Classic Eventing Nation

12 Days of Christmas: Draper Equine Therapy Leg Health Prize Pack

By on Dec 15, 2017 9:00 am -

Photos courtesy of Draper Equine Therapy.

We eventers place a lot of demands on our horses’ delicate little legs — so we better take good care of them! Draper Equine Therapies makes it easy with a line of products containing Celliant, a proprietary fiber loaded with a potent mix of thermo-reactive minerals. It recycles and converts radiant body heat into infrared energy which gives the body a measurable boost. The results:

Better endurance
Faster recovery
Enhanced performance
Increased speed
Improved strength
Increased stamina

Your horse deserves ALL of those things for Christmas! So today we’re giving away a leg health prize pack that includes Draper Equine Therapy No Bow Wraps AND Draper Equine Therapy Hock Boots.

Ready to win? Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Entries will close at midnight EST tonight, with the winner to be announced in News & Notes tomorrow morning. Good luck! Go Eventing.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday News & Notes from SmartPak

By on Dec 15, 2017 12:00 am -

Snow Pony! Photo courtesy of Taylor Harris Insurance FB.

Okay guys, this weekend is the last chance to get your holiday shopping in order. I personally spend all year adding to my Amazon wish list of random things that I know my friends and family will enjoy, and then I completely forget to actually buy things until the very last minute. Now is the time! Get my crap together! Don’t forget anybody and remember them two days from Christmas like last year!

National Holiday: Cat Herder’s Day (honestly I don’t even know)

Friday News & Notes:

The USEF has issued a statement clarifying the winner’s prize at the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International. According to USEF, the flight in question is part of the contractual sponsorship agreement between Dutta Corp and USEF for the naming rights to the CCI3* National Championship held at Fair Hill. The Dutta Corp/USEF CCI3* National Championship is held within the CCI3* at Fair Hill and awards the flight to the U.S. combination that wins the USEF CCI3* Eventing National Championship. While Canadian Selena O’Hanlon won Fair Hill in 2017, Will Coleman won the 2017 USEF National CCI3* Championship as the highest placed American. Will was announced as the flight winner at the conclusion of Fair Hill. [USEF Statement]

Dear significant others of horse crazy people: We’re here to help. We know it can be daunting to buy stuff for your horse crazy SO, because the stuff they like is so weird and so specific and god forbid you buy the wrong horsey stuff. That’s why Horse Nation has compiled a fool proof list of Christmas gifts to get you through the holidays. [Christmas Gift Guide for the Clueless]

The Essex Horse Trials at Moorland Farm in Far Hills, New Jersey (Area II) hosts one USEA recognized event each year on the last weekend in June and offers Beginner Novice through Preliminary levels. After running for three decades from 1968 to 1998, the Essex Horse Trials had become a must-attend fixture on the national and international eventing calendar – drawing the sport’s top riders, plenty of fans, and the embrace of a community much-attuned to equestrian pursuits and the social scene surrounding, in particular, Essex. After many years off the calendar, Essex returned in 2017 with levels through Preliminary and plans for upper level expansion. [USEA Events A-Z]

Best of Blogs: Winter Survival and the Art of Not Caring

If you had a chance to spend a day with Carl Hester, wouldn’t you? Lucky duck Kerri Vuolo got the chance to attend a clinic with Carl in Maine recently, and watched the entire day with rapt attention. They started with a four-year-old and as the day went on, went up the ages of horses to the top, so that the spectators could see the progression of the young horse. As Carl is well known for building his horses from the bottom, this is what he wanted to emphasize, the training journey along the way. [A Day with Carl Hester]

Congrats to Maia K., our day four winner of EN’s 12 Days of Christmas giveaways! Maia will receive a Deluxe Dressage Friction Free Saddle Pad from Success Equestrian. Tune in to EN later today for your next chance to win a prize from one of EN’s awesome sponsors.

Sports swap!

 

 

 

Thursday Video: SmartPak ‘Ask the Vet’ on Liniments vs. Poultices

By on Dec 14, 2017 5:00 pm -

Liniments vs. poultices, poultices vs. liniments … how to know which one to use and when? In this episode of SmartPak’s “Ask the Vet,” Dr. Lydia Gray and SmartPaker Sarah answer a reader question about the two products. Dr. Gray also explains why it’s important to know what you’re doing and read the label of the product you’re using.

We know that nobody is more obsessed with keeping their horses’ legs happy and healthy than eventers, so this one goes out to you! What are your most tried-and-trusted products, and how often do you use them? Chime in via the comments section below.

