It’s day three of EN’s “12 Days of Christmas,” featuring a giveaway a day from our amazing and very holiday-spirited sponsors! Today’s lucky winner will receive a prize pack from World Equestrian Brands, including a…
Mattes Ear Bonnet: Imagine how fly your horse will look in a custom crocheted ear bonnet, made from the finest Egyptian cotton. Whether sporting your cross country colors or opting for dressage judge approved conservative hues, you and your horse alike will appreciate the comfort, quality and fit of your new Mattes Ear Bonnet.
Hamag Number Holder: Tired of dealing with unsightly torn plastic holders? Hamag Leather Number Holders are handmade in Australia from quality materials and have been designed to last a lifetime. And we mean it when we say that they WILL NOT fall off! You’ve seen top eventers like Kim Severson and Buck Davidson use them, and now you can own one of your own.
Equilibrium Crunch-Its: Crunchits are naturally healthy, low sugar, bite-sized treats made with healthy stuff like strawberry, beetroot, parsnip, carrot, banana, pea and spinach. Tasty AND nutritious — only the best for your perfect pony!
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.
This should really not be that mesmerizing. I really should not be watching it on loop. I am not absolutely fascinated by Michael Jung making random faces and it absolutely does not make him adorable and relatable. Not at all.
National Holiday: Ice Cream Day (Because it’s not cold or anything…)
U.S. Weekend Preview:
Patiently waiting for 2018…
Your Wednesday News & Notes:
Our historic Fair Hill winner Foxwood High is up for EquiRatings Horse of the Year. Foxwood High capped off a banner year by becoming the first Canadian winner of Fair Hill. This capped off a season that saw his dressage drop ten points from start to finish, his stadium improve and his cross country faster. [ER HOTY Contender]
Breaking tack on course is everyone’s worst nightmare. And yet, it seems to happen more often than it should. Re-live tales of riders who have broken tack and gone on to finish…or take the sensible route and retire when it’s too dangerous. [7 Terrifying Moments]
The Intercollegiate Championships will return to VAHT again. After hosting for two years, VAHT has been awarded the Intercollegiate Championships for one more year before they are opened up for a bid for the next three years. The USEA hopes to rotate to venues accessible to other college programs to grow the Intercollegiate participation. [Intercollegiate Championships Will Return]
SmartPak Product of the Day: Guys. Horseware products are on sale. Horseware products haven’t been on sale as long as I remember, so please go stock up on Rambo turnouts while you can! [SmartPak]
Congrats to Morgan, our day two winner of EN’s 12 Days of Christmas giveaways! Morgan will receive a StretchTech Shoulder Relief Girthfrom our awesome sponsor Total Saddle Fit. Tune in to EN later today for your next chance to win a prize from one of EN’s awesome sponsors.
The last big indoor eventing competition was held over the weekend at CHI Genève in Switzerland. This venue showcases flashy portables alongside eventing fixtures like water drops and banks on a track that winds around the both the spacious main arena and into a secondary ring practically inside the trade fair.
Frenchman Karim Laghoaug was the big winner with Punch, followed by World Number One Michael Jung aboard Corazon. We’ve got every single ride shown in today’s video with Karim starting at 36:21, and Michael starting at 57:01. Happy watching!
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This is a next-level girth. Building on the massive success and effectiveness of Total Saddle Fit’s Shoulder Relief Girth, with its revolutionary shoulder freedom and elbow clearance, the StretchTech girth features a triangular center elastic that contours perfectly to a horse’s barrel and allows for the 1.5 cm chest expansion that horses undergo go while breathing. This offers less respiratory restriction and even girth contact on the horse’s chest while in work.
Lauren Schwartzenberger shared a glowing review of the girth with EN in which she gave it two thumbs up — you can read it here.
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.
Equestrian Australia is leading the eventing world by example, having yesterday announced a rule change that mandates the use of approved FEI frangible devices. Beginning Feb. 1, 2018, frangible devices must be utilized “on those fences in 1*/2*/3*/4* courses in Australia (National and FEI events) where the materials fit the specifications for use of a frangible device.”
