Classic Eventing Nation

Thursday News & Notes from Nupafeed

By on Jan 25, 2018 12:03 am -

My horse is so fat.

I finally clipped my entire horse (minus the legs) yesterday, and underneath all that hair, he is SO fat. Like, so fat. Morbidity level. He had an unplanned vacation for three months this winter due to something completely ridiculous, so he really packed on the pounds. He is on a hardcore diet and he hates it so much. He gets a handful of grain twice a day so he doesn’t feel left out with the barn, and has a few flakes of day in the hated nibble net and it’s the WORST EVER in his opinion.

National Holiday: National Irish Coffee Day

U.S. Weekend Preview:

Rocking Horse Winter I H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Results]

Full Gallop H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Live Results]

News From Around the Globe:

Max Corcoran gave a presentation at the 2017 USEA Annual Meeting and Convention with her tips, tricks, and advice on how to make good decisions when it comes to taking care of your horse.  While she needs no introduction, her resume includes grooming at the highest level of the sport for some of the world’s top riders for nearly 20 years, working for the O’Connor Event Team for 11 years, numerous Olympic Games, World Championships, Pan American Games, and many CCIs across the United States and Europe. Now a freelancer, Corcoran travels around the world as a groom and also teaches horsemanship clinics for the USEA and USEF Developing Rider Programs. [Video: Making Good Decisions]

How do top riders use their cross country colors to build a worldwide brand? You know the ones who have an extremely recognizable outfit wherever they go, and all their horses kitted out in matching outfits? It’s not just a random choice, a lot of the time, in face these colors have deeper meanings and intentions. [What Do Cross Country Colors Mean?]

Frozen water troughs: the bane of our existence. Seriously though, one of the worst things about winter with  horses is trying to keep water from freezing. It takes up so much of your time during your daily chore rounds, and the second you get all the ice chipped away, it starts freezing again. Luckily, Horse Nation has looked up some super easy, low tech ways for you to keep your water drinkable without investing in super hardcore sub zero automatic waterers and heaters for all your troughs and buckets. [Horse Nation Investigates How to Keep Water Thawed]

Important Quiz Of the Day: If You Were A Horse, What Breed Would You Be?

 

Wednesday Video from Kentucky Performance Products: A New Perspective on Racing

By on Jan 24, 2018 4:00 pm -

 

Finally got the okay to ride a race with my gopro! Here it is! 6th race at Tampa Bay Downs #2 Go Hippo Go finished 3rd at 30-1.

Posted by Ashley Castrenze on Friday, January 19, 2018

We’ve lost count of how many cross country helmet cams we’ve watched, but we’ve never seen a helmet cam like this before! Jockey Ashley Castrenze strapped on a GoPro for a recent race at Tampa Bay Downs in Florida, giving us a first person view of what it’s like to look between a horse’s ears on the racetrack.

Ride along with Ashley and Raroma Stables’ Go Hippo Go (Mizzen Mast – At First Speight, by Speightstown) from the paddock to the gate and all the way down the stretch to a third place finish (at 30-1 odds!). According to Ashley’s Twitter account, this won’t be the last race cam we see!

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Marilyn Little Back in Action After Breaking Her Foot

By on Jan 24, 2018 1:19 pm -

Marilyn Little and Clearwater in the prize giving with ringmaster Steve Rector and owner Karen O’Connor. Photo by Sportfot.

Marilyn Little returned to to the show ring with a bang during the second week of the 2018 Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, winning the $35,000 Hollow Creek Farm 1.45m Classic on Sunday aboard Karen O’Connor’s Clearwater.

She had only been back in the tack for 10 days prior to the win following a lengthy recovery period after breaking her foot at the Ocala Jockey Club International Three-Day Event in November, when RF Scandalous glanced off at the tricky corner combination on Mike Etherington-Smith’s CIC3* cross country course.

After 28 clear rounds in the 75-entry Hollow Creek Farm 1.45m Classic, 12 combinations delivered clear rounds in the jump-off on Oscar Soberon’s course. With time proving to be the deciding factor, Marilyn and Clearwater’s speedy jump-off time of 36.23 seconds gave them the win.