Never stop learning! If you have a burning horse health question for Sarah and Dr. Gray to answer in a future episode, you can submit in the following ways: comment on the YouTube video and tag your question #AskTheVet, or post your questions on SmartPak’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or by visiting the SmartPak blog — don’t forget the hashtag! Questions can be submitted directly via [email protected] or at the Ask the Vet Questions submission site.

Bonus: if your question is selected, you win a SmartPak gift card!

 

Winter Survival and the Art of Not Caring

By on Dec 14, 2017 2:00 pm -

I was freezing in this photo. Photo by Holly Covey.

Stay sane, my friends, and don’t get jealous when everyone evacuates to the south to ride in warm weather with only one layer on. Don’t go stark raving mad when the faucet in the barn is frozen AGAIN. Keep calm and carry on when the only heavy blanket your Master Shredder has is pretty much in pieces, blowing across the paddock, when you arrive at the barn after work.

Yes, my friends, there is an important mental task to practice in the winter. The Art of Not Caring. Water off a duck’s back. The “so what” attitude. Que sera, sera … uhm, yeah. Sometimes, in the muffly folds of my scarf pulled over my nose and mouth, I scream away all my frustration with the weather — and no one can hear. And the fuzzy bits taste like hay and horse snot so there is a double reason to not let it bother me.

Winter for us in the north means “let’s ride bareback” instead of “gymnastic jump school” today. It sort of takes your gumption (and your breath) away when the wind blows about 25mph in 29 degrees Fahrenheit, so more often than not, riding time turns into Fix the Faucet time, chip the ice from the barn door time, load extra hay into stalls time, and block the wind from the broken window in the tack room time.

Even the little animals find nice little spots to stay warm, like the feral cat that jumped on my head in the dark hay room last night and caused me to fall over the wheelbarrow, with an armful of hay spilling all over. And the mouse in the feed can that ran up my arm when I lifted the scoop of grain. And some happy little birdie staying warm obviously by perching on Hamish’s broad warm back (the poop spots on his new blanket gives you away, Little Birdie).

So … instead of trying to ride just go inside and shop that tack sale online! Sure, why not. Take a look at the 2018 eventing calendar. Look up clinics on social media and see who is galloping down over the four-foot oxers making them look like nothing. Watch videos ’til your data runs out. Get in political arguments with friends on Facebook. Yes, passing the time keeps you from caring about riding and keeping the training up. For a short while.

If you don’t have an indoor, you’re really going to have to take pills to stay calm about the training … you look out the window and watch the wind blow the bare tree branches sideways. The snow is blowing up your nose. You check the forecast and it says there might be a 30-degree day the middle of next week and you start making plans. If I can squeeze those double layer Carhartts over my windpros and cuddle duds and find my silk glove liners, maybe I can ride for 15 minutes.

In years past I have trained throughout most of our winters especially when they were mild. It is a struggle to find daylight this time of year to ride, and it’s difficult when it’s cold and windy like it is today. I dream about having a job that allows me a real vacation to go to Aiken, or be able to afford to ride in an indoor all winter. The thing is, it’s still cold in the south, and it’s still cold if you have an indoor — and there are other drawbacks all the time to keeping on a riding schedule and working toward a goal, some warmer/drier than others. I have to calm down about missing training days. Nobody will die if I don’t ride.

How about you? Do you laugh it off, or struggle to keep from worrying to death over breaks in your schedule? I am trying very hard not to panic. I’ll get that arena out there thawed some day. That topline will return … someday. Those trot extensions will just have to look good in pasture when the plastic bag blows under his belly, rather than feel great under saddle. Yes, I can master the Not Caring attitude. Sure. (Stuffs glove in mouth to keep from screaming.)

#TBT: EN Christmas Carols — Whose Socks Are These? (2015)

By on Dec 14, 2017 11:00 am -

Embarrassing top riders with bad Christmas carol parodies and/or elf-yourself videos is a time-honored EN holiday tradition. Two years ago our victim was 2015 USEA Overall Rider of the Year, Buck Davidson, performed to the tune of “What Child Is This?” Enjoy!

Photo by Leslie Wylie.

Whose Socks Are These?

Whose socks are these, who’ve come to jog

upon this hard dirt surface?

Which ground juries greet with glances discreet

and they make other riders nervous.

Photo by Leslie Wylie.

Photo by Leslie Wylie.

This, this is Buck Davidson

for whom horses jump and dressage bells ring.

Haste, haste across cross-country,

this Buck, the son of Bruce Sr.

