Classic Eventing Nation

Fair Hill Reins Back Four-Star Plans Amid International Star System Restructuring

By on Dec 22, 2017 8:30 am -

An aerial rendering of Fair Hill’s proposed site plan. Image courtesy of Fair Hill International.

Following the FEI’s recent overhaul of the star system competition structure, Fair Hill International announced yesterday their plans to pause CCI4* (5*) ambitions as they await clarification on the new level specifications.

The newly-approved competition structure was confirmed at the FEI General Assembly Meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay last month. This change will shift all of the current International levels up, making our current CCI4* competitions into CCI5* Majors beginning in 2019.

The event commented that the USEF’s recommendation for Fair Hill to host a CCI4* was expected to be considered at the FEI General Assembly Meeting, but the Fair Hill International and its coalition partners decided to pause this proposal until they can properly prepare to host a CCI5* Major.

“We understand the FEI’s decision to reorganize the star system and the requirements for each level. However, until we know these new requirements, it makes no sense to move forward blindly,” Fair Hill’s Executive Director, Carla Geiersbach said in a statement.

“We don’t want to build a state-of-the-art facility to the wrong specifications. We are committed to presenting an event at the pinnacle of the sport and will march ahead as soon as the FEI releases its new parameters.”

Sam Slater, President of the Fair Hill Foundation, continued, “We remain committed to bringing world class equestrian sporting opportunities to this corner of Maryland. Fair Hill has so much to offer the community, and proposed upgrades will really enhance the facility.”

Fair Hill International will again host CCI3* and CCI2* divisions at next year’s event, October 18-21, 2018, which will mark the competition’s 30th anniversary.

[Fair Hill International Awaits Clarity on New FEI Classification]

Friday News & Notes from SmartPak

By on Dec 22, 2017 12:03 am -

The merriest reindeer of all! Photo courtesy of Lynn Symansky.

Donner wins Round 1, Leg 3 of the Equiratings HOTY contest! Are you following the contenders on the Equiratings Facebook feed? You can also read more about our favorite reindeer on his official page, chronicling his accomplishments for the year. He’s up against a good crowd though, with Foxwood High, fischerRocana FST and Nereo to name a few. Can’t wait to see who caps them all in #ERHOTY17!

National Holiday: National Date Nut Bread Day

Day 22: “So, good news, I saw a dog today”

News From Around the Globe:

Equestrians Institute Horse Trials in Cle Elum, Washington (Area VII) is held twice a year, at the end of May and the end of September, at the Washington State Horse Park, and offers Beginner Novice through Intermediate level competition. Equestrians Institute also hosts dressage shows, hunter paces, clinics and combined driving events at different venues throughout the region and supports local sport horse breeding programs. [USEA Events A-Z]

You don’t have to understand the complexities of Twitter to get these #EquestrianProblems. Now that we’ve been updated to 280 characters per tweet, we can really get into the nitty gritty of real life equestrian problems. From brooms in public places to random earplugs you find in the laundry, nothing says you’re a horse person more than random thoughts that bind us together in the real world as well as the online world. [13 Equestrian Problems on Twitter]

“Dear Santa, I’m writing to let you know I’ve been a very good boy this year. You see, I’m a dressage horse, and I’ve been doing some reading so that I can be the very best dressage horse in the entire world. I keep coming across this thing called the training pyramid so I figure it must be important for optimum dressage-ing. Upon careful examination, I have determined that I’m fulfilling all of the requirements listed in the training pyramid, and Santa, because you might not be familiar this with whole dressage thing, let me explain.” [A Letter to Santa From The Very Best Dressage Horse]

Have you ever dreamed of writing about your sport for a living? Do you have a perspective and a direction for the hunter jumper universe that you want to share? Are you a self-motivated, well-spoken individual who isn’t afraid to put in the hours for a dream and a paycheck? Jumper Nation is hiring! [Jumper Nation Employment Opportunity]

Congrats to Ava D., our day 11 winner of EN’s 12 Days of Christmas giveaways! Ava will receive a Pro II Plus helmet from Charles Owen. Tune in to EN today for your next chance to win a prize from one of EN’s awesome sponsors.

Thursday Video: This Little Boy Refusing to Get Off His Pony is All of Us

By on Dec 21, 2017 5:30 pm -

Adulting is the absolute stink of all stinkages. Today alone, I’ve had to cancel a stolen credit card, take my car to the shop, and spend $50 at the post office mailing things. That’s real life.

In child life, the saddest thing you will do is be forced to get off your pony. But as all of us know, sometimes that’s the cruelest responsibility of all.

Perhaps no one single human better embodies this emotion than our little friend Devon, who — when his mother politely informs him that it’s time to get off his white wonder pony, Roxy — has a meltdown on the outside that we’ve all had on the inside.

