One of the defining hallmarks of the eventing community has to be the way everyone rallies together when one of our own needs a helping hand. Zach Brandt has been recovering from a badly broken leg since December, and a slew of his fellow event riders have stepped in to help him keep his business going. The EN team continues to send speedy healing wishes to Zach!
National Holiday: National Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day
Sara Kozumplik Murphy shares a gymnastic exercise “that really allows the rider to focus on finessing their aides, while the horse is set up for success with very clear distances between the fences.” [Grid Pro Quo with Sara Kozumplik Murphy]
SmartPak’s SmartCookies Flavor Contest is back! Fill out the form to cast your vote for which flavor you think should join the SmartCookies lineup, which currently includes Guilt-Free Peppermint Pattie, Guilt-Free Carrot Cake and Guilt-Free Banana Bread. [SmartPak’s 2019 SmartCookies Flavor Contest]
If You Read Only One Thing Today:Michael Jung — Is He the Greatest Ever?
Jan Tönjes, editor of Germany’s premier equestrian publication, St Georg, shares fascinating insights into what he believes makes Michael Jung one of the greatest — if not the greatest — event rider of all time.
Humans of Eventing is back for 2019, y’all. Be sure to follow along with the insanity on Facebook. Here’s a sampling:
“I see you and him doing this in forward four strides.”
“I kinda just see him leaving me here and going back to the barns.”
Monday Video: How awesome is it to see 23-year-old Relentless Pursuit looking so fabulous? Kudos to Amanda Gardiner for giving him a super ride at Ocala Winter I Horse Trials over the weekend. Watch more videos from Ocala on Thehorsepesterer YouTube channel.
This edition of Who Jumped It Best? Takes us down to sunny Ocala. Camera in tow, the fabulous Lisa Madren has rounded up many of this weekends top Intermediate finishers.
Vote in the poll at the bottom of the post for which horse and rider you think present the best overall picture.
Justine Dutton and MGH Heartbeat. Photo by Lisa Madren.
If you had any doubts at all, after this weekend we can officially say that the season is fully underway. Heavy hitters took over the many divisions at both Pine Top and Ocala Winter I. We’ve got the scoop!
Justine Dutton won the Intermediate Horse division aboard her MGH Heartbeat in Ocala. Adding just 1.2 time penalties to their dressage score (29.3), they finished on a score of 30.5. Pursuing riding after a life-changing fall, Justine has thoughtfully developed the partnership with this mare, and their result today is a testament to her dedication.
Chris Barnard said it best: “There are many highs and lows with horses and today is definitely one of the highs.”
Hallie Coon and Captain Chacco. Photo by Lisa Madren.
Hallie Coon and Shannon Baker’s Captain Chacco were second on 32-points with 4.8 cross country time penalties. Lauren Lambert and her Fantastique were third (32.1) as one of only two pairs to make the time on cross country.
Liz Halliday-Sharp and The Monster Partnership’s striking grey Cooley Quicksilver wrapped up a wire-to-wire win of the Open Intermediate-A division on their dressage score of 22.9. Liz also won the Advanced combined test with Deniro Z, who is owned by the partnership of the Deniro Z Syndicate and Ocala Horse Properties.
Kylie Lyman and Joan Nichols’ Da Vinci Code bounded into second place (27.1) after achieving a double clear cross country, and Jessica Phoenix was third on a score of 28.5 with Don Good’s Pavarotti.
Kristen Bond and Enough Already. Photo by Lisa Madren.
In the Intermediate-B division, Katherine Rivera earned the win aboard her own Royal Lufttanzer. They finished on their dressage score of 30. Second place went to Kristen Bond and Liz Bond’s Enough Already on a one-rail score of 31.8, and third place was claimed by Buck Davidson and Erroll Gobey, who is owned by Cassandra Segal, Lisa Darden and Natalie Sandler (32.9).