Buck Davidson and Copper Beach. Photo by Leslie Wylie.

Buck Davidson and Copper Beach at Boekelo 2015, where he helped lead the U.S. team to a 2nd-place Nations Cup finish. Photo by Leslie Wylie.

Where lies he now on the leaderboard 

of all U.S. event riders?

104.5 points above the pack —

could the gap be any wider?

Source: USEA.

2015 overall leaderboard. Source: USEA.

Broken ribs, he doesn’t care —

he just keeps winning everywhere.

Hail, hail this bionic man

this Buck, the son of Bruce Sr.

Buck Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM at the Richland Park CIC3*, which they won even after Buck was injured in a cross-country fall on a different horse the day before. Photo by Leslie Wylie.

Buck Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM at the Richland Park CIC3*, which they won even after Buck was injured in a cross-country fall on a different horse the day before. Photo by Leslie Wylie.

So bring him now horse after horse,

his groom must be exhausted.

8, 10 entries, he’ll tackle the course —

nobody knows how he does it

Buck Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM. Photo by Bailey Moran.

Did we mention that, between the CIC3*, CCI2*, CIC2* and Advanced divisions, he was riding nine horses that weekend? Buck Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM at Richland Park. Photo by Bailey Moran.

Raise, raise the jumps up high,

his only limit is the sky.

Here’s to a baller 2016 2018

for Buck, the son of Bruce Sr.

12 Days of Christmas: Deluxe Friction Free Dressage Pad From Success Equestrian

By on Dec 14, 2017 8:00 am -

Good morning, EN, and welcome to day three of EN’s 12 Days of Christmas! Up for grabs today: a Deluxe Dressage Friction Free Saddle Pad from our star sponsor Success Equestrian.

If you want your horse to slink around the dressage arena with cat-like suppleness …

… you’ve got to treat his body like a prince.

The Deluxe Dressage Friction Free saddle pad is as pampering on an equine back as it gets. The latest design incorporates a silky-soft fabric liner for friction-free contact on your horse. The 1.5cm open cell foam in the seat breathes and adds shock absorption to keep your horse comfortable while the silky soft material moves with your horse, directing any ‘friction’ to the area between the silky material and the open cell foam.

It’s an excellent choice for the more sensitive horse, and of course as with all Success Equestrian pads, the fully contoured top line ensures comfort and freedom of movement.

The top side is made of a sturdy quilted cotton for a traditional horse show look, and a discreet amount of our high quality no-slip grip material strategically placed to help hold your saddle in place … it’s hardly noticeable when tacked up. The pads are available in Medium and Large, in both white and black. As with all Success Equestrian products, the pad is as easy to wash — simply gentle wash with cool water and a non-bleach detergent and line dry!

Ready to win? Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Entries will close at midnight EST tonight, with the winner to be announced in News & Notes tomorrow morning. Good luck! Go Eventing.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday News & Notes from Nupafeed

By on Dec 14, 2017 12:03 am -

The Diesel Boy is really enjoying his holiday! Photo by Molly Sue Kinnamon.

I spent all of yesterday driving my horse several hours down the road to Virginia Tech so that he could see an ophthalmologist, and I always really enjoy when new people meet my horse. Can we have his medical history? Sure, I’ve owned him twelve years, how far back do you want to go? Is he going to behave to have his eye inspected? Nope. Do you think we should sedate him? Yes, and please, give him the maximum, trust me, he’s the opposite of a cheap date. No, seriously, he’s like a really good cross country horse, which means he’s literally the most stubborn horse alive and no amount of sedation will convince him to do something he doesn’t like. Good luck!

National Holiday: National Bouillabaisse Day

News From Around the Globe:

Selena O’Hanlon won Fair Hill CCI3*, but it turns out that she didn’t win the free flight from Dutta Corp. In the most confusing news of the week, it seems that the flight we all thought went to the winner of the CCI3* is in fact reserved for the highest placed American rider in the division, and as Selena is Canadian, she did not win it. The “grant” is awarded by the USEF, and Dutta Corp does not make the selection criteria, unfortunately. However, Selena’s owners and supporters will be pitching in to ship her and Woody to Badminton next spring regardless. [Confusion Over Fair Hill CCI3* Winner]

Winter is for honing your skills with circle exercises! In this excerpt from the full educational video, Gina Miles demonstrates an exercise for maintaining line and balance over four small jumps on a circle. There are five levels to the excercise that Miles demonstrates on her own horse. You can access the full video by signing in at EventingTrainingOnline.com. [Eventing Training Circle Exercises with Gina Miles]

Has Charlotte DuJardin found “Mrs Valegro” in Mount St John Freestyle? I mean her name alone must bring some sort of good luck for that particular part of her job, right? She gave an exhibition at Olympia this week with Emma Blundell’s super exciting nine-year-old mare that simply raised goosebumps for everyone watching. This mare is truly something amazing, and Charlotte thinks that she’s her mount for the 2018 WEG. [6 Reasons Mount St John Freestyle is the Next Valegro]

Hot on HN: Let’s Discuss: What’s Your Winter Riding Weather Cutoff?