“He’s a very, very fast horse. I know exactly what his stride is, and if it’s possible to get there, he’s the one who will in terms of the distances,” Marilyn said. “I knew exactly what the plan was. He just needed to put in his personal best and it would be very hard to catch. I wouldn’t want to run against him.”

Marilyn Little and Clearwater on their way to taking the win. Photo by Sportfot.

Clearwater, an 11-year-old Holsteiner (Clearway X Come On), last competed at the Washington International Horse Show in October, and Marilyn’s super groom and barn manager Katie Madruga kept him fit and in work after she broke her foot.

“I’m so grateful for the many professionals who have stepped up and helped me keep my horses fit and in form. It’s really a tribute to my staff and my riders and other professionals who have helped me, because the horses have come out fit and fresh and really ready to go,” she said. “In the end, it probably won’t matter that I got a late start. I’ve had to be a bit patient, but this is certainly a good start. It was really a lot of fun to get back out there and for it to go the way it did.”

Clearwater will jump tomorrow in the $35,000 WEF Challenge Cup to qualify for Saturday night’s $132,000 Adequan Grand Prix CSI3*. “He feels very fresh and ready to go,” Marilyn said. “His favorite thing to do is jump under the lights.”

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous at the 2017 Ocala Jockey Club CIC3*. Photo by Jenni Autry.

What’s Next for RF Scandalous

Marilyn is currently competing 16 show jumpers at the Winter Equestrian Festival and is also looking ahead to starting her eventing season with RF Scandalous. The only event horse in Marilyn’s string currently, RF Scandalous jumped in three 1.30m classes at WEF last week and is also showing at the Global Dressage Festival.

“She had a very uncharacteristic and odd fall season. We only ran two events because there were a lot of things from a training standpoint we wanted to accomplish. We did accomplish some of those things, especially from a rideability standpoint. I thought she was very rideable on cross country at the Ocala Jockey Club, but unfortunately we had the mistake at the corners,” Marilyn said.

“Sometimes the score isn’t indicative of the performance, but she was so disciplined and I was proud of the way she went around at Ocala Jockey Club. We had been working on that so hard since our fall at the American Eventing Championships when she was just so strong.”

Because Scandalous had a light fall season, only running at the American Eventing Championships and Ocala Jockey Club, Marilyn has kept her in work throughout the winter and galloping at the Wellington Environmental Preserve. She will start her eventing season at Ocala Winter I Horse Trials in two weeks with a run at the Preliminary level.

Marilyn had intended to compete Scandalous at the inaugural CIC3* at Live Oak, but following the cancellation of that event she is waiting to see how the mare comes out at Ocala before finalizing her competition schedule. The end goal for her spring season is competing at the Kentucky CCI4*. Scandalous is already qualified for the 2018 World Equestrian Games, having finished fourth in her CCI4* debut at Luhmühlen last year.

“I’m really looking forward to taking her to Kentucky,” Marilyn said. “I’ve had her for a long time now, and every year when I go and walk the course I think what a dream it will be to get to gallop her around.”

Scandalous has won nine of her 16 career international runs with Marilyn and has already successfully represented the U.S. at championship level, having won individual gold at the 2015 Pan American Games. She is listed on the 2018 USEF Developing Tier 1 Training List.

“This spring for Scandalous will be quite different. Kentucky is the first event that I will really take a shot at,” Marilyn said. “I only have one horse. I have to protect her. I have to make sure she is as fresh as she can be. She’s not going to be out there going for the win every time out. She’s proven she can go out and win. Now we have to make it count.”

Ah-ha! Moment of the Week from Attwood: ‘First Time, Every Time’

By on Jan 24, 2018 11:30 am -

You know those moments when it feels like a lightbulb gets switched on in your brain? In a new weekly series presented by Attwood Equestrian Surfaces, eventers share their ah-ha! moments. Today, we introduce the first in a three-part series by adult amateur eventer Judy Rossi about what she calls “epiphany lessons” she has experienced while training. 

Photos by Flatlands Photography, Hoofpix and Brant Gamma Photography.

Not unlike those of you reading this, I’m an adult amateur event rider. I’ve been riding for a long time. Like you, I love this sport and I love my horse. I take my riding very seriously (requiring regular self-reminders that I really do this for fun). Like most, I spend a lot of time, effort and resources (OK, every free moment and every last dime) on trying to get it “right.”