A little farther north, the Aikenites converged on Pine Top Farm in droves. Colleen Loach and Peter Barry’s Qorry Blue D’Argouges won the Advanced/Intermediate division in their first outing since WEG. They led from start to finish, adding 6.1 cross country time penalties for a final score of 45.6. Lillian Heard and her LCC Barnaby were second (50.3) and Katherine Brown and her Victor Z were third with 54.1 points.
Jenny Caras topped the Open Intermediate-A division with her Fernhill Fortitude. They cruised to 9.6 time penalties for a three-phase score of 38.2. Waylon Roberts piloted Michelle and John Koppin’s Lancaster to a clean sweep of the B division. Their dressage score of 24.1 was the best in all Intermediate divisions.
Carla Abramcheck’s Quality Time (shown) came out swinging at her first show of the season, cruising around the Intermediate at Pine Top for the win. Marley and LVS Dassett Charisma also won the Intermediate after getting their best dressage score to date. Laurie Volk’s Looks Quality had her best XC run yet in the Intermediate, adding just one rail and some time to her score. The young mares are up next in the training.
Husband and wife duo Tim and Marley Stone Bourke both had blue ribbons to pack in their trailer. Tim won the Open Intermediate C with Carla Abramcheck’s Quality Time after moving up from eighth place. Marley topped the Intermediate Rider division with her own LVS Dassett Charisma.
Doug Payne was nothing short of consistent this weekend, finishing second in all three Open Intermediate divisions with his own Starr Witness, Lisa Wall’s Getaway and his Quantum Leap.
Learn all about the $50,000 Liftmaster Grand Prix Eventing Showcase at Bruce's Field in this live press conference. Aiken Horse Park Foundation
Posted by EQTV Network on Friday, February 8, 2019
The inaugural $50,000 LiftMaster Grand-Prix Eventing is taking shape in the heart of Aiken, S.C. at Bruce’s Field. EN shared the tentative entry list earlier this week, and we’re excited to see many of our country’s best riders joined by the likes of William Fox-Pitt and Andrew Hoy.
The Aiken Horse Park Foundation rounded up a few of the competitors you can expect to see for an evening Q&A earlier this weekend. Phillip Dutton, Boyd Martin, Doug Payne, Ryan Wood, Waylon Roberts and Colleen Loach talk about their horses, the showcase’s place in their training schedule and why they are #TeamAiken. Take a listen!
Grand Prix Eventing is a USEF Advanced level recognized competition held March 1-2 at Bruce’s Field in Aiken, S.C. Dressage and show jumping will take place on Friday, March 1, and cross country will be held in the afternoon on Sunday, March 2. If you missed our sneak peak of the jumps — which will all have an Aiken theme — don’t miss it here.
This will be a fun outing to enjoy a bite-sized version of eventing, so grab your friends, bring and picnic and come see us at Bruce’s Field. General admission tickets cost $12 per day, or you can purchase a weekend pass for $20. Click here to purchase general admission tickets. You can also find information on VIP tickets at this link.
The entire competition will be live streamed both here on EN and on EQTV Network, hosted by EN’s own Jenni Autry alongside the dynamic John Kyle. You won’t want to miss a second of it. Keep it locked on EN for all the latest.
More than 150 racing stables have been placed on lockdown after a bout of equine influenza hit a yard in Cheshire, in the north-west of England. Three horses tested positive for the virus at Donald McCain‘s base on Wednesday, 6th February; because several of their stablemates had contested races at Ayr, Ludlow, and Wolverhampton racecourses earlier in the week, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) opted to cancel all race meetings on Thursday 7th in order to contain the spread. Since then, three further horses at McCain’s yard have tested positive, as have horses in Somerset and Suffolk. Each of the cases has been confirmed as Florida clade 1 virus, an uncommon strain last seen in the UK in 2009. FC1 is most commonly found in North America, and the source of the outbreak, which began in isolated cases at the tail end of 2018, is unknown.
The initial one-day cancellation of race meetings was extended to Wednesday the 13th at the earliest as racing yards have gone into pseudo-quarantine to monitor their equine residents and test for the virus. This represents the biggest shutdown to the sport since 2001’s foot-and-mouth outbreak.