The initiative to introduce frangible pins was originally implemented with financial support from the Equestrian Australia Making Eventing Safer Fund, supported by Terry Snow, and the Olivia Inglis Foundation.
The Making Eventing Safer Fund will distribute $45,000 toward the rollout of frangible devices at all EA events across Australia, with funding to be matched by State Eventing Committees, meaning a total of $90,000 will be spent on improving safety. The fund was introduced following the deaths of two young Australian event riders, Caitlyn Fischer and Olivia Inglis, last year.
The change was made following a series of meetings at the Australian International Three-Day Event in Adelaide last month involving the Equestrian Australia Eventing Committee, the EA National Safety Officer, members of the FEI Risk Management Steering Group (Mike Etherington-Smith and Geoff Sinclair) and EA Chair Judy Fasher.
The new rule is in addition to other initiatives being carried out by EA toward improved safety of both horses and riders. Its implementation is supported by an explanatory memorandum for Officials and Organising Committees with an Officials’ Education Program to be rolled out in February and March 2018. You can view the updated 2018 EA Eventing Rules here.
In this video, Olympic medalist Stuart Tinney talks about the “Making Eventing Safer” initiative to introduce frangible jumps in Australia, and breaks down how this technology works.
Despite calls for the FEI to make frangible devices compulsory from National Federations, including the U.S. and Canada, as well as events such as Badminton and individual leaders within the sport, the FEI confirmed in a Dec. 7 Risk Management memo that it will not be enforcing a global rule until more evidence is available.
From the memo:
Why is the FEI not making [frangible device] use mandatory?
“The global use of frangible technology is one of our goals in risk management, and it is the FEI’s role to provide the necessary educational and logistical support to National Federations to enable them to source approved devices, ensure their correct use and ultimately decide when the time is right to make their use compulsory so that frangible technology is used effectively worldwide. We are also encouraging the National Federations, alongside the FEI, to look at other aspects of risk management, including coaching and course design. Frangible technology is clearly part of the way forward, but it is one element in a complex picture.
“While rotational horse falls have decreased dramatically, there is evidence – as highlighted in the Barnett report – that the number of horse falls in general is higher at fences fitted with frangible technology. Although clearly it could be the question rather than the frangible technology that is causing these falls, more information and data is needed to understand this horse fall rate.
“It is a priority to reduce horse falls as a whole so this is where data collection is an extremely important part of the decision-making process around the world. However, as stated above, FEI statistics show that rotational falls have been reduced by more than 50% in the 10-year period from 2006-2016 so there are clear benefits. The bottom line is that we need to have a better understanding of this evidence, and where it fits into the overall picture, before we can consider making the use of frangible technology mandatory.”
Isn’t that going against the recommendations of the Risk Management Steering Group?
“Following the recommendations of the Risk Management Steering Group, we are continuing to work with our National Federations on the logistical and educational elements of frangibles, respecting the individual decision of each National Federation regarding their eventual mandatory use in their own country when they have the knowledge base to ensure the technology can be effectively used. The decision of National Federations to use frangible technology is fully supported by the FEI and in line with National Federations taking their responsibilities on risk management. However, following a more comprehensive evaluation by the FEI Eventing Committee and for the reasons mentioned above, the FEI strongly believes that it would not be beneficial to the sport to impose mandatory implementation at this point in time.”
So should the FEI stop recommending the use of frangible technology?
“No, for the same reasons as above, but the facts are that although we have evidence that there is an increased risk of horse falls at fences fitted with frangible technology, rotational falls have been dramatically decreased and the percentage of serious injuries have also shown a strong reduction, halved from 0.28% of starters in 2006 to 0.13% in 2016. The percentage of horse falls overall is also reducing, going down from 1.76% of starters in 2006 to 1.4% in 2016, so the risk management strategy is clearly having a positive effect.”