I am lucky enough to live on the east coast of the U.S., which gives me incredible access to some of the best trainers and coaches in all three phases of eventing, and I am grateful to all of them. I’ve been reflecting on some of my training moments, and wanted to share what I call my “Epiphany Lessons.” These are the lessons that were great, not necessarily because of the ride at that moment, but because that lesson awakened something in me that brought me closer to becoming a “thinking rider.”

Judy and Sateen. Photo by J. Stanley Edwards.

Epiphany Lesson #1: First Time, Every Time

My second horse was a talented, but challenging, unpredictable mare that pushed every one of my frustration buttons. At one of my regular lessons with Erin Renfroe, Erin wanted to get on my mare to warm her up. She suggested that I warm up on her Advanced level school master, Andy (De Cordova).

While she rode my mare, Erin had me walk, trot, canter and jump some easy warm up fences. I felt honored to ride this phenomenal horse, and was extremely focused on what I was doing, how Andy felt, and NOT getting in his way. Erin asked me how I liked my ride and what I thought. I told her I loved riding Andy, but was nervous riding him in front of her. I also told her that I thought Andy and I got along well and was surprised at how similar he felt to my mare.

Thankfully, Erin said I did a good job and agreed that Andy was not much different from my mare. She then asked, “Why do you think that ride felt so good?”

Uh, oh! I don’t know about you, but I hate these kinds of questions. I know there’s a right answer, but I felt lost in complete ignorance.

I think I mumbled something about how focused I needed to be because I’d never sat on Andy, that I didn’t know what to expect, and I was nervous because I knew the owner was watching, and so I just rode what I felt.

That was the moment.

“Exactly!” Erin said. “Because you don’t know this horse, you had no expectation. You had to just feel him out. You give him an aid, wait for his response and adjust your riding based on his response. With our own horses, we know them too well, and we tend to ride them with an expectation, both the good and the bad.”

She handed my mare back and said, “Get on, and pretend this is the first time you’ve ever sat on her. Ride what you feel and visualize the owner watching. Try to do that every time you ride.”

First Time, Every Time – I’m working on it! Thanks Erin!

Judy is an adult amateur event rider living in Harvard, Massachusetts. She started riding as a young girl, and began eventing as an adult over 20 years ago. Judy has owned and brought along three horses — Bosco who learned the sport along with her and will always be “the horse of a lifetime;” Sateen, who told her that dressage and trail riding were a better career; and now Dice, who is doing his level best to be the best horse ever. When not riding, Judy is a marketing and communications professional and the founder of Open Fields Communications.

Following the Dots: On Paths, Planning and Progress

By on Jan 24, 2018 9:00 am -

Winter is a great time to meditate on plans, paths and the “Long Road.” Photo by Holly Covey.

New year, new approach to training? Maybe.

Sometimes, when you look at a season from the beginning to the end, and make all sorts of plans for yourself and your horse, it all looks clear. The dots are there. The lines are straight, from dot to dot. You’re going to this, and that. The horse will go here, and then there. We will qualify at dot, dot, and dot. Then we will compete at dot, and dot, to prepare. Then there is big dot, perhaps at the end of the season, with a red circle around it.

Yet, when you look at a season, it’s not always a straight line in between those dots. More like curves and spirals and some loops backwards. We actually HOPE we can get to big dot in the season.

So how do we get this stuff going our way? We take out the freebie feed store calendar, and start checking with local stables on the upcoming schooling shows, look at booking vacation around competitions, and put a finger on general pieces of the calendar where you have to get a cross country school in or work toward a clinic weekend. And that’s all just for one horse. Maybe you have two or three and each is going in a different direction. It’s like calendar tetris!

I have to continually remind myself about the “why” of doing this. We are not supposed just go to a show to go to a show. We are supposed to get to a show to test what we are working on. The competitions are meant to educate — show us the holes, teach us the failings and the things that need practice in both our riding and in our horses’ education. We’re not supposed to just go because they’re there.