Since Wednesday, approximately 2,000 nasal swab samples have been sent to the Animal Health Trust for testing. The results of these tests will begin to come through on Monday the 11th, giving the BHA a better idea of the scope of the outbreak and how best to tackle it.
So what does this mean for eventing, with the start of the season just three weeks away? Currently, not much. With a handful of exceptions, schooling facilities and training shows remain open, following the advice put forth by the British Equestrian Federation (BEF). Many of these venues have released statements of their own, requiring horses to have been vaccinated within the last six months, and confirming that passport spot-checks will be carried out on-site.
Equine influenza, while not normally fatal, is a highly contagious airborne virus, which affects the upper respiratory tract and can be harmful to the very young, old, or infirm, and particularly foals, in whom it can lead to pneumonia. While racehorses and competition horses are vaccinated annually, the flu virus is antigenic, meaning that it mutates constantly, which can effectively safeguard it against the vaccine. Although vigilant vaccination has been proven to minimise the risk of influenza – or diminish the symptoms in an affected horse – the vaccine’s efficacy has also been impacted by the large number of unvaccinated horses in Great Britain: only 40% of British horses are up-to-date with their flu jab. A study by the AHT has found that if just 70% of Britain’s horses were vaccinated, every horse would be safe from a flu outbreak.
This horse is using the nebuliser which is like a human inhaler for asthma sufferers. They inhale a mixture of medication & water which aids healthy lungs and airways. Most yards do this to fight bacteria &virus in the atmosphere #equine flu. @RacingTV@SkySportsRacing@itvracingpic.twitter.com/CUs3woR7b2
The BEF have advised horse owners and yard managers to exercise vigilance against the flu outbreak. This starts with making sure your horse is adequately protected: if its flu vaccination is more than six months old, you should consider scheduling a booster jab, which will contain the latest strain of the virus. It’s recommended – and in some cases, required – to give your horse a seven-day clearing period after a jab before heading out to a competition, although British Eventing permits you to compete the next day. You should also be on the lookout for symptoms of the flu, and if your horse or another in the same yard begins to show any, isolate the horse, contact your vet immediately and cease all movement of horses in and out of the yard.
Symptoms of equine influenza include:
A high temperature – typically over 38.5˚C/101.3˚F
A sudden cough
Nasal discharge
Loss of appetite
Enlarged glands, typically underneath the jaw
Swollen, sore, or weepy eyes
Lethargy
Swelling in the lower legs
Clinical signs of the flu normally appear within one to three days after exposure to the virus, and usually last a week or so. Any longer indicates a more serious secondary bacterial infection. Generally, the virus is transmitted by airborne droplets, released when an infected horse coughs. In many ways, equine influenza is much like human flu – but it can travel much further, and an infected horse needs to be isolated at a distance of at least 100m/328ft from other horses. The virus itself can’t be treated with antibiotics; instead, rest, appropriate feed, adequate hydration, and a clean environment are necessary to help the horse recover. It’s absolutely necessary to involve your vet if you think your horse might have the flu, though – they’ll be able to diagnose any secondary infections or complications and advise appropriate action as needed.
If you travel between yards – for example, if you’re a freelance groom or trainer – it’s sensible to adopt some basic biosecurity practices. Use the yard’s own equipment rather than bringing your own from job to job, change your outer layer of clothing between yards, and use disinfectants to ensure your hands and boots are free of contaminants.
The BHA’s efficient and comprehensive lockdown means that it’s unlikely we’ll see a true influenza crisis, but stay vigilant, make sure your horse is up-to-date on vaccinations, and if in doubt, raincheck on any outings scheduled for the next few days.
The Animal Health Trust offers free nasopharyngeal swab and blood tests as part of its equine influenza surveillance board, sponsored by the Horserace Betting Levy Board. To make use of the scheme, contact your vet – they’ll need to be registered with the scheme, which they can do online at equiflunet.org.uk. For up-to-the-minute updates on further outbreaks, follow @equiflunet on Twitter.