So, we were a little upset to have to put our pony away…

Posted by Adrienne Smyrl on Sunday, December 17, 2017

Favorite excerpts from this tearful negotiation include:

“I don’t want Roxy to go away.”
“But she’ll just be right in the pasture.”
“NO, (followed by incoherent wailing)”
“Well, what else do you want her to do?”
“I want her to play with me!”
“But you’ve already been riding her for an hour.”
“I don’t want her to go awayyyyyyy….”

Devon, you are all of us. We applaud your willingness to say what we’re all thinking when it’s time to get off our unicorns.

Thanks to Gemini Farm for sharing this hilarious, wonderful clip with us, and Go Riding!

As seen on Horse Nation!

 

No Eventers Nominated for USEF Equestrian and Horse of the Year

By on Dec 21, 2017 4:30 pm -

Photos courtesy of the USEF.

Try harder next year, eventers!

We kid, we kid.

The USEF has announced its 2017 Equestrian and Horse of the Year candidates, and indeed there are no eventers on the list of 13 total rider and horse candidates. Maybe because eventers won ALL the things last year — to recall, Phillip Dutton was named the 2016 USEF Equestrian of the Year while his Olympic bronze medal winning partner Mighty Nice was crowned the 2016 International Horse of the Year.

And we probably deserve to win all the things every year, but it’s nice to give somebody else a chance sometimes, too. Here are this year’s nominees:

National Horses of Honor

International Horses of Honor

Equestrian of the Year Nominees

No offense to Arabians and Friesians, they have many laudable qualities including but not limited to great hair, but it seems like they could have squeezed one or two eventers in there somewhere too, amiright?

Having said that, nobody got shafted by the USEF harder than Winding Oaks Tom Tanacious, pairs partner to USEF National Horse of the Year nominee Winding Oaks Tom Foolery. They’re full brothers! They look basically alike! They won the pair pony national championship with their bodies literally strapped together! So why did Tom Foolery get the nomination and not Tanacious?! Talk about a sibling squabble … I would love to be a fly on the wall at THEIR family Christmas this year. Woof!

Winding Oaks Tom Foolery and Winding Oaks Tanacious. Photo by Picsofyou, courtesy of the USEF.

Whatever. If you feel so inclined to weigh in these clearly bunk USEF superlatives, click here to submit your vote.

Thankfully, there are other opportunities for deserving eventers to win very important year-end awards. Like EquiRatings’ Horse of the Year showdown, for which the first round of voting is underway as we speak. Donner and Foxwood High are our North America representatives so click here to go show them your support with a vote! And, of course, EN will be posting our nominees for the coveted Golden Chinchilla at the beginning of January — it doesn’t get more prestigious than that!

Go home, USEF, you’re drunk.

Go Eventing.

Best of 2017 Video Countdown #10: Bada$$ Badminton

By on Dec 21, 2017 1:30 pm -

Each day between now and the New Year we’re counting down the most popular videos shared on EN in 2017. The #10 spot goes to “Bada$$ Badminton,” which garnered 3,563 views when it was posted on October 13, 2017. Enjoy, again! 

Fifty years ago, people were made of tough stuff. Like, actually cobbled together with steel panels and rusty nails and more than a dash of insanity sort of tough stuff. Case in point? This vintage Badminton video from 1968, which is part of the extensive British Pathé film archives. It’s a glorious time capsule of weighted saddlepads, frolicking royals, massive timber, and skull caps that actually look like they offer about as much protection as a beanie made of cheese. Also, no body protectors. Health and safety, schmealth and safety.

Almost makes this year’s Badminton course look jumpable, right?

…right?

Social Media Roundup: Eventers Feeling Festive

By on Dec 21, 2017 11:00 am -

From browsing through social media recently one theme stands out — Eventing Nation is getting into the Christmas spirit! I mean, who among us hasn’t dressed their horse up in some completely ridiculous holiday-fueled getup? My poor horse Justin has certainly felt the effects of the season in past years…

Exhibit A:

https://www.instagram.com/p/we3bqFggti/?taken-by=shiiibbyyy

We love virtually celebrating with y’all. After seeing all these show horses-turned-reindeer, I’m convinced that Santa’s sleigh is pulled by eventers! You guys are so cute, you should be on a Christmas card – Submit more of your horsey holiday fun to [email protected]. And as we keep counting down until the big day, here’s the holiday happenings around Eventing Nation:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc7WWJDDmXw/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc5IjMaHBDw/?tagged=eventing

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc5jEEgh7mR/?tagged=eventing

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc6qskThGQJ/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc7LopIlR5x/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc7WWJDDmXw/

And not eventers, but from our horse friends across the pond:

EN’s 12 Days of Christmas: Pro II Plus Helmet from Charles Owen

By on Dec 21, 2017 9:00 am -

Welcome to the penultimate giveaway of EN’s 12 Days of Christmas! Up for grabs today: a Pro II Plus helmet from our fantastic sponsor Charles Owen.

