2 rating with flying colors as a member of Silver Stirrups Pony and preparing to go for her D3 rating in December. This young lady works hard and she is one tough cookie!

Each week in “Let’s Discuss” we open a different topic up for discussion. Have a discussion starter? Email it to [email protected].

This was my solution for getting caught out in the dark the past few nights. Seems to work pretty well with our hi-vis gear to keep us safe. #eventersolutions

A post shared by Kate Drake (@katedrakevt) on Oct 22, 2017 at 5:24pm PDT

Yesterday at around sunset about four cars came careening into the parking lot of the farm where I board my pony, all of us girls with day jobs racing to squeeze in a few minutes of ride time before it got dark. I swear one of them, Kathryn Greenfield, had a leg out the door before her car was even stopped. It was full-on nighttime by the time we got off our horses. Short winter days are bad enough without making them shorter with daylight savings … can we please just keep it “spring forward” year-round?

Which brings us to this week’s “Let’s Discuss” question: How do YOU deal with daylight savings? From rearranging your schedule to DIY solutions to working in the dark (see Kate’s Instagram photo above), let the idea swapping begin in the comments section below!

We’ll be sharing comments from this “Let’s Discuss” thread with the organizers of the Celebration of Women in Peak Performance Equestrian Sports Luncheon, to be held Friday Nov. 17 during the Ocala Jockey Club International Horse Trials.

On the surface, eventing looks like a pretty level playing field: After all, the equestrian disciplines are the only Olympic sport where men and women compete equally (with the exception of one sailing event). But that doesn’t mean it’s all fair play and feminism for us lady riders.

Dig a little deeper and the cracks start to show, especially for female riders trying to make their way into the top of the sport. Why is it that women comprise a disproportionate percentage of lower-level amateur riders, then get stuck somewhere on their upward climb? It requires a incredible level of commitment for women to get to the top and stay there. As Nina Gardner, an owner for Jennie Brannigan, says, “Challenges don’t seem to be related to lack of interest or lack of talent, but at least partially due to challenges in financial and other support for women riders.”

Regardless of whether we’re contesting four-stars or Novice events, many female riders have encountered challenges somewhere along the line due to our gender. Of course, there’s the eternal dilemma of balancing horses with motherhood. There’s that creepy farrier who won’t stop hitting on you, the salesman at the truck dealership who is trying to rip you off because he assumes you have no clue, or the wealthy owner who offers you the ride on their upper-level dream horse … but there’s a catch. Despite the huge strides we’ve made in recent decades (see Amanda Ronan’s excellent “Breaking the Glass Ceiling: The First Ladies of Eventing“) there are still male-heavy power structures, louder-than-thou male voices and other assorted variations on on the patriarchal theme within our sport.

The topic of this week’s Let’s Discuss is “Gender Equality and Eventing.” Want to weigh in? Engage your community in the comments section below.

We’ll be passing your comments from this thread along to the organizers of the Celebration of Women in Peak Performance Equestrian Sports Luncheon, to be held Friday Nov. 17 during the $100,000 Ocala Jockey Club International 3-Day Event. Admission is included in VIP packages, for riders and officials at the event. Separate admission for luncheon only may be purchased for $45/ticket.

The luncheon will be a celebration of those women who have made the journey to the top successfully, as well as a discussion of the current process and support system for women riders to succeed at the highest levels. Come to get inspired and to discuss ideas to do even better! Learn more here.

Photo courtesy of ERA International.

The eventing community has been engaging in a tremendous amount of discourse on the topic of eventing safety of late, and that’s fantastic. We should be talking and listening to one another. But talk, of course, isn’t enough — we must back up our words with action.

And we are. To the credit of national and international governing bodies of our sport as well as dedicated individuals, a massive effort is already in place to improve eventing safety. In this Facebook post shared by Doug Payne, Denis Glaccum outlines some of the studies, programs and procedures that have been implemented both here in the U.S. and beyond.

“During the last five years there has been and continuous to be steps forward in all of these area of concern,” Denis writes.

“I think there is a considerable number of people who might be unaware of the scope and effort put forth by countless people allowing this sport to continue to develop and improve,” Doug writes. “Eventing is the safest it’s been, but continually striving to become safer still.”

Everyone agrees that safety is paramount, and that we must continue that forward momentum because where we’re at right now is not good enough. But are we willing to put our money where our mouth is? Denis considers the collective difference the eventing community “could make by writing out a $10 donation to the USEA earmarked to the various human, equine and course studies all of which are underfunded.”

“Remember,” he says, “you are either part of the problem or part of the solution.”

Can you help? Doug set up a Facebook fundraiser and in less than 24 hours has already raised nearly $1,000 for the USEA. Donate here.

You can also make donations designated for safety projects directly through the USEA here.

Go Eventing.