We’re so glad to see dogs like Sally Cousin’s Tiny Thomas finally getting the recognition they deserve. All those hours they spend following you around at horse shows and sitting in the arena with you are for a good cause. If you have some assistant trainers of your own, make sure you tag them on Instagram with #DogsofEN for a chance to be featured.
In the market for a new four-legged partner? You may find your unicorn on our sister site, Sport Horse Nation. To help with the search, we’re going to feature a selection of current listings here on EN each week. We include the ad copy provided; click the links for videos, pricing and contact information.
Valentines Day is just around the corner! Let us play cupid — it could be love at first site for you and these five horses listed for sale on Sport Horse Nation! Go ahead, think with your heart.
The Peacemaker
2011 16.2h Liver Chestnut TBX Gelding
Nelson has miles thru Training Level eventing and would make a great BN/N packer for a Jr or AA. He is simple to jump, a ton of fun xc, and uncomplicated to flat. He’s a good mover, has a lead change and is a very solid citizen in every respect! Super option for Jr/AA to event or for the Equitation. Located in South Carolina.
Tonka is currently showing with a young rider at Training level in Ocala, FL with scope for more and good dressage scores. He has a very sweet personality and is eager to please. Easy keeper.
For Sale: Training and Preliminary Packer. 16.1h, April 2004 Irish Draft Sport Horse Mare. Tre’ Jolie AKA Jojo, is every amateurs dream. Having competed up through the preliminary level, Jojo is the ideal horse for an adult amateur or junior looking to learn while being competitive. Very rideable on the flat and a clean, careful jumper. Would make a fantastic straight show jumper. Always in the ribbons and very competitive in all three phases. Low key, fantastic ground manners, and always a barn favorite. Not available for lease. Priced at 45k. More video or photos upon request. Located in Florence, SC, but consistently in the Aiken, Southern Pines, and Charlotte area.
Dewey (USEA name Waterboy) is a 10yo, 16.1h Thoroughbred gelding located near Lexington KY. He was restarted off the track in 2017 and since has completed two BN events with an adult amateur rider in 2018, has spent the winter working on the basics and is ready to get back in the show ring in 2019. He has three lovely uphill gaits, a careful scopey jump and is brave across the country. Runs all three phases in a rubber snaffle. He clips, bathes, cross ties, loads, trailers, stands tied at the trailer and for the vet and farrier like a dream. He hacks out alone and in company and comes back after time off quietly. He has a very goofy personality, and is very in your pocket and social. Financial and time constraints force sale as I would love to keep him but cannot campaign him to the best of his ability. Price is negotiable to a great home, and he would be well suited for a confident AA, YR or JR who wants a fun horse to finish their way. Located in Kentucky.
Proudly offered for sale: Always A Thrill
“Thrill” is the ideal experience horse for a JR/YR/AA looking for mileage at the lower levels. 11yr old Thoroughbred and 16H. He has experience through preliminary with a YR. Very honest to the jump and forgiving of mistakes. Easy to have around the barn and at shows. No vices. Loves to hack out and might suit the hunt field. Currently in professional program with Meghan O’Donoghue. +1 (618) 319-2000
Priced at $20,000. Located in Florida.
Listings included in this article are randomly selected and confirmed to be current and active before inclusion. Sport Horse Nation features user-generated content and therefore cannot verify or make any warranty as to the validity or reliability of information.
Winning at show jumping CSI5* and an indoor derby in one night? Just another day at the office for Michael Jung.
He kicked off a brilliant weekend in Bordeaux by sailing around a 1.40m course with fischerDaily Impressed totop the Congres et Expositions de Bordeaux CSI5*W. The 11-year-old KWPN posted a time of 61.93 seconds that remained untouched in the 39-horse division. You can find the scores for that class at this link.
He then cemented himself a back-to-back winner of the Devoucoux Indoor Derby aboard Maria Stein’s Corazon, a 9-year-old Hanoverian. The two finished with seven penalties in 123.86 seconds.
“I am very happy with the performance of my mare, Corazon. Thank you to my owner, Maria Stein, for her confidence, but also to this incredible public,” he said.