Congrats to Jordan Gandy, our day three winner of EN’s 12 Days of Christmas giveaways! Jordan will receive a prize pack from World Equestrian Brands, including a Mattes Ear Bonnet, Hamag Number Holder and bag of Equilibrium Crunch-Its. Tune in to EN later today for your next chance to win a prize from one of EN’s awesome sponsors.

Mount St John Freestyle earlier this year:

 

 

 

Wednesday Video from Kentucky Performance Products: Erin Sylvester’s Ride of the Day

By on Dec 13, 2017 4:00 pm -

Erin Sylvester won the $30,000 Rebecca Broussard International Developing Rider Grant last weekend at the USEA Year-End Awards. We’re delighted for her, so we’re throwing it back to her cross country round at the 2017 Kentucky Three-Day Event with Mettraise.

Erin and Spike and Jeanne Sylvester’s 13-year-old Thoroughbred mare won the Land Rover Best Ride of the Day. They crossed the finish line right on the optimum time of 11 minutes 17 seconds for a double clear round in the mare’s first four-star!

The “Big Becky” grant has been a game-changer for every rider to have won it, and we can’t wait to see where it will take Erin!

The feeling you get when it’s just you and your horse

It’s why we do what we do.

Fight back against an energy crisis that can impact condition and performance

Equi-Jewel® is a high-fat, low-starch and -sugar formula that was developed to safely meet the energy needs of your horse. Whether you have a hard keeper that needs extra calories to maintain his weight, or a top performance horse that needs cool energy to perform at her peak, Equi-Jewel can meet your horse’s needs. Equi-Jewel reduces the risk of digestive upset, supports optimal muscle function, maintains stamina, and helps horses recover faster after hard work, all while providing the calories your horse needs to thrive.

The fat found in rice bran is an extraordinary source of dietary energy. In fact, fat contains more than two times the energy that carbohydrates and proteins do, thereby fueling horses more efficiently. Fat is considered a “cool” feedstuff because it does not cause the hormone spikes that lead to excitability. Adding stabilized rice bran to your horse’s diet allows you to decrease the amount of starchy concentrates (grains) you feed, reducing the risk of colic and laminitis resulting from grain overload. Equi-Jewel is an excellent source of calories for horses on low sugar and starch diets.

It is why the horse that matters to you matters to us. Not sure which horse supplement best meets your horse’s needs? We are here to help. Contact Kentucky Performance Products, LLC at 859-873-2974 or visit our website at KPPusa.com.

MSE&DA Educational Forum with David O’Connor: Day 2 Highlights

By on Dec 13, 2017 2:00 pm -

Photo by Chelsea Smith.

On Dec. 2-3, Mid-South Eventing & Dressage Association welcomed David O’Connor to the bluegrass for two-day educational forum. The first day consisted of in-seat education — read highlights from that in Part 1 here. The second day was a demonstration at the beautiful Valley View Farm in Midway, Ky.

There were four demonstrations throughout the day that focused on the development of horse and rider through the Beginner Novice, Novice, Training and Preliminary levels.

Although the horses and riders ranged in experience, O’Connor had each group start out with the same exercise. On a circle he had two poles randomly placed and asked each rider to trot over them. After a few rounds, he asked them to canter the poles and then challenged the riders to change the speed of the horse to get in more or fewer strides. For example, he asked the riders to canter from the center of one pole to the other in four-strides, then from the inside of one pole to the inside of the other pole in three strides and the same for the outside in five strides.

O’Connor’s solution to the rider’s problems was simple. The answer was that you should either go faster or slower — that’s it.

The Beginner Novice and Novice groups both had green horses, so O’Connor focused on developing their rhythm and balance using basic jumping grid exercises.

When it comes to the lower levels, O’Connor reminded riders to think of the horse’s perspective. He spent a few minutes discussing the importance of natural horsemanship while he gave a demonstration on groundwork. He added that you don’t have to be a guinea pig when it comes to a green horse. For example, the first time you ask a green horse to jump a ditch, do it on the lunge line and let the horse figure itself out without putting yourself in harm’s way. Once the horse has gained confidence in jumping the ditch, then you can get it on and try it yourself.

