Two weeks ago Samantha Clark reported on Eventing Nation and her blog that Blyth Tait is moving to England and making a comeback. Today, Blyth made his comeback official with an Equestrian NZ press release and said that he is targeting the 2012 Olympics. Blyth explained that he is motivated by Mark Todd’s successful comeback, but he also knows that coming back just two years before the Olympics means setting his goals very high. Blyth retired when he was just 43 years old after one of the most successful eventing careers in history. New Zealand eventing has struggled since Blyth and Mark first retired, but things are looking up for the Kiwis in London. As Blyth said: “The big appeal is the Games being in London. If it was in somewhere difficult like Beijing then it would be so much more of a complicated situation.” Welcome back officially Blyth! [Press Release]
Now for your news and notes:
–The Rolex entries opened on Tuesday. Two names are on the list so far–EN guest blogger Hannah Burnett and Karen O’Connor with Quintus 54. Mandiba, of course, is targeting **Badminton**. I think the Rolex entries might be a bit down this year because a few top US and Canadian horses are either taking it easy this spring or going over to Badminton. Furthermore, most international riders will probably try to get into Badminton to get more experience competing in England. Don’t forget to get your Rolex entry in for just $100. [Rolex entries via RacetrackReject on COTH]
–The PRO Derby Cross in Wellington, FL on Saturday night will be broadcast live online [USEA]
–Speaking of the PRO Derby Cross, at least two riders will have to be replaced. Jennie of course broke her collar bone Tuesday, and, from what I hear, Bruce is still recovering from his jaw injury at Rocking Horse two weeks ago.
–The Aiken training sessions are running all this week at Three Runs Plantation. The schedule has been revised slightly, but the moral of the story is that if you are in Aiken be sure to stop by Three Runs to watch some great lessons. Mark is teaching better this year than he ever has according to what I have seen and a few of the riders I have spoken with. [revised schedule]
–The USEA blog has posted a cool and comprehensive list of USEF High Performance rider blogs and websites. Definitely a great way to kill 45 minutes of your work day. [USEA blog]
Here is a picture from Jennie Brannigan of her very broken collar bone [via Facebook via Dana]
–Jennie will have surgery Friday to repair the broken bone and she told me that she broke it when a young horse just slipped and fell down. Big time EN Karma for Jennie on Friday and I hope it starts to feel better soon.
–As Doug reported in his blog on Monday, Crown Talisman pulled up quite sore in the stifle after Sunday’s XC at Pine Top. On Thursday Doug mentioned that Tali is still very sore but he appears to be feeling better. [Doug’s blog]
–Last summer 6 horses died at the Calgary Stampede, which is exactly as absurd and dangerous as it sounds. Seriously, making an event like the Calgary Stampede is like charging people to watch people jumping out of airplanes without parachutes and calling it the ‘Ontario Smush.’ The changes involve less horses in the chuckwagon races, vet checks of the horses before the race, increased track maintenance, and lots of BS press quotes and empty promises about safety. [Horse and Hound]
–Some barns make you wear your helmet ALL the time [An Eventing Affair]
—Best of the Blogs: The 14 unfortunate geopolitical ramifications of curry combs…
–Honorable mention: Francy Pants and an EN link
–Canada’s Double Paralympic Medalist Lauren Barwick to Star on CBC’s popular Heartland TV show [Equine Canada]
–The Central Scotland Horse Trials, at Perthshire will host a training day on Monday, May 2nd with Belgian coach Eric Smiley [H&H]
My daily news and notes video comes courtesy of the Horse and Hound. Researchers at the Nottingham Trent University have done some fascinating research on where riders look when they are jumping:
One big question about where to look for me is with oxers. Phillip tells me to look at the back rail, David says look at the front rail–personally, I am more comfortable looking at the front rail. I look at the middle rail of triple bars because getting deep is more important. But I think that wherever you tend to look consistency is the key. Several years ago I took a lesson from Jon Holling and he put coins on the rails and made me identify them when I was jumping the rails–the point was to get me focusing on watching the rail. I found the exercise to be very helpful and it taught me how important focusing is to finding the right spot.
That’s all for now. Stay tuned throughout the day for your eventing news and commentary. We have a new contest to introduce soon as well as the winner of our Point Two contest. As always, wherever you may be, thanks for making Eventing Nation part of your day.