I think this goes to the heart of the “move-up” question. The cool thing about eventing is that we aren’t locked down, like low level hunter schooling shows, to a pretty rigid sort of course design (outside-diagonal, or some variation thereof). Our divisions are different from event to event — what’s easy at one event is hard at another, some events are great for everyone trying it for the first time, some events are very difficult for the level and meant to prepare a rider for the next higher division.

It is this very diversity that makes eventing competition so fun and educational. I think that is the reason we have this “move-up” mentality, because we overcome different courses all the time. We count on the education at one event making us ready for the next. In contrast, our friends in the hunter world work on perfection. Their move-up slows; they spend a lot more time doing those outside-diagonal-outside-diagonal courses than we do, looking for excellence in detail. Or perhaps they feel more comfortable with the challenge of getting it consistently excellent.

Both ideals go someplace and require strength of purpose, attention to detail, a drive to succeed and courage to keep trying when you don’t get it right. Where I get concerned is the lack of trying to get better, and letting the competition just “be there.” That does nothing for me as a rider except make me dangerously comfortable right where I am. What’s the danger in that? The danger is I may lose that drive to educate myself. Should we do shows just to do shows? My feeling is we shouldn’t.

Of course, there are many reasons for folks to stay at the same level for years and years. Heck, yeah, I get that. There are some Novice courses that pretty much masquerade at the level, and you cross the finish line on cross country and go, “Where’s Training level, it can’t get much harder than THAT was!”

A friend of mine coined the phrase, “Be a student of the Long Road,” and I think of this saying often. I watch the local shows, I learn by watching, I go home, I ride and train. I think of the Long Road. Where I want to be at the end of the season. Where I want to be at the end of three seasons ahead. My challenge is to take each show, each course, and put it squarely in the middle of that Long Road, and see how it gets me down that line, from dot to dot.

Wednesday News & Notes from SmartPak

By on Jan 24, 2018 12:01 am -

Lainey Ashker giving a clinic in exotic Costa Rica. Photo via Laine Ashker’s FB page.

Does anyone else unable to see their horse on a daily basis obsess over photos and videos your barn friends send you? One of the girls at my barn sent me half a photo of my horse’s nose yesterday and I can’t stop staring at it. It’s my lifeline until I see that face again.

U.S. Weekend Preview:

Rocking Horse Winter I H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Results]

Full Gallop H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Live Results]

National Holiday: National Peanut Butter Day

Your Wednesday News & Notes:

One of the coolest things I ever got to do was go away for pony camp in Vermont one summer. Now GMHA is offering an eventing camp for kids of all ages above 9! You can bring a pony, have lessons twice a day, and hang out in Area I in the summer to get out of the heat! [GMHA Junior Horsemanship Clinic]

Time to remember which divisions you and your horse are eligible. With the season underway, don’t forget to check the eligibility rules when picking out your divisions. If you’ve completed an Intermediate, maybe don’t enter the Rider division at Training, or you might find yourself delegated to competing as HC. [Rule Refresher]

Laura Graves hosted a masterclass as part of the Adequan West Coast Dressage Festival. One of her mantras is that training isn’t pretty. You have to allow the horse to make mistakes in training in order to learn, she says. [Keeping Horses and Riders Honest]

SmartPak Product of the Day: I talk about these blankets all the time because they are durable, fit well, warm, and have a great warranty behind them. And bonus, they are on sale regularly, including right now! [SmartPak]

Tuesday Video from SpectraVet: You’ve Never Seen Galway Downs Like This

By on Jan 23, 2018 3:30 pm -

Each winter, the Galway Downs Equestrian Center in Temecula, California hosts a clinic to raise funds for facility improvements, specifically to the cross country course, in the current year. Over two dozen trainers came forward to help the 20th annual fundraiser which lead to a hugely successful and busy day!

Chris Gentile perfectly captured the hustle and bustle with his drone footage, which gives a perspective of Galway that even the most regular competitors haven’t seen.

Thanks to all those who supported this fantastic Area VI competition!

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What’s In Your Arena? Presented by Attwood: Lainey Ashker’s Latest #GOTD

By on Jan 23, 2018 2:00 pm -

What’s in Your Arena? is an EN series sponsored by Attwood Equestrian Surfaces in which riders share their favorite jumping exercises. It’s easy to get stuck in a training rut, and we hope this will inspire you with fresh ideas that you can take home and incorporate into your own programs.