“The bottom line is that we need to have a better understanding of this evidence, and where it fits into the overall picture, before we can consider making the use of frangible technology mandatory.”
Read the full memo here, and access the FEI Eventing Risk Management and Action Plan here.
Photo courtesy of Tryon International Equestrian Center.
Good news for fans of equestrian sport! NBC Sports Group has received exclusive U.S. media rights to air the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games, which will be held Sept. 11-23, 2018 at Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, North Carolina.
The Olympic Channel will air more than 50 hours of coverage from WEG, with NBC and NBCSN showing 15 hours of live coverage. All coverage will be streamed live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. Coverage on the Olympic Channel will also be streamed on OlympicChannel.com and the Olympic Channel app.
“Our vision is to broaden the reach of equestrian sport to an audience of horse enthusiasts around the country, and we appreciate NBC Sports Group’s partnership as we deliver the most televised equestrian sports coverage in history,” Mark Bellissimo, founder and CEO of Tryon International Equestrian Center, said.
“The 2014 Games in France attracted a cumulative global broadcast audience of 350 million, so this partnership with NBC will be an important factor in boosting numbers for Tryon 2018.”
An anticipated 1,000 athletes, 1,500 horses, and 500,000 spectators from more than 70 countries are expected to attend WEG. Tickets have already been sold to people from all 50 U.S. states and 31 countries. WEG is projected to be the highest-attended sporting event in the U.S. in 2018.
Donated supplies collected through CANTER California. Photo via CANTER California on Facebook.
It’s impossible to think about Thoroughbreds right now without thinking of those most affected by the current wildfires in Southern California. Nearly 500 horses displaced from the charred San Luis Rey Downs Training Center are currently residing at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and Santa Anita Downs. Their grooms, many of whom have lost everything, are with them and without those grooms many of the horses who escaped the blaze may not have been so lucky.
In addition to helping the horses, CANTER California is working to assist those horsemen and women — the #HeroGrooms — who were victims of the fire as well. Over the weekend they held a supply drive at the California Retirement Management Account (CARMA) Thoroughbred Classic Horse Show and are working with other organizations to aid the affected jockeys and grooms. If you’d like to support their endeavors you can do so by donating to the California Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Foundation or the Winner’s Foundation.
CANTER California also plans to make their website available for longer-term displaced or unclaimed horses from the wildfire in order to ensure their photos and descriptions are shared.
For now, here are three current CANTER California horses (who also all happen to be RRP eligible!) looking for second careers:
Here’s a really lovely-looking gelding with a solid build and a kind eye who seems like he’d be a natural jumper. Can’t you picture him making a super shape over fences? “Ace” was a fairly mediocre racer in his sixteen starts, but his trainer thinks he’ll excel at a different career. He’s reportedly sound and is a pleasure to work with on the ground, plus he’s handsome as heck – what’s not to like?
Fans of short-coupled horses, this one is for you! The CANTER volunteers call this dark bay gelding a “go-kart model” and we can picture him zipping around a cross-country course for sure. At six years old, “Tanner” is still going strong and has 44 starts with the most recent being just this past weekend! He’s not placing quite as well as he used to, but even with his long career his legs are looking clean and seems ready to try something new.
This big guy did pretty well for himself on the track, earning over $55,000 in 27 starts. “Rocks” is sound with no vices and is ready to be your next sport horse prospect. With his big bones, he might even get mistaken for a warmblood. Rocks has a nice trot and a dose of spunk, as you can see from his video. Thought he may be a little older he still seems game for whatever next for him!
I came across this lovely post from M.J. Redding Equine Transport, one of the many groups who have jumped in head first to transport and evacuate horses threatened by California wildfires last week. Here’s an excerpt, and you can see their full post here.
