That’s right–you can blame Canada all you want for the fact that this weekend is going to be AWESOME!! Dressage kicks off this morning with the CCI* division at 8 a.m. and the CCI*** division at 10, continuing on Friday with the CC1** and CIC***. The weather people are calling for a high of 70 F with a 40% chance of showers, so pack a raincoat. Other advice: Keep an eye out for Quebec wildlife including but not limited to moose, caribou, black bears, beavers, snow geese, and humpback whales. P.S. If anyone spots a humpback whale, please take a picture and email it to [email protected]–I’ll be keeping a close eye on my inbox all weekend, just in case.
Anyway, John is up there covering all the action, so keep it tuned to EN for all the latest. [Dressage times] [Entry list]
If you’re in the market for a future event horse, a yearling filly out of British eventing supermare Headley Britannia is up for auction. Brittania’s Jewel (Ruby) is owned by Lucinda and Clayton Fredericks. Online bidding has reached £6500 with another six days to run on the auction. Just to review, Brit is one of only two horses in history to have won all three of the world’s top four-star events (Rolex in 2009, Badminton in 2007 and Burghley in 2006). Ruby’s baby-daddy is the trakehner stallion Grafenstolz, who also made history by being the first horse to qualify for the German finals of jumping, dressage, and eventing in the same year. All of which is to say, it’s probably a pretty nice filly. You can place your bid here. [Horse Talk NZ]
The USEA is now accepting nominees to its 2012 Eventing Hall of Fame. Qualifications for nomination: “Those persons and/or equines who have made a difference to the sport of eventing (i.e. Past Presidents, volunteers, riders, founding fathers, course designers, officials, organizers, horses, horse owners, coaches).” Visit the USEA site for full details and criteria. [US Eventing]
Belmont fever is in full-tilt. Yesterday, post positions were released–I’ll Have Another will break from post 11, to the outside of the 12-horse field. The Triple Crown hopeful was also made the 4-5 morning-line favorite. [BloodHorse.com]
The Kiwis aren’t out for blood but rather looking for a solid pre-Olympic outing this weekend at Bramham. The New Zealand contingent includes Mark Todd, Jonathan Padget, Caroline Powell and Andrew Nicholson. [www.stuff.co.nz] Samantha is on the scene to keep us updated all weekend.
Hot on Horse Nation: Abby Gibbon pens a lovely tribute to Jim Ligon; find out how many calories you’re burning at the barn; and, take note eventers, book critic Erin McCabe reviews a training manual that has the words “soft” and “sane” in the title.
Best of the Blogs: How do you gear up for Bromont with a rack full of cracked and bruised ribs? Kristin Schmolze reveals her secrets (hint: they involve ibuprofen and hot showers). [Update from Bromont]
Runner-up: Look! It’s baby Eventing Nation covering Bromont in 2010. Take a trip down memory lane: [Thursday Morning Bromont Reader]
Video: Seriously, keep your horse’s bum turned away from nearby Ferrari’s. As for Ferrari drivers, please try not to drive your Italian sportscar into a crowd of horses. Thanks, Matthew Kiener and Victoria Smith, for the tips!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibGl7eSyLl0