 

Posted by Lainey Ashker on Saturday, January 13, 2018

Lainey Ashker is back with another Grid of the Day. We love Lainey’s #GOTD series because not only does it give us some great exercises to practice at home but we also get a glimpse behind the scenes of a top professional’s program. Can you imagine the time and concentration it takes to create and set up these intricate grids and carefully designed courses week after week? Thanks, Lainey, for sharing them with us!

Lainey’s latest #GOTD has everything: bounces, combinations, bending lines and one of those super fun but slightly intimidating wide oxers.

“So the main focus here is the grid in the center with the X-vertical bounces but figured I would lay out the whole course for your added viewing/riding/entertainment pleasure,” Lainey said. “This grid focuses on straightness, teaching the horse to slowdown and to react off the rider’s leg to make the distance to the oxer all the while engaging the hind legs.

“The ride each direction over the grid gives a different feeling which makes it really fun and informative for both horse and rider. Remember the primary focus in influencing a horse’s speed/balance over jumps is not use of a hand, stronger bit or magic but correct rider position. The use of the wide oxer in the latter part of the course is to teach the horses to push from behind.”

Follow Lainey on Instagram at @laineyea for more great grids like this!

Go Eventing.

Weekly OTTB Wishlist from Cosequin: Iron Horse Edition

By on Jan 23, 2018 11:00 am -

Attention 2018 Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover trainers: There’s an exciting new award up for grabs this year! MidAtlantic Horse Rescue is generously sponsoring the $1,000 Iron Horse Award which will be bestowed to the top placing horse foaled in or before 2008.

Though often overlooked due to their age, older racehorses have much to offer in their second careers having already proved their durability. But at last year’s Thoroughbred Makeover, just 22 of the 305 competing horses were at least 10 years old. Can 2018 top that?

If you’re still looking for a horse (trainers have until August 1, 2018 to register their horse), fear not — we’re here to help! Here are three 2018 Thoroughbred Makeover eligible “Iron Horses” ready and waiting to show you what they’re made of.

Photo via Finger Lakes Finest Thoroughbreds, Inc.

New York Tough (Good and Tough – Tulane Girl, by Valid Expectations): 2007 15.3-hand New York bred gelding

At 64 career starts, 21 wins, and almost $200,000 earned, New York Tough lives up to his name. “Toughie” is an easy-going guy as well as a hard-working athlete. Though he popped a splint early last year he has recovered to be totally sound and has been lightly restarted under saddle, but remains 2018 RRP eligible. His rider reports that he’s just an all-around good boy under saddle and isn’t spooky in the slightest. He’d make a great project for an OTTB first-timer!

View New York Tough on Finger Lakes Finest Thoroughbreds, Inc. 

Photo via CANTER Michigan.

Native Britches (Native Factor – Starlet Britches, by Habitonia): 2005 Michigan bred gelding

Native Britches is another been-there-done-that good ‘ol boy who could be a suitable project for a young rider or adult amateur. He’s been so reliable for his trainer that he was used to teach riders to gallop. This lovely bay is a true war horse, proving his reliability and durability with over 100 starts. Now that he’s done with racing, his trainer wants him to find him a wonderful new home and a second career that he can be just as good at.

View Native Britches on CANTER Michigan.

Photo via CANTER Maryland.

Legendary King (Brahms – Dance Skirt, by Caucasus): 2008 15.3-hand Kentucky bred gelding

Just look at that face! Not only is Legendary King cute as a button, he’s also a real solid citizen who’s just enjoyable to be around. “King” is reported to be totally sound, but when he came back into training he just didn’t have the same zest for racing that he had throughout his 64 career starts. His connections decided that after a year of downtime on the farm, it’s time to let him move on to a new home and a new career.

View Legendary Kind on CANTER Maryland.

Clinic Report: Boyd Martin Returns to Texas (and Doesn’t Get Run Over This Time!)

By on Jan 23, 2018 8:00 am -

Area V Director Stephanie Reimers makes a skinny corner look easy. Photo by Remy Willey.