“It’s really fantastic to ride here. This year, the win was tighter and I had a little luck too, but it’s part of the game. If I finished second or third, I would have been just as happy because this course with my mare was a great moment of happiness.”
Aside from the German victor the remainder of the top ten sings with French pride. Karim Florent Laghouag gave Michael a run for his money, finishing second with Agnes Celerier’s Punch de l’Esques. This French duo clocked around in the fastest time of 117.79 seconds but also picked up 9 penalties. Maxime Livio and Boleybawn Prince were third with 14 penalties and 122.91 seconds. Also on 14 penalties was Rodolphe Scherer and Coeur de Crack, but just a hair slower on a time of 130.46.
Tonight all eyes will be on the Longines FEI World Cup™ qualifier. You can watch live on FEI TV beginning at 2:20 EST. The FEI World Cup™ Driving Final will follow at 5:10 EST.
I’ve been guilty of extolling the virtues of wintertime riding in the past, proclaiming how much fun it is to ride in a snow-covered field or take your horses sleighing or even just the simple pleasures of letting the seasons dictate your horse life, reminding us all to slow down and enjoy some quieter moments before the summer season ramps us back into high gear.
Now that I’ve lived well over a decade of winters in the snow belt, where normal winter temperatures range from the teens to mid-twenties and snowfall is measured in feet rather than inches, I still believe these things to be true.
But there are a few other truths about winter that I’ve come to accept as fact as well:
1. No matter how inviting you make your run-in shed, the horses won’t use it.
Because who would want to stand in a (from a human perspective) perfectly nice three-sided shelter providing a windblock from blowing, sticking snow when they could instead hang out in a veritable blizzard turning into mammoth-like ice monsters? They literally stood around and watched me re-bed the shed before the last polar vortex, walked in, pooped, and left. To the best of my observational awareness, they have not returned. So glad I spent all that money to have this thing custom-built for you ungrateful feral jerks.
2. Your blanket “system” will inevitably break down.
Every autumn, I take stock of my sheet and blanket inventory and invent a nice little weather scale in my head for when each sheet or blanket will be used, depending on the individual horse and his needs (the high-metabolism OTTB and the 20+ year old seniors get some special care… the fat, yaklike middle-aged Quarter horse who receives approximately 8 pellets of grain a day could probably live happily at the Antarctic research station with the penguins).
By the end of January, this neat little temperature/precipitation gauge has totally broken down into a revolving door of wet, muddy blankets, with the ones whose waterproofing has finally given up the ghost dumped unceremoniously over a stall wall to be pirated later for parts and patches, with Jobber wearing what used to belong to Winston and vice-versa, Rocky going naked because he trotted joyfully away from you into the sleet when you tried to switch his medium for a sheet, and the yaklike Quarter horse suddenly decked in a waterproof sheet with a fleece liner when he turned up shivering in the last major snowstorm.
3. Something is going to freeze.
This year, so far, it was my heated automatic waterer in the winter paddock (fortunately, it was an easy fix once the weather warmed back up and only required about 36 hours of manual watering and a new heating unit) and one of the sliding barn doors (which in our valiant attempts to unfreeze, managed to break off of its track, requiring a much more obnoxious repair than if we had just sat on our hands and waited like patient people).
This is still a step ahead of previous years in which all of the automatic waterers froze, the driveway froze into a sheet of totally untraversable ice and both barn doors froze requiring us to hike through three feet of snow to the back door and dig it out with our hands.
Chin up, Horse Nation. Only a few more months until spring!
Are you an ammy-adult eventer who struggles with motivation during the winter months? Madison Givens feels your pain. She is embarking upon her own winter fitness and accountability journey, and taking EN along for the ride. Check back weekly for updates, encouragement, camaraderie and tips to help you come out swinging this spring!
Photo by Derith Vogt.
Hello Everyone! Welcome back to Week 4!