“This is the horse world. This single image captures the very stitch work that binds together a truly amazing community. A community of men and women who have come to accept and often appreciate the cliché ‘crazy horse people.’ It is a world entirely comprised of individuals who willfully sacrifice family vacations, weekends, or even the single day off occasionally. There is bond between horse and horsemen that inherently sears a brand into who we are, and how we live. 365 days we put ourselves second to our horses, with routines dedicated to the wellbeing of our horses beginning well before the light of day, and consistently ending well after nightfall. Individuals who carry no hesitation in their breath whether it be sleepless nights to ensure a mare in foal is safe during labor at any hour of the day or an entire day’s plan is thrown aside the moment a horse is injured. Men and women who for 365 long days find themselves rushing breakfast, eating lunch from the seat of a tractor only to still miss dinner, cancel Saturday night dates, and miss birthdays.”
Eventing Australia has joined the United States in an effort to make frangible devices compulsory. Thanks to this new rule, starting in February 2018 frangible devices will be mandatory on all fences in international competition“where the materials fit the specifications for use of a frangible device.” Though the FEI has decided to not create a worldwide rule to this effect, Australia is doing its part to make our sport safer. [Major Eventing Nation Backs Compulsory Frangible Fences for Cross Country]
It’s official. You will be able to watch the World Equestrian Games live! NBC Sports Group has gained exclusive rights and will be providing 60 hours of coverage. Fans can watch the action as it happens on NBCSports.com, OlympicChannel.com as well as the NBC Sports and Olympic Channel apps. [NBC Sports Group To Televise FEI World Equestrian Games In September 2018]
Missed the live stream of the USEA Convention? Amanda Chance from $900 Facebook Pony shares her notes in her most recent blog. [Best of Blogs: $900 Facebook Pony]
Congrats to Tammy W., our first winner of EN’s 12 Days of Christmas giveaways! Tammy will receive a holiday prize pack from C4 Belts and Snaks 5th Avenchew. Tune in to EN later today for your next chance to win a prize from one of EN’s awesome sponsors.
Elisa Wallace and Hwin. Photo courtesy of Elisa Wallace.
I’ve been a big fan of Elisa Wallace ever since she started vlogging two years ago and it’s exciting to see how her YouTube channel (which recently surpassed 20,000 followers!) has grown over that time. It’s not every day you get to be a fly on the wall at a four-star eventer’s barn (OK, maybe it is if you’re a working student or lucky enough to board with one, but that’s not the majority of us!), but Elisa welcomes us all into her into her life once a week for a glimpse of how she manages her barn and trains her horses, and gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the events she competes at.
If you’re at all familiar with Elisa, then you know that groundwork and tackless riding are important parts of her training program for all her horses — from her young OTTBs, to her Mustangs, to her four-star mount, Simply Priceless. This vlog episode gives us a more in-depth look at the cues and signals she uses to start teaching her horses to be ridden sans tack.
If you’re looking for something fun and different to work on with your horse this winter which will also help develop your partnership, then watch the video below to get started!
Welcome to EN’s 12 Days of Christmas! It’s a giveaway extravaganza that will give EN readers the chance to win awesome prizes from our amazing sponsors for the next 12 days. Today we’re kicking things off by giving away a prize pack from C4 Belts and Snaks 5th Avenchew.
The prize pack includes:
C4 Holiday Belt and Buckle
Pair of C4 Socks
Treat from Snacks 5th Avenchew
That’s right — it’s a gift for you AND your horse. Not only will you be the most festive eventer in the barn with your new C4 belt and socks (if you really want to take it over the top, we recommend pairing with an ugly horse Christmas sweater), the treat from Snacks 5th Avenue makes a great equine stocking stuffer.
C4 has just kicked off its own “12 Days of C4ristmas” featuring daily deals, as well as its C4 Holiday Special which includes 10% off and free shipping with the promo code C4Happy.
Now here’s your chance to win that prize pack! Enter to win using the Rafflecopter widget below. Entries will close at midnight EST tonight. Good luck! Go Eventing.
Fresno County Horse Park Combined Test