It was a frozen, chilly weekend that welcomed Boyd Martin back to Texas Rose Horse Park in Tyler, Texas, for a waiting-list-only clinic in Area V. In spite of the wickedly cold temps, a good number of auditors as well as riders showed up to watch the very likable Boyd instruct riders on the ins and outs of show jumping and cross country.

Several of the riders were on new horses and a few were tuning up in anticipation of a trip to Florida, but the real question of the weekend was whether or not Boyd would get run over on cross country like he did last year — cue viral video. Boyd even joked that when he sees a horse coming his way in Texas he’s a little like an abused stepchild waiting to get hit. (And just for the record Jill Treece and her OTTB Zenaria more than redeemed themselves by being one of the rock star teams of the weekend.)

Jill Treece successfully negotiates the down bank while Boyd looks on. Photo by Remy Treece.

All kidding aside, one of the best things about the clinic were all the little reminders about eyes, position, shoulders and straightness that we all know but tend to forget. Sprinkled with little bits of sports psychology thrown in here and there and spoken with a smile and an Australian accent, it made for a great way to start the year in training.

The first day of the two-day clinic was all about show jumping. Riders attending ranged in level from Beginner Novice to Intermediate and for the most part did the same fences and grids regardless of group with only the height of the jumps being adjusted. Each group started with a really awesome exercise involving two low cavalettis set at such a distance that they could be negotiated with either a bounce, one stride or two strides in between depending on the shortness of the canter.

Once that grid was successfully completed at each distance, two more of the same grid were set up to form a “y.” Riders then went through the entire grid with Boyd determining what stride he wanted them to get in between cavalettis and grids.  It was an extremely useful exercise in teaching adjustability, regardless of the size or competition level of the horse.

Boyd wraps up a show jumping lesson. Photo by Michelle Wadley.

Each two-hour lesson continued with a figure-eight exercise that focused on turns and accuracy and then finished up with some coursework. Throughout each show jumping lesson Boyd reminded riders of the importance of keeping their shoulders square and how to use their upper bodies to shorten and lengthen the strides of their horses. Leaning forward creates a longer stride; sitting up straight creates a shorter stride. Remembering this idea was particularly useful when cantering through the first grid.

Boyd took a moment with each group of riders, which ranged in number from four to six, to talk about getting out of your head and the ability to live in the moment when you’re on course. So many of us hit a rail or have a refusal or whatever the mistake is, sometimes something as simple as the wrong lead, and it throws everything off and affects the way we move forward to the next fence. He made the very valid point to just get over it and move on. The time to worry about and analyze the mistake is after the course is done, not while you’re in the thick of it. For an overthinking adult amateur like me, this advice was priceless. It’s actually good advice for life as well!

Sunday was the day all eventers live for: cross country day! The cold stuck around, but the sun was shining, and one group was even treated to the sight of a family of bald eagles circling as they jumped. The Brunsons do a fantastic job of keeping their championship course at Texas Rose in competition shape all year. Because of this riders were able to practice corners, skinnys, Trakehners and banks. The water might have been chilly, but teams jumped in and through it as well.

Ashlyn Hayworth successfully negotiates a table. Photo by Remy Willey.

After a brief pep talk from Boyd about the differences in show jumping versus cross country jumping, riders got right to it. He again stressed the importance of position, particularly when you need to be a little more behind rather than forward. This idea was particularly evident over the ditch, which gave a quite a few riders trouble. Martin’s approach to it was different than what I had seen in the past. He wanted riders to canter very boldly to it, riding strong. Once the horse successfully got over, then the rider would gradually slow the tempo down allowing the horse to look. It was a very good way to combat the horse’s fear of the unknown element of the ditch. At the end of the day every horse and rider team had successfully gone back and forth over the ditch with no issues.

While I would have preferred to ride (just couldn’t quite swing it this time around) I am so thankful I got to audit this clinic. Boyd is a super teacher, fun to watch and listen to. He was kind when he needed to be but not afraid to push riders who were ready to be pushed. His advice is relevant and spot on. But of course, the real true treat of each day were the times he actually got on a horse. I highly recommend riding with Boyd Martin if you get the chance. I know the next time he comes to Texas, I will!

Go eventing!