As you can see, Finn and I survived the record-setting low temperatures, and while the weather is still not perfect, the temperatures in Iowa are bearable enough to take away any excuse not to ride. So with this week, I am going to try and catch you guys up on all that Finn and I have been (slowly and sporadically) working on these last few weeks and hopefully offer some ideas to help you jump into February! (Not literally though, it’s like all flatwork.)
Weather was a little more cooperative this week. Screenshot via Accuweather.
First and foremost, is you are not following Eventing Nation’s posts on #FlatworkFebruary, fix your life and go catch up on them.
Next, I want to offer you guys an exercise that I love Love LOVE to practice with Finn. This exercise is a great way to test the correction and balance of your horse. As a plus, I have also found that it helps Finn and I work on our rhythm and tempo. And, it’s a great way to start transitioning into lateral work if you have not yet started. Over all, this is something I do in every ride. I don’t school the crap out of it, but it’s definitely a part of my warm up to see if Finn is paying attention to my aids.
The “Spiral In – Spiral Out”.
Here is a great article by Kristin Schmolze from Practical Horseman detailing the few key things to look for and work towards in the exercise. Check it out at this link.
And if you are more of a visual learner here is a video by Randi Thompson:
For the rider, I wanted to find something that I could do at home. While I am happy to admit that I broke down and got myself I gym membership, I definitely have not made it to the physical location of said gym. Not. Even. Once. My hectic schedule needs to become less of an excuse, because come spring, my muffin top is going to swiftly turn into a ball and chain. It’s going to be less and less inviting to go and work out when the weather becomes nicer and I would rather find myself outside. Letting myself be slowly consumed by the infamous “barn time”.
With that in mind I have been trying to use and watch videos geared towards equestrians. It offers a little more motivation, at least. So here is something quick and easy to add to your list of exercises to help you build the ultimate rider body!
Lastly, I want to address the fact that we are one month into the articles, and if your winter experience has been anything like mine, you are becoming increasingly drained by the weather and lack of sunlight. And as I sit here, over-analyzing my life, I did something that no one should ever do: I WebMDed myself. Thus I came myself face to face with Seasonal Affective Disorder. Yes, that’s right, S.A.D. straight out of ‘The Office’.
But it’s hard not to have SAD when this is where you live. Photo by Sarah Arnold.
I tend to be a bit of an emotional character, anyway. I know I have mentioned this before. That my emotions affect my riding and I don’t think that this is a new discovery for both myself and the people around me. But lately, with the weather and the lack of progression in my riding, every lesson I have taken in the last month has ended with my trainers yanking me off the ledge I seem so desperate to throw myself off.
I have found myself constantly looking for things to be wrong. Is Finn uncomfortable? Are her hocks bothering her? Is her back sore? Is she warm enough? Does she have sinus problems? What can I throw money at to make myself feel better? And then I obsess over research. Reading everything I can get my hands on to try and justify my behavior. You all can understand that, right? Horses are some of the most suicidal creatures on the planet!
And here I sit, writing up this article about self improvement and not accessing a core problem.
So now that we equestrians have conquered January, it’s time for a mental health check!
I think a lot of anxiety and stress around Finn and my riding comes from a delicate sense of self-esteem. It’s not that I struggle with self-worth, it’s just that I find myself constantly striving to be better. And because of this, I have these crushing expectations and goals of where Finn and I should be. I find myself in a constant comparison trap of last year versus this year, versus where we should be in six months. I have exhausted myself before I even got to the starting line of the race.
Photo by Derith Vogt.
The reality is that I don’t need to rush into show season. I don’t need to rush to the first competition of the year. I don’t even need to rush into next week. What I need to do is re-learn to enjoy every ride. Not just the good ones, but every single one in-between. Each ride needs to be new and fresh, with no baggage from the day or from the previous ride. I need to avoid finding myself frustrated by all of the ups and downs as Finn and I learn together. Otherwise, this season will be absolutely no fun. And what is the point of doing this is I can’t enjoy it.
Below is a small list of articles that I have enjoyed over the last few weeks. They, along with great friends and great trainers, have helped me remember that all that matters is that I keep moving forward. That’s our motto for this week: “Move Forward.”