In the Training group, the riders were local professionals Megan Moore and Allie Knowles with green horses. Since O’Connor had more experienced riders in this group, he focused more on the horses.

Photo by Chelsea Smith.

To assess the horses’ suitability for upper levels, he set up a grid to test their jump. To start out, O’Connor asked the rider to go down a line with a single square oxer. Each time they approached, he added a bounce pole in front of the fence. By the end, he had set six bounce poles approaching the fence. O’Connor then removed all of the bounce poles and set up the oxer where the front rail was much higher than the back rail. He asked each rider to go down the line several times while he raised the back rail or widened the oxer to test the horse’s limits. It was very fun and exciting to watch!

Throughout the weekend, O’Connor stated several times that riders need to work more in forward seat — even in dressage. Yes, hike up your stirrups in your dressage saddle and get comfortable. Rider position was the theme of the day. With each group he commented on rider position; he wanted to be sure that the rider’s shoulders are parallel to the horse’s shoulders and that the rider’s hips are parallel to the horse’s hips. O’Connor said that the rider’s job is to become part of the horse’s motion. After you’ve established that connection, you can then direct the motion

He also reminded everyone that roundness in dressage is NOT the same as roundness in jumping. He wants the horses traveling straight and square, not with necks bent and haunches to the outside.

USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship Returning to Virginia in 2018

By on Dec 13, 2017 11:00 am -

All smiles from the Clemson Tigers, winners of the 2017 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

The USEA has announced that the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship will return to Virginia Horse Trials (VHT) in Lexington, Va. May 24-27, 2018.

VHT hosted the first two years of the Intercollegiate Championship in 2016 and 2017. It was a brand new concept at the time but still wildly successful, with 10 schools and 10 teams at the inaugural Championship rising to 17 schools and 21 teams in the second year.

“We are thrilled to have the Intercollegiate Championship return to Virginia Horse Trials for one more year. To have participation more than double in the first two years of the Championship was very exciting and we look forward to continued progress in 2018,” said VHT Organizer Andy Bowles.

“It has been wonderful to be involved in the development of the Intercollegiate program. The enthusiasm from the students and the support of parents, coaches, and school faculty indicates that the future is bright for the Intercollegiate program. We are thankful to have played a part in that and hope to play a part in the future.”

Following the 2018 edition, the USEA will accept expressions of interest from organizers to determine the location of the 2019-2021 Intercollegiate Championships. The Championship will continue on a three-year venue rotation in order to “spread the concept and vary the ability of colleges and universities potentially limited by proximity to attend.”

“The Intercollegiate Program and its Championship are very important to the USEA. It is a central component of our larger strategic plan,” said USEA CEO Rob Burk. “In the first two years of the Championship, getting the right host site was vital. The Virginia Horse Center along with organizer Andy Bowles, team coordinator Leslie Threlkeld, and the whole team from the Virginia Horse Trials have knocked it out of the park! We are excited to have one more year of the Intercollegiate Eventing Championships in Virginia.”

Texas A&M, winners of the 2017 Spirit Award. Photo by Rob Burk.

During the Intercollegiate Open Forum at the USEA Convention last week, the Intercollegiate Committee reported that in 2017, there were 215 USEA members who received the discounted Collegiate Membership and 33 colleges and universities registered as affiliates, which makes those schools eligible to compete at the Intercollegiate Championship. In 2017, 23 of those affiliates sent teams to a either the Championship or an intercollegiate team challenge (or both).

The Intercollegiate program is strong on the East Coast with Areas 2, 3 and 8 have the most affiliates (six or more) while Areas 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7 have only one or two affiliates. Areas 9 and 10 have none. Reaching out to event organizers and schools in the less active areas in order to promote the Intercollegiate program is a focus of the Committee going forward. 

Are you interested in joining an Intercollegiate Eventing Team? Click here to see if your school is already a registered affiliate with the USEA.

Want to start a team at your college or university? The Intercollegiate Committee has created a guide to assist students in forming teams at their college or university and also a guide to assist organizers in running a collegiate team challenge at their event. Those documents are available on the USEA website here and here. 

We’re huge fans of the Intercollegiate Program here at EN and we’re so excited to watch this program thrive!

[USEA Intercollegiate Championship Will Return to Virginia Horse Trials in 2018, Bid Process to Determine Future Venue]