The groundbreaking Pro II Plus is the only triple-standard, precision-fitting cross country skull cap with a removable liner. Featuring a sized liner that allows for the closest, most customized fit yet, the Pro II Plus includes front and rear ventilation slots for superior cooling and a GRpx® technology harness for unsurpassed stability. With a liner that can be replaced when it has been broken down by wear cross country, riders can easily refresh the life of their helmet. It is available in black and silver and is kitemarked to PAS015:2011, kitemarked and CE marked to VG1 01.040 2014-12, and certified by SEI to ASTM F1163.

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 21, 2017 12:03 am -

Photo by Kim Nordstrom Perry.

The Horse Park of New Jersey recently held a photo contest and received nearly 400 entries, including this gem above.  The grand prize winner, Kathleen Ryan, received a free membership to the Park for 2018. Kim Nordstrm Perry was the winner of the horse division, and with such a completely ridiculous little adorable gremlin like that smiling with such nice teeth, how could she not win??

National Holiday: National French Fried Shrimp Day

Day 21:  “I’m sorry I ruined your lives, and crammed eleven cookies into the VCR.”

News From Around the Globe:

In February of 2018 the USEA will once again combine three of its educational programs – the Instructors’ Certification Program (ICP), the Young Event Horse (YEH) Program, and the Future Event Horse (FEH) Program, for a full week of fun and education. The multiplicity of these USEA offerings creates an opportunity for riders, instructors, judges, horse owners, horse breeders, and friends of the sport to witness, discuss, ask questions, and receive feedback related to informed breeding, high-quality handling, and ridden training of young horses. [Sign Up!]

Zenyatta’s son Cozmic One is slated to compete at the 2018 Retired Racehorse Project. His best result as a racehorse was a fourth place at Del Mar in July of this year, but the son of Zenyatta and Bernardini is ready for his second career under the guidance of none other than three-time winner of the RRP Isabela de Sousa and her team. [Zenyatta’s Son Ready for RRP 2018]

Best of Blogs: Changing the World: Thunder’s Story (see video below too!)

Five-year-old Tylon Pittman made a very important 911 call this week, as he was extremely concerned that the Grinch was planning to steal Christmas. Once he learned on the internet that the Grinch was legitimately going to ruin everyone’s holiday, he dialed up 911 and let the operator know about the threat. [Grinch Thwarted Again]

Congrats to Paige B., our day 10 winner of EN’s 12 Days of Christmas giveaways! Paige will receive an AirMesh Body Protector by Airowear. Tune in to EN today for your next chance to win a prize from one of EN’s awesome sponsors.

Wednesday Video from Kentucky Performance Products: How Michael Jung Spends the Eventing Off-Season

By on Dec 20, 2017 4:30 pm -

 

FischerSolution erreicht den 11. Platz im Rolex Grand Prix über 1,60m💪🏼✨🎉
Es war ein wahnsinns Gefühl diesen Parcours mit ihr zu reiten 🚀
fischer group

Posted by Michael Jung on Sunday, December 10, 2017

One might be fooled into thinking Michael Jung would take time off from being completely amazing and enjoy a quiet winter break, but you don’t become World Number 1 by laying on the couch and drinking hot chocolate until spring.

While the eventing season is on a short holiday, Jung has been honing his skills in the jumper ring. It’s no secret he competes regularly in pure show jumping, but lately he’s appearing on some of the sport’s biggest stages.

At the 1.60m Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva in Switzerland earlier this month, where Kent Farrington won the star-studded division aboard Gazelle, Jung and the 8-year-old Westphalian mare fischerSolution finished 11th after a gorgeous round with just one rail down at the second to last fence. Watch their round above and click here to watch the entire class.

What could be next for Jung? Do you think he might tackle an Olympic path in show jumping?

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2017 EquiRatings Horse of the Year: Donner & Foxwood High Need Your Votes!

By on Dec 20, 2017 11:00 am -
Voting is underway for 2017 EquiRatings Horse of the Year! Voting is underway for 2017 EquiRatings Horse of the Year!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s nearly Christmas, plus Horse of the Year festivities are well underway. EN will be posting our nominees for the coveted Golden Chinchilla at the beginning of January as we always do, but you can also get your Horse of the Year fix now thanks to EquiRatings.

The equestrian data company has been running their Horse of the Year contest since 2015 with a focus on which horses had the most impressive statistical performances around the world throughout the year. The USA rallied to vote Loughan Glen as EquiRatings Horse of the Year in 2015, and China supported Don Geniro for a landslide victory in 2016.

This year EquiRatings has nominated 12 horses, and we have an American horse represented in Donner and a Canadian horse represented in Foxwood High. North America — assemble! The first round of voting went live this morning. Each horse that wins their head-to-head poll will advance to the next round. All you have to do to vote is click on the horse’s photo in the polls below.

Scroll down and vote for Donner and Foxwood High! Then click over to the EquiRatings blog to read all about Donner and Foxwood High in the 2017 season, plus all of the other nominees: Nereo, Horseware Hale Bob, fischerRocana FST, Arctic Soul, Ballaghmor Class, Bulana, Cekatinka, Calle 44, Ivar Gooden and Hunter Valley II.